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Campaign and Media Attention to an Issue Causes Learning-Based Effects, Not Priming
Unformatted Document Text:  Campaign and Media Attention to an Issue Causes Learning- Based Effects, Not Priming Gabriel S. Lenz 1 Numerous studies have found evidence for priming effects: the ability of campaign and media messages to alter the importance individuals place on an issue when evaluating politicians. Researchers have not paid sufficient attention, however, to alternative explanations for these findings, particularly those resulting from learning. I develop an approach that differentiates priming effects from these alternatives using measures of learning about the parties’ positions on the relevant issue. With this method, I then reanalyze previous studies. Across four cases with the data necessary to apply this method, I find no evidence of priming effects. Instead, campaign and media attention to an issue creates the appearance of priming by informing individuals about the parties’ positions on that issue, inducing some to adopt the issue position of their preferred party as their own. 1 Ph.D. candidate, Department of Politics, 130 Corwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ 08544, ## email not listed ##. I thank Larry Bartels and Tali Mendelberg for their guidance, as well as Adam Berinsky, Matthew Hindman, Karen L. Jusko, Jonathan Ladd, and Andrew Owen for their helpful suggestions. Version 4.0.

Authors: Lenz, Gabriel.
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Campaign and Media Attention to an Issue Causes Learning-
Based Effects, Not Priming



Gabriel S. Lenz
1
Numerous studies have found evidence for priming effects: the ability of campaign and media
messages to alter the importance individuals place on an issue when evaluating politicians.
Researchers have not paid sufficient attention, however, to alternative explanations for these
findings, particularly those resulting from learning. I develop an approach that differentiates priming
effects from these alternatives using measures of learning about the parties’ positions on the relevant
issue. With this method, I then reanalyze previous studies. Across four cases with the data necessary
to apply this method, I find no evidence of priming effects. Instead, campaign and media attention to
an issue creates the appearance of priming by informing individuals about the parties’ positions on
that issue, inducing some to adopt the issue position of their preferred party as their own.
1
Ph.D. candidate, Department of Politics, 130 Corwin Hall, Princeton University, Princeton, NJ
08544, ## email not listed ##. I thank Larry Bartels and Tali Mendelberg for their guidance, as well as Adam
Berinsky, Matthew Hindman, Karen L. Jusko, Jonathan Ladd, and Andrew Owen for their helpful
suggestions. Version 4.0.


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