The Effects of Generational Identification Accessibility and Normative Fit on Hostile Media Perception

This study examined the effects of generational identification of young South Koreans on hostile media perception, with an emphasis on the accessibility of the social categorization and the fit between the political ideology of the generation group and that of individual members. A pretest established that generational identification was as strong among young South Koreans as their nationality or gender identification. It also confirmed that the generational identification was equally strong among liberals and conservatives, although the generation group's political norm is liberalism. In a subsequent experiment, young South Koreans perceived a political news article more biased against their position, when their generational categorization was made accessible. Also, the hostile media perception was more pronounced among liberals whose political predisposition was a good fit with the normative political predisposition of their generation group. A regression analysis revealed that the fit, but neither accessibility nor hostile media perception exerted a significant impact on their intention to engage in political talk with their generational group members.