From Rudeness to Reflection? Elite Political Incivility Increases Attention but Does Not Lead to More Reflective Thought

Despite lots of concern about political incivility’s negative democratic consequences, some also believe that uncivil political communication can have a beneficial outcome, by adding the necessary drama that is required to grab attention and entertain in today’s overheated media landscape. So, when politicians engage in uncivil, conflict-laden discourse, this may fulfill a democratic purpose by compelling the public to tune-in. This paper tests whether the captivating nature of politicians’ incivility can build further political engagement, by spurring citizens to reason about what is being said. A pre-registered survey experiment was conducted to investigate whether incivility could, in fact, increase reasoning and captivation (i.e. attention and entertainment). The treatment consisted of reading either a civil or an uncivil fragment from a fictional televised election debate between two politicians. Effects on citizens’ substantive reasoning capacity (perceived reflective thought and measured cognitive complexity) and captivation (perceived attention and entertainment) were measured. Findings indicate a positive effect of incivility on attention, which does not go hand in hand with increased entertainment and reflective thought. These results provide deeper insight into the effects of norm-violating elite political discourse: what drives citizens away from politics and what draws them in.