What is rational ignorance and its effect on public opinion?

• A. Voters may abstain from seeking information on low-salience issues because costs exceed benefits; rely on heuristics or party cues
• B. Voters always seek complete information
• C. Voters ignore high-salience issues
• D. Voters are rational only when wealth is high

Answer: (A)

Rational ignorance is the idea that for many issues, the personal benefit of becoming informed is small while the cost of obtaining that information (time, effort, monetary resources) is real. So voters may choose not to learn more and instead rely on simple signals—party cues, trusted spokespeople, or heuristics—to guide their opinions. This means public opinion on low-salience issues often reflects these cues rather than well-developed, factual understanding. When an issue is highly salient, the incentive to seek information increases, so people are more likely to look up facts and form more informed views. The other statements don’t fit this idea because learning complete information isn’t assumed, high-salience issues aren’t typically ignored, and rationality isn’t defined by wealth alone.