Projection Bias and Youth’s and Parents’ Perceptions of Their Joint Political Discussions

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study investigated the idea that youth’s perceptions of the frequency of family political discussions and of parental political support mostly derive from their own political interest, a form of projection bias. Tests were performed of whether the same bias applies to parents, and whether youth’s and parents’ perceptions of political discussions and political support overlap to only a limited extent. Multivariate multiple regression analyses, combining two age cohorts of adolescent-parent pairs (509 13-year-olds and 541 16-year-olds), supported these expectations, indicating that parents and youth live, at least in part, in different perceptual worlds. These findings explain differences in youth’s and parents’ reports of political interactions, illuminate the theoretical models indicating that family discussions determine whether or not a child is interested in politics, and show the limitations of relying solely on reports of either youth or parents when studying the influence of family political discussions on youth’s political development.