Scholarship on informal discussion of politics and current events has mainly focused on its cognitive, attitudinal, and behavioral effects. In comparison, fewer studies have addressed the antecedents of political talk. Using 2-wave U.S. panel survey data, this study sheds light over 2 sets of motivations people may have for engaging in political conversation: civic-oriented and social-oriented goals; and their effects over civic participation. Using structural equation modeling, results suggest that both civic and social motivations are positive predictors of frequency of political discussion, and indirectly associated with civic engagement. From a theoretical perspective, these findings cast political talk as a more complex phenomenon than what deliberative theory suggests, and point to social motivations as an additional path to civic life.

中文翻译：

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政治讨论的动机：公民参与的前因和后果

关于政治和时事的非正式讨论的奖学金主要集中在其认知，态度和行为影响上。相比之下，很少有研究涉及政治对话的前身。这项研究使用2波美国小组调查数据，阐明了人们可能参与政治对话的两种动机：以公民为导向和以社会为导向的目标；及其对公民参与的影响。使用结构方程模型，结果表明，公民动机和社会动机都是政治讨论频率的积极预测因素，并且与公民参与度间接相关。从理论的角度来看，这些发现将政治言论视为比审议理论所建议的更为复杂的现象，并指出社会动机是通往公民生活的另一条道路。