Does Familiarity Breed Contempt? The Impact of Information on Mass Attitudes toward Congress
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 6232528 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Jeffery J Mondak (0000-0002-5168-2326, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), E G Carmines (0000-0002-3935-0564, Indiana University), Robert Huckfeldt (University of California, Davis), Dona‐gene Mitchell (University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign), Scot Schraufnagel (0000-0001-5488-3070, University of Central Florida) |
| Year | 2007 |
| Volume | 51 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 34-48 |
| Publication date | 2007-01-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | American Journal of Political Science (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0092-5853 • E-ISSN: 1540-5907 |
| Publisher | Wiley (PUBLISHER • GB) |
| DOI | 10.1111/j.1540-5907.2007.00235.x |
| OpenAlex | W2079293839 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 14 |
| References cited | 17 |
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
Contempt · Dilemma · Epistemology · Legislature · Nothing · Political science · Politics · Polity · Public relations · Electoral Systems and Political Participation · Judicial and Constitutional Studies · Law · Public Administration · Social Media and Politics
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| Unique citing works | 14 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,82 |
| Citation span | 2009 - 2024 (16) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 13 |