Affective Polarization and Support for the U.S. Supreme Court

2021 ◽  
pp. 106591292110061
Author(s):  
Miles T. Armaly ◽  
Adam M. Enders
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Political Behavior ◽  
Negative Relationship ◽  
Political Sophistication ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Specific Support ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The U.S

Support for the U.S. Supreme Court does not appear to be polarized on ideological or partisan lines. However, the form of polarization for which the mass political behavior field has amassed substantial support is affective in nature. We reconsider the hypothesis that polarization does not bear on Court support by examining the role of affective polarization. Using three sources of nationally representative survey data, we consistently find a negative relationship between affective polarization and both diffuse and specific support for the Court. Moreover, neither general nor Court-specific political sophistication mitigates the negative effect of affective polarization; rather, sophistication exacerbates affective polarization’s influence on support. Finally, panel data show that affective polarization precedes negative evaluations of the judiciary, though there is no support for the converse relationship. Evaluations of the Court are not free from the forces of polarization but are influenced by diverging extra-judicial emotional orientations toward in- and out-groups.

Change in the Legitimacy of the U.S. Supreme Court

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Gibson ◽  
Michael J. Nelson
Keyword(s):  
Predominantly White ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Survey Experiment ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Institutional Legitimacy ◽  
Personal Experiences ◽  
Diffuse Support ◽  
Judicial Authority ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The U.S

Positivity Theory suggests that increased exposure to the symbols of judicial authority stimulates positive associations within individuals that help courts build and maintain their legitimacy. Indeed, recent research suggests that exposure to the symbols of judicial authority negates the linkage between decisional disappointment and changes in judgments of institutional legitimacy. However, this research has been conducted on predominantly white samples and fails to account for the possibility that individuals’ group attachments and experiences with legal authorities might affect the extent to which they update their diffuse support for a court in response to a displeasing decision. We therefore examine changes in legitimacy, relying on a nationally-representative survey experiment. The results indicate that respondents are particularly likely to withdraw support from the Court under the condition of seeing the symbols of judicial authority if they have negative personal experiences with the police, and if they are both particularly disappointed in the decision and do not have any strong group attachments.

scholarly journals Religion, Social Connectedness, and Xenophobic Responses to Ebola

2021 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Roxie Chuang ◽  
Kimin Eom ◽  
Heejung S. Kim
Keyword(s):  
Social Connectedness ◽  
Social Ties ◽  
Religious Communities ◽  
Cultural Groups ◽  
Physical Threat ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Role Of Religion ◽  
Moderating Role ◽  
The U.S

This study examined the role of religion in xenophobic responses to the threat of Ebola. Religious communities often offer members strong social ties and social support, which may help members cope with psychological and physical threat, including global threats like Ebola. Our analysis of a nationally representative sample in the U.S. (N = 1,000) found that overall, the more vulnerable to Ebola people felt, the more they exhibited xenophobic responses, but this relationship was moderated by importance of religion. Those who perceived religion as more important in their lives exhibited weaker xenophobic reactions than those who perceived religion as less important. Furthermore, social connectedness measured by collectivism explained the moderating role of religion, suggesting that higher collectivism associated with religion served as a psychological buffer. Religious people showed attenuated threat responses because they had a stronger social system that may offer resources for its members to cope with psychological and physical threats. The current research highlights that different cultural groups react to increased threats in divergent ways.

Government Employees’ Experience and Expectation of COVID-19 Hardships: The Moderating Role of Gender and Race in the United States

2021 ◽  
pp. 027507402110492
Author(s):  
JungHo Park ◽  
Yongjin Ahn
Keyword(s):  
Gender Gap ◽  
The United States ◽  
Census Bureau ◽  
Government Employees ◽  
Income Loss ◽  
Gender And Race ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Moderating Role ◽  
The U.S

This article examines government employees’ experience and expectation of socioeconomic hardships during the COVID-19 pandemic—employment income loss, housing instability, and food insufficiency—by focusing on the role of gender and race. Employing the Household Pulse Survey, a nationally representative and near real-time pandemic data deployed by the U.S. Census Bureau, we find that government employees were less affected by the pandemic than non-government employees across socioeconomic hardships. However, female and racial minorities, when investigated within government employees, have a worse experience and expectation of pandemic hardships than men and non-Hispanic Whites. Our findings suggest a clear gender gap and racial disparities in the experience and expectation of pandemic hardships.

The Role of Emotional Language in Briefs Before the U.S. Supreme Court

2015 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ryan C. Black ◽  
Matthew E.K. Hall ◽  
Ryan J. Owens ◽  
Eve Ringsmuth
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Emotional Language ◽  
The U.S

The Combat Exclusion and the Role of Women in the Military

Hypatia ◽  
1995 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 56-73 ◽  
Author(s):  
Judith Wagner Decew
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Women In The Military ◽  
History Of ◽  
Role Of Women ◽  
The Military ◽  
The U.S

I first discuss reasons for feminists to attend to the role of women in the military, despite past emphasis on antimilitarism. I then focus on the exclusion of women from combat duty, reviewing its sanction by the U.S. Supreme Court and the history of its adoption. I present arguments favoring the exclusion, defending strong replies to each, and demonstrate that reasoning from related cases and feminist analyses of equality explain why exclusion remains entrenched.

Defense Attorneys and Plea Bargains

2019 ◽  
pp. 37-55 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelsey S. Henderson
Keyword(s):  
Decision Making ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Plea Bargaining ◽  
Psychological Processes ◽  
Defense Attorneys ◽  
Adversarial System ◽  
Federal Standard ◽  
Extralegal Factors ◽  
The U.S

In the landmark Gideon v. Wainwright decision (1963), the U.S. Supreme Court established the federal standard of appointed counsel for indigent defendants as fundamental to fairness. This right has been upheld throughout the years and is central to our adversarial system. The attorney’s responsibility is to zealously serve as the accused’s strongest counselor and advocate. In the context of plea bargaining, the attorney can assist the defendant in making a voluntary, knowing, and intelligent plea decision. The attorney may act as a “debiaser,” counteracting irrationality on the defendant’s part. However, research suggests structural influences and psychological processes may impede the role of the attorney. This chapter explores how legal and extralegal factors affect attorneys’ plea decision-making, which ultimately influence defendants’ decisions to waive or invoke their right to trial.

Justice and Empathy

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Robert A. Burt
Keyword(s):  
Civil Rights ◽  
Supreme Court ◽  
Legal Protection ◽  
Individual Liberty ◽  
Economic Equality ◽  
Civil Rights Act ◽  
The Supreme Court ◽  
American Society ◽  
The U.S

The Supreme Court long considered its highest mission to be the protection of individual liberty from intrusion by government, but the court shifted its focus to social and economic equality. This book explores this shift and its implications, especially for the legal protection of the vulnerable. Crucial to the author's perspective is an unconventional view of the role of judges—not simply to decide disputes, but to promote a respectful dialogue leading to a genuine understanding between parties. The U.S. Constitution, through its interpretation by the U.S. Supreme Court, deals with the protection of vulnerable people in American society. It focuses on the judge not as the sole determiner of equality or protection but as a leader who, through careful observation and guidance, promotes an interactive process among the parties in order to settle the matter in an empathic, mutually respectful way. The book points out that judges are not the only actors through whom democratic values founded on empathic mutual respect and accountability can be promoted. At the center of this study is the Civil Rights Act of 1968.

Psychosocial wellbeing and reasons for retirement in Sweden

2009 ◽  
Vol 29 (3) ◽  
pp. 413-430 ◽  
Author(s):  
MIKAEL NORDENMARK ◽  
MIKAEL STATTIN
Keyword(s):  
Older People ◽  
The Elderly ◽  
Health Problems ◽  
Panel Survey ◽  
Representative Survey ◽  
Psychosocial Wellbeing ◽  
Negative Effect ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
Market Factors ◽  
Do So

ABSTRACTGiven the increased heterogeneity of the transition from work to retirement, this study aimed to analyse the associations between different reasons for retirement and psychosocial wellbeing as a pensioner. The study used data from the Swedish Panel Survey of Ageing and the Elderly (PSAE), a nationally representative survey of the living conditions of older people in Sweden. The results show that almost one-half of all pensioners cited health problems as a contributory reason for ceasing work. Furthermore, those who retired for ‘push’ reasons, such as health problems or labour market factors, experienced lower psychosocial wellbeing than those who retired for other reasons. Moreover, the results show that those who were able to influence the time of their retirement enjoyed better psychosocial wellbeing than those who had little or no opportunity to do so. This was true when controlling for other factors relevant to the wellbeing of pensioners. The results lend support to the argument that, if a man's retirement is instigated because his skills are no longer required, there will be a decidedly negative effect on his wellbeing – and that this effect is stronger than the equivalent impact on a woman's wellbeing. In relation to previous findings in this field, the results make it clear that retirement is far from a uniform process or state.

Updating Supreme Court Legitimacy: Testing the “Rule, Learn, Update” Model of Political Communication

2017 ◽  
Vol 45 (6) ◽  
pp. 980-1002 ◽  
Author(s):  
James L. Gibson ◽  
Miguel M. Pereira ◽  
Jeffrey Ziegler
Keyword(s):  
Supreme Court ◽  
Political Communication ◽  
Representative Sample ◽  
American Politics ◽  
Supreme Court Decision ◽  
Court Decision ◽  
Court Decisions ◽  
Empirical Tests ◽  
Nationally Representative ◽  
The U.S

One of the more important innovations in the study of how citizens assess the U.S. Supreme Court is the ideological updating model, which assumes that citizens grant legitimacy to the institution according to the perceived distance between themselves and the Court on a unidimensional ideological (liberal–conservative) continuum. Under this model, citizens are also said to update this calculation with every new salient Supreme Court decision. The model’s requirements, however, do not seem to square with the long-established view that Americans are largely innocent of ideology. Here, we conduct an audit of the model’s mechanisms using a series of empirical tests applied to a nationally representative sample. Our general conclusion is that the ideological updating model, especially when supplemented with the requirement that citizens must become aware of Court decisions, simply does not square with the realities of American politics. Students of Supreme Court legitimacy may therefore want to search for other theories of legitimacy updating.

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