What is it about?
Do Democrats and Republicans just believe what they want about real-world changes in the economy, the deficit, poverty, and crime rates? Or do they actually learn? The answer is both. Republicans were much more likely than Democrats to think things got better, and that difference was greater among those with higher political knowledge. But as the economy worsened in 2008, Republicans and Democrats agreed more that the economy was getting worse. Also: Political knowledge and education generally led to more accurate perceptions, while TV news use led to more pessimistic perceptions on every issue.
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Why is it important?
In an age of fake news, the finding that a real-world crisis can create a partisan consensus on reality is reassuring. But there is also evidence here of partisan polarization of beliefs.
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This page is a summary of: Motivated Reasoning, Accuracy, and Updating in Perceptions of Bush's Legacy*, Social Science Quarterly, May 2016, Wiley,
DOI: 10.1111/ssqu.12301.
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