How do Citizens Evaluate Public Officials? The Role of Performance and Expectations on Political Trust

Bibliographic Data

ID6344487
AuthorsBen Seyd (0000-0002-5485-316X, University of Kent, corresponding author)
Year2015
Volume63
Issue1_suppl
Pages73-90
Publication date2015-08-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenuePolitical Studies (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0032-3217 • E-ISSN: 1467-9248
PublisherSAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER)
DOI10.1111/1467-9248.12163
OpenAlexW1606360189
LanguageEN
Citations received42
References cited37

This article examines how citizens judge the trustworthiness of public officials, focusing on one aspect of the cognitive process through which trust is assessed. It considers how far trust reflects not only the perceptions of how politicians behave but also prior expectations of that behaviour. ‘Expectancy disconfirmation’ models suggest that attitudes to public services are largely shaped by performance perceptions adjusted for expectations. Drawing on survey data from a sample of citizens in the UK, the results of this study are inconsistent with this model. Instead, trust is found primarily to reflect performance perceptions alone; expectations play little additional role in shaping citizen evaluations. This suggests that policy makers are unlikely to boost levels of political trust by reducing what citizens expect of politicians. Instead, policy makers concerned to improve their public image will have to undertake the harder task of improving their performance

Economics · Expectancy theory · Perception · Political science · Politics · Process (computing · Public opinion · Public relations · Public trust · Sample (material · Survey data collection · Task (project management · Trustworthiness · Law · Nonprofit Sector and Volunteering · Psychology · Public Policy and Administration Research · Social Capital and Networks · Social Psychology

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