Issue Salience and Public Opinion: Are There Consequences of Agenda-Setting?

Recent studies have suggested that agenda-setting may influence not only what we think about, but also what we think. This study examines the correlations between the salience of one issue (the federal budget deficit) and public knowledge, opinion, and behavior, using fall 1988 survey data. It finds statistically significant correlations between issue salience and knowledge about the deficit issue, strength and direction of opinion regarding one possible solution to the issue, and political behavior related to the issue. These correlations remain statistically significant in multiple regression analyses where demographics and media exposure and attention measures are controlled simultaneously and in hierarchical blocks. Taken together, the findings reported here suggest that increased salience of the deficit issue was accompanied by increased knowledge of its possible causes and solutions, stronger opinions, less likelihood of taking a neutral position, and more likelihood of participating in politics through such behavior as signing petitions, voting, attending meetings, and writing letters.