Exploring political compromise in the new media environment: The interaction effects of social media use and the Big Five personality traits

Abstract

Using nationally representative survey data from the United States, we explored how social media use influences the formation of attitudes toward political compromise. We also analyzed the moderating effects of the Big Five personality traits and individual preference for living in a homogeneous or heterogeneous community on the relationship between social media use and political compromise. The results revealed that a preference for living in a heterogeneous community, where most residents have different opinions on politics, related positively to favorable attitudes toward political compromise. Moreover, two of the Big Five personality traits, agreeableness and conscientiousness, moderated the influence of social media use on attitudes toward political compromise. These findings suggest that social media use has differential effects on the formation of attitudes toward political compromise, depending on personality traits, rather than having a uniform influence. The results and corresponding implications are discussed in detail. (C) 2016 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.