USING PROCESS MODELING TO EXPLORE THE ROLES OF IDEOLOGY, EDUCATION AND PARTISAN MEDIA USE IN THE BELIEF IN ‘DEATH PANELS’

Abstract

As late as March of 2014, nearly one in three Americans still believed the Affordable Care Act would create "death panels" empowered to designate individuals as too ill or elderly to qualify for health care, a myth promoted in 2009 by one-time Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin. Building on previous research, this study tested how well belief in "death panels" could be predicted by a process model including measures of political ideology, education, and attention to Fox News. In keeping with previous research, the results suggested education tended to reduce misperception, especially among less conservative individuals, and that attention to Fox News positively mediated the positive relationship between conservative ideology and misperception. But inconsistent with previous research, the analysis found no evidence that education moderated this mediation. Theoretical implications are discussed, along with suggestions for future research.