ABSTRACT

This paper seeks to explain why Russian elites’ exposure to online media for their news contributed to stronger pro-American attitudes than reliance on traditional media. Two causal mechanisms are tested using a repeated cross-section of elite surveys. One operates at the level of attitudes and is suggested by the field of political communication; the other emerges from the literature on cognitive psychology and operates at the level of beliefs by providing a cognitive map through which individuals process information and reach conclusions. I find that both mechanisms are relevant, with framing effects being particularly important to hardliners’ perceptions of security threats.

摘要

本文试图解释为什么俄罗斯精英们因其新闻而接触在线媒体，而不是依靠传统媒体，而导致了更强的亲美态度。使用精英调查的重复横截面测试了两种因果机制。一种是从态度的角度出发，并在政治传播领域提出建议；另一种则来自认知心理学的文献，并通过提供个人对信息进行处理并得出结论的认知图，在信念层面上发挥作用。我发现这两种机制都是相关的，成帧效应对于强硬派对安全威胁的认识特别重要。