Ideology and Elites' Perceptions of the Safety of New Technologies
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6232333 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Eric Plutzer (0000-0002-5456-7227, Pennsylvania State University), Ardith Maney, Robert E O'Connor, Robert E O’connor |
| Year | 1998 |
| Volume | 42 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 190 |
| Publication date | 1998-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | No |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907 |
| Publisher | JSTOR (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.2307/2991752 |
| OpenAlex | W2334356020 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 11 |
| References cited | 17 |
Theory: The policy learning and advocacy coalition framework emphasizes the importance of journalists and scientists, as well as policymakers, in models of the policy process. At the same time, research from several traditions suggests that elite opinion concerning the safety of nuclear energy, genetic engineering, and other new technologies derives primarily from political ideology. We examine the attitudes of three elite groups that influence policy governing new technologies. Hypotheses: Rothman and Lichter's provocative liberal bias theory suggests that environmental and technological issues are not, as they appear, technical policy issues, but proxies for older conflicts between left egalitarians and the corporate establishment. They expect journalists to be most skeptical of technological safety claims because they are especially liberal and, in contrast, scientists to be free of ideological bias. Alternatively, differences among elite groups could be due to more proximate beliefs, socialization or self-selection. Methods: A telephone survey of random samples of scientists, journalists, and federal government policymakers provides data on attitudes towards new technologies, political ideology, and other characteristics. Ordinary least squares is used to estimate models. Results: Members of all three elite groups are subject to ideological bias in their assessments of technological safety. Yet, the small effect of profession remains after controlling for a variety of variables
Ideology · Perception · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Sociology · Climate Change Communication and Perception · Law · Psychology · Risk Perception and Management · Social Acceptance of Renewable Energy
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| Unique citing works | 11 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,52 |
| Citation span | 2005 - 2026 (22) |
| Citation velocity | current |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 11 |