The Engagement Model of Opinion Leadership: Testing Validity Within a European Context |
| |
| Authors: | Nisbet Erik C |
| |
| Institution: | Erik C. Nisbet is a doctoral student in the Department of Communication at Cornell University. His primary research interests are comparative political communication, mass communication, media sociology, and opinion formation. He is also a member of the Media & Society Research Group (http://www.comm.cornell.edu/msrg/msrg.html). |
| |
| Abstract: | Explicating and measuring opinion leadership continues to bean important theoretical topic, as personal influence and interpersonaldiscussion are widely recognized as shaping public opinion andpolitical behavior. However, the concept of opinion leadershiparose out of empirical research conducted primarily within theUSA. Whether it may be applied to other national contexts remainsto be fully explicated. Furthermore, media information-seekingbehaviors of opinion leaders, such as newspaper use or televisionexposure, seem to be culturally contingent based upon the scantcross-national research to date. This paper examines the ecologicaland constructive validity of the engagement model of the opinionleadership developed within the USA. Employing the EuropeanSocial Survey, I apply this model to fifteen European nationsto assess its validity and explore how media information-seekingbehaviors of opinion leaders may vary across national contexts.The findings suggest that the model may be most valid in WesternEuropean nations. Furthermore, the media use and behaviors ofopinion leaders vary greatly across nations in Europe, thoughlevels of interpersonal political discussion and specific individualsocio-psychological traits do not. |
| |
| Keywords: | |
| 本文献已被 Oxford 等数据库收录！ |
|
