Finding critical trusters: A response pattern model of political trust

2018 ◽  
Vol 59 (2) ◽  
pp. 110-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Cary Wu ◽  
Rima Wilkes
Keyword(s):  
Response Pattern ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Us ◽  
Specific Assessment ◽  
The Individual ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Western Democracies

How can declining political trust in Western democracies be explained, especially, when it remains stable and high in authoritarian societies? Underlying this question is a debate about whether political trust represents a diffuse orientation toward the political system as a whole or a specific assessment of incumbent performance. This article argues that the solution requires a move away from existing approaches that focus on question content and instead thinking about the pattern of responses. While previous work assumes that individuals display both specific and diffuse trust, we argue that the individual patterning of responses indicates either diffuse or specific trust but not both. We develop a response pattern model and use it to identify three types of individuals – critical trusters (specific trust), compliants (diffuse trust), and cynics (diffuse distrust). Tests of the model with the World Values Survey (WVS) and the US General Social Survey (GSS) show that democracies have a higher proportion of critical trusters than other systems of government and that the proportion of critical trusters has increased over time in the United States. The response pattern model directly connects cross-national and longitudinal empirical evidence to theory about the relationship between democracy and different types of trust.

In Government We Distrust: Citizen Skepticism and Democracy in the United States

The Forum ◽  
2015 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Joseph Gershtenson ◽  
Dennis L. Plane
Keyword(s):  
General Social Survey ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Past ◽  
Past Half Century ◽  
The Us ◽  
Using Data ◽  
Past Half ◽  
American Thought

AbstractVirtually all accounts of political trust in the US regard declining trust over the past half-century to be troubling. We argue that these interpretations are in need of reassessment since they often are rooted in the normatively questionable assumption that higher trust is always desirable. We review traditions in democratic theory and American thought extolling the virtues of skepticism and distrust of government and discuss potential problems in common trust measures and conclusions based on them. Using data from the 2014 General Social Survey, we explore relationships between trust, commitment to being vigilant watchdogs of government, and attitudes and behaviors generally considered desirable for a healthy democracy. Our findings indicate that higher trust is not always accompanied by characteristics of good democratic citizens. In fact, it is those individuals who exhibit lower levels of trust with high levels of vigilance who are most politically engaged. Thus, healthy skepticism of government may contribute to the vitality of democracy.

The Arts as a Polarized Issue and the Role of Political Trust in Promoting the Arts: Evidence From the United States

2021 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 85-97
Author(s):  
Lim Jae Young ◽  
Woo Harin
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Strong Support ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Arts ◽  
Long Time ◽  
Moderating Role

The arts in the United States, for a long time received strong support from both sides of the political aisle. However, in recent years, the arts have been transformed into a partisan issue that pits conservatives against liberals. The article points to the importance of political trust as a means of helping conservatives overcome their ideological inclinations and support the arts. Scholars argue that political trust influences more strongly individuals who perceive a given policy to be one that imposes ideological risks for them compared with those without such risks. Focusing on the moderating role of political trust, the article examines whether political trust can help alleviate the conservatives’ hostility to the arts. Relying on the 2016 General Social Survey, the article finds that conservatives have no direct relationship with arts spending, but they will be more likely to support arts spending when this is contingent upon political trust.

National identity, a blessing or a curse? The divergent links from national attachment, pride, and chauvinism to social and political trust

2020 ◽  
Vol 12 (4) ◽  
pp. 449-468 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gina Gustavsson ◽  
Ludvig Stendahl
Keyword(s):  
National Identity ◽  
Social Identity Theory ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Internet Studies ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Us ◽  
National Attachment

AbstractIs it true that national identity increases trust, as liberal nationalists assume? Recent research has studied this side of the ‘national identity argument’ by focusing on conceptions of the content of national identity (often civic or ethnic) and their links to social, rather than political, trust. This paper argues that if we take social identity theory seriously, however, we need to complement this picture by asking how varying the strength – rather than the content – of a person’s sense of their national identity affects both their social and political trust. We break down the different dimensions of national identity, hypothesizing and empirically verifying that there are divergent links from national attachment, national pride, and national chauvinism to social and political trust. We do so with data from the US (General Social Survey) and the Netherlands (Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences ), thus expanding current knowledge of national identity and trust to a highly relevant yet neglected European case.

Political Identity and Confidence in Science and Religion in the United States

2020 ◽  
Vol 81 (4) ◽  
pp. 439-461
Author(s):  
Timothy L O’Brien ◽  
Shiri Noy
Keyword(s):  
United States ◽  
Political Identity ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Science And Religion ◽  
Public Perceptions ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Political Identities ◽  
Moral Claims ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract This article investigates changes in public perceptions of science and religion in the United States between 1973 and 2018. We argue that the deepening ties between science and religion and opposing moral claims reconfigured the relationship between political identities and confidence in science and religion during this period. Our analysis of 30 waves of General Social Survey data finds that while Republicans once were more likely than Democrats to be more confident in science than religion, Democrats are now more likely to than Republicans. And, while Democrats used to be more likely than Republicans to be more confident in religion than science, this difference also reversed. These findings underscore the growing importance of political identities as predictors of confidence in science and religion and suggest that the politicization of science and religion fueled a perception that they provide not just alternative frameworks but opposing ones.

scholarly journals Who engages in the arts in the United States? A comparison of several types of engagement using data from The General Social Survey

2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica K. Bone ◽  
Feifei Bu ◽  
Meg E. Fluharty ◽  
Elise Paul ◽  
Jill K. Sonke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Classical Music ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Gradient ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Us ◽  
Arts Engagement

Abstract Background Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While it is generally accepted that there is a social gradient in traditional arts and cultural activities, such as attending classical music performances and museums, previous studies of arts engagement in the US have not adequately investigated whether similar demographic and socioeconomic factors are related to other forms of arts engagement. Methods Using cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (GSS) in the US, we examined which demographic, socioeconomic, residential, and health factors were associated with attendance at arts events, participation in arts activities, membership of creative groups, and being interested in (but not attending) arts events. We combined data from 1993 to 2016 in four analytical samples with a sample size of 8684 for arts events, 4372 for arts activities, 4268 for creative groups, and 2061 for interested non-attendees. Data were analysed using logistic regression. Results More education was associated with increased levels of all types of arts engagement. Parental education demonstrated a similar association. Being female, compared to male, was also consistently associated with higher levels of engagement. Attendance at arts events was lower in participants with lower income and social class, poorer health, and those living in less urban areas. However, these factors were not associated with participation in arts activities or creative groups or being an interested non-attendee. Conclusions Overall, we found evidence for a social gradient in attendance at arts events, which was not as pronounced in participation in arts activities or creative groups or interest in arts events. Given the many benefits of engagement in the arts for education, health, and wider welfare, our findings demonstrate the importance of identifying factors to reduce barriers to participation in the arts across all groups in society.

scholarly journals Education and Attitudes toward Interpersonal and State-Sanctioned Violence

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Landon Schnabel
Keyword(s):  
Violence Against Women ◽  
Interpersonal Violence ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Attitudes ◽  
American Education ◽  
World Values Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The World ◽  
The Relationship

The link between education and liberal attitudes is one of the most consistent findings in public opinion research, but the theoretical explanations for this relationship warrant additional attention. Previous work suggested that the relationship is due to education socializing students to the “official culture” of the United States. This study uses the World Values Survey and General Social Survey to further develop this theory and test whether it applies to Americans’ attitudes toward justifiable violence. I find that Americans with more education are less likely to say that interpersonal violence—against women, children, and other individuals—can be justifiable. However, they are more likely to say that state-sanctioned violence—war and police violence—can be justifiable. These patterns are consistent with a modified socialization model of education and social attitudes. I conclude that American education socializes people to establishment culture, identity, and interests, which differentiate between unacceptable interpersonal violence and ostensibly acceptable state-sanctioned violence.

Does Changing a Light Bulb Lead to Changing the World? Political Action and the Conscious Consumer

2012 ◽  
Vol 644 (1) ◽  
pp. 160-190 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret M. Willis ◽  
Juliet B. Schor
Keyword(s):  
Political Action ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Political Engagement ◽  
The United States ◽  
Ordinary Least Squares ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Past ◽  
Political Consumption ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
Political Actions

As the prevalence of “conscious” consumption has grown, questions have arisen about its relationship to political action. An influential argument holds that political consumption individualizes responsibility for environmental degradation and “crowds out” genuine forms of activism. While European and Canadian empirical research contradicts this perspective, finding that conscious consumption and political engagement are positively connected, no studies of this relationship have been conducted for the United States. This article presents ordinary least squares (OLS) regression models for two datasets, the 2004 General Social Survey and a detailed survey of approximately 2,200 conscious consumers conducted by the authors, to assess the nature of the relationship between conscious consumption and political activism. The authors find that measures of conscious consumption are significantly and positively related to political action, even when controlling for political involvement in the past. The results suggest that greater levels of political consumption are positively related to a range of political actions.

scholarly journals Can Political Trust Weaken the Relationship between Perceived Environmental Threats and Perceived Nuclear Threats? Evidence from South Korea

2021 ◽  
Vol 18 (18) ◽  
pp. 9816
Author(s):  
Jaeyoung Lim ◽  
Kuk-Kyoung Moon
Keyword(s):  
Nuclear Power ◽  
Power Plants ◽  
Nuclear Power Plants ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Environmental Threats ◽  
The Government ◽  
High Level ◽  
The Relationship

As environmental movements rage, how to handle nuclear power plants has become a hotly contested issue globally. While concerns about nuclear power plants are warranted, nuclear power plants may play a crucial role in climate change discourse. In this context, this study examines the connections between individuals’ perceived environmental threats and their perceptions of the environmental threats posed by nuclear power plants (perceived nuclear threats). In particular, the study explores whether such connections are moderated by individuals’ level of political trust, such that political trust helps weaken perceptions of threats individuals may feel from nuclear power plants. Using the 2014 Korean General Social Survey and ordered probit, this study confirmed that individuals’ perceived environmental threats were positively associated with their perceived nuclear threats. Additionally, individuals with a high level of trust in the government can help alleviate the positive link between individuals’ perceived environmental threats and perceived nuclear threats.

scholarly journals Who engages in the arts in the United States? A comparison of three types of engagement using data from the General Social Survey

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jessica Katherine Bone ◽  
Feifei Bu ◽  
Meg Fluharty ◽  
Elise Paul ◽  
Jill Sonke ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Urban Areas ◽  
Parental Education ◽  
Social Inequalities ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
The United States ◽  
Social Gradient ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
The Arts ◽  
The Us ◽  
Arts Engagement

Engaging in the arts is a health-related behavior that may be influenced by social inequalities. While it is generally accepted that there is a social gradient in arts participation, previous studies of arts engagement in the US have not used comprehensive measures of engagement and often focus on single demographic or socioeconomic predictors of engagement rather than simultaneously testing a range of factors that may be related to one another. Using cross-sectional data from the General Social Survey (GSS) in the US, we examined which demographic, socioeconomic, residential, and health factors were associated with attendance at arts events, participation in arts activities, and membership of creative groups. We combined data from 1993 to 2016 in three analytical samples with a sample size of 8,684 for arts events, 4,372 for arts activities, and 4,268 for creative groups. Data were analysed using logistic regression. More education was associated with increased levels of all types of arts engagement. Parental education demonstrated a similar association. Being female, compared to male, was also consistently associated with higher levels of engagement. Attendance at arts events was lower in participants with lower income and social class, poorer health, and those living in less urban areas. However, these factors were not associated with engagement in arts activities or creative groups. Overall, we found evidence for a social gradient in attendance at arts events, which was not as pronounced in engagement in arts activities or creative groups. Given the many benefits of engagement in the arts for education, health, and wider welfare, our findings demonstrate the importance of identifying factors to reduce barriers to participation in the arts across all groups in society.

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