Explaining the Gap: The Interaction of Gender and News Enjoyment in Predicting Political Knowledge

Abstract

This study investigated emotion as a potential explanation for the omnipresent gender gap in political knowledge. Past studies have examined methodological issues, socioeconomic attributes, and media use as possible contributors, but have not included enjoyment of media use as a factor in the relation between gender and political knowledge. Using 2007 data from the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, it was found that, in line with uses and gratifications theory, enjoyment did indeed play a role in the acquisition of political information, and increased enjoyment resulted in higher political knowledge. This relation was stronger for women than for men.