政治學者與傳播學者大多同意，媒體在影響選民偏好形成的過程中扮演重要角色。然而，選民並非盡如假設，被動地等待媒體來形塑自己的偏好。經驗觀察發現，有些選民會主動地選擇資訊來源。選擇性過程 (selective processes)的相關理論（包括了選擇性接觸、選擇性認知和選擇性記憶等）可以視為研究選民如何處理生活中多元的政治訊息研究的開端。本文聚焦在選擇性接觸理論，該理論指出，選民面對多元的資訊時將會「避重就輕」，選擇性地接收自己聽得進去、看得進去的訊息。這個理論建基於對美國選民的研究，在國內民眾使政論節目行為上適用的程度尚未經過進一步檢證。驗證這個理論的第一步便是確認選擇性接觸現象是否發生在選民（或是特定選民）身上，大選期間往往是這個選擇性接觸現象最容易被觀察到的時候，因此，本研究將使用總統大選前夕收集的全國性面訪資料 (TEDS2008L, N=1,240)來分析有政黨傾向的選民是否如理論預期般出現選擇性接觸媒體的傾向，以及理論所提供的變數具有多大程度的解釋力。分析的第一部分先以描述性統計呈現選擇性接觸的現象與選民政黨認同之間的相關性，第二部分進一步以二元勝算對數分析(binary logistic regression)的方法檢視政治立場是否如理論預期般會提高選民選擇性接觸媒體的可能性。本文的發現確認了理論的預期，並進一步指出未來研究可以著力之處。

Political scientists and communication scholars agree that news media play an important role in influencing and shaping one’s political preferences. However, it is also known that individuals are not waiting for being changed by the news media; instead, some are active in choosing news sources. This selective process has been discussed and confirmed since the 1960s in American studies but has not been empirically examined in Taiwan’s context. The theory of selective exposure suggests that voters, particularly those politically knowledgeable, are more likely to process information selectively, including selective exposure, selective perception, and selective retention. This study employs data collected between January and March, 2008, the campaign season of the presidential election, and analyzes the relationship between partisanship and selective exposure. The analysis also includes a regression of selective exposure on both partisanship and partisan strength. The results confirm the theoretical expectations, and an agenda of research on this media use behavior is proposed.