Need for Orientation, Selective Exposure, and Attribute Agenda-Setting Effects

Abstract

This study explores the ability of an interaction between need for orientation (NFO) and selective exposure to explain citizen's motivations to seek information from specific media sources and the consequences of this behavior for attribute agenda-setting effects. It draws important conceptual distinctions between the two moderate NFO categories, distinguishing active involvement NFO (high relevance and low uncertainty) from passive involvement NFO (low relevance and high uncertainty). The results suggest that in a political context, people with active involvement NFO are more likely to seek ideologically congruent media sources and more likely to adopt the media's attribute agenda. This study implies that at the second-level agenda setting, the salience of issue or object attributes on the media agenda is more likely to strengthen preexisting attitudes for people with high political interest and strong partisan identity.