Essays on the Causes and Consequences of Political Misperceptions

A functioning democracy relies on an informed electorate making well-reasoned decisions. Political misperceptions, however, can lead individuals, communities, and even policymakers to take misguided actions in election, political discourse, and designing and implementing policies. In the face of the widespread of misinformation, this dissertation focuses on understanding the causes and consequences of political misperceptions of both the public and elites, i.e., elected officials. From a series of experiments, I draw three main conclusions. First, information sources perceived as credible can be a mechanism for believing misinformation when people have a goal to be accurate. Second, political misperceptions can be reduced on policy issues that people find personally important. Third, elected officials have misperceptions themselves, but their political misperceptions can be corrected by acquiring accurate information. These questions and findings have taken on increasing importance with concerns about the spread of misinformation and misperceptions.