Motivated reasoning and culturalcognition theory in the Canadian

contextSimon J. Kiss, Wilfrid Laurier UniversityErick Lachapelle, Universtié de Montréal

Eric Montpetit, Université de Montréal

Cultural Theory

• Not characteristics of nations or ethnicity

• A functionally related pattern of social relations and political values and beliefs about human and physical nature

• roots are in the functionalist sociology of Emile Durkheim

Two competing conceptualizations of cultural theory

Cultural Theory

Cultural Theory

• Bureaucracies (hierarchy), markets (individualism) and flat forms of organizations (egalitarianism) ``think’’, produce and then sustained by ways of looking at the world,

• Individuals internalize these external social relations

• Provides a theoretical explanation for where preferences come from

Two competing conceptualizations of cultural theoryCultural Cognition Theory

Cultural Cognition Theory• Individuals use psychological heuristics to process

information in variable ways (e.g. biased assimilation of information identity protection)

• This leads to variation in risk perception among populations

• No claims about the origins of beliefs, assumed to be fundamental

Cultural Cognition Theory

Cultural Cognition Theory Applicability in Canada?

• United StatesKahan, D.M., H. Jenkins Smith, and D Braman. 2011. “Cultural Cognition of Scientific

Consensus.” Journal Of Risk Research 14(2): 147–74.

• CanadaDragojlovic, Nick, and Edna Einsiedel. 2014. “The Polarization of Public Opinion on

Biofuels in North America: Key Drivers and Future Trends.” Biofuels 5(3): 233–47.

• QuebecLachapelle, E, É Montpetit, and J P Gauvin. 2014. “Public Perceptions of Expert Credibility

on Policy Issues: the Role of Expert Framing and Political Worldviews.” Policy Studies Journal.

• Waterloo, OntarioPerrella, Andrea, and Simon J Kiss. “Risk Perception, Psychological Heuristics and the

Water Fluoridation Controversy.” Canadian Journal of Public Health 106(4).

Cultural Cognition Theory

Cultural Cognition Theory

Cultural Cognition Theory

Reliability of Cultural Cognition Theory Questions in Canada?

Conclusions• Cultural cognition is one variant of broader cultural

theory.

• Serious questions about the reliability and validity of cultural cognition questions applicability in Canada

• We are developing questions that are sensitive to the Canadian context that

• Initial results suggest these are highly correlated in theoretically predicted ways with patterns of risk perception