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Schwarze Kassen, weiße Westen?

Published Online:April 15, 2015https://doi.org/10.1024//0044-3514.34.1.47

Abstract

Zusammenfassung: Die Parteispendenaffäre der christlich-demokratischen Union (CDU) Ende des Jahres 1999 wurde zur Untersuchung selektiver Informationssuche und -bewertungsprozesse im Feld herangezogen. Auf Grundlage der Dissonanztheorie wurde vorhergesagt, dass die Parteispendenaffäre insbesondere bei Wähler/innen der CDU/CSU zu kognitiver Dissonanz führte, welche durch einen verzerrten Umgang mit Informationen abgebaut werden konnte. In Übereinstimmung mit dieser Hypothese zeigten die Ergebnisse, dass CDU/CSU-Wähler/innen im Vergleich zu SPD-Wähler/innen eine stärkere Suche nach konsonanten und eine Vernachlässigung dissonanter Informationen aufwiesen und zugleich konsonante Informationen als wichtiger und interessanter bewerteten. Weiterhin zeigte sich, dass Personen, denen vor der Informationssuche ihre Parteipräferenz bewusst vor Augen geführt wurde, indem sie diese schriftlich darlegen und begründen sollten, im Vergleich zu solchen Personen, die hierzu nicht aufgefordert wurden, nach mehr dissonanten Informationen suchten, - obwohl sie diese bei der Informationsbewertung weiterhin als weniger wichtig bewerteten als die konsonanten Informationen. Dieses Ergebnis wird dahingehend interpretiert, dass Personen, denen Verzerrungen beim Umgang mit Informationen bewusst werden, versuchen gegen zu steuern, um auf diese Weise eine “Illusion der Objektivität” aufrechtzuerhalten. Theoretische und praktische Implikationen der Ergebnisse werden diskutiert.


Summary: We investigated biased information search and evaluation processes in the context of the political party donation scandal of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU) in Germany. According to dissonance theory, the donation scandal increased cognitive dissonance especially among voters of the CDU/CSU. We hypothesized that dissonance aroused by the scandal could be reduced by a biased information search and evaluation of the information. The results supported this hypothesis: Voters of the CDU/CSU compared to SPD (Social Democratic Party) voters showed a stronger preference for consonant than dissonant information and evaluated the former as more important and interesting than the latter. However, people who had to reflect about their party preference and therefore were aware of it searched for more dissonant information compared to people who did not reflect about their party preference. We also found that although those participants searched for more dissonant information, they still considered it to be less important than consonant information. This finding suggests that people who become aware of distortions try to counteract them in order to keep an “illusion of objectivity”. Theoretical and practical implications of the results are discussed.

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