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.

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.

Social Policy and Political Trust: Evidence from the New Rural Pension Scheme in China

2018 ◽  
Vol 235 ◽  
pp. 644-668 ◽  
Author(s):  
Zhonglu Li ◽  
Xiaogang Wu
Keyword(s):  
Local Governments ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Pension Scheme ◽  
Old Age Support ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Material Benefits ◽  
The Government ◽  
Chinese General Social Survey ◽  
Rights Consciousness

AbstractThis article analyses the data from the 2010 Chinese General Social Survey (CGSS) to investigate the effects of the New Rural Pension Scheme (NRPS) on people's political trust and policy expectations in China. Results from difference-in-differences (DID) analyses show that those in the NRPS pilot areas reported higher levels of trust in government at both central and local levels than their counterparts in non-NRPS areas, with the former gaining more support than the latter. Moreover, the potential NRPS beneficiaries show similarly higher levels of trust in both central and local governments than non-NRPS beneficiaries. However, the policy did not increase rural residents’ rights consciousness that the government should take the main responsibility for the provision of the old-age support. These findings suggest that citizens' political trust under an authoritarian regime is mainly determined by the material benefits they receive.

scholarly journals Temporal dynamics of political trust in China: A cohort analysis

2019 ◽  
Vol 34 (1) ◽  
pp. 109-136 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jiebing Wu ◽  
Yong Li ◽  
Chengcheng Song
Keyword(s):  
Local Government ◽  
Central Government ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Cohort Analysis ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Cohort Effect ◽  
Political Trust ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Chinese General Social Survey ◽  
New Generation

This article focuses on the changing trends in political trust in China. Based on data drawn from the Asian Barometer Survey for 2002, 2008, and 2011, as well as the Chinese General Social Survey for 2010 and 2012, we find a declining trend in the level of political trust in China, whether it be trust in the central government, trust in the local government, or the central–local government trust gap. Additionally, the results of our analysis show a strong cohort effect on the erosion of political trust. This study provides solid empirical evidence of declining political trust in China and increases our understanding of the changing dynamics of political trust. By analysing changes in citizens’ values and in the political expectations of the new generation, this article sheds light on the antecedents of political trust in China, which is gradually changing across different generations.

Social Networks and Patterns of Social Interaction among Ever-Single and Separated/Divorced Elderly Canadians

1992 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-53 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laurel A. Strain ◽  
Barbara J. Payne
Keyword(s):  
Social Networks ◽  
Social Interactions ◽  
Living Arrangements ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Family Networks ◽  
Education And Health ◽  
The Social ◽  
Gender Education ◽  
Statistics Canada

AbstractThis paper examines the social networks and patterns of social interactions of two relatively neglected marital status groups of elders, namely the ever-single and the separated/divorced. Drawing on data from the 1985 General Social Survey conducted by Statistics Canada, comparisons are made both between and among the 224 ever-single and 126 separated/divorced Canadians aged 65 and over. When controlling for age, gender, education and health status, ever-single individuals tend to have smaller family networks, a similar number of friends, and similar living arrangements as the separated/divorced. In-person contact with siblings is significantly associated with being ever-single while no differences emerge for contact with other relatives or with friends. Differences among the ever-single and among the separated/divorced are also assessed.

scholarly journals Pro-european orientation and perception of European integrations as a threat in Serbia and Croatia - the importance of sociodemographic variables and different forms of national attachment

1970 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
pp. 53-77
Author(s):  
Vladimir Mihić ◽  
Dragana Jelić ◽  
Margareta Jelić
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
National Identity ◽  
European Integration ◽  
Sociodemographic Variables ◽  
National Pride ◽  
The Past ◽  
The Social ◽  
National Attachment ◽  
And Gender ◽  
The Eu

For the past few decades, European integration has been one of the primary issues not just in politics, but also in the social sciences. This issue becomes even more important when research takes place in countries where the population is ambivalent in their support for the EU and European integration. The main aims of the study presented in this paper are to determine differences in Serbia and Croatia in pro-European orientation and the perception of European integration (EI) as a threat, and to determine the factors underlying both constructs by focusing on sociodemographic variables, the importance of religion, and different forms of national attachment. The results show that citizens of Croatia have a stronger pro-European orientation, but there is no difference in the perception of EI as a threat. Pro-European orientation is determined by the respondents’ national identity (in both countries) and gender, the importance of religion, and national pride in the state (only in Serbia). The significant predictors for the perception of EI as a threat were constructive patriotism and national pride in successful individuals (in Serbia), blind patriotism (in Croatia) and the importance of religion (in both countries).

The Effect of Parental Demographics on Parental Assessment of Adolescent Internet Addiction

2017 ◽  
Vol 7 (4) ◽  
pp. 56-67 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chiho Ok ◽  
Jisun Lim
Keyword(s):  
Internet Addiction ◽  
Internet Use ◽  
General Social Survey ◽  
Demographic Characteristics ◽  
Social Survey ◽  
Demographic Groups ◽  
Parental Assessment ◽  
The Social ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Policies And Programs

This article investigates how adolescent Internet addiction is assessed by parents based on children's Internet use time and parental demographic characteristics. The authors measured children's level of Internet addiction based on Young's scale evaluated by their parents to mitigate the social desirability bias in self-reported surveys when children evaluate themselves. Based on Korean General Social Survey data, which is nationally representative in South Korea, they analyzed 219 individuals and found that as the time of Internet use of children increased, the level of Internet addiction evaluated by parents increased. In addition, this relationship was moderated by parental demographic characteristics such that higher age, lower educational attainment, and higher Internet use time tend to decrease the parental evaluation of their children's Internet addiction. Results suggest that policies and programs related to children's Internet addiction should be focused more on parents from specific demographic groups.

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