What is political and what is not? Illustrating how the salience of abortion in the media shapes public perceptions about its political nature

Bibliographic Data

ID9537599
AuthorsMarta Fraile Maldonado (0000-0002-4123-2874, Instituto de Políticas y Bienes Públicos, corresponding author), Enrique Hernández (0000-0002-9219-9293, Universitat Autonòma de Barcelona)
Year2025
Volume60
Issue4
Pages663-681
Publication date2025-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueActa Politica (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0001-6810 • E-ISSN: 1741-1416
PublisherSpringer Science and Business Media LLC (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1057/s41269-024-00347-5
OpenAlexW4399240333
LanguageEN
Citations received1
References cited42

What is political and what is not? While conventional wisdom in public opinion research assumes a shared understanding of political matters, recent studies have challenged this assumption. In this article, we theorize and analyze how the prominence of abortion in the media affects whether or not citizens consider abortion a political issue. Leveraging the unexpected surge in media attention to abortion regulation in Spanish media during our survey fieldwork we implement an Unexpected Event During Survey Design. Our findings reveal that respondents interviewed after abortion gained salience in the media were 10% points more likely to perceive abortion as a political matter

Abortion · Cognitive psychology · Comparative politics · Epistemology · Media studies · Perception · Political communication · Political philosophy · Political science · Politics · Pregnancy · Salience (neuroscience · Sociology · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Religion and Society Interactions · Social Media and Politics

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Open DOIOpen Access