Selective Exposure and Partisanship among Audiences in Spain. Consumption of Political Information during Election Campaigns: 2008 and 2011

Abstract

According to Lazarsfeld, Berelson and Gaudet (1948), the effect of the media is limited by selection, attention and retention processes and individuals seek to reinforce their previous predispositions when selecting media outlets. We now see a resurgence of proposals that affirm, once again, the minimal effect of the media and survival of the theory of selective exposure, obviously adapted to the new circumstances of media consumption. The study examines whether or not the Spanish selectively expose themselves to political information during election campaign periods, and if doing so corresponds to partisan behavior by the audience. Post-election surveys conducted by the Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas (Sociological Research Center) in 2008 and 2011 were used. The press is the political and electoral medium most affected by selective exposure based on political orientation.