Rüdiger Schmitt-Beck: 
Mass Communication, Personal Communication and Vote Choice.
ZUMA-Arbeitsbericht Nr. 2001/01

Abstract

In recent years, both mass communication and personal communication have attracted increased interest as sources of persuasive information which influences individual voting decisions. However, few efforts have so far been undertaken to investigate how mass communication and personal communication interact with regard to electoral decision-making. Katz/Lazarsfeld's (1955) 'filter hypothesis' maintains that personal communication mediates the influence of mass communication on individual voters, reinforcing or blocking the impact of media information, depending on the evaluative implications of that information and on the political structure of voters' discussant networks. The paper examines this hypothesis, using comparable national election-survey data from Britain, Spain, the United States and West Germany. Based on detailled information about structures and political content of voters' discussant networks, about their media exposure, and about the content of the media used, the filter hypothesis is empirically corroborated. In addition, qualifications pertaining to the importance of differing formats of party systems are made.

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