Turning off Populism? Applying the Theory of Motivated Information Management on Political Information Avoidance

Informed citizens play a critical role in deliberative democracy. However, contemporary challenges in the political information environment, including digitalization, fragmentation, and misinformation, can contribute to political information avoidance. This study investigates the predictors of the decision-making process leading to disengagement from information about populism. The Theory of Motivated Information Management (TMIM) was applied to examine the manner in which uncertainty discrepancies give rise to political information avoidance through emotions such as anxiety and hope, as well as citizens’ efficacy and outcome assessments. The results of an online survey of 456 German residents indicated that anxiety and hope were indirectly associated with information avoidance through efficacy assessments. In contrast, outcome expectancies were not associated with political information avoidance. This research sheds light on the decision-making processes underlying political information avoidance, providing a promising starting point for theory specification.