Images of controversy: Examining cognition of hydraulic fracturing among policy elites and the general public

Rachael M. Moyer

Review of Policy Research, 2022, vol. 39, issue 4, 441-467

Abstract: Highly contested energy and environmental policy issues are often characterized by entrenched policy debates and inconsistent or failed policies. This study examines the cognition of polarized policy positions in an effort to explain what factors influence the mental models’ individuals use to think about hydraulic fracturing and adopted policy positions on the controversial issue of hydraulic fracturing. The study first examines the role of affect on the use of “cognitive policy images” or the individual‐level mental models used to represent policy positions on hydraulic fracturing using structural topic modeling. Next, regression analysis is used to estimate the effects of theoretically relevant factors on cognition. While previous studies have focused on public attitudes, this study takes a comparative approach to examine policy elite and public cognition around this controversial issue. A comparative approach not only points to subtle differences in how elites and members of the general public cognitively process this controversial policy issue but also provides some insight into how political sophistication factors into cognition and influences policy positions on hydraulic fracturing practices. Conclusions discuss some practical, methodological, and theoretical implications of this work.

Date: 2022
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