As recent debates about the role of social media in election outcomes suggest, understanding the association between information processing skills and political efficacy in the U.S. is a significant inquiry for adult and continuing education. Data from the Programme for the International Assessment of Adult Competencies were used to explore relationships between U.S. participants’ information processing skills and political efficacy. Given the impact of certain demographic characteristics on political efficacy, the study also analyzed whether the relationship between information processing skills and self-reported political efficacy varied across levels of cultural engagement, formal educational attainment, or immigrant status. The results illustrate that higher levels of literacy, numeracy, and problem solving in technology-rich environments are associated with higher political efficacy for U.S. participants. Our research is framed in both cognitive and critical lenses, and we provide implications for practice in adult and continuing education settings.

中文翻译：

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探索美国成年人的信息处理能力和政治效能

正如最近有关社交媒体在选举结果中作用的辩论所暗示的那样，了解美国的信息处理技能与政治效能之间的关联对成年人和继续教育是一项重要的要求。来自《成人能力国际评估计划》的数据被用来探讨美国参与者的信息处理能力与政治效能之间的关系。考虑到某些人口统计学特征对政治效能的影响，该研究还分析了信息处理技能与自我报告的政治效能之间的关系是否在文化参与，正式教育程度或移民身份水平之间有所不同。结果表明，较高的识字，计算能力，在技​​术含量高的环境中解决问题与提高美国参与者的政治效力有关。我们的研究从认知和批评两个角度进行，我们为成人和继续教育环境中的实践提供了启示。