Partisan Bias in Factual Beliefs About Politics

73 Pages Posted: 1 Jun 2013 Last revised: 19 Feb 2023

See all articles by John G. Bullock

John G. Bullock

Northwestern University - Department of Political Science

Alan Gerber

Yale University - Department of Political Science; Yale University - Cowles Foundation

Seth Hill

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Political Science

Gregory Huber

Yale University - Department of Political Science

Date Written: May 2013

Abstract

Partisanship seems to affect factual beliefs about politics. For example, Republicans are more likely than Democrats to say that the deficit rose during the Clinton administration; Democrats are more likely to say that inflation rose under Reagan. We investigate whether such patterns reflect differing beliefs among partisans or instead reflect a desire to praise one party or criticize another. We develop a model of partisan survey response and report two experiments that are based on the model. The experiments show that small payments for correct and "don't know" responses sharply diminish the gap between Democrats and Republicans in responses to "partisan" factual questions. The results suggest that the apparent differences in factual beliefs between members of different parties may be more illusory than real.

Suggested Citation

Bullock, John G. and Gerber, Alan and Hill, Seth and Huber, Gregory, Partisan Bias in Factual Beliefs About Politics (May 2013). NBER Working Paper No. w19080, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=2272939

John G. Bullock (Contact Author)

Northwestern University - Department of Political Science ( email )

601 University Place (Scott Hall)
Evanston, IL 60201
United States

Alan Gerber

Yale University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Box 208269
New Haven, DC 06520-8269
United States
203-432-5232 (Phone)

Yale University - Cowles Foundation

Box 208281
New Haven, CT 06520-8281
United States

Seth Hill

University of California, San Diego (UCSD) - Department of Political Science ( email )

9500 Gilman Drive
Code 0521
La Jolla, CA 92093-0521
United States

Gregory Huber

Yale University - Department of Political Science ( email )

Box 208269
New Haven, DC 06520-8269
United States

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