The invented state policy misperceptions in the American public Thorson, Emily A. creator author. text bibliography Electronic books. nyu 2024 2024 monographic eng remote 1 online resource (viii, 170 pages) : illustrations. "Many Americans hold substantial misperceptions about what the government actually does. However, they get the facts wrong not because they are lazy, stupid, or blinded by partisan loyalty. Rather, information about existing policy is largely unavailable to them. News coverage instead prioritizes strategy, novelty, and change. Faced with these gaps in their knowledge, people often engage in inductive reasoning about public policies, especially when they care deeply about a particular issue. They draw on cues from the environment (often including misleading information from elites) and their own cognitive heuristics to make inferences about what the government does. Many of these inferences are incorrect, and taken together they make up what I call the "invented state": widespread misperceptions about public policy. However, correcting these policy misperceptions is highly effective at reducing false beliefs. In addition, providing people with corrective information has downstream effects on attitudes. When they learn how policies - including Social Security, refugee policy, and TANF - really work, their approval of these policies increases, and they also shift their policy priorities. Contrary to pundits' assumptions of a public who is largely indifferent to policy, there is a deep public desire to learn basic facts about how the government works"-- Introduction : misperceptions that matter -- The contours of the invented state -- The policy gap in the information environment -- The construction of beliefs about policy -- How people interpret policy information -- Policy misperceptions and competence -- Dismantling the invented state -- Conclusion : what comes next? Emily Thorson. Includes bibliographical references and index. n-us--- Political culture United States Misinformation United States Polarization (Social sciences) Political aspects United States Public opinion United States United States Politics and government 21st century United States Politics and government Public opinion Mésinformation États-Unis Polarisation collective Aspect politique États-Unis Opinion publique États-Unis États-Unis Politique et gouvernement Opinion publique Misinformation Political culture Politics and government Public opinion Public opinion United States Society & culture: general Society 2000-2099 fast JK1726 .T54 2024 306.20973 Invented state Thorson, Emily A. New York : Oxford University Press, 2024 (DLC) 2023033280 (OCoLC) 1395554336 Journalism and political communication unbound 0197512356 9780197512340 0197512348 9780197512357 9780197512333 9780197512326 0197512364 9780197512364 2023033281 http://proxy.library.tamu.edu/login?url=https://academic.oup.com/book/55770 DLC 230829 20260318165922.5 in00005698659 eng