Cogent Social Sciences (Dec 2023)
The role of cognitive elaboration in social media political information consumption and persuasion
Abstract
Social media can be an information dissemination tool to influence the mindset of the recipient based on the message being sent. Political persuasion is a psychological process that results from taking in messages from the media. Through online discussions, there is a cognitive elaboration where there is a deeper debate in an individual about the information received. The purpose of this study is to examine the role of cognitive elaboration in mediating online political discussions against political persuasion. Prior studies have not seen participation in cognitive development as a mental process that plays a role in the persuasion process. The study used a survey method in and around Jakarta, data collection was conducted using questionnaires distributed via social media. Based on the criteria for respondents between the ages of 17 and 64, 495 respondents were obtained. The findings demonstrate that political debates are significantly influenced by social media political information and online news consumption and that cognitive elaboration mediates political discussion of political persuasion.
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