Tadlock, Barry; Flores, Andrew; Haider-Markel, Don; Lewis, Dan; Miller, Patrick; Taylor, Jami K
description
This research project investigates information-seeking behavior in the context of transgender politics. We are interested in the information sources that individuals utilize when forming opinions about transgender issues; how the use of certain information sources affects support for transgender-inclusive policies; and how information-seeking behavior conditions the effects of ideology. We use data from an online national survey, conducted during the summer of 2015. We find that the top three information sources include online news sources, social media, and entertainment-oriented media. We find that other key information sources (i.e., religious texts, religious leaders, and interpersonal contact with LGBT individuals) are significant predictors of policy attitudes. Finally, while ideology has a predictable effect on policy support, its interactive effect with two of the top three information sources is particularly compelling in that social media and online news condition the effect of ideology in opposite directions. We conclude with a discussion of the implications and limitations of our findings.
