(Mis-)Perceptions, information, and political polarization: A survey and a systematic literature review

Abstract

Numerous studies have documented that misperceptions about society, e.g. related to inequality, are widespread among voters. Simultaneously, a separate body of literature demonstrates increasing political polarization. Against this background, it is intuitively appealing to hypothesize that information provision can be useful not only to correct misperceptions, but also to create a common ground that can bridge divisiveness. In a general population survey, conducted in the United States, we show that beliefs in the power of information to reduce polarization are indeed widespread. To investigate the empirical relationship between information provision and polarization, we conduct a systematic literature review. We focus on papers that study the effect of information treatments on redistributive policy preferences, exploiting the fact that they often investigate heterogeneities in the reaction to information treatment. Our review shows that while it is certainly possible for information to decrease polarization, the effect is frequently the opposite. The reason is that different groups react differently to truthful and accurate information, in ways that often reinforce existing preference.