In a world where political discourse often dominates social media, news platforms, and dinner table conversations, understanding the relationship between political orientation and factual political knowledge has never been more pertinent. A recent study spanning six continents has delved into this complex association, revealing findings that challenge widely held assumptions about political extremism and knowledge. The research was published in Scientific Reports.
Individuals with strong political opinions often perceive themselves as more informed than those holding more moderate views. This perception of knowledge superiority, noted across the political spectrum, prompted researchers to investigate the actual correlation between political orientation and political knowledge.
“When I read online comments on news articles or posts on X [formerly known as Twitter], I often get the impression that people with outspoken political opinions believe they know better or possess more knowledge than those with different opinions,” said study author Jonas De keersmaecker, a postdoctoral researcher at Ghent University and visiting researcher at Esade Business School.
“Additionally, there are also cool papers by Kaitlin Raimi and colleagues, as well as by Elizabeth Harris and Jay Van Bavel, which demonstrate that people at both ends of the political spectrum tend to feel superior. Therefore, I wanted to test whether they also exhibit more political knowledge.”
For their study, De keersmaecker and his colleagues pooled a vast array of data from 45 countries. This effort involved integrating public opinion data from nationally representative samples, including two datasets specifically designed and collected by the research team from Spain and New Zealand, with additional data from 43 other publicly available datasets.
To measure political knowledge, the researchers employed a multi-item test that queried participants on general political facts relevant to their respective countries. The questions ranged in number from 3 to 21 items, depending on the dataset, and included questions such as identifying the current minister of finance.
The study’s sample was impressively large, totaling 63,544 participants across the selected countries. This extensive sample size was crucial for achieving the statistical power needed to detect and analyze patterns across such a varied set of national contexts.
Contrary to the common assumption that individuals at the political extremes possess greater political knowledge, the study revealed a complex and varied landscape, where this relationship differed significantly across national contexts.
The most prevalent pattern identified across the countries studied was a fourth-degree polynomial curve, described as an inverted W-shape. This pattern suggests that individuals who identify as moderately left-wing or moderately right-wing tend to have higher levels of political knowledge than those positioned at the extremes or the center of the political spectrum. This finding was particularly common in Western countries, though it is important to note that variations existed and this pattern was not exclusive to any single region.
Interestingly, the study also discovered countries where political orientation did not significantly predict political knowledge. This was observed in seven out of the 45 countries analyzed, including diverse geographical regions such as the Dominican Republic, Ireland, Latvia, Philippines, Serbia, South Korea, and Turkey.
In addition to these patterns, the researchers identified other relationships across different countries. For instance, a linear relationship between political orientation and political knowledge was found in 10 countries, with both positive and negative associations observed. This pattern suggests a straightforward increase or decrease in political knowledge corresponding to a move from left to right on the political spectrum or vice versa, particularly prevalent in Latin American countries as well as some European and Asian nations.
A quadratic relationship, suggesting a U-shaped curve, was only found in Austria, indicating that individuals at the political center were more knowledgeable than those at the extremes. Furthermore, a cubic relationship, representing a non-symmetric U-shape, was observed in Hong Kong and Portugal.
The diversity of patterns across countries emphasizes that political knowledge and orientation are influenced by a myriad of factors, including cultural, historical, and socio-political elements unique to each nation.
The findings indicate that “people at the ends of the political spectrum are not more knowledgeable about politics as many assume,” De keersmaecker told PsyPost. “The relationship is more complex, and varies between regions. But also that the relationship between political orientation and knowledge is relatively weak.”
But the study, like all research, includes some caveats. In particular, the diversity of political contexts and the use of different political knowledge measures across countries necessitate cautious interpretation of the findings.
“We relied on public opinion data, which allowed us to examine the relationship across 45 nations,” De keersmaecker explained. “However, as we outline in the paper, this approach also means we had no control on the measures. Longer measures would have been preferable in some countries.”
“Furthermore, the measures of political knowledge focused on factual knowledge, such as identifying the minister of finance. While I believe this is important, exploring ‘political insight’ could be even more interesting. For instance, examining questions like ‘what are the consequences of increasing the minimum wage on economic growth?’ But I am not sure how feasible it is to investigate ‘political insight,’ as even experts debate such topics. Scoring responses accurately will be rather difficult.”
The study, “The association between political orientation and political knowledge in 45 nations,” was authored by Jonas De keersmaecker, Katharina Schmid, Chris G. Sibley, and Danny Osborne.
