The Messenger Overwhelming the Message: Ideological Cues and Perceptions of Bias in Television News

Survey research has demonstrated that citizens perceive ideological bias in television news, specifically with regard to CNN and Fox News Channel (FNC), which allegedly represent the liberal and conservative viewpoint, respectively. In this paper I argue that attaching the CNN and FNC labels to news stories sends an ideological cue to the viewer regarding the content of the story. Utilizing an experimental design that allows manipulation of the network attribution of actual FNC and CNN content, I am able to demonstrate that the CNN and FNC labels function as ideological signals to the viewer, with this signal being most pronounced among ideologues whose views are supposedly at odds with those attributed to the network.

Non-Contingent Success Reduces People’s Desire for Processes that Adhere to Principles of Fairness

A central tenet of justice theory and research is that people prefer decisions to be made with processes that adhere to principles of fairness. The present research identified a boundary condition for this general tendency. Across three studies, we found that people who experienced non-contingent success had less of a desire for fair processes relative to their counterparts who experienced contingent success. Furthermore, results attributable to other independent variables, namely regulatory focus in Study 2 and self-affirmation in Study 3, shed light on the underlying mechanism: people experience non-contingent success as self-threatening and lower their desire for processes that adhere to fairness in the service of protecting themselves against the threat. Theoretical implications are discussed as are limitations of the studies and suggestions for future research.     

The Political Resurrection of Russian Governors

Elections for all 83 Russian governors were reinstated in Russia in 2012, seven years after they had been suspended. The democratic reform coincided with renewed political activism in Russia since December 2011, but the reform was as much a belated recognition of the shortcomings and failures from appointing Russian governors. Pragmatic necessity and not democratic conversion was the determining factor. Based on the first elections in October 2012, the reform will have only a limited effect over the next few years on democratic change in Russia, at most placating liberal and regional demands while consolidating personal rule under Putin.     

State Power and Ideology in Britain: Mrs Thatcher's Privatization Programme

State-centred theory, a leading exemplar of the new institutionalism, assumes the separation of state from society and objectivity from subjectivity. This epistemological stance supports a structural analysis which holds that the state is an actor in its own right, that the state has distinctive interests, and that state capacity depends on strong institutions and weak societal opposition. Yet the case of the Thatcher governments'ideologically motivated privatization programme challenges the statists'hypotheses and epistemology. Rather, the making of British privatization policy supports the view that the way political actors form and use ideas is important in explaining state power and in defending the liberal democratic vision of mankind as the maker of history.     

Parental Self-Efficacy and Bullying in Elementary School

This study investigated associations of general and specific parental self-efficacy factors with bullying and peer victimization behaviors among 142 fourth and fifth graders and their parents. Using structural equation modeling, exploratory factor analysis was used to examine one general parenting self-efficacy measure and a bullying-specific parent self-efficacy measure. The latter produced two unique factors: (a) self-efficacy to know when one’s child is bullied, and (b) self-efficacy to respond to one’s child being bullied. Child reports of bullying and peer victimization were simultaneously regressed on the three (i.e., one general and two specific) parent self-efficacy factors. Findings revealed that parental self-efficacy to know when one’s child is bullied was uniquely and negatively associated with both bullying and victimization. Additionally, and contrary to expectations, parental self-efficacy to respond when one’s child is being bullied was uniquely and positively associated with victimization.