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The Effect of Political Comedy on Knowledge and Ideological Constraint, a Model of Humor-Triggered Cognition

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The Effect of Political Comedy on Knowledge and Ideological Constraint, a Model of Humor-Triggered Cognition DeMOCKracy Now: The Effect of Political Comedy on Knowledge and Ideological Constraint, A Model of Humor-Triggered Cognition by Krysha Dawn Gregorowicz A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy (Communication) in The University of Michigan 2013 Doctoral Committee: Professor Nicholas A. Valentino, Chair Professor Ted Brader Professor Nojin Kwak Professor W. Russell Neuman © 2013 Krysha Dawn Gregorowicz To Dad ii Acknowledgements This dissertation is the culmination of my long journey as a student. Completing this project has been one of the most challenging and rewarding experiences of my life. I must take a moment to express my deepest gratitude to all those who have helped me along the way. I have benefited greatly from the wisdom and guidance of many amazing scholars. During my undergraduate days at The University of Texas at Dallas, Marianne Stewart taught me to think systematically about politics, introduced me to empirical research and encouraged my budding interest in political communication. I am also appreciative of all the support and assistance I received from the distinguished members of my dissertation committee. My committee chair, Nicholas Valentino, has been my advisor since the beginning. I am forever grateful for his mentorship and the copious amount of time he spent working with me. His commitment to doing good science turned me in to the researcher I am today. I am also incredibly lucky to have developed a close working relationship with Russell Neuman. The scope of his knowledge and intellectual curiosity are nothing short of inspirational, and I benefited immeasurably from his brilliant insights. I learned so very much from Ted Brader, who led several of the most thought provoking seminar courses that I took during my time at Michigan and whom I was privileged to work with as a Graduate Research Assistant. I would like to thank Nojin Kwak. It was in his course on non-traditional channels of political communication that I got the inspiration for this project. Finally, I owe a special debt of gratitude to Michael Traugott for his generous support. Though not a member of my committee, iii he graciously provided valuable feedback on my work, helped me secure funding for this project and went out of his way to assist me in my career. I am also grateful for the many resources provided to me by various organizations at the University of Michigan. Thanks to the Rackham Graduate School for their commitment to graduate education and the generous fellowship funding I received throughout my studies. I could never have completed this project without the incredible support of the Department of Communication Studies, which believed in me and my work and far exceeded any reasonable expectations to ensure my success. Thanks to the Michigan Institute for the Humanities for supporting my research through the Humor at Michigan Fellowship. Special recognition must be given to the Undergraduate Research Opportunity Program (UROP). Through this program I connected with four amazing and dedicated undergraduate research assistants, Therese Empie, Eric Stulberg, Kathleen Koehl and Patrick Valenti, without whom this research would not have been possible. During my time at the University of Michigan I had the privilege of being in the company of many absolutely brilliant people. I am incredibly grateful to all my friends and colleagues in the Department of Communication Studies, particularly Megan Biddinger, Sarah and Phil Crymble, Lauren Guggenheim and Rossie Hutchinson. I learned so much from and will forever share a bond with the members of my statistics group, Charles Dorian, Matias Bargsted, Patrick O’Mahen and Jennifer Miller. I must also thank Rachel Yates Claudet, Neil Mohammad, David Smith and Derek Stafford. I am honored and humbled to call all of these incredible individuals my friends. Lastly, I would like to thank my family. Perhaps deserving the most credit is the man to whom this dissertation is dedicated, my late father, Dr. Philip Gregorowicz, who was my first iv and most important teacher, best friend, and biggest fan. The many nights I spent as a child sitting on the back porch, listening to Dad and Michael Walcott debate issues large and small inspired my interest in politics and taught me to think critically about the world. I must also thank my mother, Jeanne, who supported me in any way she could, often without my even having to ask. I am grateful to Lucy for her loyal canine companionship. I did some of my best thinking during our long walks together. Finally, to my amazing husband, Brent M. Heavner, who never for a moment doubted that I could succeed and sacrificed so very much to make it happen, thank you for everything. It has been a great honor and privilege to study at the University of Michigan, and I am so very proud to call myself a Wolverine. Go Blue! v Table of Contents Dedication ....................................................................................................................................... ii Acknowledgements ........................................................................................................................ iii List of Tables ................................................................................................................................ vii List of Figures ................................................................................................................................ ix List of Appendices .......................................................................................................................... x Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... xi Chapter: 1. Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 1 2. Political Sophistication, Mass Media and Humor-Triggered Cognition ........................... 9 3. Experimental Pretest and Methods .................................................................................. 48 4. An Experimental Test of the Effect of Political Comedy on Learning ............................ 71 5. An Experimental Test of the Effect of Political Comedy on Ideological Constraint ...... 92 6. Leaving the Lab for the Living Room: A Survey-Based Demonstration of the Effect of Political Comedy on Ideological Constraint ................................................................ 118 7. Conclusion ..................................................................................................................... 156 Appendices .................................................................................................................................. 178 References ................................................................................................................................... 208 vi List of Tables Table 3.1 Humor Ratings of Clips Included in the Experimental Stimuli ................................... 63 Table 3.2 Perceptions of Information in Clips Included in the Experimental Stimuli ................ 64 Table 3.3 Emotional Reactions to Clips Included in the Experimental Stimuli .......................... 66 Table 3.4 Assessments of Political Perspective by All Respondents .......................................... 67 Table 3.5 Assessments of Political Perspective by High Political Knowledge Respondents ...... 68 Table 3.6 Responses to Videos Not Included in the Experimental Stimuli ................................. 69 Table 4.1 Effects of Comedy and News on Learning and Patterns of Response to Information Recall Questions .................................................................................................................. 88 Table 4.2 Learning Effect across Levels of Prior Political Knowledge ...................................... 89 Table 4.3 Mediation of Comedic Learning Effect by Amusement .............................................. 90 Table 4.4 Mediation of Comedic Learning Effect by Interesting Ratings ................................... 90 Table 4.5 Interesting Ratings for Comedy versus News across Levels of Prior Political Knowledge ........................................................................................................................... 91 Table 5.1 Chronbach’s Alpha Reliability of 10-Item Issue Scale by Condition and across Levels of Prior Political Knowledge ............................................................................................. 114 Table 5.2 Effect on The Standard Deviation of Policy Issue Positions across Levels of Prior Political Knowledge ........................................................................................................... 114 Table 5.3 Effect on The Average Inter-Item Issue Distance across Levels of Prior Political Knowledge ......................................................................................................................... 115 vii Table 5.4 Effect on The Ideological Bi-Polarity of Policy Issue Position across Levels of Prior Political Knowledge ........................................................................................................... 115 Table 5.5 Effect on Vertical Constraint, The Relationship between Self-Reported Ideology and Average Issue Position across Levels of Prior Political Knowledge ................................. 116 Table 6.1 The Relationship between Self-Reported
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