The Effect of Selective Exposure to Internet Information on Political Attitudes during the Election Period

2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

• Project/Area Number: 21K01340
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Scientific Research (C)
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Section: 一般
• Review Section: Basic Section 06010:Politics-related
• Research Institution: Kansai Gaidai University
• Principal Investigator: Shirasaki Mamoru 関西外国語大学, 外国語学部, 准教授 (30362560)
• Project Period (FY): 2021-04-01 – 2024-03-31
• Keywords: Super Learner / TMLE / 機械学習 / 認知領域の戦い / パネル調査 / 自然実験 / 因果媒介分析 / 選択的メディア接触

Outline of Final Research Achievements

In the House of Councillors election of 2022, we conducted two panel surveys, one just before the announcement date and the other just after the voting date. Through this election, we will elucidate the effects of media contact during the election period on changes in political awareness prior to the announcement date. As research results, we published two papers in academic journals and gave an oral presentation of the research results at an academic conference in 2023. These are the results of our empirical research. In addition to this, two papers published in the bulletin of the university to which I belong as theoretical research deal with theoretical research to organize the previous results on the effects of media contact on political consciousness, taking into account the effects of interpersonal contact.

Free Research Field

政治学

Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements

選挙期間におけるマスメディアとインターネットメディアとの接触が政治意識におよぼす影響を考察した。この際、政治意識の形成過程を考慮した上での推定精度の向上を図り、Targeted Maximum Likelihood Estimator（TMLE) に基づくSuper Learnerを用いた因果媒介分析を行う。特に、機械学習・Super Learnerに基づく因果媒介分析を試みるなど、新規の研究手法に取り組んだ点は研究の特長である。また、主題に関してはウクライナ戦争と安全保障という焦眉の急と言える問題を分析した点は、東アジアの不安定な現状に鑑みたとき、現実的な意義を有するであろう。