Title

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

Authors

Authors

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

Comments

Authors: contact us about adding a copy of your work at STARS@ucf.edu

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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