Does familiarity breed contempt? The impact of information on mass attitudes toward congress

    Authors

    J. J. Mondak; E. G. Carmines; R. Huckfeldt; D. G. Mitchell;S. Schraufnagel

    Comments

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    Abbreviated Journal Title

    Am. J. Polit. Sci.

    Keywords

    Political Science

    Abstract

    Two features of citizen response to Congress can be taken as grounds for concern. First, Americans know relatively little about Congress, and especially about congressional procedures and policy output. Second, Congress typically emerges as the least respected political institution. Although these matters are troubling when viewed individually, more disturbing is the dilemma posed when knowledge and attitudes toward Congress are viewed in tandem. It appears that citizens who know Congress the best like Congress the least. Consequently, a sophisticated polity and a well-respected legislature seem fundamentally incompatible. This article seeks to resolve this dilemma, contending that there is nothing about knowledge per se that leads citizens to view Congress unfavorably. Rather, differences in knowledge levels alter the considerations citizens bring to bear when evaluating Congress, with the best-informed individuals constructing judgments on the basis of the most relevant Congress-specific criteria while less knowledgeable citizens employ readily available but more peripheral criteria.

    Journal Title

    American Journal of Political Science

    Volume

    51

    Issue/Number

    1

    Publication Date

    1-1-2007

    Document Type

    Article; Proceedings Paper

    Language

    English

    First Page

    34

    Last Page

    48

    WOS Identifier

    WOS:000243229900003

    ISSN

    0092-5853

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