Partisan selective exposure and the perceived effectiveness of contentious political actions in Hong Kong

Abstract

This study examines the relationship between political identification and perceived effectiveness of formal political actors and contentious political actions to influence government policy in a polarized city state. Results based on a national survey of 923 citizens showed that identifiers of the pro-democracy parties and those who use pro-democracy news media were more likely to perceive contentious political actions as more effective to influence government while the pattern of findings were the opposite for identifiers of the pro-establishment parties and those who use pro-establishment media. Moreover, there was evidence of partisan selective exposure on subsequent perceptions, such that identifiers were more likely to consume news media congruent to their political stance, which in turn reinforced existing partisan attitudes. Implications of the findings are discussed.