Trust Bibliography
This table includes articles on trust and trust-related topics, published in 2024 in journals indexed in Clarivate Analytics' Web of Science database.
Each column is sortable. The table is searchable via the search button. The table can be downloaded in Excel or comma-separated-value formats.
The bibliography will be updated monthly, at the end of the month.
If you have suggestions regarding the information that should be included in the bibliography, please submit them to us at contact@trustobservatory.eu.
Each column is sortable. The table is searchable via the search button. The table can be downloaded in Excel or comma-separated-value formats.
The bibliography will be updated monthly, at the end of the month.
If you have suggestions regarding the information that should be included in the bibliography, please submit them to us at contact@trustobservatory.eu.
| ID | Citation | Abstract | Journal Title | Keywords |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024_01 | Abayomi, KQ. (2024). Public trust and state management of the COVID-19 pandemic in Nigeria. Frontiers in Political Science, 6. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2024.1334827. | The COVID-19 pandemic generated an unprecedented global crisis with long-lasting consequences. In this study, I examine the bi-directional nexus between public trust and the management of the pandemic in Nigeria. I argue that there is a relationship between government management of public policies and the level of public trust. The research draws on the Theory of Trust, in-depth interviews (IDI), and focus group discussions (FGD) and is supported by other secondary sources. I found that the main reason for citizens' resistance to major policies introduced to contain the spread of the pandemic was due to an entrenched lack of trust in the government, its agencies, and officials. The findings also indicate that a lack of transparency and accountability in the management of the pandemic deepened the already fractured public trust. This was particularly visible in the shrouded pattern of disbursing cash transfers, allegations of corruption against the managers of the pandemic, and evidence of concealed palliatives meant to cushion the negative economic effects of the pandemic. The article recommends that the government needs to promote public trust by adopting an open governance approach that institutionalises transparency and accountability, fosters constant and consistent citizen engagement on government policies and programmes, strengthens critical agencies, and engenders a sense of belonging for all citizens. | Frontiers in Political Science | Public Policy; State; COVID-19 Pandemic; Public Trust; Management; Transparency; Accountability |
| 2024_02 | Abdelzadeh, A; Lundberg, E. (2024). The longitudinal link between institutional and community trust in a local context - findings from a Swedish panel study. Local Government Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2024.2399200. | Decades of social science stress the vital role of trust in a robust democracy, and scholars have explored the origins of trust, highlighting the dynamic interaction between institutional trust and generalised social trust. While the literature exhibits uncertainties regarding the causal direction between these various forms of trust, it generally suggests that trust in institutions spills over to trust in people in general. This article examines a neglected aspect of trust studies - the relationship between local institutional trust and community trust. Drawing on a two-wave panel study from Sweden, the results indicate bidirectional relationships between the two forms of trust over time. In so doing, this study contributes to the prior research by showing that in a local context, where daily interactions take place between community members and representatives of local institutions, the relationship between trust in neighbours and trust in local institutions appears to be more complex and interdependent. | Local Government Studies | Social Trust; Institutional Trust; Community Trust; Longitudinal Study; Local Government |
| 2024_03 | Abdi, ANM; Hashi, MB. (2024). Impact of police effectiveness on public trust and public cooperation with the Somalia police service: exploring the mediating role of citizen satisfaction. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2327137. | Extensive research has been conducted in Western countries on the impact of police effectiveness and how it influences citizens' perceptions and attitudes toward police institutions. However, knowledge regarding these issues in post-conflict countries, such as Somalia is still unknown and needs exploration. Therefore, grounded on performance and social learning theories, this study aimed to examine how perceived police effectiveness promotes public trust in police and public cooperation with the police via the underlying mechanism of citizen satisfaction in Mogadishu, Somalia. A quantitative cross-sectional survey was used to collect data from 572 residents of various administrative units in Mogadishu, Somalia. The data were analyzed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with SmartPLS 4.0.9.5 to test the measurement and structural models. The results uncovered a direct and indirect positive and significant impact of perceived police effectiveness on both public trust in the police and public cooperation with the police via the underlying mechanism of citizen satisfaction with the police. This study provides police agencies and policymakers with actionable recommendations. Furthermore, this study has theoretical and practical implications and offers insights for improving public perceptions of police institutions. | Cogent Social Sciences | Somalia; Police; Satisfaction; Trust; Police Effectiveness; Cooperation |
| 2024_04 | AbouAssi, K; Tran, L; Bowman, AO; Johnston, JM. (2024). Which trust matters and to whom in cross-sector collaboration? Evidence from the local level in the Middle East. International Public Management Journal, 27(5), 827-846. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2024.2314051. | This article treats trust as multifaceted and compares the association of two dimensions of trust-trust in individuals and trust in organizations-with the likelihood and intensity of cross-sector collaboration between local governments and nonprofit organizations. The analysis offers evidence of the importance of trust as well as notable cross-sectoral heterogeneity in a developing country in the Middle East, a setting that is seldom the focus of research on trust in collaboration. Both types of trust correlate with the likelihood of collaboration, but trust in organizations appears to matter more for local governments while trust in individuals is more relevant for nonprofits. Both types of trust are also associated with the intensity of collaboration, but the effects vary by the degree of intensity and sector of the organization. | International Public Management Journal | |
| 2024_05 | Abraham, M; Nisic, N; Trübner, M; Walch, H; Wunder, A. (2024). The role of generalized trust and control in the employment of domestic help - An experimental case study for Germany and the UK. Rationality and Society, 36(2), 230-253. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10434631231213721. | This study analyses the role of generalized trust and control in households' employment of domestic help. Applying a basic trust game with uncertainty, we argue that households differ in their estimate of the proportion of opportunistic domestic workers, variation which we ascribe to generalized trust. Households with low trust should estimate a lower proportion of non-opportunistic individuals, making them less willing to accept a domestic worker. Control, through direct supervision of the domestic worker, is assumed to serve as a substitute for trust and is expected to increase acceptance. We also consider the role of income, which we expect to alter the relation between the potential losses and gains associated with outsourcing. To test our hypotheses, we use a factorial survey conducted in 2020 in Germany and the UK (N = 1877) which enables us to explore the robustness of the effects across countries. Experimental results show that individuals are more accepting of domestic outsourcing if they have higher trust, higher income, and if control of the worker is easily possible. Interaction effects reveal that the positive effect of higher trust and higher income is only relevant in lowcontrol situations. This suggest that households with higher trust and income have an advantage when it comes to fully utilizing the benefits of domestic help since costly control is not required. Consequently, the results substantially contribute to existing literature on explaining causes of social inequality in service use beyond financial restrictions and shed light on the complex interplay of trust and control. | Rationality and Society | Control; Domestic Work; Factorial Survey; Generalized Trust; Housework; Income; Outsourcing |
| 2024_06 | Accorsi, P; Krebs, RR. (2024). The Soldier in the State: Explaining Public Trust in the Armed Forces. Comparative Political Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00104140241306956. | Although, in many countries, the military is the most trusted state institution, we know little about public trust in the military outside the United States. We argue that, for the military, trust is grounded in its legitimation as, and aspiration to be, non-partisan. From this insight, we develop hypotheses regarding the relationship between trust in the military and other institutions, the military's centrality to political power, intrastate conflict, and recruitment format. Using cross-national data (2006-2021), we find support for these hypotheses. Falling trust in partisan state institutions benefits the armed forces. When the military exercises influence over politics, at odds with its legitimation, it is judged by the usual standards of government performance. Civil wars convert the military into a factional actor, and public trust falls. When militaries recruit via selective conscription, confidence suffers. These findings have important implications for civil-military relations, military effectiveness, and democratic stability. | Comparative Political Studies | Armed Forces; Confidence; Institutions; Public Opinion; Trust |
| 2024_07 | Afonso, A; Jalles, JT; Venâncio, A. (2024). A tale of government spending efficiency and trust in the state. Public Choice, 200(1-2), 89-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11127-024-01144-6. | This paper empirically links the efficiency and performance assessment of the general government, proxied by efficiency scores, to the trust in government. Government spending efficiency scores are first computed via data envelopment analysis (DEA). Then, relying on panel data and instrumental variable approaches, we estimate the effect of public sector efficiency on citizens trust on national governments. The sample covers 36 OECD countries between 2007 and 2019. We find that the more efficient countries in terms of government spending are Australia, Chile, Ireland, New Zealand, South Korea, Switzerland. Secondly, our main finding is that better public sector spending efficiency is positively associated with citizens' higher trust in governments. In general, political economy variables and the existence of fiscal rules do not seem to significantly affect our measure of trust. The results hold using alternative proxies for public sector efficiency, alternative measures for trust, specifications with different control variables and different empirical approaches (instrumental variables). | Public Choice | Government Spending Efficiency; DEA; Panel Data Analysis; Confidence Effects; Ideology; Fiscal Rules |
| 2024_08 | Aharoni, T; Baden, C; Overbeck, M; Tenenboim-Weinblatt, K. (2024). Re-assessing the Dynamics of News Use and Trust: A Multi-Outlet Perspective. Communication Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00936502241273263. | Communication research has long explored the association between media trust and news consumption. However, the strength and direction of this relationship have remained elusive. This study suggests a new approach for investigating these complex relations, differentiating between usage and trust associated with different sources over time. Focusing on the 2022 French election and drawing on data from a four-wave panel survey (N = 1,294), we utilized Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model (RI-CLPM) analysis to uncover two key over time effects: a selection effect, wherein trust reinforces usage; and a media effect, wherein usage influences trust. While a selection effect driven by news trust was observed in a right-wing political alternative channel, a media effect leading to news trust was linked with more traditional television channels. By identifying these effects and their associations with various types of outlets, this study advances the ongoing scholarly debate around the role of trust in news consumption. | Communication Research | Trust; News and Newsworthiness; Survey; Method; Media Effects; Topics |
| 2024_09 | Aharoni, T; Tenenboim-Weinblatt, K; Kligler-Vilenchik, N; Boczkowski, P; Hayashi, K; Mitchelstein, E; Villi, M. (2024). Trust-oriented affordances: A five-country study of news trustworthiness and its socio-technical articulations. New Media & Society, 26(6), 3088-3106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448221096334. | Research on trust has come to the forefront of communication studies. Beyond the dominant focus on informational trust and its country-specific articulations, trustworthiness evaluations can relate to the materiality of news and its global manifestations. Especially in digital algorithmic environments, understanding news trustworthiness requires a holistic approach, which combines informational and socio-technical aspects while addressing both institutional and interpersonal trust. Drawing on 488 in-depth interviews with media consumers in Argentina, Finland, Israel, Japan, and the United States, this article investigates news (dis)trust from the lens of socio-materiality. The six trust-oriented affordances we identified-selectivity, interactivity, customization, searchability, information abundance, and immediacy-reveal important socio-technical commonalities that underlie news trust across countries. These affordances, moreover, point to an interplay of trust and self-agency. Taken together, the findings illuminate the lived experience of news trust as manifested across cultures and offer a broader understanding of trustworthiness within current media ecology. | New Media & Society | Affordances; Audience Studies; Comparative Research; In-Depth Interviews; News Consumption; Trust |
| 2024_10 | Aksoy, O; Wiertz, D. (2024). The impact of religious involvement on trust, volunteering, and perceived cooperativeness: evidence from two British panels. European Sociological Review, 40(1), 143-159. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcad024. | Does religious involvement make people more trusting and prosocial? Considering conflicting theories and mixed prior evidence, we subject this question to a stringent test using large-scale, representative data from the British Household Panel Survey (1991-2009, N approximate to 26,000) and the UK Household Longitudinal Study (2009-2021, N approximate to 80,000). We employ cross-lagged panel models with individual fixed effects to account for time-invariant confounders and reverse causality-two issues that have haunted earlier research. We find that frequency of religious service attendance on average has a positive impact on generalized trust, volunteering, and perceived cooperativeness. Other indicators of religious involvement have weaker effects. We also find variation across religious traditions: the effects of religious attendance are mostly positive for Anglicans and other Protestants, but weaker and mostly statistically insignificant for Catholics, Hindus, and the unaffiliated, and even negative for Muslims when the outcome is perceived cooperativeness. Our findings are robust to alternative model set-ups and hold up after accounting for neighbourhood religious composition, respondent and interviewer ethnicity, and other potential moderators and confounders. Altogether, our study shows that religious involvement can foster prosocial behaviours and attitudes, although in our study this effect is largely restricted to religious service attendance and majority religions. | European Sociological Review | |
| 2024_11 | Akter, KM; Banik, S; Tang, SM; Adnan, Z. (2024). Transformational Leadership and Climate of Trust: Mediating Role of Organizational Justice. Sage Open, 14(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241293132. | Despite universal agreement on the consequences of the organizational trust climate, little attention has been given to studying its determinants. This study aimed to investigate the role of managers' transformational leadership behavior in developing trust climate in the hotel industry. Based on the social exchange theory, this study also examined the mediation effect of organizational justice in the relationship between managers' transformational leadership and trust climate. Data were collected from 323 full-time employees engaged in three-star Bangladeshi hotels. The study employed a PLS-SEM approach to test the hypotheses. Results exposed the significant impact of managers' transformational leadership on the hotels' trust climate, and organizational justice mediates the aforementioned relationship. These findings highlight the role of managerial transformational leadership and organizational justice in developing and nurturing a climate of trust. Based on the results, the study offers theoretical and practical implications, along with further research directions. | Sage Open | Climate of Trust; Transformational Leadership; Organizational Justice; Hotel Industry; Bangladesh |
| 2024_12 | Al Izzati, R; Dartanto, T; Suryadarma, D; Suryahadi, A. (2024). Direct elections and trust in state and political institutions: Evidence from Indonesia ' s election reform. European Journal of Political Economy, 85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2024.102572. | People 's trust in state and political institutions is a key foundation of a well -functioning economy. The question of whether direct elections affect trust remains open, especially in developing countries, due to a scarcity of studies with robust identification strategies. We estimate the impact of direct elections on people 's trust in state and political institutions, using a major political reform in Indonesia as the source of exogenous variation. Pre -2005, regents, mayors, and governors were elected by the local legislative assembly. Starting in 2005, they must compete in an open election where voters directly choose their preferred leader. The historically and institutionally driven staggered implementation of these local direct elections enables us to identify the causal impact of the reform. We find that direct elections increase trust in all state and political institutions, except for the police and political parties. We find that trust only increased in districts where the elections were held with no or low hostility, implying that trust is strongly influenced by political situations during direct elections. We find that elections did not really improve wellbeing or satisfaction, implying that the absence of election hostility is a stronger explanation for the higher trust. | European Journal of Political Economy | Democracy; Direct Election; Trust; Institution; Indonesia |
| 2024_13 | Alawadhi, S; Alansari, H; Alsaber, AR. (2024). Explicating Trust-building Factors Impacting the Use of e-government Services. Social Science Computer Review, 42(5), 1244-1265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08944393231220757. | This study investigates the users' perception of trust-building factors influencing the use of e-government services and information, by integrating constructs identified in the technology acceptance model (TAM) with information systems (IS) success and trust models. Data was collected using a questionnaire targeted towards users of e-government services in Kuwait. The partial least squares structural equation modeling method was used to analyze 717 valid questionnaire responses. The results indicate that information quality and design (IQD) and perceived ease of use (PEU) influence individuals' trust in e-government (TEG), thereby affecting their behavioral intentions (BI). Furthermore, the results indicate an average level of the users' satisfaction and significant differences in how gender and nationality are associated with the overall satisfaction of e-government services users. The proposed framework contributes to extending models by integrating IQD (a modified construct of the IS model) and PEU (a construct of the TAM) as trust-related factors that provide better insights into the driving forces of BI and should be considered when designing and developing e-government services. Additionally, the study provides a deeper understanding of the challenges that could hinder the use of e-government systems. | Social Science Computer Review | E-Government Services; Technology Acceptance Model; Information Systems Success Model; Trust in E-Government; Information Quality and Design; Kuwait |
| 2024_14 | Alomran, AM; Ahmed, TSA; Kassem, AM. (2024). Impact of organizational trust on organizational commitment: the moderating effect of national identity. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2309712. | The main objective of this study is to examine the moderating effect of employees' national identity on organizational trust and organizational commitment among employees in hotel establishments in the Hail region, of Saudi Arabia. A conceptual model was developed to find a mechanism through which organizational trust impacts organizational commitment dimensions through the factor of national identity. Multiple statistical analyses were applied to test the hypotheses developed in this study using structured equation modelling. These hypotheses were tested through a survey questionnaire. Measurements of organizational trust and organizational commitment were developed. 212 employees from 20 hotels in Hail, Saudi Arabia, voluntarily participated in the current study. Their responses were examined using linear regression, confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modelling. The findings reveal that organizational trust is a positive predictor of all types of organizational commitment (affective, continuance, and normative). The results also indicate that nationality does not significantly moderate the impact of organizational trust on either affective commitment or normative commitment. However, it significantly moderates the relationship between organizational trust and continuance commitment. This study may assist managers in better understanding the importance of organizational trust and organizational commitment. Cultivating a trusting environment can help increase employees' trust in their establishments, which can lead to better levels of organizational commitment and improved job performance, which can be reflected positively in their profitability. The study highlights that hotel establishments should emphasize organizational-trust-related dimensions, including competence, dependability, integrity, and transparency, as they can lead to the organizational commitment of employees and their intention to continue with their establishments. | Cogent Social Sciences | Organizational Trust; Organizational Commitment; Nationality; Competence; Integrity; Transparency |
| 2024_15 | Alper, S; Yelbuz, BE; Akkurt, SB; Yilmaz, O. (2024). The positive association of education with the trust in science and scientists is weaker in highly corrupt countries. Public Understanding of Science, 33(1), 2-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625231176935. | One of the most prominent correlates of trust in science and scientists is education level, possibly because educated individuals have higher levels of science knowledge and thinking ability, suggesting that trusting science and scientists relies more on reflective thinking abilities. However, it is relatively more reasonable for highly educated individuals to suspect authority figures in highly corrupt countries. We tested this prediction in two nationally representative and probabilistic cross-cultural data sets (Study 1: 142 countries, N = 40,085; Study 2: 47 countries, N = 69,332), and found that the positive association between education and trust in scientists (Study 1) and science (Study 2) was weaker or non-existent in highly corrupt countries. The results did not change after statistically controlling for age, sex, household income, and residence. We suggest future research to be more considerate of the societal context in understanding how education status correlates with trust in science and scientists. | Public Understanding of Science | Corruption; Education; Science; Scientist; Trust |
| 2024_16 | Alston, E. (2024). Norms, institutions, and digital veils of uncertainty-Do network protocols need trust anyway?. Regulation & Governance http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12628. | In large and complex human groups, social rules reduce individuals' uncertainty about their own choice set, including through these rules' simultaneous influence on the choice set of other individuals. But uncertainty varies as to the extent to which it is knowable and quantifiable ex ante. Therefore, different classes of social rules deal with the future uncertainty of individuals' conduct in structurally distinct ways, with institutions and norms being the hallmark example of this distinction. Institutions, through their costly definition and enforcement by a known organization, require specific delineation of behavior and penalties ex ante, meaning they of necessity confront known unknowns (risk), or the conduct of members of an organization that can be predicted ex ante. Norms, in contrast, are only effective in shaping behavior if sufficiently shared within a community, which means their application is automatic in expectation to an individual ordering their conduct considering potential norms. This makes norms apply to ex ante known and unknown situations alike, relative to the precision that the articulation of institutions requires with respect to human behavior. Although digital governance carries the benefits (and costs) of considerable institutional completeness, governance by protocol is nonetheless incomplete in the face of the complex set of exogenous shocks and human actions that a given digital networked organization will experience. This means digital institutions need to mimic the adaptability of institutions more generally, through the institutional mechanisms of flexibility detailed in this analysis. More generally, though, the fact that norms can serve as a complementary gap-filler in contexts where institutions do not reach suggest that digital organization designers cannot avoid simultaneous consideration of the human community of network users that will define the norms that become crucial in periods of true uncertainty for any organization. | Regulation & Governance | Blockchain; Digital Governance; Governance; Institutions; Networks |
| 2024_17 | Altay, S; Lyons, BA; Modirrousta-Galian, A. (2024). Exposure to Higher Rates of False News Erodes Media Trust and Fuels Overconfidence. Mass Communication and Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2024.2382776. | In two online experiments (N = 2,735), we investigated whether forced exposure to high proportions of false news could have deleterious effects by sowing confusion and fueling distrust in news. In a between-subjects design where U.S. participants rated the accuracy of true and false news, we manipulated the proportions of false news headlines participants were exposed to (17%, 33%, 50%, 66%, and 83%). We found that exposure to higher proportions of false news decreased trust in the news but did not affect participants' perceived accuracy of news headlines. While higher proportions of false news had no effect on participants' overall ability to discern between true and false news, they made participants more overconfident in their discernment ability. Therefore, exposure to false news may have deleterious effects not by increasing belief in falsehoods, but by fueling overconfidence and eroding trust in the news. Although we are only able to shed light on one causal pathway, from news environment to attitudes, this can help us better understand the effects of external or supply-side changes in news quality. | Mass Communication and Society | |
| 2024_18 | Altenmüller, MS; Wingen, T; Schulte, A. (2024). Explaining Polarized Trust in Scientists: A Political Stereotype-Approach. Science Communication, 46(1), 92-115. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10755470231221770. | Trust in science is polarized along political lines-but why? We show across a series of highly controlled studies (total N = 2,859) and a large-scale Twitter analysis (N = 3,977,868) that people across the political spectrum hold stereotypes about scientists' political orientation (e.g., scientists are liberal) and that these stereotypes decisively affect the link between their own political orientation and their trust in scientists. Critically, this effect shaped participants' perceptions of the value of science, protective behavior intentions during a pandemic, policy support, and information-seeking behavior. Therefore, these insights have important implications for effective science communication. | Science Communication | Political Polarization; Trust in Science; Stereotypes; Political Orientation; Science Communication |
| 2024_19 | Amin, A. (2024). Can I trust you?: A multi-level investigation of social media influencers. Journal of Marketing Communications http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2024.2440908. | Persuasion knowledge and source credibility theories provide a solid framework for analyzing influencer attributes, but their application to elements like expertise, trustworthiness, attractiveness, and perceived coolness is still limited. This study addresses the gap using a multi-level mixed-methods approach, combining consumer surveys and business interviews. Findings reveal that expertise strongly enhances trustworthiness and is pivotal in influencer selection, while attractiveness has minimal impact. Coolness, however, plays a significant role, particularly among female consumers, highlighting the importance of gender-specific strategies. These insights offer practical guidance for aligning influencer marketing with demographic preferences in an evolving digital landscape. | Journal of Marketing Communications | Social Media Influencers; Source Credibility Theory; Trustworthiness; Attractiveness; Coolness; Expertise |
| 2024_20 | Amundsen, R. (2024). The turn to trust: adult women, hetero-sexting, and the use of trust as sexting risk mitigation. Feminist Media Studies, 24(2), 338-353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14680777.2023.2197569. | This article explores how women use and understand trust as risk mitigation when sexting with men-also known as hetero-sexting. Drawing on interviews with 44 women aged 18-38 and based in Cambridgeshire, England, it takes as its starting point the fact that participants distinguished between trust as implicit and grounded in their current feelings for their sexting partner and as a more explicit, strategic means to gain control over the distribution of their private sexual images into the future. Focusing on the latter understanding of trust as control, the article explores what this understanding of trust can tell us about the changing nature of trust, and about the forces that inform how trust is performed and perceived in the context of hetero-sexting. It demonstrates how the logics of postfeminism or gendered neoliberalism informed participants' understandings of trust as control, and how this understanding resulted in the generation and expectation of their engagement in trust work to protect themselves from having their private sexual images shared without their consent. | Feminist Media Studies | Postfeminism; Risk; Sexting; Trust; Gendered Neoliberalism |
| 2024_21 | An, S; Kim, J; Choi, G; Jang, H; Ahn, K. (2024). The effect of rare events on information-leading role: evidence from real estate investment trusts and overall stock markets. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04146-3. | The information relationship between real estate investment trusts and stock markets has garnered significant interest in finance; however, the time-varying information flow between the two can vary due to different market conditions. This study scrutinizes the information-leading roles between the real estate investment trust sector and overall stock markets under various market conditions. Shannonian transfer entropy, used for identifying information-leading roles, can reveal nonlinear interactions between two markets; however, the results can be hindered by rare events, such as sporadically occurring episodes. Therefore, this study introduces R & eacute;nyian transfer entropy to examine the role of rare events in the information flow between the two markets. This conjecture is confirmed using the COVID-19 pandemic as a natural experiment setting of rare events. The results reveal notable findings. (i) R & eacute;nyian transfer entropy can accurately capture the impact of rare events regardless of the sample period, including the changes in information-leading roles when volatility clustering strengthens. Furthermore, (ii) the significance of liquidity and market efficiency produces different information flows depending on market status. The findings suggest that investors can use R & eacute;nyian transfer entropy to accurately identify information-leading roles between assets under various market conditions, facilitating optimal portfolio allocation. Moreover, policymakers can benchmark this approach to identify financial risk contagion paths, enabling regulators to implement timely policy actions to mitigate market risks. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_22 | Andrei, F; Barrera, D; Krakowski, K; Sulis, E. (2024). Trust intermediary in a cryptomarket for illegal drugs. European Sociological Review, 40(1), 160-172. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/esr/jcad020. | Cooperation without third-party enforcement is particularly puzzling in illicit online markets given the anonymity of online exchanges in the 'dark web' and the asymmetry of information between buyers and sellers. Most of the literature investigates the effects of reputation systems on sales. Less is known about the role of (semi)institutionalized solutions to trust problems, such as the escrow service, which deposits payments for online purchases with the market platform and releases them only upon confirmation of the item delivery by a customer. We study the effect of such a trust intermediary on sales in a cryptomarket for illegal drugs. Using a large dataset of illegal online transactions, we estimate two sets of fixed effects models predicting the sellers' choice to offer the trust intermediary and examine the effects of such a choice on sales. Our results indicate that the trust intermediary reduces online drug sales. We explain this finding by showing suggestive evidence that escrow may crowd out traders' trust and reciprocity. Our findings have implications for theories of the role of institutions in online markets and offer policy recommendations for law enforcement agencies. | European Sociological Review | |
| 2024_23 | Angelou, A; Ladi, S; Panagiotatou, D; Tsagkroni, V. (2024). Paths to trust: Explaining citizens' trust to experts and evidence-informed policymaking during the COVID-19 pandemic. Public Administration, 102(3), 1008-1025. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/padm.12962. | The COVID-19 pandemic brought forward new questions about the efficient implementation of arduous public policies. Drawing evidence from the pandemic, this article argues that, during crises, policymakers will often opt for evidence-informed policymaking, hoping for better results. In line with previous studies, we show that citizens trust more policies coming from experts rather than policymakers and elected politicians. We also add nuance to these claims as we attribute this tendency to the technocratic legitimacy thesis, referring to the symbolic significance of expert authority. Employing a public opinion survey conducted across four European countries, Germany, Greece, Sweden, and the United Kingdom, we show that independently of prior levels of political trust and each country's mortality rate, citizens welcomed evidence-informed policies during the pandemic's first wave. Politicians can leverage these insights to increase public compliance with crisis management policies. | Public Administration | |
| 2024_24 | Angelucci, D; Vittori, D. (2024). In science we (dis)trust: technocratic attitudes, populism, and trust in science during the COVID-19 pandemic. European Political Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41304-024-00487-4. | During the pandemic, science became one of the most salient issues in European polities. At the same time, relevant sectors of European societies were sceptical about science-driven policy to contain the pandemic (e.g., lockdowns or vaccine mandates). The literature so far has analysed the relevance of trust in experts and trust in science in determining compliance to pandemic-related policies. However, we still do not know what are the drivers that lead to (dis)trust science. In this paper, we contribute to fill this gap, by analysing the association between technocratic and populist attitudes and trust in science. Using a novel survey, fielded in Italy, among a sample of 5.000 respondents, we show that populism and technocracy are strongly related with (dis)trust in science in opposite directions. | European Political Science | Technocracy; Trust in Science; Science-Based Populism; Populism; Science Community; Political Trust; Italy; Radical Right; Mainstream Parties |
| 2024_25 | Anjarwi, AW; Sutrisno, T; Baridwan, Z; Iqbal, S. (2024). Determinants of Tax Evasion in the Perspective of Enforcement, Psychology, Trust, and Services. Deviant Behavior, 45(12), 1787-1819. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01639625.2024.2371586. | Indonesia's scant tax ratio underscores a grave issue of tax evasion. Past studies have scrutinized tax evasion through distinct lenses, yet this fragmented approach is beset with limitations, hampering its efficacy in preempting tax evasion conduct. This study endeavors to amalgamate these perspectives to scrutinize the determinants of tax evasion comprehensively. Employing a quantitative methodology, a questionnaire was disseminated between April and August 2023, yielding 236 valid responses from individual taxpayers. Data analysis encompassed descriptive analysis, classical assumption testing, multiple linear regression analysis, Moderated Regression Analysis (MRA), and hypothesis testing. Findings reveal an interplay among the four dimensions of tax evasion in curbing its incidence. Nevertheless, the moderating influence of demographics on this relationship proved nonsignificant. Conversely, the integration of Information and Communication Technology (ICT) bolsters the efficacy of the service perspective in mitigating tax evasion. Thus, a nuanced understanding of tax evasion necessitates a multifaceted approach. Furthermore, ICT adoption emerges as a potent instrument in fortifying the impact of the service perspective on curtailing tax evasion, urging governmental and tax regulatory bodies to consider leveraging ICT to bolster tax compliance. | Deviant Behavior | |
| 2024_26 | Appiah, T; Domeher, D; Agana, JA. (2024). Tax Knowledge, Trust in Government, and Voluntary Tax Compliance: Insights From an Emerging Economy. Sage Open, 14(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241234757. | This paper examines whether tax knowledge, tax fairness and trust affect voluntary tax compliance among small and medium enterprises (SMEs). Given the growing budget deficits and debt levels of developing economies, we contend that an understanding of the factors associated with voluntary tax compliance among SMEs could enhance tax revenue mobilization. Although the majority of businesses are SMEs, questions about their tax compliance have become topical among stakeholders due to perceived low levels of compliance, hence, an investigation into the factors underlying their tax compliance behavior is critical for stakeholders, particularly governments and tax authorities. We used a survey-based approach to sample 341 SMEs operating within Ghana's oil city of Secondi-Takoradi. We employed the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique to analyze the retrieved data. Generally, our empirical results indicate that social factors and behavioral motivations are key determinants of voluntary tax compliance among SMEs in Ghana. Specifically, our results suggest that SMEs' perception of tax fairness, knowledge about the tax system, and trust in government are significant predictors of voluntary tax compliance. Additionally, we find a significant mediating role of tax fairness in the relationship between tax knowledge and voluntary tax compliance. As governments seek to raise tax revenues and manage public debt, our results provide important insights into social and behavioral factors that could aid in enhancing tax compliance. Governments across the globe especially those in the developing world are confronted with growing budget deficits and debt levels. This has been attributed to low tax revenue mobilization particularly non-compliance with tax laws by those operating in the informal sector. As a result, we sought to identify the factors associated with voluntary tax compliance since an understanding of these factors can assist the government to address the problem of non-compliance. We surveyed small and medium enterprises and analyzed our data using structural equation modeling. Generally, our results indicate that social factors and behavioral motivations are key determinants of voluntary tax compliance among SMEs in Ghana. Particularly, SMEs' perception of tax fairness, knowledge about the tax system, and trust in government are significant predictors of voluntary tax compliance. As governments seek to raise tax revenues and manage public debt, our results provide important insights into social and behavioral factors that could aid in enhancing tax compliance. | Sage Open | Tax Fairness; Tax Knowledge; Voluntary Tax Compliance; Ghana; Smes |
| 2024_27 | Arguedas, AAR; Badrinathan, S; Mont'Alverne, C; Toff, B; Fletcher, R; Nielsen, RK. (2024). Shortcuts to trust: Relying on cues to judge online news from unfamiliar sources on digital platforms. Journalism, 25(6), 1207-1229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14648849231194485. | Scholarship has increasingly sought solutions for reversing broad declines in levels of trust in news in many countries. Some have advocated for news organizations to adopt strategies around transparency or audience engagement, but there is limited evidence about whether such strategies are effective, especially in the context of news consumption on digital platforms where audiences may be particularly likely to encounter news from sources previously unknown to them. In this paper, we use a bottom-up approach to understand how people evaluate the trustworthiness of online news. We inductively analyze interviews and focus groups with 232 people in four countries (Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States) to understand how they judge the trustworthiness of news when unfamiliar with the source. Drawing on prior credibility research, we identify three general categories of cues that are central to heuristic evaluations of news trustworthiness online when brands are unfamiliar: content, social, and platform cues. These cues varied minimally across countries, although larger differences were observed by platform. We discuss implications of these findings for scholarship and trust-building efforts. | Journalism | Trust in News; Cues; Heuristics; Platforms; Online News Consumption |
| 2024_28 | Arguedas, AR; Mont'Alverne, C; Toff, B; Fletcher, R; Nielsen, RK. (2024). Ritual Reinforcement: Habit, Emotion, and Identity as Attributes of Trust in News. Journalism Studies, 25(15), 1875-1892. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2024.2401403. | Theory and research about trust in news typically draws on normative understandings of news as a conduit for information transmission in the service of the media's role as the Fourth Estate in democratic systems. These approaches rely on a narrow top-down view of trust, and of how and why people use news in their daily lives. In this study, we offer a complementary audience-centric view of trust in news, which foregrounds three attributes beyond politics and professional practice, closer to Carey's formulation of communication as ritual, which we argue is better aligned with how much of the public engages with news. Our qualitative analysis of focus groups and interviews in Brazil, India, the United Kingdom, and the United States identifies three attributes of trust in news that extend beyond the transmission view of communication-specifically those pertaining to habit, emotion, and identity. These findings show the importance of considering how trust operates through sociocultural levels sometimes in tandem with, but in other ways orthogonal to, political factors. We posit that journalists and reformer-advocates for journalism seeking effective strategies for rebuilding trust may need to look beyond politics and the professional practices in the industry to do so. | Journalism Studies | Trust in News; Habit; Emotion; Identity; Ritual Communication; News Audiences |
| 2024_29 | Arini, HM; Wijayanto, T; Lathifah, N; Mulyani, YP; Rifai, AP; Liu, X; Li, JX; Yin, H. (2024). Detecting fake news during COVID-19 in Indonesia: the role of trust level. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 17(2), 180-190. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2023.2297125. | BackgroundThe use of social media as a platform to access news and information has the potential to lead to the spread of fake news in Indonesia. This study aims to (1) understand the trust characteristics in information of Indonesians during COVID-19; (2) identify Indonesians' ability to detect COVID-19 fake news; and (3) analyze the relationship between people's trust characteristics in information with regard to COVID-19 information and their ability to detect fake news.MethodAn online survey was conducted with 751 Indonesians who use social media to access information about COVID-19. Cultural theory is used to categorize people's trust characteristics in information, while signal detection theory is employed to identify people's ability to discriminate between fake and real news.ResultsThe results showed that 61% of respondents were categorized as having hierarchy trust characteristics. Concerning the detectability of fake news, most respondents could discriminate between fake and real news. Lastly, there was a relationship between trust characteristics in information and bias tendencies in detecting fake news.ConclusionsThe respondents have hierarchy trust characteristics, indicating they trusted government information related to COVID-19 issues. The respondents also have high ability to discriminate between fake and real news, even though they tended to miss more errors than identify false alarms when detecting fake news. The findings showed that respondents who had hierarchy and egalitarian characteristics tended to perceive real news as fake news and had a better ability to distinguish fake news compared to other trust characteristics in information. | Journal of Communication in Healthcare | COVID-19; Disinformation; Trust Level; Situational Judgement Test; Signal Detection Theory; Cultural Theory; Pandemics |
| 2024_30 | Arlt, D. (2024). In a reciprocal relationship? Examining the development and relationship between media trust and satisfaction with the government's Coronavirus policy in Germany over time. Scm Studies in Communication and Media, 13(1), 46-71. http://dx.doi.org/10.5771/2192-4007-2024-1-46. | Given the political consequences of the Coronavirus crisis, the present study examined the reciprocal relationship between satisfaction with the government's Coronavirus policy and media trust in Germany during the first year of the Coronavirus pandemic. Using data from a panel survey conducted between April 2020 and April 2021, a random intercept cross-lagged panel model was applied to explore the reciprocal relationship over time. The findings revealed strong correlations between the random intercepts, indicating that people who were generally more satisfied with the government's Coronavirus policy also showed higher levels of media trust than the average and vice versa. On the withinperson level, however, the results clearly show just one cross-lagged effect at a very specific point in time during the pandemic: within-person changes in policy satisfaction in November 2020 caused within-person changes in media trust in April 2021. No reciprocal influence over time was found. | Scm Studies in Communication and Media | Media Trust; Satisfaction With the Government's Coronavirus Policy; Reciprocal Relationship; Panel Data; Random Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Model |
| 2024_31 | Arrese, A. (2024). Institutional and non-institutional news trust as predictors of COVID-19 beliefs: Evidence from three European countries. Public Understanding of Science, 33(4), 430-446. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625231217081. | The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by an infodemic in which trust in news played an essential role. This article analyzes how this trust can be divided into two components, institutional and non-institutional, which are differentially related to beliefs about COVID-19 and perceptions of receiving misinformation and disinformation. Based on a survey conducted in three European countries (Germany, Spain, and the United Kingdom), the study confirms that higher levels of institutional news trust (the trust dimension correlated more with trust in the news media, government, politicians, national and global health organizations, and scientists) are a good predictor of both better knowledge of COVID-19 myths and misstatements, and lower perceptions of being surrounded by false and misleading information about the virus. The research also highlights the special role of media and political sources in strengthening the institutional dimension of news trust. | Public Understanding of Science | COVID-19 Beliefs; Institutional News Trust; Mis- and Disinformation; News Sources; Non-Institutional News Trust |
| 2024_32 | Arzheimer, K. (2024). Identification with an anti-system party undermines diffuse political support: the case of Alternative for Germany and trust in the Federal Constitutional Court. Party Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13540688241237493. | The rise of the far right is increasingly raising the question of whether partisanship can have negative consequences for democracy. While issues such as partisan bias and affective polarization have been extensively researched, little is known about the relationship between identification with anti-system parties and diffuse system support. I address this gap by introducing a novel indicator and utilising the GESIS panel dataset, which tracks the rise of a new party, Alternative for Germany (AfD) from 2013, when the party was founded, to 2017, when the AfD, now transformed into a right-wing populist and anti-system party, entered the federal parliament for the first time. Employing a panel fixed effects design, I demonstrate that identification with Alternative for Germany reduces trust in the Federal Constitutional Court by a considerable margin. These findings are robust across various alternative specifications, suggesting that the effects of anti-system party identification should not be dismissed. | Party Politics | Anti-System Parties; Germany; Party Identification; Radical Right Parties; Trust |
| 2024_33 | Ates, A; Sunar, H; Erdem, B. (2024). The Role of Emotional Attachment in the Impact of Generation Z's Trust in Digital Influencers on Unplanned Purchase Behavior. Galactica Media-Journal of Media Studies - Galaktika Media-Zhurnal Media Issledovanij, 6(4), 350-373. http://dx.doi.org/10.46539/gmd.v6i4.499. | By 2024, the global Internet user base is expected to reach 5.5 billion, with 94% actively engaging on social media platforms. Marketing managers increasingly employ strategies involving key opinion leaders to connect with Generation Z, a demographic known for its digital fluency and reliance on social networks. This study utilizes a qualitative approach to investigate how emotional attachment impacts Generation Z consumers' trust in social media figures and its effect on impulsive buying behavior. It contributes to the body of knowledge on digital marketing by identifying factors that enhance the effectiveness of social media personalities in reaching and persuading Generation Zaudiences. The findings provide actionable insights for content creators aiming to expand their following and for businesses seeking to strengthen their credibility and drive consumer purchasing decisions through collaboration with digital creators. The results reveal that emotional attachment to online personalities is a crucial driver of trust among Generation Z, significantly affecting their unplanned purchasing habits. Additionally, emotional connection acts as a catalyst, amplifying the impact of trust on spontaneous buying tendencies. Although trust in social media figures has a notable effect on unplanned purchasing, the relatively weak correlation underscores the need for further exploration of additional factors influencing Generation Z's decision-making processes. | Galactica Media-Journal of Media Studies - Galaktika Media-Zhurnal Media Issledovanij | Digital Influencer; Digital Follower; Generation Z; Social Media; Emotional Attachment; Unplanned Purchase Behavior; Impulse Buying; Influencer Marketing; Consumers; Trust |
| 2024_34 | Auchynnikava, A; Habibov, N; Lyu, Y; Fan, LD. (2024). Effect of the contextual (community) level social trust on women's empowerment: an instrumental variable analysis of 26 nations. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03123-0. | The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of contextual (community) level social trust on women's empowerment. The specific knowledge gap explored in this study is that the previous studies theorized that community trust has a positive impact on women's empowerment. Thus, an increase in trust in the community will empower women. However, such an assumption has been never empirically tested and confirmed. Against this backdrop, the present paper develops a theoretical argument on why the increase in community trust should lead to a higher level of women empowerment. Then, a cross-country survey was used as a data source to test the effect of community trust on women's empowerment. A traditional single-stage OLS and instrumental variable regressions are estimated to test the effect of community trust on women's empowerment and quantify the magnitude of such impact. The key finding of this paper is that community trust indeed significantly strengthens the empowerment of women by increasing women's ownership of assets and improving the decision-making authority of women in the family. Importantly, our findings are robust for the separate rural and urban samples, as well as the samples of younger and older women. Equally, our findings are robust for an alternative set of instruments. The main implication of these findings is that policymakers, social administrators, and government authorities who are working on promoting gender equality should give priority to promoting community-based interventions that nurture and maintain women's trust. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_35 | Aydin-Cakir, A; Driscoll, A. (2024). On motives and means: how approach and justification for court-curbing impact public trust. Democratization http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2024.2428271. | High profile court-curbing episodes from around the world are usually justified by populists who seek to minimize public backlash and legitimize their attacks on courts. Yet we do not know their effect on public trust in the target of reform. In this study we evaluate (1) whether different forms of court-curbing policies affect public confidence in their pinnacle court; (2) how populists' justifications for these institutional attacks impact citizens' trust; and (3) how support for the incumbent government condition public responses to (1) and (2). We fielded a face-to-face, nationally representative survey experiment with 1014 respondents in Turkey, where court-curbing is common, and the public support of the populist incumbent varies. We find that irrespective of its form, court-curbing of any kind undermines the public's confidence in the constitutional court, although presenting the citizens with justifications does not affect their trust. Nevertheless, we observe that these effects are highly dependent on pre-existing government support or opposition, a fact that aligns with extant research on the instrumental foundations of public support for courts. | Democratization | Court-Curbing; Public Trust in the Judiciary; Populism; Survey Experiment |
| 2024_36 | Azeez, AJ; Adeate, T. (2024). Trust norms for generative AI data gathering in the African context. Data & Policy, 6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dap.2024.67. | Can trust norms within the African moral system support data gathering for Generative AI (GenAI) development in African society? Recent developments in the field of large language models, such as GenAI, including models like ChatGPT and Midjourney, have identified a common issue with these GenAI models known as AI hallucination, which involves the presentation of misinformation as facts along with its potential downside of facilitating public distrust in AI performance. In the African context, this paper frames unsupportive data-gathering norms as a contributory factor to issues such as AI hallucination and investigates the following claims. First, this paper explores the claim that knowledge in the African context exists in both esoteric and exoteric forms, incorporating such diverse knowledge as data could imply that a GenAI tailored for Africa may have unlimited accessibility across all contexts. Second, this paper acknowledges the formidable challenge of amassing a substantial volume of data, which encompasses esoteric information, requisite for the development of a GenAI model, positing that the establishment of a foundational framework for data collection, rooted in trust norms that is culturally resonant, has the potential to engender trust dynamics between data providers and collectors. Lastly, this paper recommends that trust norms in the African context require recalibration to align with contemporary social progress, while preserving their core values, to accommodate innovative data-gathering methodologies for a GenAI tailored to the African setting. This paper contributes to how trust culture within the African context, particularly in the domain of GenAI for African society, propels the development of Afro-AI technologies. | Data & Policy | Afro-Epistemic-Moral Theory; Data Gathering; Generative AI; Knowledge Forms; Trust Culture |
| 2024_37 | Bach, P. (2024). Fake news you can trust: How the Babylon Bee brings news satire to the Right. Communication Review, 27(3), 337-353. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10714421.2024.2374638. | The political Left dominated news satire in the United States in the early part of the 21st century with television shows such as The Daily Show and newspapers and sites like The Onion, leading some commentators and scholars to argue that satire leans inherently left or is even the exclusive domain of progressivism. Since 2016, The Babylon Bee, a conservative, Christian news satire website has defied these expectations. This article offers an examination of how The Babylon Bee, has adapted contemporary practices of news satire in the 21st century United States to the conservative perspective. After providing a theoretical definition of conservative satire, the paper provides brief historical overviews of news satire since the turn of the century, conservative satire from Ancient Greece to the British Enlightenment, and the founding and evolution of The Babylon Bee. Finally, the author demonstrates how The Bee has brought news satire to the Right in the 21st century by navigating three challenges of the recent American politics of particular importance to conservatives: the divisive figure of Donald Trump, the rise of misinformation, and the nuances of identity politics. | Communication Review | Conservatism; Irony; News Satire; the Babylon Bee |
| 2024_38 | Backer, LC. (2024). Trust platforms: the digitalization of corporate governance and the transformation of trust in polycentric space. Regulation & Governance http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12614. | This contribution considers the revolution in the concept and practice of trust in corporate governance that first moved from trust in people to trust in compliance, setting the stage for the digitization of trust measures and the digitalization of compliance. Part One examines the fundamental challenge, one that arises from the near simultaneous shift in cultural expectations about trust from trust in character to trust in measurement, and then the rise of cultures of data driven systems of compliance and accountability. Part Two then considers the transformation brought by challenge responses in the form of three closely interlinked impulses: digitization, digitalization of compliance-accountability regimes, and the emergence of platforms as spaces for trust interactions among stakeholders. Part Three then examines the current shape of these iterative dialectics, including connections between platforms and polycentric trust governance, and the detachment of trust from the entity that is its subject. | Regulation & Governance | Accountability; Corporate Governance; Digital Platforms; Digitalization; Trust |
| 2024_39 | Badurdeen, FA; Jakala, M; Taka, M. (2024). Situating Trust, Values, and Ethics in the Politics of Knowledge Production: An Epistemic Shift in the Co-Production of Studying Violent Extremism. Qualitative Inquiry http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10778004241250068. | This article aligns with voices arguing for the need for trust-building in the co-production of knowledge on violent extremism. Trying to internalize the concept of violent extremism in local communities comes with its own political nuances in the knowledge-making process. A focus on trust-building approaches is relevant not only to those scholars who work on violent extremism research but also to the broad academic study of conflicts, postconflict, and terrorism. By drawing examples from a workshop conducted on trust-building in violent extremism research, the article presents some of the complexities in violent extremism research fieldwork and how researchers have been building trust with their research participants by navigating complex situations. This entails how different values contradict or merge in co-producing knowledge and the need for ethics to go beyond the institutional research ethical guidelines in understanding universal values for building trust in fieldwork. | Qualitative Inquiry | Trust; Values; Ethics; Politics of Knowledge Production; Co-Production of Knowledge; Violent Extremism Research; Fieldwork |
| 2024_40 | Bae, J; Lee, YJ. (2024). How Mandatory Military Service Can Divide Rather Than Unite: Conscription, Gender, and Military Trust in South Korea 2003-2021. Armed Forces & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0095327X241234021. | Can mandatory military service increase confidence in the state across the population when only men are required to serve? To answer this question, we leverage the case of South Korea to examine how male-only conscription influences trust toward a critical state institution, the military. Based on the foreign policy opinion literature on the gender gap, we hypothesize that women hold different views of the military and respond in distinct ways to conscription. Analysis of public opinion data from 2003 to 2021 shows that women generally exhibit less trust in the military than men. Male conscription also has diverging effects along gender lines for parents of sons who must serve, increasing distrust of the military for their mothers while not affecting fathers. The findings suggest that mandatory military service can (further) divide opinions of the military across society. | Armed Forces & Society | Civil-Military Relations; Asia; Military Trust; Conscription; Korea; Gender Gap |
| 2024_41 | Barbabela, L. (2024). Anti-corruption Audits and Citizens' Trust in Audit and Auditee Institutions. Latin American Politics and Society, 66(4), 78-91. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/lap.2024.10. | Anticorruption audits may deter corruption and signal to citizens that institutions are proactively combating it. However, by detecting and reporting corruption, audits might also unintentionally erode trust in institutions. Therefore, the impact of audits potentially hinges on whether they uncover corruption. Audit institutions, not implicated in the corruption they uncover, might be less likely to experience a decline in trust compared to auditee institutions. This study uses survey and administrative data from Brazil, leveraging a federal anti-corruption program that randomly selects municipalities for auditing. Results do not support the claim that audits boost institutional trust. Individuals in audited municipalities show no different levels of trust in local government or the audit institution than those in non-audited municipalities, and the coefficients may even indicate a negative effect. Additionally, audit institutions may not be better insulated from the corrosive effects of uncovering corruption than the institutions they audit. | Latin American Politics and Society | Institutional Trust; Corruption; Anti-Corruption Audits; Brazil |
| 2024_42 | Barbalet, J. (2024). Trust in modernity: the case of Adam Smith. European Journal of Social Theory, 27(1), 60-77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13684310231185901. | Recent examination of Adam Smith's mention of trust and his understanding of the role of trust in interpersonal relations add to his standing as a theorist of modernity. Smith's development of the notion of trust is confined to an account of trustworthiness, which is consistent with his theory of moral agency based on the principle of the impartial spectator. In addition, it is demonstrated that the predominance of trustworthiness in Smith's understanding relates to the significant presence of cottage industry in a globalised commercial economy, through which reliance on others is foregrounded. At the same time Smith was unable to grasp the disposition and agency of a trustor, a person giving trust, and their confidence in choosing to balance the risk of depending on strangers with the advantage such dependence might provide. In this way both Smith's understanding of trust and the nature of trust itself are explicated. | European Journal of Social Theory | Cottage Industry; Obligation; Promise Keeping; Trust; Trustworthiness |
| 2024_43 | Bareis, J. (2024). The trustification of AI. Disclosing the bridging pillars that tie trust and AI together. Big Data & Society, 11(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20539517241249430. | Trustworthy artificial intelligence (TAI) is trending high on the political agenda. However, what is actually implied when talking about TAI, and why it is so difficult to achieve, remains insufficiently understood by both academic discourse and current AI policy frameworks. This paper offers an analytical scheme with four different dimensions that constitute TAI: a) A user perspective of AI as a quasi-other; b) AI's embedding in a network of actors from programmers to platform gatekeepers; c) The regulatory role of governance in bridging trust insecurities and deciding on AI value trade-offs; and d) The role of narratives and rhetoric in mediating AI and its conflictual governance processes. It is through the analytical scheme that overlooked aspects and missed regulatory demands around TAI are revealed and can be tackled. Conceptually, this work is situated in disciplinary transgression, dictated by the complexity of the phenomenon of TAI. The paper borrows from multiple inspirations such as phenomenology to reveal AI as a quasi-other we (dis-)trust; Science & Technology Studies (STS) to deconstruct AI's social and rhetorical embedding; as well as political science for pinpointing hegemonial conflicts within regulatory bargaining. | Big Data & Society | Trustworthy AI; Technology Governance; Conflict Theory of State; Ethics of AI; Public Interest AI; Science and Technology Studies |
| 2024_44 | Bargsted, M; González-Ide, A. (2024). Social trust and the winner-loser gap. Electoral Studies, 92. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.electstud.2024.102869. | The electoral winner-loser gap literature has shown sharp differences between citizens who vote for winning and losing options in key indicators of political support. In this article, we claim that the influence of election results can extend beyond the political domain and reach citizens' level of social trust. Indeed, elections can reveal to citizens who voted for the winning option that their preferences are aligned with the majority opinion of society, while it signals the opposite to electoral losers. We hypothesize that this contrast will trigger a gap in the level of social trust between winners and losers, and that this gap will be larger among politically engaged voters relative to those more disinterested in political affairs. To contrast our hypotheses, we conducted two online panel surveys with a pre-post electoral design during two recent elections in Chile. Estimates from Two-way Fixed Effects regression models support our main theoretical expectations. | Electoral Studies | Elections; Winner-Loser Gap; Social Trust; Chile; Panel Survey; Two-Way Fixed Effects |
| 2024_45 | Barisic, R; Kulovic, D; Juresic, S. (2024). In Board We Trust: The Role of Supervisory Board in Public Companies in Bosnia and Herzegovina. Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, 22(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.7906/indecs.22.4.5. | The role of supervisory boards in corporate governance has become a focal point of academic and practical scrutiny, especially in the context of public enterprises undergoing a transition in post-socialist countries. Bosnia and Herzegovina, a nation experiencing a protracted and complex transition, presents a unique case for examining how supervisory boards influence the management and operational strategies of public companies. The interplay between corporate governance structures and the broader socio-economic transformation processes provides fertile ground for insights into the effectiveness of governance practices. This article aims to delve into the dynamics of supervisory boards within the public enterprises of Bosnia and Herzegovina, assessing their impact on strategic management and financial performance. The research is motivated by the preposition that robust and active supervisory boards can significantly shape the strategic direction of companies, enhancing their governance and contributing to their success in a competitive and evolving economic landscape. By exploring the composition, roles, and effectiveness of these boards, the study seeks to contribute to the broader discourse on corporate governance in transitional economies, offering implications for policy and practice in similar contexts. | Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems | Corporate Governance; Public Companies; Supervisory Board; Company Governance |
| 2024_46 | Bartsch, A; Mares, ML; Schindler, J; Kühn, J; Krack, I. (2024). Trust but verify? A social epistemology framework of knowledge acquisition and verification practices for fictional entertainment. Human Communication Research, 50(2), 194-207. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/hcr/hqad036. | Fictional entertainment can serve as a vivid and easily comprehensible source of knowledge, but only if audiences are able to tell its kernel of truth apart from fantasy. In this article, we use the lens of social epistemology to develop a theoretical framework of knowledge acquisition and verification practices for fictional entertainment that integrates various extant lines of work on entertainment education, perceived realism, information processing, credibility assessment, and verification strategies. To flesh out the conceptual model derived from top-down theoretical integration, we use an inductive, bottom-up approach to theory building, assisted by qualitative research. The resulting model describes knowledge acquisition from fiction as an essentially social process characterized by a combination of epistemic trust and epistemic vigilance toward fictional content and sources, in which credibility is assessed via social knowledge sharing and verification practices. | Human Communication Research | Fiction; Entertainment; Perceived Realism; Credibility Assessment; Verification Practices |
| 2024_47 | Basinger, ED; Quinlan, MM; Curry, AM. (2024). Trust yourself and your body: advice from fat individuals on how to navigate fat fertility, pregnancy, and birth. Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society, 13(1), 6-21. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21604851.2023.2248364. | Weight stigma contributes to healthcare-related stress and can make pregnancy difficult for people in larger bodies who are frequently denied reproductive healthcare treatment or receive poor quality care. Support from similar others - those who have experienced the same stressor - is particularly useful for navigating these challenges. Our goal in this study was to solicit advice from fat individuals who have tried to conceive, been pregnant, or had a baby. Survey responses from 150 people included 225 units of advice. We used content analysis to code the advice into 10 types that fell under three main categories: intrapersonal advice, communication advice, and social support advice. The two most prevalent pieces of advice were to trust yourself and your body (n = 57) and find an inclusive provider (n = 56). Based on our results, we suggest finding fat-affirming and inclusive providers, seeking nourishment rather than a restrictive diet, engaging in joyful movement, and connecting with a community of other fat individuals. | Fat Studies-An Interdisciplinary Journal of Body Weight and Society | Fat; Pregnancy; Fertility; Postpartum; Advice |
| 2024_48 | Bayern, S. (2024). Trusting organizational law. Regulation & Governance http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12616. | Decentralized governance technologies like blockchains are often proposed as substitutes for private legal arrangements like those provided by company law or organizational law more generally. In established legal systems in developed countries, the costs of implementing such algorithmic mechanisms are likely to be greater than the agency or other costs that come from selecting and trusting an existing third party. But even if that were not true, attempting to achieve decentralized governance solely by algorithm is more complicated than it appears and incurs significant formalism costs. Such costs can be reduced by the wealth of experience represented by the operational processes of organizational law. Mixing those operational processes with algorithmic governance by opting into organizational law, thereby letting it govern the interface between the algorithms and the real-world legal rights associated with an organization, is likely to be a governance model superior to the use of algorithmic governance alone. | Regulation & Governance | Blockchains; Decentralized Governance; Legal Formalism; Organizational Law; Trust |
| 2024_49 | Bengtsson, R; Brommesson, D. (2024). Trusting neighbours? Public perceptions on civil defence cooperation across the Nordics. Cooperation and Conflict http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00108367241299800. | This article zooms in on the pre-conditions on the citizens' level for deeper Nordic cooperation on civil defence matters. Historical ties, Nordic security cooperation, high-trusting citizens and the fact that all five Nordic states now are members of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) speak in favour of increased cooperation on civil defence. Still, the experiences from the Covid-19 pandemic with different strategies, diverging policies and closed borders, as well as heated exchanges of views, provide us with contradicting expectations. Based on a unique dataset with over 11,000 Nordic respondents, we address these mixed expectations and study the trust of the Nordic citizens in both their respective government's civil defence preparedness and the citizens' preferences regarding Nordic and other forms of international cooperation in this area. The results show a significant variation of trust in the civil preparedness of national governments (Finland highest trust, Sweden lowest trust). The variation returns in the desire for deeper international cooperation with considerably lower level of support for enhanced Nordic cooperation among the Danish respondents and strong support for such cooperation among the Finns, Norwegians and Swedes. Hence, our results indicate a potential for enhanced cooperation among some Nordics, but not all. | Cooperation and Conflict | Civil Defence; EU; NATO; Nordic; Public Opinion; Trust |
| 2024_50 | Bernal, J. (2024). Private sector trust in data sharing: enablers in the European Union†. Data & Policy, 6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dap.2024.20. | Enabling private sector trust stands as a critical policy challenge for the success of the EU Data Governance Act and Data Act in promoting data sharing to address societal challenges. This paper attributes the widespread trust deficit to the unmanageable uncertainty that arises from businesses' limited usage control to protect their interests in the face of unacceptable perceived risks. For example, a firm may hesitate to share its data with others in case it is leaked and falls into the hands of business competitors. To illustrate this impasse, competition, privacy, and reputational risks are introduced, respectively, in the context of three suboptimal approaches to data sharing: data marketplaces, data collaboratives, and data philanthropy. The paper proceeds by analyzing seven trust-enabling mechanisms comprised of technological, legal, and organizational elements to balance trust, risk, and control and assessing their capacity to operate in a fair, equitable, and transparent manner. Finally, the paper examines the regulatory context in the EU and the advantages and limitations of voluntary and mandatory data sharing, concluding that an approach that effectively balances the two should be pursued. | Data & Policy | Data Altruism; Data Asymmetry; Data Governance; Data Intermediaries; Data Sharing |
| 2024_51 | Bhupla, S; Barnard, A; Howarth, R. (2024). The stealth rise of control: Forgotten trust in contemporary professionalism. Current Sociology http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00113921241239643. | Professionalism has long been a term understood to distinguish social strata, commonly highlighting those trusted to employ expert knowledge for the benefit of society. Professionalism however is evolving; this position article contributes to the subject in drawing together different threads of literature beyond empirical studies to extend the discussion on professionalism, shedding a light on an area of interest. Specifically, it is argued that professionalism is threatened by the shift of the loci of control from the traditional, occupational professional positions to what is now contemporary professionalism. To facilitate such a transition, trust, a long-time fundamental component of traditional professionalism, is being readily and overtly substituted by control, wielded in and by modern organisations for the primary benefit of that organisation. The first part of the article explicates an understanding of professionalism and trust. The following section then introduces the relationship between both traditional and contemporary professionalism with trust. The third part moves to discuss the rise of differing types of control, arguing that trust has been forced to take a minor role in contemporary notions of professionalism in organisational practice, leading to the term being utilised to induce the required behaviours within those organisations. The article concludes with direction on both potential implications and applications of the theoretical points raised through the discussion. Le terme de <> sert depuis longtemps a distinguer les couches sociales, en designant les personnes sur lesquelles on compte pour utiliser des connaissances specialisees dans l'interet de la societe. Mais le professionnalisme evolue. Le present document de synthese cherche a elargir la discussion sur le professionnalisme en rassemblant differents elements de la litterature sur le sujet, sans se limiter aux etudes empiriques. Plus precisement, nous expliquons que le professionnalisme est menace par le deplacement des lieux de controle des positions professionnelles traditionnelles vers ce qui est aujourd'hui le professionnalisme contemporain. Pour faciliter cette transition, la confiance, qui est depuis longtemps une composante fondamentale du professionnalisme traditionnel, est volontiers et ouvertement remplacee par le controle, exerce dans les organisations modernes et par celles-ci dans leur interet premier. Dans la premiere partie, nous expliquons comment comprendre le professionnalisme et la confiance. La partie suivante introduit la relation entre le professionnalisme a la fois traditionnel et contemporain, et la confiance. La troisieme partie s'interesse a la montee en puissance de differents types de controle, en soutenant que la confiance a ete contrainte de jouer un role mineur dans les notions de professionnalisme contemporaines dans la pratique organisationnelle, de sorte que le terme est utilise pour induire les comportements requis au sein de ces organisations. L'article propose enfin une orientation sur les implications et les applications potentielles des points theoriques souleves. El profesionalismo ha sido un concepto usado para distinguir estratos sociales durante mucho tiempo, destacando habitualmente a aquellos en quienes se confia para emplear el conocimiento experto en beneficio de la sociedad. Sin embargo, el profesionalismo esta evolucionando. Este articulo de toma de posicion contribuye al estudio de la cuestion, reuniendo diferentes ramas de la literatura mas alla de los estudios empiricos para ampliar la discusion sobre el profesionalismo, arrojando luz sobre un area de interes. Especificamente, se argumenta que el profesionalismo se ve amenazado por el cambio en el locus de control desde las posiciones ocupacionales profesionales tradicionales a lo que ahora es el profesionalismo contemporaneo. Para facilitar esta transicion, la confianza, un componente fundamental del profesionalismo tradicional desde hace mucho tiempo, esta siendo sustituida de manera facil y abierta por el control, ejercido en y por las organizaciones modernas en su beneficio propio. La primera parte del articulo explica la manera de entender el profesionalismo y la confianza. La siguiente parte presenta la relacion del profesionalismo tradicional y del contemporaneo con la confianza. La tercera parte pasa a discutir el surgimiento de diferentes tipos de control, argumentando que la confianza se ha visto obligada a asumir un papel menor en las nociones contemporaneas de profesionalismo en la practica organizacional, lo que lleva a que el termino se utilice para inducir los comportamientos requeridos dentro de esas organizaciones. El articulo concluye con indicaciones tanto sobre las posibles implicaciones como sobre las aplicaciones de los puntos teoricos planteados a lo largo de la discusion. | Current Sociology | Contemporary Professionalism; Control; Organisations; Professionalism; Traditional Professionalism; Trust |
| 2024_52 | Bienstman, S; Hense, S; Gangl, M. (2024). Explaining the 'democratic malaise' in unequal societies: Inequality, external efficacy and political trust. European Journal of Political Research, 63(1), 172-191. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12611. | Previous scholarship suggests that rising inequality in democracies suppresses trust in institutions. However, the mechanism behind this has not clearly been identified. This paper investigates the proposition that income inequality leads to increased democratic distrust by depressing perceptions of external efficacy. Based on time-series cross-sectional survey data from the European Social Survey, we find that changes in income inequality have a negative effect on changes in political trust and external efficacy. Causal mediation analysis confirms that inequality affects trust through lower efficacy. Further analyses show that this efficacy-based mechanism does not depend on political orientation. As a direct effect remains among left-wing respondents, our empirical results indicate that inequality affects trust via both a mechanism of substantive output evaluation and a process-based evaluation that measures of external efficacy can capture. These findings highlight the empirical and theoretical relevance of this so far neglected mechanism and provide a potential solution for the puzzle that inequality depresses trust also among those for whom inequality is not politically salient. | European Journal of Political Research | Political Trust; External Efficacy; Income Inequality; Mediation Analysis |
| 2024_53 | Binder, A; Stevic, A; Matthes, J; Thomas, MF. (2024). Dating algorithms? Investigating the reciprocal relationships between partner choice FOMO, decision fatigue, excessive swiping, and trust in algorithms on dating apps. New Media & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448241270542. | Dating apps have changed the way people establish contact with potential romantic partners. However, more and more dating apps use algorithms to keep their users' engagement high. Studies suggest that trust in algorithms can shape offline dating experiences. We theorize that excessive swiping, driven by fear of missing out, predicts trust. We also explore the role of decision fatigue. Findings from a two-wave panel study with NTime2 = 521 young dating app users suggest that the fear of missing out on potential romantic partners was positively related to decision fatigue on dating apps. Moreover, excessive swiping and decision fatigue were positively related to trust in algorithms. No reciprocal effects of trust in algorithms on excessive swiping or decision fatigue were observed. It seems that trust in algorithms might present some kind of relief strategy for compulsive behaviors such as excessively swiping, or for negative feelings such as decision fatigue. | New Media & Society | Dating Apps; Decision Fatigue; Excessive Swiping; FOMO; Longitudinal Study; Trust in Algorithms |
| 2024_54 | Biscop, M; Décary-Hétu, D. (2024). Anonymity Technologies in Investigative Journalism: A Tool for Inspiring Trust in Sources. Journalism Practice, 18(6), 1420-1441. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2022.2113740. | Investigative journalism, like other sectors of social life, has undergone significant changes due to globalization, technological progress, and the Western world's turn to neoliberalism. This context has facilitated the emergence of new practices within the profession, particularly new modes of communication between journalists and their confidential sources. This qualitative study focuses on the meaning journalists attribute to the use of these technologies in their relationships with their sources. Anonymity tools are being used to build the professional identity of investigative journalism (both collectively and individually) and therefore constitute a resource in the power relationship between journalists and their sources, a relationship that is not fundamentally changed by their use. | Journalism Practice | Investigative Journalism; Anonymity Technologies; Journalistic Sources; Surveillance; Professional Identity; Relationship With Sources |
| 2024_55 | Blassnig, S; Mitova, E; Strikovic, E; Urman, A; de Vreese, C; Hannak, A; Esser, F. (2024). User Perceptions of News Recommender Systems and Trust in Media Outlets: A Five-Country Study. Journalism Studies, 25(10), 1182-1204. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1461670X.2024.2364628. | The study investigates user perceptions of news media's employment of news recommender systems (NRS) and their relation to trust in media outlets. A cross-sectional survey (n = 5079) in the United Kingdom, United States, Poland, the Netherlands, and Switzerland shows that higher algorithmic knowledge, users' perceived skills, and news aggregator use correspond to increased perceptions that news media use NRS. Moreover, higher perceived NRS use of specific news outlets is associated with lower trust in those outlets but perceived benefits and concerns related to NRS moderate this relationship. Our findings highlight the need for media organizations to ensure a responsible and transparent use of such systems, highlight benefits for users, and address concerns to avoid misperceptions of their NRS use and maintain user trust. | Journalism Studies | News Recommender Systems; Algorithms; Media Trust; Audience Perceptions; Algorithmic Knowledge; Algorithmic Skills; Digital Journalism |
| 2024_56 | Bleck, J; Bonan, J; Lemay-boucher, P; Sarr, B. (2024). Drinking Tea with the Neighbors: Informal Clubs, General Trust, and Trustworthiness in Mali. American Political Science Review, 118(2), 744-763. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0003055423000709. | There has been scant empirical evidence linking associational membership to general trust and trustworthiness. This study explores urban youth clubs in Mali and asks: is membership in these groups associated with greater trust and trustworthiness toward society? It leverages 18 months of fieldwork, including 375 group surveys, 2,525 individual surveys, over 1,300 trust games, and transcripts from 66 focus groups. We use propensity score matching to analyze how members and nonmembers play the trust game with strangers. Members are more trustworthy; they return 12% more to their partners than nonmember peers. We do not find a systematic effect of membership on trust. Trustworthiness in the game is also positively correlated with self-reported trust and tolerance as well as real-world behaviors including volunteering and helping friends. Focus group data highlight five mechanisms by which membership fosters general trustworthiness: bonding among diverse members, bridging, public goods provision, socialization, and psychological support. | American Political Science Review | |
| 2024_57 | Blix, SB; Törnqvist, N. (2024). Navigating uncertainty and negotiating trust in judicial deliberations. Frontiers in Sociology, 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2024.1423885. | Autonomy and independence are key features of legal decision-making. Yet, decision-making in court is fundamentally interactional and collective, both during the information gathering phase of hearings, and in evaluations during deliberations. Depending on legal system and type of court, deliberations can include different constellations of lay judges, jurors, or judge panels. In this article, we explore the collective dynamic of knowledge acquisition in legal decision-making, by analysing their emotional undercurrents. We show how judges balance uncertainty and certainty in legal deliberation, elaborating on (1) trust; (2) uncertainty exchange, and; (3) certainty as an agile emotion. Theoretically, the article combines an emotive-cognitive judicial framework, which understands emotion and reason as intersecting and continuous, with social interactionist theory. The analysis builds on extensive ethnographic fieldwork in Sweden, including shadowing and interviews with judges as well as observations during court proceedings and deliberations. The article actualizes the joint accomplishment of legal independence, and contributes with a nuanced account of how the decision-making process unfolds in legal deliberations. | Frontiers in Sociology | Judicial Deliberation; Trust; Epistemic Emotions; Judges; Legal Decision Making; Social Interaction; Legal Independence; Uncertainty |
| 2024_58 | Bodo, B; de Filippi, P. (2024). Trust in context: the impact of regulation on blockchain and DeFi. Regulation & Governance http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12637. | Trust is a key resource in financial transactions. Traditional financial institutions, and novel blockchain-based decentralized financial (DeFi) services rely on fundamentally different sources of trust and confidence. The former relies on heavy regulation, trusted intermediaries, clear rules (and restrictions) on market competition, and long-standing informal expectations on what banks and other financial intermediaries are supposed to do or not to do. The latter rely on blockchain technology to provide confidence in the outcome of rules encoded in protocols and smart contracts. Their main promise is to create confidence in the way the blockchain architecture enforces rules, rather than to trust banks, regulators, and markets. In this article, we compare the trust architectures surrounding these two financial systems. We provide a deeper analysis of how proposed regulation in the blockchain space affects the code- and confidence-based architectures which so far have underwrote DeFi. We argue that despite the solid safeguards and guarantees which code can offer, the confidence in DeFi is still very much dependent on more traditional trust-enhancing mechanisms, such as code governance, and antifraud regulation to address some of the issues which currently plague this domain, and which have no immediate, purely software-based solutions. What is more, given the risks of bugs or scams in the DeFi space, regulation and trusted intermediaries may need to play a more active role, in order for DeFi to gain the trust of the next generation of users. | Regulation & Governance | Blockchain; Decentralized Finance; Finance; Institutional Analysis; Regulation; Trust |
| 2024_59 | Bongomin, GOC; Malinga, CA; Amani, AM; Balinda, R. (2024). The role of trust as an informal social mechanism for contract enforcement among young women microenterprises in financial markets in sub-Saharan Africa. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 44(5-6), 462-486. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-06-2023-0146. | PurposeThe main purpose of this paper is to establish whether trust plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between access to microcredit and survival of young women microenterprises in under-developed financial markets in sub-Saharan Africa. The main focus of this paper is to specifically test whether relational social capital built by young women from homogeneous and heterogeneous groups can be more effective in promoting economic exchange in under-developed financial markets since interpersonal trust has recently been found to harbor group collusion, especially among kins. Overall, the paper distinguishes trust among individuals based on their age, gender and ethnic diversity.Design/methodology/approachThis study used structural equation model to test whether trust significantly mediates the relationship between access to microcredit and survival of young women microenterprises using Analysis of Moments Structures (AMOS) based on recommendations by Hair et al. (2022) and Baron and Kenny (1986).FindingsThe findings from this study revealed that trust significantly and positively mediate the relationship between access to microcredit and survival of young women microenterprises in under-developed financial markets in sub-Saharan Africa. Trust developed from relational social capital among young women from homogeneous and heterogeneous groups create a stronger basis for economic exchange in under-developed financial markets.Research limitations/implicationsWhile this study generates a positive evidence on the impact of access to microcredit on survival of young women microenterprises, the results cannot be over emphasized and generalized because the data were collected from only a single developing country. Future research may extend the current study to include other developing countries to make a more justified comprehensive analysis.Practical implicationsThe findings from this study highlights the importance of using a blend of social policy guided by norms combined with formal regulations as an informal contract enforcement mechanism to achieve efficient economic exchange in under-developed financial markets. Relational social capital formed on the basis of informal norms among groups from diverse population can supplement formal laws to enforce contractual obligations in microcredit access, especially among youthful microentrepreneurs, who seems to have stronger relational behaviors than adults. Financial institutions such as banks should use informal contract enforcement system to increase the scope of financial inclusion of young microentrepreneurs, especially in unbanked rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda inclusive where formal laws are weak and sometimes not functional. The findings also show that younger people have a stronger relationship behavior than adults. Therefore, policy should create structures that can promote social activities among youth. Governments in sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda inclusive through their respective Ministry of Gender, Labour and Youth Affairs should create youth clubs that can increase interaction and relational social capital among the younger population to derive economic empowerment. sub-Saharan African governments, Uganda inclusive should rely more on social policy based on relational social capital as a missing link to promote and achieve economic development.Originality/valueThis paper provides an evidence on the unique role of age, gender and ethnicity in information sharing and exchange based on social policy in the financial market to limit group collusion. The authors indicate that diversity in relational social capital among young women microentrepreneurs prohibit strategic defaults, which promotes access to microcredit for survival of women micro small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) through socialization. High level of interaction among younger women microentrepreneurs from homogeneous and heterogeneous groups allow them to close the information gap to timely meet borrowing contractual obligations to derive economic benefits. The paper shows that younger women have more trust than older women while searching for economic value through socialization. In fact, social policy can wholly supplement formal policy to promote growth and survival of young women microenterprises, especially in sub-Saharan Africa, Uganda inclusive. | International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy | Trust; Microcredit; Group Collusion; Financial Contract; Women Entrepreneurs; Relational Social Capital |
| 2024_60 | Borah, P; Xiao, XZ; Cao, XH; Vishnevskaya, A. (2024). Information seeking about vaccines: institutional trust, perceived benefits, and individual vs. collective frames. Communication Quarterly, 72(2), 185-206. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01463373.2024.2302469. | Despite robust scientific and medical consensus on vaccine effectiveness, many people remain hesitant to get vaccinated against life-threatening diseases. Considering the importance of information seeking in a misinformation-filled landscape to make critical decisions such as vaccination behavior, we set out to understand information seeking intention about vaccines. Using COVID-19 vaccines as the context, we conducted an experiment to examine the impact of individual vs. collective messages on information seeking intention. Our findings show significant main effects of the messages, and we discover a complex picture of the moderating roles of institutional trust and perceived benefits with messages on information seeking intention. Specifically, our findings show that among people with lower perceived benefits of vaccination, and with a higher trust in authoritative organizations, exposure to individually framed messaging results in greater information-seeking intention. But when people have low perceived benefits and also low trust in authoritative organizations, collectively framed messages show a persuasive advantage. | Communication Quarterly | Vaccination; Framing; Information Seeking; Institutional Trust; Perceived Benefits |
| 2024_61 | Bose, C. (2024). People are desperate for intimacy: 'Intimacy Urgencies' and 'Doing Trust'-How do Grindr users Respond to Risks of Violence in Contemporary India?. Sexuality & Culture-An Interdisciplinary Journal, 28(3), 1255-1275. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12119-023-10178-9. | This article is situated within larger research on crime and queer intimate economy in contemporary India. Specifically, the article focuses on how users of popular queer dating applications like Grindr manage their anxieties about risk while seeking intimacy through the application. Participants in this study acknowledged that it is their inability to manage and discipline 'intimacy urgencies' that causes a lapse in their judgement, and expose them to risk. Consequently, users devise their own rituals, processes and routines to 'do trust', and secure a safe environment for sexual intimacy, devoid of violence and abuse. However, the technological affordances that Grindr provides users to 'do trust' entail seeking social, educational, economic and cultural legibility and sameness. For example, users 'trust' those who link their allied social media profiles like Instagram, LinkedIn and Facebook profiles to their Grindr profile. This article examines how users with limited 'digital capital' that legitimise participation in neoliberal forms of consumerism, pop culture and professionalism are perceived as being unsafe. 'Doing Trust' on Grindr in contemporary India is a way to seek 'sameness', a familiarity that is felt and known through caste and class habitus and privilege. | Sexuality & Culture-An Interdisciplinary Journal | Online Dating; Queer Intimacy; Grindr; Trust |
| 2024_62 | Bove, V; Di Leo, R; Giani, M. (2024). Military Culture and Institutional Trust: Evidence from Conscription Reforms in Europe. American Journal of Political Science, 68(2), 714-729. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12745. | Does military conscription reduce the distance between the ordinary citizen and the state? Decades after its abolition, numerous European policy makers from across the political spectrum advocate the reintroduction of conscription to foster civic virtues, despite a lack of empirical evidence in this respect. Leveraging quasi-random variation in conscription reforms across 15 European countries, we find that cohorts of men drafted just before its abolition display significantly and substantially lower institutional trust than cohorts of men who were just exempted. At the same time, ending conscription had no effect on institutional trust among women from comparable cohorts. Results are neither driven by more favorable attitudes toward the government, nor by educational choices. Instead, this civil-military gap unfolds through the formation of a homogeneous community with uniform values. We argue that reintroducing a compulsory military service may not produce the effects anticipated by its advocates. | American Journal of Political Science | |
| 2024_63 | Boyles, JL; Weber, MS; Borges-Rey, E. (2024). In Code We Trust? Assessing Code's Role as a Mediator of Power and Ethics Within Journalistic Practice. Digital Journalism, 12(7), 914-925. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2024.2395478. | Coding, at its core, is an act of problem solving. Following this adoption and adaptation of journalistic code, the recent computational turn within newsrooms raises new questions about how and to what degree journalistic values are imprinted into code. Extending this line of scholarship, this special issue, Opening the Black Box of Code in Journalism: Materiality, Manufacture and Methods, studies journalistic code. Through the special issue, we explore how values embedded into code can amplify certain ideologies predominant in regions of the world where an emphasis on innovation and technological infrastructure can overshadow important social and cultural factors that shape journalism. The increased codification of newswork has also prompted introspection about the values inscribed into code by its creators, highlighting that these technological inputs are far from neutral. | Digital Journalism | Code; Coding; Computational Journalism; Programming; Data; Software Development |
| 2024_64 | Bozic, B; Keston-Siebert, S. (2024). The profession that came in from the cold: Trust and distrust in espionage. Journal of Professions and Organization, 11(3), 195-215. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jpo/joae009. | Trust and distrust are important elements of the fiduciary relationship in the professions. Whether to trust or to distrust someone is a decision that has real consequences for success or failure of secret operations in undercover policing, in fraud investigation, or in audit. In this article, we focus on the spying profession as an extreme context in which we attempt to answer the question: how do spies navigate the trust/distrust dynamic in their work? The world of spies has often been out of bounds for those studying the professions and given that field studies in this context are extremely difficult, we analyzed biographies and autobiographies of secret agents. Based on our analysis, we identified different functions of trust and distrust: trust can be used as an instrument of manipulation and an option of last resort, while distrust is a protective mechanism aimed at shielding from vulnerability. We argue that a better understanding of trust and distrust dynamic may illuminate some of the behaviours of people in other professions. | Journal of Professions and Organization | Distrust; Espionage; Secret Service; Spies; Trust |
| 2024_65 | Bradford, B; Jackson, J. (2024). Trust in the Police: What is to be Done?. Political Quarterly, 95(3), 442-449. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.13424. | Trust in the police in England and Wales has diminished steadily over the past decade. Police still enjoy levels of trust that other some institutions might envy, so calling this a crisis risks over-statement. Yet, declining trust and intense media, political and social pressure on police-symbolised by a number of high-profile instances of police failure and malpractice-certainly makes many working in and around policing feel like it is a crisis. And trust has gone down; action is needed to protect the idea of policing by consent, the bedrock ideology that underpins British policing. In this article, we review some potential solutions to declining trust, while also acknowledging some costs and difficulties. We close by noting that, despite its importance, public trust is not enough to ensure 'good policing', and that more is needed in terms of transparency, accountability and governance. | Political Quarterly | Police; Trust; Legitimacy; Reform; Procedural Justice |
| 2024_66 | Brems, MK. (2024). A left-right divide? Alternative news use and political trust, populist attitudes, and populist vote intentions in the case of Denmark. International Journal of Press-Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/19401612241301647. | Many western democracies have witnessed an upsurge of partisan alternative media that explicitly challenge the legitimacy of mainstream media and politics alike and promote populist discourses. Accordingly, alternative media are often discussed in relation to lower levels of political trust and support for populist parties. Yet, only a limited number of studies have investigated these relationships empirically. Drawing on survey data representative of the Danish adult population (n = 1,518) collected in January/February 2023, this study investigates how using alternative media is related to political trust, populist attitudes, and populist vote intentions. Unlike previous studies, it distinguishes between left-wing and right-wing alternative media users and finds notable differences: Users of right-wing alternative media have lower political trust, hold more populist attitudes, and have greater predicted probability of intending to vote for a right-wing populist party than non-users, but similar results were not found for users of left-wing alternative media. The study discusses potential explanations for this and how (different) alternative media might impact democracy. | International Journal of Press-Politics | Alternative Media; Alternative News Users; Political Trust; Populism; Populist Attitudes; Populist Party Choice; Survey; Denmark |
| 2024_67 | Breslin, S. (2024). Computing trust: on writing 'good' code in computer science education. Journal of Cultural Economy, 17(6), 737-756. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2023.2258887. | What does it mean to produce trustworthy code for computer scientists? Based primarily on ethnographic fieldwork in an undergraduate computer science program in Singapore, this article explores what it means for computer science students to write 'good code.' In doing so, it explores the values that underlie ideas of trust in the computer science discipline. Drawing on the work of Rebecca Bryant, this article shows how, as students learn to become 'good at' writing code that is technically functional, aesthetically un-individuated, and decontextually efficient, they also learn to become 'good' computer scientists. These standards of good code are distributed across human and nonhuman actors and provide a framework for 'trustless trust' in code. That is, while computer science often assumes an omnipresence of mistrust, this article argues that the production of 'good' code and 'good' computer scientists works to build a system of distrust for computer scientists. At the same time, becoming a good computer scientist is intimately intertwined with students' selfhoods, undermining the foundation of trustless trust even as the ideal of objectively 'good' and trustworthy code cuts this contradiction from view. | Journal of Cultural Economy | Computer Science; Education; Trust; Personhood; Code |
| 2024_68 | Brest, A; Cordonier, L. (2024). Does Exposure to Online News Media Depend on Individuals' Political Attitudes and Trust in These Media? A Comparison Between Declarative and Behavioral Data. Mass Communication and Society, 27(6), 1336-1365. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2023.2186246. | This study analyzes selective exposure to online news media (i.e., preferential exposure to congenial and trusted media) by comparing the behavioral and declarative data of 1,536 participants over a one-month period. We recorded their Internet activity over a one-month period and then asked them about their level of trust in several news media outlets, the frequency with which they had been exposed to them, and their political position and orientation along a progressive-conservative axis.. Results show that 1) participants' trust in the different news media varies according to their political attitudes, 2) participants' probability of declaring exposure to a specific news media is impacted by their trust in this media, as well as by their political attitudes, 3) these effects are much weaker when considering participants' effective exposure to news media. Overall, these results indicate that selective exposure to online news media exists, but it is exaggerated when studied only by means of declarative data. | Mass Communication and Society | |
| 2024_69 | Brown, M; Hale, K; Jordan, S; Williamson, RD. (2024). Restoring Trust in US Elections through Effective Election Administrator Messaging. Public Opinion Quarterly http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae033. | During the 2020 election cycle, numerous national, state, and local organizations mounted campaigns designed to counter mis- and disinformation about election activities and to foster public trust in election processes. Local and state election offices focused intently on creating and disseminating accurate messages about when, where, and how to vote. Despite these efforts, trust in the 2020 election remained confoundingly low. This research analyzes this disconnect between messages from election offices and public trust by testing messages collected from election officials around the country using focus groups and a national panel survey experiment. We find that in focus groups, neutral messages that evoke local connections tested better than other types of messages. Further, messenger characteristics influenced whether participants trusted the messages. Using messages based on these findings, we fielded a survey experiment during the 2022 midterm election cycle, finding that the interaction between baseline trust, racial identification, and identification with the messenger moves trust. | Public Opinion Quarterly | |
| 2024_70 | Brown, S; Stanis, SAW; Rotman, R; Worsham, J. (2024). Perceptions of Missouri Landowners With Land Trust Conservation Easements: Motivations, Challenges and Suggestions. Society & Natural Resources, 37(2), 270-287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2023.2275318. | Conservation easements are a legal tool to preserve and manage private lands. Understanding the factors that influence private landowners to place their land under a conservation easement provides important information for policy-makers and land conservation professionals. Our study sought to identify the perceptions of first-generation conservation easement Missouri landowners. We conducted 16 semi-structured interviews in summer and fall of 2020. Our inductive thematic analysis revealed four major themes including landowner motivations and benefits, disincentives, process challenges, and participant suggestions. We found that landowners place their property under conservation easement because of the enjoyment and recreation opportunities that it provides, and they feel the land use restrictions associated with conservation easements are both a motivation and a disincentive. Our results can be used to inform conservation easement processes and policies, as well as improve efforts by land trusts to make the tool more accessible to landowners. | Society & Natural Resources | Conservation Easements; Human Dimensions; Land Conservation; Perceptions; Private Landowners |
| 2024_71 | Brunner, EJ; Kim, Y; Robbins, MD; Simonsen, B. (2024). The impact of performance information on citizen perceptions of school district efficiency, trust in government, and support for taxes. Public Budgeting and Finance, 44(2), 6-44. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pbaf.12362. | We report the results of a random assignment experiment that examines the effect of revealing actual school district performance on three important outcomes: perceptions of efficiency, trust in government, and support for higher taxes for increased school spending. We randomly assign survey respondents to a control group or experimental condition that includes information about how their school district's test scores compare to their state average. Our study includes 2604 observations from an on-line panel fielded in the United States from October through December, 2022 which allows us to precisely estimate the effect of performance information on outcomes. We find that providing high-performance information has significant and substantial effects that improve efficiency perceptions, trust in the school district, and support for taxes. When residents living in school districts with the highest levels of performance are informed about their school district's relative performance, they are more likely to believe their community gets its money's worth for the local taxes they pay for K12 public education, trust their school district to do what is right, and support a tax increase for additional school spending. Providing information on relative school performance to residents living in school districts with the lowest levels of performance does not have a significant effect on their perceptions. High-performing school districts would benefit from touting their school performance while low-performing school districts should consider providing context when revealing performance information. | Public Budgeting and Finance | |
| 2024_72 | Buchman, LW; Goldsmith, CL; Heitman, E; Kang, KE; Liu, XS. (2024). Public trust in regulatory agencies and support for policies on agricultural gene drive(sic)(sic)(sic)Palabras clave. Review of Policy Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ropr.12610. | Public trust in government agencies plays an important role in the formation of public opinion about public policy issues. However, the association between public trust in regulatory agencies and public support for policy development in emergent biotechnologies such as gene drive is not well understood. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA), the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), and the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) are tasked with coordinating and regulating biotechnology. Drawing on past literature, this study examines how public trust in these federal agencies is associated with public opinion on various options for gene drive policy. Using data from a nationally representative public opinion survey (n = 1220) conducted in 2021, our statistical analyses show that respondents who report higher levels of trust in regulatory agencies are more likely to support policy proposals that promote gene drive research and ultimately, may lead to regulatory policies that allow gene drive to be researched and employed to manage agricultural pests, establishing a pathway for scientists, developers, producers, and consumers alike to realize the benefits of this technology. | Review of Policy Research | Biotechnology; EPA; FDA; Federal Agency; Gene Drive; Policy; Trust; USDA |
| 2024_73 | Budak, J; Skrinjaric, B. (2024). Corruption and Trust in Institutions in Croatia before and after the EU Membership. Croatian and Comparative Public Administration, 24(1), 147-182. http://dx.doi.org/10.31297/hkju.24.1.1. | The paper explores Croatian citizens' attitudes, perceptions of corruption, and trust in institutions before and after Croatia's accession to the EU. The empirical research was conducted by comparing the survey conducted in 2022 with the same questions from the 1999, 2008, 2010, and/or 2017 surveys. The recent survey was replicated after sufficiently long periods to observe changes in public attitudes, perceptions, and behavior in Croatia today and compare them to those before EU membership. The main research question is whether corruption has decreased or increased since Croatia joined the EU. The results point to the EU's weak influence in reducing corruption and strengthening trust in institutions for the newest EU member state that was supposed to meet the rigorous conditions of admission in this segment. Indeed, in Croatia, the perception of corruption increased after joining the EU. The outcomes worsened in all observed dimensions: corruption became the most important problem in Croatia, corruptive behavior of public employees is considered frequent, and the perceived corrupt practices in public institutions as increasing. The most corrupt institutions are the local and central government, political parties, and the judiciary. High perceptions of corruption prevalence follow the public's opinion that reporting corruption is futile and risky. The opinion that corruption is sometimes the only means of achieving the goal is gaining importance, primarily because citizens lack trust in (corrupt) institutions. Citizens have little or no trust in the highest institutions of executive, legislative, and judicial power: the Government, the Parliament, and the judiciary. This empirical survey of citizens' attitudes and perceptions of corruption before and after Croatia's accession to the EU provides insight into the direction and intensity of changes, thus contributing to the scarce literature on the relationship between corruption in member states and the institutional framework of the EU. Related policy measures are offered. | Croatian and Comparative Public Administration | Corruption; EU Membership; Informal Institutions; Institutional Trust; Public Opinion; Survey; Croatia |
| 2024_74 | Byrne, JL; Tan, KY; Polkinghorne, TH; Ker, A; Bailey, S; Veale, JF. (2024). Perceived legal protection and institutional trust predict a lower psychological distress level for transgender people in Aotearoa/New Zealand. International Journal of Transgender Health http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/26895269.2024.2347920. | BackgroundFew studies have assessed the role of legal protection and institutional trust as structural determinants of health among trans people.AimThis study investigated the responses of a nationwide survey of trans people in Aotearoa New Zealand to examine the interplay among perceived legal protection, trust toward institutions, and psychological distress.MethodData were employed from the 2018 Counting Ourselves survey (n = 863; Mage = 30.3). We conducted chi-square analyses to identify the extent of differences for institutional trust between trans participants and the Aotearoa/New Zealand general populations. Correlation and mediation analyses were utilised to determine whether structural determinants were associated with lower psychological distress levels.FindingsOur results revealed that over a quarter (26%) of trans participants did not feel New Zealand law protects against discrimination for being trans or non-binary. Trans participants reported heightened levels of distrust compared to the general populations across media (65% vs 39%; RR= 1.66) parliament (52% vs 25%; RR = 2.07), police (49% vs 7%; RR = 7.48), and courts (48% vs 13%; RR = 3.84). Significant demographic differences in institutional trust levels were observed, with younger individuals, trans men, non-binary people assigned female at birth, or people with a disability status reporting lower trust toward different institutions. Perceived legal protection and confidence were correlated with lower psychological distress levels, and institutional trust partially mediated this association.ConclusionsFindings from this study demonstrate the urgency for government agencies to consult appropriately and work collaboratively with trans communities to identify current gaps in laws and policies that protect the human rights of trans people. Trans-inclusive policies have the potential to elevate community trust toward institutions and improve the meaningful participation of trans people and address inequities. | International Journal of Transgender Health | Institutional Trust; Legal Protection; Mental Health; Structural Determinant; Transgender |
| 2024_75 | Bytzek, E; Dupont, JC; Steffens, MC; Knab, N; Schneider, FM. (2024). Do Election Pledges Matter? the Effects of Broken and Kept Election Pledges on Citizens' Trust in Government. Politische Vierteljahresschrift http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11615-024-00567-6. | The functioning of representative democracy depends on a responsible electorate that rewards and punishes parties according to their promises. Holding representatives accountable is the only way for voters to keep control over the government. This article draws on the normative assumption of accountability theory to investigate the impact of information on pledge fulfillment on citizens' trust in government, taking into account moderators of this relationship. In a two-wave panel experiment (N = 841; broken pledges, fulfilled pledges, control group), results supported the hypotheses that fulfilled election pledges resulted in increased trust in the government, whereas broken pledges decreased trust. However, only when citizens had been satisfied with the government's performance in the past or when they attributed relevance to governmental pledge fulfillment did trust levels depend on pledge fulfillment. These findings provide insights into the process of democratic accountability and highlight the relevance of trust in studying the effects of election pledges. Additionally, our study makes a case for the use of repeated measurements in experimental research, as examining intraindividual changes can provide a more comprehensive understanding, such as by assessing effect sizes. Das Funktionieren repr & auml;sentativer Demokratien h & auml;ngt von einer verantwortungsvollen W & auml;hlerschaft ab, die die Parteien gem & auml;ss ihren Wahlversprechen bei den n & auml;chsten Wahlen belohnt oder bestraft. Die Rechenschaftspflicht der Vertreter*innen ist f & uuml;r die W & auml;hlenden die einzige M & ouml;glichkeit, die Kontrolle & uuml;ber die Regierung zu behalten. Die vorliegende Studie st & uuml;tzt sich auf die normative Annahme der Accountability Theory, um den Einfluss von Informationen & uuml;ber die Erf & uuml;llung von Versprechen auf das Vertrauen der B & uuml;rger*innen in die Regierung zu untersuchen - unter Einbeziehung mehrerer moderierender Faktoren. In einem Experiment mit zwei Panelwellen (N = 841; gebrochene Versprechen, erf & uuml;llte Versprechen, Kontrollgruppe) st & uuml;tzten die Ergebnisse die Hypothese, dass erf & uuml;llte Wahlversprechen zu einem erh & ouml;hten Vertrauen in die Regierung f & uuml;hren, w & auml;hrend gebrochene Versprechen das Vertrauen verringern. Allerdings hing das Vertrauensniveau nur dann von der Erf & uuml;llung der Versprechen ab, wenn die B & uuml;rger*innen in der Vergangenheit mit der Leistung der Regierung zufrieden waren oder wenn sie die Information zu gegebenen bzw. gehaltenen Wahlversprechen wichtig fanden. Diese Ergebnisse liefern Einblicke in den Prozess der Verantwortlichkeit in demokratischen Systemen und unterstreichen die Bedeutung von Vertrauen f & uuml;r die Untersuchung der Auswirkungen von Wahlversprechen. Dar & uuml;ber hinaus spricht unsere Studie f & uuml;r die Verwendung messwiederholter Designs in der experimentellen Forschung, da die Untersuchung intraindividueller Ver & auml;nderungen am besten geeignet ist, um beispielsweise durch die Ermittlung von Effektgr & ouml;ss en ein differenziertes Bild zu liefern. | Politische Vierteljahresschrift | Promises; Experimental Design; Accountability; Political Attitudes; Government Performance; Versprechen; Experiment; Rechenschaftspflicht; Politische Einstellungen; Leistung Der Regierung |
| 2024_76 | Cai, N; Gao, SH; Yan, JZ. (2024). How the communication style of chatbots influences consumers' satisfaction, trust, and engagement in the context of service failure. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03212-0. | This study examines consumers' reactions to the communication styles of chatbots during failed service experiences. The current study explores whether the communication style adopted by a chatbot impacts consumer satisfaction and behavior intention and how expectancy violations can moderate these relationships in the service context. A pre-test examined the validity of the stimuli of chatbots that were either task-oriented or social-oriented after consumers encountered service failure. For more information, the experiment was designed to manipulate the AI-based chatbot agent's process and style of communication and measure the role of expectancy violations. The main experiment results showed that interactions with social-oriented communication style chatbots enhance the level of consumers' interaction satisfaction and intention of behavior. Respondents experienced a higher perception of warmth when interacting with social-oriented communication style chatbots than task-oriented. Moreover, expectancy violation moderates the mediation of warmth on the relationship between the chatbot's communication style/type and interaction satisfaction, trust, and intention of patronage. Setting chatbots' communication styles to be social-oriented can help reduce negative emotions among consumers caused by service failure; specifically, the perception of warmth created by the social-oriented communication style can alleviate negative evaluations of service agents and companies, such as dissatisfaction and loss of interest. Therefore, in managerial practice, the firm should choose the social-oriented communication style chatbot agent to recover the customer relationship after a service failure. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_77 | Carey, M. (2024). Afterword: the evolution and (mis)use of (mis)trust. Journal of Cultural Economy, 17(6), 809-813. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2024.2407860. | It is an established trope of popular discourse to suggest that the structures and opacity of digital environments are a major contributor to the crisis of mistrust that plagues contemporary society. This afterword instead suggests that such environments are neither uniquely or unprecedentedly untrustworthy. Drawing on the work of the contributors to the special issue, it examines the continuities and novelties of specifically digital mistrust and suggests they can be addressed through three central questions: 1) What kind of (mis)trust characterizes them? 2) How do people respond to this (mis)trust)? and 3) What kind of uses do they make of it? It argues that the answers to these questions provide the groundwork for developing a pragmatics of digital (mis)trust. | Journal of Cultural Economy | Mistrust; Digital Technology; Infrastructure; Pragmatics |
| 2024_78 | Caronia, L; Ranzani, F. (2024). Epistemic Trust as an Interactional Accomplishment in Pediatric Well-Child Visits: Parents' Resistance to Solicited Advice as Performing Epistemic Vigilance. Health Communication, 39(4), 838-851. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2189504. | Epistemic trust - i.e. the belief in knowledge claims we do not understand or cannot validate - is pivotal in healthcare interactions where trust in the source of knowledge is the foundation for adherence to therapy as well as general compliance with the physician's suggestions. However, in the contemporary knowledge society professionals can no longer count on unconditional epistemic trust: boundaries of the legitimacy and extension criteria of expertise have become increasingly fuzzier and professionals must take into account laypersons' expertise. Drawing on a conversation analysis-informed study of 23 videorecorded pediatrician-led well-child visits, the article deals with the communicative constitution of healthcare-relevant phenomena such as: epistemic and deontic struggles between parents and pediatricians, the local accomplishment of (responsible) epistemic trust, and the possible outcomes of blurred boundaries between the layperson's and the professional's expertise. In particular, we illustrate how epistemic trust is communicatively built in sequences where parents request the pediatrician's advice and resist it. The analysis shows how parents perform epistemic vigilance by suspending the immediate acceptance of the pediatrician's advice in favor of inserting expansions that make it relevant for the pediatrician to account for her advice. Once the pediatrician has addressed parents' concerns, parents perform (delayed) acceptance, which we assume indexes what we call responsible epistemic trust. While acknowledging the advantages of what seems to be a cultural change in parent-healthcare provider encounters, in the conclusion we advance that possible risks are implied in contemporary fuzziness of the legitimacy and extension criteria of expertise in doctor-patient interaction. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_79 | Carson, A; Grömping, M; Gravelle, TB; Jackman, S; Phillips, JB. (2024). Alert, but not alarmed: Electoral disinformation and trust during the 2023 Australian voice to parliament referendum. Policy and Internet http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/poi3.429. | In 2024 experts highlight misinformation and disinformation amid elections as the top short-term global risk. In addressing this pressing concern, electoral authorities are devising strategies to counter electoral disinformation while governments consider changes to public policy and legislation. Drawing on motivated reasoning theory, this study assesses the impact of disinformation and mitigation measures in Australia during the 2023 referendum campaign - to establish a constitutionally enshrined Indigenous Voice to Parliament - and its subsequent impacts on trust in the Australian Electoral Commission (AEC). Through a nationally representative survey experiment (N = 3825) we find overall high public trust in the AEC with disinformation having a small, but detectable effect. This study finds a level of moral panic regarding disinformation's threat to electoral integrity, at least in the Australian setting. However, concerningly, we also find existing AEC communication and refutation strategies have limited impact on countering distrust arising after a disinformation attack, suggesting a need for other strategies. Nonetheless, the study underscores the resilience of Australian electoral processes against disinformation threats serving as a caution against excessive legislative reaction to this global problem. Our study contributes to understanding the complex interplay between information, trust, and public policy responses to disinformation challenges. 2024(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)2023(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)((sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic))(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(AEC)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(N=3,825), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)AEC(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), AEC(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic), (sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic).(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic),(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)((sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic))(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic)(sic). En 2024, los expertos destacan la desinformaci & oacute;n y la informaci & oacute;n err & oacute;nea en medio de las elecciones como el principal riesgo global a corto plazo. Para abordar esta preocupaci & oacute;n urgente, las autoridades electorales est & aacute;n ideando estrategias para contrarrestar la desinformaci & oacute;n electoral mientras los gobiernos consideran cambios en las pol & iacute;ticas p & uacute;blicas y la legislaci & oacute;n. Bas & aacute;ndose en la teor & iacute;a del razonamiento motivado, este estudio eval & uacute;a el impacto de la desinformaci & oacute;n y las medidas de mitigaci & oacute;n en Australia durante la campa & ntilde;a del refer & eacute;ndum de 2023 (para establecer una voz ind & iacute;gena consagrada en la constituci & oacute;n ante el Parlamento) y sus posteriores impactos en la confianza en la Comisi & oacute;n Electoral Australiana (AEC). A trav & eacute;s de un experimento de encuesta representativa a nivel nacional (N = 3.825), encontramos que, en general, la confianza p & uacute;blica en la AEC es alta y que la desinformaci & oacute;n tiene un efecto peque & ntilde;o, pero detectable. Este estudio encuentra un nivel de p & aacute;nico moral con respecto a la amenaza de la desinformaci & oacute;n a la integridad electoral, al menos en el contexto australiano. Sin embargo, de manera preocupante, tambi & eacute;n encontramos que las estrategias de comunicaci & oacute;n y refutaci & oacute;n existentes de la AEC tienen un impacto limitado en la lucha contra la desconfianza que surge despu & eacute;s de un ataque de desinformaci & oacute;n, lo que sugiere la necesidad de otras estrategias. No obstante, el estudio destaca la resiliencia de los procesos electorales australianos frente a las amenazas de desinformaci & oacute;n, lo que sirve como advertencia contra una reacci & oacute;n legislativa excesiva ante este problema global. Nuestro estudio contribuye a comprender la compleja interacci & oacute;n entre la informaci & oacute;n, la confianza y las respuestas de las pol & iacute;ticas p & uacute;blicas a los desaf & iacute;os de la desinformaci & oacute;n. | Policy and Internet | Disinformation; Electoral Integrity; Electoral Trust; Misinformation; Motivated Reasoning; Referendum; Refutation; Source Credibility; (Sic)(Sic)(Sic)(Sic); (Sic)(Sic)(Sic)(Sic); (Sic)(Sic)(Sic)(Sic)(Sic)(Sic); (Sic)(Sic)(Sic)(Sic); (Sic)(Sic)(Sic)(Sic)(Sic); (Sic)(Sic)(Sic)(Sic); Desinformaci & Oacute;N; Confianza Electoral; Regulaci & Oacute;N De La Desinformaci & Oacute;N; Integridad Electoral; Razonamiento Motivado; Desinformaci & Oacute;N |
| 2024_80 | Casiraghi, MCM; Curini, L; Maggini, N; Nai, A. (2024). Who looks up to the Leviathan? Ideology, political trust, and support for restrictive state interventions in times of crisis. European Political Science Review, 16(3), 317-332. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1755773923000401. | The extent in which voters from different ideological viewpoints support state interventions to curb crises remains an outstanding conundrum, marred by conflicting evidence. In this article, we test two possible ways out from such puzzle. The role of ideology to explain support for state interventions, we argue, could be (i) conditional upon the ideological nature of the crisis itself (e.g., whether the crisis relates to conservation vs. post-materialist values), or (ii) unfolding indirectly, by moderating the role played by political trust. We present evidence from a conjoint experiment fielded in 2022 on a representative sample of 1,000 Italian citizens, in which respondents were asked whether they support specific governmental interventions to curb a crisis, described under different conditions (e.g., type of crisis, severity). Our results show that the type of crisis matters marginally - right-wing respondents were more likely to support state interventions only in the case of terrorism. More fundamentally, political trust affects the probability to support state interventions, but only for right-wing citizens. | European Political Science Review | Crisis; Ideology; Political Trust; Conjoint Experiments; Italy |
| 2024_81 | Casiraghi, MCM; Curini, L; Nai, A. (2024). I trust you, but I'm scared! Attitudinal and emotional drivers of support for restrictive interventions during crises. Political Psychology http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.13021. | Under what conditions do citizens support restrictive and punitive measures to curb global crises? This article investigates the role of political trust in supporting different interventions across three types of crises-pandemics, climate change, and terrorism-both directly and in conjunction with issue-related anxiety. We test the hypothesis that political trust positively affects the likelihood of accepting restrictive measures during crisis, focusing on Italy as a relevant case study due to its comparatively low levels of political trust. According to affective intelligence theory, we also expect that individual anxiety moderates such a relationship: Political trust should have an effect primarily when people are not anxious. To examine this, we conducted a conjoint experiment administered to a nationally representative sample of 1000 Italian citizens. Respondents were presented with a crisis vignette where the nature of the crisis, its severity, and the state measures implemented to curb the threat were randomly allocated as attributes. They were then asked to rate their support for the proposed measure. Results confirm that political trust matters. Citizens with high levels of trust are generally more willing to accept restrictions. However, as predicted, political trust only influences non-anxious voters. | Political Psychology | Anxiety; Conjoint Experiment; COVID-19; Crisis; State Intervention; Trust |
| 2024_82 | Casselman-Hontalas, A; Adams-Santos, D; Watkins-Hayes, C. (2024). Discourses of Distrust: How Lack of Trust in the US Health-Care System Shaped COVID-19 Vaccine Hesitancy. Rsf-The Russell Sage Journal of the Social Sciences, 10(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.7758/RSF.2024.10.4.07. | This artible explores the relationships between the American health-care system, trust in institutions, and decision-making processes that have affected COVID-19 vaccine uptake. Findings are based on an analysis of a nationally representative sample of 137 individuals who participated in semi-structured qualitative interviews during the rollout of the first publicly available vaccine in the first quarter of 2021. The vast ma- jority of respondents reported negative experiences with American health care that predated the pandemic, which generated distrust in medical institutions, including hospitals, private health insurance corporations, the pharmaceutical industry, and related government institutions. The article considers the impact of insti- tutional distrust on attitudes about vaccine uptake. Responses fell along a spectrum from vaccine refusal to vaccine acceptance. Sentiment across categories revealed a high degree of hesitancy framed in terms of insti- tutional Histrust. The data reveal a complex landscape of beliefs and perceptions, illustrating widespread hesitancy and ambivalence among parutipants. | Rsf-The Russell Sage Journal of the Social Sciences | Trust; Vaccine; Vaccine Hesitancy; COVID-19; Public Health; Health Care; Health Insurance; Institutions; Medical-Industrial Complex |
| 2024_83 | Cavazza, N; Roccato, M. (2024). Personal experiences with the national healthcare system and institutional trust in times of COVID-19. Political Psychology http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.13029. | We conducted two studies to analyze the relations between dissatisfaction with experiences with the national healthcare system and trust in political (political parties and parliament), super partes (judiciary and police), and international (European Union [EU] and United Nations [UN]) institutions via the mediation of trust in the national healthcare system. Study 1 (longitudinal study on a quota sample of the Italian adult population, N = 689, surveyed in April 2021, T-1, and in April 2022, T-2) showed that dissatisfaction with experiences with the national healthcare system was negatively associated with trust in the national healthcare system, which, in turn, was positively associated with an increase in trust in political, super partes, and international institutions. Study 2 (between-participant experimental design, N = 285) showed that priming a negative versus a positive experience with the national healthcare system decreased trust in this system, which, in turn, was positively associated with trust in political, super partes, and international institutions. The strengths, limitations, and possible development of this research are discussed. | Political Psychology | Healthcare System; Institutional Trust; Personal Experience; Service Satisfaction |
| 2024_84 | Chan, KM. (2024). Autocratization Spillover: When Electing an Authoritarian Erodes Election Trust across Borders. Public Opinion Quarterly http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae018. | The rich literature on election trust predominantly uses domestic determinants as explanatory factors. But given the international nature of the autocratization wave, can an autocratization event across borders erode election trust? This article argues that an authoritarian's electoral success in a neighboring country can shatter democratic norms and demonstrate the viability of authoritarians. This autocratization event abroad can thus reduce citizens' principled support for democracy and its political system. Consequently, citizens across borders are less likely to see democratic elections as the only game in town and they have less trust in elections. To test this idea, I study the spillover effects of the 2018 Brazilian presidential election, in which an authoritarian candidate won decisively. Using the AmericasBarometer in Colombia that was launched throughout this election, I find that the election trust of Colombian citizens erodes after Jair Bolsonaro's electoral success. To probe into the mechanism, I uncover that his electoral victory leads Colombian citizens to be less supportive of the domestic political system and reduces their principled support for democracy. The causal mediation analysis demonstrates that these two variables mediate the effect of the authoritarian's electoral success on election trust. These findings on autocratization spillover effects illustrate the importance of external autocratization events in the study of election trust. | Public Opinion Quarterly | |
| 2024_85 | Chang, YH; Silalahi, ADK; Eunike, IJ; Riantama, D. (2024). Socio-technical systems and trust transfer in live streaming e-commerce: analyzing stickiness and purchase intentions with SEM-fsQCA. Frontiers in Communication, 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1305409. | Live streaming has gained substantial significance in the e-commerce realm, attracting the attention of scholars due to its profound impact on the consumer decision-making journey. However, previous studies have not sufficiently investigated into the complex of marketing strategies through trust transfer mechanisms and socio-technical aspects, considering the dynamic nature of the live streaming e-commerce environment. Grounded on the socio-technical system theory, this research develops a research framework that centers on the exploration of interactivity, entertainment, and visualization as catalysts for trust transfer in live streaming. Trust transfer is conceptualized as advancing from cognitive trust to affective trust. Cognitive trust is proposed as a mediating factor bridging socio-technical system constructs to affective trust, ultimately shaping stickiness behavior and purchase intention in the live streaming context. To test the hypotheses, this study collected data from 682 participants in Indonesia and employed a hybrid analysis approach, combining SEM and fsQCA. The SEM results confirm that socio-technical system constructs significantly predict cognitive trust but do not directly impact affective trust. Instead, cognitive trust plays a full mediating role in transforming trust rooted in emotional bonds within the live streaming environment. Furthermore, both cognitive and affective trust exhibit a significant influence on the formation of stickiness behavior and the driving of purchase intention in the domain of live streaming e-commerce. The findings from fsQCA validate diverse configurations that shape stickiness behaviors and purchase intention, enriching marketing and communication strategies within the live streaming context. Additionally, the fsQCA configurations suggest varying conditions for high and low desired outcomes in stickiness and purchase intention, offering a comprehensive understanding of consumer behavior in live streaming e-commerce. This research makes substantial contributions to both theoretical understanding and marketing practice by providing an extensive discussion of configuration combinations that offer enhanced insights into the study's findings. | Frontiers in Communication | E-Commerce; Fsqca; Live Streaming; Socio-Technical System Theory; Trust Transfer |
| 2024_86 | Chaparro-Domínguez, MA; Mauri-Ríos, M; Rodríguez-Martínez, R. (2024). Fact-Checking Organizations and Trust: Analysis of Their Relationships with Sources and Audiences. Index Comunicacion, 14(2), 165-189. http://dx.doi.org/10.62008/ixc/14/02Plataf. | Trust is a basic aspect in the daily work of fact-checking organizations. This value underpins the relationships they maintain with two key actors in the journalistic process: news sources and audiences. Based on the discourses of trust (Manninen, 2017) and participatory transparency (Karlsson, 2010), the aim of this study is to analyse the relationships established between independent fact-checking platforms and their sources, on the one hand, and their audiences, on the other. To this end, a qualitative content analysis of the websites of 18 initiatives from 18 countries and six indepth interviews with editors and/or journalists from six of the projects analysed were carried out. Among the results obtained, it is observed that the organizations make a pragmatic discourse of trust in the use of sources, with official and expert sources being the most widely used. They also place a high level of trust in their audience, which they bring into the journalistic production process, and they implement numerous media literacy actions, a line of work with high potential. | Index Comunicacion | Trust; Sources of Information; Audience; Fact-Checking Organizations; Disinformation |
| 2024_87 | Chapman, HS. (2024). Shocks to the System: Electoral Manipulation, Protests and the Evolution of Political Trust in Russia. Government and Opposition http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/gov.2024.18. | How do electoral manipulation and resulting anti-fraud protests influence political trust in non-democratic contexts? I leverage the plausibly exogenous variation in the timing of a series of original surveys fielded on nationally representative samples in Russia to understand the impact of political shocks - particularly allegations of electoral fraud and post-election protests - on the evolution of trust in political institutions and individuals. This study demonstrates that allegations of excessive, blatant electoral fraud decrease trust in the autocrat. However, trust rebounds following attendant post-election protests. Finally, I examine the conditional impacts of fraud and protest on trust, finding that updating occurs primarily among those with weak political affiliation. | Government and Opposition | Elections; Non-Democracies; Protest; Political Trust; Russia |
| 2024_88 | Chen, B; Lu, SN. (2024). In Punishment We Trust: Analyzing Characteristics and Credibility of Rumor-Debunking Messages on Chinese Social Media. International Journal of Press-Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/19401612241291811. | Research on fact-checking journalism has predominantly centered on Western countries, often overlooking how distinct political media systems in non-Western countries might influence its practices and effectiveness. This article addresses this gap by focusing on government-led fact-checking in China, referred to as rumor-debunking, and we argue that compared to the Western mode of fact-checking, rumor debunking differs significantly with its unique motives, targets, and outcomes within the context of an authoritarian regime. Employing content analysis (Study 1) and a conjoint experiment (Study 2), we empirically examined the characteristics and credibility perceptions of rumor-debunking messages on Chinese social media Weibo during the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings of Study 1 reveal that rumor-debunking efforts in China were primarily driven by government-affiliated accounts and mainly targeting ordinary citizens. Study 2 shows that message specificity mattered in that detailing the rumors being debunked, providing evidence for the debunking, and including punitive actions against rumormongers significantly enhanced perceived credibility among the Chinese public. Additionally, we found messages that received higher social endorsement-reflected by a greater number of reposts, comments, and likes-boosted credibility. However, the presence of recommended comments, which indicate that the account holders curated the user comments under their debunking messages, did not affect credibility. The social and political implications of rumor-debunking in authoritarian regimes were also discussed. | International Journal of Press-Politics | Rumor-Debunking; Perceived Credibility; Message Specificity; Chinese Social Media; Digital Authoritarianism; Fact-Checking; Social Endorsement; Warranting Theory |
| 2024_89 | Chen, NTN. (2024). Factors Associated With Support for COVID-19 Travel Bans: the Role of Health Beliefs and Multilevel Institutional Trust. Sage Open, 14(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241252548. | This study examined whether the Health Belief Model and the heuristic of multilevel institutional trust would help explain U.S. residents' support for travel bans on foreigners during the COVID-19 pandemic. Analysis of data collected from two nationwide online surveys conducted in 2020 (n = 511 fielded between March 19 and March 27; n = 472 fielded between April 30 and May 13) suggested that support for this policy was associated with individual differences in risk and benefit perceptions, the presence of interpersonal cues, and trust in domestic and foreign institutions. Efforts to promote or resist international travel restrictions during a pandemic may benefit from accounting for these differences. There is limited research on the psychological motivators of support for disease control measures that do not require personal action. Focusing on the travel restrictions imposed on foreigners by the U.S. government during the early phases of the COVID-19 pandemic, the current study explored whether the Health Belief Model and the heuristic of multilevel institutional trust would help explain U.S. residents' support for these restrictions. Analysis of data collected from two nationwide online surveys conducted in 2020 (n = 511 fielded between March 19 and March 27; n = 472 fielded between April 30 and May 13) suggested that support for this policy was associated with individual differences in risk and benefit perceptions, the presence of interpersonal cues, and trust in domestic and foreign institutions. These findings can help national and international institutions in their endeavors to shore up support for their cross-border disease control policies during future outbreaks. | Sage Open | COVID-19; Pandemic; International Travel Restrictions; Health Belief Model; Multilevel Institutional Trust |
| 2024_90 | Chen, P; Savage, A. (2024). Amy Coney Barrett is Not Enough: How Descriptive and Substantive Representation Shape Trust and Legitimacy of the Federal Courts. Political Research Quarterly, 77(4), 1110-1129. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10659129241262340. | Public trust and perceptions of institutional legitimacy are vital to the functioning of the federal court system, and recent work challenges the long-standing belief that these attitudes are relatively stable in the populace. We posit that one threat to perceptions of trust and legitimacy is the lack of representation for women in the federal judiciary. Using a series of experiments, we show that, while women desire descriptive representation, this is an insufficient condition for preserving support for the institution. Substantive representation on issues critical to women leads to significantly increased trust and legitimacy and lowered perceptions of institutional bias among women. While female judges may bring their own social identities to bear in their decision-making, our work suggests that efforts to diversify the federal judiciary, while important, are unlikely to bolster public support for the courts if the new judges and justices fail to substantively represent the communities of interest. | Political Research Quarterly | Federal Courts; Gender; Representation; Support; Trust |
| 2024_91 | Cheng, Q. (2024). Wrapped in a veil: how social media and risk perception shape political trust in emergency organizations in Anhui, China. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 21(2), 85-103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2023.2172123. | While there is a large literature on the determinants of political trust in government organizations, little attention has been paid to the emergency organizations, neither has explored the role of social media and risk perception in shaping political trust in emergency organizations. This article investigates how social media and risk perception shape political trust in emergency organizations. Using data from a questionnaire survey after the severe flooding disaster in Anhui, China, in July 2020 (N = 745), it found that people with disaster awareness and upholding reliability for official media have more trust in emergency organizations. Besides, official media could be an important mediator, through which it significantly increases the strength of the causal relationship between disaster awareness and political trust in emergency organizations. These findings have broad implications on emergency management, functions of social media are attainable within the political trust of emergency organizations and could sustain a positive outlook in risk governance. | Journal of Information Technology & Politics | Political Trust; Emergency Organizations; Risk Perception; Social Media; China |
| 2024_92 | Cheung, JC; Ho, SS. (2024). Explainable AI and trust: How news media shapes public support for AI-powered autonomous passenger drones. Public Understanding of Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625241291192. | This study delves into the intricate relationships between attention to AI in news media, perceived AI explainability, trust in AI, and public support for autonomous passenger drones. Using structural equation modelling (N = 1,002), we found significant associations between perceived AI explainability and all trust dimensions (i.e., performance, purpose, process). Additionally, we revealed that the public acquired the perception of AI explainability through attention to AI in the news media. Consequently, we found that when the public pondered upon support for autonomous passenger drones, only the trust in performance dimension was relevant. Our findings underscore the importance of ensuring explainability for the public and highlight the pivotal role of news media in shaping public perceptions in emerging AI technologies. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. | Public Understanding of Science | Trust in AI; Explainable AI; XAI; Perceived Explainability; Public Opinion; Autonomous Passenger Drones |
| 2024_93 | Cho, MJ; Ko, EJ; Borenstein, BE. (2024). The interaction effect of fashion retailer categories on sustainable labels: the role of perceived benefits, ambiguity, trust, and purchase intention. International Journal of Advertising, 43(6), 1016-1038. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2306763. | While fashion brands, manufacturers, and third-party agencies have long used eco-labels to inform consumers about their sustainability efforts, this method is now becoming popular among retailers, who are developing and applying their own eco-labels to their products. Yet, there is limited research regarding the impact of fashion retailers' sustainable labels on consumer perception and purchase intention. The present research addresses this concern and finds that consumer behavior varies depending on whether a retailer creates separate categories for sustainable products and uses more detail in sustainable labeling. Building on categorization and signal theories, this study finds that in the presence (vs. absence) of a sustainable category, a specific (vs. general) sustainable label mitigates ambiguity and increases perceived consumer benefits, trust in retailer, and purchase intention. Findings extend previous research on specificity of sustainable labels to fashion retailing and demonstrate important practical implications of sustainable categorization for retailers, especially those in ecommerce. | International Journal of Advertising | Sustainable Label; Sustainable Category; Signal Theory; Categorization, Perceived Ambiguity |
| 2024_94 | Choi, JR; Straubhaar, J; Park, S; Skouras, M; Santillana, M; Strover, S. (2024). Trust Divide in Health Information Sources? Investigating the Role of Techno-Capital and Social Capital: A Comparative Analysis of General and Low-Income Populations. International Journal of Communication | Trust in the source of health information has become increasingly critical from the advent of the Internet as a primary health information source. Especially as unauthorized entities now have similar gatekeeping powers in health information as health-care professionals. This study strives to conceptualize the factors that affect people's trust in different sources of health information. Specifically, this study proposes ICT usage, digital capabilities and skills conceptualized as techno-capital, and individuals' health social network behaviors as critical elements explaining one's level of trust. Furthermore, this study addresses the ways in which social inequality interacts with these factors by taking advantage of two samples representing different populations within a major U.S. city. Our findings highlight the significance of techno-capital and ICT utilization in explaining the trust of different health information sources as well as the interesting mediating role of health social network behavior in one of the sample populations. | International Journal of Communication | Health Information; Health Information Trust; Techno-Capital; Social Capital; ICT; Low-Income |
| 2024_95 | Choi, SI; Kim, S; Jin, Y; Valentini, C; Badham, M; Colleoni, E; Romenti, S. (2024). Effects of Individuals' Cultural Orientations and Trust in Government Health Communication Sources on Behavioral Intentions During a Pandemic: A Cross-Country Study. Health Communication, 39(1), 107-121. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2159975. | Public health messages disseminated by trusted government authorities are likely to have more influence over individuals' intentions and behaviors. However, individuals worldwide have different levels of trust in government authorities, which leads to varying levels of compliance intentions. Additionally, these trust levels may vary during major public crises, such as pandemics. Based on a COVID-19 pandemic communication survey (N = 3,065) disseminated throughout six countries (Australia, Finland, Italy, South Korea, Sweden, and the United States), this study examined the association among trust in distinct government sources, cultural orientations, and health behavioral intentions. Findings indicated that trust in official health communication sources at four governmental levels (i.e. national government, the head of the national government, the national health authority, and the chief representative of the national health authority) was related to vaccination intentions and other behavioral compliance intentions (i.e. willingness to prevent COVID-19 infection in other ways). Meanwhile, these direct associations were mediated by the cultural orientations of power distance and uncertainty avoidance. Findings also revealed that the direct association of trust in government sources and the indirect relationship through the above cultural orientations varied by country. This study offers insight into the important role of credible sources and individuals' cultural orientations in the domain of health communication aimed at influencing behavioral intentions. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_96 | Choung, H; David, P; Ling, TW. (2024). Acceptance of AI-powered facial recognition technology in surveillance scenarios: Role of trust, security, and privacy perceptions. Technology in Society, 79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102721. | The study examines the roles of various layers of trust, as well as privacy and security concerns, in shaping the acceptance of AI-powered facial recognition technology (FRT) in three surveillance scenarios-public spaces, hospitals, and schools. Based on survey data from 575 U S. participants, we found that the context in which FRT is deployed shapes people's perceptions and acceptance of the technology. People perceived greater safety gains in schools and greater privacy risks in public spaces. Trust in officials, familiarity with FRT, and perceived security benefits positively predicted acceptance, while distrust and perceived privacy risks negatively predicted acceptance. These findings offer insights for stakeholders of FRT, policymakers, and organizations that seek to implement AI-powered surveillance, emphasizing the need to address public trust and privacy concerns. | Technology in Society | Artificial Intelligence; Facial Recognition Technology (FRT); Surveillance Technology; Public Perceptions; Security and Privacy; Trust; Contextual Approach |
| 2024_97 | Christian, B; Peters, D. (2024). Establishing trust and distrust when states leave international organisations: the case of Brexit. Journal of European Public Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2024.2319720. | Although EU and UK participants in Brexit negotiations emphasise the role that trust and distrust played for them, existing Brexit research has largely disregarded this factor. From a trust perspective, withdrawals from international organisations are highly significant events. When states leave a common institution and their relationship with each other is deprived of previous institutional certainties, trust becomes both necessary and precarious. Building on insights from trust research in International Relations, we argue that the former partners gauge whether the other side can be trusted based on two types of signals: signals of benevolence and of integrity. Our analysis shows that during Boris Johnson's premiership, the EU lost trust in the UK government's benevolence and integrity, mainly because the UK repeatedly failed to honour previous commitments. Rishi Sunak's government countered the signals sent by its predecessor. By demonstrating its integrity and benevolence, it succeeded in rebuilding trust and facilitated the conclusion of the 'Windsor Framework'. This not only sheds light on an under-researched dimension of the Brexit process. It also contributes to trust research, which has yet to fully acknowledge both the significance of signals of trustworthiness and leadership transitions in creating windows of opportunity for changes in trust dynamics. | Journal of European Public Policy | Brexit; Trust; Negotiations; Northern Ireland Protocol; UK; EU |
| 2024_98 | Chung, KH; Kwon, HY. (2024). Trust, institutional quality, and the protection of property rights: A cross-regional study of East Asia and Western countries. Social Science Quarterly, 105(2), 267-280. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13340. | ObjectiveThis article explores the conditions under which social trust enhances institutional performance, specifically the protection of property rights in Western versus East Asian countries over time.MethodsWe estimate fixed-effects panel regression models to test how the relationship between trust and property rights protection is moderated by the quality of political institutions, including state capacity, the legal system, and democracy.ResultsWe find that the relationship between social trust and property rights protection is contingent on the quality of political institutions across regions. The quality of the legal system exerts the most pronounced and contrasting effect on the link between social trust and property rights protection in Western and East Asian countries, while the conditional effects of state capacity and democracy are comparatively less pronounced in both regions.ConclusionThis study contributes valuable insights into the complex interplay between social trust and institutional outcomes in diverse societal contexts. | Social Science Quarterly | Democracy, Institutional Quality, Judicial Independence, Property Rights, Social Trust; State Capacity |
| 2024_99 | Clark, D; Testart, C; Luckie, M; Claffy, KC. (2024). A path forward: improving Internet routing security by enabling zones of trust. Journal of Cybersecurity, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cybsec/tyae023. | Although Internet routing security best practices have recently seen auspicious increases in uptake, Internet Service Providers (ISPs) have limited incentives to deploy them. They are operationally complex and expensive to implement and provide little competitive advantage. The practices with significant uptake protect only against origin hijacks, leaving unresolved the more general threat of path hijacks. We propose a new approach to improved routing security that achieves four design goals: improved incentive alignment to implement best practices; protection against path hijacks; expanded scope of such protection to customers of those engaged in the practices; and reliance on existing capabilities rather than needing complex new software in every participating router. Our proposal leverages an existing coherent core of interconnected ISPs to create a zone of trust, a topological region that protects not only all networks in the region, but all directly attached customers of those networks. Customers benefit from choosing ISPs committed to the practices, and ISPs thus benefit from committing to the practices. We discuss the concept of a zone of trust as a new, more pragmatic approach to security that improves security in a region of the Internet, as opposed to striving for global deployment. We argue that the aspiration for global deployment is unrealistic, since the global Internet includes malicious actors. We compare our approach to other schemes and discuss how a related proposal, ASPA, could be used to increase the scope of protection our scheme achieves. We hope this proposal inspires discussion of how the industry can make practical, measurable progress against the threat of route hijacks in the short term by leveraging institutionalized cooperation rooted in transparency and accountability. | Journal of Cybersecurity | Internet Security; Border Gateway Protocol; BGP; Trust Zone |
| 2024_100 | Clemente, F; De Sousa, L. (2024). Democratic values, relative deprivation, political trust, and the resilience of corruption in Portugal: a survey analysis. Crime Law and Social Change, 82(3), 517-541. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10611-024-10156-8. | Corruption is commonly defined as deviant behaviour that strays from established legal and formal norms, as well as expected conduct when fulfilling official duties and responsibilities. It is essential to stress that the acceptance or condemnation of such behaviour hinges primarily on how well evaluators comprehend these standards. This implies that citizens' assessments of the impact of corruption on their lives and society are heavily influenced by the values they hold dear within a democracy and their trust in democratic institutions to uphold and safeguard those values. Based on recently collected survey data, we demonstrate that citizens' adherence to process-oriented democratic values, their feeling of relative deprivation and their level of political trust significantly affect their egocentric perceptions of the effects of corruption and tolerance towards corruption. Furthermore, we find that control variables, such as self-reported experiences of corruption, age, education, income, and exposure to social media, also exert a significant influence on our dependent variables. By linking citizens' egocentric perceived corruption effects and intolerance towards corruption with their procedural notion of democracy, feeling of relative deprivation and political trust, this study contributes to the understanding of the resilience of this intricate phenomenon in democratic societies. | Crime Law and Social Change | Corruption; Tolerance; Egocentric Perceptions; Democratic Values; Political Trust |
| 2024_101 | Clubb, G; Davies, G; Kobayashi, Y. (2024). Transparent Communication in Counter-Terrorism Policy: Does Transparency Increase Public Support and Trust in Terrorism Prevention Programmes?. Terrorism and Political Violence http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2024.2322489. | Within research and policy on preventing and countering terrorism, transparency is viewed as a necessity to generate public support and trust for counter-terrorism policies. Yet there is no systematic evidence to support these assumptions while research in other policy areas has challenged these assumptions, showing some forms of transparency might decrease support and trust. This paper presents results from two experimental surveys conducted in the United Kingdom to examine the effect of increased transparency on support and trust for terrorism prevention policy. Our findings challenge the widely held assumptions with regard counter-terrorism policy: increased policy information about a prevention policy (based on real Prevent websites) decreases support for Prevent, it makes people less likely to report suspected radicalisation to Prevent, and it has no effect on trust. Conversely, transparency which communicates the rationale behind policy decisions (in this case, the controversial Prevent referral process) increases policy acceptance, decreases the intent to protest, and increases trust in the prevention programme. The findings have global implications for counter-terrorism policy which is primarily based on positive, linear assumption on the relationship between transparency, trust and support-the most common form of transparency these policies use is at best ineffective and at worse counter-productive. | Terrorism and Political Violence | Transparency; Strategic Communications; Counter-Terrorism; Countering Violent Extremism; Prevent |
| 2024_102 | Cohen, MJ; Noh, EE; Zechmeister, EJ. (2024). Vote Buying, Norms, Context, and Trust in Elections. Comparative Political Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00104140241252099. | Conventional wisdom says vote buying undermines trust in elections, but few have examined this systematically. We identify why this relationship ought to hold, on average. We also derive two conditioning hypotheses: vote buying will be less consequential among citizens who view these exchanges as positive and in contexts marred by electoral irregularities. We test these three expectations with analyses of cross-national survey data and an original survey experiment. We find only a small and inconsistent relationship between vote buying and electoral trust. We find weak evidence on the role of norms and more support for the notion that context matters. We conclude that a modest connection between vote buying and electoral trust is driven less by approval of vote buying practices and more by variation in how elections are actually conducted and, related, the relative novelty of being exposed to vote buying. | Comparative Political Studies | Elections; Public Opinion; Voting Behavior; Latin American Politics; Experimental Research |
| 2024_103 | Cohen, N; Lotta, G; Alcadipani, R; Lazebnik, T. (2024). Trust and Street-Level Bureaucrats' Willingness to Risk Their Lives for Others: the Case of Brazilian Law Enforcement. American Review of Public Administration, 54(2), 119-134. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02750740231200468. | Trust has proven to be a predictor of organizational outcomes. In some cases, such as law enforcement, achieving organizational goals requires workers to be willing to risk their lives. Is there a link between street-level bureaucrats' (SLBs) willingness to endanger their own lives for the public and their trust in their peers, managers, and the institution to which they belong? Using a national survey of 2,733 police officers in Brazil and machine-learning-based methods, we found that there is a significant link between their willingness to risk their lives for others and their trust in their peers, managers, and the institution to which they belong. Our findings indicate that while these SLBs were very willing to risk their lives for certain groups, their willingness declined sharply for others such as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ)+ people and the homeless. In addition, police officers' perceptions about discrimination, police professionalism, and organizational commitment and support are linearly linked to their willingness to risk their lives. Our findings demonstrate the important role of trust in understanding public servants' practices in the extreme context of risking their lives for others. | American Review of Public Administration | Street-Level Bureaucrats; Trust; Risking One's Life; Police; Brazil |
| 2024_104 | Colloca, P; Roccato, M; Russo, S. (2024). Rally 'round the flag effects are not for all: Trajectories of institutional trust among populist and non-populist voters. Social Science Research, 119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.102986. | Using the Consequences of COVID-19 (COCO) dataset (quota sample of the adult Italian population, surveyed seven times by email), we analysed the trend of trust in political (political parties, parliament and local administrations), super partes (president of the Republic, judiciary and police) and international (the European Union and the United Nations) institutions from June 2019 to October 2022. Three latent growth curve models showed that trust in political institutions increased between June 2019 and April 2020 and subsequently decreased below the pre-pandemic level. Trust in super partes institutions decreased slightly between June 2019 and April 2020, decreased from April 2020 to April 2022 and increased in the subsequent months. Trust in international institutions declined between June 2019 and April 2020 and then returned to pre-pandemic levels. Three piecewise decompositions showed different trends in trust for nonpopulist voters, populist voters and non-voters. Strengths, weaknesses and possible developments of the study are discussed. | Social Science Research | Rally Effects; Trust in Institutions; Populism; COVID-19; Latent Growth Curve Models; Piecewise Approach |
| 2024_105 | Colombo, F; Ray, A. (2024). Trust in action: Cooperation, information, and social policy preferences. Political Psychology, 45(4), 709-726. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.12944. | What happens to peoples' social-policy preferences when their expectations concerning collective behavior are met, or even exceeded? And what conversely occurs when these expectations are unmet, and trust is thereby breached? Drawing on the first Italian COVID-19 lockdown as a massive exercise in collective action, this study tests how information on lockdown-compliance rates causally affects the social-policy preferences of Italian voters, conditional on their pretreatment levels of trust. Examining social-policy preferences across multiple dimensions, we find that trust is most closely linked to attitudes towards transfer generosity, as opposed to preferences on policy universalism and conditionality. Results highlight that neutral, fact-based information on cooperation levels can affect social-policy preferences-and that the direction of attitude change depends on whether one's trust has been met or breached. | Political Psychology | COVID-19; Italy; Redistributive Attitudes; Trust; Welfare Policy |
| 2024_106 | Colvin, RG. (2024). Trust Assessment Skills Among Close Friends in a Ubiquitous Social Media Environment. Sage Open, 14(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241282216. | For ages, individuals have relied on trust assessment skills to evaluate spoken words and accompanying body language social signals (BLSS) in friendships. This interactive process seeks to avoid harmful associations and unreliable information. However, with widespread social media use, assessment of BLSS is difficult, and users commonly report harm from defective estimations of interactions. This study evaluates how individuals adjust their trust assessment skills for close social media friendships, given the importance they place on BLSS in its role as a moderator. The research utilizes PLS-SEM, ANOVA, and cluster analysis to evaluate 247 U.S. online survey participants aged 18 to 67. The study adapts Mayer et al.'s trust model using social learning and cognitive dissonance theories. The independent variables, ability, benevolence, and integrity, strongly predict the dependent trust belief. In line with cognitive dissonance theory, BLSS has a negative and significant moderating effect on ability. BLSS reflects a small effect and widely insignificant moderating relationship with benevolence; analysis shows that a moderating relationship should not apply to benevolence. Counter to the hypothesized direction, BLSS produced a positive moderating effect on integrity, which was insignificant by a narrow margin. The analysis explains the basis for the positive relationship. Lastly, statistical analysis reveals an age-based shift in the relevancy of BLSS; younger users place less importance on BLSS, whereas older users place more importance on BLSS. This position for younger users aligns with their exposure and acclimation to social environments with widespread mobile communication and social media use since childhood. | Sage Open | Social Media; E-Commerce; Body Language; Social Signals; Particular Trust; Friendship; Cognitive Dissonance Theory |
| 2024_107 | Corda, T. (2024). In-group we trust, no more? How senders' legitimacy shapes the success of sanctions-based democracy promotion. Cooperation and Conflict http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00108367241298929. | For decades, pro-democracy states and organizations have been using coercive measures such as sanctions to promote and uphold democratic governance worldwide, yet not always successfully. Recent research has improved our knowledge on such 'democracy sanctions', but our understanding of how the different identities of sanctioners shape their success is not complete yet. Focusing on Africa, one of the biggest recipients of such measures but also a primary sender of them especially through the African Union, this article aims to systematically compare how the sanctioning behaviour of regional and extra-regional actors has impacted on the democratic status of the continent since the 1990s. The empirical analysis reconsiders the comparative advantage of regional actors' legitimacy to explain the likelihood of democracy sanctions success. It shows that 'in-group' democracy sanctions in which regional organizations are involved have bigger chances of success than those imposed by higher-capacity yet less-legitimate extra-regional actors only. However, it also shows in-group legitimacy can erode and that cooperation with such local organizations can help contain global democratic erosion, but hardly achieve democratic deepening, due to soft, face-saving compliance criteria and different understandings democracy and its promotion have across the world. | Cooperation and Conflict | Africa; Coups; Democracy; Legitimacy; Regional Organizations; Sanctions |
| 2024_108 | Corredor, ES; Anderson, MJ. (2024). Secrecy, Uncertainty, and Trust: the Gendered Nature of Back-Channel Peace Negotiations. International Studies Review, 26(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/isr/viae023. | Back-channel negotiations are commonplace in peace negotiations and can serve as crucial mechanisms for reaching agreements. While there has been a moderate increase in scholarship examining back-channel negotiations in the last two decades, none has explored the gendered nature of these spaces. This article analyzes how and why back-channel negotiations are highly gendered processes and why their gendered nature matters for sustainable peace. We begin with a review of the current literature on back-channel negotiations and discuss how and why they are critical mechanisms in peace negotiation and agreement processes. Next, we show how women's inclusion in peace negotiations and agreement practices matters for sustainable peace. Thereafter, we discuss how secret negotiation spaces are infused with gendered power and masculine logics of war and peace. We argue that three key features of back-channel negotiations-secrecy, uncertainty, and limited trust-come together to create an echo chamber of hypermasculinity ideas, values, styles, and norms that prevent women from achieving descriptive and substantive representation inside fundamental secret negotiation spaces. This article adds to the developing literature on back-channel negotiations and helps us better understand how and why women and their interests are regularly excluded from peace processes despite the global prominence of the United Nations' Women, Peace, and Security agenda. Las negociaciones por v & iacute;a extraoficial son habituales en las negociaciones de paz y pueden servir como mecanismos cruciales para llegar a acuerdos. Si bien durante las & uacute;ltimas dos d & eacute;cadas ha habido un aumento moderado en el n & uacute;mero de trabajos acad & eacute;micos que estudian las negociaciones extraoficiales, ninguno de estos estudios ha indagado en la naturaleza de g & eacute;nero de estos espacios. Este art & iacute;culo analiza c & oacute;mo y por qu & eacute; las negociaciones extraoficiales son procesos altamente basados en el g & eacute;nero y por qu & eacute; su naturaleza de g & eacute;nero resulta importante para una paz sostenible. Comenzamos llevando a cabo una revisi & oacute;n de la literatura actual sobre las negociaciones extraoficiales y debatimos c & oacute;mo y por qu & eacute; son mecanismos cr & iacute;ticos en los procesos de negociaci & oacute;n y en los acuerdos de paz. A continuaci & oacute;n, mostramos c & oacute;mo la inclusi & oacute;n de las mujeres en las negociaciones de paz y en las pr & aacute;cticas de los acuerdos resulta importante para una paz sostenible. Posteriormente, debatimos c & oacute;mo los espacios secretos de negociaci & oacute;n est & aacute;n impregnados de poder de g & eacute;nero y de l & oacute;gicas masculinas de guerra y paz. Argumentamos que tres de las caracter & iacute;sticas clave de las negociaciones extraoficiales (secretismo, incertidumbre y confianza limitada) se unen para amplificar la ideas, as & iacute; como los valores, estilos y normas, en materia de hipermasculinidad, las cuales impiden que las mujeres logren una representaci & oacute;n descriptiva y sustantiva dentro de los espacios de negociaci & oacute;n secretos fundamentales. Este art & iacute;culo se suma a la literatura, a & uacute;n en desarrollo, sobre las negociaciones extraoficiales y nos ayuda a comprender mejor c & oacute;mo y por qu & eacute; las mujeres, y sus intereses, son regularmente excluidas de los procesos de paz, a pesar de la prominencia mundial de la agenda Mujeres, Paz y Seguridad de la ONU. Les n & eacute;gociations informelles sont courantes dans les n & eacute;gociations de paix et peuvent constituer des m & eacute;canismes essentiels pour obtenir un accord. Bien que les travaux de recherche s'int & eacute;ressant aux n & eacute;gociations informelles augmentent quelque peu ces deux derni & egrave;res d & eacute;cennies, aucun n'a examin & eacute; la nature genr & eacute;e de ces espaces. Cet article analyse comment et pourquoi les n & eacute;gociations informelles sont des processus extr & ecirc;mement genr & eacute;s et pourquoi leur nature genr & eacute;e importe pour la durabilit & eacute; de la paix. Nous commen & ccedil;ons par un passage en revue de la litt & eacute;rature actuelle sur les n & eacute;gociations informelles, puis cherchons & agrave; savoir comment et pourquoi il s'agit de m & eacute;canismes cruciaux dans les n & eacute;gociations de paix et les processus menant & agrave; un accord. Ensuite, nous montrons pourquoi l'inclusion des femmes dans les n & eacute;gociations de paix et les pratiques menant & agrave; un accord importe pour la durabilit & eacute; de la paix. Puis, nous traitons de la pr & eacute;valence de la puissance genr & eacute;e et de la logique masculine de guerre et de paix dans les espaces de n & eacute;gociation secrets. Nous affirmons que trois caract & eacute;ristiques cl & eacute;s des n & eacute;gociations informelles (secret, incertitude et confiance limit & eacute;e) s'unissent pour cr & eacute;er une ritournelle d'id & eacute;es, de valeurs, de styles et de normes hypermasculines qui emp & ecirc;chent les femmes d'obtenir une repr & eacute;sentation descriptive et importante dans les espaces de n & eacute;gociation secrets fondamentaux. Cet article vient enrichir la litt & eacute;rature & eacute;mergente sur les n & eacute;gociations informelles. Il nous permet de mieux comprendre comment et pourquoi les femmes et leurs int & eacute;r & ecirc;ts se retrouvent r & eacute;guli & egrave;rement exclus des processus de paix, malgr & eacute; la pr & eacute;valence mondiale du programme Femmes, paix et s & eacute;curit & eacute; de l'ONU. | International Studies Review | Back-Channel Peace Negotiations; Women; Peace; Security; Gender |
| 2024_109 | Cozza, JF. (2024). Trust the process: citizen participation and procedural legitimacy in constitutional change. Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2024.2421556. | Using an original survey experiment, this study tests the impact of different constitutional amendment processes on the procedural legitimacy of constitutional change in the United States. In doing so, I separate the processes of amendment initiation and ratification, examining the role of legislatures, referendums, and citizens' assemblies in legitimating both ordinary and revolutionary constitutional change. The results suggest that citizens confer greater procedural legitimacy on amendments proposed by a legislature and adopted via referendum, especially when the amendment is seen as revolutionary. This finding holds for when supporters of an amendment are excluded from the analysis. The results of this study have significant implications for the way in which democracies approach questions of fundamental constitutional change. | Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties | |
| 2024_110 | Crepaz, M; Arikan, G. (2024). The effects of transparency regulation on political trust and perceived corruption: Evidence from a survey experiment. Regulation & Governance, 18(3), 896-913. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12555. | Scholarly evidence of transparency's beneficial effects on trust and perceptions of corruption remains debated and confined to the study of public administration. We contribute to this debate by extending the study of its effects to transparency legislation concerning members of parliament (MPs), political parties, and business interest groups. In an online experiment conducted in Ireland with 1373 citizens, we find that transparency in political donations improves trust in political parties, while asset declaration for conflict of interest prevention reduces perceptions of corruption toward MPs. However, transparency in lobbying is found to have no impact on attitudes toward business interest groups. This supports the common expectation that transparency improves political trust and reduces perceptions of corruption, but also confirms its complex effects. The study improves our understanding of transparency beyond open government providing an evaluation of different regulatory policies aimed at making the activities of parties, MPs, and lobby groups transparent. | Regulation & Governance | Integrity; Interest Groups; Political Parties; Regulation; Transparency; Trust |
| 2024_111 | Croucher, SM; Spencer, A; Bustamante, S; Nguyen, T; Gomez, O. (2024). COVID-19 and government trust: A spiral of silence analysis in South America. International Communication Gazette, 86(7), 565-580. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17480485231174424. | The COVID-19 pandemic has uncovered prejudices, systemic inequities and critical feelings about governmental institutions around the globe. Since the start of the pandemic, the 12 nations that make up South America have had more than 67 million cases and 1.3 million fatalities. Public trust in and willingness to speak out about government responses to COVID-19 in each nation have differed vastly. Using spiral of silence, this study (n = 1248) explored support for governmental COVID-19 response and willingness to speak out about that response in four South American nations: Argentina, Brazil, Chile and Peru. Results revealed Chileans are more likely to speak out on government response to COVID-19 than other South American participants. In addition, climate of opinion and support for government response positively predict willingness to speak. These results further our international and cross-cultural understanding of spiral of silence. | International Communication Gazette | Spiral of Silence; Political Communication; COVID-19; Government Trust; Cross-Cultural; Latin America |
| 2024_112 | Cullinan, ME; Zimdars, M; Na, KL. (2024). Their Truth is Out There: Scientific (Dis)trust and Alternative Epistemology in Online Health Groups. Social Media + Society, 10(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20563051241269288. | The information-sharing practices within alternative health social media groups makes them important spaces for analyzing and understanding the factors shaping the online spread of alternative health and health science (mis)information. Through interviews and observation of participants in alternative health groups on both Facebook and Reddit, we explore how people use health science information from government, health, and news sources, alternative health information from social media groups, and their own personal experiences and concerns to define informational (dis)trustworthiness. We identify factors that lead participants to (dis)trust health science information and explore how members assess the (dis)trustworthiness of health science information using an alternative epistemology. This alternative epistemology, or their science, demonstrates a trust in science unless or until it contradicts members' experiences, beliefs, contextual concerns, or their own research practices. | Social Media + Society | Alternative Epistemology; Health Science; Social Media; Trust; Journalism |
| 2024_113 | Curini, L; Garusi, D; Splendore, S. (2024). It's the ideology, stupid!: Trust in the press, ideological proximity between citizens and journalists and political parallelism. A comparative approach in 17 countries. International Communication Gazette, 86(4), 307-331. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17480485231165596. | Matching national surveys with the dataset offered by the Worlds of Journalism Study network (2012-2016), this article presents an analysis of trust in the press covering 16 European countries and the United States. Drawing from the spatial proximity model of voter utility, this article focuses on the ideological proximity between journalists' and citizens' left-right positions as a determinant of trust in the press. We expect a positive relationship between these two variables. However, we also hypothesize that the strength of such relationship is mediated by the type of media model (according to Hallin and Mancini's classification) existing in the different countries. In particular, we expect a higher impact within those contexts where the level of political parallelism is higher. The statistical results are as expected. This article highlights that news media trust research should focus more thoroughly on the interaction and interrelation of news media, audience, and politics. The article brings also implications about the concept of political parallelism in journalism and how it is received by readers. | International Communication Gazette | Ideological Proximity; Media Systems; Media Trust; Political Parallelism; Trust in Press |
| 2024_114 | Curry, D. (2024). Limitations of trust and legitimacy in blockchain: exploring the effectiveness of decentralisation, immutability and consensus mechanisms in blockchain governance. International Journal of Public Sector Management http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-12-2023-0368. | Purpose - This paper examines to what extent blockchain creates legitimacy and trust in different modes of public governance. It posits that while blockchain aims for political legitimacy through decentralising, immutable and consensus-based mechanisms, the execution of these mechanisms is limited in legitimating governance, which has knock-on effects on trust. It provides an original contribution by recontextualising and reframing blockchain as a governance mechanism that should, and must, perform a legitimating function in order to engender trust. Design/methodology/approach - The research adopts a comprehensive framework for understanding the legitimacy of blockchain governance, positioning it in terms of co-governance, self-governance and hierarchical governance modes. It systematically analyses blockchain whitepapers, legislation, government documents and other sources in three paradigmatic case studies where blockchain governance failed. These cases are then used to assess blockchain according to three key characteristics of decentralisation, immutability and consensus. Findings - The research finds that blockchain's use in governance settings still relies on legitimacy conferred from other sources - namely state - in order to generate trust. Significant limitations in its de facto political decentralisation, immutability and consensus protocols can create failures in co-governance, self-governance and hierarchical-governance applications, thus limiting the legitimation function of blockchain in facilitating political trust. Originality/value - These findings are significant in highlighting blockchain's limitations as a decentralised, immutable and consensus-driven legitimating tool, which has knock-on effects on trust in technology and governance more broadly. It also has broader implications in more clearly highlighting the interconnectedness of political trust and legitimacy in governance processes. | International Journal of Public Sector Management | Governance; Legitimacy; Trust; Blockchain |
| 2024_115 | D'souza, S; Ghatole, B; Raghuram, H; Parakh, S; Tugnawat, D; Shaikh, A; Singh, S; Bandewar, SS; Bhan, A. (2024). COVID-19 Vaccine decision-making: trust among the transgender and disability communities in India. Journal of Communication in Healthcare, 17(3), 265-274. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17538068.2024.2335784. | BackgroundHistorical marginalisation and ongoing trust deficits in health and government systems shape present-day vaccine perceptions among marginalised communities. This paper sought to understand the role of trust in decision-making about COVID-19 vaccine uptake in the transgender and disability communities in India.MethodsUsing a participatory approach we interviewed 24 community representatives, identifying themselves as transgender individuals or as persons with disability, and 21 key informants such as vaccine programme managers, vaccine providers, and community advocates. We undertook an inductive thematic analysis of the data using a socio-ecological model.ResultsFear of side effects in relation to specific needs of the two communities and mistrust of systems involved in vaccination shaped four different pathways for vaccine decision-making. Mistrust of systems was influenced by past negative experiences with the health system, creating contexts in which information and misinformation are shared and interpreted. Participants negotiated their doubts about safety and mistrust of systems by interacting with different sources of influence showing patterns of decision-making that are dynamic, context-dependent, and intersectional.ConclusionThese findings will help in determining the content, strategies and approaches to equitable vaccine communication for these two communities. The two communities ought to be included in vaccine trials. Vaccine information must respond to the specific needs of these two communities which could be enabled by collaboration and engagement with community members and influencers. Finally, long-term investment towards the needs of marginalised communities is vital to dismantle cycles of marginalisation and distrust and in turn improve vaccine acceptance and uptake. | Journal of Communication in Healthcare | Trust; COVID-19 Vaccines; Transgender Persons; Disabled Persons; Community-Based Participatory Research; Gender Equity |
| 2024_116 | Dale, JG; Aizawa, N. (2024). Data Free Flow with Trust: Japan's struggle to integrate democracy and human rights into digital trade policy. Frontiers in Sociology, 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fsoc.2024.1397528. | A powerful regime for regulating trade, the Group of Seven (G-7) has increasingly negotiated its digital trade through bilateral and preferential trade agreements, including with non-member states in the Global South. Focusing on the dominant concept shaping these agreements, Japan's Data Free Flow with Trust (D.F.F.T.), we trace its discursively contested emergence and meaning within a national (Society 5.0) vision for Japan's digital transformation, and its subsequent transnationalization in international fora and institutionalization in global digital trade policy. Drawing on our interviews with Japanese government ministers, business elites, and legal experts who contributed to the processual development of D.F.F.T., as well as diverse additional primary sources, we find that the D.F.F.T. has become more than a trade policy, covering a wider range of social and geopolitical issues. In particular, we show that contention over data localization measures has restructured international relations of trust, especially across the Global North/South divide. Ultimately, this research report contributes to our understanding of how D.F.F.T. poses threats to human rights, democracy, and the global knowledge economy that may undermine its goals of enhancing innovation capacity and economic growth. | Frontiers in Sociology | Digital Transformation; Society 5.0; Data Free Flow With Trust; Digital Trade; Data Localization; Japan; G-7; Human Rights |
| 2024_117 | Daminov, I. (2024). Relationship between the type of media consumption and political trust in the European Union: Evidence from the 94th Eurobarometer 2020/2021 Survey. Communication and the Public, 9(3), 295-310. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20570473241256484. | This article analyzes the relationship between the consumption of different types of media and political trust, while also additionally contributing to discussions in several sub-branches of agenda-setting theories. To test the hypotheses, this article runs several linear regression models at the European Union, regional, and national levels. The European Union-level analysis is based on the 94th Eurobarometer survey data of 2020/2021. It is then further complemented with some country-level comparisons. The regression models account for various socio-economic and socio-political confounding factors. The results of the analysis demonstrate that there is a significant positive relationship between press consumption and political trust. As for social media, their negative effect is visible and consistent only when they are designated as the respondent's main source of information. Other media types do not demonstrate a visible and statistically significant effect. This article's findings, also through the country-level comparisons, provide new research avenues not only for quantitative research as well as for comparative case studies of individual European Union Member States. | Communication and the Public | Agenda-Setting; European Union; Media; Political Trust; Regression |
| 2024_118 | Dash, A. (2024). Political Promotion Over Social Media and Voters' Voting Intention With Trust as a Moderator. Journal of Public Affairs, 24(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pa.2946. | This study examines the relationship between voters' attitudes towards social media promotion and their voting behaviour, along with the moderating effect of trust on this relationship. For this study, primary data was acquired from a sample of 441 respondents across Karnataka in India using a predesigned questionnaire. Convenience sampling was utilised to ensure that only interested and motivated respondents participated in the study and that the sample was representative of the target population. Significant findings of this study implied that political parties that aim to embrace social media advertising must inculcate trust among their target audience. Again, political parties that plan to use social media advertising must build a memorable and lasting impression on the minds of their target audience in every interaction by developing a reliable and authentic discourse. This study adds to the understanding of the moderating role of trust in voters' attitudes towards social media advertising and can be used to formulate an appropriate political promotion strategy. | Journal of Public Affairs | Political Promotion; Social Media; Trust; Voter's Attitude |
| 2024_119 | David, P; Choung, H; Seberger, JS. (2024). Who is responsible? US Public perceptions of AI governance through the lenses of trust and ethics. Public Understanding of Science, 33(5), 654-672. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625231224592. | The governance of artificial intelligence (AI) is an urgent challenge that requires actions from three interdependent stakeholders: individual citizens, technology corporations, and governments. We conducted an online survey (N = 525) of US adults to examine their beliefs about the governance responsibility of these stakeholders as a function of trust and AI ethics. Different dimensions of trust and different ethical concerns were associated with beliefs in governance responsibility of the three stakeholders. Specifically, belief in the governance responsibility of the government was associated with ethical concerns about AI, whereas belief in governance responsibility of corporations was related to both ethical concerns and trust in AI. Belief in governance responsibility of individuals was related to human-centered values of trust in AI and fairness. Overall, the findings point to the need for an interdependent framework in which citizens, corporations, and governments share governance responsibilities, guided by trust and ethics as the guardrails. | Public Understanding of Science | AI Ethics; AI Governance; Artificial Intelligence (AI); Trust; Trustworthy AI |
| 2024_120 | Davidson, A. (2024). Countering Search Ad Avoidance: How Political Orientation Affects Trust in Search Advertising. Journal of Advertising http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00913367.2024.2393708. | Search advertising involves the purchasing of an ad's position at the top of a search engine results page and accounts for more than 40% of all digital ad spending in the United States. Nevertheless, consumers are more likely to click on organic links found below search ads-a phenomenon referred to as the search ad avoidance effect. Combining system justification and construal level theory, a politically identifiable segment of consumers is argued to counter this effect. Because individuals with a conservative (vs. liberal) political orientation tend to justify systemic processes, they are more likely to trust sponsored versus organic marketing communications. Across four studies (secondary data, surveys, online field experiment), conservatives (vs. liberals) are more likely to click on search ads because they perceive them as more trustworthy. This relationship is most prevalent when consumers conduct broad searches, activating an abstract search construal that relies on a thinking style consistent with one's core ideological beliefs and values. However, both conservatives and liberals are equally likely to click on search ads when they conduct more specific searches, activating a concrete search construal that enables a thinking style that is context-dependent and therefore diverges from one's core beliefs and values. | Journal of Advertising | |
| 2024_121 | Dawson, A; Krakoff, IL. (2024). Political trust and democracy: the critical citizens thesis re-examined. Democratization, 31(1), 90-112. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13510347.2023.2257607. | This article empirically assesses competing perspectives of the relationship between democracy and political trust. We conduct multilevel analyses on a cross-national panel dataset of 82 countries for the period 1990-2020. The findings suggest that there is a strong, negative relationship between democracy and political trust that cannot easily be dismissed as an artifact of model misspecification or response bias. Moreover, we re-examine the critical citizens thesis by disaggregating political trust into trust in partisan and non-partisan institutions to test the claim that well-functioning democracies contain and channel distrust into the more partisan political institutions to keep distrust from generalizing to the entire political system. The results fail to find a statistically significant difference of the effect of democracy on trust between partisan and non-partisan institutions, suggesting that low political trust within democracies may be a more acute problem than much of the literature suggests. | Democratization | Democracy; Political Trust; Critical Citizens; Cross-National; Quantitative Methods |
| 2024_122 | de Andrés-Sánchez, J; Gené-Albesa, J. (2024). Not with the bot! the relevance of trust to explain the acceptance of chatbots by insurance customers. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02621-5. | Industry 4.0 profoundly impacts the insurance sector, as evidenced by the significant growth of insurtech. One of these technologies is chatbots, which enable policyholders to seamlessly manage their active insurance policies. This paper analyses policyholders' attitude toward conversational bots in this context. To achieve this objective, we employed a structured survey involving policyholders. The survey aimed to determine the average degree of acceptance of chatbots for contacting the insurer to take action such as claim reporting. We also assessed the role of variables of the technology acceptance model, perceived usefulness, and perceived ease of use, as well as trust, in explaining attitude and behavioral intention. We have observed a low acceptance of insureds to implement insurance procedures with the assistance of a chatbot. The theoretical model proposed to explain chatbot acceptance provides good adjustment and prediction capability. Even though the three assessed factors are relevant for explaining attitude toward interactions with conversational robots and behavioral intention to use them, the variable trust exhibited the greatest impact. The findings of this paper have fair potential theoretical and practical implications. They outline the special relevance of trust in explaining customers' acceptance of chatbots since this construct impacts directly on attitude but also perceived usefulness and perceived ease of use. Likewise, improvements in the utility and ease of use of robots are also needed to prevent customers' reluctance toward their services. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_123 | de Blok, L. (2024). Who Cares? Issue Salience as a Key Explanation for Heterogeneity in Citizens' Approaches to Political Trust. Social Indicators Research, 171(2), 493-512. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-023-03256-w. | Political trust is a critical facet of the democratic legitimacy of political institutions. A vast body of research convincingly demonstrates that political trust is responsive to actual political performance, where citizens trust their government if it performs well and vice versa. However, if political trust is based on citizens' evaluations of government performance, this raises the question what type of performance citizens take into consideration. This research note demonstrates that citizens' bases of political trust vary as they emphasize different policy issues, and that perceived issue salience can explain this variation. Using a combination of longitudinal cross-sectional data from EU member states and novel multi-level Dutch data, it models both collective and personal issue salience as key conditions for performance-based political trust. In doing so, this research note generates new insights into the formation of political trust. | Social Indicators Research | Political Trust; Policy Performance; Issue Salience |
| 2024_124 | De Micheli, D; Taylor, WK. (2024). Public Trust in Latin America's Courts: Do Institutions Matter?. Government and Opposition, 59(1), 146-167. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/gov.2022.6. | Despite the integral role of the judiciary to democracy, and the importance of judicial trust for judicial system performance, we know relatively little about the bases of public trust in this institution. How does institutional quality affect judicial trust? We explore this question in the context of Latin America, using a multilevel data set comprising survey data spanning 2001 to 2016 and country-level institutional and economic factors. We find that the effects of institutional quality on judicial trust are highly circumscribed. Factors like rule of law and corruption impact the judicial trust of only the best-educated survey respondents. Among the broader public, however, judicial trust is shaped more strongly by individuals' subjective economic and regime evaluations, as well as one's personal experiences with the judiciary. | Government and Opposition | Latin America; Judicial Politics; Political Institutions; Public Trust |
| 2024_125 | de Zúñiga, HG; Goyanes, M; Mateos, A. (2024). Twitter Communication Among Democracy Actors: How Interacting With Journalists and Elected Officials Influence People's Government Performance Assessment and Trust. Social Media + Society, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20563051241232907. | Prior research highlights broad democratic benefits of sustained public trust in the government, and the confidence that the government performs responsively addressing citizens' problems (i.e., unemployment, cost of living). As social media enhances citizens' opportunities to interact with journalists and elected officials, little is known about these communication effects on people's government trust, and citizens' evaluations about how well the government is addressing important society problems. Relying on a two-wave US representative panel survey data, this study builds on prior literature to introduce Twitter Communication with Democracy Actors: journalists and politicians, as a single, yet two-dimensional construct. Then, advancing different ordinary least squares (OLS) predictive panel models, results indicate that people who interact with democratic actors on Twitter trust the government and assess its overall functioning more positively. Additional moderating tests indicate social media interactions with democracy actors help citizens who might need it the most, specifically those who have lower levels of external political efficacy. The study provides theoretical implications of findings and suggestions for future research. | Social Media + Society | Government Trust; Government Performance; Journalists Twitter Interaction; Elected Public Officials Twitter Interaction; External Political Efficacy |
| 2024_126 | Dellmuth, L. (2024). Regional inequalities and political trust in a global context. Journal of European Public Policy, 31(6), 1516-1535. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2023.2269207. | Climate change, health pandemics, structural decline, and more - the challenges of solving political problems are daunting, particularly when the political institutions addressing them are not trusted. This article tests the economic theory that residents of high-income regions are more likely to trust political institutions, given their positive experiences with services and opportunities, against the rival argument that predicts a negative effect of regional disadvantage within a country on political trust. Using European Values Study and World Values Survey (2017-2020) data, combined with socioeconomic data for 606 regions in 42 countries, this paper analyses samples of regions both in and outside the EU. The results suggest that people living in wealthy EU regions - both in absolute and relative terms - trust national government more and the EU less. In the global sample, the evidence is more variegated and corroborates economic theory only in democracies. The article sketches implications for regional inequality, political trust, and legitimacy research. | Journal of European Public Policy | Democracy; Economic Theory; Political Confidence; Political Trust; Social Legitimacy; Regional Inequalities |
| 2024_127 | Demjaha, A; Pym, D; Caulfield, T; Parkin, S. (2024). 'The trivial tickets build the trust': a co-design approach to understanding security support interactions in a large university. Journal of Cybersecurity, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/cybsec/tyae007. | Increasingly, organizations are acknowledging the importance of human factors in the management of security in workplaces. There are challenges in managing security infrastructures in which there may be centrally mandated and locally managed initiatives to promote secure behaviours. We apply a co-design methodology to harmonize employee behaviour and centralized security management in a large university. This involves iterative rounds of interviews connected by the co-design methodology: 14 employees working with high-value data with specific security needs; seven support staff across both local and central IT and IT-security support teams; and two senior security decision-makers in the organization. We find that employees prefer local support together with assurances that they are behaving securely, rather than precise instructions that lack local context. Trust in support teams that understand local needs also improves engagement, especially for employees who are unsure what to do. Policy is understood by employees through their interactions with support staff and when they see colleagues enacting secure behaviours in the workplace. The iterative co-design approach brings together the viewpoints of a range of employee groups and security decision-makers that capture key influences that drive secure working practices. We provide recommendations for improvements to workplace security, including recognizing that communication of the policy is as important as what is in the policy. | Journal of Cybersecurity | Security; Users; Policy; Management; Modelling; Co-Design; Translation Zone |
| 2024_128 | Denton, G; Sanborn, H. (2024). Who can you blame? Trust in institutions and mobilization across regimes in Asia. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 9(2), 324-339. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20578911231161352. | In this article, we consider the attitudinal motivations for political participation in countries across Asia. Specifically, we assess how trust in different types of institutional actors provides incentives for extra-legal actions, such as protest and the use of force, by analyzing the behaviors of individuals based upon their evaluations of representational and implementing institutions. As part of this analysis, we consider attitudes and action in both democracies and non-democracies, arguing for separate mechanisms to motivate unconventional political participation. Using Asian Barometer Survey data, we find that individuals living under democratic regimes are motivated to engage in more costly forms of participation in response to their assessments of trust in elected officials, while those individuals residing in non-democracies engage in these high-risk activities when they are dissatisfied with the performance of the police, civil service, and courts. | Asian Journal of Comparative Politics | Asia; Bureaucracy; Good Governance; Political Participation; Regime Type; Trust |
| 2024_129 | Devine, D; Stoker, G; Jennings, W. (2024). Political trust and climate policy choice: evidence from a conjoint experiment. Journal of Public Policy, 44(2), 327-343. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X23000430. | Why do citizens support or reject climate change mitigation policies? This is not an easy choice: citizens need to support the government in making these decisions, accept potentially radical behavior change, and have altruism across borders and for future generations. A substantial literature argues that political trust facilitates citizen support for these complex policy decisions by mitigating the cost and uncertainty that policies impose on individuals and buttressing support for government intervention. We test whether this is the case with a pre-registered conjoint experiment fielded in Germany in which we vary fundamental aspects of policy design that are related to the cost, uncertainty, and implementation of climate change policies. Contrary to strong theoretical expectations and previous work, we find no difference between those with low and high trust on their support for different policy attributes, assuaging the concern that low and declining trust inhibits climate policymaking. | Journal of Public Policy | Climate Policy; Conjoint Experiment; Germany; Policy Preferences; Political Trust |
| 2024_130 | Devine, D; Valgarosson, V; Smith, J; Jennings, W; di Vettimo, MS; Bunting, H; McKay, L. (2024). Political trust in the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic: a meta-analysis of 67 studies. Journal of European Public Policy, 31(3), 657-679. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2023.2169741. | Trust in political actors and institutions has long been seen as essential for effective democratic governance. During the COVID-19 pandemic, trust was widely identified as key for mitigation of the crisis through its influence on compliance with public policy, vaccination and many other social attitudes and behaviours. We study whether trust did indeed predict these outcomes through a meta-analysis of 67 studies and 426 individual effect sizes derived from nearly 1.5 million observations worldwide. Political trust as an explanatory variable has small to moderate correlations with outcomes such as vaccine uptake, belief in conspiracy theories, and compliance. These correlations are heterogenous, and we show that trust in health authorities is more strongly related to vaccination than trust in the government; but compliance is more strongly related to the government than other institutions. Moreover, the unique case of the United States indicates that trust in President Trump had negative effects across all observed outcomes, except in increasing conspiracy beliefs. Our analysis also shows that research design features (such as response scales) and publication bias do not importantly change the results. These results indicate that trust was important for the management of the pandemic and supports existing work highlighting the importance of political trust. | Journal of European Public Policy | Political Trust; COVID-19; Meta-Analysis; Vaccine Hesitancy |
| 2024_131 | Devine, D. (2024). Does Political Trust Matter? A Meta-analysis on the Consequences of Trust. Political Behavior, 46(4), 2241-2262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11109-024-09916-y. | Political trust has long been seen as fundamental for societal cooperation and democratic legitimacy. However, evidence about its consequences are partial and fragmented, and we do not currently have a systematic understanding of whether political trust warrants such vast attention. This paper conducts a systematic review and meta-analysis of 61 studies reporting 329 coefficients derived from over three and a half million observations globally. After synthesising the conceptual and theoretical frameworks in the extant literature, the meta-analysis results show that trust is weakly to moderately related to outcomes as diverse as voter turnout, vote choice, policy preferences and compliance, but is unrelated to informal participation. These results are robust to a range of considerations such as the measurement of trust, modelling strategy, region of study, publication bias, and design of the study. The review also highlights substantial geographical and methodological gaps, particularly the reliance on cross-sectional designs. Substantively, the results show that trust is importantly and robustly related to what people want from their political systems and how they interact with it. By systematically analysing the extant research, the paper provides a robust, systematic, and empirical foundation to advance research on political trust. | Political Behavior | Political Trust; Meta-Analysis; Political Behaviour |
| 2024_132 | Devine, D. (2024). Political trust and redistribution preferences. Journal of European Public Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2024.2413194. | How does political trust influence policy preferences? A large literature posits that trust is vital for supporting governments in managing fundamental societal challenges and investing in long-term policy making. This paper investigates the relationship between political trust and policy preferences, specifically redistribution preferences. Through four pre-registered, original survey experiments conducted over two years in the UK and long-term panel data spanning 19 years in Switzerland, I demonstrate that political trust has an insignificant and negligible impact on individuals' preferences for redistribution, even when trust is experimentally manipulated under theoretically favourable conditions. By combining two designs with improved causal identification than the existing literature, these results challenge prevailing theories linking political trust and policy preferences and highlight the need for further examination of the complex dynamics between citizens' attitudes and support for government policy. | Journal of European Public Policy | Political Trust; Redistribution Preferences; Experiments; Panel Data |
| 2024_133 | Devine, DANIEL; Valgarosson, VO. (2024). Stability and change in political trust: Evidence and implications from six panel studies. European Journal of Political Research, 63(2), 478-497. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12606. | Are political attitudes a stable feature of individuals or a rational response to changing circumstances and contexts? This question has long been a feature of political science and underpins our theories of how political attitudes are formed and what their consequences might be. In this paper, we explore this perennial question with a focus on the case of political trust, a fundamental indicator of democratic legitimacy and a long-standing topic of debate. Theoretically, we devise a framework that highlights how different theories of political trust assume different levels of stability or volatility and the implications that this has for those theories and their normative consequences. Empirically, we study within-individual stability of political trust using six panel studies that cover five countries between 1965 and 2020. Our results consistently point to trust being stable in the long term, with potential for short-term volatility in response to changing political contexts, and for substantial changes between people's formative years and their adulthood. Even over a period of 19 years, most people's responses to trust questions are remarkably similar between surveys and significant life events such as unemployment and going to University do not significantly influence trust. Changes in the political environment, like incumbent government turnover, have larger effects but these appear to return to equilibrium in a few years. The exception to this general finding is individuals who are first surveyed when they are under the age of 18, who appear much more likely to change their trust levels in subsequent waves. Overall, our results complement previous research on attitude stability, indicating that trust is approximately as stable as other attitudes, such as towards immigration and redistribution. These findings have fundamental implications for our understanding of the nature of political trust and attitude formation more broadly. | European Journal of Political Research | Political Trust; Public Opinion; Political Attitudes |
| 2024_134 | Diani, M. (2024). The relational preconditions of trust in collective action fields. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(4), 517-536. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152231220602. | This article explores some relational mechanisms that may facilitate strong inter-organizational alliances, and the associated trust, in collective action fields. It departs from mainstream research on trust by focusing on organizations rather than individuals. The article focuses in particular on three mechanisms: embeddedness (i.e. the role of individual members' multiple involvements as facilitators of sustained inter-organizational exchanges), familiarity (the role of previous interactions in facilitating cooperation and thus generating trust), and brokerage (the role of trusted leaders in bringing different organizations together). These mechanisms may affect trust creation in two different ways: by facilitating dyadic alliances between pairs of actors and by facilitating actors' incumbency of the same network position, regardless of being directly connected. Illustrations come from data on environmental groups in Milan in the mid 1980s, civic organizations active on various public issues in Glasgow and Bristol in the early 2000s, and organizations active on the urban environment in Cape Town in the early 2010s. While the exercise is exploratory in nature, the relational mechanisms identified may represent some of the building blocks for a systematic explanation of alliance building and trust emergence. Moreover, data from urban polities with different levels of democratic consolidation and cleavage pacification illustrate the importance of adding a comparative element to our explorations of the relationship between trust and collective action. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | Alliances; Brokerage; Collective Action Fields; Embeddedness; Familiarity; Inter-Organizational Trust |
| 2024_135 | Dimdins, G; Priedols, M; Austers, I; Gaina, V; Leja, V. (2024). The Structure of Individualized and Generalized Political Trust: A Network Analysis of Data from Two Representative-Sample Studies. Sage Open, 14(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241281541. | This study examined the relationship between generalized (trust in the political system) and individualized (trust in a specific political actor) political trust in two surveys with representative samples from Latvia (total N = 2,001). The results of a regularized partial correlation network analysis of the data from both surveys revealed that variables associated with each level of trust formed separate clusters, which were virtually unrelated in Study 1, and moderately related in Study 2. Across both datasets, political cynicism was the only variable robustly (negatively) related to both levels of trust. External political efficacy was strongly related to generalized political trust, whereas internal political efficacy was unrelated to either level of political trust. Generalized interpersonal trust was only weakly related to generalized political trust and was unrelated to individualized political trust. The findings show that trust in the political system and trust in specific political actors form separate, although related, network structures and are likely determined by a different set of variables, representing different kinds of psychological reasoning. Generalized political trust can be seen as part of a general attitude towards one's country, whereas individualized trust is based on more situational factors and shaped through the mechanisms of person perception and group perception. | Sage Open | Political Trust; Political Cynicism; Individualized Trust; Generalized Trust; Political Efficacy |
| 2024_136 | Doehring, K; Cole, C; Casanovas, P; Young, R; Longnecker, N. (2024). Trusted storytellers as freshwater restoration knowledge brokers: individual and collective voices can both be effective. Kotuitui-New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online, 19(4), 429-455. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1177083X.2023.2298914. | Aotearoa New Zealand's aquatic ecosystems are declining despite widespread awareness of mitigation needs. This study employs storytelling to address this issue, testing the role of the messenger in encouraging freshwater restoration in rural catchment communities. We quantified peer-to-peer knowledge exchange on three cognitive processes (retention and extraction of information, motivation to reproduce modelled restoration behaviour, and recall of acquired information), using ArcGIS (R) 'StoryMaps'. We created two restoration stories; one told through the voice of a respected catchment group member known for leadership, and one through a collective catchment group voice. We surveyed freshwater community members (N = 82) before and after reading the stories, and one month later, and found that participants reading either catchment restoration story (1) accepted both the catchment collective and the respected individual member as a trusted source, and could therefore relate to either, and (2) thought the story was informative and contained new details, independent of the time span land holders have been actively restoring. While our study found no significant differences between individual or collective storytellers, it confirms the value of trusted messengers as restoration knowledge brokers in rural catchment communities, a critical step in value-led freshwater restoration at large scales. | Kotuitui-New Zealand Journal of Social Sciences Online | Observational Learning; Catchment Freshwater Restoration; Sustainable Land Management; Water Quality |
| 2024_137 | Doering, K; McAra-Couper, J; Gilkison, A. (2024). Attuning to the World of Peace of Mind and Trust: Women's Lived Experience of the Woman-Midwife Relationship in Japan. Qualitative Health Research, 34(10), 964-976. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10497323241226568. | In Japan, many pregnant women and mothers suffer from anxiety, depression, and other postnatal issues that can be exacerbated by their birth experiences. While benefiting from advanced medical care, these women's mental and psychological health may be disregarded in their maternity care. Midwives have the potential to play a significant role in improving women's birth experiences. Hence, this study aimed to explore the meaning of the woman-midwife relationship, with a specific focus on sensing peace of mind and trust to improve women's birth experiences. Using a hermeneutic phenomenological approach, 14 Japanese women were interviewed. Sensing peace of mind and trust was one of the significant meanings of the woman-midwife relationship and is articulated across five themes: (1) attuning to the world, (2) different kinds of safety and trust, (3) relying on and entrusting midwives, (4) making a mother, and (5) an emotional bridge. The positive relationship with midwives enhanced the women's mental well-being through allowing the women to attune to the peaceful mind which directed their future perspectives and sustained them in motherhood. They became confident mothers by trusting their midwives. The maternity care system in Japan needs to shift to more relationship-based care to ensure continuity of midwifery care that will improve women's birth experiences and their long-term well-being. | Qualitative Health Research | Hermeneutic Phenomenology; Qualitative; Women's Lived Experience; Birth Experience; Woman-Midwife Relationship; Midwifery; Continuity of Care; Safe; Trust; Japan |
| 2024_138 | Doerr, N; Hansen, JP. (2024). Climate translators building trust and local democratic cooperation on green transition: Denmark and Germany. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(4), 479-498. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152231219489. | This article investigates how climate activists engage in building trust in public debates and local political conflicts over green transition. The article applies the empirically grounded concept of climate translators to study the challenges of intermediary trust-building by both independent climate activists and institutionally embedded activists who aim to stimulate climate policy change at the local level. In Denmark, municipalities endorse activists as climate translators to promote civic participation and deliberation. In Germany, activists have developed more conflict-oriented translation models based on direct-democratic campaigns and advocacy work outside institutions. We discuss these varied strategies of trust-building as they emerged in different contexts. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | Brokers; Civic Engagement; Climate Activism; Conflict; Participative and Deliberative Democracy; Translation |
| 2024_139 | Donat, E; Lenhart, S. (2024). Closeness to citizens as a source for political trust? A comparison of opinions on local parliaments and the European Parliament in 12 European regions. International Review of Administrative Sciences http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00208523241268063. | In everyday political life, closeness or proximity to citizens is often cited as a key factor in generating political trust. Closeness to citizens is regularly taken for granted, especially at the local level in the European Union (EU). Our paper compares two main indicators of closeness to citizens, namely personal interactions (facework commitment) and the role of perceived expertise (faceless commitment). It then asks if a transfer (or spillover) of trust from the local level to the European level can be observed. Our analysis is based on data from a novel survey in six EU member states and 12 regions (N = 8700), which aimed to determine citizens' proximity to and trust in parliaments in the multi-level system of the EU. The results of the paper highlight the importance of generating 'faceless commitment' (perceived expertise) as an indicator for closeness to citizens, which can be an important driver for increasing political trust. We found no spillover effects of trust from the subnational level to higher levels in the EU, which raises doubts about the potential of the subnational level to serve as a source and a promoter for trust in European institutions.Points for practitioners Personal contact is not always key for generating trust. Citizens expect politicians to rest their decision-making upon perceived living conditions and opinions of their constituencies instead. Large institutions like the European Parliament can benefit from these results since they can hardly seek direct contact with all citizens. Social sciences data and research can be one source of information to gather such expertise about living conditions. Trust cannot be simply transferred from one level (subnational) to another level (national, European). | International Review of Administrative Sciences | Trust; Parliaments; Closeness To Citizens; Spillover Effects |
| 2024_140 | Dorrington, G; Schulz-Herzenberg, C. (2024). Trusting others in a divided country: the determinants of social trust in South Africa. Political Psychology http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.13014. | This study investigates three key determinants of social trust to explain South Africa's social trust deficit: income inequality, confidence in institutions, and racial diversity. Despite the country's racially heterogenous society and segregated history, racial diversity arguments overlook alternative theories on the determinants of low social trust. We instead argue that the decline in social trust in South Africa can be explained by worsening levels of income inequality and declines in institutional trust in recent decades. Using the 2019 South African Reconciliation Barometer citizen survey data, the empirical analysis confirms that South Africans' confidence in institutions and their subjective perceptions of income distribution (or income inequality) have the strongest influence on social trust levels while racial diversity has a negligible effect. This is encouraging for a country with South Africa's racial diversity and troubled history. Instead, efforts to address South Africa's social trust deficit should focus on increasing citizens' confidence in institutions and addressing the high levels of income inequality. However, given the dire state of institutional confidence and income inequality in the country, it remains unlikely that these conditions will improve in the short term. | Political Psychology | Inequality; Institutional Confidence; Racial Diversity; Social Trust; Survey Research |
| 2024_141 | Douglas, N. (2024). The role of trust in Belarusian societal mobilization (2020-2021). International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(4), 537-557. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152241246746. | Social trust is believed to be beneficial to societal mobilization and the participation in protests. At the same time, state performance, notably of state power structures during instances of social and political protest and change, has an impact on the public perception of and trust in these institutions as well as the assessment of their legitimacy. The police are the most visible manifestation of state authority, which has become particularly apparent during post-electoral protests in Belarus in 2020, when their performance directly influenced and determined further societal mobilization. Based on a mixed-methods design, drawing on interview and survey data, this contribution seeks to shed light on the role of trust in societal mobilization during instances of protest and change in Belarus between 2020 and 2021. One of the main findings is that repression by the regime and its police forces affected both institutional trust and the level of protest mobilization. Protest participation in turn correlates with an increase in social trust. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | Belarus; Police; Societal Mobilization; State Power Structures; Trust |
| 2024_142 | Dries, C; Mcdowell, M; Rebitschek, FG; Leuker, C. (2024). When evidence changes: Communicating uncertainty protects against a loss of trust. Public Understanding of Science, 33(6), 777-794. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625241228449. | Scientific findings can be overturned when new evidence arises. This study examines how communicating and explaining uncertainty around scientific findings affect trust in the communicator when findings change. In an online experiment (N = 800, convenience sample), participants read a fictitious statement from a public health authority announcing that there was no link between a new COVID-19 vaccine and heart muscle inflammation. The authority communicated (1) no uncertainty, (2) uncertainty without giving a reason, (3) uncertainty due to imprecision, or (4) uncertainty due to incomplete accounting of patients. Participants were then informed that the authority's statement was no longer correct as new data showed a link between the vaccine and heart muscle inflammation. Participants rated the authority's trustworthiness before and after the evidence update. Our findings indicate that communicating uncertainty buffers against a loss of trust when evidence changes. Moreover, explaining uncertainty does not appear to harm trust. | Public Understanding of Science | Changing Evidence; Science Communication; Trust; Uncertainty |
| 2024_143 | Drolsbach, CP; Solovev, K; Pröllochs, N. (2024). Community notes increase trust in fact-checking on social media. Pnas Nexus, 3(7). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pnasnexus/pgae217. | Community-based fact-checking is a promising approach to fact-check social media content at scale. However, an understanding of whether users trust community fact-checks is missing. Here, we presented n=1,810 Americans with 36 misleading and nonmisleading social media posts and assessed their trust in different types of fact-checking interventions. Participants were randomly assigned to treatments where misleading content was either accompanied by simple (i.e. context-free) misinformation flags in different formats (expert flags or community flags), or by textual community notes explaining why the fact-checked post was misleading. Across both sides of the political spectrum, community notes were perceived as significantly more trustworthy than simple misinformation flags. Our results further suggest that the higher trustworthiness primarily stemmed from the context provided in community notes (i.e. fact-checking explanations) rather than generally higher trust towards community fact-checkers. Community notes also improved the identification of misleading posts. In sum, our work implies that context matters in fact-checking and that community notes might be an effective approach to mitigate trust issues with simple misinformation flags. | Pnas Nexus | Misinformation; Fact-Checking; Trust; Social Media |
| 2024_144 | Du, NH; Gui, S; Houser, D. (2024). Trust, lies, and inequality. American Journal of Economics and Sociology, 83(1), 249-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajes.12540. | The effect of endowment equality on trust may stem from outcome inequality aversion or changes in expected trustworthiness. Here, we measure trust as the expectation of honesty in a sender-receiver game, where participants must make trust decisions without knowing the outcome. Our design enables us to isolate the effect of initial endowment inequality on trust. Our results show that endowment inequality reduces trust regardless of whether it favors the sender or the receiver. We further find that the frequency of lies is insensitive to endowment inequality. Our results amplify the importance of equal starting positions in promoting trust. | American Journal of Economics and Sociology | |
| 2024_145 | Dugmore, H. (2024). Valorizing Credibility: Trust as Paradigm and Revenue Repair in South African News Organizations 2012-2022. Global Perspectives, 5(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1525/gp.2024.126760. | Several South African news organizations emerged in the 2010s determined to provide public journalism in more durable, accessible, and credible ways. Partly responding to the disruption of the news industry's business models by platform companies, and sustained attempts to delegitimize journalism by populist political parties, these organizations articulated the case for evidence-based, verified journalism, and pioneered more transparent and multidimensional funding models. They also embraced communal copyright license regimes to ensure wider dissemination and reach for their stories and were able to reconstitute a portion of their audiences into communities of interest, committed to supporting their journalism work, sometimes through direct financial contributions. By paying more attention to these organizations' contractual relationships with audiences, distribution partners, and philanthropic donors, we can better understand how they were able to generate more sustainable revenue streams to create both viable levels of income and greater levels of trust in their news products. This will likely remain key to the survival of public interest journalism in South Africa if laws such as Australia's News Media Bargaining Code are inimitable in other national contexts. | Global Perspectives | Media Economics; Journalism Sustainability; News Credibility; News Industry |
| 2024_146 | Dzordzormenyoh, MK. (2024). Why should we trust our public leaders in Africa? A comparative analysis between 2019 and 2021. International Journal of Public Leadership, 20(2), 109-131. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJPL-09-2023-0071. | PurposeThis study investigates the factors that influence citizens trust in public leaders [i.e. presidents, members of parliament (MPs) and local government leaders (LGs)] in 34 countries in Africa between 2019 and 2021.Design/methodology/approachIndividual-level data with a sample size of 48,084 was obtained from the Afro-Barometer round 8 survey only and analyzed using multivariate binary logistic regression.FindingsSeveral important and intriguing observations were made from this analysis: (1) the performance of public leaders influences citizens trust in their leaders; (2) the perceived corruption of public leaders and civil servants and the level of corruption influence citizens trust in public leaders; (3) perceived neighborhood problems (i.e. fear of violence, fear of terrorism and service delivery) influence citizens trust in their public leaders and (4) the socio-demographic characteristics of citizens (i.e. age, religion, education, location, employment and political party affiliation) influence citizens trust in their public leaders.Originality/valueThis study is exceptional in two ways: (1) it examines and compares citizens trust in public leaders across different levels, i.e. presidents, MPs and LGs in Africa and (2) it examines and compares the factors influencing citizens trust in public leaders in Africa comparatively. | International Journal of Public Leadership | Trust; Leaders; Public; Africa |
| 2024_147 | Economou, A; Kollias, C. (2024). The 2015 Refugee Crisis and Institutional Trust in European Countries. Social Indicators Research, 173(2), 377-396. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-024-03348-1. | Exogenous events have the potential to affect citizens' risk-perceptions, (in)security sentiments, electoral choices, policy preferences and institutional trust levels. It has been shown that migrant and refugee flows also affect citizens' trust and policy preferences. The 2015 refugee crisis as it has come to be known, shook Europe's cohesion and tested the existing immigration and asylum policies as well as acted as a further stimulus to populist/right wing Eurosceptic parties with an agenda of anti-immigrant restrictive policies. Expectedly, it has attracted considerable attention in the relevant literature. Building on existing studies that examine various aspects associated with the 2015 refugee crisis, the present paper examines its effect on institutional trust levels in Europe. Specifically, it focuses on trust towards the national government, the EU and the two state security services the police and the armed forces. To this effect, the study draws data from successive Eurobarometer surveys before and after the crisis. Employing segmented-type regression models as well as Oaxaca decomposition models it probes into the 2015 refugee crisis' impact on the levels of institutional trust using over 400,000 responses to the relevant Eurobarometer questions. The results reported herein suggest the presence of a rally around the flag effect. Nonetheless, macroeconomic factors such as GDP growth and unemployment as well as differences in behavioural responses also explain a large part of the observed gap in trust before and after the 2015 refugee crisis. | Social Indicators Research | European Union; Refugees; Migrants; 2015 Refugee Crisis; Institutional Trust |
| 2024_148 | Egeland, K. (2024). Trust and confidence in regime creation and sustainment: A taxonomy. Cooperation and Conflict http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00108367241302452. | The concepts of trust, confidence, faith, and we-feeling feature prominently in discussions about international cooperation and conflict. In broad strokes, each term is typically used to refer to a notion of risk or dependability, that is, a sense or assessment of the extent to which someone or something can be relied upon. Yet, there is considerable confusion about what the respective concepts describe more specifically. Many analysts have resorted to using just one concept and not the others, risking conceptual overstretch and imprecision. To help provide clarity, I propose a novel taxonomy of distinctive notions of reliability organized around two key questions: First, is the notion in question internal or external to an individual's mind? And second, is the notion concerned a product of considered reflection or unquestioned, reflexive assumptions? | Cooperation and Conflict | Confidence; Institution Building; Regime Sustainment; Trust; Verification |
| 2024_149 | Eitrheim, MHR; Nordfjærn, T; Log, MM; Torset, T. (2024). Risk perception and trust in autonomous vehicles: a case study of ground handling employees at an international airport. Journal of Risk Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2024.2423202. | Autonomous vehicles are being introduced in confined areas such as airports, mines and freight terminals. While experts anticipate cost reductions, increased flexibility, and safety improvements, there is limited understanding of how workers perceive real-world implementations of autonomous vehicles. A survey was conducted in a sample of 84 employees in the ground handling operations at Oslo International Airport. The employees had experience with autonomous vehicles through the introduction of autonomous snow removal machines. In addition to demographic data, the questionnaire gauged the respondents' tendencies to approach or avoid technology interaction, their beliefs of being replaced by technology, their perception of risk and trust in autonomous vehicles, and, finally, their trust in actors to mitigate risks. The employees perceived the probability of accidents involving autonomous vehicles and the potential severity of consequences as higher than for manually operated vehicles at airports. Moreover, they reported more worry about the risks associated with autonomous vehicles. The perceived probability of accidents was found to predict trust in autonomous vehicles, while worry about accidents predicted trust in relevant actors to handle the risk. The findings suggest that addressing employees' cognitive evaluation of risk is essential to calibrate trust in autonomous driving technologies. Additionally, employers and authorities should strive to anticipate and address the worries their employees may have. This proactive approach is likely essential for building trust in the deployment of autonomous vehicles in the workplace and in designing and implementing associated risk-mitigating measures. Future studies should investigate the experiences of employees interacting with autonomous vehicles over longer time horizons to understand the long-term effects on safety, efficiency, and ways of working. | Journal of Risk Research | Connected and Automated Vehicles; Enclosed Area; Survey; Perceived Risk; Worry; Trust |
| 2024_150 | Ejaz, W; Altay, S; Fletcher, R; Nielsen, RK. (2024). Trust is key: Determinants of false beliefs about climate change in eight countries. New Media & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448241250302. | Science has established the human-caused nature of climate change, yet the prevalence of climate-related misinformation persists, undermining public understanding and impeding collective action. Strikingly, existing research on belief in misinformation about climate change has disproportionately focused on WEIRD (Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic) countries. To move beyond this, our online survey (N = 8541) includes high-income countries in North America (US), Western Europe (France, Germany, UK) and East Asia (Japan), as well as an upper-middle income country in South America (Brazil) and lower-middle income countries in South Asia (India and Pakistan). By examining the interplay of news media usage, information sources, and trust in these sources, we advance our understanding of how these factors influence belief in climate change-related misinformation in diverse socio-cultural contexts. Across countries, we found that the strongest determinants of belief in misinformation about climate change were identifying as right-wing (compared with left-wing), consuming less offline news, having less trust in scientists, environmental activists, as well as international organizations, and having more trust in politicians, celebrities, and energy companies. Overall, trust in sources of information about climate change and demographic variables were much stronger predictors of belief in misinformation about climate change than reported news consumption (online, offline or on social media). These findings suggest that trust is key to understanding belief in false information about climate change. | New Media & Society | Climate Change; Global South; Media Trust; Misinformation; News Media |
| 2024_151 | Elkefi, S; Asan, O; Yu, ZY; Yen, TN; Rowley, S. (2024). Patient-centered communication's association with trust, satisfaction, and perception of electronic health records use among newly diagnosed patients with cancer. Frontiers in Communication, 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1391981. | Introduction The diagnosis of cancer creates immediate psychosocial distress for patients. New cancer patients are required to make important decisions about their treatment. Thus, it is essential to investigate their communication needs. This study examines the association between patient-centered communication and newly diagnosed cancer patients' trust in their healthcare providers, satisfaction with the care visits, and perception of technology use during the visits.Methods We collected data from the Hackensack Meridian Health between February 2021 and May 2022. One hundred thirty-five participants were included in the study.Results The findings captured the significant effect of patient-centered communication on the trust in doctors and satisfaction with care services. However, no association was noticed with the perception of EHR use among this population.Discussion In the first visits after cancer diagnosis, patients need to build strong communication with their doctors to build trust in them. Future studies should focus on testing the hypotheses longitudinally to validate the findings in other phases of the cancer care continuum. | Frontiers in Communication | Communication; Cancer; New Cancer Visits; Trust; Satisfaction; Technology Use Communication; New Cancer Patients; Clinic Visit |
| 2024_152 | Elphinstone, B; Walshe, J; Nicol, D; Taylor, M. (2024). Towards a trusted genomics repository: Identifying commercialisation fears and preferred forms of governance across segments of the community. Public Understanding of Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625241286369. | A latent class analysis on a nationally representative Australian sample (N = 1000) identified four subgroups (i.e. classes), ranging from high to low concern about, and willingness to donate to, a national genomic repository under different forms of public and commercial management and access. The distribution of concerns and governance preferences across these classes was investigated. This added to previous research by indicating the degree to which extant concerns (e.g. corporate profiteering, discrimination by insurers) are held by different segments of the community. Based on the governance mechanisms that had widespread support across segments, the following recommendations are made to develop a trusted Australian genomic repository: the repository cannot be solely profit-driven; can utilise an access committee; protections (e.g. ensuring confidentiality of donors) may not require new legislation; data users cannot retain data for future research; the public should remain informed about the intended and/or actual benefits of research. | Public Understanding of Science | Biobank; Commercialisation; Genomic; Governance; Profit; Trust |
| 2024_153 | Erickson, BD; Biedenweg, K. (2024). Does Measuring Trust in Groups Also Measure Distrust? It Depends. Society & Natural Resources, 37(4), 545-563. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2023.2294850. | Trust and distrust are important factors influencing the success or failure of natural resource management, yet the relationship between them is unclear. Using questionnaires and interviews with 53 knowledgeable stakeholders of Oregon's marine reserve system, we explored whether measuring trust and distrust generated similar results and how interviewees arrived at trust and distrust ratings. Paired trust-distrust ratings across eight trust targets supported a hypothesized difference in mean trust and reverse-coded distrust. However, qualitative findings provided evidence that interviewees relied on multiple conceptualizations of the relationship between trust and distrust and uncovered three critical issues. At times, trust and distrust ratings referred to different actions, individuals, and word meanings. We discuss how the relationship between trust and distrust may depend on who is asked and how they interpret the questions. However, we also note that the operationalization in this study presents a major limitation that could be overcome in future studies. | Society & Natural Resources | Distrust; Marine Protected Areas; Mixed Methods; Natural Resource Management; Trust |
| 2024_154 | Esposito, E. (2024). The Dilemma of Trust in the Risk Society. Commentary on Gil Eyal, Larry Au and Cristian Capotescu's Trust is a Verb!. Sociologica-International Journal For Sociological Debate, 18(2), 193-198. http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/20108. | Referring to Niklas Luhmann's theory, this brief commentary on the text by Eyal et al. (2024) argues that trust - compared to distrust - increases the possibilities available to the decision-maker. Those who trust can keep more possibilities open and nevertheless decide, because they do not need to know all the details. This controlled indifference would be especially valuable in our society, where the multiplication of risks requires us to constantly make decisions under conditions of uncertainty - that is, incomplete information. When the awareness of risks increases, however, trust tends to decrease regardless of the competence of decision-makers or the transparency of decisions, because the increase in information highlights the complexity of the factors involved, and the decision to trust appears itself increasingly risky. | Sociologica-International Journal For Sociological Debate | Trust; Mistrust; Confidence; Risk; Risk Society; Complexity Reduction; Hope |
| 2024_155 | Evans, JH; Schairer, CE. (2024). Scientism, trust, value alignment, views of nature, and US public opinion about gene drive mosquitos. Public Understanding of Science, 33(7), 884-901. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625241229196. | Gene drive could be a powerful tool for addressing problems of conservation, agriculture, and human health caused by insect and animal pests but is likely to be controversial as it involves the release of genetically modified organisms. This study examined the social determinants of opinion of gene drive. We asked a representative sample of the U.S. public to respond to a description of a hypothetical application of a gene-drive mosquito to the problem of malaria and examined the relationship of these responses with demographic and ideological beliefs. We found strong general approval for the use of gene-drive mosquitos to address malaria, coinciding with the concern about a possible environmental impact of modified mosquitos and that gene drives represent too much power over nature. Among the determinants we measured, respondent acceptance of scientism and trust that scientists are advancing the public's interest were the greatest predictors of views of gene drive. | Public Understanding of Science | Attitudes On Genetics; Gene Drive; Science Attitudes and Perceptions |
| 2024_156 | Eveleth, DM; Stone, RW; Baker-Eveleth, LJ. (2024). Social media users trust in their most frequently used social media site. Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies, 14(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.30935/ojcmt/14796. | As users increasingly turn to social media as a source for news and other information, greater understanding is needed about the factors that affect their perceptions of the social media sites, where they seek information. The purpose of this paper is to examine the effect of perceived social media benefits and knowledge of privacy-protection practices on users' trust in information on social media. Results indicate that users' trust is, in part, a function of their perceptions of the benefits of social media and their knowledge of privacy-protection practices. Perceived benefits and knowledge of privacy practices each positively influenced trust. In addition, privacy invasion experiences positively influenced risk aversion and privacy concerns, which in turn had positive influences on privacy-protection knowledge. Interestingly, this result shows that users' privacy concerns and risk aversion have a positive effect on trust, indirectly, through users' efforts to gain greater control of their privacy by increasing their knowledge about privacy protection practices. | Online Journal of Communication and Media Technologies | Privacy Concerns; Self-Efficacy; Social-Media; Trust; Risk Aversion |
| 2024_157 | Eyal, G; Au, L; Capotescu, C. (2024). The Indeterminacy of Trust. A Response to Möllering and Esposito's Commentaries. Sociologica-International Journal For Sociological Debate, 18(2), 209-214. http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/20491. | We reply to Esposito and M & ouml;llering by clarifying what we meant by the procedure of critical reconstruction. It is not an external critique, because we have carefully followed the logic of trust research. But it is also not easily reconcilable with trust research, as M & ouml;llering argues, because we show that by doing so one is led to certain aporias, conundrums, and contradictions that do not permit leaving the concept as we found it. We reject any attempt to found the concept of trust in a theoretical constant such as complexity or irreducible uncertainty, and emphasize the need for an ethnomethodological approach that limits itself to how the actors themselves draw the distinctions between trust and blind faith, trust and mistrust, etc. This commitment is all the more necessary now, when trust research has become part of the very phenomenon it studies. | Sociologica-International Journal For Sociological Debate | Trust; Sociological Theory; Trust Surveys; Ethnomethodology. |
| 2024_158 | Eyal, G; Au, L; Capotescu, C. (2024). Trust is a Verb!: A Critical Reconstruction of the Sociological Theory of Trust. Sociologica-International Journal For Sociological Debate, 18(2), 169-191. http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/19316. | What is trust and how should it be studied? In this essay, we seek to reconstruct the sociological theory of trust and propose an alternate strategy focused on analyzing the skillful nature of the trust methods employed by ordinary people. Instead of treating trust as a static property that can be measured by close-format survey questions, we conceptualize trusting as a skillful practice that is highly context-dependent and attuned to temporal variables such as speed, duration, sequence, and timing. To illustrate this approach, we draw on interviews with Long COVID patients focusing on how they account for who, what, when and how they distinguish responsible trust from blind faith. | Sociologica-International Journal For Sociological Debate | Trust; Sociological Theory; Trust Surveys; Ethnomethodology. |
| 2024_159 | Farooq, A; Warkentin, M; Virtanen, S. (2024). Role of shared identity and agency trust in online voting among Finnish citizens. Technology in Society, 76. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2023.102429. | This study examined the impact of shared identity and agency trust, governmental vs. third party, on Finnish citizens' intention to vote online. Using the integrated model of shared identity and trust as a theoretical lens, a within-subject quasi-experiment was conducted to understand the impact of agency trust on intention to vote online. The model was tested using data from 248 Finnish citizens using PLS-SEM. We found that citizens' perceptions of shared identity with online voting agencies significantly contribute to agency trust. This trust in agencies, then directly and indirectly through perceived usefulness, affects online voting intention. Perceived usefulness directly and perceived ease of use indirectly increase the intention to vote online. However, the perceived usefulness of online voting is contingent upon the voting administering agency being the government. This study contributes to the understanding of agency trust in online voting adoption in the Finnish context and highlights the role of shared identity in building citizen trust in online voting. It also emphasizes the effect of voting agency type on the perceived usefulness of online voting. | Technology in Society | Shared Identity; Online Voting; Technology Acceptance Model; Trust; Agency Trust |
| 2024_160 | Feng, YX; Nishide, Y. (2024). Public trust in Chinese elder-care social enterprises: common awareness and diverse perspectives from key stakeholders. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03865-x. | Chinese elder-care social enterprises (SEs), emerging hybrid organizations that address welfare problems in elder care through business activities, face ambiguity as the institutionalization of the SE sector is growing rapidly. Few studies have focused on changes in public behavior and trust in this emerging organizational form. The purpose of this research is to identify public trust in Chinese elder-care SEs through the theoretical lens of stakeholder trust. A qualitative methodology was adopted in this study. Common awareness and diverse perspectives among stakeholders were identified by conducting 17 semi-interviews and 3 participatory observations on 5 key stakeholder groups of Chinese elder-care SE, followed by a thematic analysis. The findings identified common awareness and diverse perspectives among stakeholders. First, weak public awareness and confusion were emphasized toward the concept and practice of elder-care SEs. Additionally, although conceptualizing the hybrid nature evoked positive perceptions, the analysis identified a weak consensus about SE norms. In terms of the diverse perspectives of stakeholders, this study found that stakeholders manifested heterogeneous rigor and adherence to social and business dimensions, suggesting the hybrid nature of elder-care SEs. We further interpreted these diverse findings and proposed a framework to explicate different characteristics of stakeholder trust on the basis of hybridity. This research fills a research gap by providing empirical findings on the public trust of an emerging organization. Despite its limitations, the findings demonstrated an understanding of public trust through a relationship-specific perspective, which qualitatively integrated the commonalities and particularities of entities that constitute the public. This work contributes to future studies through its theoretical scope and analytic framework. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_161 | Fernandez, S; Malan, LP; Holtzhausen, N; Tshiyoyo, MM. (2024). To what extent does corruption erode trust? Evidence of reputational spillovers from ten countries in the Southern African Development Community. Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration, 46(2), 113-137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23276665.2023.2184403. | Emerging research indicates political corruption erodes political trust. However, previous studies have not adequately explored the question of whether corruption by a policy actor can spill over to influence trust in other policy actors. We draw insight from research and theory on collective reputation of organisations among other literature to explain why political corruption can produce reputational spillovers. Using individual-level Afrobarometer survey data from ten countries in the Southern African Development Community, one of the world's corruption hotspots, the analysis reveals perceived involvement in corruption by a policy actor can spill over to tarnish the reputation of other actors involved in the policy process. State and nonstate policy actors like politicians, judges, bureaucrats and traditional leaders in some measure share a collective reputation and fate. We offer suggestions on how to combat corruption in ways that minimise spillovers and safeguard a shared reputation. | Asia Pacific Journal of Public Administration | Corruption; Trust; Reputation; Spillovers; Southern Africa |
| 2024_162 | Ferry, L; Fright, M; Midgley, H; Murphie, A; Sandford, M. (2024). Are local government accounts trusted? Exploring the UK Levelling Up, Housing and Communities Committee verdict. Public Money & Management http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2024.2423370. | This article examines why local government accounts are often not trusted. It is therefore important for finance professionals in local authorities, policy-makers who deal with local authority accountability, politicians involved in central and local government, and citizens. The article argues, first, that the accounts are not trusted because they are not trustworthy, for example lacking alignment to the democratic process and data to inform scrutiny of value for money. Second, the users of the accounts are vulnerable because they do not have the expertise to interrogate them and the accounts are not audited on a timely basis, meaning that figures are untested. Third, they are not used sufficiently to hold local government to account. The article recommends that practitioners use the conclusions of the committee to bring the accounts closer to their users and create and implement a proper audit regime for England which can audit the accounts on a timely basis. This article analyses the system of local government accounting and auditing in England and how successfully it is performing its role in supporting democratic accountability. To do this, the article asks whether the accounts of local councils in England are trusted by those who should be using them to hold local government to account. The article links trust in the accounts to their success both as transparency documents and as accountability documents. It argues that trust, transparency and accountability are related to each other rhizomatically, which is a relationship between concepts which does not presume a hierarchy between them. The article examines trust in local government accounts and its relationship to transparency and accountability through analysing the evidence submitted to a UK parliamentary select committee and the committee's subsequent report and finds serious deficiencies in England's system of local government accounting and audit. | Public Money & Management | Accountability; Accounting; Auditing; Democracy; Levelling Up; Housing and Communities Select Committee (LUHCSC); Transparency; Trust |
| 2024_163 | Ferry, L; Midgley, H. (2024). Are public sector accounts trusted? Exploring the verdict of the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee in the United Kingdom. Public Administration, 102(4), 1450-1467. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/padm.12983. | Legislatures face difficult challenges holding modern bureaucratic democracies to account due to the scale, complexity, and diverse impacts on citizens' lives. One way that democracies bridge the gap between the legislature and executive is through financial accounts of government departments. This paper examines whether financial accounts are trusted by MPs in the UK Parliament for purposes of transparency in the service of accountability. The article does this through examination of two linked inquiries by the Public Administration and Constitutional Affairs Committee at the UK House of Commons. The article argues that transparency, accountability, and trust are involved in a rhizomatic relationship where each is related to the other without a hierarchy between them. The article uses a framework proposed by Oomsels and Bouckeart to show the accounts are not trusted, which has implications both for the accounts as a tool of accountability and for creating transparency. | Public Administration | |
| 2024_164 | Fiedler, C; Marcos-Marne, H; Mross, K. (2024). COVID-19 and Political Trust in Local Governments: Evidence From Nepal. Political Studies Review, 22(4), 930-947. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14789299231220535. | The COVID-19 pandemic has reinvigorated debates about the drivers of political trust. Research so far has mainly focused on national-level institutions, during the early stages of the pandemic and using data from established democracies. However, how does this relationship look like if we pay attention to subnational institutions in non-consolidated democracies, and further away from the initial COVID-19 outbreak? To contribute to this line of research, this article focuses on the local level and explores the association between individuals' satisfaction with COVID-19 performance and political trust in Nepal. For that, it uses novel data collected via telephone interviews (N = 1400) conducted between 25 April and 24 May 2021, during the second wave of COVID-19. Our main results reveal that satisfaction with local institutions' COVID-related performance is significantly and robustly associated with levels of political trust at the local level. The association holds even when geographical and time specifications are added, trust towards national institutions or expectations about local governments are included in the analysis and the dependent variable is disaggregated to discard measurement biases. The study thereby provides important insights into the role performance plays for institutional trust beyond the national level and in an unconsolidated democracy. | Political Studies Review | Political Trust; Crises; Nepal; Local Level; COVID-19 |
| 2024_165 | Fikrlová, J; Albrecht, A; Serek, J; Macek, P. (2024). That's how the trust began: Forming trusting friendships from adolescence to adulthood. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships, 42(1), 52-72. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02654075241287909. | Adolescence represents a sensitive period for embarking on trust-based friendships, which lay the foundation for successful close relationships later in life. The recent trust sequence model assumes that the trust process is universal regardless of the developmental stage. However, how the trust process may vary has been under-researched, especially during the critical period of adolescence and in the context of friendships. Therefore, this study qualitatively explored how people experience the process of forming trust in friends from early adolescence to adulthood. We conducted eight focus groups (N = 39 participants) with early (11-12 years), middle (14-15 years), and late (18-19 years) Czech adolescents and a comparative sample of adults. Data were analyzed using reflexive thematic analysis, employing an inductive, semantic, and experiential approach. We identified four overarching themes: (1) Experiential Trust Building, (2) Absence of Reasons to Not Trust, (3) Relying on Intuitive Connection, and (4) Trusting the Right/Wrong Person (the third and fourth themes being exclusive to adolescents). Participants thus described multiple variations of the trust process, with much of the variation residing in the perceived importance of diminishing the leap of faith, i.e., the risks and uncertainties inherent in trusting. Immediate affect and stronger moral essentialism were relevant to trust formation among adolescents but not adults. These findings provide unique insights into experiences with forming trusting friendships from early adolescence to adulthood and extend the trust sequence model. Further research should explore the trust process in low- and high trust societies. | Journal of Social and Personal Relationships | Adolescence; Developmental Psychology; Friendship; Peer Relations; Qualitative Methods; Thematic Analysis; the Trust Sequence; Trust |
| 2024_166 | Fimreite, AL; Lovseth, EK; Lægreid, P; Rykkja, LH. (2024). Fear, trust, and knowledge - understanding Norwegian citizens' perceptions of antimicrobial resistance (AMR). Journal of European Public Policy, 31(12), 4116-4138. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2024.2360585. | This paper explores citizens' perceptions of the antimicrobial resistance (AMR) problem, addressing the need for governance legitimacy in crisis management and policymaking when fighting this crisis. Previous research has shown that the public has limited knowledge of AMR and has given it little attention. Our study investigates how Norwegian citizens perceive the problem of AMR, considering their fear, knowledge, and trust, and using panel data from a Norwegian survey. The findings show that Norwegian citizens are aware of the severity of AMR and express concern about the declining effectiveness of antibiotics. However, their concern is linked to their fear of other major crises and to their knowledge of AMR, rather than their trust, both generally towards others, and in the authorities. This study provides valuable insights for policymakers and crisis management strategies. It suggests that public policies addressing AMR must consider governance legitimacy and the public's awareness, including citizens' fear and knowledge. | Journal of European Public Policy | Antimicrobial Resistance; Governance Capacity; Governance Legitimacy; Citizens' Awareness; Information and Knowledge |
| 2024_167 | Finn, JE. (2024). Trust in the Constitution: Some Preliminary Thoughts on Civic Trust as a Constitutional Good. Critical Review, 36(3), 252-295. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08913811.2024.2419260. | In this essay, I consider whether there is a place for trust in the American constitutional order and what it means if there is. In particular, I argue that a constitutional way of life requires a certain kind of trust, what I shall call civic trust, which I describe as an attitudinal disposition to engagement and cooperation with others in the shared project of constitutional self-governance. Civic trust is a specific conception of trust; it has a public as well as a private character and it is an essential component of a healthy and successful constitutional regime. In short: civic trust is a constitutional good. Its absence in our public life is not only a marker but also a cause of constitutional dysfunction. | Critical Review | Civic Constitutionalism; Trust; Citizenship; Constitutional Flourishing; Constitutional Failure |
| 2024_168 | Fitz, EB; Saunders, KL. (2024). Distrusting the Process: Electoral Trust, Operational Ideology, and Nonvoting Political Participation in the 2020 American Electorate. Public Opinion Quarterly http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae025. | This article explores the relationships between electoral trust, operational ideology, and nonvoting political participation (NVP) during the 2020 US presidential election cycle. We hypothesize that: (1) more liberal operational ideology is associated with more NVP, (2) less electoral trust is associated with more NVP, and (3) operational ideology moderates the negative relationship between electoral trust and NVP. Using data from the 2020 American National Election Study (N = 8,280), our contribution is threefold: We first add to previous research that indicated liberals engage in more NVP than conservatives. We then provide some of the first evidence to suggest that electoral trust-in this case, trust prior to the 2020 election-is negatively associated with NVP. Results further indicate that the negative relationship between electoral trust and NVP is strongest among those with conservative operational ideology, such that the more trust those with conservative operational ideology have in the election, the less they engage in NVP. Given that electoral trust is crucial for a well-functioning democracy, the implication is that elites with a strategic incentive to express contempt for the election process can have direct and downstream consequences on political participation. | Public Opinion Quarterly | |
| 2024_169 | Fletcher, R; Andi, S; Badrinathan, S; Eddy, KA; Kalogeropoulos, A; Mont'Alverne, C; Robertson, CT; Arguedas, AR; Schulz, A; Toff, B; Nielsen, RK. (2024). The link between changing news use and trust: longitudinal analysis of 46 countries. Journal of Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqae044. | Changing levels of public trust in the news are of deep concern to both researchers and practitioners. We use data from 2015 to 2023 in 46 countries to explore how trust in news has changed, while also exploring the links with sociodemographic variables, differences by media system, and changing patterns of news use. We find that (a) there has been a small overall decline in trust in news since 2015, but also that (b) there are different trends in different countries. More specifically, trust has declined more in media environments that have become less structured by television news use, and increasingly structured by social media news use. Our findings underscore how changing structures of media use may be central to explaining trust dynamics in recent years, which suggests new avenues for restoring trust where it has eroded. | Journal of Communication | Trust in News; Journalism; Television News; Social Media News; Comparative Research; Media Systems |
| 2024_170 | Flew, T. (2024). Mediated trust, the internet and artificial intelligence: Ideas, interests, institutions and futures. Policy and Internet, 16(2), 443-457. http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/poi3.390. | This paper addresses the question of trust in communication, or mediated trust, with regard to the historical evolution of the Internet and, more recently, debates around the impacts of artificial intelligence (AI). At a conceptual level, it proposes a 'Three I's' framework of ideas, interests, and institutions as a way of understanding how and why current proposals for greater regulation of digital platforms counterpose questions around credibility and social licence for digital tech giants against a dominant set of ideas around the Internet as a privileged domain of free speech. By contrast, the rise of AI comes at a time when data-driven business models associated with dominant platform businesses are in the ascendancy, so institutional arrangements need to be considered as a form of countervailing power to the capacity of tech giants to use AI to further consolidate forms of economic, political and communications power. | Policy and Internet | Artificial Intelligence; Institutions; Internet Governance; Mediated Trust; Platform Regulation |
| 2024_171 | Floyd, TM; Metcalf, EC; Mohr, JJ; Metcalf, P; Callaway, RM. (2024). Effects of Trust, Public Engagement, Conflict, and Social Networks on Satisfaction with Ecological Restoration. Society & Natural Resources, 37(8), 1119-1139. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2024.2335388. | River restoration is one of the most common, expensive, and environmentally influential forms of restoration, but has little post-restoration assessment of social success. In this study, we use social network theory and analysis (SNA), an emerging approach for understanding social dynamics in restoration projects, to examine the social connections, perceptions of project success, and attitudes of stakeholders involved in a river restoration project. We find that positive and negative social network ties have asymmetrical effects on stakeholders' attitudes and satisfaction with project outcomes. Trust ties positively influence perceptions of public engagement, while avoidance ties negatively influence satisfaction. Trust in leaders positively influences satisfaction and both public engagement and perceived conflict influence the development of that trust. We contribute to the growing body of research using SNA in natural resource contexts through quantitative tests of social networks' effects on stakeholder satisfaction with project outcomes. | Society & Natural Resources | Conflict; Ecological Restoration; Social Networks; Stakeholder Engagement; Trust |
| 2024_172 | Fox, J; Eisenstein, M; Breslawski, L. (2024). State Support for Religion and Social Trust. Political Studies, 72(1), 322-342. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217221102826. | States support religion to varying extents. What is the effect of state support for religion on generalized social trust? The majority of previous studies of religion and social trust focus on individual-level factors, and none examines the impact of state support for religion. We argue that when a state chooses to support the majority religion, this creates increased levels of doctrinal homogeneity and conformity, which, in turn, cause higher levels of social trust within the majority religion. Drawing upon the Religion and State and World Values Survey datasets, we find that state support for religion is associated with higher levels of social trust. | Political Studies | Religion; Social Trust; Governance; Rational Choice Theory |
| 2024_173 | Frega, R. (2024). Political elites and the democratic duty to trust the people. Acta Politica http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41269-023-00323-5. | Political trust is usually construed in the terms of political elites' duty to be trustworthy. This paper makes a modest yet radical claim, contending that in a democratic polity, political elites have also a symmetric prima facie duty to trust citizens to be competent and willing social actors. The paper offers a general framework for rethinking political trust as a bi-directional, rather than uni-directional, social relation. Trust as an attitude section begins by distinguishing trust-as-belief from trust-as-attitude, and contends that only with reference to the latter the idea of a duty to trust becomes plausible. A comprehensive theory of political trust section outlines my comprehensive theory of political trust. Political trust as delegative and as coordinative section distinguishes two basic dimensions of political trust: delegative and coordinative. Political elites' duty to trust section introduces the notion of a political duty to trust, and contends that political elites have a prima facie duty to trust based on the specific features of coordinative trust. Who belongs to political elites? section specifies who is bound by this prima facie duty and Democracy and the circle of trust section reflects on how circles of trust can be initiated. | Acta Politica | Social Trust; Political Trust; Democratic Theory; Political Elites; Democratic Legitimacy; Trustworthiness |
| 2024_174 | Freitag, J; Gochee, M; Ransden, M; Nyhan, B; Roschke, K; Gillmor, D. (2024). The Corrections Dilemma: Media Retractions Increase Belief Accuracy But Decrease Trust. Journal of Experimental Political Science, 11(1), 90-101. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/XPS.2023.4. | Why are prominent news media retractions so rare? Using data from a survey experiment in which respondents view simulated Twitter newsfeeds, we demonstrate the dilemma facing news organizations that have published false information. Encouragingly, media retractions are effective at informing the public - they increase the accuracy of news consumers' beliefs about the retracted reporting more than information from third parties questioning the original reporting or even the combination of the two. However, trust in the news outlet declines after a retraction, though this effect is small both substantively and in standardized terms relative to the increase in belief accuracy. This reputational damage persists even if the outlet issues a retraction before a third party questions the story. In a social media environment that frequently subjects reporting to intense scrutiny, the journalistic mission of news organizations to inform the public will increasingly conflict with organizational incentives to avoid admitting error. | Journal of Experimental Political Science | Correction; Media; News; Retraction; Trust |
| 2024_175 | Froese, P; Bonhag, R. (2024). The Politics of Pandemic Emotions: How Trust in the Trump Administration and Distrust of the Media Affected the Psychological Toll of COVID-19. Social Currents, 11(5), 401-421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23294965241275209. | Initial studies of the COVID-19 pandemic's emotional toll indicated different outcomes based on partisanship and media consumption. This study builds on prior research by utilizing a broad set of measures to test how (1) political party affiliation, (2) trust in President Trump, (3) news media sources, and (4) distrust in the media's portrayal of the pandemic impacted self-ascribed increases in negative emotions during the later stages of the pandemic. Using original data from a national survey conducted in the early months of 2021, we confirm that news media and partisanship played a key role in Americans' perceived increases in psychological distress. Specifically, we find that Democrats were more likely than Republicans to report increased worry and loneliness due to the pandemic. Viewers of CNN were also more likely to disclose increased worry, loneliness, and sadness than Fox News viewers. But both of these findings were related to and mitigated by issues of trust and distrust. In particular, trust that the Trump administration effectively responded to the pandemic was strongly associated with emotional stability above and beyond partisan differences. In addition, distrust of mainstream media coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic was linked with lower odds of increased negative emotions due to the pandemic. | Social Currents | Mental Health; Political Sociology; Emotions |
| 2024_176 | Frolova, EV; Rogach, O; Shalashnikova, VY. (2024). Public Trust in the City Manager: New Ways to Develop Local Self-Government. Vestnik Tomskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta-Filosofiya-Sotsiologiya-Politologiya-Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy Sociology and Political Science http://dx.doi.org/10.17223/1998863X/80/17. | The introduction of innovations into the system of local self-government and the replacement of electoral procedures with the city manager model actualize research into the processes of interaction between the population and new municipal leaders. The aim of the study is to analyze the factors influencing the formation of public trust in the activities of the city manager. The main research method was a survey of local government leaders (N = 188). As the results of the study show, Russian territories are characterized by a problematic background in the formation of trust in local authorities. Thus, 29.3% of respondents believe that the low level of public trust greatly limits the possibility of a territory's socio-economic development. More than half of the respondents (52.6%) chose the answer somewhat limits. The survey found that replacing the electoral practice of selecting the head of a municipality with the procedure for appointing a city manager reduced the level of trust (58.0%). Correlation analysis established the existence of a statistical relationship between the lack of trust and the exclusion of pre-election communication practices between the authorities and the population. In addition, the following problems were identified: narrowing of the channels for articulating the interests of the local population (47.3%); fragmentation and speed of solving local problems without focusing on achieving strategic prospects and long-term objectives of territorial development (55.9%). Despite recognizing the problems of a lack of trust, city managers in their activities are more focused on the mechanisms of socio-economic development of territories, which presuppose the existence of trust and partnership between citizens and authorities (for example, attracting financial resources from residents for the implementation of infrastructure projects). To a lesser extent, new heads of municipalities (city managers) use in their practice mechanisms that rely on business trust in government (for example, municipal-private partnerships). | Vestnik Tomskogo Gosudarstvennogo Universiteta-Filosofiya-Sotsiologiya-Politologiya-Tomsk State University Journal of Philosophy Sociology and Political Science | City Manager; Trust; Local Government; Proactive Budgeting; Trust Deficit |
| 2024_177 | Fuglsang, S. (2024). Is Science for the Rich and Powerful? Investigating the Relation Between Income and Trust in Science Across 145 Countries. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 36(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edad045. | Prior research indicates that income relates to trust in science. However, no prior studies exclusively focus on this relationship, leaving questions on the characteristics and universality of the relationship unanswered. This study enriches our understanding of the relationship between individual-level income and trust in science on 3 fronts. First, this study explicates income into the dimensions of relative income (objective economic status) and subjective income (perceived economic hardship and satisfaction). Second, it provides a global overview by assessing the aforementioned relationship across 145 countries, investigating whether the relationship is universal or contingent on country-level characteristics. Third, the study investigates moderators at country and individual-level. Results indicate that subjective income is more strongly related to trust in science than relative income and that it is strongest in previously studied populations. The relationship is moderated by institutional quality (which increases the relationship) and economic climate (GDP per capita increasing the relationship) at the country-level, and science efficacy (increasing the relationship) and trust in government (decreasing the relationship) at the individual-level. | International Journal of Public Opinion Research | |
| 2024_178 | Fujita, M. (2024). When Generalized Trust Matters? Impact of Industrial Tertiarization on Trade Preference Formation. International Studies Quarterly, 68(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqae143. | Generalized trust has attracted attention as a non-material disposition that affects risk perception in political and economic international cooperation. However, its effect on public support for free trade or trade agreements has been debated. This debate centers on whether the economic impacts of trade are evident or uncertain to ordinary citizens because generalized trust operates only when trade impacts are uncertain and risk perception is crucial. However, the visibility of trade impacts varies significantly depending on the economic environment. This study explores the role of industrial tertiarization, the shift from agriculture and manufacturing to services, in altering the visibility of trade impacts. It hypothesizes that generalized trust shapes trade preferences primarily in highly tertiarized local economies. Using data from the 2016 American National Election Studies and World Values Survey Wave 7, this hypothesis was tested and confirmed. This study contributes to the literature by demonstrating that the influence of generalized trust on trade preferences varies with the level of local tertiarization. It also proposes new causal mechanisms for understanding anti-globalism in developed countries and suggests that the influence of economic impacts on trade preferences may similarly depend on local tertiarization levels. La confianza generalizada ha sido el foco de atenci & oacute;n por ser una disposici & oacute;n no material que afecta a la percepci & oacute;n del riesgo en la cooperaci & oacute;n pol & iacute;tica y econ & oacute;mica internacional. Sin embargo, su efecto sobre el apoyo p & uacute;blico al libre comercio o a los acuerdos comerciales ha sido objeto de debate. Este debate se centra sobre si los impactos econ & oacute;micos del comercio son evidentes o inciertos para los ciudadanos comunes, ya que la confianza generalizada opera solo cuando los impactos comerciales son inciertos y la percepci & oacute;n del riesgo es crucial. Sin embargo, la visibilidad de los efectos comerciales var & iacute;a significativamente en funci & oacute;n del entorno econ & oacute;mico. Este estudio analiza el papel que ejerce la terciarizaci & oacute;n industrial, es decir, el paso de la agricultura y la manufactura a los servicios, sobre la alteraci & oacute;n de la visibilidad de los efectos del comercio. La hip & oacute;tesis de nuestro estudio es que la confianza generalizada da forma a las preferencias comerciales, principalmente en econom & iacute;as locales altamente terciarizadas. Utilizamos datos de los Estudios Electorales Nacionales de Estados Unidos de 2016 y de la s & eacute;ptima ola de la Encuesta Mundial de Valores con el fin de poner a prueba y confirmar esta hip & oacute;tesis. Este estudio contribuye a la literatura ya que demuestra que la influencia de la confianza generalizada sobre las preferencias comerciales var & iacute;a con el nivel de terciarizaci & oacute;n local. El estudio tambi & eacute;n propone nuevos mecanismos causales para poder entender el antiglobalismo en los pa & iacute;ses desarrollados y sugiere que la influencia de los impactos econ & oacute;micos sobre las preferencias comerciales puede depender, de manera similar, de los niveles locales de terciarizaci & oacute;n. L'on s'est int & eacute;ress & eacute; & agrave; la confiance g & eacute;n & eacute;ralis & eacute;e en tant que tendance non mat & eacute;rielle qui a une incidence sur la perception du risque dans la coop & eacute;ration internationale politique et & eacute;conomique. Cependant, l'on a d & eacute;battu de son effet sur le soutien public au libre-& eacute;change ou aux accords commerciaux. Ce d & eacute;bat se concentre sur le caract & egrave;re & eacute;vident ou incertain des cons & eacute;quences & eacute;conomiques du commerce pour les citoyens ordinaires, car la confiance g & eacute;n & eacute;ralis & eacute;e ne fonctionne que lorsque les cons & eacute;quences commerciales sont incertaines et la perception du risque est cruciale. Cependant, la visibilit & eacute; des r & eacute;percussions commerciales varie grandement selon l'environnement & eacute;conomique. Cette & eacute;tude s'int & eacute;resse au r & ocirc;le de la tertiarisation industrielle, le passage de l'agriculture et l'industrie aux services, dans la modification de la visibilit & eacute; des cons & eacute;quences du commerce. Elle & eacute;met l'hypoth & egrave;se que la confiance g & eacute;n & eacute;ralis & eacute;e fa & ccedil;onne les pr & eacute;f & eacute;rences commerciales principalement dans les & eacute;conomies locales hautement tertiaris & eacute;es. & Agrave; l'aide de donn & eacute;es issues des 2016 American National Election Studies et World Values Survey Wave 7, l'on teste et confirme cette hypoth & egrave;se. Cette & eacute;tude contribue & agrave; la litt & eacute;rature en d & eacute;montrant que l'influence de la confiance g & eacute;n & eacute;ralis & eacute;e sur les pr & eacute;f & eacute;rences commerciales varie en fonction du niveau de tertiarisation locale. Elle propose par ailleurs de nouveaux m & eacute;canismes causaux pour comprendre l'antimondialisation dans les pays d & eacute;velopp & eacute;s et sugg & egrave;re que l'influence des r & eacute;percussions & eacute;conomiques sur les pr & eacute;f & eacute;rences commerciales pourrait de m & ecirc;me d & eacute;pendre des niveaux de tertiarisation locale. | International Studies Quarterly | |
| 2024_179 | Gad, C. (2024). Trusting elections: complexities and risks of digital voting in Denmark. Journal of Cultural Economy, 17(6), 757-774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2023.2246991. | It is often said that election processes depend on trust for their legitimacy. Trust is therefore crucial to the sustainability of democracy. It also seems clear that patterns and forms of trust in Western democracies are changing in tandem with digitalization. This paper explores some possible inflections of the concept of trust in the 'age of digitalization' by examining its articulation by computer scientists doing research on digital voting and by contrasting these articulations with a Science and Technology Studies (STS) analysis of trust in the Danish voting process. The motivation for characterizing and discussing these views of trust, is that it matters deeply how trust is conceptualized in relation to voting, democracy and beyond, and that today computer science as an engineering, scientific and intellectual field increasingly affects how we perceive of trust - indeed, how we organize social life and come to think about the world we live in. If Digitalization appears to be implicated in the current transformation of trust, then the questions of how trust is defined, by whom, and with what implications are open and acute matters in need of more general awareness and careful attentention. | Journal of Cultural Economy | Trust; Voting; Democracy; Digital Technology; Elections |
| 2024_180 | García-Sánchez, E; Matamoros-Lima, J; Moreno-Bella, E; Melita, D; Sánchez-Rodríguez, A; García-Castro, JD; Rodríguez-Bailón, R; Willis, GB. (2024). Perceived Economic Inequality Is Negatively Associated with Subjective Well-being through Status Anxiety and Social Trust. Social Indicators Research, 172(1), 239-260. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-024-03306-x. | The relationship between economic inequality and subjective well-being has produced mixed results in the literature. Conflicting evidence may be due to overlooking the role of psychosocial processes that translate socioeconomic conditions into subjective evaluations. We argue that perceiving high economic inequality erodes social capital, undermining people's subjective well-being. We rely on the Psychosocial Model of Perceived Economic Inequality and Subjective Well-Being (PEISW), which posits that perceived economic inequality negatively affects subjective well-being by increasing status anxiety and decreasing social trust. Furthermore, these indirect effects from perceived inequality to subjective well-being will be moderated by system-justifying ideologies. The present article provides the first empirical test of this model using a national survey from Spain (N = 1,536). We confirmed that perceived economic inequality is negatively associated with well-being. We also found that perceived economic inequality had an indirect negative effect on subjective well-being via increasing status anxiety and reducing social trust. We found no evidence that system-justifying ideologies (i.e., social dominance orientation) moderated the association between perceived economic inequality and subjective well-being. We discuss that perceived economic inequality is crucial to understanding the link between economic inequality and subjective well-being and elaborate on the role of psychosocial mechanisms that promote competition and undermine social cohesion. | Social Indicators Research | Perceived Economic Inequality; Income Inequality; Status Anxiety; Social Trust; Social Dominance Orientation; Subjective Well-Being |
| 2024_181 | Garg, M; Bakshi, A. (2024). Exploring the impact of beauty vloggers' credible attributes, parasocial interaction, and trust on consumer purchase intention in influencer marketing. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02760-9. | The growing usage of digital platforms has made influencer marketing the most cost-effective marketing tool, especially for products consumed by young digital natives. Among other products, these include fashion and beauty-related items such as cosmetics, whose online marketing has created a particular category of influencers called 'beauty vloggers.' By applying the source credibility model, this study investigates whether beauty vloggers' credible attributes (trustworthiness, expertise, and attractiveness) help consumers build trust towards them and whether followers' trust leads to desirable marketing outcomes (increased purchase intention). Prior literature used the source credibility model in a fragmented manner. However, this study enhances the holistic framework of social media influencers' impact on purchase intention by investigating all three credible attributes. It specifically addresses the significance of cultivating trust between beauty vloggers and followers, exploring the impact of vloggers' credible attributes on consumer purchase intention. Additionally, beauty vloggers periodically engage in parasocial interactions to increase closeness with their audiences, affecting consumer behaviour. This study addresses the limited research on the consequences of parasocial interactions in an emerging market context, examining the impact of beauty vloggers' repeated interactions on consumer behaviour, contributing to a comprehensive understanding of purchase intention using parasocial interaction as an antecedent. The research was conducted on consumers belonging to the age group of 16-45 who use social media platforms daily. Using structural equation modelling via SmartPLS software, the statistical analysis was done on 357 North Indian respondents. The study explores the influence of beauty vloggers on consumers' purchasing behaviour in the Indian context. The results demonstrate that beauty vloggers' credibility traits help in influencing consumer behaviour. The findings also revealed that trust partially mediates the impact of credible attributes of beauty vloggers and consumers' purchase intention. Additionally, the results show that customers' purchasing decisions might be influenced by repeated parasocial interactions done by beauty vloggers if they perceive them as credible information sources. The findings of the study contribute to help industrial marketers and practitioners of cosmetic companies use influencer marketing strategically in order to increase market sales. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_182 | Garusi, D; Leonhardt, B. (2024). Towards a processual understanding of trust: A study of trust-building strategies of constructive journalists. Journalism http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14648849241287746. | Trust in news media is a hot topic in media research, and although several attempts have been made to explore it, the concept has commonly been viewed as a matter of audiences' reception of news products. In contrast, we conceptualize trust as an integral part of all stages of the news production process and focus on the journalists' perspective. Based on semi-structured interviews with Austrian constructive journalists, we investigate which strategies they use to improve the perception of their trustworthiness among audiences and what they want to achieve by being trusted. Trust-building strategies are identified across various stages of news production, with a notable emphasis on traditional journalistic values like objectivity, particularly in the context of separating facts from opinions to enhance audiences' trust. Objectivity is sought through reliance on scientific sources, which are considered objective in their own right. This approach contrasts with conventional notions of objectivity in journalistic and academic discourse on constructive journalism. The findings reveal a focus on fostering trust to promote a solution-oriented approach to public issues, facilitating a more vibrant and constructive public discourse. | Journalism | Constructive Journalism; Newsmaking; News Media Trust; Objectivity; Trust Paradigm |
| 2024_183 | Garusi, D; Miro, CJ. (2024). Unpacking news consumption and trust decisions through a folk theory approach: A study of Austrian young adults. Media Culture & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01634437241291453. | This article introduces and applies a situational, interactional, and processual theoretical framework to explore how folk theories of journalism shape people's news use and trust decisions in specific, real-life circumstances. Following the episode method, 48 semi-structured interviews conducted with Austrian young adults revealed that objectivity and impartiality are regarded as the two cornerstones of journalism, aligning with Austria's traditional journalistic culture. Thus, for Austrian young adults, informing oneself is a search for the ultimate truth. Whether objectivity and impartiality are thought to be actually found in journalism shapes (dis)engagement with it. Different news consumption and trust decisions emerged from interviewees who believe that journalists manage to be impartial and objective versus ones believing that journalists cannot or do not want to. Whereas the former recalled using and trusting information sources that they regarded as reputable, the situation is more nuanced for the latter. They showcased trust decisions ranging from reliance on external information sources to reliance on oneself to discern the truth. Those findings suggest that despite the emergence of new forms of journalistic actors and work, traditional journalistic values and norms remain central in audiences' news use and trust decisions. | Media Culture & Society | Folk Theories; Journalism; Narrative Analysis; News Consumption; News Media Trust; Young Adults |
| 2024_184 | Gebrihet, HG; Gebresilassie, YH; Woldu, GT. (2024). Trust, Corruption, and Tax Compliance in Fragile States: on a Quest for Transforming Africa into Future Global Powerhouse. Social Sciences-Basel, 13(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci13010003. | This study explores the complex relationship between trust, corruption, and tax compliance in fragile states. It examines factors influencing public trust in three government branches: the ruling party (a proxy for the executive), the parliament, and the local government, and examines whether trust in these arms of government impacts tax compliance. We conducted this investigation using Afrobarometer survey data from Guinea, Mali, Sudan, and Zimbabwe as case studies. The study found that restoring public trust and promoting tax compliance are tangible outcomes arising from a steadfast commitment to electoral integrity, transparency, and accountability. This interplay becomes more vital within the framework of state fragility, where institutions are highly strained. The study highlighted that the existence of rampant corruption reduces trust in the ruling party, parliament, and local government council. Furthermore, the joint interaction between corruption and lack of trust significantly undermines the willingness of taxpayers to adhere to tax administration laws. These insights emphasise that combating corruption becomes not only a governance step but also vital to state stability. Thus, African governments should prioritise electoral integrity and combat corruption through enhanced accountability to pave the way for improved governance, enhanced trust, and a more stable path toward a global powerhouse. | Social Sciences-Basel | Africa Agenda 2063; Corruption; Sdgs 2030; State Fragility; Tax Compliance; Public Trust |
| 2024_185 | Gebrihet, HG. (2024). The effects of the perception of corruption on public trust in government in Africa: a comparative analysis. Politikon http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02589346.2024.2344276. | This study examines the effects of corruption on public trust in government in Africa at various levels and explores variations across stable and fragile states. This study uses Afrobarometer data collected from households in 2019 to understand whether this link exists. Using ordered logit analysis and marginal effects, the study reveals that corruption significantly diminishes trust in government. High levels of corruption in the presidency, parliament, and local government are all associated with declining levels of trust. This corruption extends to judges, magistrate courts, religious, and traditional leaders suspected of corruption, who are expected to uphold ethical standards. Corruption in the office of the president reduces trust in the president, parliament, and local governments, while corruption in parliament decreases trust in parliament and local governments. Local government corruption impacts trust at the local level. Despite a high level of corruption in stable states, corruption in the local government is not responsive to public trust. The sensitivity of corruption to trust in the government is more pronounced in fragile states than in stable states. This study illustrates the pressing need to combat corruption and rebuild trust in governments. The findings highlight the need for context-specific anti-corruption strategies and policy interventions. | Politikon | |
| 2024_186 | Geese, L. (2024). Tough Positions, Trustful Voters? How Mainstream Party Position-Taking on Immigration Shapes Political Trust and its Impact on Far-Right Voting. Government and Opposition http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/gov.2024.6. | Mainstream parties have taken increasingly restrictive immigration policy positions across Western Europe. Yet the political consequences of this behaviour for citizens' democratic norms and practices are still not well understood. This article focuses on public political trust. Bridging the literatures on immigration-related trust and spatial theory, the spotlight is put on the consequences of mainstream party position-taking on immigration for the interconnectedness of citizens' immigration policy preferences, political distrust and far-right voting. An analysis of data from the Chapel Hill Expert Survey and European Social Survey across 14 Western European democracies (2006-2018) suggests that tougher immigration positions of centre-right parties in government weaken the link between immigration scepticism and political distrust and, in turn, the relevance of political distrust as a precursor of far-right voting. This has important implications for our understanding of immigration politics and advances the existing literatures on party competition, political trust and far-right voting in several ways. | Government and Opposition | Political Parties; Political Trust; Far-Right Voting; Immigration |
| 2024_187 | Gemar, A. (2024). Institutional Trust, Spirituality, and Religious Practice in the United States. Social Sciences-Basel, 13(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci13010067. | This study explores the relationship between institutional trust and elements of religion in contemporary American society. Using a nationally representative survey, we utilize latent class and regression analyses to assess the contours of these relationships. Our findings reveal a diverse institutional trust profile, with pronounced distrust in democratic institutions, especially Congress, although the group with low institutional trust is the smallest one within the society. While trust in religious institutions, and to an extent broader institutional trust, predict religiosity, this is less so with the case of spirituality. Institutional trust similarly shows modest positive relationships to public religious practice, while a clear negative relationship to private religious practice. Interpreting these findings through the lens of secularization and privatization of religion, we hope to provide a strong empirical contribution to the literature regarding intersections of institutional trust and the evolving religious and spiritual orientations of today's American landscape. | Social Sciences-Basel | Institutions; Institutional Trust; Secularization; Spirituality; Religiosity; Nonreligious; Social Capital |
| 2024_188 | Gemar, A. (2024). Sports following and social capital in the United States: Social networks and trust. International Review For the Sociology of Sport http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10126902241266064. | Scholarship on sports following represents a burgeoning field of inquiry in the sociology of sport, yet sport following's connections to, or ability to facilitate, social capital remains underexplored. Drawing on a contemporary nationwide survey of the United States and employing the foundational theories of social capital by which we operationalize statistical analyses using regression modeling, this study investigates the nuanced contributions of sports following to various dimensions of social capital. Our analysis reveals complex relationships of sports following to social network size, community engagement, neighborhood trust, and social network variety, highlighting sports following as a significant predictor for all our operationalized social capital measures, although negatively so for neighborhood trust. Exploring the interplay between sports following, individual characteristics, and socio-political affiliations, results underscore the powerful predictive capacity of sports following even controlling for other characteristics, highlighting strong potentiality for building social capital, although along some dimensions more than others. These findings spotlight the domain of sports following as fertile ground for further investigation into its capacity to serve as a unique facilitator of social capital on the increasingly divided American socio-cultural landscape. | International Review For the Sociology of Sport | Social Capital; Social Class; Social Networks; Trust; Spectator Sports; Sport |
| 2024_189 | George, B; Klijn, EH; Ropes, E; Sattlegger, A. (2024). Do network management and trust matter for network outcomes? A meta-analysis and research agenda. Public Management Review, 26(11), 3270-3297. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2024.2327629. | Collaborative and network governance assume that network management and trust matter for network outcomes. We test this assumption by conducting a meta-analysis of public administration studies investigating the correlation between network management and network outcomes (50 effect sizes), and trust and network outcomes (28 effect sizes). While both matter for achieving network outcomes across countries, trust matters most. Trust is particularly important for achieving process outcomes and multiple network management strategies combined are more effective than separate single strategies. A research agenda centred on complex modelling, comparative research and using mixed, multisource, experimental and longitudinal data is stipulated in conclusion. | Public Management Review | Network Management; Network Trust; Network Outcomes; Network Performance; Meta-Analysis |
| 2024_190 | Gerlich, M. (2024). Exploring Motivators for Trust in the Dichotomy of Human-AI Trust Dynamics. Social Sciences-Basel, 13(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci13050251. | This study analyses the dimensions of trust in artificial intelligence (AI), focusing on why a significant portion of the UK population demonstrates a higher level of trust in AI compared to humans. Conducted through a mixed-methods approach, this study gathered 894 responses, with 451 meeting the criteria for analysis. It utilised a combination of a six-step Likert-scale survey and open-ended questions to explore the psychological, sociocultural, and technological facets of trust. The analysis was underpinned by structural equation modelling (SEM) and correlation techniques. The results unveil a strong predilection for trusting AI, mainly due to its perceived impartiality and accuracy, which participants likened to conventional computing systems. This preference starkly contrasts with the scepticism towards human reliability, which is influenced by the perception of inherent self-interest and dishonesty in humans, further exacerbated by a general distrust in media narratives. Additionally, this study highlights a significant correlation between distrust in AI and an unwavering confidence in human judgment, illustrating a dichotomy in trust orientations. This investigation illuminates the complex dynamics of trust in the era of digital technology, making a significant contribution to the ongoing discourse on AI's societal integration and underscoring vital considerations for future AI development and policymaking. | Social Sciences-Basel | Artificial Intelligence; Trust; Motivators For Trust; AI Perceptions; Societal Trust in AI; Distrust; AI Impact |
| 2024_191 | Gerlich, M. (2024). Societal Perceptions and Acceptance of Virtual Humans: Trust and Ethics across Different Contexts. Social Sciences-Basel, 13(10). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci13100516. | This article examines public perceptions of virtual humans across various contexts, including social media, business environments, and personal interactions. Using an experimental approach with 371 participants in the United Kingdom, this research explores how the disclosure of virtual human technology influences trust, performance perception, usage likelihood, and overall acceptance. Participants interacted with virtual humans in simulations, initially unaware of their virtual nature, and then completed surveys to capture their perceptions before and after disclosure. The results indicate that trust and acceptance are higher in social media contexts, whereas business and general settings reveal significant negative shifts post-disclosure. Trust emerged as a critical factor influencing overall acceptance, with social media interactions maintaining higher levels of trust and performance perceptions than business environments and general interactions. A qualitative analysis of open-ended responses and follow-up interviews highlights concerns about transparency, security, and the lack of human touch. Participants expressed fears about data exploitation and the ethical implications of virtual human technology, particularly in business and personal settings. This study underscores the importance of ethical guidelines and transparent protocols to enhance the adoption of virtual humans in diverse sectors. These findings offer valuable insights for developers, marketers, and policymakers to optimise virtual human integration while addressing societal apprehensions, ultimately contributing to more effective and ethical deployment of virtual human technologies. | Social Sciences-Basel | Virtual Human; Digital Human; Public Perception; Trust; AI; Artificial Intelligence; AI Distrust; Deception; Virtual Influencer |
| 2024_192 | Geurkink, B; Akkerman, A; Sluiter, R. (2024). Developing Political Trust at Work: How Socialization Experiences in the Workplace Reduce Inequalities in Political Trust. Political Behavior, 46(3), 2005-2024. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11109-023-09906-6. | Political trust is considered important for the stability of democratic political systems. However, there are large inequalities in political trust between groups in society, especially along educational lines. We focus on how these political inequalities develop in adult life. Specifically, we link political socialization in the workplace to political trust. We test how political socialization in the workplace fosters political trust and whether it compensates for or reinforces inequalities in political trust between educational groups. We use self-collected unique survey data (N = 2799) and show that political socialization in the workplace relates to political trust: political discussions, an open workplace climate, influencing organizational policies, and having positive experiences with workplace voice are positively related to political trust. Furthermore, we find no support that political socialization in the workplace increases the inequalities in political trust between educational levels but rather that there is a compensatory effect of political socialization in the workplace. | Political Behavior | Political Trust; Political Socialization; Workplace Voice; Political Inequalities; Political Discussion |
| 2024_193 | Goldshtein, M; Chiou, EK; Roscoe, RD. (2024). 'I Just Don't Trust Them': Reasons for Distrust and Non-Disclosure in Demographic Questionnaires for Individuals in STEM. Societies, 14(7). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/soc14070105. | Demographic data pertain to people's identities and behaviors. Analyses of demographic data are used to describe patterns and predict behaviors, to inform interface design, and even institutional decision-making processes. Demographic data thus need to be complete and correct to ensure they can be analyzed in ways that reflect reality. This study consists of interviews with 40 people in STEM and addresses how causes of relational (dis)trust in demographic data collection contribute to pervasive problems of missing and incorrect responses and disobliging responses (e.g., non-disclosure, false responses, attrition, and hesitancy to use services). The findings then guide a preliminary set of recommendations for cultivating trustworthiness based on recent developments in trust theory and designing for responsive and trustworthy systems. Specifically, we explore how demographic questionnaire design (e.g., item construction and instructions) can communicate necessary reassurances and transparency for users. The ongoing research provides interview-based recommendations for improving the quality and completeness of demographic data collection. This research adds to other recommendations on improving demographic questionnaires. | Societies | Data Privacy; Demographic Data; Trust; Trustworthiness; Distrust; Disclosure |
| 2024_194 | Gomm, S; Huber, RA; Kolcava, D; Smith, EK; Bernauer, T. (2024). Procedural inclusiveness can mitigate trust challenges in environmental policymaking. Journal of European Public Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2024.2413458. | Decreasing political trust poses severe challenges, particularly in policy domains where solutions to societal problems are urgently needed. The reason is that low trust decreases citizens' support for policy interventions. Since trust is difficult to increase in the short to medium term, this study explores how negative trust effects on policy support could be mitigated through policymaking procedures. We connect literature on policy design processes and trust to argue that involving broader actor coalitions when designing a policy is likely to mitigate the negative trust effect on public policy support. We test this argument with an empirical focus on environmental policy, based on data from a survey experiment in Switzerland (N = 6116). Our study design combines a choice experiment with treatment conditions for procedural inclusiveness and various levels of policy stringency with a novel approach to measuring trust. The main finding is that greater inclusiveness in terms of engaging a broader actor coalition in the policy design process reduces otherwise negative effects of low trust on policy support. The main policy implication is that political trust challenges are not a predicament for failure in addressing urgent societal problems but can be offset by including broad actor coalitions in policy design processes. | Journal of European Public Policy | Trust; Environmental Policy Support; Process Inclusiveness; Actor Coalitions; Conjoint Experiment |
| 2024_195 | González-González, WA; Igartua, JJ. (2024). Fiction increases trust in Democracy: Indirect effect of security institutions effectiveness' audiovisual representation in their perceived performance through just-world belief. Communication & Society-Spain, 37(3), 125-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.15581/003.37.3.125-140. | This study focuses on the impact of audiovisual fiction on trust in institutions, drawing on cultivation theory and narrative persuasion research. We test the effects of audiovisual representation of security institutions' effectiveness in fighting crime on perceived performance of security institutions, trust in democracy, political interest, and political optimism, mediated by just-world beliefs and narrative transportation. 130 students from Universidad de Salamanca (Spain) and Escuela Superior de Econom & iacute;a y Negocios (El Salvador) participated in the online experiment and were randomly assigned to two experimental conditions and exposed to one of two sequences q uences from the series La Casa de Papel that differed in the degree of effectiveness (high versus low) with which security institutions acted to solve a criminal event. The results of the proposed parallel mediation model showed that there is a significant and positive indirect effect of this representation on trust in democracy only through the just-world belief. The main contribution of our study is the confirmation that cultivation and narrative persuasion work together to explain how audiovisual fiction shapes attitudes toward public institutions in two different countries. Finally, we found that further research is needed to test alternative models that include other variables to establish and better understand this psychological process. | Communication & Society-Spain | Cultivation Theory; Narrative Persuasion; Narrative Transportation; Just-World; Belief |
| 2024_196 | González-Martínez, N; Peeters, R. (2024). Relational street-level bureaucracy: Proximity policing and the construction of trust between citizens and municipal police officers in Nezahualcóyotl, Mexico. Australian Journal of Public Administration http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-8500.12656. | Various studies have provided evidence that, especially in the Global South, relational street-level bureaucracy can play a constructive role in bridging the gap between vulnerable population groups and a distant, formal bureaucracy that often fails to guarantee citizens' rights and factual access to public services and benefits. However, studies have also highlighted street-level bureaucracies' vulnerability to practices of corruption, patrimonialism, and clientelism as they engage with citizens through more informal mechanisms. In this article, we contribute to understanding which institutional conditions can promote constructive citizen-bureaucrat interactions by presenting findings from a qualitative study on proximity policing in a densely populated suburb of Mexico City with some of the highest crime levels in the entire metropolitan area. Sustained and managerially supported implementation of proximity policing has improved citizen-police relations and facilitated learning processes by both officers and residents, while minimizing risks of clientelism. Although this model of municipal policing is no panacea for complex security issues, it does confirm existing evidence regarding the importance of relational street-level bureaucracy for improving citizen trust and, moreover, highlights the importance of consistent managerial and citizen involvement as enabling factors.Points for practitioners The traditional focus on bureaucratic control and capacities has often involuntarily ended up worsening public service provision in contexts with weak state institutions. Relational street-level bureaucracy can play a constructive role in bridging the gap between vulnerable population groups and a distant, formal bureaucracy. Consistent managerial support, citizen involvement, and professional deliberation are crucial elements in mitigating the downsides of informality in street-level interactions. | Australian Journal of Public Administration | Mexico; Policing; Relationality; Street-Level Bureaucracy; Trust |
| 2024_197 | González, CPV; Moncaleano, AP; Criollo, DZR; Pinto, LMG. (2024). A Challenge of Trust: Prevailing Narratives Surrounding the Vaccination Process Against COVID-19 in the City of Bogotá. Dixit, 38. http://dx.doi.org/10.22235/d.v38.4097. | COVID-19 vaccines were crucial in overcoming the pandemic; however, ensuring widespread acceptance posed significant challenges for health authorities. They needed to persuade the public of the importance of vaccination, using scientific information, within an environment saturated with shifting and often contradictory evidence that led to confusion and mistrust. Through 19 focus groups (5 virtual and 14 in-person), involving 90 participants, the study explored individual perceptions and collective understanding, allowing a closer look at social representations (SR) regarding information consumption in Bogot & aacute;, the National Vaccination Plan, and the vaccines themselves. Positive SRs included viewing vaccination as an act of solidarity and recognizing the role of close acquaintances and local media as trusted information sources. Negative SRs also emerged, such as perceived injustice over ignored adverse reactions, perceived infringement on autonomy and citizen control, inequality and discrimination in information access (notably affecting migrants, the elderly, and individuals with hearing impairments), and a lack of awareness about fact-checking resources. | Dixit | Pandemic; Infodemic; COVID-19 Vaccines; Disinformation; Information Disorders |
| 2024_198 | González, OT; Santos-Requejo, L. (2024). The Impact of Knowledge and Trust on COVID-19 Vaccination Intention: Analysis of a Population Group with Low Incentives to Vaccinate in Spain. Sage Open, 14(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241267044. | Young people, as a group, are not strongly incentivised to vaccinate against COVID-19, given how the disease affects them. To discover the factors which help increase people's intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine, using a variety of dimensions to measure Knowledge (K), Trust (T), the Health Belief Model (HBM), and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in Spanish university students as a collective. We analysed the proposed models using multiple-regression analysis, incorporating the variables of the constructs in a hierarchical manner, introducing them in the following order: TPB, K, T. HBM was excluded, given that no significant statistical relationship was found. The data used for the study are drawn from an anonymous questionnaire put to 3,542 students at the University of Salamanca (Spain). Our model accounts for 43.1% of the variance in vaccination intention. Neither severity nor susceptibility, which are fundamental constructs in the health belief model, have an impact on vaccination intention for this group of people. The Theory of Planned Behaviour accounts for 32.1% of the variance. Interesting mediating effects are discovered, indicating that knowledge lowers levels of trust in the Government, but increases trust in scientific experts. Both types of trust have a positive impact on vaccination intention. Messages based on the risk of contracting the disease do not appear to be effective incentives for this group of people to take up the vaccine. Information campaigns need to be transparent and rigorous. This does not mean that they need to go into great depth on a technical level; however, it is advisable that the information come from trustworthy scientific experts. Young people, as a group, are not strongly incentivised to vaccinate against COVID-19, given how the disease affects them. Thus, the object of this study is to analyse which factors are predictors of vaccination intention in this group of people, with particular emphasis on knowledge of the vaccination process, and trust in the scientific experts and in the Government. Our objective was to discover the factors which help increase people's intention to take the COVID-19 vaccine, using a variety of dimensions to measure Knowledge (K), Trust (T), the Health Belief Model (HBM), and the Theory of Planned Behaviour (TPB) in Spanish university students as a collective. We analysed the proposed models using multiple-regression analysis, incorporating the variables of the constructs in a hierarchical manner, introducing them in the following order: TPB, K, T. Our study concluded that messages based on the risk of contracting the disease do not appear to be effective incentives for this group of people to take up the vaccine. Information campaigns need to be transparent and rigorous. This does not mean that they need to go into great depth on a technical level; however, it is advisable that the information come from trustworthy scientific experts. | Sage Open | Trust; Knowledge; Theory of Planned Behaviour; Health Belief Model; COVID-19 Vaccine; Scientific Expert |
| 2024_199 | Gould-Yakovleva, O; Liu, XF. (2024). Mutualism as Mutual Trust: An Ethnographic Case Study on an Elementary-School Teacher-Team Participation in a Science PD Program. Qualitative Report, 29(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6440. | This grounded in social constructivism yearlong ethnographic case study was conducted at the final stage of a larger, longitudinal, multisite, and multi-year project. The current research focused on a group of urban public elementary schoolteachers who volunteered to participate in the National Science Foundation (NSF)-funded interdisciplinary science and engineering partnership (ISEP) project. These teachers were enrolled in the professional development (PD) college courses in physics and engineering design, summer research in university laboratories, and interdisciplinary science inquiry (ISI) pedagogy sessions. This research sought to understand the factors which contributed to successful teamwork at the elementary school under investigation. Additionally, this study investigated the changes in the ISEP-participating educators' teaching approaches, methods, and techniques upon their completion of their studies with the ISEP Summer Institute. Data were collected from the structured interviews with the participating teachers and their students and observations of the school-based activities during in-class and extra-curricular instruction. The researchers used Saldana's (2013) thematic and value coding and Miles and Huberman (1984) memoing for data analysis. This research found that the teachers' team embedded their newly acquired research experiences and pedagogic knowledge into their instruction. Joint endeavors of the project participants lead to higher interest and engagement in learning processes in this school's student population as well as greater involvement of the schoolchildren, their families, and the surrounding community in the team-organized science-based educational events and activities. | Qualitative Report | Ethnographic Case Study; Interdisciplinary Science and Engineering Partnership (ISEP); Interdisciplinary Science Inquiry (ISI); Professional Development (PD); Professional Learning Community (PLC); Science Teaching |
| 2024_200 | Goyanes, M; Bene, M. (2024). News Surveillance and Democracy: the Effect of News Negativity and Political Trust on Intentional News Avoidance. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 36(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edae061. | This study investigates how intentional news avoidance behavior is affected by the perceived negativity of news media and political trust and how the impact of news negativity is conditioned by people's political ideology. The literature treats the deterrent effect of news negativity and the demobilizing role of distrust as standard explanations for news avoidance. However, we argue that as a form of political engagement, avoidance decisions are also shaped by political factors. Drawing upon a unique 2-wave panel survey conducted in Spain, the study shows that while the main effect of perceived news negativity is significant, it is moderated by political ideology. People with right-wing ideologies are not deterred from news consumption by their perception of news negativity, whereas leftists are more likely to intentionally avoid news when feeling overly negative. In addition, political distrust can make people less likely to turn off the news, whereas people with a high level of political trust are more likely to avoid news programs. This finding can be explained by a monitorial attitude, a sense of civic duty, activated when people distrust the political elite. | International Journal of Public Opinion Research | |
| 2024_201 | Goyes, DR; Sandberg, S. (2024). Trust, nuance, and care: Advantages and challenges of repeat qualitative interviews. Qualitative Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14687941241246159. | Most methodological discussions about the pros and cons of repeat interviews fall within qualitative longitudinal literature and are premised on project designs with relatively long intervals between encounters. Less attention has been paid to the practice and ethics of repeat interviewing as a stand-alone method, that does not follow participants long-term, but instead conducts several interviews over a short period of time. This article is based on interviews and research logs from a project in which over 350 incarcerated persons in Latin America were interviewed. We evaluate the advantages and shortcomings of repeat interviewing, in this case, three sessions with each participant with up to a week in between sessions. We find that repeat interviewing increases trust and rapport, contributes to nuanced data, generates reflexivity, and ensures more ethical research by making it easier for researchers to care for participants. Yet the method also has the disadvantages of demanding a significant investment of resources, the risk of losing participants, and on occasion, the emotional challenge of breaking strong bonds when researchers and participants part ways. We argue that the advantages of repeat interviews exceed the shortcomings, but ethical concerns added to the cost in time, energy, and money might at times proscribe the method. | Qualitative Research | Life Story; Recursive Interviewing; Reinterviewing; Repeat Interviews; Retrospective Longitudinal Research; Serial Interviews; Waves of Interviews |
| 2024_202 | Granados, C; Sánchez, F. (2024). Race, Inequality, and Political Trust in Latin America. Latin American Politics and Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/lap.2024.29. | During the last decades, political distrust has seemingly become a common trend across Latin American democracies, however, differences in the levels of confidence among groups have also been identified. This article considers the potential effects of ethno-racial structures and their interactions with other forms of socioeconomic inequalities on political trust. Building on data from four waves of the Latinobarometer project and contextual measures from different sources, we analyze these relations and find that both socioeconomic and ethno-racial inequalities affect political trust and impact on the formation of different relations with the political system across Latin America. Furthermore, in particular it is found that at the individual-level interactions between inequalities shape political trust differently depending on the particular ethno-racial identification. These findings contribute to the understanding of ethnicity and race and its associations with other structural inequalities in shaping mass political culture. | Latin American Politics and Society | Political Trust; Inequality; Race and Ethnicity; Latin America |
| 2024_203 | Grimmelikhuijsen, S; Aleksovska, M; van Erp, J; Gilad, S; Maman, L; Bach, T; Kappler, M; Van Dooren, W; Schomaker, RM; Salomonsen, HH. (2024). Does enforcement style influence citizen trust in regulatory agencies? An experiment in six countries. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muae018. | Establishing and maintaining citizen trust is vital for the effectiveness and long-term viability of regulatory agencies. However, limited empirical research has been conducted on the relationship between regulatory action and citizen trust. This article addresses this gap by investigating the influence of various regulatory enforcement styles on citizen trust. We conducted a pre-registered and representative survey experiment in six countries (n = 5,765): Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, and Norway. Our study focuses on three key dimensions of enforcement style: formalism, coerciveness, and accommodation. We hypothesize that a strict and punitive enforcement style with minimal accommodation will enhance citizen trust. Surprisingly, we found no overall effect of enforcement on trust. However, specifically high levels of formalism (strictness) and coerciveness (punitiveness) exhibited a small positive effect on trust. Furthermore, we observed no discernible impact of an accommodative enforcement style. Additional analyses revealed that the effects of enforcement style were not consistent across country and regulatory domains. This suggests we need to reconsider assumptions underlying enforcement theory, as our findings imply that public trust seems less conditional on heavy-handed enforcement than initially anticipated. | Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory | Enforcement; Regulatory Agencies; Trust; Survey Experiment; Comparative Research |
| 2024_204 | Grimmelikhuijsen, S; de Vries, F; Bouwman, R. (2024). Regulators as Guardians of Trust? the Contingent and Modest Positive Effect of Targeted Transparency on Citizen Trust in Regulated Sectors. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory, 34(1), 136-149. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muad010. | Targeted transparency has become an essential tool for regulation. Through information disclosure, regulatory agencies try to get regulated companies to improve their practices and comply with regulations. In the past, regulation was associated with distrust in regulated sectors. Recent research suggests that regulation, especially targeted transparency, may also increase citizen trust in regulated sectors. However, empirical evidence on whether transparency as a regulatory tool undermines or decreases trust in a sector is lacking. We contribute to this debate by investigating the effect of targeted transparency on citizen trust through a large-scale representative survey experiment (n = 5,303). We used 12 transparency frames in three regulated domains in the Netherlands (consumer rights, healthcare safety, and nuclear plant safety). Our findings suggest that, in general, targeted transparency does not undermine trust, but has a positive effect on trust in regulated sectors. However, this effect is small and contextual, depending on the regulatory domain and type of transparency frame. | Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory | |
| 2024_205 | Gu, CY; Zhang, Y; Zeng, LH. (2024). Exploring the mechanism of sustained consumer trust in AI chatbots after service failures: a perspective based on attribution and CASA theories. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03879-5. | In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI) technology has been widely employed in brand customer service. However, the inherent limitations of computer-generated natural language content occasionally lead to failures in human-computer interactions, potentially damaging a company's brand image. Therefore, it is crucial to explore how to maintain consumer trust after AI chatbots fail to provide successful service. This study constructs a model to examine the impact of social interaction cues and anthropomorphic factors on users' sustained trust by integrating the Computers As Social Actors (CASA) theory with attribution theory. An empirical analysis of 462 survey responses reveals that CASA factors (perceived anthropomorphic characteristics, perceived empathic abilities, and perceived interaction quality) can effectively enhance user trust in AI customer service following interaction failures. This process of sustaining trust is mediated through different attributions of failure. Furthermore, AI anxiety, as a cognitive characteristic of users, not only negatively impacts sustained trust but also significantly moderates the effect of internal attributions on sustained trust. These findings expand the research domain of human-computer interaction and provide insights for the practical development of AI chatbots in communication and customer service fields. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_206 | Gubello, M. (2024). Social trust and the support for universal basic income. European Journal of Political Economy, 81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2023.102495. | This paper presents a theoretical model showing how political mistrust affects people's preferences for Universal Basic Income (UBI) when its implementation involves a reduction in spending for other public services (welfare retrenchment). The model shows that individuals with lower levels of political mistrust are more likely to endorse UBI, reflecting their trust in the government's ability to manage public resources and avoid wasteful retrenchment of other public services. The model also shows that generalised mistrust - characterised by agents' expectations of their fellow citizens' misbehaviour that can reduce the government's fiscal capacity - does not significantly influence preferences for UBI when it involves a partial retrenchment of other public services. This result is driven by the agents' perception that their fellow citizens' misbehaviour would occur irrespective of the UBI implementation. The empirical analysis with 265 European regions from the European Social Survey (ESS) confirms the predictions of the model. | European Journal of Political Economy | Universal Basic Income; Generalised Trust; Political Trust; Welfare Retrenchment |
| 2024_207 | Guiatin, JB. (2024). Trust and mistrust in COVID-19 politics: the shattered hopes of civil society engagement in Burkina Faso. Frontiers in Political Science, 6. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2024.1331097. | In a democratic setting, civil society is considered to be one of the forces capable of checking on the government especially when it comes to issues that concern the public at large. The political history of Burkina Faso is replete with situations of civil society groupings confronting the governments be they democratic or authoritarian. So, at the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020 in Burkina Faso one expected civil society organizations to live up to the challenges of the day by checking on the actions of President Kabore government. However, this did not happen. Hence, the following research question: Why was the Burkina Faso civil society inactive during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis? Using elite interviewing techniques, I found out that low awareness of the COVID-19 threat within large swaths of the population and among members of civil society organizations accounted for the inaction of the most vocal civil society members during the COVID-19 pandemic crisis since the latter did not consider the COVID-19 pandemic issue as a political question deserving great attention. This has strong implications in terms of public trust. More precisely, it means that in Burkina Faso contrary to what the democracy promotion literature may have said on the virtues of civil society one cannot always trust civil society members to check on the government even in time of emergency such as that of the COVID-19 pandemic crisis. Further research may therefore help to better understand civil society-government relations in Burkina Faso. | Frontiers in Political Science | COVID-19 Pandemic; Burkina Faso; Trust; Democracy; Civil Society |
| 2024_208 | Günay, HF. (2024). What is the relationship between fairness and trust in terms of tax compliance?. Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice http://dx.doi.org/10.1332/25156918Y2024D000000010. | Two frequently researched factors in the tax compliance literature are perceptions of fairness and trust. Nevertheless, what is known about the relationship between the two variables is limited. Different findings in the literature have encouraged further research. This study aims to examine the relationship between fairness and trust in tax compliance and the role of these variables with multivariate statistical tests. In this direction, survey data were collected from 540 self-employed taxpayers in Istanbul/Turkey. As a result of the multivariate statistical tests carried out by dividing the data in two, the following conclusions were reached: (1) in line with the findings in the literature, perceptions of tax fairness and trust in tax authorities are essential determinants of tax compliance intention; (2) tax fairness positively affects trust in authorities and trust in authorities positively affects tax fairness; (3) both the mediating and moderating role of trust in tax authorities in the relationship between perceptions of tax fairness and tax compliance intention are confirmed; and (4) although there is a mediating effect of perceptions of tax fairness in the relationship between trust in tax authorities and tax compliance intention, the existence of a moderating effect could not be detected. | Journal of Public Finance and Public Choice | Tax Compliance; Tax Fairness; Trust in Authorities; Regression Analysis |
| 2024_209 | Guo, J; Feng, MZ. (2024). Social media exposure's effects on public support toward three-child policy in China: role of cognitive elaboration, perceived negative effects, and institutional trust. Journal of Public Policy, 44(1), 121-142. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X23000326. | The three-child policy constitutes a hotly debated socio-political issue in China. Upon its announcement, many Chinese citizens have ridiculed the move on social media. Adopting the cognitive mediation model and the influence of presumed influence theory, this study examines how social media exposure to three-child policy-related news and discussions could affect the Chinese public's attitudes toward the policy. The online survey results show that social media exposure negatively predicts supportive opinion via cognitive elaboration and three types of perceived negative effects of the policy (i.e., perceived negative effects on self, on the public, and on females) in serial. It also finds that institutional trust moderates the relationship between cognitive elaboration and policy support. Only among people with high institutional trust, there is a positive effect of social media exposure on supportive opinion through cognitive elaboration. | Journal of Public Policy | China; Cognitive Elaboration; Influence of Presumed Influence Theory; Institutional Trust; Social Media Exposure; Three-Child Policy |
| 2024_210 | Guo, Y; Zhai, TH; Huang, H; Wang, LZ. (2024). Problem exposure and problem solving: the impact of regulatory regimes on citizens' trust in regulated sectors. Regulation & Governance http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12610. | A wealth of studies has discussed the impact of different regulatory regimes on firms, but have ignored the differences in citizens' attitudes toward firms in different regulatory regimes. Exploring these attitudes is crucial to understanding the micro-effects of regulatory regimes and market developments. This study aims to investigates the impact of regulatory regimes on citizens' trust in regulated sectors and uncovers the underlying impact mechanisms. Using a survey experiment within the context of algorithm regulation (N = 1224), we reveal that the coerciveness of regulatory regimes positively influences citizens' trust in regulated firms. Furthermore, we identify problem-solving and problem exposure perceptions as key mediators in this relationship. The findings contribute to the ongoing debate between regulation and trust, shedding light on their interplay in contemporary society and providing practical implications for policymakers and businesses navigating complex regulatory landscapes. | Regulation & Governance | Algorithm Regulation; Citizens' Trust in Regulated Sectors; Coerciveness; Regulatory Regimes |
| 2024_211 | Gustafsson, KM. (2024). Is science to be trusted? How environmentally active youths relate to science in social media. Public Understanding of Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625241249915. | Research has shown a great distrust among youths toward political representatives, who they demand should listen to the science. However, less research has been done on youths' own trust in science. This study explores and explains how youths who are environmentally active in two different environmental youth organizations relate to science in social media, whether they trust science, and how youths' relation to science creates a discursive context in which they may develop their identity. The study uses the approach of discourse analysis to examine social media content published on Facebook by Fridays for Future Sweden and F & auml;ltbiologerna (the Swedish Field Biologists). The study shows (i) how subject positions for scientists and youth are created in relation to one another based on different expressions of youths' trust in science and (ii) how environmental youth organizations, by identifying with science, make youths important actors in the discourse on climate change. | Public Understanding of Science | Discourse Analysis; F & Auml;Ltbiologerna; Fridays For Future; Science; Social Media; Trust |
| 2024_212 | Gvili, Y; Levy, S. (2024). Vive la résistance: a boomerang effect of resisting incentivized eWOM on consumer trust. International Journal of Advertising http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2426428. | Incentivizing consumers to share product recommendations and other forms of eWOM (electronic word of mouth) with their social media friends has become a prevalent promotional strategy among marketers. However, could this strategy potentially backfire? Adopting a metacognitive perspective, we suggest that this approach adversely affects those consumers who reject the incentive and resist sharing the message. We hypothesize that for individuals who rejected an incentive to share a message, lower initial message trustworthiness leads to decreased subsequent message trustworthiness. This effect arises as consumers reflect on their own behavior, subsequently developing perceived manipulative intent. This proposed sequential process was substantiated in two experimental studies. The results demonstrate a negative effect of initial eWOM trustworthiness on subsequent trustworthiness following incentive rejection (Studies 1-2). Furthermore, this effect is mediated by perceived manipulative intent and is bounded by the size of the incentive offered for sharing eWOM (Study 2). Both theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed. | International Journal of Advertising | Ewom; Trust; Social Media; Persuasion Knowledge; Manipulative Intent; Persuasion Resistance; Social Commerce |
| 2024_213 | Habets, D; Rietveld, E; Kiverstein, J; Denys, D. (2024). Trusted Urban Places. Adaptive Behavior, 32(5), 421-438. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10597123241229735. | We draw on insights from ecological psychology, explorative architecture, and psychiatry to provide an analysis of basic trust in relation to urban places. We use the term basic trust to refer to the attitude of certainty we express when we act in skilled, often unreflective, habitual ways in the living environment. We will argue that the basic trust of people living in cities should be understood in relation to what we will call trusted urban places. Trusted urban places can be understood similarly as what Giovanna Colombetti and Joel Krueger have called affective niches that provide affordances for amplifying, dampening, and sustaining affective states. The basic trust of people living in cities, we will argue, depends upon people moving through and engaging with trusted urban places. In urbanism and architecture, it is barely recognized how the city affords places of affective significance that the person incorporates into their bodily way of existing. Persistent exposure to urban stressors can disturb basic trust in one's living environment, resulting in a person no longer being at home in the world. We provide examples in which people, as a consequence of the repeated exposure to stressors, no longer move through and engage with trusted urban places, and the impact this has on their basic trust. Our aim is to understand how the urban environment can contribute to the path from stress to anxiety and mood disorders, and how a person can regain their openness to possibilities for regulating their emotions skilfully. | Adaptive Behavior | Stress; Public Space; Embodied Cognition; Explorative Architecture; Basic Trust |
| 2024_214 | Hacek, M. (2024). (Dis)Trust into Political Institutions and Conspiracy Theories: Case of Slovenia. Journal of Comparative Politics | After the collapse of the non-democratic regimes in the late 1980s and early 1990s, new democratic states emerged in Central and Eastern Europe (CEE) and began their state building on the wave of democratic enthusiasm. Majority of those countries, including Slovenia, entered European Union in early 2000s as consolidated well-working democracies, although public trust in democratic political institutions has been on the slow decline since gaining independence, only to drop substantially more after global economic crisis and wave of populist politics hit CEE in the last decade. Author is analyzing trends in (dis)trust levels in key political institutions in Slovenia with emphasis on the wave of conspiracy theories, which extensively spread during and after global coronavirus pandemic. Crisis events such as recent global pandemic have triggered a wave of concerns about the actual backgrounds of global crises, and those concerns eroded public trust into key political and administrative institutions and added fuel to the conspiracy theories that were often embraced by political parties and non-governmental stakeholders that exploited sometimes-legitimate concerns to their own benefits. | Journal of Comparative Politics | Conspiracy Theories; Political Trust; Information; Institutions; Slovenia |
| 2024_215 | Haenschen, K; Collier, JR; Tedesco, JC. (2024). The Impact of News Trust and Scandal Knowledge on Political Efficacy. American Behavioral Scientist, 68(7), 855-873. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00027642211062867. | The Trump-era political environment in the United States is characterized by changes to our information environment, specifically discourse surrounding so-called fake news, and knowledge of political scandals. We explore whether news trust or knowledge of Trump administration scandals impact individuals' levels of internal, information, and external political efficacy. We find significant and surprising relationships between these measures and political efficacy outcomes. Results contribute to our understanding of how political efficacy is responsive to changes in the political environment. | American Behavioral Scientist | Political Efficacy; Fake News; News Trust; Political Scandal; Donald J; Trump |
| 2024_216 | Han, H; Nguyen, HN; Lee, S; Quan, W. (2024). Impact of the destination image and government policy responsiveness of China on Korean travelers' destination trust and behaviors in the post-pandemic era. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03642-w. | The underlying mechanism of the destination trust of Korean travelers and behaviors toward China after the COVID-19 pandemic is explored in the present study, which considers the role of the destination image constituents and perceived government policy responsiveness for tourism recovery. The data was collected from Korean nationals who are currently residing in South Korea and have traveled to China in the last five years. The results revealed that the developed conceptual framework had a satisfactory level of explanatory ability in regards to predicting the travel and recommendation intentions of Korean travelers toward China, which destination trust serves as the key mediator. Moreover, the perception of Korean travelers in regards to Chinese government policy responsiveness for tourism recovery significantly strengthened the effect of image factors on destination trust. The study also discovered that the importance of image factors varies in regards to the formation of trust and destination behaviors. This research provides significant theoretical insights into the post-health crisis tourism recovery, which emphasizes changes in Korean travel patterns in the aftermath of COVID-19 as well as the wider socio-political environment that influences travel destinations. It also presents useful guidance for Chinese tourism stakeholders in regards to implementing effective recovery strategies that are aimed at the lucrative Korean outbound travel market during the post-COVID-19 pandemic period. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_217 | Han, S. (2024). Trust and needles: how perceptions of inequality shape vaccination in South Korea. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03858-w. | This study investigates the influence of perceived inequality on vaccination behaviors within the social context of South Korea. It explores how perceptions of inequality affect trust in science and society, subsequently impacting vaccination behaviors. The first analysis utilizes path analysis to identify both direct and indirect effects of perceived inequality on COVID-19 vaccine-related attitudes, mediated by trust in science and society. This provides foundational insights into these relationships at the individual level. The second analysis expands the scope to district-level data, analyzing influenza vaccination records from 2015 to 2021 to validate and enhance the initial findings. These results suggest that the public uses perceptions of inequality and regional economic disparity as heuristics in vaccination decisions. This study contributes to academic discourse by elucidating factors influencing vaccination behavior. It highlights the critical role of subjective sense of inequality in shaping public health policy, especially in response to emerging infectious diseases and future pandemics. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_218 | Han, SW. (2024). Homeownership, Income and Social Trust: Exploring Dynamics Between Homeownership, Income, and Individuals' Perceptions of Autonomy and Social Trust in South Korea. Social Indicators Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-024-03481-x. | In recent years, scholarly attention to the relationship between housing wealth and its broader social and political implications has intensified, particularly in response to growing wealth disparities in advanced capitalist societies since the 1980s. These disparities have been further exacerbated by shifts in labor market conditions and welfare reforms that have increased income and employment instability. This study investigates the interplay between homeownership, income, and social trust in South Korea, employing path analysis to explore both the direct and indirect effects of homeownership on social trust, with perceived autonomy serving as a mediating factor. Furthermore, the analysis examines how homeownership and income jointly influence autonomy and social trust, with a specific focus on the moderating role of income. The findings reveal a positive association between homeownership, autonomy, and social trust, with homeowners generally exhibiting higher levels of both compared to non-homeowners. However, as income rises, these differences diminish, underscoring the moderating effect of income. These results highlight the pivotal role of homeownership, particularly for individuals facing heightened income insecurity. In contexts such as South Korea, where real estate constitutes a substantial share of assets, disparities in homeownership are pronounced, and welfare systems providing income-based support are limited, the study emphasizes how homeownership critically shapes social perceptions. | Social Indicators Research | Homeownership; Income; Perceived Autonomy; Social Trust; South Korea |
| 2024_219 | Hansen, FG. (2024). How Government Efficiency Shapes Political Trust: Evidence from the Case of Brexit. British Journal of Political Science, 54(3), 957-968. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0007123423000388. | Government competence in delivering outcomes is often regarded as foundational to political trust. However, in this article, a different competence dynamic is proposed; specifically, whether political trust is related to government efficiency in achieving promised policy objectives. This article argues that when policy objectives are polarizing, the effect of efficiency on political trust is conditional on whether individuals support or oppose the objective. Using the case of Brexit, where the promised policy objective of leaving the European Union was polarizing, it is hypothesized that Leave voters relative to Remain voters became more trusting in cases of efficiency and less trusting in cases of inefficiency. The predictions are supported through a difference-in-differences analysis of unique real-world data over time from the British Election Study. The findings have important implications for our understanding of Brexit and also inform how political trust relates to government competence in the case of polarizing political issues. | British Journal of Political Science | Political Trust; Trust in Government; Brexit; Government Efficiency; Satisfaction With Democracy |
| 2024_220 | Hansen, MA; Seppaelae, M. (2024). Support for Gun Reform in the United States: the Interactive Relationship Between Partisanship and Trust in the Federal Government. Political Behavior, 46(3), 2025-2045. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11109-023-09907-5. | Studies find that trust in the government is statistically related to support for gun control laws in the United States. Another finding in the literature is that Democratic partisans support gun restrictions at a statistically higher percentage than do Republicans-with the reverse relationship existing for loosening gun laws. While a recent study did find an interactive relationship between trust in government and political ideology (Ryan et al. in Polit Behav 44(2):725-748, 10.1007/s11109-020-09633-2, 2022), no study explores whether the impact of trust in government on support for gun reform is, in fact, a function of partisanship. In this study, we test whether there is an interactive relationship between trust in the government and partisan identification in predicting support for gun reform. Using the 2022 Cooperative Election Study (CES), we estimate logistic regression models that find an interactive effect between trust and partisanship. For Republicans, an increase in trust in government leads to a dramatic increase in support for gun control proposals, and a substantial decrease in support for gun rights expansion. For Democrats, trust in the government has almost no impact on support for gun reform. Further, we find that political ideology has only a small substantive relationship with attitudes on gun reform when interacted with both partisanship and trust in the federal government. The practical takeaway is that to increase support for gun control among Republicans, advocates must also recognize the role of governmental distrust in attitude formation among this partisan group. | Political Behavior | Gun Control; Gun Reform; Partisanship; Trust in Government |
| 2024_221 | Hantzmon, SV; Davenport, CA; Das Gupta, MN; Adekunle, TA; Gaither, SE; Olsen, MK; Pinheiro, SO; Johnson, KS; Mahoney, H; Falls, A; Lloyd, L; Pollak, KI. (2024). Race differences in patient trust and distrust from audio-recorded cardiology encounters. Patient Education and Counseling, 119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2023.108083. | Objective: Many have reported racial disparities in self-reported trust in clinicians but have not directly assessed expressions of trust and distrust in physician-patient encounters. We created a codebook to examine racial differences in patient trust and distrust through audio-recorded cardiologist-patient interactions. Methods: We analyzed data from a randomized controlled trial of audio-recorded outpatient cardiology encounters (50 White and 51 Black patients). We created a codebook for trust and distrust that was applied to recordings between White cardiologists and White and Black patients. We assessed differences in trust, distrust, and guardedness while adjusting for patient age, sex, and first appointment with the cardiologist. Results: Compared to White patients, Black patients had significantly lower expressions of trust ([IRR] [95 % CI]: 0.59 [0.41, 0.84]) and a significantly lower mean guarded/open score ([beta] [95 % CI] -0.38 [-0.71, -0.04]). There was no statistically significant association between race and odds of at least one distrustful expression (OR [95 % CI] 1.36 [0.37, 4.94]). Conclusion and practice implications: We found that coders can reliably identify patient expressions of trust and distrust rather than relying on problematic self-reported measures. Results suggest that White clinicians can improve their communication with Black patients to increase expressions of trust. | Patient Education and Counseling | Trust; Audio-Recorded Encounters; Cardiology; Race Differences |
| 2024_222 | Hao, F; Neely, SR. (2024). Social Network, Trust, Approval of President Biden, Risk Perception, and Annual COVID-19 Booster Intention. Socius, 10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23780231231224634. | The aim of this study is to understand the American public's attitudes toward the annual coronavirus disease booster vaccination, administered beginning in the fall of 2023. The authors carried out a national survey in the spring of 2023, with 40 percent of respondents saying that they are very likely to receive the regular booster when it becomes available. Several underlying predictors are identified through structural equation modeling analyses. People with more vaccine takers in their social circles, greater trust in others, higher approval of President Biden's performance, and greater perceived risk of the pandemic are more likely to receive regular boosters. The social network has the most considerable influence, with the largest coefficient size after comparing all standardized coefficients. The effect of trust is enhanced through social networks, and there is a combined effect of President Biden's approval and risk perception. These findings contribute to the literature and have policy implications for leveraging interventions and optimizing the vaccination campaign. | Socius | COVID-19; Annual Booster; Social Network; Trust; Approval of President Biden; Risk Perception |
| 2024_223 | Harding, R; Nwokolo, A. (2024). Terrorism, Trust, and Identity: Evidence from a Natural Experiment in Nigeria. American Journal of Political Science, 68(3), 942-957. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12769. | We study the effects of terrorism on political trust and national versus ethnic identification. Making use of unexpected attacks by the extremist group Boko Haram in Nigeria, which occurred during the fieldwork of a public opinion survey in 2014, we show that even in a context of weak state institutions and frequent terrorist activities, terror attacks significantly increase political trust. We also find that the attacks significantly reduced the salience of respondents' national identity, instead increasing ethnic identification. These findings run counter to arguments that rally around the flag effects following terror attacks result from increased patriotism. The results have important implications for understanding the effects of terrorism in contexts of weak state institutions, frequent political violence, and politically salient ethnic divisions. | American Journal of Political Science | |
| 2024_224 | Härenstam, A; Björk, L; Corin, L. (2024). Trust chains in public sector organizations and their significance for work unit performance and employee turnover intention. International Public Management Journal, 27(6), 921-947. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10967494.2024.2322142. | In this study, we propose that the concept of trust chains can be used to combine two influential traditions in organizational theory - Luhmann ' s work on vertical trust and Putnam ' s ideas on horizontal trust as a collective asset. Trust chains are then studied empirically by exploring how trust is assessed in the relationships between the employees in work units, the immediate managers, and the top management, including politicians and expert functions in a municipal organization. Aggregated data from questionnaires completed by 1,579 employees and their first-line managers in a Swedish municipality resulted in 126 work units. Cluster analysis identified five different configurations of trust chains with convergent and criterion validity. A solid trust chain with reciprocal links between employees in work units via layers of managers to the top management is clearly the most beneficial situation, while other configurations represent a variety of breaches, with less beneficial outcomes in terms of performance and turnover intentions. | International Public Management Journal | |
| 2024_225 | Hartley, K; Aldag, AM. (2024). Public Trust in Covid-19 Tracking Technology: A Survey of Attitudes About Hong Kong's LeaveHomeSafe Mobile App. Social Indicators Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-024-03471-z. | The effectiveness of governments in addressing the Covid-19 pandemic has been analyzed through numerous perspectives, including state authority, capacity, and legitimacy. In Hong Kong, incumbent political tensions and lack of trust in government potentially weakened public support for official Covid-19 mitigation measures, which included a government-mandated mobile application to monitor personal movements and contacts. This episode invites academic inquiry about public trust in policies and associated technology. Based on a 2022 survey of more than 5,000 residents, this study finds that support for Hong Kong's LeaveHomeSafe application is associated with, among other factors, a predisposition to cooperate with government in sharing personal data. Several control variables, including age, social media use, and vaccination status, are also associated with support for the application. Trust in policies that use technology and data, and agreement that the government was effective in managing the spread of Covid-19, do not significantly associate with public support for the application. This study deepens scholarly understandings about the distinction between public trust in government and public trust in government technology, a topic of recent interest in the context of smart cities and rapid advancements in artificial intelligence. | Social Indicators Research | Covid-19; Technology; Public Health; Public Trust; Hong Kong |
| 2024_226 | Hartzell, CA; Hoddie, M; Page, D. (2024). Civil War Settlements, Perceived Agreement Fairness, and Trust in Political Authorities: Investigating the Influence of Power Sharing on Public Opinion in Divided Societies. Journal of Conflict Resolution, 68(7-8), 1552-1579. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00220027231202774. | Little is known about civil war settlements' effects on public opinion in countries emerging from conflict, cases in which beliefs in agreement fairness and trust in political authorities may influence acceptance of the peace process. We posit that settlements designed to redistribute power and resources will be perceived as fairer and produce larger improvements in trust in the national government for individuals from marginalized groups than for those from dominant groups. Employing original survey data collected in the Philippines, we test these propositions with reference to the country's 2014 peace agreement. We find that marginalized Muslim groups perceive a fairer peace agreement and report improved trust in comparison to the dominant Christian community. Using a survey experiment to analyze the influence of power-redistributing settlement measures, we find that trust in the government is not significantly affected by information regarding power sharing, a result that holds for members of both communities. | Journal of Conflict Resolution | Civil Wars; Peace Agreement; Public Opinion; Trust in Government; Power Sharing; Survey Experiment |
| 2024_227 | Hassan, B. (2024). Performance and trust in child protection systems: a comparative analysis of England and Norway. Journal of Social Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0047279424000114. | Research on the relationship between performance and trust is commonplace in social sciences, yet trust in child protection systems (CPS) remains an emerging area of study. This research delves into how three dimensions of performance - distributive justice, procedural fairness, and functional effectiveness - affect trust in CPS in England and Norway, drawing insights from organisational and social psychology literature. A cross-sectional survey collected data from 981 individuals in England and 1,140 in Norway. Results suggest that procedural fairness and the competences indicator of functional effectiveness significantly and positively impact trust in CPS in both countries. Resources significantly influence trust in Norway's CPS, while distributive justice has no impact on trust in either country's CPS. These findings hold theoretical and practical implications for trust in CPS. | Journal of Social Policy | Trust in CPS; Performance; Distributive Justice; Procedural Fairness; Functional Effectiveness |
| 2024_228 | Hauptman, L; Pavic, I; Casni, AC. (2024). The Influence of Trust in Tax Administration and Gender on Tax Compliance in Slovenia. Lex Localis-Journal of Local Self-Government, 22(3), 140-163. http://dx.doi.org/10.52152/22.3.140-163(2024. | The OECD urges governments to improve tax systems by studying taxpayers' behavior to prevent tax non-compliance. This study focuses on individual Slovene taxpayers aiming to investigate the impact of trust in Tax Administration and gender on tax compliance. In the empirical part of the study, trust and tax compliance were the subject of descriptive statistical analysis, exploratory factor analysis and Spearman correlation coefficients. A Mann-Whitney U test and independent samples median test were performed to evaluate compliance gender differences in tax compliance. The findings unveil that trust in tax administration exhibits a statistically significant and positive correlation with tax compliance intentions in Slovenia while the differences in tax compliance between genders were not confirmed. Taxpayers' fairness perception to gain higher trust should be increased through sufficient information about tax laws and regulations. | Lex Localis-Journal of Local Self-Government | Trust; Gender; Tax Administration; Tax Compliance; Slovenia; Individual Taxpayers |
| 2024_229 | He, YQ; Tan, XM; Wang, JJ; Wiley, J; Huang, YX; Ding, H; Wang, Q; Huang, TH; Sun, M. (2024). Trust, discrimination and preference for shared decision-making in adolescents diagnosed with depression: Implications from Chinese mental health professionals. Patient Education and Counseling, 122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2024.108137. | Background: While evidence suggests that the attitudes of healthcare providers toward medical decision-making in adolescents diagnosed with depression merit exploration, research on their preferences for Shared DecisionMaking (SDM) and the factors affecting these preferences remains limited. Objective: To investigate Chinese mental health professionals' (MHPs) preferences for SDM in adolescents with depression and identify the relationships between their preference for SDM and trust and discrimination. Methods: A cross-sectional design was used in this study. Clinical Decision-making Style-Staff (CDMS-S) was applied to evaluate their preferences for SDM. Physician Trust in the Patient Scale (PTPS) was utilised to assess their trust in consumers. Social Distance Scale to Mental Illness (SDSMI) was utilised to measure their discrimination against people with mental illness. Results: A total of 581 MHPs were identified in China. MHPs rated their preference for participation in decision making (PD) as shared (1.89 +/- 0.472), information (IN) as moderate (2.62 +/- 0.682), and family involvement (FI) as high (3.13 +/- 0.840). The preferences for three decision topics ranked from the highest to the lowest score were working-related decision (2.35 +/- 0.681), general preferences in decision (1.82 +/- 0.581) and medicationrelated decision (1.74 +/- 0.826). The mean score of PTPS and SDSMI were 34.71 (SD=9.709) and 15.17 (SD=4.299), respectively. Logistic regression indicated that the preference for PD was associated with discrimination; the preference for IN was associated with trust, discrimination and SDM-related training experience; and the preference for FI was associated with both trust and discrimination. Conclusions: While MHPs generally exhibit a favourable attitude toward SDM, this positivity is not universally observed across all contexts. There remains room for improvement in the willingness to co-develop medication regimens and share health information. Rational recognition of depression, and building trusting and friendly therapeutic relationships are key to promoting MHPs' preferences for SDM. Practical value: MHPs' preferences for SDM have a significant impact on SDM implementation, which will be promoted by implementing SDM-related training. | Patient Education and Counseling | Adolescent; Depression; Preference; Decision-Making; Discrimination; Trust |
| 2024_230 | Hegewald, S; Schraff, D. (2024). Corruption and trust in the European Parliament: Quasi-experimental evidence from the Qatargate scandal. European Journal of Political Research, 63(4), 1674-1685. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12654. | Citizens' ability to hold corrupt politicians accountable is a key feature of democratic political systems. Particularly in the European Union (EU), such accountability mechanisms are often argued to malfunction due to the EU's complicated and opaque institutional structure, which could compromise voters' basic abilities to detect political malpractice in Brussels. Putting EU voters' attentiveness to the test, we provide quasi-experimental evidence of the causal effect of a recent corruption scandal in the European Parliament. Leveraging an 'Unexpected Event during Survey Design' identification strategy in France and Germany, we document a sizeable negative effect of the so-called Qatargate scandal on public trust in the European Parliament. This provides causal evidence on the presence of attentiveness to EU politics within these electorates. Given the EU's complex institutional structure, we derive two alternative implications from this finding. | European Journal of Political Research | Accountability; Corruption; European Parliament; Political Trust; Qatargate |
| 2024_231 | Hegewald, S. (2024). Locality as a safe haven: place-based resentment and political trust in local and national institutions. Journal of European Public Policy, 31(6), 1749-1774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2023.2291132. | Recently, an emerging body of research has diagnosed a 'crisis of trust' in rural and peripheral areas. Yet, the majority of these works overlook local institutions as a potential alternative source of governance. Relying on original, nationally representative survey data from nine European countries, this article suggests that local institutions act as a safe haven for individuals with high levels of place-based resentment. Substantially, for these individuals, political trust in the local level significantly exceeds political trust in the national level. This dynamic is largely driven by concerns over representation. The stronger citizens feel that their place is overheard, the more they trust local relative to national institutions. This nuances the narrative of the 'crisis of trust' in an important way. Rather than conceiving it as a crisis haunting the political system in general, it seems to be better understood as a crisis of the national level specifically. | Journal of European Public Policy | Political Trust; Place-Based Resentment; Political Geography; Urban-Rural Divide; Benchmarking |
| 2024_232 | Heim, S; Chan-Olmsted, S; Altobelli, CF; Fretschner, M; Wolter, LC. (2024). Exploring Trust in Media Brands Today: Definition, Dimensions and Cross-national Differences. Jmm-International Journal on Media Management, 25(1-2), 59-89. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14241277.2024.2336266. | Understanding consumers' perception of media brands in today's digitalized world is of major importance to media brands and advertisers alike. Influencing the media consumption experience, trust is one of the key drivers of this perception. Based on the differing business models as compared to brands, a specific foundation for the research on media brands is essential. Based on qualitative and quantitative data from Germany, the US, and South Korea we are able to present 17 media categories, building the foundation for a user-centric definition of media brands. Further, we identify eleven dimensions constituting the multidimensional construct of media brand trust. | Jmm-International Journal on Media Management | |
| 2024_233 | Heim, S; Chan-Olmsted, S; Altobelli, CF; Fretschner, M; Wolter, LC. (2024). Towards the measurement of consumer trust in media brands-scale development and validation. Journal of Media Economics http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08997764.2024.2433739. | Media brands in today's digitized economy are facing growing competition and the increasing need for valid parameters to measure success and the perception of their brand. Trust in media brands is one of the most important factors in that regard, influencing the decision for and against certain media brands and driving factors, such as brand equity and usage intention. While research on trust in corporate, product and service brands is abundant, trust research specifically focusing on media brands has been widely neglected. Due to the strong possible impact of singular events particularly on trust in media brands and the connected high variance in consumer trust, a valid tool to track consumer perceptions over time thus would add a worthwhile contribution to media management. Due to significant differences between brands and media brands based on divergent business models, business partners and sources of revenue, currently available brand trust scales, however, cannot simply be applied in the media sector. In our study, we are conducting quantitative, multinational research to establish a valid and reliable media brand trust scale. We aim for the empirically based development of the focal construct building on the framework of media brand trust. The framework results from 11 components derived from previous studies. With this development, we are providing actors of the media economy with a scale to measure consumers' trust in the media brand and generating an understanding of the specific elements required to improve media brands' business operations. | Journal of Media Economics | |
| 2024_234 | Heldt, EC; Camacho, E; Mueller, T. (2024). In Europe we trust: selecting and empowering EU institutions in disruptive circumstances. Journal of European Integration, 46(2), 235-255. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/07036337.2023.2272037. | Over the past decade, the European Union (EU) made significant strides in economic and fiscal policy integration without formal treaty-based changes. After the euro crisis, member states granted the European Central Bank banking supervisory powers. During the pandemic, they entrusted the European Commission with raising EU debt through NextGenerationEurope. This article examines the empowerment of supranational institutions as a deliberate ajustment to disruptive circumstances. By so doing, it demonstrates that empowerment can happen through legislative acts and joint decisions by member states. The study reveals that when states have multiple agent options, like in the banking union, they select the institution they trust the most. Conversely, in nested delegation games, extensive monitoring and reporting requirements, as in the case of NextGenerationEurope, are aimed at avoiding the defection of single member states, what we call principal slack, at the implementation stage. | Journal of European Integration | European Commission; European Central Bank; Empowerment; Delegation; COVID-19 Pandemic |
| 2024_235 | Heo, N; Wu, JJ. (2024). Generalized trust and attitudes toward immigrants in East Asia: A cross-national comparative study. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 100. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.101982. | Generalized trust has been widely discussed as a non-economic determinant influencing public attitudes toward immigrants among natives in Europe. However, associations between generalized trust and public opinions on immigrants remain underexplored in East Asia. This study investigates the association between generalized trust among natives and their attitudes toward immigrants, considering the interaction between generalized trust and country. Utilizing data from the 7th wave of the World Values Survey dataset for three East Asian countries-South Korea, China, and Japan-we fitted two mixed multilevel logistic regression models for two dependent variables in two scenarios: opposition to immigrants as neighbors, and prioritizing nationals in economic adversity. Results reveal that generalized trust was negatively related to natives' reluctance to accept immigrants as neighbors. However, the association was only marginally significant when examining support for in-group favoritism in economic adversity. The impact of generalized trust on these attitudes also exhibited variations by country. Notably, we found a negative association between generalized trust and opposing immigrants as neighbors in China and Japan, while this may not be the case for Korea. | International Journal of Intercultural Relations | Generalized Trust; Attitudes Toward Immigrants; East Asia |
| 2024_236 | Hick, S; Biermann, H; Ziefle, M. (2024). How deep is your trust? A comparative user requirements' analysis of automation in medical and mobility technologies. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02575-0. | In a changing world full of innovative technologies, trust and trust requirements are increasingly important for designing user-centred systems and ensuring their long-term implementation. In this study, we explored and compared the requirements of future users to build trust in the two contexts of medical and mobility technology by considering Ambient Assisted Living technologies (AAL) and Shared Autonomous Vehicles (SAV). We conducted an online survey study with N = 143 participants. The results show significant differences in the evaluation of individual trust requirements in the two contexts about data sharing, data privacy and security as well as customization. Using a cluster analysis, we identified distinct user groups and trust personalities in both contexts (medicine and mobility). The clusters differ in terms of innovation openness and risk readiness, initial trust, and presence of chronic illness. Correlation analyses revealed significant relationships between people's initial perceived trust in technology in the two contexts and their assessment of trust requirements, as well as their behavioural intentions to use SAV or AAL systems. Our findings indicate that trust requirements are context-specific and influenced by individual characteristics. This knowledge can be used to inform developers and distributors of technologies to design, build, and manage systems that meet the needs of future users. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_237 | Higashijima, M; Kadoya, H; Yanai, Y. (2024). The Dynamics of Electoral Manipulation and Institutional Trust in Democracies: Election Timing, Blatant Fraud, and the Legitimacy of Governance. Public Opinion Quarterly http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae022. | This paper explores the dynamic relationship between electoral manipulation and popular trust in political institutions. Governments often manipulate election results by resorting to electoral fraud. They also tilt the electoral field by opportunistically deciding when to hold elections, in other words, election timing maneuvering. How do these two different types of electoral manipulation affect citizens' trust in the government, legislature, and election management bodies (EMBs)? We suggest that although the short-term effects of election timing manipulation are unclear due to its ambiguous nature as an electioneering strategy, substantial electoral margins created by timing maneuvering facilitate smooth decision-making, leading to boosting trust in the government and legislature over the long run. In contrast, as electoral fraud is an unambiguous form of manipulation, it may undermine trust in the government and parliament, although such effects may not last. By combining an original dataset of election timing with existing survey data comprising 335,000 citizens from fifty-eight democratic countries, we find evidence in support of our theoretical expectations. | Public Opinion Quarterly | |
| 2024_238 | Hilo-Merkovich, R; Peer, E; Feldman, Y. (2024). Affidavit aversion: Public preferences for trust-based policy instruments. Regulation & Governance, 18(3), 970-986. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12560. | Regulators who aim to reduce administrative burdens often promote trust-based policy instruments, such as legal affidavits or honesty pledges, as substitutes to traditional bureaucratic procedures. However, little is known on how the general public view such instruments, and whether people would actually comply with them, and under what circumstances. Using a series of experimental vignettes, we examine public preferences toward these instruments under different conditions and contexts. We find that overall, people exhibit an aversion to using affidavits, even when they are inexpensive and can save a considerable amount of time compared to the traditional bureaucratic procedure. In contrast, honesty pledges are largely preferred over both the standard procedure and signing an affidavit. We discuss factors influencing the public choice of trust-based instruments and offer recommendations to help policymakers promote public compliance using behaviorally informed policy instruments. | Regulation & Governance | Administrative Burden; Honesty Pledges; Legal Affidavits; Public Preferences |
| 2024_239 | Hirose, K; Montinola, GR; Winters, MS; Kohno, M. (2024). A matter of trust: Public support for country ownership over aid. Review of International Organizations http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11558-024-09534-7. | International donors emphasize greater recipient-country ownership in the delivery of foreign assistance because it ostensibly promotes the efficient use of resources and strengthens recipient-country administrative capacity. The preferences of citizens in developing countries, however, are not well understood on this matter. Do they prefer that their own governments control foreign aid resources, or are there conditions under which they instead prefer that donors maintain control over how aid is implemented? We explore these questions through parallel survey experiments in Myanmar, Nepal, and Indonesia. Our experimental vignettes include two informational treatments: one about who implements aid (i.e., the donor or the recipient government) and the other about the trustworthiness of the foreign donor. The trust-in-donor treatment, on average, increases levels of support for aid in all three countries. In contrast, we observe heterogenous average treatment effects regarding aid control: control of aid by the donor rather than the government reduces levels of support in Indonesia and Myanmar, whereas it increases support levels in Nepal. We show how the cross-country variation in ATEs originates in consistent individual-level variation in reactions to aid control that is more shaped by respondents' trust in their own government than their trust in the donor. | Review of International Organizations | International Development; Foreign Aid; Public Opinion; Survey Experiment; Asia |
| 2024_240 | Hitman, G; Shiri, I; Lewin, E. (2024). Palestinian society in the West Bank: trust and self-sacrifice. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2336699. | Analysts strive to predict future scenarios of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, concentrating on the question of whether Palestinians will be willing to pay the costs of violent struggle. In contrast with various policy assessments, this paper takes political trust as a factor that enables us to anticipate Palestinian social reactions as a point of departure. We interviewed 90 West Bank inhabitants, focusing on six major issues: the armed struggle against Israel, democracy and human rights, the internal PLO-Hamas rift, the standard of living, corruption in the PA, and political trust in the PA. Our findings match the quantitative results of Khalil Shikaki's PCPSR public opinion polls of the West Bank. We conclude that the lack of democracy, the continuing internal rift, the low standard of living, and the manifestations of governmental corruption erode political trust within Palestinian society. Based on research from other places around the globe, such a loss of trust dissuades recruiting people for national struggles. Accordingly, a new popular intifada seems unlikely. However, the Palestinians interviewed also objected to the occupation and its ramifications, which is not an encouraging insight for peace-seekers in the Middle East. | Cogent Social Sciences | Palestinians; Trust; Self-Sacrifice; West Bank; Citizenship - Political Sociology; Human Rights; Race & Ethnic Studies; Social Policy; Cultural Studies |
| 2024_241 | Ho, MS. (2024). Relational tactics and trust in high-risk activism: Anonymity, preexisting ties, and bonding in Hong Kong's 2019-2020 protest. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(4), 499-516. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152231220524. | Trust, the belief that others will fulfill their expected obligations, is of vital importance to social movements. While most research focuses on how trust facilitates protests, this article examines how high-risk activism participants deploy various relational tactics to reduce uncertainties and risks. With an in-depth case study of Hong Kong's protest movement in 2019-2020, this article finds anonymity, preexisting ties, and bonding are the three common responses. Across various interpersonal settings, participants strategize personal trust or minimize their risk exposure, finding ways to collaborate with strangers or acquaintances. Trust is more than a preexisting resource; it can also be created during movement mobilization. Trust enables protest participation, and it also aids in logistics provisioning, as well as sheltering and aftercare of activists. Finally, government repression has worked in part because it aims to undermine the trust networks built up during the movement. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | Anonymity; Bonding; Preexisting Ties; Relational Tactics; Trust |
| 2024_242 | Ho, SS; Cheung, JC. (2024). Trust in artificial intelligence, trust in engineers, and news media: Factors shaping public perceptions of autonomous drones through UTAUT2. Technology in Society, 77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102533. | Traditional trust in artificial intelligence (AI) scholarship has assumed trust as an attitude placed exclusively in the AI system. We offer a more articulated view of trust in AI, extending the extended Unified Theory of Acceptance and Use of Technology (UTAUT2) model by integrating news media attention, trust in AI system, trust in AI engineers, and attitude to examine factors predicting public's intention to use autonomous passenger drones. Based on an online survey of adult Singaporeans (N = 1002), results from hierarchical OLS regression analyses demonstrated the direct effects of news media attention, trust in AI system, and attitude, alongside several UTAUT2 constructs, on use intention. Results of subsequent mediation analyses using structural equation modelling between trust in AI system, trust in AI engineers and use intention through attitude were consistent with a partial and full mediation effect, respectively. Notably, both trust constructs were influenced by news media attention in comparable magnitudes. In this sense, trust placed in AI system can be seen separately from that placed in engineers responsible for AI development. Furthermore, we found support for including attitude in the UTAUT2 main model for emerging technologies in which information and practice remain largely inaccessible to the public. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. | Technology in Society | Trust in AI; Trust in AI Engineers; News Media Attention; Attitude; Public Perceptions; UTAUT2 |
| 2024_243 | Holtrup, S; Henke, J; Steffan, D; Möhring, W. (2024). The Reciprocal Effects of Perceived Accuracy and Trust in News Media: A Two-Wave Online Panel Study in the Context of the 2021 German Federal Election. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 101(1), 156-177. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10776990231202692. | Trust in the news media is an important prerequisite for democracies. Building on media trust and accuracy research, we investigate reciprocal effects between perceived accuracy and trust in news. We implemented a two-wave online panel survey (N = 952) in the context of the 2021 German federal election. For media individuals' use, we find that trust and accuracy are reciprocally related and are influenced by media use. For the media in general, only trust has an effect on accuracy, whereas media skepticism and cynicism are only associated with trust, not with accuracy. Further results and their implications are discussed. | Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly | News Media Trust; News Accuracy; Political News; Longitudinal Panel-Study; Audience Research |
| 2024_244 | Hong, YR; Lee, NMY; Kirkpatrick, CE; Hu, SS; Lee, SKY; Hinnant, A. (2024). Trust Me, I'm a Doctor. How TikTok Videos from Different Sources Influence Clinical Trial Participation. Health Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2346680. | This study experiments with TikTok videos to promote clinical trial participation. More specifically, it examines how short-form video sources (doctors vs. prior volunteers for clinical trials) influence perceived source credibility, self-efficacy, and behavioral intention to participate in clinical trials. Findings from this online experiment (N = 396) showed that doctor sources led to greater behavioral intention through enhancing source credibility compared to prior volunteer sources. Alternatively, prior volunteer sources increased behavioral intention via enhanced self-efficacy for participants with low trust in doctors. These findings contribute to the understanding of how short-form video sources act as heuristic cues, leading to persuasion outcomes. Overall, we recommend featuring doctors when using video-based messages to promote clinical trial participation. Also, this study emphasizes the need for health communication practitioners to consider prior volunteers as spokespersons when targeting populations with low baseline trust in doctors. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_245 | Hrbkova, L; Kudrnác, A. (2024). Fear, trust, and compliance with COVID-19 measures: a study of the mediating effect of trust in government on the relationship between fear and compliance. Journal of Public Policy, 44(3), 527-545. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X24000059. | As the COVID-19 pandemic became an unprecedented global threat, it was accompanied by an increase in trust in governments as well as fear among the public. Previous research suggests that both institutional trust and fear contribute to the willingness of citizens to comply with anti-pandemic measures. Moreover, fear during the contagion also increases trust in government. This article presents a test of the mediation of the effects of fear on compliance through trust. In addition, it differentiates between three different facets of COVID-19-related fear: fear of the disease, fear of economic consequences, and fear of political consequences. The results suggest that while fear of the disease increases compliance, fear of political consequences decreases compliance. Moreover, the effects of fear are mediated through trust in government. The negative impact of fear of political consequences on compliance increased between April and December 2020. | Journal of Public Policy | COVID-19; Fear; Public Policy Compliance; Rally-Round-The-Flag; Trust in Government |
| 2024_246 | Hruska, J; Balík, S. (2024). Outcomes, Politicians, or the Institution Itself? Using a Czech Case to Explain Trust Formation in Different Political Institutions and the Implications for Voter Turnout. East European Politics and Societies http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08883254241229730. | Compared to the scholarship on general political trust, relatively little attention has been paid to institutional trust. Research on the subject tends to treat political institutions as single entities, ignoring the fact that different institutions can enjoy, in the long term, very different levels of trust. This paper builds on the assumption that institutional trust may be formed differently depending on the institution type, and thus aims to explain how trust is formed in different types of democratic institutions. Moreover, it explains how the relationship between trust in a political institution and voter turnout can change depending on how trust is formed. The study is based on the content analysis of 30 semi-structured interviews from the Czech Republic. The study shows that respondents tend to develop trust in a political institution based on their assessment of the institution's current performance and outcomes rather than their assessment of the institution itself. The study argues that an integral part of the concept of trust in a political institution is the popularity of the politicians who represent the institution. However, how trust is formed depends on the type of institution, which has important implications for measuring this concept. The relationship between institutional trust and turnout may also vary depending on how trust in an institution is formed. Thus, a potential correlation between trust in an institution and electoral participation may exist depending on the type of an institution. | East European Politics and Societies | Institutional Trust; Legitimacy; Personalization; Political Institutions; Voter Turnout |
| 2024_247 | Hu, Q; Pu, YP. (2024). Official media use, political participation, and government trust structure an empirical study based on the attitude of Chinese netizens. Rationality and Society, 36(4), 528-557. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10434631241266494. | While research has explored the relationship between official media use and hierarchical government trust, there is a lack of studies that delve deeper into the relationship between official media use and government trust structure. Therefore, this study uses data from the 2017-2018 Chinese netizens' social awareness non-tracking survey and employs rational choice theory and process-based trust mechanisms theory to empirically explore, for the first time, the relationship between official media use and government trust structure, along with its underlying mechanisms. Government trust structure is divided into four categories based on the different levels of trust in the central government and local government: paradoxical government trust, equal distrust, hierarchical government trust and equal trust. Among them, hierarchical government trust can be divided into central-distrust-local-distrust, central-trust-local-distrust, and central-trust-local-trust. The study finds that although hierarchical government trust decreases, it is the dominant form of government trust structure, and central-trust-local-distrust is the dominant form of hierarchical government trust. The transformation of other government trust structures into hierarchical government trust of central-trust-local-trust is associated with official media use, and political participation has a mediating effect in official media use and government trust structure. Our findings not only deepen the understanding of rational choice theory and process-based trust mechanism theory but also expand the comprehensive understanding of government trust structure in authoritarian regimes like China. | Rationality and Society | Official Media Use; Government Trust Structure; Political Participation |
| 2024_248 | Hu, SG; Huang, T; Hu, FF; Hu, LY. (2024). Impacts of social media usage on consumers' engagement in social commerce: the roles of trust and cultural distance. International Journal of Mobile Communications, 24(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJMC.2024.141876. | The prevalence of social media transforms e-business into social commerce and facilitates consumers' engagement in cross-cultural social commerce. However, social commerce operations encounter unpredictable challenges in cross-cultural business environment. It is vital to further investigate how contextual elements affect consumers' trust and their engagement when they are exposed to the complexity of cross-cultural business environment. The stimuli-organism-response paradigm is employed to examine how the two dimensions of social media usage influence consumers' engagement in cross-cultural social commerce. The current study surveyed 2,058 samples from 135 countries, and the regression analysis results illustrate the mechanism whereby informational and socialising usage of social media positively influences consumers' engagement in social commerce through consumers' trust toward social commerce websites. Additionally, the associations between two aspects of social media usage and consumers' trust towards social commerce are negatively moderated by cultural distance. Both theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. | International Journal of Mobile Communications | Social Commerce; Trust; Engagement; Cultural Distance; Social Media Usage; SMU |
| 2024_249 | Huang, HF; Intawan, C; Nicholson, SP. (2024). Political trust and public support for propaganda in China. Research & Politics, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20531680231225308. | Authoritarian governments heavily rely on propaganda as a means of maintaining rule. Although scholars have examined the effects of propaganda exposure, much less is known about attitudes toward propaganda messages. In this study, we explore the foundations underlying propaganda support in China by examining the role of political trust, a primary ingredient for explaining public support for government actions and compliance. Using a survey with a broad sample of Chinese internet users and taking measures to address endogeneity, we found that trust in government, whether measured indirectly (implicitly) or directly (explicitly), is a vital source of positive attitudes toward propaganda and hence its potential effects. Our results have important implications for understanding the foundations of propaganda support, the scope of political trust, and the value of indirect measures for gauging public opinion in authoritarian contexts. They also suggest that propaganda may lose its bite under certain conditions. | Research & Politics | Political Trust; Implicit Attitudes; Implicit Trust; Propaganda; Authoritarian Politics; Chinese Politics |
| 2024_250 | Huang, YHC; Liu, RH; Sun, J. (2024). Understanding the conditional media effects: trust, new media exposure, and preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Chinese Journal of Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17544750.2024.2374269. | This study analyzed three-wave panel survey data gathered from August 2020 (n = 3,190) to April 2022 (n = 1,153) in Hong Kong to examine the effects of conditional media on preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 (coronavirus disease) pandemic. By using the differential susceptibility to media effects model (DSMM), this study demonstrates the usefulness of trust as an effective cultivator of media exposure, especially with regard to the contradictory effects of interpersonal and institutional trust on the use of new media. Moreover, this study innovatively suggests that the nature of media, specifically new media decentralization, also influences differential media effects in the DSMM. The analysis of longitudinal survey data further revealed a significant mediating role of cognitive risk perception in people's preventive behaviors during the COVID-19 pandemic. These findings make theoretical contributions to the DSMM and to the understanding of conditional media effects. The practical implications are discussed in this paper. | Chinese Journal of Communication | Media Effect; Conditional; DSMM; Trust; New Media; Risk Perception |
| 2024_251 | Hubner, AY; Bullock, OM. (2024). Why Science Should Have a Female Face: Female Experts Increase Liking, Competence, and Trust in Science. Science Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10755470241295676. | Historically, female experts have been perceived as less competent but more likable than their male counterparts. This experimental study (n = 958) examines the intricate relationship between likability, competence, scientist gender, participant gender, and trust scientific expertise. Our results illuminated the mediating role of likability in shaping perceptions of competence, where heightened likability positively influenced perceived competence. Moreover, exposure to science messages from female scientists significantly increased trust in science through a serial mediation model. Notably, participants liked the scientist of the opposite gender; thus we did not observe a gender affinity effect. | Science Communication | Gender Representation; Women in STEM; Credibility; Likability; Social Media |
| 2024_252 | Huhe, N; Chen, J. (2024). Stratified Political Trust in a Nondemocratic Society: Magnitude, Forms, and Sources of Political Trust in Urban China. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 29(1), 55-75. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11366-023-09844-4. | There has been a vibrant literature on political trust in China. However, a closer examination of this large literature points to no clear consensus on the measurement and sources of such support. To contribute to this literature, this study is to explore the magnitude, forms, and sources of political trust in urban China. In this study, we explore an alternative approach to the study of political trust, which treats political trust along two straightforward yet distinct dimensions: horizontal and vertical dimensions. Based on this approach, we find that people's political trust in urban China varies vertically, across different levels of government institutions (e.g., central and local governments), while it changes little horizontally, among different government institutions at the same level. Moreover, we find that the formation of political trust in each level of government institutions - along the vertical dimension - is shaped by a distinct combination of sociopolitical factors. We also explore some important theoretical and political implications from our findings. | Journal of Chinese Political Science | Political Support; Hierarchical Trust; Local Collusion; Factor Analysis |
| 2024_253 | Hwang, H; Anderson, KF; Vedlitz, A; Bixler, RP. (2024). Unveiling health inequities: Exploring the role of social capital and public trust in bridging racial disparities in health-care coverage for Hispanics. Social Science Quarterly, 105(6), 1938-1952. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13452. | ObjectiveThis study examines the racial disparity in health-care coverage between Hispanics and whites. Racial disparities in accessing health-care services have worsened in the United States, exacerbating social and economic inequality between whites and racial/ethnic minority groups. While existing research primarily attributes these disparities to income differences among racial groups, this study focuses on the mediating role of social capital and the moderating role of public trust in formal institutions, while controlling for income and other socioeconomic factors.MethodsDrawing on a survey data set collected in the Austin area of Texas in 2020, we test a series of regression models using mediating and moderating analyses.ResultsWe find that Hispanics, as a major ethnic minority group, have lower levels of social capital compared to whites, which contributes to the gap in health-care coverage. The results indicate that social capital has mediating effects in positively transmitting the effect of being Hispanic on access to health-care coverage. In addition, trust in nonprofits positively moderates the main relationship.ConclusionThe study suggests that promoting social capital for Hispanics can help bridge racial disparities in accessing healthcare. Our study provides policy recommendations for nonprofits to collaborate with government agencies. | Social Science Quarterly | |
| 2024_254 | Ihlen, O; Fladmoe, A; Steen-Johnsen, K. (2024). Uncertainty Communication in a High-Trust Society: Source Type, Political Preference, and Trust. International Journal of Communication | Studies of uncertainty communication have produced mixed results concerning the consequences for trust. In this article, we focus on uncertainty communication as it concerns trust in a message about vaccine effectiveness and safety, seeing source type and political preference as mediators. These factors have become increasingly important as public health issues are becoming politicized in several countries. To test these relationships, we conducted a survey experiment in Norway-a high-trust society. Our results show a consistent tendency that statements expressing certainty were trusted more, especially when the source of the statement was the government or public health authorities. Importantly, however, the differences between statements expressing certainty and uncertainty were small. Also, when asked about their trust in messages from the public health authorities, respondents' political beliefs played a minor role. The relatively high acceptance of uncertainty communication may be interpreted in the light of generally high levels of trust in authorities, as well as low levels of polarization in the Norwegian context, in general, and in the context of the pandemic. | International Journal of Communication | Uncertainty; Trust; COVID-19; Public Health Institutions; Politicization |
| 2024_255 | Ischen, C; Araujo, TB; Voorveld, HAM; Van Noort, G; Smit, EG. (2024). Persuasion at First Sight? Testing the Reciprocal Relationship of Repeated Interactions With Virtual Assistants, Trust, and Persuasion. International Journal of Communication | Virtual assistants (VAs) as a new communication source enable businesses to repeatedly interact with consumers, increasing the opportunities for persuasive attempts in the form of (personalized) product- or service-related recommendations. However, knowledge on whether consumers build trusting relationships with VAs through repeated interactions and whether this subsequently influences an assistant's persuasiveness is lacking. This study tests the reciprocal relationship of repeated interactions, trust, and brand-related outcomes in a preregistered 15-day longitudinal within-subjects experiment including 3 measurement points. In daily interactions, participants received recipe suggestions including branded product recommendations from a VA (n = 242). Findings show a positive relationship between VA trust and persuasion and longitudinal effects of increased trust in a VA, resulting in a subsequent increase in positive attitudes toward the recommended brand. We show that persuasion does not happen at first sight, as some interaction is needed for persuasiveness to unfold. | International Journal of Communication | Virtual Assistant; Repeated Interactions; Trust; Persuasion |
| 2024_256 | Iso, AS; Novoa-Jaso, MF; Serrano-Puche, J. (2024). Disinformation and Media Trust in the South of Europe: A Moderated Mediation Model. Index Comunicacion, 14(2), 109-135. http://dx.doi.org/10.62008/ixc/14/02Desinf. | Our study explores how the type of news source acts as an intermediary in the connection between people's concerns about disinformation and their overall trust in the media. Additionally, we examine how a person's ideology influences their choice of news sources and, ultimately, their trust in news in general. To do so, we examine data from the Digital News Report 2022 (N= 10,106) for five news markets: France (N= 2059), Greece (N= 2004), Italy (N= 2004), Portugal (N= 2011), and Spain (N= 2028). The results confirm that ideology plays a moderating role in the relationships between <>, <>, and <>. Increased concern about disinformation significantly decreases trust in the news. Individuals who are concerned about disinformation have higher consumption of traditional media (press, radio, and television). This research presents a moderated model that explains how these various factors interact to shape media trust. | Index Comunicacion | Disinformation; Trust; News; Legacy Media; Digital Media; Mediated Moderation Model |
| 2024_257 | Jaffe, J; Loffredo, JR; Baltz, S; Flores, A; Stewart , C III. (2024). Trust in the Count: Improving Voter Confidence with Post-election Audits. Public Opinion Quarterly http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae029. | Post-election audits are thought to bolster voter confidence in elections, but it is unclear which aspects of audits drive public trust. Using preregistered vignette and conjoint survey experiments administered by YouGov on a sample of 2,000 American respondents, we find that how an audit is conducted is more important than what an audit finds. Structural features of audits, like who conducts it and how its results are announced, turn out to be more consequential to voter evaluations of election results than the actual discrepancy found. Moreover, while Democrats and Republicans have increasingly divided views of the state of democracy in the United States, they are similarly receptive to information presented about audits and largely agree that audits are effective tools for detecting errors in vote counting. Our findings thus reinforce the expectation that audits do increase voter trust and highlight that election administrators can strengthen voter confidence by making audits as transparent as possible. | Public Opinion Quarterly | |
| 2024_258 | Jaime-Castillo, AM; Herreros, F. (2024). Trust and Inequality of Opportunities. Political Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217241282846. | There is a vast literature on the effect of inequality on trust, establishing that equality must be a pre-condition for the emergence of trust. However, most empirical research either focuses on case studies or uses measures of income inequality, such as the Gini index. In this article, we argue that a measure of inequality of opportunities is preferable to focusing on inequality of outcomes, as it taps into the psychological foundations of trust. In contexts where people feel effort is not adequately rewarded because individuals get ahead due to their family background or individual advantages based on luck, it is difficult to establish the conditions for trustful exchanges and long-lasting relationships. We use data from the European Social Survey to break down income into three different sources: equitable income, inherited social (dis-)advantage, and individual (dis-)advantage. Our measure of inequality of opportunities at the societal level is built on the aggregation of inherited social (dis-)advantage at the individual level. Multilevel models prove the negative effect of personal (dis-)advantages on trust. Panel data analysis indicates that living in societies in which inequality of opportunities is higher leads to lower levels of social trust. | Political Studies | Trust; Inequality; Inequility of Opportunities |
| 2024_259 | Jan, IU; Ji, SG. (2024). Relationships Among Supervisors' Authentic Leadership, Ostracism, Perceived Supervisor's Trust and Commitment to Customer Services: Evidence From Frontline Service Employees of Small Stores. Sage Open, 14(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241252488. | The influential roles of supervisor's leadership in the context of a small store are not studied and it is unclear how it affects the attitudinal and behavioral outcomes of frontline service employees. Drawing on the social exchange theory, the purpose of this study is three folds. First, this study aims to examine the role of supervisors' authentic leadership and supervisor ostracism on frontline service employees' perceived supervisor trust. Second, this study investigates the effects of frontline service employees' perceived supervisor trust on commitment to customer services and store affective commitment. Finally, the positive role of store affective commitment on frontline service employees' commitment to customer services is examined. A survey-based was used to collect 203 responses from frontline service employees of coffee shops in Korea. Covariance-based structural equation modeling (CB-SEM) was conducted to test the hypotheses. The results indicated that a supervisor's authentic leadership is positively whereas supervisor ostracism is negatively associated with supervisor trust. Similarly, supervisor trust has a significant positive effect on the frontline service employee's commitment to customer services and store affective commitment. Finally, frontline service employees' store affective commitment has a significant positive effect on the commitment to customer services. This research offers practical implications for managers of frontline service employees, particularly in the selection, training, promotion, and socialization process of supervisors of small stores in general and in coffee shops in particular. Practitioners interested to increase frontline service employees' commitment to customer services and store affective commitment can leverage the findings of this study. | Sage Open | Frontline Service Employees; Supervisor Authentic Leadership; Supervisor Ostracism; Supervisor Trust; Store Affective Commitment; Commitment To Customer Services; Small Stores |
| 2024_260 | Jeffery, CP. (2024). 'Trust us! we know what we are doing!' Parent-adolescent digital conflict in Australian families. Journal of Children and Media, 18(4), 472-488. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17482798.2024.2358947. | Networked technologies and device use have become a significant source of conflict between parents and their children, negatively affecting family cohesion and wellbeing. Drawing on the findings of a participatory action research project which consisted of family workshops designed to discuss, and ultimately reduce, family digital conflict, this article explores the main sources of digital conflict amongst Australian families. Four main causes of digital conflict were reported by parents and their children: the amount of time that young people spend online and the subsequent displacement of other tasks considered by parents as more worthwhile; inappropriate content; the perceived effects of digital media use on children's behaviour, and sibling conflict. Findings also revealed differing perspectives and knowledges about the value of digital technologies between parents and children which contributed to family conflict. The findings point towards a greater need for interventions which facilitate a more democratic approach to digital parenting, premised upon parental listening, negotiation, and mutual understanding. Prior state of knowledge: A number of international studies show that networked technologies are a significant source of family conflict and affect family relationships and dynamics in various ways.Novel contribution: This study explores this topic from the Australian perspective. It also contributes to prior research by exploring parent and child knowledges and perspectives and how the divergence in these knowledges and perspectives contribute to family conflict.Practical implications: This study has implications for online safety providers and policymakers. It points to a greater need for online safety interventions, policies and resource that facilitate family discussion, parental listening and mutual understanding about media use to reduce family conflict. | Journal of Children and Media | Family Conflict; Parenting; Adolescents; Digital Media; Parental Mediation |
| 2024_261 | Jensen, C; Piatak, J. (2024). Public Service Motivation and Trust in Government: An Examination Across the Federal, State, and Local Levels in the United States. American Review of Public Administration, 54(2), 107-118. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02750740231200449. | In the United States, trust in government across the federal, state, and local levels has been on the decline for decades. With increasing polarization and politicization, the work of public administrators is frequently made more difficult by challenges that stem from low levels of public trust-responding to these challenges as well as recent calls that encourage public administrators to regain the trust of the public they serve. Could public service motivation (PSM) promote trust in government? We examine the association between PSM and trust in government across the federal, state, and local levels of government in the United States. We find that the association between PSM and governmental trust varies by level of government. At the state and local levels, PSM is positively associated with trust in government. However, we find no significant relationship between PSM and trust at the federal level. Thus, there exists the potential for state and local administrators to use PSM to build trust in the government and to facilitate improved policy implementation. Our findings also provide insight into how key predictors of public trust in government vary at the federal, state, and local levels of the U.S. government. | American Review of Public Administration | Trust in Government; Public Service Motivation; Federalism; State Government; Local Government |
| 2024_262 | Jeong, JS; Kim, SY. (2024). Risk Perception and Preventive Behavior During the COVID-19 Pandemic : Testing the Effects of Government Trust and Information Behaviors. Health Communication, 39(2), 376-387. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2166698. | Given the absence of COVID-19 treatments, the best way to control the spread of the virus is to break the chain of infection by increasing public participation in preventive behaviors recommended by health authorities. This study proposes a moderated mediation model of information behaviors (e.g. information seeking and information verification) and trust in government that explores the relationship between risk perception and preventive behaviors regarding COVID-19. Using a survey study in South Korea, we conducted the moderated mediation analysis with latent moderated structural equation modeling (LMS). We found serial mediation effects for risk perception, information behaviors, and preventive behaviors, as people both seek out information and verify that information before adopting preventive behaviors. Additionally, trust in government moderated information behaviors in the relationship between risk perception and preventive behaviors, suggesting that trust in government encourages people to adopt more preventive actions via information seeking and information verification. Further implications are discussed to promote public understanding of the health crisis and public participation in preventive measures. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_263 | Jha, CK; Tripathi, I. (2024). Terrorist Attacks and Trust in Institutions: Micro Evidence From Europe. Journal of Conflict Resolution http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00220027241289843. | The existing literature on terrorism focuses on the rally-around-the-flag-effect - a relatively short-term phenomenon. The non-immediate effects of terrorist attacks on trust in institutions, however, remain largely unexplored. Arguing that maintaining law and order and upholding peace is considered the responsibility of the political and legal institutions in democracies, we theorize the accountability effect suggesting that terrorist activities indicate institutional failures in preventing casualties, undermining residents' trust in these institutions. Using over 350,000 individual-level observations from the European Social Survey, we find evidence of the accountability effect showing that exposure to terrorist activities undermines self-reported trust in various national and international institutions, including the parliament, legal institutions, the police, politicians, political parties, the European Parliament, and the United Nations. Whereas this negative relationship does not weaken with additional terrorist attacks, strong governance and high trust in institutions mitigate these adverse effects. Lastly, terrorist attacks do not affect trust among people. | Journal of Conflict Resolution | Accountability; Terrorism; Trust; Institutions; Governance; Conflict; D74; D90; O17 |
| 2024_264 | Jiang, SH; Wu, ZY; Zhang, XY; Ji, Y; Xu, JY; Liu, P; Liu, Y; Zheng, J; Zhao, L; Chen, JX. (2024). How does patient-centered communication influence patient trust?: the roles of patient participation and patient preference. Patient Education and Counseling, 122. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2024.108161. | Objective: The aim of this study was to examine the effects of patient-centered communication, patient participation, and patient preference on patient trust in the context of China. Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted involving 217 cancer patients in China. Mediation and moderation analyses were performed to examine the relationships among the study variables. Results: First, patient-centered communication increased patient participation in decision-making, which, in turn, enhanced patient trust. Second, patient-centered communication did not have a direct effect on patient trust. Third, patient preference for a passive role in decision-making weakened the relationship between patient participation and patient trust. Conclusion: The results underscore the significant effect of facilitating patient participation in linking patientcentered communication to patient trust. However, medical communication should also respond to patients' preferred roles in the decision-making process. Practice implications: Doctors should provide patients with opportunities to ask questions and express their concerns. In addition, they should evaluate patients' preferred degree of involvement before inviting them to contribute so as to respect their preferences and values. | Patient Education and Counseling | Patient Participation; Patient -Centered Communication; Cancer Patient; Patient Preference; Patient Trust |
| 2024_265 | Jiménez-Loaisa, FJ; Jareno-Ruiz, D. (2024). Ideological polarization over science in Spain: the case of antiscientific attitudes, conspiracy beliefs, and trust in scientists. Methaodos-Revista de Ciencias Sociales, 12(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.17502/mrcs.v12i2.821. | Social polarization over scientific facts has recently intensified due to the proliferation of populist movements and political parties. Drawing on data from the Social Perception of Science and Technology Survey conducted by the Spanish Foundation for Science and Technology (FECYT), we examine ideological polarization over science in Spain. We employANOVA to analyze the formation of ideological groups concerning three theoretical constructs: anti-science attitudes, conspiracy beliefs, and trust in scientists. The ideological groups identified include left-wing populism, left-wing, right-wing, and right-wing populism. The findings indicate a clear ideological polarization within the Spanish population regarding the three variables studied. Generally, left-wing and rightwing groups display a greater tendency toward pro-science attitudes. On the other hand, right-wing populist groups are more likely to adopt anti-scientific stances, endorse conspiracy beliefs, and exhibit lower trust in scientists. However, it cannot be argued that these groups adopt extremely radical positions with respect to the constructs analyzed. | Methaodos-Revista de Ciencias Sociales | Cultural Authority of Science; Scientific Consensus; Social Perception of Science; Populism; Expert Systems. |
| 2024_266 | Jin, S; Hu, Y; Meng, TG. (2024). Why Economic Inequality Undermines Political Trust: An Analysis of Mechanisms. Public Opinion Quarterly, 88(2), 337-358. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae013. | Research suggests that economic inequality reduces political trust after the public recognizes the inequality and perceives it as a failure of the political system in Western democracies. This study challenges this presumed output evaluation model (OEM) both theoretically and empirically. We provide an alternative mediator evaluation model (MEM) contending that objective inequality affects political trust through government-performance mediators, without requiring accurate public perception of inequality or specific regime types. With nationwide economic inequality and public opinion data from China, we examined both the OEM implication and four MEM mechanisms through impartial governance, responsiveness, judicial fairness, and anti-corruption efforts. Findings indicate that the mediating mechanisms, rather than direct inequality, shape political trust, with robust evidence even after addressing endogeneity. This study broadens the understanding of the intricate relationship between systemic conditions and individual perceptions, offering significant insights into the dynamics of trust in political institutions in a general sense. | Public Opinion Quarterly | |
| 2024_267 | Jones-Bodie, A. (2024). When everyone loses: Exploring the emotional cost of broken trust and nonprofit wrongdoing. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 32(2), 250-265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2023.2263122. | This project explores narratives of nonprofit wrongdoing through media coverage and organizational responses exhibited in four individual cases, representing four common types of nonprofit organizations and four distinct types of wrongdoing. Through a thematic analysis of over 450 texts, the findings from this study provide an initial examination of how nonprofit wrongdoing has been conceptualized and the discourses surrounding issues of trust, focusing on the emotional cost and fallout of nonprofit wrongdoing as a key component of broken trust. | Atlantic Journal of Communication | |
| 2024_268 | Jones, C; Trott, V; Robards, B; Roberts, S. (2024). 'You can't trust the mainstream media': exploring shifts in racist, homophobic, transphobic, sexist, antisemitic and Islamophobic sentiment within Australian far-right alternative news media. Media International Australia http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1329878X241291312. | Alternative news media, which opposes mainstream news media, has been utilised by the far right to proliferate their ideology. This study explores how the scale of discussion, and negative framing, of different groups that are commonly targeted by the far right changes over time. Taking 7089 articles published by a prominent Australian far-right alternative news media outlet over a 7.5-year period, and a corpus of 311 keywords, a keyword frequency analysis and sentiment analysis establish the scale of discussion and negative framing of groups across four time states. Additionally, a computational word frequency analysis in tandem with a qualitative close-reading explores the context of discussions. The findings identify a range of targets of the far right, each centred around different political, racial, religious, gendered and sexual identities. A long-term shift towards extreme right ideologies is found, through increasingly hostile attitudes towards LGBTQIA + people, escalating antisemitism and direct engagement with neo-Nazism. | Media International Australia | Alternative News Media; Far Right; Antisemitism; Islamophobia; Transphobia; Homophobia |
| 2024_269 | Jorgensen, F; Bor, A; Petersen, MB. (2024). Increased pressure lowered trust among unvaccinated during the COVID-19 pandemic: Effects of the announcement of reintroducing vaccination passports in Denmark. European Journal of Political Research, 63(4), 1686-1698. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12656. | During the COVID-19 pandemic, the imposition of moralistically justified costs on unvaccinated individuals was used to incentivize vaccination uptake. Here, we ask whether such a strategy creates adverse consequences in the form of lowered trust in the pandemic response among unvaccinated individuals, which could jeopardize their compliance with the broader set of health interventions. As our empirical case, we use a press conference held by the Danish government on 8 November 2021, where COVID-19-vaccination passports were reintroduced, in part, to pressure unvaccinated people to take up the vaccine. We analyse the effects of the press conference using daily, nationally representative survey data (total N = 24,934) employing a difference-in-differences design. We demonstrate that the press conference decreased the trust in the pandemic management by 11 percentage points among unvaccinated individuals, while trust remained high among vaccinated individuals. Moralistic cost imposition also reduced collective action motivation and coping appraisal among unvaccinated individuals, and, while it increased societal threat appraisal among vaccinated people, it failed to do so among unvaccinated individuals. Our findings imply that decision-makers using moralized cost imposition as a health intervention should be aware of its potential unintended adverse consequences. | European Journal of Political Research | Trust; Moralization; Cost Imposition; Vaccination, COVID-19 Pandemic |
| 2024_270 | Juen, CM. (2024). The Impact of Government Participation on the Political Trust of Populist Party Supporters. Government and Opposition, 59(2), 425-440. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/gov.2023.32. | Citizens are more trustful of politics if their preferred party is an electoral winner and becomes part of the government. However, there remains the question of whether this positive effect of joining the government also holds for supporters of populist parties. Populists show low levels of political trust, as they strongly criticize the political elite. This study argues that voters of populist parties perceive the political system as more responsive to their concerns when their preferred party becomes part of the government and so they become more trustful of politics. Drawing on the case of Austria, the analyses demonstrate that political trust among populist party voters is higher when their party is in government. In contrast, non-populist voters' level of political trust is more stable, even when their party is not in government. | Government and Opposition | Populism; Political Trust; Government Participation; Austria; Winner-Loser Gap |
| 2024_271 | Jurisic, RI; Dabo, K; Stanic, MK. (2024). The Myth of Influencers: Does Generation Z Really Trust Them?. Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems, 22(4), 378-400. http://dx.doi.org/10.7906/indecs.22.4.1. | For many, modern communication is unimaginable without social media, which created the foundations for the emergence and development of new opinion leaders. These so-called influencers seek to create connected and stable communities of followers by publishing content on their official profiles. The main goal of this article, based on the results of qualitative content analysis and quantitative survey research, is to conclude how Generation Z perceives influencers and their communication on social media and what the connection is between the attitudes of influencers and the selected public. To attain this goal, a qualitative analysis of the Instagram profiles of the three most popular influencers in Croatia was carried out to gain a deeper insight into the observed topic. Furthermore, an empirical study was conducted to investigate the perception of members of Generation Z about Instagram influencers. The research showed that respondents do not believe in the veracity of the content published by influencers on social media and do not share similar values with them. In conclusion, the results showed that Instagram influencers, with the content on their official profiles, do not contribute to shaping the attitudes and behaviour of members of Generation Z. | Interdisciplinary Description of Complex Systems | Social Media; Instagram; Influencers; Marketing; Generation Z |
| 2024_272 | Kaasa, A. (2024). What is the Recipe for High or Low General Trust?. International Journal of Sociology http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207659.2024.2429240. | This article investigates the determinants of general trust in a society. A novel method - fuzzy set Qualitative Comparative Analysis (fsQCA) - is applied, which is consistent with the assumption that the recipe for high or low trust implies a combination of several conditions, and there can be different combinations that all produce the same outcome. It also relaxes the assumption of symmetry: conditions associated with low trust need not mirror conditions associated with high trust, with opposite signs. In this article, data about 79 countries are analysed using fsQCA in order to determine different combinations that would lead to low or high general trust. The results show that for general trust in a society, the Anna Karenina principle seems to apply: all high-trust societies are alike, but for low trust levels, there are many recipes. | International Journal of Sociology | General Trust; Determinants of Trust; Conditions; Combinations; Fsqca |
| 2024_273 | Kaiser, F; Oberwittler, D; Thielmann, I; Kleinke, K; Greifer, N. (2024). When does criminal victimization undermine generalized trust? A weighted panel analysis of the effects of crime type, frequency, and variety. Social Science Research, 124. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.103086. | Scholars from various fields have suggested that criminal victimization can shatter generalized trust. Whereas small average effects in longitudinal studies provide only weak support for this claim, victimization effects may be stronger for specific crime types and multiple victimization. To test this assumption, we estimated various victimization effects by combining Energy weighting with lagged dependent variable models, using data from two-wave panel surveys conducted in 2014/2015 (cohort 1; N = 3401) and 2020/2021 (cohort 2; N = 2932) in two German cities. We found weak evidence that trust-undermining effects of victimization were more pronounced for severe crime types or multiple victimization. Effects were only stronger for violent crimes and some forms of multiple victimization in 2014/2015 but not in 2020/2021. Besides, our weighting procedure implies that our (and probably others') findings for more intense victimization conditions must be viewed with caution, as they suffer from lower internal validity. | Social Science Research | Generalized Trust; Panel Data; Energy Weighting; Crime Types; Repeat Victimization; Poly-Victimization |
| 2024_274 | Kalogeropoulos, A; Toff, B; Fletcher, R. (2024). The Watchdog Press in the Doghouse: A Comparative Study of Attitudes about Accountability Journalism, Trust in News, and News Avoidance. International Journal of Press-Politics, 29(2), 485-506. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/19401612221112572. | The watchdog role has been one of the most widely discussed normative functions of the press. In this study, we examine the public's attitudes toward the news media's watchdog performance and how they correlate with trust in news and news avoidance, two important phenomena for democracy and the health of the public sphere. We further examine how individual predispositions (e.g. political interest, ideology) and contextual variables (e.g. press freedom) moderate these relationships. Based on data from the 2019 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, and controlling for a range of factors, we find that across 38 countries, watchdog performance evaluations are positively associated with trust in news but that they are also positively associated with higher levels of news avoidance. Last, we find that evaluations of media in other functions like helping citizens understand the most important topics of the day and choosing relevant topics were more strongly associated to trust in news and lower news avoidance levels than watchdog performance evaluations. | International Journal of Press-Politics | Watchdog Journalism; Trust; News Avoidance; Survey; Comparative |
| 2024_275 | Kananovich, V. (2024). Subordinate or Entitled Partner? the Effects of Taxpayer News on Political Trust and Demands for Government Accountability. Western Journal of Communication, 88(1), 170-193. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10570314.2022.2155068. | This study explores the effects of tax-related news on government accountability in the United States. When exposed to news that framed the taxpayer as the ultimate sponsor of public spending to whom the government is accountable, people reacted indistinguishably from those who read no tax news. However, when exposed to identically valenced news that framed the taxpayer in procedural terms of tax collection, they responded with higher accountability demands. This suggests that in contexts where citizens are socialized into taxpayer-entitling discourse, this perspective can become the default framework, leading citizens to claim oversight rights when denied this discursively privileged position. | Western Journal of Communication | Democratization; Framing; Government Accountability; News Discourse; Political Trust; Taxation; Taxpayer Discourse |
| 2024_276 | Kang, S; Choi, Y; Kim, B. (2024). Impact of Motivation Factors for Using Generative AI Services on Continuous Use Intention: Mediating Trust and Acceptance Attitude. Social Sciences-Basel, 13(9). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci13090475. | This study aims to empirically analyze the relationship between the motivational factors of generative AI users and the intention to continue using the service. Accordingly, the motives of users who use generative AI services are defined as individual, social, and technical motivation factors. This research verified the effect of these factors on intention to continue using the services and tested the meditating effect of trust and acceptance attitude. We tested this through verifying trust and acceptance attitudes. An online survey was conducted on language-based generative AI service users such as OpenAI's ChatGPT, Google Bard, Microsoft Bing, and Meta-Lama, and a structural equation analysis was conducted through a total of 356 surveys. As a result of the analysis, individual, social, and technical motivational factors all had a positive (+) effect on trust and acceptance attitude on the attitude toward accepting generative AI services. Among them, individual motivation such as self-efficacy, innovation orientation, and playful desire were found to have the greatest influence on the formation of the acceptance attitude. In addition, social factors were identified as the factors that have the greatest influence on trust in the use of generative AI services. When it comes to using generative AI, it was confirmed that social reputation or awareness directly affects the trust in usability. | Social Sciences-Basel | Generative AI; Motivations; Continuous Use Intention; Trust; Acceptance Attitude |
| 2024_277 | Kaplan, G. (2024). Sex Educators' Strategies for Building Student Trust. Journal of Health and Social Behavior http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00221465241286801. | Although clinicians have been the focus of research on trust in health care, much of the health guidance Americans receive occurs outside clinical settings. School-based health education is one such setting. Given the importance of interpersonal dynamics to clinicians' work, trust likely features heavily in achieving health educators' outcomes. This study asks: How do health educators approach building trust with students? In interviews with 39 sexual health educators in Ohio and Illinois, I find that educators report several strategies that they use in their attempt to build student trust: They use personal anecdotes and informality to distinguish themselves from teachers; adjust their approach based on their race, gender, or age if they perceive these identities impede trust; and emphasize lessons are factual when facing pushback. My findings reveal key differences in how clinicians and nonclinical professionals approach trust and more broadly, how organizational factors impact health professionals' approach to trust. | Journal of Health and Social Behavior | Health Professions; Sex Education; Trust |
| 2024_278 | Kappler, M; Schomaker, R; Guaschino, E; Verhoest, K. (2024). How do elite core actors assess trust in national and EU authorities? the varying role of generalised trust at different governmental levels. Comparative European Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41295-024-00400-9. | In this paper, we position generalised trust as central to the debate on elites' assessments of trust in EU multi-level governance. We leverage one of the most influential factors in explaining political trust in single-government studies to understand variations in trust towards political authorities at various levels. Departing from existing studies, we hypothesise the dual nature of generalised trust: while it influences how individuals assess their trust in political authorities, its impact varies depending on different degrees of perceived similarity of these authorities at either the national or the EU level. To test our hypotheses, we conducted an elite vignette experiment involving 567 decision-makers from public and private stakeholders within regulatory regimes in eight countries. The results reveal a significant positive effect of generalised trust on political trust when evaluating a national-level regulatory agency. However, trust assessments of EU-level regulatory agencies appear to be largely unaffected by generalised trust levels. Furthermore, we observed notable differences in trust assessment between private and public stakeholders, reinforcing our argument that similarity and community belonging underlie the influence of generalised trust on political trust. Our study suggests that EU-level political authorities may derive less benefit from high levels of generalised trust, compared to national political authorities. However, in instances where generalised trust is low, political authorities at the EU level have comparatively more opportunities to cultivate trust in them. | Comparative European Politics | Generalised Trust; Political Trust; Europe; Trust Spillovers; Social Capital; Similarity |
| 2024_279 | Kappler, M; Verhoest, K; Bach, T; Maman, L; Schomaker, R. (2024). What drives trust in regulatory agencies? Probing the relevance of governmental level and performance through a cross-national elite experiment on EU regulation. European Political Science Review http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1755773924000080. | Trust between constituent actors within the European Union (EU)'s multilevel regulatory regimes is decisive for regulatory success. Trust drives information flows, increases compliance, and improves cooperation within these regimes. Despite its importance, systematic knowledge regarding the drivers of trust within regulatory regimes is limited. This paper inquires whether trust in regulatory agencies is influenced by their affiliation with the national or EU governmental level, as well as by their performance. While existing literature predominantly focuses on why citizens place their trust in governments or regulatory agencies, this paper presents original insights regarding the formation of trust among elites within the regulatory regime, including politicians, ministerial officials, agency officials, interest groups, and regulated entities. We employ data obtained from a large-scale vignette experiment conducted in six countries involving 752 decision-makers from relevant organizations. The experimental results suggest that both public and private elite actors' trust assessment of regulatory agencies does not hinge on cues associated with the governmental level, but rather depends on agency performance. Accordingly, belonging to the national or EU governmental level does not create a difference in trust assessment of regulatory agencies in itself. It, however, shows that particularly elite actors are rather sensitive in terms of the performance of a regulatory agency. | European Political Science Review | European Union; Trust; Regulation; Multilevel Governance; Regulatory Agency |
| 2024_280 | Kasamatsu, S; Kishishita, D. (2024). Endogenous Political Trust and Electoral Accountability. Journal of Politics, 86(1), 358-363. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/726959. | This study examines how an endogenous change in political trust affects the performance of a representative democracy. To this end, we construct a two-period political agency model in which voters face uncertainty about the distribution of politicians' types (trust uncertainty) as well as each individual politician's type. Such trust uncertainty allows political trust to endogenously change over time. In its presence, the incumbent's action has a spillover effect on the challenger's value through changes in political trust. We show that because of this mechanism, trust uncertainty weakens electoral accountability. Furthermore, it generates multiple self-fulfilling equilibria: a high-accountability and a low-accountability equilibrium coexist. In countries briefly experiencing democracy, trust uncertainty is severe. Our results indicate that democratic performance tends to be low and even similar countries can experience different performance levels in such new democracies. | Journal of Politics | Political Trust; Accountability; Trust Uncertainty; Multiple Equilibria; Corruption |
| 2024_281 | Kaye, BK; Johnson, TJ. (2024). I can't stop myself! Doomscrolling, conspiracy theories, and trust in social media. Atlantic Journal of Communication, 32(3), 471-483. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15456870.2024.2316844. | This study furthers understanding of doomscrolling - obsessively looking for bad news on a mobile device to the detriment of one's well-being - by examining reactions (negative feelings, information seeking, sharing) to doomscrolling. It also tests relationships among doomscrolling, belief in 2020 election conspiracy theories and trust in video- and text-based social media. Findings show that belief in conspiracies theories influences all three reactions to doomscrolling, but only sharing of doomscrolled information influences belief in conspiracy theories. Also, trust in text-based and video social media leads to negative reactions and information seeking, while trust in video social media promotes sharing doomscrolled news. Further, the more strongly survey respondents trust video-based social media, the more they believe conspiracy theories. But support for Trump during the 2020 election is the strongest predictor of belief in conspiracy theories, while support for Biden is a negative predictor. | Atlantic Journal of Communication | |
| 2024_282 | Keefer, P; Vlaicu, R. (2024). Employee trust and performance constraints in public sector organizations. European Journal of Political Economy, 81. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2024.102503. | Theory suggests that employee trust is key to productivity in organizations, but empirical evidence documenting links between trust and performance constraints is scarce. This paper analyzes self -collected observational and experimental data on public sector employees from eighteen Latin American countries and finds that individual -level trust is relevant to three types of performance factors. First, high -trust employees are more willing to collaborate and share information with coworkers and are more supportive of technological innovation. Second, hightrust employees have different perceptions of organizational constraints: they are less concerned with low staff quality or lack of discretion to innovate, and more concerned with staff shortages. Third, trust in coworkers is associated with stronger mission motivation. These findings are robust to instrumental variable strategies based on the transmission of trust through social or professional channels. A survey experiment on preferences for social distancing policies shows how trust enhances mission motivation: employee policy preferences align better with the implied government policy when their trust in the public sector is higher. | European Journal of Political Economy | Trust; Performance; Public Sector; Mission Motivation; Survey Experiments |
| 2024_283 | Keller, JC; Harrison, B; Lang, CR. (2024). Land for Whom? Diversity, Land Trusts, and Farmers and Gardeners from Marginalized Backgrounds in New England, US. Society & Natural Resources, 37(10), 1435-1451. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2024.2367449. | Land trusts in the U.S. play an important role in preventing the loss of farmland to development. Farmers seeking affordable land may benefit from these conservation efforts. Yet the distribution of these benefits across farmer groups is unclear. This study asks: To what extent are land trusts meeting the needs of farmers and gardeners from marginalized backgrounds? Interviews with land trust staff and focus groups with marginalized farmers and gardeners in New England, USA reveal discrepancies in how diversity and land access are discussed. Access to adequate, affordable land was a serious concern among farmers and gardeners, yet few land trusts had programs to increase access for diverse populations. Land trusts approached diversity, equity, and inclusion work by making limited commitments, pivoting to social class, and avoidance due to perceptions of mission drift. These findings have significant implications for who benefits and who is excluded from private farmland conservation. | Society & Natural Resources | Conservation; Diversity; Farmers; Land Access; Land Trusts |
| 2024_284 | Kemp, J; Drummond, C; Watkinson, C. (2024). Exploring national infrastructures to support impact analyses of publicly accessible research: a need for trust, transparency, and collaboration at scale. Data & Policy, 6. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/dap.2024.78. | Usage data on research outputs such as books and journals is well established in the scholarly community. Yet, as research impact is derived from a broader set of scholarly outputs, such as data, code, and multimedia, more holistic usage and impact metrics could inform national innovation and research policy. While usage data reporting standards, such as Project COUNTER, provide the basis for shared statistics reporting practice, mandated access to publicly funded research has increased the demand for impact metrics and analytics. In this context, stakeholders are exploring how to scaffold and strengthen shared infrastructure to better support the trusted, multistakeholder exchange of usage data across a variety of outputs. In April 2023, a workshop on Exploring National Infrastructure for Public Access and This paper contextualizes the resources shared and recommendations generated in the workshop. | Data & Policy | Infrastructure; Metrics; Open Access; Research Funding; Usage Data |
| 2024_285 | Kerr, N; King, BA; Wahman, M. (2024). The Global Crisis of Trust in Elections. Public Opinion Quarterly http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae016. | This article introduces a special issue on trust in elections. While the number of electoral democracies has grown globally, we are currently experiencing a crisis of electoral trust. Political polarization, social divisions, and the rapid spread of misinformation have all been related to enhanced widespread skepticism about the quality of national elections. The special issue is focused on two central questions: How can we explain variations in trust in elections at the individual and country levels? How does trust in elections shape political behavior? In the introduction essay, we frame the contributions of the special issue, provide descriptive statistics about trust in elections globally, summarize the current state of the literature, and point to avenues for future research. | Public Opinion Quarterly | |
| 2024_286 | Kerr, N; Krönke, M; Wahman, M. (2024). Where Are the Sore Losers? Competitive Authoritarianism, Incumbent Defeat, and Electoral Trust in Zambia's 2021 Election. Public Opinion Quarterly http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae030. | How do electoral turnovers shape citizen perceptions of election quality in competitive authoritarian regimes? We argue that electoral outcomes are crucial for determining perceptions of electoral quality. While detailed evaluation of electoral trust is complex in competitive autocracies with institutional uncertainty and polarized electoral environments, turnovers send strong and unequivocal signals about election quality. Previous literature has noted a strong partisan divide in electoral trust in competitive authoritarian regimes, but turnovers can boost trust among both incumbent and opposition supporters. We test this argument in the case of Zambia's 2021 election, a case where a ruling party lost despite electoral manipulation and strong control over the Election Management Body (EMB). Empirically, we leverage the first-ever panel survey carried out during Zambian elections. Comparing trust in elections before and after the election, we find that perceived election quality increased after the 2021 electoral turnover among both losers and winners. We find that trust in elections increased the most among winning opposition supporters. Moreover, despite the outgoing president's attempt to portray the election as fraudulent, losing ruling-party supporters also increased their trust in elections after the turnover. The study has important implications for the literature on democratic consolidation and institutional trust. | Public Opinion Quarterly | |
| 2024_287 | Kerr, S; Sackley, R; Gilroy, J; Parmenter, T; O'Brien, P. (2024). The Role of Trust, Respect, and Relationships in Maintaining Lived Experience and Indigenous Authority in Co-Designed Research with People Living with Disability. Social Sciences-Basel, 13(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci13040192. | Co-design of research can evolve organically when the questions to be asked have their roots deep1 in the soil of partnerships based on trust, respect, and a common vision for equity and inclusion. White Questions-Black Answers, a PhD thesis research project focusing on the inclusion of Indigenous students with disability in the Australian Higher Education Sector, demonstrates this premise. Founded on Indigenous Standpoint Theory, the methodology of this research foregrounds the central role of Indigenous people with lived experience of disability-in the study design, its implementation, and in the validation of the results. This paper shares the conceptual framework and relationship hierarchy for the research, ensuring that the authority of those with lived experience was maintained and central to all research activities. It showcases a way forward for other fields of co-designed research, delivering both academic rigour and leadership by those with lived experience. | Social Sciences-Basel | Decolonisation; Disability; Indigenous; Indigenous Standpoint |
| 2024_288 | Kessler, SR. (2024). 'Trust the Process': Reality TV, Cable News, and the Politics of Reassurance. Television & New Media, 25(6), 570-583. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/15274764241251779. | This essay examines process discourse and the politics of reassurance across the prototypically American media domains of reality TV and cable news. Using The Bachelorette's 2020 season and CNN's concurrent coverage of 2020s famously disputed presidential election as case studies, it argues that both broadcasts' copious references to the soundness of the processes they purport to depict both naturalize and stabilize the tenuous notions of heterosexuality and democracy on which they rest. The two programs' exemplary televisual process discourse reassures even cynical viewers that, though much of the pleasure US audience-members take in their broadcasts derives from the spectacle (or threat) of dysfunctionality, we can ultimately rely on the functionality of the systems that govern our lives. Not least, it courts the perception that television is the true arbiter of the process, and thus that TV itself deserves Americans' trust-a vitally important impression to maintain during a global pandemic. | Television & New Media | Process; Cable; Reality Television; CNN; the Bachelorette; 2020 US Elections |
| 2024_289 | Khalilzadeh, M; Ghesmati, H. (2024). Organizational citizenship behavior based on trust in organizational spirituality and participation in non-profit service organizations: A case study in Iran. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2270845. | One of the significant factors that can make the behaviors, attitudes and interactions between employees better to offer high quality services is to acquire an organizational citizenship behavior. Focusing on the organizational citizenship behavior is crucial to the organizations operating in non-profit service sectors because of having positive and direct impact and thus making them profitable, efficient and effective. This paper aims to propose a model for organizational citizenship behavior by placing the components of trust in organizational spirituality and participation in non-profit service organizations. In this study, correlation analysis and factor analysis as well as the structural equation modeling (SEM) are applied. The population consists of employees working in the largest non-profit service organization in Iran. The findings show that the proposed model is valid and reliable, and there is a significant relationship between variables in the conceptual research model. | Cogent Social Sciences | Organizational Citizenship Behavior; Organizational Spirituality; Service Quality; Non-Profit Service Organization; Case Study |
| 2024_290 | Kiess, J. (2024). Building democratic resilience: the impact of political engagement during education on xenophobia and political trust. Acta Politica http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41269-024-00370-6. | This study examines the relationships between political engagement in school or university such as serving as speaker of class or organizing political events and xenophobia and political trust. Following interactionist socialization theory, political engagement during adolescence should shape ideas of citizenship, democracy, and equality and, thus, foster democratic resilience. Schools and universities are arguably key institutions to build trust in political systems and counter-authoritarian dynamics if they provide space for learning democracy by doing. The paper shows that, indeed, political engagement in the context of school or university limits xenophobic views and increases political trust. It further affirms that experiencing efficacy prevents perceiving immigrants as a threat. The original finding that political trust mediates the association between democratic experience and xenophobia further supports this reading. The paper provides evidence from nine European countries (including quotas for young people) for the importance of experiencing democracy through direct engagement at a young age. | Acta Politica | Xenophobia; Socialization; Political Trust; Democracy; Civic Education; Youth Participation |
| 2024_291 | Kikut-Stein, A. (2024). Behavioral Beliefs Predict Recommended Behaviors, Especially When Trust in Public Health Sources is Low: Evidence from a Longitudinal Study of Three COVID-19 Prevention Behaviors Among US Adults. Journal of Health Communication, 29(1), 9-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2023.2278615. | Public distrust in official sources of health information and uncertainty about novel guidelines may discourage engagement in recommended disease prevention practices. The current study tests the hypothesis that building confidence in positive behavioral outcomes may support recommendation following even in the context of low trust in recommendation sources. This set of longitudinal studies examines the main and interaction effects of trust in official sources and behavioral beliefs in their prediction of recommended COVID-19 prevention behaviors (facemask wearing, social distancing, vaccination). Repeated measurement data were collected from a nationally representative sample of U.S. adults in May/June 2020 (T1; n = 1074), July 2020 (T2; n = 889), and April/June 2021 (T3; n = 750). All five tests, using lagged linear regression, found negative interactions between trust and behavioral beliefs, as hypothesized; three were significant (T1-T2: facemask wearing B=-0.10, SE = 0.04; T1-T3: social distancing B=-0.20, SE = 0.06; T2-T3 vaccination B=-0.27, SE = 0.10) and two were consistent albeit not significant (T1-T3: social distancing B=-0.13, SE = 0.08; T1-T3: facemask wearing B=-0.11, SE = 0.06). Supporting hypotheses, trust in recommendation sources predicted behavior most among those who were less certain about behavioral outcomes and confidence in behavioral benefits predicted behavior most among those with low trust in recommendation sources. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. | Journal of Health Communication | |
| 2024_292 | Kim, DD. (2024). An investigation of public trust in autonomous humanoid AI robot doctors: a preparation for our future healthcare system. Frontiers in Communication, 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1420312. | As a preparation for our future healthcare system with artificial intelligence (AI)-based autonomous robots, this study investigated the level of public trust in autonomous humanoid robot (AHR) doctors that would be enabled by AI technology and introduced to the public for the sake of better healthcare accessibility and services in the future. Employing the most frequently adopted scales in measuring patients' trust in their primary care physicians (PCPs), this study analyzed 413 survey responses collected from the general public in the United States and found trust in AHR nearly matched the level of trust in human doctors, although it was slightly lower. Based on the results of data analysis, this study provided explanations about the benefits of using AHR doctors and some proactive recommendations in terms of how to develop AHR doctors, how to implement them in actual medical practices, more frequent exposure of humanoid robots to the public, and the need of interdisciplinary collaboration to enhance public trust in AHR doctors. This line of study is urgently demanded because the placement of such advanced robot technology in the healthcare system is unavoidable as the public has experienced it more these days. The limitations arising from the non-experimental design, a voluntary response sampling through social media, and few theories on communication with humanoid robots remain tasks for future studies. | Frontiers in Communication | Health Technology Acceptance; Artificial Intelligence; Autonomous Humanoid Robots; Patient-Doctor Communication; Robotic Healthcare Service; Health Communication Technology; Healthcare Robots |
| 2024_293 | Kim, E; Shoenberger, H; Kim, D; Thorson, E; Zihang, E. (2024). Novelty vs. trust in virtual influencers: exploring the effectiveness of human-like virtual influencers and anime-like virtual influencers. International Journal of Advertising http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2386916. | This research explores influencer trustworthiness and stimulus novelty as important paths for the effectiveness of virtual influencers. We compare human-like virtual influencers (HVIs) and anime-like virtual influencers (AVIs) operating either with sponsorship disclosure or non-disclosure. In two experiments, we found that HVI (vs. AVIs) produced higher content engagement and purchase intent via greater influencer trustworthiness only when sponsorship was not disclosed. Upon disclosure, the advantage of HVIs over AVIs disappeared. We also found that the influencer's status, whether mega or micro, significantly moderated the influence of sponsorship disclosure. Perceived novelty of AVIs are consistently higher than HVIs, and perceived novelty mediates the effect of the AVIs (vs. HVIs) on content engagement, but only when sponsorship was disclosed. These findings offer important insights into how virtual influencers may influence consumer engagement and purchase decisions. | International Journal of Advertising | Virtual Influencers; Influencer Trustworthiness; Novelty; Sponsorship Disclosure; Purchase Intent |
| 2024_294 | Kim, H; Yoon, HJ; Han, JY; Seo, JK; Ko, YJ. (2024). The order effects of humor and risk messaging strategies in public service advertisements: the moderating role of trust in science and mediating role of psychological reactance. International Journal of Advertising http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2430853. | Humor and risk elements are often used together in public service advertisements (PSAs), but limited research has been conducted on how the order in which they are presented contributes to PSA effectiveness. To address this question, this study examined the impact of two health messaging strategies (humor and risk) and their order effects in PSAs promoting COVID-19 and flu vaccination on persuasion outcomes, with psychological reactance and perceived PSA effectiveness as serial mediators, and trust in science as a moderator. The findings from the COVID-19 vaccination context showed that a humor-then-risk (risk-then-humor) structure predicted a decrease in reactance for participants with lower (higher) trust in science. For low-trust participants, a humor-then-risk order resulted in greater intentions to vaccinate through reduced reactance and increased perceived PSA effectiveness. In the flu vaccination context, only among individuals with high trust in science, the order effect-risk-then-humor-was effective in reducing reactance and promoting vaccination intention through increased perceived PSA effectiveness. | International Journal of Advertising | Humor Advertising; Psychological Reactance; Vaccination; Psas; Risk Information; COVID-19; Flu |
| 2024_295 | Kim, J; Lee, J; Baek, J; Ju, J. (2024). Communicating uncertainties regarding COVID-19 vaccination: Moderating roles of trust in science, government, and society. Public Understanding of Science, 33(4), 447-465. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625231217080. | This study examined how uncertainty affects information seeking and avoidance behaviors via information insufficiency in the COVID-19 vaccination context. It also investigated how trust in science, government, and society moderate the effects of information insufficiency. An online experiment with 131 Korean adults showed that uncertainty indirectly affects information seeking intentions via information insufficiency, which is moderated by science trust and governmental trust. It also showed that uncertainty indirectly affects information avoidance intentions via information insufficiency, which is moderated by social trust. | Public Understanding of Science | Information Avoidance; Information Insufficiency; Information Seeking; Trust; Uncertainty |
| 2024_296 | Kim, J; Xu, LJ; Chon, MG; Liu, JY. (2024). The Effects of Trust, Distrust, and Motivation on Information Behaviors: the Cases of GM Food and Food Additives in China. Sage Open, 14(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241248917. | Food-related issues have recently become one of the most salient and controversial issues and have received increasing media and scholarly attention. This study examines the distinct effects of trust and distrust on the public's information behaviors, specifically in the context of two food-related issues including GM food and food additives. This study employs a cross-sectional survey with 1,089 Chinese citizens. This study demonstrates that trust and motivation positively predicted information transmission behaviors (i.e., information sharing and forwarding) and information acquisition behaviors (i.e., information attending and seeking). Distrust, on the other hand, predicted only information transmission behaviors. Motivation's effects on information acquisition behaviors were moderated by trust. This study contributes to the field of health information by expanding STOPS' applicability to food-related risk contexts, conducting research with culturally distinct populations different from those featured in prior research, and distinguishing the roles of trust and distrust in influencing information behaviors. Food-related issues have recently become one of the most salient and controversial issues and have received increasing media and scholarly attention. This study examines the distinct effects of trust and distrust on the public's information behaviors, specifically in the context of two food-related issues including GM food and food additives. This study employs a survey with 1,089 Chinese citizens. This study found that trust and motivation increased in individuals' information sharing, forwarding, attending, and seeking. Distrust, on the other hand, increased information sharing and forwarding. The study also found that as individuals have greater motivation to think about GM food and food additives issues, they are more likely to attend and seek information, and such relationships vary depending on their trust levels. | Sage Open | Food Risk; STOPS; Trust; Distrust; Information Behavior |
| 2024_297 | Kim, J. (2024). Property and Trusts: A Modern Project to Create Individual and Collective Personae. Critical Sociology http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08969205231220300. | The concept of trusts, absent from the classical writings of Marx and Weber on capitalism, was introduced by Frederic Maitland and John Locke as an explanatory framework for the central institutions of capitalism. While these two theorists offered compelling arguments, they relied on intuition and utilized the concept primarily to justify the existing social structure. This paper aims to bring analytical rigor to this intuitive theory and proposes that critical theory embraces the idea of trusts as a critical conceptual tool to unravel the nature of capitalist institutions. Examining limited liability corporations, the modern state, and public debt, the incorporation of trusts into critical theory provides key advantages. First, it facilitates analyzing capitalist institutions in terms of rights and responsibilities, unveiling moral dynamics. Second, it highlights the role of personhood in distributing rights and responsibilities. Third, it can help understand why modern society is ensnared by the shackles of debt. | Critical Sociology | Trusts; Capitalism; Corporations; Critical Theory; State; Public Debt; Quantitative Easing |
| 2024_298 | Kim, S; Kim, C. (2024). Enhancing Logistics Performance through Increased Trust and Collaboration in Supply Chain Risk Management: A Focus on the Distribution Network of Manufacturing Companies. Systems, 12(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/systems12040141. | This study aims to explore the significance of trust among companies within the supply chain and investigate its effect on collaborative supply chain risk management. In the current uncertain business environment, it is crucial for companies to establish trust relationships with their trading partners and collaboratively manage risks. This research seeks to understand how such trust relationships influence collaborative risk management and, subsequently, the effect of risk management collaboration on logistics performance. This study surveyed manufacturing companies in the Korean supply chain, and data were analyzed using SPSS 23.0 and AMOS 23.0. The results of this study imply that cognitive trust, related to the partner's expertise and capabilities, is more crucial than emotion-based affective trust in fostering collaborative supply chain risk management among companies within the supply chain, especially in the current unpredictable and complex business environments. Given the supply chain disruptions caused by uncertainties in the business environment, it is imperative to effectively manage risks and restructure the disrupted supply chain. Therefore, companies need to strive to demonstrate their expertise and capabilities to build cognitive trust and enhance logistics performance through supply chain risk management collaboration. | Systems | Cognitive Trust; Affective Trust; Supply Chain Risk Management Collaboration; Buyer-Supplier Relationship; Logistics Performance |
| 2024_299 | Kim, SH; Kim, S. (2024). Trust and Public Service Motivation. Public Performance & Management Review, 47(6), 1356-1375. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2024.2377595. | Trust is fundamental to the proper functioning of society and to democratic governance, however, there has been insufficient research on how trust is related to public service motivation (PSM). This study examines the relationships among generalized trust, institutional trust, and PSM using two-wave panel data (n = 1,074) with a one-year interval from online surveys conducted in Korea. Results show that both generalized trust and institutional trust are positively related to PSM, with generalized trust being the stronger predictor of PSM. The implications of this study are discussed, and suggestions for future research are presented. | Public Performance & Management Review | Generalized Trust; Institutional Trust; Public Service Motivation; Trust |
| 2024_300 | Kirk, JRG. (2024). Landscape of Distrust: Political Trust Across America's Urban-Rural Divide. American Politics Research, 53(1), 28-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1532673X241273220. | Do rural Americans trust the government less than non-rural Americans? In an era of declining trust in government and mounting geographic polarization, this research examines the relationship between geography, identity, and attitudes of political trust in the United States. Using national survey data from the 2016 and 2020 American National Election Studies time series surveys, this quantitative analysis tests hypotheses that rurality in the context of place and place-based identity is associated with lower trust in the federal government. Overall, the results show that both living in and identifying with more rural areas corresponds with decreased government trust, regardless of the political party of the incumbent president. These findings contribute to the understanding of America's urban-rural political divide and suggest significant implications for both partisan leaders and policymakers. | American Politics Research | Rural Politics; Trust; Urban-Rural Divide |
| 2024_301 | Knight, J; Gunatilaka, R. (2024). The Quality of Society and Happiness: Fairness, Trust, and Community in China. Journal of Happiness Studies, 25(7). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00724-z. | Adam Smith argued that 'moral sentiments' - the norms, customs and conventions of society - provide a benefit, improving both economic efficiency and well-being. Three important moral sentiments are a perception of fairness, a willingness to trust people, and a sense of community. We analyse representative national socioeconomic surveys of the China Household Income Project (CHIP), containing information that is used to create scores of happiness, fairness, trust, and community for each respondent. Three main hypotheses are tested: that higher reported fairness, higher reported trust, and greater sense of community each raises happiness. Evidence is found for each hypothesis, as well as for related questions, Attempts are made to ascertain whether the associations are causal; some support is found. The evidence is generally consistent with the broader argument that an informal social contract constrains antisocial behaviour and improves wellbeing in ways little studied by economists. | Journal of Happiness Studies | China; Happiness; Fairness; Trust; Community; Societal Quality; A13; D03; D69 |
| 2024_302 | Koçer, S; Özkan, N. (2024). Rethinking news trust in post-truth Turkey: Immediacy as the imagined affordance of television and search engines. Journalism http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14648849241274102. | In today's post-truth world, news users grapple with the tension between growing distrust in news institutions and the need for true information. Based on a mixed-methods study conducted in Turkey, this paper examines strategies developed by news users to establish trust in media tools in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic and populist polarization. We first collected data with a nationally representative survey (N = 1089). Then, 30 media users filled out media diaries for 1 week. We interviewed diary participants at the end of the week. We also conducted a four-week-long participant observation in three locations. Based on this data, we argue that users build trust in news stories by attributing a sense of immediacy to specific media, namely television and search engines. This immediacy arises from people's desire to scrutinize the accuracy of news stories in Turkey's highly polarized media environment. We term this ascribed meaning of transparency the imagined affordance of immediacy, asserting that immediacy is crucial for forming trust in the post-truth era. Contrary to suggestions that news trust is diminishing in the post-truth era, our paper highlights citizens' creative strategies to reestablish trust in contemporary news media. | Journalism | News Trust; Imagined Affordance; Immediacy; Television; Search Engines; Turkey |
| 2024_303 | Kol, O; Zimand-Sheiner, D; Levy, S. (2024). A tale of two paths to vaccine acceptance: self-interest and collective interest effect, mediated by institutional trust, and moderated by gender. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03070-w. | Coronavirus and other prevailing viruses continue to remain a health threat and challenge the efforts of institutions to promote vaccination acceptance. The current study's aim is to propose a conceptual framework explaining the role of individual motivators (such as self-interest and collective interest) in shaping attitudes toward vaccination while emphasizing the pivotal role of institutional trust as a mediator and gender as a moderator. Data were collected via an online panel survey among Israelis (N = 464), and SEM statistics were used to test the model empirically. The path analysis model supports the positive direct effect of collective interest and the negative effect of self-interest. Additionally, it shows an indirect effect through the mediation effect of institutional trust and gender moderation. Therefore, institutional trust may significantly influence self-interest people's attitudes toward vaccines. Furthermore, since females process information more comprehensively, their developed trustworthiness in institutions has an increased impact on vaccine acceptance. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_304 | Koroteev, K. (2024). Non-execution of Strasbourg Judgments against Russia: the Case for a Trust Fund. Russian Politics, 9(1), 121-134. http://dx.doi.org/10.30965/24518921-00901006. | After being expelled from the Council of Europe, Russia passed a law on not complying with any judgment of the European Court of Human Rights that entered into force after 15 March 2022. In these circumstances, new approaches are required to safeguard the authority of the Court. This study considers the possible ways out of the deadlock. Firstly, it critically examines the Committee of Minister' strategy on implementing Russian judgments, which is limited to registering outstanding obligations of the Russian Government under the Court's judgments. Secondly, the frozen property in Europe is yet to be confiscated, nor it is clear whether it will be. This study proposes that, under the aegis and within a legal framework of an existing international organization, a trust fund be established which may receive voluntary contributions from States and individuals. It will be better placed to do so than multiple indigent individuals scattered across the globe. If and when Russia applies to return to the Council of Europe it may be required to reimburse, with all accrued interest, the amounts spent by such a trust fund. | Russian Politics | European Court of Human Rights; Execution of Judgments; Russia; Trust Fund; Victims |
| 2024_305 | Krishna, A; Soumyaja, D; Joseph, J. (2024). Workplace bullying and employee silence: the role of affect-based trust and climate for conflict management. International Journal of Conflict Management, 35(5), 1034-1059. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-09-2023-0190. | PurposeA workplace bullying dynamic involving multiple individuals targeting victims can lead to the victim losing emotional bonds or affect-based trust with their colleagues, resulting in employee silence. The literature has largely ignored this negative aspect of social dynamics. This study aims to examine the relationship between workplace bullying and employee silence behaviors and determine whether affect-based trust mediates this relationship and whether climate for conflict management moderates the mediated relationship.Design/methodology/approachHypotheses are tested using surveys and scenario-based experiments among faculty members in Indian Universities. There were 597 participants in the survey and 166 in the scenario-based experiment.FindingsResults revealed that workplace bullying correlated positively with silence behaviors, and affect-based trust mediated the bullying-silence relationship. The hypothesized moderated mediation condition was partially supported as moderated the mediating pathway, i.e. indirect effects of workplace bullying on defensive silence and ineffectual silence via affect-based trust were weaker for employees with high climate for conflict management. However, the study failed to support the moderation of climate for conflict management in the relationship between workplace bullying and affect-based trust and workplace bullying and relational silence. The results of this moderated effect of climate for conflict management were similar in both studies.Originality/valueThis study is one of the few attempts to examine employee silence in response to workplace bullying in academia. Additionally, the study revealed a critical area of trust depletion associated with bullying and the importance of employee perceptions of fairness toward their institutions' dispute resolution processes. | International Journal of Conflict Management | Workplace Bullying; Employee Silence; Climate For Conflict Management; Affect-Based Trust |
| 2024_306 | Kujanen, M. (2024). Trust in president - a different case? Individual-level patterns of trust in political executives in Central and Eastern Europe. East European Politics, 40(4), 637-657. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21599165.2024.2369983. | People seem to trust the president more than other national political institutions. In the context of semi-presidential regimes, it is plausible that the role of the president being above party politics is an explanatory factor behind this pattern. This study challenges the argument by analysing the impact of citizens' party preferences and attitudes towards the political system on trust in president in select CEE countries. The results confirm that trust in president is often context specific and cannot be disassociated from partisan factors. In general, similar patterns are found between trust in president and trust in prime minister. | East European Politics | Political Trust; President; Semi-Presidentialism; Central and Eastern Europe |
| 2024_307 | Kumlin, S; Nemcok, M; Van Hootegem, A. (2024). Welfare state evaluations, normative expectations, and political trust: longitudinal evidence from Germany and Norway. Public Management Review http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2023.2297292. | The expectancy-disconfirmation model (EDM) explains satisfaction with public services as a combination of service expectations and perceived performance. We study how satisfaction in turn affects political trust. We mimic the EDM logic by assessing interactions with political-ideological 'normative expectations'. Three-wave panel surveys from Germany and Norway contain general and specific measures of satisfaction. Multilevel models show robust between-, and multiple instances of within-individual, associations between satisfaction and trust. Interactions with normative expectations are mostly absent, however. Overall, the variables highlighted by the EDM seem to affect generalized political trust. But the expectancy-disconfirmation logic may not repeat itself at this general political level. | Public Management Review | Welfare State Evaluations; Political Trust; Expectancy-Disconfirmation; Germany; Norway |
| 2024_308 | Kumove, M. (2024). Political crisis and social trust: the case of Australia. Australian Journal of Political Science, 59(2), 161-178. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10361146.2024.2352044. | Trust in Australian political institutions has declined markedly since 2007. Trust scholars and social capital theorists argue that institutional trust affects social trust, which implies that declining trust in political institutions should also reduce social trust. However, using data from the Australian Election Study, World Values Survey and HILDA panel study, I find no evidence of any aggregate-level decline in Australian social trust since 2007. While this could be a result of the 'coup era' in Australian politics from 2010 to 2018, a better explanation is that social trust remained high because permanent changes in trust occur primarily among younger people. A long-term decline through generational replacement therefore remains possible. This challenges both social capital theory and institutional theories of social trust, but would explain the experiences of other advanced democracies during episodes of political crisis, including New Zealand, Greece, Finland, Japan, Sweden, Spain and the United States. | Australian Journal of Political Science | Trust; Australia; Generalised; Social; Institutional; HILDA; WVS; AES |
| 2024_309 | Kumove, M. (2024). Take Five? Testing the Cultural and Experiential Theories of Generalised Trust Against Five Criteria. Political Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217231224971. | Is generalised trust stable or changeable? The 'cultural' theory argues that trust is a relatively fixed personality trait, while the 'experiential' theory contends that life experiences can alter trust during adulthood. But these two theories have been tested using a variety of different criteria whose differences have seemingly never been acknowledged explicitly. In this article, I map out these five different criteria, formulating specific hypotheses for each one and test them on a large and representative longitudinal data set from Australia. As expected, both the cultural and experiential theories appear broadly correct: trust is affected by both early-life factors and adult experiences, but the impact of adult experiences is usually transitory. A broad range of adult experiences seem to affect trust, and trust exhibits high rank-order but low mean-level stability. I conclude by suggesting some new directions for the study of generalised trust. | Political Studies | Trust; Cultural; Experiential; Australia; Stability |
| 2024_310 | Kuru, O; Neyazi, TA. (2024). Perceived political incivility and trust in government: the moderating roles of election news exposure and favorability of election outcomes. Information Communication & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2420040. | While extensive research has shown that political incivility can lead to unfavorable democratic outcomes, our understanding of the dynamics in election campaigns is limited. The current study investigates the effects of perceived political incivility on trust in government by taking into account both informational and motivational factors during elections: the distinct channels through which individuals receive election news (institutional, social media, and messaging applications) and whether the election outcome is (un)favorable to the individual. Drawing from the literatures on online incivility and motivated reasoning, we argue that both election news exposure and favorability of election outcomes could moderate the effects of perceived incivility. We conducted a two-wave panel survey (pre- and post-election) during the 2022 Malaysian General Election (Wave-1 N = 1800; Wave-2 N = 901). We found that increased incivility perceptions over time and unfavorable election results diminished trust in government, and there was evidence that increased exposure to election news from institutional news sources increased trust in government from pre- to post-election. For those who found the election outcome unfavorable, increased social media exposure resulted in a greater loss of trust in the government in response to increased perceptions of incivility during the campaign. These results underscore the importance of both informational (news media) and motivational (favorability of election outcome) factors, as well as their combined effects on individuals' responses to political incivility during elections. | Information Communication & Society | Perceived Incivility; News Exposure; Unfavorable Election Outcomes; Trust in Government; Longitudinal Survey; Malaysian Elections |
| 2024_311 | Kuzina, O; Moiseeva, D. (2024). Is There a Relationship Between Household Saving Behavior, Trust in Financial Institutions and Saving Attitudes in Contemporary Russia?. Journal of Economic Sociology-Ekonomicheskaya Sotsiologiya, 25(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.17323/1726-3247-2024-3-51-100. | The paper examines household savings as one of the indicators of household financial fragility/resilience in Russia. The main goal is to reveal the relationship between people's trust in financial institutions, their saving behavior and their savings attitudes. The study of financial fragility/resilience is important for the development of economic and social policies, especially in relation to those conditions upon which state can work. The study contributes to the existing literature by using Russian micro data and the inclusion of trust in institutions and savings attitudes among the covariates of household savings. The empirical basis of the study is cross-sectional data from all-Russian population surveys collected in 2009-2023. The financial resilience is low due to the fact that only about one third of Russians have savings which amount is rather small. The data also show high levels of distrust towards most socio-political and financial institutions. Based on the principal components method, two latent factors of trust were identified. The first one was related to trust in socio-political institutions, Sberbank and Bank of Russia, Deposit Insurance Agency (DIA) and state-owned banks, the second one included trust in all non-state financial institutions. Regression analysis showed that saving attitudes and both components of trust are positively correlated with savings. Associative rule learning method showed that even in presence of the positive attitude towards savings the most common non -random combinations of answers were lack of savings, distrust towards banks (with the exception of Sberbank), distrust to the Deposit Insurance Agency. Thus, distrust of socio-political and financial institutions is an obstacle to the increase in the amount of savings and financial resilience of Russian households. | Journal of Economic Sociology-Ekonomicheskaya Sotsiologiya | Financial Fragility of Households; Financial Resilience of Households; Household Savings; Household Saving Behavior; Saving Attitudes; Trust in Financial Institutions; Household Financial Behavior |
| 2024_312 | Kwon, H; Vera-Phillips, K; Moon, YE; Shao, C; Xu, WW. (2024). Credible, but Not for Me: Immigrant Folk Theories of News Trust in Chinese, Korean, and Filipino Communities in the US. Journalism Practice http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2024.2340526. | This study examines how Asian immigrants in the United States navigate American news media and respond to misinformation. Drawing on theoretical discussions on public trust in news, relational journalism, and immigrant's news experiences and ethnic media, we analyze the folk theories of news held by Asian immigrants from China, the Philippines, and Korea. The analysis of 22 interviews reveals their non-committal identity as members of the American public and the uniquely ambivalent attitudes that they hold towards US news. They see American news as credible yet propagandistic, biased yet innocent of misinformation, and accessible yet alienating. Consequently, they turn to alternative news sources that provide a sense of belonging, rather than relying on established and vetted mainstream news. We discuss the role of alternative ethnic intermediaries in providing Asian immigrants with their own news narratives, while recognizing the potential danger of exposing them to unvetted political messages. The findings call for enhancing relatability and balancing the functions of journalism in everyday life and political domains to integrate immigrant communities into the informed American public. | Journalism Practice | News Trust; Media Trust; Asian American; Immigrant Audience; Misinformation; Relational Journalism; Ethnic News Media; Folk Theory of News |
| 2024_313 | Kyprianides, A; Taylor, E. (2024). From Trauma to Trust: the Case for Integrating Reconciliation Practices. Political Quarterly, 95(3), 498-506. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1467-923X.13435. | Deep-seated historical traumas continue to ricochet through communities, mediating how contemporary policing is viewed and experienced. This article presents a case for embedding reconciliation practices into policing strategies to repair and rebuild frayed relations with the public. It examines the practical applications of reconciliation practices, some barriers to implementation and suggested strategies for overcoming resistance. Drawing from limited, yet insightful, empirical research and international best practice, the article proposes a model comprised of five elements to promote healing, foster trust and highlight the importance of sustainable community-police engagement. | Political Quarterly | Reconciliation; Restorative Justice; Trauma; Community |
| 2024_314 | L'Engle, KL; Burns, JR; Basuki, A; Couture, MC; Regan, AK. (2024). Liberals are Believers: Young People Assign Trust to Social Media for COVID-19 Information. Health Communication, 39(2), 310-322. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2164959. | The COVID-19 pandemic has challenged existing health communication strategies as more people turn to social media as a primary health information source. Although many studies have explored how young people use social media, this study examined how sociodemographic factors and political ideology are associated with use and trust in social media as a source for COVID-19 information among young adults, and how use and trust in social media as a COVID-19 information source are associated with their beliefs about COVID-19. In Spring 2021, an online survey was conducted among 2,105 18-29-year-old students at an urban university in California. Our findings show that younger, female, non-binary, Asian, and Black/African American students are most likely to obtain and trust COVID-19 information on social media. Results also suggest that liberal students are more likely to turn to social media as a source for COVID-19 information compared to conservatives. However, conservative students who use social media as a source for information were more likely to believe false health information about prevention measures and the vaccine and to have lower perceived effectiveness of COVID-19 prevention behaviors and vaccination compared to liberals. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_315 | Lahat, L; Sharony, C; Abraham, V; Lev, O; Amit, AE. (2024). Effect of Values, Institutional Trust, and Risk Perceptions on Support for Policy Tools in Immunisation against COVID-19: A Comparative Study. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13876988.2024.2424571. | Using Moral Foundation Theory, we explored whether values, institutional trust, and risk perceptions affected support for policy tools in COVID-19 immunisation. We asked which variables were more influential and whether Israel and the United Kingdom differed. We used a quantitative method based on surveys and found that values played an essential role, mainly with coercive tools, but differently in the UK and Israel. Risk perceptions were more influential in Israel, and institutional trust was more influential in the UK. Values-oriented analysis adds to the behavioural aspects of the policy tools literature and can help policymakers choose policy tools and communicate them. | Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis | Policy Tools; Comparative; Risk Perceptions; Values; Moral Foundation Theory; Israel; United Kingdom; COVID |
| 2024_316 | Lal, A; Lockhart, M; Xu, YQ; Zu, ZW. (2024). How Much Should We Trust Instrumental Variable Estimates in Political Science? Practical Advice Based on 67 Replicated Studies. Political Analysis http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/pan.2024.2. | Instrumental variable (IV) strategies are widely used in political science to establish causal relationships, but the identifying assumptions required by an IV design are demanding, and assessing their validity remains challenging. In this paper, we replicate 67 articles published in three top political science journals from 2010 to 2022 and identify several concerning patterns. First, researchers often overestimate the strength of their instruments due to non-i.i.d. error structures such as clustering. Second, IV estimates are often highly uncertain, and the commonly used t-test for two-stage-least-squares (2SLS) estimates frequently underestimate the uncertainties. Third, in most replicated studies, 2SLS estimates are significantly larger in magnitude than ordinary-least-squares estimates, and their absolute ratio is inversely related to the strength of the instrument in observational studies-a pattern not observed in experimental ones-suggesting potential violations of unconfoundedness or the exclusion restriction in the former. We provide a checklist and software to help researchers avoid these pitfalls and improve their practice. | Political Analysis | Instrumental Variables; Two-Stage-Least-Squares; Replications; Weak Instruments; Unconfoundedness; Exclusion Restriction; Publication Bias; Meta-Analysis |
| 2024_317 | Lan, DH; Tung, TM. (2024). Exploring fake news awareness and trust in the age of social media among university student TikTok users. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2024.2302216. | This study explores the awareness of fake news and trust dynamics among University students on TikTok. Utilizing qualitative research through semi-structured interviews with University students in Vietnam, the findings reveal a generally acknowledged presence of fake news on TikTok, accompanied by varying levels of trust in the platform's content. Key factors influencing trust include content creator credibility, user engagement, and familiarity with creators. Beyond academic implications, this research offers practical insights into the digital literacy, information consumption habits, and susceptibility to fake news among university students. The study advocates for heightened digital literacy education, encouraging critical evaluation of online content, not only benefiting the university demographic but contributing to broader public awareness. | Cogent Social Sciences | Fake News; Tiktok; Media Trust; Social Media; Credibility; University Students |
| 2024_318 | Landesvatter, C; Bauer, PC. (2024). How Valid Are Trust Survey Measures? New Insights From Open-Ended Probing Data and Supervised Machine Learning. Sociological Methods & Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00491241241234871. | Trust is a foundational concept of contemporary sociological theory. Still, empirical research on trust relies on a relatively small set of measures. These are increasingly debated, potentially undermining large swathes of empirical evidence. Drawing on a combination of open-ended probing data, supervised machine learning, and a U.S. representative quota sample, our study compares the validity of standard measures of generalized social trust with more recent, situation-specific measures of trust. We find that survey measures that refer to strangers in their question wording best reflect the concept of generalized trust, also known as trust in unknown others. While situation-specific measures should have the desirable property of further reducing variation in associations, that is, producing more similar frames of reference across respondents, they also seem to increase associations with known others, which is undesirable. In addition, we explore to what extent trust survey questions may evoke negative associations. We find that there is indeed variation across measures, which calls for more research. | Sociological Methods & Research | Social Trust; Generalized Trust; Survey Experiment; Open-Ended Survey Questions; Text Analysis; Sentiment Analysis; Bidirectional Encoder Representations From Transformers |
| 2024_319 | Lavee, E. (2024). Are public sector organizations still relevant for poverty reduction? Frontline workers' personal resources and the centrality of trust. Current Sociology, 72(7), 1259-1278. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00113921231206492. | This study draws on 214 in-depth interviews with frontline Israeli workers providing services in the public sector to investigate whether organizational embeddedness helps individuals living in poverty accumulate resources from public organizations in times of reduced government support. Findings show that public sector workers provide clients with informal, personal resources that allow better coping with poverty. Beyond local, short-term assistance, these personal resources are provided in the hopes of strengthening trust among low-income populations, thereby achieving long-term improved well-being and social inclusion. Findings expose new dimensions in the relations between organizations and their low-income clients, as well as the importance of organizational embeddedness in coping with poverty. Cette etude s'appuie sur 214 entretiens approfondis avec des travailleurs israeliens qui se trouvent en premiere ligne pour fournir des services dans le secteur public, afin de determiner si l'ancrage des organizations aide les personnes vivant dans la pauvrete a accumuler des ressources aupres d'organizations publiques en periode de reduction de l'aide gouvernementale. Les resultats montrent que les travailleurs du secteur public fournissent a leurs clients des ressources informelles et personnelles qui leur permettent de mieux faire face a la pauvrete. Au-dela de l'aide locale a court terme, ces ressources personnelles sont fournies dans l'espoir de renforcer la confiance au sein des populations a faibles revenus, ce qui permet d'ameliorer le bien-etre et l'inclusion sociale a long terme. Les resultats revelent de nouvelles dimensions dans les relations entre les organizations et leurs clients a faibles revenus, ainsi que l'importance de l'ancrage des organizations dans la lutte contre la pauvrete. Este estudio se basa en 214 entrevistas en profundidad con trabajadores israelies de primera linea que prestan servicios en el sector publico para investigar si el arraigo organizacional ayuda a las personas que viven en la pobreza a acumular recursos de organizaciones publicas en tiempos de apoyo gubernamental reducido. Los hallazgos muestran que los trabajadores del sector publico proporcionan a los clientes recursos personales e informales que les permiten afrontar mejor la pobreza. Mas alla de la asistencia local a corto plazo, estos recursos personales se proporcionan con la esperanza de fortalecer la confianza entre las poblaciones de bajos ingresos, logrando asi un mayor bienestar e inclusion social a largo plazo. Los hallazgos exponen nuevas dimensiones en las relaciones entre las organizaciones y sus clientes de bajos ingresos, asi como la importancia del arraigo organizacional para hacer frente a la pobreza. | Current Sociology | Informal Resources; Organizational Embeddedness; Poverty; Public Organizations |
| 2024_320 | Laxmikanth, P. (2024). The taste of homemade: trusting 'healthy' food on app-based delivery services in Hyderabad, India. Journal of Cultural Economy http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2024.2378473. | Public and biomedical discourses blame changing spatio-temporal rhythms, traffic, pollution, and stressful work timings for the rise in metabolic illnesses in privileged urban Indian, white-collar households. In these households, homemade food is seen as 'safe' and 'healthy,' while outside food is considered 'dangerous' and linked to increasing metabolic ill-health. Despite this, app-based food ordering has surged in the last nine years, disrupting this binary. This paper uses ethnographic and qualitative data from fieldwork in Hyderabad, India, to explore how IT-employed households with type 2 diabetes determine which foods are good to trust online. They do this through 'embodied knowing,' a visceral sensibility to gauge the quality of food and the intentions of its maker. Trusted foods are made by figures 'like your mother,' who embody this knowing. Apps capitalise on classed, gendered and relational forms of trust by evoking motherly figures to market 'homely' and 'home-style' food as 'safe' and 'healthy.' In doing so, they disrupt taken-for-granted understandings of the outside-home boundary, making mothers virtually visible in the marketplace and allowing 'outside' foods to be accepted through the embodied knowing of the food and its maker. | Journal of Cultural Economy | Mothers; Embodiment; Values; Food-Delivery; India |
| 2024_321 | Le, MTH; Thao, VNT; Huu, AL; Tuan, HN; Thanh, NNN; Hong, VNT. (2024). Establish Trust With Electronic Word-of-Mouth to Improve Brand Equity. Sage Open, 14(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241292815. | Electronic word-of-mouth (e-WOM) has gained popularity due to the fact that people can communicate and discuss brands through emotive expressions, remarks, and reviews regardless of their distance. The purpose and objectives of this study are to determine how e-WOM factors, such as brand image, brand awareness, and brand loyalty based on trust, influence brand equity. The study's methodology included both qualitative and quantitative research to examine consumers' perspectives and generalize the findings, respectively. For qualitative research on e-WOM variables, both in-depth interviews and focus groups are utilized. The next stage is to collect online responses from 410 participants and evaluate their relationships using a structural equation modeling (SEM) model. The findings suggest that content quality, the number of reviews, norm conflict, and sponsored recommendations are the characteristics that generate e-WOM and enhance the ability to establish trust in these reviews. This enhances the brand equity of digital businesses. This demonstrates the factors that managers should emphasize in order to enhance the positive effects of e-WOM and thereby increase brand equity. | Sage Open | Brand Image; Brand Awareness; Brand Loyalty; Content Quality; Number of Reviews; Norm Conflict; Sponsored Recommendations; Source Expertise |
| 2024_322 | Le, TT; Nguyen, MH; Jin, RN; La, VP; Nguyen, HS; Vuong, QH. (2024). Examining the Influence of Generalized Trust on Life Satisfaction Across Different Education Levels and Socioeconomic Conditions Using the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework. Sage Open, 14(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241267373. | Extant literature suggests a positive correlation between social trust (also called generalized trust) and life satisfaction. However, the psychological pathways underlying this relationship can be complex. Using the Bayesian Mindsponge Framework (BMF), we examined the influence of social trust in a high-violence environment. Employing Bayesian analysis on a sample of 1,237 adults in Cali, Colombia, we found that in a linear relationship, generalized trust is positively associated with life satisfaction. However, in a model including the interactions between trust and education level as well as between trust and socioeconomic status, generalized trust is found to be negatively associated with life satisfaction. In this non-linear relationship, both education level and socioeconomic status have moderating effects against the negative association between generalized trust and life satisfaction. In other words, less educated people living in worse socioeconomic conditions are more likely to have lower life satisfaction when they have higher levels of social trust. In contrast, highly educated people living in better socioeconomic conditions are more likely to have higher life satisfaction when they have higher levels of social trust. Due to the facilitating function of trust in information processing, lowering the rigor of the filtering system in a high-violence social environment will likely put an individual at risk. Based on our findings, we suggest that policymakers should be more meticulous and consider many socioeconomic factors when advocating for increasing social trust. We also recommend that researchers should investigate deeper the complexity of human psychology and the information-processing mechanisms of social trust. Employing Bayesian analysis aided by the MCMC technique on 1,237 urban people in Colombia, we found that generalized trust is positively associated with life satisfaction. However, people with lower educational levels whose socioeconomic status are lower are more likely to have lower life satisfaction when they have higher levels of social trust, whereas people with higher educational levels whose socioeconomic status is higher will be more likely to have higher life satisfaction when they have higher levels of social trust. Our findings also suggest that education level has a bigger impact compared to socioeconomic status in moderating the relationship between social trust and life satisfaction. Based on our findings, promoting social trust in communities with lower education levels, poor living conditions, and a violent social context should be carefully planned due to the complexity of related information processes' interactions. | Sage Open | Social Trust; Life Satisfaction; Education Level; Socioeconomic Status; Bayesian Mindsponge Framework |
| 2024_323 | Lee, BL; Brierley, J. (2024). Confluent trust, accountability, procedural justice, British credit unions and regulatory reform after the global financial crisis. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 44(1-2), 221-235. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-08-2023-0181. | PurposeThe relationship between trust, accountability and procedural justice is studied via research into British credit unions (CUs) following regulatory reform to remedy problems exposed by the 2007-2008 global financial crisis.Design/methodology/approachInterviews at 13 case studies of different types and sizes of credit unions in Glasgow, Scotland, are examined using template analysis and abductive theorizing to understand the effects of disproportionate reforms on small credit unions.FindingsSmaller credit unions found three regulatory changes - namely dual regulators, increased minimum reserves and introduction of the Senior Managers and Certification Regime - excessive. Excessive change generated distrust in regulators. Regulators' insufficient attention to procedural justice contributed to this distrust.Originality/valueLinkage of multidimensional confluent trust to a multilevel system of accountability provides an original way of understanding how indiscriminate attempts at trust repair damage some elements of trust in formal regulatory systems. Recognition of the need for procedural justice to enable smaller credit unions to articulate their extant checks and potential exemption from formal regulations provides another valuable contribution. The explanation of the abductive logic employed is also original. | International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy | Trust; Accountability; Procedural Justice; Financial Exclusion; Microcredit; Credit Unions |
| 2024_324 | Lee, FLF. (2024). Disinformation Perceptions and Media Trust: the Moderating Roles of Political Trust and Values. International Journal of Communication | Many observers have been concerned with the possible negative consequences of the proliferation of fake news and disinformation, including a decline in media trust. This study attempts to document the negative relationship between media trust and perceived severity of disinformation, measured in terms of perceived seriousness of the disinformation problem and perceived influence of disinformation on society. Moreover, this study argues that political trust and political values would orient people's responses to the phenomenon of disinformation. Hence, they would moderate the relationship between perceived severity of disinformation and media trust. Analysis of a survey in Hong Kong (N = 1,014) shows that perceived severity of the disinformation problem relates negatively to general media trust. The negative relationship is particularly strong among people who trust governmental institutions more, believe in law and order more, and emphasize civil liberties less. General implications of the findings are discussed. | International Journal of Communication | Disinformation; Perceptions; Media Trust; Political Trust; Political Values; Hong Kong |
| 2024_325 | Lee, H. (2024). Shut up and take my money - narrating state funding, independent journalism, and public trust in Singapore. Communication Research and Practice, 10(2), 213-229. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2024.2326370. | In May 2021, Singapore Press Holding (SPH), the country's newspaper conglomerate, announced its restructuring into a not-for-profit entity in response to the global decline of the news industry. The government pledged an annual S$180m budget to the new SPH Media Trust (SMT), raising concerns about the ability of the news entity to break away from government control, but these were dismissed with political assertions that editorial independence had 'always existed'. This paper analyses the government-led public discourses surrounding SMT, highlighting a two-prong narrative approach: obfuscate the social role of the media in Singapore, and downplay the need for accountability over public funding for SMT. Applying a Foucauldian framework for evaluating discursive practices in governance and measuring these narratives against public service journalism scholarship, this paper probes the constructed determinants of journalism's social role in Singapore. It proposes that similar evaluations can be applied to discourse about journalism in other societies. | Communication Research and Practice | Public Service Journalism; Boundary-Work; Media Funding; Media Freedom; Singapore |
| 2024_326 | Lee, J; Lee, J. (2024). Compatibility of the Incompatible: How Does Asymmetric Power Lead to Coexistence of Trust and Distrust in Adversarial Policy Networks?. International Journal of Public Administration, 47(5), 297-312. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2022.2094410. | Asymmetric power has been found to hinder the development of trust that is essential for structuring policy subsystems or networks. Using a multinomial logistic analysis of a local hydraulic fracturing policy network in New York, our findings indicate that (1) power imbalance affects the coexistence of trust and distrust and (2) power imbalance interacting with certain types of social relationships (policy communication, regulation, and knowledge exchange) leads to the coexistence of trust and distrust. We suggest three implications for the governance of policy networks and policy process literature: increasing levels of trust do not guarantee decreasing levels of distrust, asymmetric power has an impact on structuring ambivalent relations, and adversarial policy subsystems can take four structural forms depending on the levels of trust and distrust. | International Journal of Public Administration | Policy Networks; Asymmetric Power; Trust; Distrust; Paradox |
| 2024_327 | Lee, JC; Bi, L; Liu, HT. (2024). User stickiness to facial recognition payment technology: insights from Sako's trust typology, privacy concerns, and a cross-cultural context. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03569-2. | People remain concerned about using facial recognition payment (FRP) technology because of risks such as biological information and data leakage. Therefore, promoting individuals' continual use behavior of FRPs is critical for their successful deployment. However, the majority of FRP studies emphasize individuals' intentions. A discrepancy between intention and actual use may exist, but few or no studies have explored and investigated the factors affecting people's sustained use behavior. To fill this gap, we use the concept of user stickiness to reflect continuous use behavior and develop a research model by considering the theory of planned behavior (TPB) and Sako's trust typology (competence, contractual and goodwill trust) and privacy concerns to explain and predict user stickiness to the FRP. We examined this model via partial least squares (PLS) on samples from 1278 users (648 from China and 630 from the USA) with FRP experience. In both countries, competence, contractual, and goodwill trust are positively related to users' attitudes and perceived behavioral control and negatively related to privacy concerns. Our study also highlights cultural differences in the model, showing the distinct impacts of privacy concerns on user attitudes and FRP stickiness between the Chinese and American samples. This study contributes to the literature by revealing and clarifying the different mechanisms of competence, contractual, and goodwill trust on user stickiness to FRP through the constructs of the TPB and privacy concerns in the context of China and the USA. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_328 | Lee, MG. (2024). Being Human and Hanging Out: Mutuality, Trust, and Voice in Youth Participatory Research. International Journal of Qualitative Methods, 23. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/16094069241296192. | Reflexively drawing on my experiences as a young researcher conducting collaborative research with young people from migrant backgrounds in rural Australia, this paper brings a critical lens to participatory or co-designed research processes with youth. Drawing on learnings from three relationships with young people involved, I explore some of the ethical complexities of participatory processes with young people, the nature of voice and listening, trust and reciprocity, and knowledge co-production. I argue that paradigms of youth participation and co-design should involve more than sharing projects. They should also involve sharing processes of co-imagining and co-creating accessible, ethical, enjoyable, and realistic forms of participation with young people-which vary across communities, places, and over time. Further, I explore what might be possible, in these processes, if we move beyond word-centric approaches to knowledge, voice, and connection, and learn to listen with our whole selves. What new insights might emerge when we recognise participatory processes and voice itself as co-created, co-creative, and mutually transformative? | International Journal of Qualitative Methods | Co-Production; Ethics; Relation*; Participatory; Trust; Voice; Youth and Young People |
| 2024_329 | Lee, S; Taylor, MA; Ahmed, S; Moon, WK. (2024). Going beyond political ideology: A computational analysis of civic trust in science. Public Understanding of Science, 33(8), 1046-1062. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625241246076. | Numerous studies have been conducted to identify the factors that predict trust/distrust in science. However, most of these studies are based on closed-ended survey research, which does not allow researchers to gain a more nuanced understanding of the phenomenon. This study integrated survey analysis conducted within the United States with computational text analysis to reveal factors previously obscured by traditional survey methodologies. Even after controlling for political ideology-which has been the most significant explanatory factor in determining trust in science within a survey framework-we found those with concerns over boundary-crossing (i.e. concerns or perceptions that science overlaps with politics, the government, and funding) were less likely to trust science than their counterparts. | Public Understanding of Science | Boundary-Crossing; Computational Text Analysis; Political Ideology; Trust in Science |
| 2024_330 | Lee, SH. (2024). How pandemic detective narratives potentiate and debilitate trust. Text & Talk, 44(6), 809-841. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/text-2022-0080. | Never in modern times has public health communication been so critical yet so fragile. When the first COVID-19 case was detected in Taiwan, Taiwanese health officials readily embedded pandemic detective narratives within public announcements to alert and reassure citizens about the government's preparedness. Such narratives are subject to revision because of challenges from the press, thereby inviting uncertainty as to who is telling the truth. In this study, I draw on the notions of narrative construction and circulation to analyze video recordings of daily press conferences about COVID-19 in Taiwan and trace how the Taiwanese media covered the island's first COVID-19 case from diagnosis to recovery. Along the way, pandemic detective narratives were multimodally told, untold, and retold. The health officials' narrative (re)entextualizations conflicted with those of the press and the person with COVID-19. This conflict stemmed from the different means of narrative construction and circulation that each narrator utilized to make sense of the illness experience. The differences suggest a tension between asserting control and conveying authenticity that intertextually potentiates and debilitates trust. | Text & Talk | COVID-19 Pandemic; Taiwan; Narrative; Entextualization; Multimodality; Trust |
| 2024_331 | Lee, Y; Ottervik, M. (2024). Investigating the relationship between gender equality and citizen trust: Evidence from Latin America. Social Science Quarterly, 105(2), 242-252. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13350. | ObjectivesPrevious research has shown a relationship between social and economic equality and trust, but the relationship between gender equality and trust has received relatively little attention. This study addresses that lacuna and analyzes the relationship between gender equality and political trust as well as social trust.MethodsUsing the 2015 Latinobarometro, we test the relationship between two types of gender equality, labor gender equality and overall gender equality, and two types of trust, political trust and social trust in a series of regressions.ResultsThe results show that gender equality is positively associated with social and political trust. In particular, the magnitude of association of labor gender equality with social trust is greater than that of overall gender equality. Also, the magnitude of association of overall gender equality with political trust is greater than that of labor gender equality.ConclusionsOur article contributes to the literature by demonstrating that overall gender equality and labor gender equality have varying association with trust depending on types of trust. | Social Science Quarterly | Gender Equality; Latin America; Political Trust; Social Trust |
| 2024_332 | Lee, Y. (2024). Government performance and citizen trust before and after the Great Recession: the case of Greece and Italy. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, 44(11-12), 1152-1165. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-04-2024-0180. | Purpose The Great Recession that began around 2008 hit hard on Greece and Italy. During a period of extreme economic distress, the two countries suffered the loss of government performance and citizen trust in government. The purpose of this study is to describe how government performance and citizen trust in government had been altered in the context of the Great Recession.Design/methodology/approach This study conducts a case study on France and Germany. These in-depth case studies afford a lens for diagnosing how the Great Recession affected macro and micro-performance in practice.Findings Comparative case studies of Greece and Italy provide evidence that government performance in Greece and Italy was diminished to a large extent as a result of the Great Recession. In addition, citizen trust in both countries was impaired during the Great Recession period.Social implications It is a matter of grave concern how the government responds to crises. During the crisis, some states implemented stringent austerity measures. This case brings out the careful point that austerity measures could diminish government performance as well as the state's fundamental potential.Originality/value Due to its significance, the Great Recession has been widely investigated, with the explanations often concentrating on economic and political repercussions. Nonetheless, how the economic crisis transformed into public administration and policy has largely gone unheeded. The case studies of Greece and Italy newly identify and help to explain how the Great Recession contributes to governments and citizens in a multitude of aspects. | International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy | the Great Recession; Performance Theory; Trust in Government; Comparative Study |
| 2024_333 | Lee, YC; Shih, MC. (2024). Can I Trust What You Say about the Smart Speaker? Effects of AI Anxiety and Biased Assimilation on Blog Comment Credibility. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 68(3), 399-421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08838151.2024.2341051. | Advancements in Internet and communication technologies have facilitated the proliferation of product reviews and commentary pertaining to smart speakers. This study investigated the impacts of uncivil comments on blog comment credibility. Results show that the civil opinion commentary appears to be more credible than uncivil commentary. The interaction between civil opinion and low AI anxiety generates more blog review credibility than the interaction between uncivil opinion and low AI anxiety. Finally, we identify moderating effects of AI anxiety and provide deeper insights into how the interaction of comment civility and AI anxiety shape the credibility assessments of blog reviews. | Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media | |
| 2024_334 | Legg, T; Bero, L; Lewandowsky, S. (2024). The UK public's trust in tobacco industry involvement in science - an experimental survey. Frontiers in Communication, 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1360277. | Introduction Despite the tobacco industry's (TI) decades-long history of manipulating science, Philip Morris International (PMI) now frames itself as a benevolent funder of science and, in 2017, launched a new scientific organisation, the Foundation for a Smoke-Free World (FSFW). With concerns mounting that PMI's actions are echoing historical TI influence on science, we aimed to understand the extent to which the public trusts PMI's involvement in science, and whether channelling funds through a third-party organisation affects these levels of trust.Methods Through a representative survey of the UK public (n=1580) we investigated trust in direct (PMI), indirect (FSFW), and no (Cancer Research UK) TI involvement in science. Conservative worldview was investigated as a possible predictor of trust. Structural equation modelling was used to explore associations between variables.Results Although PMI was significantly less trusted than FSFW and Cancer Research UK, the public did not completely distrust it as a scientific source. Trust in FSFW's involvement in science was higher before participants understood its TI funding. People with conservative worldviews demonstrated greater trust in TI involvement in science.Discussion The UK public needs to be better informed that the TI is not a trustworthy scientific source. Since channelling TI research funds through a third party increases the perceived trustworthiness of its science, steps to prevent such relationships are warranted. People with conservative leanings hold concerning views on TI involvement in science, which may be particularly hard to correct. | Frontiers in Communication | Tobacco Industry; Science; Agnogenesis; Disinformation; Ethics; Trust |
| 2024_335 | Leppälä, K; Kosonen, P; Ikonen, M. (2024). Utilizing Ethnographical Approaches to Study the Abstract, Intimate, and Dynamic Topic of Trust. Journal of Contemporary Ethnography, 53(6), 822-852. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08912416241273195. | There is an increased need to acquire a more holistic and situated understanding of how and why experiences unfold during real-life situations, especially during research focused on identifying nuanced and dynamic phenomena such as trust. Trust researchers need to revisit and expand their methodological toolkit with immersive qualitative methods for the researching of lived experiences of abstract, intimate, and dynamic experiences. In this article, we discuss two ethnographical approaches to qualitative trust research-autoethnography and at-home ethnography. We illustrate this discussion through two case vignettes from our studies of nuanced and dynamic organizational relationships in which we as researchers were also positioned as a part of the data. We apply philosophical principles connected to reflexivity and provide examples of the researcher as a subject during the study of unfolding vulnerabilities of the field and the researcher. | Journal of Contemporary Ethnography | Trust Research; Methodology; Autoethnography; At-Home Ethnography; Qualitative Research; Researcher Positioning |
| 2024_336 | Lestari, S; Novandari, W; Hidayati, NV; Pujihastuti, E; Afuan, L. (2024). Knowledge Sharing as a Mediator between Clan Culture, Trust, and Resilience and Innovative Work Behavior in Indonesian Village-owned Enterprises. Journal of Behavioral Science | Background/problem: In contemporary organizational settings in Indonesia, encouraging innovative work behavior is crucial for maintaining a competitive advantage. Understanding the factors that influence such behavior is essential for organizational success in Indonesia, particularly village-owned enterprises. Objective/purpose: This study aimed to investigate the impact of clan culture and village enterprise manager's resilience on innovative work behavior, while also exploring the mediating role of knowledge sharing in these relationships. Design and Methodology: This research was conducted in various villages in Central Java, Indonesia, focusing on village owned enterprises. Data collection was carried out both through offline distribution and an online system. A total of 228 questionnaires were successfully analyzed. Structural Equation Modeling was used for data analysis. Results: The results support all hypotheses, indicating significant positive relationships between clan culture beta = .23, p = .02), manager's resilience (beta = .15, p = .01), knowledge sharing (beta = .27, p = .00), and innovative work behavior. Clan culture, manager's resilience, and knowledge sharing positively influenced innovative work behavior, with knowledge sharing acting as a significant mediator (indirect effect = .12, p = .01; indirect effect = .04, p = .02). Conclusion and Implications: The findings of this study emphasize the importance of social interactions, adaptive leadership, and collaboration in creating an innovative work environment in government-owned business institutions. Good social interactions and adaptive leadership can foster effective collaboration among team members. | Journal of Behavioral Science | Clan Culture; Innovative Work Behavior; Knowledge Sharing; Resilience |
| 2024_337 | Levis, A; Smith, EK. (2024). Trust in Implementing Institutions, Ecological Behavior and Decentralized Environmental Governance: the Case of Switzerland. Swiss Political Science Review, 30(4), 357-384. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12625. | Trust in political institutions has been found to shape individual ecological behaviors and attitudes. In this paper, we investigate trust in implementing government institutions (e.g., public administration). Heightened trust in implementing institutions is theorized to support overcoming environmental social dilemmas, enabling concerned individuals to engage in ecological behaviors. Further, as environmental policies are implemented across levels of government, decomposing trust perceptions in local, regional, and national agencies is crucial. Utilizing survey data from Switzerland, we find that trust in implementing institutions increases ecological behaviors and pro-environmental attitudes. Further, trusting implementing institutions can help overcome barriers to action, particularly amongst individuals with lower levels of concern. Lastly, we find that the role of trust can differ by level of government and ecological behaviors and attitudes. These findings support research on the moderating role of trust in the concern-behavior gap, exploring new conceptualizations across levels of government and measures of policy support. Die Forschung hat gezeigt, dass Vertrauen in politische Institutionen & ouml;kologische Verhaltensweisen und Einstellungen beeinflusst. Diese Studie untersucht das Vertrauen in ausf & uuml;hrende Regierungsinstitutionen (z.B. & ouml;ffentliche Verwaltung). Wir argumentieren, dass Vertrauen in diese Institutionen die & Uuml;berwindung sozialer Umweltdilemmata unterst & uuml;tzt und es Personen mit Umweltbedenken erm & ouml;glicht, sich & ouml;kologisch zu verhalten. Da umweltpolitische Massnahmen auf verschiedenen Regierungsebenen umgesetzt werden, schl & uuml;sseln wir die Vertrauenswahrnehmung in lokale, regionale und nationale Beh & ouml;rden auf. Anhand von Schweizer Umfragedaten zeigen wir, dass das Vertrauen in ausf & uuml;hrende Institutionen & ouml;kologisches Verhalten und umweltfreundliche Einstellungen f & ouml;rdert. Dar & uuml;ber tr & auml;gt es dazu bei, Handlungsbarrieren zu & uuml;berwinden, insbesondere bei Personen mit wenig Umweltbedenken. Wir stellen fest, dass die Rolle des Vertrauens je nach Regierungsebene und & ouml;kologischen Verhaltensweisen und Einstellungen variiert. Diese Ergebnisse tragen zur Forschung & uuml;ber die Rolle von Vertrauen als Moderator zwischen Umweltbedenken und Verhalten bei, indem neue Konzeptualisierungen f & uuml;r verschiedene Regierungsebenen und verschiedene Messungen der Unterst & uuml;tzung politischer Massnahmen erforscht werden. La confiance dans les institutions politiques a & eacute;t & eacute; identifi & eacute;e comme influen & ccedil;ant les comportements et les attitudes & eacute;cologiques. Nous & eacute;tudions la confiance dans les institutions gouvernementales charg & eacute;es de la mise en oe uvre des politiques (par exemple, l'administration publique). Nous montrons que la confiance envers les institutions gouvernementales locales, r & eacute;gionales et nationales aide les individus & agrave; surmonter les dilemmes sociaux environnementaux et & agrave; adopter des comportements & eacute;cologiques. Utilisant des donn & eacute;es d'une enqu & ecirc;te en Suisse, nous constatons que cette confiance encourage les comportements & eacute;cologiques et les attitudes pro-environnementales, particuli & egrave;rement chez les personnes moins pr & eacute;occup & eacute;es par l'environnement. Le r & ocirc;le de la confiance varie selon l'agence gouvernementale et les comportements & eacute;cologiques concern & eacute;s, et confirme l'importance de la confiance pour r & eacute;duire l'& eacute;cart entre pr & eacute;occupations et comportements. Nous soulignons le r & ocirc;le mod & eacute;rateur de la confiance dans les institutions pour promouvoir des comportements & eacute;cologiques, soulignant la n & eacute;cessit & eacute; de consid & eacute;rer le soutien politique et la confiance envers diverses institutions gouvernementales dans la mise en oe uvre des politiques environnementales. & Egrave; stato dimostrato che la fiducia nelle istituzioni politiche influenza i comportamenti e gli atteggiamenti ecologici degli individui. Questo studio analizza la fiducia nelle istituzioni governative attuatrici, come la pubblica amministrazione. Si ipotizza che fiducia in queste istituzioni aiuti a superare i dilemmi sociali ambientali, favorendo comportamenti ecologici. Poich & eacute; le politiche ambientali sono attuate a vari livelli di governo, & egrave; cruciale esaminare la fiducia nelle agenzie locali, regionali e nazionali. Basandoci su un sondaggio in Svizzera, lo studio rivela che la fiducia nelle istituzioni attuatrici aumenta sia i comportamenti che gli atteggiamenti ambientalisti. Inoltre, questa fiducia consente di superare gli ostacoli all'azione, specialmente tra chi ha minori preoccupazioni ambientali. Infine, il ruolo della fiducia varia in base al livello istituzionale e al tipo di comportamento ecologico. Questi risultati sono un contributo a ricerche sul ruolo della fiducia nel temperare il gap tra preoccupazioni e comportamenti, esplorando nuove concettualizzazioni a vari livelli istituzionali e varie misure di sostegno alle politiche pubbliche. | Swiss Political Science Review | Decentralization; Ecological Behavior; Environmental Concern; Impartial Trust; Institutional Trust |
| 2024_338 | Li, CH; Wang, CS; Wu, L; Zhang, R; Niu, XY. (2024). The Impact of International Talent Inflow on Technological Innovation: the Moderating Role of Guanxi Culture and Social Trust. Sage Open, 14(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241268801. | This paper studies the effect of international talent inflow on technological innovation and the influence of the Chinese cultural environment on their relationship. Based on provincial-level data from 2000 to 2012, we construct a static panel data model to explore the effects of international talents on technological innovation and the moderating role of Guanxi culture and social trust in the above relationship. We find that international talent inflow positively impacts technological innovation. Guanxi culture significantly negatively impacts technological innovation and negatively moderates the relationship between international talent inflow and technological innovation. Social trust significantly positively impacts technological innovation and positively moderates the relationship between international talent inflow and technological innovation. The interaction between social trust and Guanxi culture has a significant positive effect on technological innovation. The study shows that different cultural environments have an essential impact on developing international talent's innovation ability. This paper provides evidence for the need to improve China's cultural environment and provides important implications for the formulation of talent policies. Based on this, we suggest improving the talent introduction system, optimizing the relationship culture, and building a good social trust system to promote regional innovation. In this paper, we found that international talent inflow positively impacts on technological innovation. Guanxi culture significantly negatively impacts on technological innovation and negatively moderating the relationship between international talent inflow and technological innovation. Social trust significantly positively impacts on technological innovation and positively moderates the relationship between international talent inflows and technological innovation. The interaction between social trust and Guanxi culture has a significant positive effect on technological innovation. This study makes several contributions to the literature. First, it enriches the research on the influence of informal institutions in the field of international talents and reveals the boundary conditions for the role of international talents. Second, it deepens the research on the influence of culture with Chinese characteristics and enriches the empirical research on Guanxi culture in management. Lastly, it expands the antecedents of technological innovation. There are some limitations to this study. First, in addition to the negative side of the Guanxi culture, there is also a positive side. This study only uses the time invested by entrepreneurs and corporate entertainment expenses to explore its effect. Therefore, future research can analyze both sides of Guanxi culture. Second, Guanxi culture is just one of China's core cultures. Other cultures such as favor and face are also cross-cultural adaptation issues that international talents must face. It is necessary to discuss them. Third, limited to data availability, the social trust data only covers 7 years. Therefore, more relevant alternative indicators can be sought to verify the results in the future. | Sage Open | Cultural Environment; Guanxi Culture; International Talent Inflow; Social Trust; Technological Innovation |
| 2024_339 | Li, GM; Liang, F; Zhu, QF. (2024). Examining Active News Avoidance Across Countries: A Multilevel Moderation Analysis of News Interests, News Trust, and Press Freedom. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10776990241232083. | Previous studies have identified various individual factors explaining news avoidance, but the understanding of how these factors function within the broader political information environment is limited. This study, leveraging a large-scale cross-national survey, reveals that the relationships between individual news interests, news trust, and news avoidance differ across countries with varying levels of press freedom. In nations where the press is strong and free, personal preferences minimally influence individuals' active avoidance of hard news. News avoidance is not solely a product of individual-level attributes. Rather, the impact of these individual factors is significantly shaped by the overarching political information environment. | Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly | News Avoidance; News Interest; News Trust; Press Freedom; Political Information Environment |
| 2024_340 | Li, H; Zhang, JS; Huang, K. (2024). Meta-Analyzing the Trust-Performance Link in Collaboration: Moderating Effects of Conceptual and Contextual Factors. Public Performance & Management Review http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2024.2405839. | Trust is vital for effective collaboration, but its impact on collaboration performance has produced inconsistent findings. This study examines the trust-collaboration performance link by testing the moderating effects of diverse conceptual and contextual factors. Through a comprehensive meta-analysis of 31 empirical studies, we synthesize siloed findings and offer a systematic and evidence-based examination of the trust-collaboration performance link. Our findings show that the trust-collaboration performance relationship is positive and stronger when trust is cognition-based rather than affect-based, when performance content focuses on process and outcomes, and when performance is subjectively measured. In addition, trust is more important in low generalized trust countries and in cross-sectoral or nonprofit collaboration. These moderation effects manifest differently in different collaboration forms, with trust playing a less salient role in contracting. These findings unravel the nuanced dynamics of trust within collaboration and have substantial implications for scholars and practitioners in collaborative governance and network management. | Public Performance & Management Review | Collaboration Performance; Context; Meta-Analysis; Trust |
| 2024_341 | Li, JX; Street, RL Jr. (2024). What Encourages Patients to Recommend Their Doctor After an Online Medical Consultation? the Influence of Patient-Centered Communication, Trust, and Negative Health Information Seeking Experiences. Health Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2383801. | The doctor-patient relationship in China has become increasingly tense, with patients lacking trust in doctors. Meanwhile, online healthcare flourished, accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic. This study utilized the direct and indirect pathway model of clinician-patient communication to health outcomes and online trust theory to examine the associations between online patient-centered communication (OPCC), benevolence and ability trust in doctors, negative online health information seeking experiences, and willingness to recommend doctors. The findings revealed that benevolence and ability trust mediated the relationship between OPCC and willingness to recommend doctors. Additionally, when participants had a high level of negative online health information seeking experiences, OPCC had a stronger effect on ability trust; meanwhile, the mediation effect of ability trust between the relationship of OPCC and willingness to recommend was stronger. This study also discussed theoretical and practical implications. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_342 | Li, JY; Lee, Y. (2024). Predicting Public Cooperation with Face Covering at the Early Phases of COVID-19: Building Public Trust, Confidence, Knowledge Through Governmental Two-Way Symmetrical Communication. Health Communication, 39(12), 2983-2996. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2297496. | Despite the agreement on the importance of two-way communication during governmental response to pandemics, few studies provided empirical evidence to support the effectiveness of such communication strategy in times of a public health crisis. Integrating the concept of two-way symmetrical communication and the Trust, Confidence, and Cooperation model (the TCC model), this study investigates how strategic communication practices, in particular two-way symmetrical communication, is related to public's perceived trust and confidence in governments (i.e., CDC in this study), and how these perceptions may affect decisions to comply with the preventive behaviors (i.e., face covering in this study), while taking the moderating role of knowledge into consideration. An online survey was conducted with 502 participants who were living in the United States in early April 2020. The findings showed that two-way symmetrical communication may increase public trust and confidence in governments, and improve individuals' knowledge about the pandemic, which all subsequently leads to compliance with recommended behaviors. The results contribute to the theoretical understanding of pandemic communication and provide implications for practitioners in pandemic management, suggesting that health institutions should adopt two-way symmetrical communication practices in respond to public health emergencies. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_343 | Li, N; He, M. (2024). Perceived local government performance and people's life satisfaction: the role of trust in local government and political participation. Local Government Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2024.2352504. | Life satisfaction (LS) has received widespread attention, but few studies explored the determinants of people's LS in China from the perspective of perceived performance of local government (PPLG). Therefore, taking trust in local government and political participation into consideration, this study employed the data in 2021CSS to analyse the relationship between PPLG and LS. The results showed that PPLG had a direct positive relationship with people's LS. Citizens' trust in local government played a mediating role in this relationship. That is, PPLG had a significant positive association with citizens' trust in local government, which in turn had a significant positive relationship with people's LS. Unexpectedly, institutional and non- institutional political participation played different roles, namely, institutional political participation rather than non-institutional political participation played a mediating role in this model. The conclusions provided a meaningful supplement for related studies, but some potential limitations require further discussion. | Local Government Studies | Perceived Performance; Local Government; Trust in Local Government; Institutional Political Participation; Non-Institutional Political Participation; Life Satisfaction |
| 2024_344 | Li, Y; Lin, WH; Dong, YC; Li, CC; Herrera, F. (2024). Consensus Reaching with Dynamic Trust Relationships and Cost-Learning in Group Decision Making. Group Decision and Negotiation http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10726-024-09893-x. | In group decision making (GDM), consensus reaching process (CRP) is a very effective tool for decision makers to reach cooperative agreements. Generally, decision makers need to modify their preferences to reach a consensus, and preference-modifications often mean cost, which make the minimum cost consensus models popular. However, in real-world decision problems, the unit costs of decision makers are often uncertain and difficult to obtain. Meanwhile, the trust relationships defined by social network play an important role in social network group decision making (SNGDM). While in practical SNGDM problems, the trust relationships should be related not only to the social network but also to their preferences, and thus the trust relationships should change dynamically with the preference-modifications. Based on the above two points, we develop a CRP with dynamic trust relationships and cost learning (DTCL-CRP), which is more suitable for solving practical decision-making problems. First, a dynamic trust relationships modeling is presented to update the trust relationships among decision makers and eventually update their weights. Besides, a cost-learning mechanism is designed to learn the unit costs of decision makers, which is the basis of the minimum cost consensus model. Next, we conduct a comparative study between the DTCL-CRP and other CPRs, the results show that the DTCL-CRP performs better than other CRPs under different criteria. Finally, we conduct a sensitive analysis to demonstrate the robustness of the DTCL-CRP. | Group Decision and Negotiation | Dynamic Trust Relationships; Cost Learning; Consensus Reaching Process; Group Decision Making |
| 2024_345 | Lim, JS; Jiang, H. (2024). How Perceptions of Dialogic Communication and Authenticity of CSR Communication Lead to Trust and Brand Loyalty Through Online Brand Community Engagement Intention. Journal of Public Relations Research, 36(3), 233-257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1062726X.2023.2253941. | This study investigates the relationship between the perceived quality of dialogic CSR communication and perceived trust and brand loyalty. It explores the potential mediation of online brand community engagement (OBCE) intention and the perceived authenticity of CSR communication in this relationship. A survey was conducted using a representative sample of US adult consumers (N = 1,022). All hypotheses were supported by demonstrating (1) the direct linkage between perceived quality of dialogic communication and perceived authenticity, as well as OBCE intention; (2) the direct connection of OBCE intention to trust and brand loyalty; (3) the indirect linkage between perceived quality of dialogic communication and brand loyalty, which were mediated through OBCE intention and trust. The results affirmed that trust operates as a mediator in the relationship between perceived dialogic communication and brand loyalty. Furthermore, the findings suggest that OBCE intention acts as a catalyst that enhances trust in the company and brand loyalty by heightening the perceived authenticity of dialogic communication. | Journal of Public Relations Research | Authenticity; Brand Community Engagement; Brand Loyalty; CSR Communication; Dialogic Communication; Trust |
| 2024_346 | Lim, JS; Schneider, E; Grover, M; Zhang, J; Peters, D. (2024). Effects of AI versus human source attribution on trust and forgiveness in the identical corporate apology statement for a data breach scandal. Public Relations Review, 51(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2024.102520. | This study investigates the effects of AI versus human source attribution on trust and forgiveness in the identical AI-generated corporate apology statement for a simulated data breach scandal. While AI-generated messages hold promise in crisis communication, their impact on public perception remains understudied. The research was inspired by incidents where ChatGPT was used to generate official apology statements, raising questions about the authenticity of AI-generated apologies. Using a fictitious retail company's apology statement, crafted with the assistance of ChatGPT, participants were randomly assigned to conditions indicating the statement was AIaided, human-written, or unspecified (control). The results indicate that participants attributed higher levels of forgiveness intention and trust to the statement credited to humans compared to AI-generated statements. Additionally, the human-attributed statement was perceived as more empathetic and sincere than the AIattributed statement. Mediation analysis results revealed that empathy mediated forgiveness intention and trust in human-authored statements, while perceived sincerity mediated these factors in AI-aided statements. These findings suggest that source attribution significantly influences public perception of organizational apologies during crises. This study contributes to understanding the evolving role of AI in crisis management and underscores the importance of ethical and transparent communication practices. | Public Relations Review | Source Attribution; Forgiveness; Crisis Communication; Apology; Chatgpt; Artificial Intelligence (AI) |
| 2024_347 | Lindgren, E; Lindholm, T; Vliegenthart, R; Boomgaarden, HG; Damstra, A; Strömbäck, J; Tsfati, Y. (2024). Trusting the Facts: the Role of Framing, News Media as a (Trusted) Source, and Opinion Resonance for Perceived Truth in Statistical Statements. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 101(4), 981-1004. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10776990221117117. | Scholars have raised concerns that on many issues, citizens are reluctant to trust factual evidence and statistics. One factor that has been shown to impact the perceived truth in statistics is how they are presented, where negatively framed statistics are perceived as truer than positive. This study explores when this bias applies and not. Results from a survey experiment confirm the presence of a negativity bias in truth perceptions, but also that effects are heterogeneous and moderated by, in particular, the recipients' preexisting opinions. These findings provide valuable information to public actors responsible for disseminating factual information to diverse publics. | Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly | Equivalence Framing; Perceived Truth in Statistical Statements; Negativity Bias; Media Trust; Opinion Resonance |
| 2024_348 | Link, E; Baumann, E; Klimmt, C. (2024). Understanding the importance of trust in patients' coping with uncertainty via health information-seeking behaviors. Communications-European Journal of Communication Research, 49(1), 74-98. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/commun-2021-0117. | Disease-related challenges are often associated with perceived uncertainties in individuals, triggering attempts to cope with the situation. Our study aims to understand patients' coping strategies regarding health information-seeking behaviors (HISBs). It is guided by the Uncertainty Management Theory, and seeks to grant insights into multi-channel HISB by describing how uses of interpersonal and media channels interact to cope with uncertainties, and how trust influences the process of multi-channel HISB. Patients diagnosed with osteoarthrosis (N = 34) participated in qualitative semi-structured interviews, from which five patterns of multi-channel HISB, ranging from a focus on the physician to a focus on the internet, were identified. These patterns are distinguished by underlying functions of trust - including trust serving as an additional coping strategy, and as an important influencing factor for perceiving information as meaningful - and by whether information needs remain and patients turn to multiple sources. These findings form the basis for further theory development considering the iterative nature of HISB and the role of trust. | Communications-European Journal of Communication Research | Trust; Uncertainty Management; Multi-Channel Health Information-Seeking Behavior; Media Sources; Interpersonal Sources; Qualitative Interviews |
| 2024_349 | Litvinenko, A; Smoliarova, A. (2024). Trust in Anonymous News? How Users Navigate Political News Channels on Russian Telegram. Social Sciences-Basel, 13(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci13040180. | The paper explores the phenomenon of anonymous news channels on Russian Telegram, which have become increasingly popular in recent years. Drawing on 25 self-confrontation interviews, we answer the following questions: Do users trust anonymous news? If not, why do they keep using this information source? How does a restrictive socio-political context influence users' trust in alternative news sources? Our results show that, in Russia, the concept of trust is linked to the normative democratic understanding of journalistic functions. At the same time, many users believe that trust in media is not at all necessary and develop individual strategies to navigate a chaos of narratives. The paper discusses Telegram's role in shaping trust or distrust in news. | Social Sciences-Basel | Trust in Media; Telegram; Anonymous News; Russia |
| 2024_350 | Liu, BS; Lin, S; He, SQ; Zhang, JF. (2024). Encourage or impede? the relationship between trust in government and coproduction. Public Management Review, 26(12), 3501-3528. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2023.2220002. | Coproduction has been widely advocated for, but there are theoretical and empirical disagreements as to whether trust in government can encourage coproduction. This study proposed external and internal efficacy as potential moderators to further understand this relationship. We designed a questionnaire with 537 citizens, and a 2 x 2 x 2 between subjects survey experiment with 375 citizens to test our hypotheses in four urban governance scenarios in China. The findings provide solid empirical evidence for theoretical disagreements about coproduction and new ideas for mobilizing it. | Public Management Review | Coproduction; Trust in Government; External Efficacy; Internal Efficacy |
| 2024_351 | Liu, CC; Rona-Tas, A. (2024). Trusting by Numbers: An Analysis of a Chinese Social Credit System Governance Infrastructure. Critical Sociology http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/08969205241246528. | To govern, states collect and evaluate information about citizens. This paper examines a social credit system (SCS) in China, a state initiative aimed at governing trust through the quantification of social behavior. Our analysis opens the 'black box' of an SCS metric, investigating how trust is translated into numbers and the implications of this translation. We reveal that the SCS is deeply relational and embedded in specific interests, biases, and logics of governance. The system has the potential to reinforce structural injustices and inequalities as it particularly disadvantages rural residents. Meanwhile, it subjects government employees to stricter surveillance, indicating its multifaceted objectives. Our finding uncovers the nuanced ways the system interacts with social stratification in Chinese society and the administrative structure inside the state. We problematize the individualistic, decontextualized, and behavioral assumptions undergirding the metric, and advocate for a critical reassessment of the sociopolitical dimensions of such quantitative governance infrastructures. | Critical Sociology | Social Credit System; Quantification; Surveillance; Infrastructure; Trust; China |
| 2024_352 | Liu, SJ; Kuang, K. (2024). Climate race or collaboration? Effects of strategy framing on trust in government, nationalist sentiments, and climate action intention in international politics. Journalism http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14648849241285508. | Climate change is often used as a bargaining chip for global powers to achieve political goals. Strategy framing, particularly within international political contexts, can serve as a lens to unpack the relationship between countries' substantial climate policy and underlying political appeals in news coverage. A survey experiment (n = 331) was conducted to investigate the effects of strategy framing in international politics on trust in government, nationalist sentiments, and climate action intentions against the backdrop of China-U.S. climate relationship. Results showed that perceived strategy framing had a direct, positive association and an indirect, negative association with trust in government through anxiety. Additionally, in comparison to issue framing, exposure to strategy framing incited heightened nationalist sentiments, which in turn promoted public engagement in climate-related activities. Moreover, internal and international political efficacy moderated the effects of strategy framing perceptions on outcomes. Findings offer insights for possible cognitive, emotional, and ideological mechanisms of strategy framing's effects in international politics. | Journalism | Strategy Faming; Trust in Government; Nationalist Sentiments; Climate Action Intention; Anxiety |
| 2024_353 | Liu, TY; Li, MS; Yang, ZY; Xue, D. (2024). Internet Usage, Government Trust, and Participation of Informal Workers in Employee Public Pension Scheme. Sage Open, 14(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241258294. | Incorporating more informal workers into the employee public pension scheme (EPPS) is a crucial component of building a high-quality employment security system in China. This study, based on data from the China Family Panel Studies (CFPS) for the years 2014, 2016, and 2018, empirically analyzes the impact of Internet usage on the participation of informal workers in the EPPS. The research finds that informal workers significantly increase the possibility of participation in the EPPS through the Internet usage. This positive effect remains significant even after a series of robustness tests. Heterogeneity analyses argue that informal workers with higher educational level are more likely to participate in employee public pension scheme through the Internet Usage than informal workers with lower educational level. Mechanism analysis suggests that informal workers significantly raise their government trust through the Internet usage, thereby promoting their participation in the EPPS. Based on the empirical results, the following policy recommendations are proposed: government should further utilize the Internet to streamline online enrollment procedures, reducing the time costs for informal workers to participate in the EPPS. Additionally, the government should actively engage with the public through the Internet to enhance its image and deepen the level of government trust of informal workers, thereby increasing their motivation to participate in the EPPS. | Sage Open | Employee Public Pension Scheme; Government Trust; Internet Usage; Informal Workers; Public Pension Scheme; Urban-Rural Public Pension Scheme |
| 2024_354 | Liu, XS; Ding, TP; Zhang, YL; Vedlitz, A. (2024). Tainted trust: air pollution and political trust in China. Environmental Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2024.2371768. | Adverse health and economic impacts of air pollution in China have been well documented, but few studies have examined how air pollution may affect people's political trust in their government. From an expectation-performance perspective, we argue that air pollution makes Chinese citizens feel that their basic needs and well-being are under-protected by the government, thereby dampening their political trust. Empirically, we employ a unique dataset (n=3,972) that merges national public opinion survey with satellite-derived ground-level air pollution data to test our argument. Our analyses show that worsening air pollution significantly taints Chinese people's trust in the government, while the absolute level of local air pollution also erodes their political trust through raised environmental concern and lowered policy satisfaction. Our research adds knowledge to the links from air pollution to people's political trust in China and sheds new light on future studies of environmental politics and governance elsewhere. | Environmental Politics | Air Pollution; Political Trust; Environmental Politics; Statistical Analysis; China |
| 2024_355 | Liu, YX. (2024). Public trust and collaborative governance: an instrumental variable approach. Public Management Review, 26(2), 421-442. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2022.2095003. | This research investigates the effects of trust in government on citizens' perceptions of collaborative governance. To overcome endogeneity of measuring trust in traditional surveys, I proposed an alternative design that uses randomly assigned public integrity information as the instrumental variable of trust in government. The results from two online experiments indicate that citizens have strong preferences on public-citizen partnership, regardless the variations of trust in government. Moreover, trust in government has nonlinear effects on perceived public-private partnership and willingness to coproduce. These findings provide new opportunities to study public trust and offer implications to further develop collaborative governance theory. | Public Management Review | Public Trust; Collaborative Governance; Coproduction; Instrumental Variable |
| 2024_356 | Löffler, N. (2024). Trusting tech firms' big data for political microtargeting? A qualitative analysis of parties' communication managers risk and trust perceptions. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 21(4), 438-452. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19331681.2023.2264299. | Parties use political microtargeting (PMT) to address voter subsegments individually. Due to limited resources and legal restrictions, parties often rely on Meta's platforms and advertising ecosystem for PMT. However, using these external infrastructures and big data analyses might be risky for parties, since big data are criticized for their validity, robustness, representativeness, and usefulness. A mechanism to tolerate risks is trust. With the theoretical background of trust in technology, this study investigates the extent to which parties' communication managers perceive risks in their strategic use of PMT on Meta's platforms and how they evaluate big data's trustworthiness. Based on in-depth expert interviews with German parties' communication managers on state level, the results show that parties' communication managers perceive various risks in relying on Meta's platforms and are ambivalent about PMT's big data analytics in terms of quality and reliability. To minimize risk perceptions, parties adopt strategies such as inputting their own data or creating own target audiences. Parties' risk perceptions only partially influence their trust in big data and Meta. Despite varying degrees of trust, PMT is still used in campaigns as it has become too common and necessary to compete with other parties. | Journal of Information Technology & Politics | Political Microtargeting; Data-Driven Campaigning; Trust in Big Data; Qualitative Expert Interviews; Advertising Infrastructure |
| 2024_357 | Londoño-Pardo, OI; García-Perdomo, V. (2024). Selectiv Exposure, Trust in Media, and Tolerance to Sharing Disinformation. Index Comunicacion, 14(2), 57-81. http://dx.doi.org/10.62008/ixc/14/02Exposi. | Based on data obtained through a national urban survey (N = 1159), this study contributes to clarifying the relationship between selective exposure, trust in the media and tolerance to sharing misinformation in the context of the presidential elections in Colombia during 2022. The findings suggest that there is a greater probability of consuming ideologically related media in the case of television, newspapers and digital magazines, but not with radio media. Furthermore, selective exposure increases media trust as well as tolerance to sharing misinformation. Finally, the data suggest that selective exposure along with greater trust in the media may be two factors that increase tolerance to sharing misinformation. These results contribute to the discussion about the role of political ideology in media consumption in the global south and raise a new paradox: the coexistence of trust in the media with tolerance for false or inaccurate information that can affect democracy. | Index Comunicacion | Disinformation; Selective Exposure; Media Trust; Ideology |
| 2024_358 | Lotito, NJ; Joyce, RM. (2024). In the Army We Trust: Public Confidence in Global South Militaries. Journal of Conflict Resolution http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00220027241267839. | This article explores the phenomenon of high levels of public trust in the military across the Global South. We extend arguments from the US civil-military relations literature to a broader context and generate testable hypotheses to explain trust in the armed forces driven by the military's performance and professionalism, and the public's patriotism and partisanship. Using public opinion survey data from 73 countries between 1995 and 2017, we find broad but nuanced support for the hypotheses. Many determinants of public trust in the military, theorized in the US context, generalize globally: battlefield performance, resources, national pride, and right-wing partisanship all increase trust in the military, while coups and civil wars decrease it. By contrast, the effect of conscription is opposite to that in the United States, with national service providing a trust boost. The study highlights the implications of public trust for civil-military relations, political stability, and governance. | Journal of Conflict Resolution | Democratic Institutions; Domestic Politics; International Security; Military Power; Use of Force |
| 2024_359 | Lu, HY; Zeng, KY; Yang, L. (2024). Perceptions of Social Mobility and Political Trust in China: the Mediating Role of Perceived Fairness. Social Justice Research, 37(4), 382-405. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11211-024-00442-0. | Based on nationally representative data from the 2019 and 2021 Chinese Social Survey, this study examined the relationship between perceptions of upward and downward social mobility (PUSM/PDSM) and political trust by using the diagonal reference model and ordinary least squares model. We found that PUSM was positively related to political trust, while PDSM was negatively related to it after excluding the influence of social positions of origin and destination. We also provided evidence that perceived fairness mediated the nexus between PUSM/PDSM and political trust. Our findings underscored the pivotal role of perceived social mobility in shaping the political trust of Chinese citizens and elucidate the micro-level psychological mechanisms underlying this relationship. Hence, we advocate for the implementation of policies geared towards fostering upward mobility and alleviating inequality, aimed at addressing potential crises in political trust. Considering the decline in overall social mobility and the exacerbation of inequality following the COVID-19 epidemic, this research holds heightened contemporary significance. | Social Justice Research | Social Mobility; Political Trust; Perceived Fairness; Diagonal Reference Model |
| 2024_360 | Lu, QF; Link, E; Baumann, E; Schulz, PJ. (2024). Linking patient-centered communication with cancer information avoidance: the mediating roles of patient trust and literacy. Patient Education and Counseling, 123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2024.108230. | Objectives: This study, drawing on the pathway mediation model developed by Street and his colleagues (2009) that links communication to health outcomes, explores how patient -centered communication affects cancer information avoidance. Methods: Data was gathered through online access panel surveys, utilizing stratified sampling across Germany, Switzerland, the Netherlands, and Austria. The final sample included 4910 non -cancer and 414 cancer patients, all receiving healthcare from clinicians within the past year. Results: The results demonstrated that patient -centered communication is directly associated with reduced cancer information avoidance, especially among cancer patients. Additionally, this association is indirectly mediated through patient trust and healthcare literacy. Conclusion: The findings provide empirical evidence that reveals the underlying mechanism linking clinicianpatient communication to patient health information behavior. Practice implications: The potential of clinician -patient communication in addressing health information avoidance is highlighted by these findings. Future interventions in healthcare settings should consider adopting patient -centered communication strategies. Additionally, improving patient trust and literacy levels could be effective in reducing cancer information avoidance. | Patient Education and Counseling | Patient -Provider Communication; Patient -Centered Communication; Health Information Behavior; Information Avoidance; Cancer; Literacy; Trust |
| 2024_361 | Lu, QF; Schulz, PJ; Chang, A. (2024). Medication safety perceptions in China: Media exposure, healthcare experiences, and trusted information sources. Patient Education and Counseling, 123. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pec.2024.108209. | Objective: Amid ongoing medication safety concerns in China and limited research on public perceptions, this study investigates the correlations between media exposure, healthcare experiences, and individuals' perceptions of medication safety. It also examines individuals' reliance on information sources during safety crises. Methods: A multistage stratified random sampling was employed with the gross sample containing 3090 Chinese adults aged 18-60 years. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Results: Social media exposure was found to negatively correlate with perceptions of current medication safety and its perceived improvement, while exposure to television and print media showed positive correlations. Positive healthcare experiences were associated with improved medication safety perceptions. Among various information sources, healthcare professionals were deemed most trustworthy during medication safety incidents. Conclusions: Media exposure and personal healthcare experiences significantly shape individuals' perceptions of medication safety in China, with healthcare professionals playing a crucial role in this context. Practiceimplications: Effective health crisis communication in China needs to be multifaceted, integrating traditional media and social media platforms to disseminate accurate information broadly. Additionally, healthcare professionals should be actively involved in crisis communication. Their role as trusted sources can be leveraged to clarify misconceptions, and reassure the public during medication safety incidents. | Patient Education and Counseling | Medication Safety; Internet Health Information; Mass Media; Patient-Provider Communication; Patient-Centered Communication |
| 2024_362 | Lu, SW; Lu, SJ. (2024). The Construction of Distributed Trust on Bilibili Under the COVID-19 Pandemic. International Journal of Communication | This study explores the construction of distributed trust under today's networked environment. Focusing on diaspora micro-influencers' COVID-19-related videos on Bilibili, this study aims to explore: How platform-specific features of Bilibili enhance the construction of distributed trust; the dynamics among a diversity of sources on trust building; and the ways in which the content of uploaders' videos and users' comments contribute to the formation of distributed trust. The results show that user participation, particularly participatory surveillance enabled by platform-specific features, plays a key role in the construction of distributed trust. Although it has new characteristics, we can also see that the formation of distributed trust is not a replacement of the old model but only an outcome of its transformation and evolvement. | International Journal of Communication | Distributed Trust; Trust Building; Social Media Platforms; Bilibili; COVID-19 |
| 2024_363 | Lyons, S; Lidberg, J. (2024). When the public does not trust science: What can journalists do about it?. Australian Journalism Review, 46(2), 249-269. http://dx.doi.org/10.1386/ajr_00165_1. | While overall levels of trust and interest in science are high, a significant proportion of audiences are distrustful of or disinterested in science. This is not an esoteric concern. Science literacy is important for the meaningful participation of the public in discussions about the impact of science on society at a time when many key global problems have some basis in science. There are also private benefits for individuals, like preventing them from being misled by misinformation and disinformation. What can science journalists do to address these issues? Using a global media ethics lens, this study deployed a mixed methods approach including surveys and semi-structured interviews, to evaluate how science journalists can produce stories that better engage audiences with science, thereby potentially increasing science literacy. By revealing the cultural barriers holding science back, inherent tensions between journalistic working practices and conveying the true nature of science but also how these might be overcome, the project outlined what strong science journalism could look like in Australia in 2024. | Australian Journalism Review | Journalism; Science Literacy; Science Communication; Audience Engagement; Uncertainty; Misinformation; Interest; COVID-19 |
| 2024_364 | Lytkina, E; Reeskens, T. (2024). Rally Around the Government or a Populist Response? How Concerns About COVID-19 and Emotional Responses Relate to Institutional Trust and Support for Right-Wing Populism. American Behavioral Scientist http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00027642241240418. | Recent studies have shown that the coronavirus pandemic not only temporarily increased support for incumbent politicians and trust in experts but also triggered an authoritarian response. Because the pandemic has significantly affected individuals' goals, needs, and control over their lives, we expect that it has generated emotional reactions. In this article, we study how concerns about COVID-19 relate to institutional trust (trust in political institutions and experts) and a preference for populist right parties-directly and indirectly-via emotions. Our theoretical framework relies on the rally around the flag hypothesis, the cultural backlash theory, as well as appraisal theories of emotions. We analyze a novel data set collected as part of the Longitudinal Internet Studies for the Social Sciences Panel Survey for the Netherlands at the beginning of the second wave of the pandemic (October 2020). Our findings reveal that concerns about COVID-19 are positively related to institutional trust but unrelated to preferences for right-wing populism. The relationship between concerns about the coronavirus crisis and trust in political institutions is mediated via fear and sadness; these emotions also explain opposition to right-wing populist parties. We interpret our findings in relation to research on the rally around the flag effect, right-wing populism, and emotions. We discuss the implications of our results in the context of the coronavirus pandemic and other rally-inducing events. | American Behavioral Scientist | COVID-19; Emotions; Concerns About the Coronavirus; Institutional Trust; Rally Around the Flag Effect; Right-Wing Populism |
| 2024_365 | Ma, YQ. (2024). Local Governance Quality and Trust in Government: the Serial Mediation Effect of Perceived Social Fairness and Subjective Well-being. Lex Localis-Journal of Local Self-Government, 22(2), 143-160. http://dx.doi.org/10.52152/22.2.143-160. | This study aims to investigate the relationship between citizens' trust in government (TiG) and the local governance quality (LGQ), considering the influence of perceived social fairness (PSF) and residents' subjective well-being (SWB) as intermediate factors. The study utilized data from the 2021 Chinese Social Survey (CSS) and employed structural equation modelling (SEM) for analysis. The results indicate that LGQ positively impacts TiG through PSF and SWB mediating factors. Specifically, as LGQ improves in China, residents experience increased social fairness, enhancing SWB and subsequently strengthening their TiG. This research provides a comprehensive understanding of the TiG-LGQ relationship, offering practical insights for improving national leadership and governance by promoting social fairness, justice, and overall well-being. | Lex Localis-Journal of Local Self-Government | Local Governance Quality; Perceived Social Fairness; Subjective Well-Being; Trust in Government; Serial Mediation Effect |
| 2024_366 | Macdonald, D. (2024). Political Trust and American Public Support for Free Trade. Political Behavior, 46(2), 1037-1055. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11109-023-09858-x. | Debates over trade liberalization vs. protectionism have becoming increasingly relevant as the world moves through a contentious era of economic globalization. This is particularly true in the United States, where an elite consensus on the merits of free trade has fractured in recent years. While we know a good deal about the economic and cultural determinants of trade opinion, we know little about how attitudes toward government may matter. Here, I address this oversight by examining the relationship between political trust and trade support. I do this with cross-sectional and panel data from the American National Election Studies (ANES) and the National Annenberg Election Surveys (NAES), and a survey experiment fielded through Amazon's Mechanical Turk (MTurk). Overall, I find that there is a positive and substantively significant relationship between political trust and mass support for free and open pro-trade policies. I attribute this to greater citizen confidence that government will pursue trade deals in the national interest and mitigate any perceived risks associated with free trade. These findings help us to better understand the determinants of public opinion toward trade policy and underscore the consequences of political trust. | Political Behavior | Public Opinion; Free Trade; Political Trust; United States |
| 2024_367 | MacKenzie, MK; Moore, A. (2024). As-if trust. Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13698230.2024.2423141. | A lot of what we understand to be trust is not trust; it is, instead, an active and conscious decision to feign trust. We call this 'as-if' trust. If trust involves taking on risks and vulnerabilities, as-if trust involves taking on surplus risks and vulnerabilities. People may decide to act as if they trust in many situations, even when they do not have sufficient warrant to trust - which is to say even when they do not trust. Likewise, people might decide to act as if they trust even when they have good reasons to actively distrust. The surplus risks of as-if trust may be worth taking in a number of different contexts and for many reasons. We argue that as-if trust is a concept that should be added to our theoretical, practical, and political vocabularies of trust and distrust. In doing so, we discuss the main reasons for someone to act as if they trust. We then show that the practice of as-if trust has been recognized by other scholars but treated as trust. In response, we clarify how as-if trust differs from trust, and we discuss the utility and ubiquity of as-if trust, especially in politics. | Critical Review of International Social and Political Philosophy | Trust; Political Trust; Distrust; Conflict, Social Power, Leadership, Oppression |
| 2024_368 | Macková, A; Smejkal, K; Jansová, I; Cejková, L; Bieliková, K; Halbová, B; Novotna, M; Slavik, L; Vértesi, M. (2024). Trust and Political Attitudes of Public Service Media Audiences in a Polarized Society: the Case of Czech Television. Problems of Post-Communism http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2024.2387780. | The paper addresses the role of Czech public service television in a polarized society. The research on public service media (PSM) is salient concerning their specific role; however, it is increasingly questioned in a fragmented and polarized environment. The paper builds on data from 27 semi-structured interviews and a survey conducted in 2019-2020 (N = 3,251). While for some audiences, Czech television is a trustworthy medium protecting exemplary sets of values, for others, it is biased and hostile. The study reveals the deeper interplay between political attitudes and media practices, potentially endangering PSM's role and position in polarized settings. | Problems of Post-Communism | |
| 2024_369 | Maclean, CL; Miller, GS. (2024). Trust but verify: the biasing effects of witness opinions and background knowledge in workplace investigations. Journal of Safety Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsr.2024.01.009. | Introduction : A unique feature of workplace investigations is the familiarity that investigators and witnesses have with the factors involved in the adverse incident. Familiarity creates expectations that can shape investigators' and witnesses' assumptions and opinions. The current research examined the biasing effect of non-factual witness claims on investigators' judgments. These claims, which we call 'uncheckable,' included opinions about factors involved in the event and the future. We also examined how participants' a priori knowledge of an employee's history influenced their judgments. Method: This experiment used a 2 (background information: control or unsafe) x 2 (uncheckable content: neutral or unsafe) between -subjects design. Participants were provided with background information about a worker (control or unsafe history) and a witness statement about a workplace event that contained uncheckable claims (neutral or worker as unsafe). We tested how our manipulations biased participants' judgments of: (i) the cause of the event, (ii) the witness's confidence and credibility, and (iii) the diagnosticity of the witness's account. We also tested if biasing background information affected how factual participants found the witness's statement. Results: Biasing uncheckable information (i.e., opinions) affected participants' judgments of event cause (qp2 = 0.033) and increased their ratings of witness confidence (qp2 = 0.074). Biasing background information about a worker affected participants' judgments of the cause of the event (qp2 = 0.088), the diagnostic value of the witness statement (qp2 = 0.054), and the number of factual claims in the witness statement, resulting in more uncheckable claims being misclassified as potential facts (qp2 = 0.18). Conclusion: This experiment demonstrated the significant effect that non-factual witness statements and irrelevant background information can have on the interpretation of evidence and judgments about the cause of events. Practical Application: Understanding how contextual information can bias investigative judgment helps workplace investigators manage its influence in their judgment practices. | Journal of Safety Research | Cognitive Bias; Background Information; Uncheckable Claims; Witness Statement; Workplace Investigation |
| 2024_370 | Magalhaes, PC; Garoupa, N. (2024). Populist governments, judicial independence, and public trust in the courts. Journal of European Public Policy, 31(9), 2748-2774. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2023.2235386. | Can governments make courts politically compliant without undermining public confidence in the judicial system? Many studies show a positive relationship between judicial independence and citizens' trust in courts. However, most of them have shown static cross-sectional correlations rather than actual effects of court curbing on trust. Factors such as citizens' level of education and political preferences may also play a role in moderating reactions to court curbing. We analyse how assaults on judicial independence by populist governments in Turkey, Hungary, and Poland affected judicial trust, using a difference-in-differences approach to Eurobarometer data. While we find evidence that court curbing has an adverse effect on judicial trust, this effect is much clearer among citizens who are ideologically distant from their governments. These findings coincide with experimental evidence indicating how citizens tolerate democratic backsliding, suggesting that, for many, trust in the judicial system can subsist even when courts are made politically subservient. | Journal of European Public Policy | Trust in Courts; Judicial Independence; Populism; Hungary; Poland; Turkey |
| 2024_371 | Magalhaes, PC. (2024). When corruption investigations come to nothing: A natural experiment on trust in courts. Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions, 37(1), 99-117. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gove.12754. | Corruption scandals and their investigation have been shown to undermine support not only for the allegedly involved public officials but also for political actors and institutions more generally. However, we know little about what happens when those investigations end up failing to result in punishments. Is citizens' trust in the legal authorities in charge of prosecuting and punishing corruption also undermined? Do those effects spill over to political actors, institutions, and even the political regime? We address these questions by taking advantage of an April 2021 judicial decision to drop corruption charges against former Portuguese Prime Minister Jose Socrates during the fieldwork of a public opinion survey. We show that the decision had a substantial negative impact on public trust in the courts. Furthermore, although political trust was not immediately affected, its overall levels also became lower in comparison to periods before the judicial decision, suggesting a spillover effect. | Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions | |
| 2024_372 | Magnani, E. (2024). Cultures of Inequality: Labor, Social Finance, and the Swinging Pendulum of Trust in Capitalism. Social Currents, 11(4), 308-326. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23294965241235136. | Social finance, an arena of international finance comprising social banking, impact investing, and microfinance, offers a powerful conceptual lens through which to interrogate the interface of finance and labor in financial capitalism. This article investigates social finance's development at the crossroad of two processes. Social finance emerged in the context of a process of laboring finance, an often-coercive inclusion of workers and households into financial circuits of accumulation and expansion made possible by labor market changes that began in the 1970s. The global financial crisis occasioned the growth of social finance, which, by means of financing labor, placed the reproductive needs of labor-the needs of society's most disadvantaged agents, the poor, the homeless, the marginal, and unemployed workers-at the center of financial accumulation. By informing an oscillatory movement between laboring finance and financing labor, and, affectively, between trust and distrust, social finance primes and cultivates financial market participants' belief in purported solutions to the social problems financial capitalism has contributed to create. As a critical investigation of the complex interface between finance and labor that animates social finance's operations, this article aims to provide conceptual resources that can contribute to releasing labor's social cooperation from finance's hegemony. | Social Currents | Inequality; Financialization; Social Finance; Trust; Capitalism |
| 2024_373 | Maguire, J; Albris, K. (2024). Digital (mis)trust: ethnographic encounters with computational forms. Journal of Cultural Economy, 17(6), 725-736. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2024.2407853. | This special issue is driven by a curiosity about the role of computational forms - practices, logics, technologies, and infrastructures - in social life and how they mediate issues of trust and mistrust: designated (mis)trust. Through a series of ethnographic encounters, its contributors describe how (mis)trust is rendered as an issue of concern by various actors as it is problematized, conceptualized, narrated, and designed for. In doing so, the papers analyse the work (mis)trust does in these settings, with a focus on the role of computational thinking within public discourses on democratic elections, the use of computational technologies in establishing bureaucratic order, the computational practices at play in the production of coding subjectivities, and the computational artefacts that assure data circulations within digital infrastructures. This introduction argues for a more expansive understanding of the relation between trust and mistrust in the digital age, countering the oftentimes default rendering of these concepts as antonymic. Instead, it argues that they live in a mutable relation. Despite prevailing technosolutionist approaches to (mis)trust, it cannot, we suggest, be solved for, resolved, or even eviscerated. Whatever actors (engineers, programmers, professionals etc) do in their efforts to 'fix' mistrust, it continues to mutate as a social form. | Journal of Cultural Economy | Trust; Mistrust; Digital; Computational; Machinic; Mutations |
| 2024_374 | Majumdar, S; Tewatia, M. (2024). Embodied Uncertainty and COVID-19: Social identity, stigma, trust and coping through the pandemic. Journal of Risk Research, 27(3), 356-371. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2024.2340021. | The COVID-19 pandemic has been a novel and evolving experience impacting health, livelihoods, well-being, decision-making, and community life. While uncertainty is seen as integral to the pandemic experience, limited literature has examined the consequences of the same, as embodied within individual and collective experiences. From the theoretical lens of Embodied Uncertainty (Sword-Daniels et al. 2018), the present study explored meaning making and coping with uncertainty as embodied in the lived experiences of the pandemic, through longitudinal qualitative research (LQR). Participants from a diverse socio demographic pool were interviewed in 2020 (N = 30) and 2021 (N = 14), following the two major phases of Covid-19 outbreak in India. Thematic analysis revealed complex intersections between social identity, stigma and economic strife and how novel coping strategies were being employed as the ongoing nature of the pandemic became a reality. We also found shifts in information seeking and institutional trust, shaped by the lived experiences of people as opposed to policy and state action. The results highlight key areas of vulnerability and coping with uncertainty in collective crises, gaps in state response and its impact, and how social identities shape interpretations of risks. | Journal of Risk Research | COVID-19; Embodied Uncertainty; Qualitative Research; Institutional Trust; Stigma; Social Media; Coping |
| 2024_375 | Makarov, E; Tikhomirov, D. (2024). The Problem of the Digital Ruble Adoption Among Russian Small Entrepreneurs: Choice, Enforcement, and Social Networks in the Social Construction of Trust. Journal of Economic Sociology-Ekonomicheskaya Sotsiologiya, 25(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.17323/1726-3247-2024-4-163-186. | This paper explores the adoption process of the digital ruble among Russian entrepreneurs. The digital ruble, as a new currency, will be a direct liability of the Central Bank of Russia and will be technologically and informationally centralized around it. One of its significant features is its potential to diminish the role of private banks in the Russian financial system while increasing transaction transparency. To identify the mechanisms and incentives for adopting the digital ruble, we conducted twelve semi-structured interviews with small business owners in Russia who have experience with various payment systems. Our empirical findings reveal three main adoption mechanisms: choice, enforcement, and social network effects. The choice mechanism involves voluntary adoption based on the digital ruble's perceived advantages, such as lower transaction costs and greater convenience compared to other payment systems. The enforcement mechanism reflects the influence of direct incentives or mandates from monetary authorities, such as legal requirements or wage policies. Social network effects describe the impact of a critical mass of users, which indirectly encourages entrepreneurs who might otherwise be hesitant to adopt the digital ruble. We contribute to the sociological literature by identifying and structuring these adoption mechanisms, bridging gaps between different theoretical perspectives. From a policy-making standpoint, we analyze the positive and negative aspects of the digital ruble and discuss its potential role in the Russian economy. We conclude by considering how digital monetary advancements, including central bank digital currencies like the digital ruble and cryptocurrencies, could influence trust in money and monetary concepts, posing new challenges for the social sciences. | Journal of Economic Sociology-Ekonomicheskaya Sotsiologiya | Digital Ruble; Central Banks Digital Currencies; Adoption; Entrepre- Neurs; Social Network Effects; Two-Sided Market; Sociology of Money |
| 2024_376 | Malik, A; Sujono. (2024). Election success that mediates public trust and satisfaction and balances political and managerial aspects. Electronic Government- An International Journal, 20(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/EG.2024.140725. | In this study, the aim is to implement government efforts in direct and simultaneous regional head elections by building a balance between politics and managerial government by encouraging public trust and satisfaction as voters. This research uses a mixed method by combining or connecting subjective (qualitative) and quantitative structures. Policies regarding the Regional Government Law and the Election Law and building the political and managerial balance of the government are expected to be able to anticipate and overcome problems that arise in direct and simultaneous regional head elections. Originality in this study is a new approach in building a balance with a managerial approach to governance and a decentralised approach. In addition, it can provide alternative suggestions and input that encourage the development of a balanced political and managerial dimension of government in direct and simultaneous local elections in Indonesia. | Electronic Government- An International Journal | Political Government; Managerial Government; Direct and Simultaneous Regional Election; Community Trust; Community Satisfaction |
| 2024_377 | Malmberg, F; Karv, T. (2024). All good in the neighbourhood? Exploring the role of local conditions for political trust and corruption perceptions within a minority context. Territory Politics Governance, 12(5), 610-627. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21622671.2022.2071976. | Members of a minority population are expected to evaluate political authorities through a different spectrum than majority members. Still, only a few studies have explored the role of local conditions as determinants for political attitudes among a linguistic minority population. This study focuses on the role of linguistic homogeneity, local economic conditions and community size as determinants for corruption perceptions and political trust at the individual level among members of a linguistic minority population: the Swedish-speaking Finns. Moreover, this study differs empirically between evaluations of the local and national authorities. Combining data from a panel survey collected by Barometern (2019-21) with varying contextual-level factors in a multilevel model, we show that evaluations of local authorities are related to local contextual factors, in particular municipal unemployment rates and median incomes, while national evaluations are largely unrelated to local conditions. In contrast to theoretical expectations for an in-group bias among minority members, however, we find no effect for linguistic homogeneity on corruption perceptions and political trust after controlling for economic conditions. The results make an important contribution to our understanding about the role of local conditions for political attitudes among a well-assimilated minority population. | Territory Politics Governance | Corruption Perceptions; Political Trust; Local; Multilevel; Linguistic Minority |
| 2024_378 | Malmberg, F; Karv, T. (2024). Jacks of all trades, masters of none? Multiple-mandate holding and trust in local government. Local Government Studies, 50(5), 871-892. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2023.2282564. | Multiple-mandate holding, i.e., the holding of more than one directly elected mandate simultaneously on different government tiers, is a controversial practice with potential consequences on political trust. The research purpose of this study is thus to contribute to this line of research by exploring how the extent of this practice at the local level reflects on the opinions of ordinary citizens and their confidence in local government. The aim of this paper is therefore to examine this question utilising a vignette survey experiment carried out in Finland. The findings presented contribute to shining a light on the potential consequences of this practice for trust in the local government by exposing one way in which negative evaluations of politicians are formed. | Local Government Studies | Multiple-Mandate Holding; Local Government; Political Trust; Vignette Experiment; Finland |
| 2024_379 | Maman, L; Fahy, L; Grimmelikhuijsen, S; Kappler, M. (2024). Measuring citizen trust in regulatory agencies: A systematic review and ways forward. Regulation & Governance http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12618. | Citizen trust in regulatory agencies is essential for the functioning of society and markets. Trust in regulatory agencies promotes compliance and strengthens trust in regulated sectors. Despite its importance, there is no systematic study on how trust is in this context can be measured best. In response, this article presents findings of a systematic review of measures of trust in regulatory contexts, assessing their utility for measuring citizen trust in regulatory agencies. Our review of recent literature and of seven major international surveys finds several areas for methodological improvement in the measurement of such trust. The review highlights that while trust in various institutions is extensively studied, high-quality measures for regulatory agencies specifically are lacking. Both one-off studies of trust in regulatory agencies and large international surveys of trust in government reveal an absence of systematic and consistent measurement of trust in these agencies. We propose recommendations to enhance measurement consistency, transparency, and contextual diversity. This study underscores the urgency of addressing this critical dimension of trust and provides a roadmap for improving our understanding of citizen trust in regulatory agencies. | Regulation & Governance | Citizen Trust; Measurement Development; Regulatory Agencies; Regulatory Governance; Systematic Literature Review |
| 2024_380 | Manolchev, C; Lewis, D. (2024). A tale of two trusts: case study analysis of bullying and negative behaviours in the UK ambulance service. Public Money & Management, 44(2), 133-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2021.1934995. | IMPACT The authors outline common problems in implementing the Health and Safety at Work Act 1974, which places specific requirements on UK employers to mitigate risks of stress at work. The authors discuss bullying and other negative acts in the UK ambulance service, highlighting concerns with some managerial practices. The article calls for a fundamental rethink of deficiencies in current organizational wellbeing measures and recommends ways of going beyond the provision of basic support for employees. | Public Money & Management | Ambulance; Bullying; Case Study Analyses; Emergency Care; NHS; Resilience |
| 2024_381 | Marcos-Marne, H; Sendra, M. (2024). Everything for the people, but trust? Exploring the link between populist attitudes and social trust in Italy, Portugal, and Spain. Swiss Political Science Review http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12608. | While it is largely unquestioned that populist individuals are more likely to distrust politics and politicians, the empirical association between populist attitudes and social trust is far less clear. In principle, the people-centrist component of populism could trigger higher levels of social trust among individuals with stronger populist attitudes. Empirically, however, the relationship seems more complex and could be influenced by the boundaries of the group identified as 'the people'. This paper examines this association using data from three South European countries: Italy, Portugal, and Spain. The main results show that stronger populist attitudes correlate with lower levels of generalized social trust but with higher levels of trust towards the group identified with 'the people'. These results underline the conceptual consistence of populist attitudes and help to theorize about the effects of widespread populist attitudes. Es ist weitgehend unbestritten, dass populistische Personen zu Misstrauen gegen & uuml;ber der Politik und Politiker:innen neigen. Hingegen bleibt der empirische Zusammenhang zwischen populistischen Einstellungen und sozialem Vertrauen weniger eindeutig. Im Prinzip k & ouml;nnte die volkszentrierte Komponente des Populismus bei Personen mit st & auml;rkeren populistischen Einstellungen ein h & ouml;heres Ma ss an sozialem Vertrauen bedingen. Empirisch gesehen scheint diese Beziehung jedoch komplexer zu sein. Insbesondere k & ouml;nnte sie davon beeinflusst sein, welche spezifische Gruppe als 'das Volk' identifiziert wird. In diesem Beitrag wird dieser Zusammenhang anhand von Daten aus drei s & uuml;deurop & auml;ischen L & auml;ndern - Italien, Portugal und Spanien - untersucht. Die Ergebnisse zeigen, dass st & auml;rkere populistische Einstellungen mit niedrigerem allgemeinen sozialen Vertrauen, aber mit h & ouml;herem Vertrauen gegen & uuml;ber der Gruppe, die als 'das Volk' identifiziert wird, korrelieren. Diese Ergebnisse unterstreichen die konzeptionelle Robustheit populistischer Einstellungen und helfen, die Folgen weit verbreiteter populistischer Einstellungen besser zu verstehen. Il est largement admis que les individus populistes tendent & agrave; se m & eacute;fier davantage de la politique et des hommes et femmes politiques. En revanche, l'association empirique entre les attitudes populistes et la confiance sociale demeure beaucoup moins & eacute;vidente. En principe, la composante people-centrist du populisme pourrait susciter des niveaux & eacute;lev & eacute;s de confiance sociale parmi les individus ayant des attitudes populistes marqu & eacute;es. Cependant, d'un point de vue empirique, la relation semble plus complexe et pourrait & ecirc;tre influenc & eacute;e par les fronti & egrave;res d & eacute;finissant le groupe identifi & eacute; comme 'le peuple'. Cet article examine cette association en utilisant des donn & eacute;es provenant de trois pays de l'Europe du Sud: l'Italie, le Portugal et l'Espagne. Les principaux r & eacute;sultats indiquent que de fortes attitudes populistes sont corr & eacute;l & eacute;es avec de faibles niveaux de confiance sociale g & eacute;n & eacute;ralis & eacute;e, mais avec des niveaux plus & eacute;lev & eacute;s de confiance envers le groupe identifi & eacute; comme 'le peuple'. Ces r & eacute;sultats mettent en & eacute;vidence la coh & eacute;rence conceptuelle des attitudes populistes et contribuent & agrave; la th & eacute;orisation des effets de la g & eacute;n & eacute;ralisation des attitudes populistes. Se da un lato viene dato per scontato che gli individui populisti hanno maggiori probabilit & agrave; di non fidarsi della politica e dei politici, il nesso empirico tra attitudini populiste e fiducia sociale & egrave; molto meno chiaro. In linea di principio, la componente popolo-centrica del populismo potrebbe portare a livelli pi & ugrave; elevati di fiducia sociale tra gli individui con attitudini populiste pi & ugrave; forti. Dal punto di vista empirico, tuttavia, la relazione sembra pi & ugrave; complessa e potrebbe essere influenzata dalla definizione del gruppo identificato come 'popolo'. Il presente articolo esamina questo nesso utilizzando i dati di tre paesi del Sud Europa: Italia, Portogallo e Spagna. I risultati mostrano che le attitudini populiste pi & ugrave; forti sono correlate a livelli pi & ugrave; bassi di fiducia sociale generalizzata, ma a livelli pi & ugrave; alti di fiducia verso il gruppo identificato come 'il popolo'. Questi risultati sottolineano la consistenza concettuale delle attitudini populiste e aiutano a teorizzare gli effetti di attitudini populiste diffuse. | Swiss Political Science Review | People-Centrism; Populism; Populist Attitudes; Social Trust |
| 2024_382 | Marin, L; Copeland, SM. (2024). Self-Trust and Critical Thinking Online: A Relational Account. Social Epistemology, 38(6), 696-708. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2022.2151330. | An increasingly popular solution to the anti-scientific climate rising on social media platforms has been the appeal to more critical thinking from the user's side. In this paper, we zoom in on the ideal of critical thinking and unpack it in order to see, specifically, whether it can provide enough epistemic agency so that users endowed with it can break free from enclosed communities on social media (so-called epistemic bubbles). We criticise some assumptions embedded in the ideal of critical thinking online and, instead, we propose that a better way to understand the virtuous behaviour at hand is as critical engagement, namely a mutual cultivation of critical skills among the members of an epistemic bubble. This mutual cultivation allows members within an epistemic bubble (in contrast, as we will show, with the authority-based models of epistemic echo chambers) to become more autonomous critical thinkers by cultivating self-trust. We use the model of relational autonomy as well as resources from work on epistemic self-trust and epistemic interdependence to develop an explanatory framework, which in turn may ground rules for identifying and creating virtuous epistemic bubbles within the environments of social media platforms. | Social Epistemology | Relational Trust; Critical Thinking; Critical Engagement; Social Media |
| 2024_383 | Martens, M; De Wolf, R; De Marez, L. (2024). Trust in Algorithmic Decision-Making Systems in Health: A Comparison Between ADA Health and IBM Watson Oncology. Cyberpsychology-Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace, 18(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.5817/CP2024-1-5. | Algorithmic decision -making systems (ADMs) support an ever-growing number of decision -making processes. We conducted an online survey study in Flanders (n = 1,082) to understand how laypeople perceive and trust health ADMs. Inspired by the ability, benevolence, and integrity trustworthiness model (Mayer et al., 1995), this study investigated how trust is constructed in health ADMs. In addition, we investigated how trust construction differs between ADA Health (a self -diagnosis medical chatbot) and IBM Watson Oncology (a system that suggests treatments for cancer in hospitals). Our results show that accuracy and fairness are the biggest predictors of trust in both ADMs, whereas control plays a smaller yet significant role. Interestingly, control plays a bigger role in explaining trust in ADA Health than IBM Watson Oncology. Moreover, how appropriate people evaluate data -driven healthcare and how concerned they are with algorithmic systems prove to be good predictors for accuracy, fairness, and control in these specific health ADMs. The appropriateness of data -driven healthcare had a bigger effect with IBM Watson Oncology than with ADA Health. Overall, our results show the importance of considering the broader contextual, algorithmic, and case -specific characteristics when investigating trust construction in ADMs. | Cyberpsychology-Journal of Psychosocial Research on Cyberspace | Health Adms; Algorithms; Trust; ABI-Model; Survey; SEM |
| 2024_384 | Martinangeli, AFM; Povitkina, M; Jagers, S; Rothstein, B. (2024). Institutional Quality Causes Generalized Trust: Experimental Evidence on Trusting under the Shadow of Doubt. American Journal of Political Science, 68(3), 972-987. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ajps.12780. | Generalized trust is essential for collective action, which is at the heart of many societal problems. Institutional quality has been proposed as a driver of generalized trust, but while the correlation between the two is strong and robust, the evidence on the causal link is scant. We show that this relationship is causal. We first experimentally expose individuals to institutions of different quality, operationalized as their ability to prevent corrupt behavior. We then measure generalized trust using a trust game. The results show that institutional quality drives generalized trust and that this effect is generated by the mere doubt that corrupt behaviors might succeed, even without knowledge of occurrence or success of such behaviors. Cross-country comparisons with novel data support our results. Our contributions are the first causal experimental evidence on the link between institutional quality and trust and a novel experimental design for modeling institutional quality in laboratory settings. | American Journal of Political Science | |
| 2024_385 | Martino, AS; Perrotta, A; Mcgillion, BJ. (2024). Who can you trust these days?: Dealing with imposter participants during online recruitment and data collection. Qualitative Research, 24(5), 1291-1301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14687941231224591. | The use of digital technologies in qualitative research has been found to increase access and participation by minimizing geographical, scheduling, and financial barriers. However, discussions among the qualitative research community about the challenges of conducting research online and, specifically, what steps can be taken to mitigate imposter participants remain limited. Anchored in a critical disability studies perspective, in this field note paper, we discuss lessons learned in conducting online qualitative research and preserving data trustworthiness. | Qualitative Research | Online Qualitative Research; Imposter Participants; Challenges |
| 2024_386 | Masullo, GM; Wilhelm, C; Lee, T; Gonçalves, J; Riedl, MJ; Stroud, NJ. (2024). Signaling news outlet trust in a Google Knowledge Panel: A conjoint experiment in Brazil, Germany, and the United States. New Media & Society, 26(9), 5379-5402. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448221135860. | Using data from a conjoint experiment in three countries (Brazil, n = 2038; Germany, n = 2012, and the United States, n = 2005), this study demonstrates that journalistic transparency can cue trust at the level of the entire news outlet-or domain level-using a Google Knowledge Panel that comes up when people search for a news outlet. In Brazil and the United States, two pieces of information in a Knowledge Panel provided the strongest heuristics that a news outlet was trustworthy: a description of the news outlet and a description of other sites accessed by people who frequent that news outlet's website. In Germany, information about journalists and the description of the news outlet were the strongest cues. Results offer insights into how people heuristically process online news and are discussed in relation to the heuristic-systematic model of information processing. | New Media & Society | Heuristics; Journalism; News; Transparency; Trust |
| 2024_387 | Matzkin, S; Shandler, R; Canetti, D. (2024). The limits of cyberattacks in eroding political trust: A tripartite survey experiment. British Journal of Politics & International Relations, 26(4), 1033-1054. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13691481231210383. | To what extent do security threats - such as cyberattacks - undermine trust in government? Fears have emerged that cyberattacks undercut public trust in government and sow doubt in democratic institutions heavily dependent on digitised systems. Nevertheless, the logic of this threat remains untested. This article presents survey experiments conducted in the United States (n = 607), the United Kingdom (n = 594), and Israel (n = 627) that examine whether cyberattacks on critical infrastructure truly undermine public trust in government and, if so, by what psychological mechanism. We exposed participants to simulations of cyberattacks against critical infrastructure before measuring the psychological and political outcomes. Our results reveal that cyberattacks do not undermine voters' trust in the government's ability to protect them. Furthermore, in the United States, exposure to cyberattacks heightens public trust by amplifying anger. Our findings inject a missing comparative component to the theoretical discussion of when, why, and how cyberattacks affect public trust in government. | British Journal of Politics & International Relations | Cyberattacks; Exposure To Terrorism; National Security Threats; Psychological Distress; Public Trust in Government; Survey Experiment |
| 2024_388 | McBrayer, JP. (2024). Caveat Auditor: Epistemic Trust and Conflicts of Interest. Social Epistemology, 38(3), 290-301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2022.2078250. | To place epistemic trust in someone is to take their word for something. Much of the existing literature on epistemic trust concerns epistemic authorities. But as important as authority is to epistemic trust, it pales in comparison to the epistemic importance of conflicts of interests. In economics, we say that buyers shouldn't take the word of sellers. Caveat emptor: let the buyer beware. I argue for a similar principle in epistemology. Caveat auditor: let the hearer beware. Others often have incentives to testify in ways that are odds with our epistemic goals. Given this, our epistemic trust in others should be calibrated to reflect the epistemically virtuous and perverse incentives of ourselves and others. This basic principle explains the need for epistemic caution in a wide range of applied topics from politics to product reviews to fake news. | Social Epistemology | Testimony; Caveat Emptor; Defeater; Interest; Trust |
| 2024_389 | Mccrea, R; Coates, R; Hobman, EV; Bentley, S; Lacey, J. (2024). Responsible innovation for disruptive science and technology: the role of public trust and social expectations. Technology in Society, 79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102709. | As the world increasingly faces intersecting and complex environmental, social, and economic challenges, there are rising demands on emerging science and technology to produce innovative and potentially disruptive solutions. However, these solutions may also introduce different problems, uncertainties, and risks. Responsible innovation (RI) offers a way to identify and mitigate the social and ethical risks associated with new science and technology developments while delivering socially desirable and responsible outcomes. But how does the public view RI? In this paper, we argue that those undertaking disruptive science and technology research need a better understanding of the drivers of public trust in the research and innovation sector, and broader societal expectations of what constitutes socially responsible outcomes arising from their work. Few studies have explored if and how RI, trust, and social expectations are interrelated in the eyes of the public. This research investigates public perceptions of RI relevant to the development of novel and potentially disruptive science and technology, and their relationships with two key social outcomes: (1) public trust in the research and innovation sector; and (2) public expectations that innovative and potentially disruptive research can deliver socially responsible outcomes. Through surveying 4080 Australians, this research identifies how these four elements of RI - (i) practices of scientists, (ii) institutional compliance with research ethics, (iii) risk management effectiveness, and (iv) governance arrangements - are associated with public trust and expectations of socially responsible outcomes. Our best fitting path model showed that these elements of RI explain a large proportion of variability in trust in scientists and research institutions undertaking disruptive science, and most of the variability in public expectations that such research can deliver socially responsible outcomes. Of the four elements of RI, practices of scientists are most important for explaining trust in the research and innovation sector, and risk management effectiveness is most important for expectations of socially responsible outcomes from disruptive science and technology. | Technology in Society | |
| 2024_390 | McKay, S; Tian, L; Lymer, A. (2024). Whatever happened to the Child Trust Fund? the abandonment of universal savings for UK children. Social Policy & Administration, 58(1), 18-38. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spol.12941. | Child development accounts (CDAs) provide subsidised savings accounts for children to help meet life course needs. While now largely forgotten, the Child Trust Fund was an innovative savings scheme for UK children that sought to generate a capital sum when they turned 18. The first children to receive these funds reached this point in late 2020 so it is timely to review the impact of this national scheme, which by 2022 had 10 pound bn saved in it. We consider how far the Child Trust Fund led to higher levels of savings for those children who were eligible for it and whether there is any evidence it created a savings habit in young people and their parents. We use six waves of longitudinal ONS Wealth and Assets Survey data. While we find a small effect on savings, with children from better-off families benefiting the most, there is little evidence of a meaningful effect on savings habits. Nonetheless, the policy's impact on generating even small amounts of savings could be important, especially as most children in the UK have no savings. The study offers policy recommendations to support children's savings in the UK, based on the significant example of asset-based welfare policy that the CTF provides. | Social Policy & Administration | Asset-Based Welfare; Child Development Accounts; Child Trust Fund; Children's Savings; Savings; Savings Habit |
| 2024_391 | Mei, H; Zheng, YP. (2024). How M-government Services Build Relative Trust? the Mediating Roles of Value Creation and Risk Perception. Public Performance & Management Review, 47(6), 1327-1355. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15309576.2024.2370935. | Mobile government (m-government) has been proposed as a means to rebuild public trust in government. However, there is limited discussion regarding how m-government shapes trust in the existing literature. Thus, our study aims to examine the impact of m-government services on various types of trust by using the concept of relative trust. Additionally, we investigate how public value creation, private value acquisition, and risk perception mediate the relationship between m-government use and citizens' relative trust in government. To test our hypotheses, this study collected data from a telephone survey of 2,875 public service users in China. The findings reveal that the use of m-government services is positively associated with citizens' relative trust in institutions but negatively associated with their relative trust in grassroots civil servants. Furthermore, perceived public and private values mediate the relationship between m-government services and citizens' relative trust in institutions versus grassroots civil servants, with private value playing a more significant mediating role. This study provides evidence on the role of m-government services in shaping various types of citizens' relative trust in government, including institutional trust and relational trust. | Public Performance & Management Review | Relative Trust; M-Government Service; Public Value; Private Value; Privacy Risk |
| 2024_392 | Men, LR; Qin, YS; Fitzsimmons, AB; Distaso, MW; Heffron, E. (2024). An Integrated Framework for Exploring the Impact of Leadership Communication on Employee Trust During Disruptive Crisis Times. International Journal of Business Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23294884241226567. | Drawing insights from leadership, public relations, and communication literature, this study aimed to advance the theorization of leadership communication in disruptive crisis times. Specifically, leadership communication attributes of transparency, authenticity, empathy, and optimism (TAEO) were connected to a central internal communication outcome, employee trust. Through an online survey with 1,044 full-time employees working across diverse industry sectors in the U.S., this study also tested the potential mediators of feelings of uncertainty and psychological well-being. Structural equation modeling analysis results showed that CEO communication attributes of TAEO during the COVID-19 pandemic reduced employees' feeling of uncertainty and enhanced their psychological well-being, which in turn, boosted employee trust toward the organization. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. | International Journal of Business Communication | Leadership Communication; TAEO; Feelings of Uncertainty; Psychological Well-Being; Employee Trust |
| 2024_393 | Meneses, RA Jr; Coelho, FJF; Dimas, ID. (2024). Will trust move mountains? Fostering radical ideas in public organizations. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/jopart/muae019. | Demands for greater quality of public services and enhanced efficiency have intensified changes in public organizations. Not surprisingly, these organizations are increasingly searching for new and useful ideas, including disruptive ones, to meet current demands. Whereas previous studies on team radical creativity (TRC) have focused on the influence that subordinates' trust in the supervisor has on this type of creativity, this work innovates by testing the leader's trust in the team as an antecedent. Drawing on Self-Determination Theory, we further add to knowledge by considering the mediating role of team-perceived organizational support for creativity and the moderating role of team collaborative climate (TCC). The research model was tested with a sample of 228 teams from public organizations with data collected from two sources at three moments in time. We found that the leader's trust in the team has a direct positive relationship with TRC and an indirect positive relationship with creativity via team-perceived organizational support. We also observed that TCC positively moderates the relationship between the leader's trust in the team and TRC. These results deliver meaningful theoretical and practical insights into how organizations, especially public ones, can improve team creativity and thus enhance organizational performance. | Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory | Componential Theory of Creativity; Team Creativity; SEM; Leader's Trust in the Team; Team Perceived Organizational Support |
| 2024_394 | Meng, X; Wang, Y. (2024). To Trust or Not to Trust? Exploring the Roles of Facebook and WhatsApp Use and Network Diversity. Mass Communication and Society, 27(6), 1366-1388. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2023.2248956. | Grounded in the theory of network-based social capital, this study examined and compared how Facebook and WhatsApp's sociability use connected with generalized trust through the mediation of network diversity. Analyzing data from an online survey of 1,329 Hong Kong residents, this study found that Facebook's sociability use had a positive indirect relationship with generalized trust through increased network diversity, whereas WhatsApp's sociability use did not influence generalized trust. Those findings unraveled the divergent social implications possessed by different social media platforms and were further discussed from the network-centered perspective of social capital | Mass Communication and Society | |
| 2024_395 | Merivaki, T; Suttmann-Lea, M; McCreary, MC; Daniel, T. (2024). The #TrustedInfo2022 dataset: States' trust-building social media campaigns during the 2022 election cycle. State Politics & Policy Quarterly, 24(4), 468-478. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/spq.2024.14. | We introduce a dynamic dataset of all communications by state election officials (EOs) on social media during the 2022 election cycle and develop metrics to assess the effectiveness of trust- building strategies on voter confidence. We employ quantitative manual content analysis of 10,000 organic posts from 118 state EOs' accounts on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter between September 10 and November 30, 2022, and code for the presence of variables that measure EOs' efforts to combat misinformation and build trusted networks of communications. The measures we present here address two questions: (1) How much coordination was there among states in terms of incorporating the #TrustedInfo2022 campaign, promoted by the National Association of Secretaries of State, in their social media communications, and (2) How much of states' social media communications explicitly signaled that EOs are trusted sources of information? We demonstrate the applicability of our data on research that evaluates the impact of trust-building campaigns on voter confidence in elections, which is grounded on theories of deliberative democracy and democratic listening. | State Politics & Policy Quarterly | Voter Education; Election Officials; Voter Confidence; #Trustedinfo2022; Misinformation; Social Media; US Elections |
| 2024_396 | Merk, T. (2024). The unusual DAO: An ethnography of building trust in trustless spaces. Internet Policy Review, 13(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.14763/2024.3.1795. | Blockchains have been discussed as a response to the decline of trust for as long as the technology exists. This paper expands the discourse on trust in blockchains to decentralised autonomous organisations (DAOs), novel forms of organisation deployed on top of a blockchain. I show how core tenets about trust in blockchains are mirrored in the design of DAOs. Echoing Nissenbaum's call to nourish trust online, an ethnographic case study of the blockchain art collective DADA exemplifies how DAOs may be designed differently to allow for trust to emerge. The paper contributes to the scholarly debate on trust in blockchains, by extending it to the layer of DAOs and describing various avenues for further research and builds a more nuanced understanding of DAOs as a modular framework to address declining trust online. Overall, the findings indicate how the affordances of DAOs can be expanded to encompass both trustless organisation and trusted online communities. | Internet Policy Review | Blockchain; Trust; Decentralised Autonomous Organisations (Daos); Ethnography; Governance |
| 2024_397 | Mewes, J. (2024). Welfare-state selectivity, universality, and social trust in Europe, 2002-2019: Bringing deservingness back in. Journal of European Social Policy, 34(1), 20-35. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09589287231217377. | Social trust is a moral resource with a normatively highly desirable pay-off. Previous research argues that universal welfare state programmes 'make' social trust whereas means-testing programmes 'break' it. Despite its important implications for welfare-state design, comparative longitudinal evidence for this hypothesis is scarce. To test whether within-country changes in social trust are associated with within-country changes in total, means-tested, and non-means tested social protection expenditure, I thus merge country-year specific ESSPROS welfare spending data with cross-country survey data from 30 countries that participated in the 2002-2019 European Social Survey. Results from multilevel regression models show that neither within-country changes in total nor means-tested or non-means tested social protection expenditure predict social trust. Based on insights from the welfare deservingness literature, the second part of my analysis concentrates on welfare spending directed at two different life-course risks, with sickness representing a risk that the public widely considers to be 'deserving' of welfare support, and unemployment acting as an 'undeserving' risk. I find that, within countries over time, means-tested healthcare expenditures predict decreases in social trust, whereas non-means tested healthcare expenditure is associated with increasing social trust. My results thus lend support for the hypothesis that welfare-state selectivity and universality can contribute to the making and breaking of social trust, but only when interventions target life-course risks that the public considers 'deserving' of welfare state support. | Journal of European Social Policy | Trust; Welfare States; Deservingness; Comparative; Multilevel |
| 2024_398 | Meylahn, BV; Den Boer, AV; Mandjes, M. (2024). Trusting: Alone and together. Journal of Mathematical Sociology, 48(4), 424-478. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/0022250X.2024.2340135. | We study the problem of an agent continuously faced with the decision of placing or not placing trust in an institution. The agent makes use of Bayesian learning in order to estimate the institution's true trustworthiness and makes the decision to place trust based on myopic rationality. Using elements from random walk theory, we explicitly derive the probability that such an agent ceases placing trust at some point in the relationship, as well as the expected time spent placing trust conditioned on their discontinuation thereof. We then continue by modeling two truster agents, each in their own relationship to the institution. We consider two natural models of communication between them. In the first (observable rewards) agents disclose their experiences with the institution with one another, while in the second (observable actions) agents merely witness the actions of their neighbor, i.e. placing or not placing trust. Under the same assumptions as in the single agent case, we describe the evolution of the beliefs of agents under these two different communication models. Both the probability of ceasing to place trust and the expected time in the system elude explicit expressions, despite there being only two agents. We therefore conduct a simulation study in order to compare the effect of the different kinds of communication on the trust dynamics. We find that a pair of agents in both communication models has a greater chance of learning the true trustworthiness of an institution than a single agent. Communication between agents promotes the formation of long-term trust with a trustworthy institution as well as the timely exit from a trust relationship with an untrustworthy institution. Contrary to what one might expect, we find that having less information (observing each other's actions instead of experiences) can sometimes be beneficial to the agents. | Journal of Mathematical Sociology | Embeddedness; Institutional Trust; Learning; Social Influence; Trust |
| 2024_399 | Milkoreit, M; Smith, EK. (2024). Rapidly diverging public trust in science in the United States. Public Understanding of Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625241302970. | Trust in science is crucial to resolving societal problems. Americans across political ideologies have high levels of trust in science-a stable pattern observed over the past 50 years. Yet, trust in science varies by individual and group characteristics and faces several threats, from political actors, increased political polarization, or global crises. We revisit historical trends of trust in science among Americans by political orientation. We find steadily diverging trends by political views since the 1990s, and a drastically and rapidly opening gap since 2018. Recent unprecedented changes are driven not only by decreases in trust among conservatives but also by increases among liberals. Existing theoretical accounts do not fully explain these patterns. Diverging attitudes toward the institution of science can diminish capacity for collective problem-solving, eroding the shared foundation for decision-making and political discourse. | Public Understanding of Science | Ideology; Partisanship; Science; Social Tipping Point; Trust; United States |
| 2024_400 | Mitchell, J; La Parra-Casado, D. (2024). Who gets the blame and who gets the credit? Policing, assistance, and political trust among the Roma in Europe. European Societies, 26(3), 718-739. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14616696.2023.2220014. | In many European countries the Roma are the largest minority group, and research often highlights their heightened exposure to discrimination, harassment, and even abuse during interactions with the state, and the majority group. In contrast, many governments have assistance programs targeted to the Roma in an effort to boost integration. However, there is strikingly little systematic quantitative research on how these experiences are related to the trust that the Roma place in political institutions. This study addresses this gap by using EU-MIDIS II data from 9 European countries to assess the relationship between political trust and the experiences the Roma have with the police and assistance programs. Our analyses show that different experiences relate to trust in institutions differently: interactions with the police, either by being stopped or assaulted are most strongly associated with lower trust in the police but also reduce trust across institutions. In contrast, local governments may have the most to gain from those who report having received assistance based on their minority membership, with other institutions receiving modest trust benefits. Finally, both overall personal experiences of discrimination and the perceived extent of discrimination in their country are associated with low levels of trust in the institutions. | European Societies | Political Trust; Police; Social Services; the Roma; EU-MIDIS |
| 2024_401 | Mitson, R; Qin, S; Men, RL. (2024). The Value of Employee Trust During Turbulent Times: Exploring Vigilant Leadership Communication and Employee Psychological Well-Being. International Journal of Strategic Communication, 18(3), 228-248. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2024.2331300. | Vigilant leadership communication has emerged as an important strategy to help organizations navigate unexpected change or turbulent times, such as recently experienced during the COVID-19 pandemic. Vigilant leadership communication is marked by a leader's preventative focused communication, encouragement of diverse ideas across the organization, alertness to unexpected setbacks, and vigilance for latent opportunities within an organization. This study builds theoretically upon vigilant leadership communication by further conceptualizing potential impacts on employee outcomes, specifically employee psychological well-being. Additionally, this study highlights the importance of trust by proposing a theoretical model in which vigilant leadership communication's impact on employee's psychological well-being is fully mediated by employee perceptions of organizational trust and leader trust. Results suggest that effective vigilant leadership communication cannot be successful in a vacuum and that the trust employees have for both the leader and the organization will mediate the relationship between vigilant leadership communication and employee psychological well-being. | International Journal of Strategic Communication | |
| 2024_402 | Miura, A; Yamagata, M; Higashijima, J; Kobayashi, T; Nakamura, M. (2024). Who trusts in scientific research? Cross-national surveys of Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Jcom-Journal of Science Communication, 23(8). http://dx.doi.org/10.22323/2.23080203. | In this study, we explored science understanding and attitudes in Japan compared to the United Kingdom (UK) and the United States (US), examining trust in science versus humanities. Our web-based survey revealed that Japan's research literacy matches its Western counterparts. However, there were notable differences in scientific knowledge depth and public trust in research. Interestingly, higher scientific knowledge correlated with increased trust in research outcomes, a trend not seen in the humanities. In Japan, political ideologies did not significantly influence trust in science or humanities and showed little correlation with scientific knowledge or research literacy. This contrasts with the UK and the US, where political ideology impacts public trust in these fields. | Jcom-Journal of Science Communication | Public Perception of Science and Technology; Public Understanding of Science and Technology |
| 2024_403 | Miyawaki, R; Oka, K; Otsuki, A; Saito, J; Yaguchi-saito, A; Kuchiba, A; Fujimori, M; Kreps, GL; Shimazu, T. (2024). Trust in Mass Media as Sources of Cancer Information: Findings from a Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Survey in Japan. Journal of Health Communication, 29(2), 143-154. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2023.2294471. | Trust is a major factor in effective public dissemination and use of relevant health information to guide important health decisions. To examine mass media as a communication channel for delivering cancer information among Japanese adults, we identified the level of trust in various types of mass media as sources of cancer information, and examined factors associated with trust, including exposure to mass media, sociodemographic factors, and cancer history. Data were analyzed for 3,109 Japanese adults who responded to a nationally representative cross-sectional mail survey. Data included trust in cancer information sources, sociodemographic variables, cancer history, and exposure to mass media. Logistic regression analysis was used. The prevalence of high trust in cancer information sources was highest for physicians (94.7%). Among mass media, Internet (47.2%) was the most trusted source of cancer-related information, followed by television (44.3%), newspapers/magazines (42.7%), and radio (32.7%). The high-exposure group for newspapers (AOR = 1.28, 95%CI = 1.07-1.54) was more likely to trust newspapers. Similarly, high-exposure groups for radio (1.22, 1.02-1.45), Internet (1.21, 1.01-1.45), and television (1.30, 1.10-1.53) were positively associated with trust in each media type. Although trust in mass media was lower than trust in physicians, the study found that a large group of respondents had high levels of trust in mass media sources. Trust in cancer information from each mass media type was mainly related to the level of exposure to each mass media type. Developing health communication strategies using mass media may be effective for disseminating relevant cancer information in Japan. | Journal of Health Communication | |
| 2024_404 | Mohan, J; Clifford, D. (2024). Spatial inequalities in charitable fundraising and income generation for NHS acute trusts in England. Public Money & Management, 44(6), 543-552. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09540962.2024.2304541. | This article presents novel analyses of the income sources of National Health Service (NHS) acute trusts in England. The results suggest that there are variations according to deprivation in the extent of private financial resources available to NHS institutions. They suggest a need to open up discussions about how best to mitigate spatial differences in the charitable and private patient income of NHS trusts, particularly if these sources of income grow in importance going forward. The article provides-for the first time-an analysis of spatial variation in the income sources of National Health Service (NHS) acute trusts in England. It shows that, compared to trusts serving less deprived communities, trusts serving more deprived communities receive a lower proportion of income from charitable sources; and that trusts serving deprived communities also receive a lower proportion of income from private patients. The study serves to provide evidence of spatial inequality in the private resources that support local public institutions. | Public Money & Management | Charitable Income; Local Area Deprivation; NHS Trusts; Private Patient Income; Spatial Inequality |
| 2024_405 | Moland, M; Michailidou, A. (2024). Testing Causal Inference Between Social Media News Reliance and (Dis)trust of EU Institutions With an Instrumental Variable Approach: Lessons From a Null-Hypothesis Case. Political Studies Review, 22(2), 412-426. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14789299231183574. | Given the well-documented negativity bias and attitudinal entrenchment associated with sharing and debating news in social media, a reasonable and already substantially investigated assumption is that those getting news about the European Union (EU) mostly from social media would be more sceptical of its institutions than others. Empirical research on this topic has thus far largely deployed experimental and observational methods to investigate this assumption. We contribute to the existing literature with an instrumental variable approach well-suited to establishing causal relationships in non-experimental data. However, we find no blanket causal relationship between relying on social media for news about the EU polity and becoming less trustful of its institutions. EU policies aiming to tackle negative effects of social media news consumption, therefore, need to be tailored to different demographic groups. | Political Studies Review | Social Media; Public Opinion; Trust; European Union; Media Effects; Instrumental Variable Approach |
| 2024_406 | Molina, MD; Sundar, SS. (2024). Does distrust in humans predict greater trust in AI? Role of individual differences in user responses to content moderation. New Media & Society, 26(6), 3638-3656. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448221103534. | When evaluating automated systems, some users apply the positive machine heuristic (i.e. machines are more accurate and precise than humans), whereas others apply the negative machine heuristic (i.e. machines lack the ability to make nuanced subjective judgments), but we do not know much about the characteristics that predict whether a user would apply the positive or negative machine heuristic. We conducted a study in the context of content moderation and discovered that individual differences relating to trust in humans, fear of artificial intelligence (AI), power usage, and political ideology can predict whether a user will invoke the positive or negative machine heuristic. For example, users who distrust other humans tend to be more positive toward machines. Our findings advance theoretical understanding of user responses to AI systems for content moderation and hold practical implications for the design of interfaces to appeal to users who are differentially predisposed toward trusting machines over humans. | New Media & Society | Content Moderation; Human-AI Interaction; Individual Differences; Machine Heuristic |
| 2024_407 | Möllering, G. (2024). Practice(s) of Trusting. Commentary on Gil Eyal, Larry Au and Cristian Capotescu's Trust Is a Verb!. Sociologica-International Journal For Sociological Debate, 18(2), 199-208. http://dx.doi.org/10.6092/issn.1971-8853/20450. | This comment on Eyal et al.'s (2024) Trust Is a Verb! supports their view of trusting as a skillful, context- and time-dependent practice. It argues that their approach is reconcilable with the literatures they criticize as well as work they have not taken into account. The comment points out that Eyal et al. eschew the core question of what trusting is about and they remain vague on how trusting as practice turns into discernable practices. | Sociologica-International Journal For Sociological Debate | Trust; Leap of Faith; Practice Theory; Active Trust; Trust Research. |
| 2024_408 | Monnery, B; Chirat, A. (2024). Trust in a national anti-corruption agency: A survey experiment among citizens and experts. European Journal of Political Economy, 85. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2024.102592. | Are anti-corruption agencies able to secure public trust, promote public integrity and fight political corruption in the eyes of the general public? The paper investigates this question by focusing on France, which became a leader in the fight against corruption after the launch in 2013 of the High Authority for the Transparency in Public Life (HATVP). We run a survey experiment among 3000 citizens and 33 experts to collect their prior beliefs about political corruption, and then evaluate the impact of granting information about the track record of the national agency on citizens' perceptions of its effectiveness and legitimacy. The paper provides four main results. First, as expected, information provision has meaningful and positive impacts on citizens' perceptions of the HATVP, political transparency, and representative democracy. Second, while most beneficial impacts are broad-based, treatment effects are as large or even larger among the most poorly informed and distrustful citizens. Third, the experiment points toward the existence of a modest integrity paradox, i.e., an increase in the salience or perceived severity of corruption when citizens are better informed about the anti-corruption agency. Fourth, information provision reduces the divergence of opinions between the average citizen and experts about the effectiveness of the HATVP and the dynamics of political integrity. | European Journal of Political Economy | Political Corruption; Political Trust; Anti-Corruption Agency; Integrity; Populism; Survey Experiment |
| 2024_409 | Mont'Alverne, C; Arguedas, AR; Banerjee, S; Toff, B; Fletcher, R; Nielsen, RK. (2024). The Electoral Misinformation Nexus: How News Consumption, Platform Use, and Trust in News Influence Belief in Electoral Misinformation. Public Opinion Quarterly http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/poq/nfae019. | Electoral misinformation, where citizens believe false or misleading claims about the electoral process and electoral institutions-sometimes actively and strategically spread by political actors-is a challenge to public confidence in elections specifically and democracy more broadly. In this article, we analyze a combination of 42 million clicks in links and apps from behavioral tracking data of 2,200 internet users and a four-wave panel survey to investigate how different kinds of online news and media use relate to beliefs in electoral misinformation during a contentious political period-the 2022 Brazilian presidential elections. We find that, controlling for other factors, using news from legacy news media is associated with belief in fewer claims of electoral misinformation over time. We find null or inconsistent effects for using digital-born news media and various digital platforms, including Facebook and WhatsApp. Furthermore, we find that trust in news plays a significant role as a moderator. Belief in electoral misinformation, in turn, undermines trust in news. Overall, our findings document the important role of the news media as an institution in curbing electoral misinformation, even as they also underline the precarity of trust in news during contentious political periods. | Public Opinion Quarterly | |
| 2024_410 | Monzani, L; Bibic, K; Haslam, SA; Kerschreiter, R; Lemoine, JEW; Steffens, NK; Akfirat, SA; Ballada, CJA; Bazarov, T; Aruta, JJBR; Avanzi, L; Bunjak, A; Cerne, M; Edelmann, CM; Epitropaki, O; Fransen, K; García-Ael, C; Giessner, S; Gleibs, I; Godlewska-Werner, D; Kark, R; Gonzalez, AL; Lam, H; Lupina-Wegener, A; Markovits, Y; Maskor, M; Alonso, FJM; Leon, JAM; Neves, P; Pauknerova, D; Retowski, S; Roland-Lévy, C; Samekin, A; Sekiguchi, T; Story, J; Stouten, J; Sultanova, L; Tatachari, S; van Bunderen, L; Van Dijk, D; Wong, SI; van Dick, R. (2024). Political leaders' identity leadership and civic citizenship behavior: the mediating role of trust in fellow citizens and the moderating role of economic inequality. Political Psychology, 45(6), 979-1011. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.12952. | Identity leadership captures leaders efforts to create and promote a sense of shared group membership (i.e., a sense of we and of us) among followers. The present research report tests this claim by drawing on data from 26 countries that are part of the Global Identity Leadership Development (GILD) project to examine the relationship between political leaders' identity leadership and civic citizenship behavior (N = 6787). It also examines the contributions of trust and economic inequality to this relationship. Political leaders' identity leadership (PLIL) was positively associated with respondents' people-oriented civic citizenship behaviors (CCB-P) in 20 of 26 countries and civic citizenship behaviors aimed at one's country (CCB-C) in 23 of 26 countries. Mediational analyses also confirmed the indirect effects of PLIL via trust in fellow citizens on both CCB-P (in 25 out of 26 countries) and CCB-C (in all 26 countries). Economic inequality moderated these effects such that the main and indirect effects of trust in one's fellow citizens on CCB-C were stronger in countries with higher economic inequality. This interaction effect was not observed for CCB-P. The study highlights the importance of identity leadership and trust in fellow citizens in promoting civic citizenship behavior, especially in the context of economic inequality. | Political Psychology | Civic Citizenship Behavior; Economic Inequality; Identity Leadership; Social Identity; Trust |
| 2024_411 | Moon, C; Travaglino, GA. (2024). The association between perceived injustice and political trust: Testing a dual-pathway model through anger and patriotism across four countries. Political Psychology http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.13005. | While past research has found an association between perceived political injustice and diminished trust in institutions, the pathways connecting these constructs remain underexplored. In this study, we proposed a sequential indirect-effect model, from perceived injustice to feelings of disrespect and ultimately lower trust, via the dual pathways of anger against institutions and constructive patriotism. We tested our model using samples from four countries, namely South Korea, Italy, the United Kingdom, and the United States (NTotal = 2502). Results revealed a simple indirect effect of injustice via perceived personal respect. Additionally, two sequential indirect pathways emerged via anger and constructive patriotism. Specifically, individuals with higher levels of perceived personal injustice were less likely to trust institutions through decreased perceived personal respect. Moreover, perceived personal respect was associated with reduced trust via increased anger and decreased constructive patriotism. While the results were largely consistent across countries, the significance and relative strength of some of the paths exhibited variability. The findings offer insights into the psychological underpinnings of political trust across contexts. Limitations, implications of the results, and avenues for future research are discussed. | Political Psychology | Anger; Injustice; Patriotism; Political Trust; Respect |
| 2024_412 | Moon, J; Peifer, JT. (2024). Explaining Mainstream News Media Use in the Context of the COVID-19 Pandemic: the Roles of Partisanship, Perceptions of Threat, Negative Emotions, and News Media Trust. Mass Communication and Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/15205436.2024.2366228. | As the COVID-19 pandemic struck the United States amid the 2020 presidential election campaign, the public health crisis rapidly developed into a polarizing political issue. Within the context of a politicized public health crisis, efforts to deepen a scholarly understanding of how people's information-seeking behaviors can be understood in relation to partisanship bear timely importance. In this light, this research aims to explore the relationship between partisanship and mainstream news media use in the context of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study examines the role of perceived threat, negative emotions, and news media trust for helping to explain mainstream news media use. Analyses of data from a survey, conducted during the early months of the COVID-19 pandemic (N = 546), confirm that perceptions of threat, along with negative emotions stemming from perceived threat, play a mediating role between partisan identification and mainstream news media use. Moreover, this research also demonstrates that the mediated relationship between these factors varies, depending on people's perceptions of the news media's trustworthiness. The findings of the study contribute to deepening scholarly understanding of media consumption behaviors during times of a politicized public health crisis. | Mass Communication and Society | |
| 2024_413 | Morales-Arilla, JR; Ibarra, A. (2024). Transparent Corruption: the Effect of Illicit Connections and Trusted References on the Demand for Bureaucratic Intermediation. Journal of Experimental Political Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/XPS.2024.13. | This article investigates the effect of priming the existence of corrupt connections to the bureaucracy and of trusted references on the demand for intermediary services. We performed an experimental survey with undergraduate students in Caracas, Venezuela. Participants are presented with a hypothetical situation in which they need to obtain the apostille of their professional degrees in order to migrate and are considering whether to hire an intermediary (gestor) or not. The survey randomly reveals the existence of an illicit connection between the gestor and the bureaucracy and whether a trusted individual referred the intermediary. Our findings are not consistent with the market maker hypothesis that revealing the existence of illicit connections increases demand. Consistent with the view that trust is a key element in inherently opaque transactions, we find that the demand for intermediaries is price inelastic when gestores are referred by trusted individuals. | Journal of Experimental Political Science | Corruption; Bureaucracy; Intermediaries; Experiments; Venezuela |
| 2024_414 | Mukhametov, RS. (2024). Why Do the Citizens Trust the Police?. Sociologiceskoe Obozrenie, 23(3), 262-284. http://dx.doi.org/10.17323/1728-192X-2024-3-262-284. | This study is devoted to the investigation of factors affecting the level of trust in the Russian police. The main research issue of the article is to understand why some citizens trust law enforcement agencies, while others do not. To achieve this goal, data obtained during the 7(th) wave of the World Values Survey were used. The method of analyzing quantitative data was ordinal logistic regression. It is shown that the crime rate in the area of residence and the perception of security have received only partial empirical confirmation. The positive influence of the perception of corruption on trust in the police was found. The article also portrays how a more favorable attitude towards law enforcement agencies is associated with higher corruption. The author comes to the conclusion that citizens with higher levels of trust generally have more positive attitudes towards law enforcement agencies. It has been established that the level of trust of post-materialists in the police is lower than that of materialists. Statistical analysis has shown that an increase in the number of citizens with post-materialistic values leads to a decrease in the level of trust in law enforcement agencies. The author found that men have a lower level of trust in the police compared to women. The significance of the study lies in the fact that it can provide useful and practical recommendations for improving the work of the police and increasing the level of public confidence in it. | Sociologiceskoe Obozrenie | Police; Law Enforcement Agencies; Trust; Corruption; Media; Ethnic Minorities |
| 2024_415 | Murumba, RN; Pashayan, AR. (2024). Political trust in the age of coronavirus: experiences in Mukuru, Nairobi, Kenya. Frontiers in Political Science, 6. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2024.1331229. | This paper examines declining political trust at the onset of the coronavirus pandemic in the informal settlements of Mukuru Kayaba, Mukuru kwa Njenga, and Mukuru kwa Ruben; part of the Mukuru Informal Settlement located in Nairobi, Kenya. The average resident lives on $1.90-$3.50/day with no financial security net. During the COVID-19 pandemic governmental restrictions on movement and business operations, residents of Mukuru living at the extreme poverty level were unable to meet their basic needs. Trust in government was diminished, made worse by excessive force from armed officers of the Provincial Administration. Using qualitative and quantitative data, this research concludes that the lack of state support during the pandemic has led to further decline of political trust from residents of Mukuru. | Frontiers in Political Science | Kenya; Political Trust; Informal Settlements; Local and National Politics; COVID-19; Mukuru Slum |
| 2024_416 | Mutahi, P; Höglund, K; Elfversson, E. (2024). Policing and Citizen Trust in Kenya: How Community Policing Shapes Local Trust-Building and Collaboration. African Affairs, 123(492), 303-328. http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/afraf/adae018. | In contexts of high insecurity and mistrust in the police, how and why do local residents still choose to collaborate with the police, and what is the role of community policing in such considerations? Research on policing in Africa has emphasized the structural and macropolitical barriers to effective police reform, including institutionalized cultures of impunity and corruption. Less attention, however, has been paid to the contextual and relational dynamics that shape police-community collaboration. We argue that a relational perspective, which centres local residents' interactions with police and community policing structures, provides novel insights into the challenges of policing reforms. This perspective also demonstrates how contingent and incremental trust can be built in very challenging circumstances. We study these dynamics in Karagita and Kaptembwo, two low-income urban settlements in Nakuru County, Kenya, that have experienced violent crime and repeated electoral violence. Despite considerable challenges of crime, police misconduct, and political interference in these settlements, our findings point to how positive everyday interaction and community policing structures can contribute to incremental improvements in police-community relationships. In contrast to existing work on African policing that primarily highlights the challenges of police reform, this study offers insights into when reform has the potential to be effective. | African Affairs | |
| 2024_417 | Nabi, RL; Dobmeier, CM; Robbins, CL; Torres, DP; Walter, N. (2024). Effects of Scanning Health News Headlines on Trust in Science: An Emotional Framing Perspective. Health Communication, 39(13), 3342-3354. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2321404. | Rooted in the emotions-as-frames model (EFM), this research examines how hope, fear, and annoyance are evoked through health news headline scanning, and how these emotions influence perceptions of news and medical science institutions as well as health behavioral intentions. A sample of U.S. adults (N = 327) were assigned to one of four headline framing conditions expected to associate with different emotions (positive future frame-hope; threat frame-fear/anxiety; reversal frame-annoyance; and control-neutral) and then asked about their emotional states, trust in science and news, and health-related behavioral intentions. Overall, health news headlines generated more hope than any other emotion across all conditions, and positive future-framed headlines evoked more hope than other framed headlines. Felt hope, in turn, generated greater trust in news and science, higher expectations of medical breakthroughs and cures, and greater intention to engage in preventative health behaviors. Felt anxiety had marginal positive benefits whereas felt annoyance negatively impacted the outcomes of interest. Notably, felt emotion mediated the headline frame-outcome relationships in the positive future/hope condition. These findings offer some support for the EFM and demonstrate that scanning headlines imbued with specific emotional frames can influence important health-related outcomes through the emotions they evoke. We discuss both the theoretical and practical implication of these findings. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_418 | Nägel, C; Nivette, A; Czymara, C. (2024). Do jihadist terrorist attacks cause changes in institutional trust? A multi-site natural experiment. European Journal of Political Research, 63(2), 411-432. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12612. | Results from previous research suggest that terrorist attacks lead to relatively short-term increases in trust in institutions. The explanation for this increase is known as the 'rally effect', whereby individuals respond to crises and threats with more positive support for political leaders and institutions. Even though the number of related natural experiments with survey data is increasing, these studies merely represent case studies of single incidents with limited external validity. To advance quasi-experimental research on the effects of terrorist attacks on institutional trust, we propose a new methodological approach by assessing all jihadist terrorist attacks resulting in at least one civilian death in a European country that take place during the fieldwork of the European Social Survey and combining the results of eight unique natural experiments in five different countries using meta-analytic and meta-regression techniques. The results of this 'multi-site natural experiment' indicate that support for the rally-hypothesis is mixed at best. While some attacks appear to significantly increase at least some measures of institutional trust (e.g., The Netherlands 2004, France 2015, Israel 2012), others seem to have no effect at all (e.g., Germany 2015, France 2018), or even substantially decrease trust in domestic political institutions (Russia 2012). Summary effects from multilevel meta-analyses are non-significant for any institutional trust outcome. These results are robust to a large number of robustness tests and alternative specifications. In comparison with previous research, it appears that a lot of the European evidence for the rally-hypothesis was based on 'outlier' case studies like the Charlie Hebdo attack in France, 2015. Accordingly, our results cast doubt on the unrestricted generalisability of rally effects after terrorist attacks to different geographic, political, social or historical contexts. | European Journal of Political Research | Institutional Trust; Meta-Analysis; Quasi-Experiment; Rally Around the Flag; Terror Attacks |
| 2024_419 | Nah, S; Liu, FJ; Shao, C; Romanova, E; Nam, G. (2024). When Trust in AI Mediates: AI News Use, Public Discussion, and Civic Participation. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 36(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edae019. | Artificial intelligence (AI), since its marked proliferation in the mid-2010s, has significantly penetrated various sectors, becoming a transformative force that necessitates ongoing refinement of communication strategies and political dynamics by stakeholders. Drawing on the Orientation-Stimulus-Reasoning-Orientation-Response (O-S-R-O-R) model, this study delves into the role of AI news consumption in participatory democracy. Using data from a nationwide survey (N = 1,252), the study assesses a mediation model that proposes a multilayered process through which AI news consumption facilitates civic participation. The findings reveal that AI news consumption across different media platforms is positively linked with civic participation, facilitated by both online and offline AI discussions. This relationship is further mediated by trust in AI news and trust in AI actors. Further theoretical and practical implications are also discussed. | International Journal of Public Opinion Research | |
| 2024_420 | Nazarov, MM; Ivanov, VN. (2024). Popular journalists and bloggers in the Russian media space: Trust and social perceptions of the audience. Rudn Journal of Sociology-Vestnik Rossiiskogo Universiteta Druzhby Narodov Seriya Sotsiologiya, 24(2), 387-403. http://dx.doi.org/10.22363/2313-2272-2024-24-2-387-403. | Under the contemporary mediatization, the role of media figures in information processes has increased. Popular journalists and bloggers perform the functions of presenting and interpreting socially significant content, thus, competing for the attention and trust of the audience. The study of this role of media figures is of particular relevance, since the Russian media landscape, especially its online segment, is an open space in which actors promote different information agendas. The empirical study was conducted in Russia's Central and Northwestern Federal Districts in April-June 2023. According to its results, the leading positions in the public trust ranking are taken by journalists and bloggers whose speeches are characterized by the state-patriotic orientation, but part of the audience seems to trust liberal content. The use of multidimensional classification procedures allowed the authors to identify some stable typological groups in the structure of the audience, differing in the set of trusted media figures, but groups that trust state-patriotic journalists and bloggers prevail. There are significant social- demographic differences in the level of trust: journalists and bloggers with liberal orientations are supported mainly by young people, while journalists and bloggers with state-patriotic orientations - by representatives of the middle and older age groups. There is an increase in trust in liberal media as the financial situation of respondents improves. The authors also identified variables that increase the likelihood of trusting media figures: respondents' ideological values; attitudes towards the Russian political system; the state support for democratic norms; perception of current social-economic issues. Social representations that correlate with trust in media figures reflect gaps in the picture of the world of certain social segments, which requires informed management decisions to consolidate society under the global challenges. | Rudn Journal of Sociology-Vestnik Rossiiskogo Universiteta Druzhby Narodov Seriya Sotsiologiya | Media Space; Audience; Trust; Social Representations; Popular Journalists and Blog- Gers; Media Figures; Social-Demographic Differences |
| 2024_421 | Nelson, JL; Lewis, SC; Cowley, B. (2024). 'Money is the root of all evil.' How the business of journalism shapes trust in news. Journalism http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14648849241246929. | In journalism studies, the audience turn in recent years has shifted attention in important ways to the lived experiences of news consumers. This study adds to the growing body of literature by exploring the question: How do people's assumptions about how news is paid for affect their trust in and approach to news? Our data draw from interviews conducted in 2022 with 34 news consumers who were constructively sampled to represent a diverse cross-section of U.S. adults. Guided by the folk theories concept, a generative approach to discovering the stories that people tell themselves about news, we find that news consumers see journalism as increasingly compromised by journalists' perceived pursuit of profit and financial success in a competitive media environment. They feel that journalists are primarily motivated to profit off their attention, leading them to view most news with a great deal of skepticism. By situating audience perceptions of capitalism and its relationship to journalism at the center, this study brings a new dimension to ongoing discussions about trust, objectivity, and bias in reporting. | Journalism | News Audiences; Folk Theories; Trust; Journalism; Revenue |
| 2024_422 | Nguyen, GD; Dao, THT. (2024). Factors influencing continuance intention to use mobile banking: an extended expectation-confirmation model with moderating role of trust. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02778-z. | This study explores the impacts of user adaptation and its antecedents, including perceived usefulness, self-efficacy, and subjective norm on continuance intention towards mobile banking. Based on (1) extended expectation-confirmation model, (2) adaptive structuration theory for individuals, and (3) decomposed theory of planned behavior, and by incorporating user adaptation and trust perspectives, this study proposes and validates a research model by using convenient and snowball sampling techniques, face-to-face survey with a sample of 523 consumers of large banks in Vietnam. The partial least squares structural equation modeling SmartPLS 4.0 software is employed for data analysis. The research findings reveal that (1) except for subjective norm, perceived usefulness, satisfaction, adaptation, and self-efficacy significantly impact continuance intention; (2) trust moderates the relationship between adaptation and continuance intention. Theoretical and managerial implications are provided to broaden the information technology continuance literature, suggesting how banks should sustain strong relationships with mobile banking customers. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_423 | Nicolas, JD. (2024). Trust in the Armed Forces: international comparative analysis. Revista Espanola de Sociologia, 33(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.22325/fes/res.2024.229. | This study aims to analyze trust in the Armed Forces in contemporary societies. Three hypotheses have been formulated: 1) citizens in most countries have more trust in the Armed Forces than in other institutions, especially political ones; 2) due to the prolonged period of global peace, it is expected that trust in the Armed Forces has declined because citizens have lost the fear that their country might become involved in a war; and 3) this prolonged period of peace has led some of the population to be unwilling to defend their country in the event of war, as they do not foresee a possible conflict. The analysis has been conducted using the aggregated data file from the World Values Survey (EVS and WVS), utilizing three units of analysis: the world, ten geo-cultural regions, and ten selected countries. The analysis is descriptive and explanatory, both cross-sectional and longitudinal. | Revista Espanola de Sociologia | Armed Forces; Trust; Values; Security; Descriptive-Explanatory Analysis |
| 2024_424 | Nielsen, LH; Petersen, MB. (2024). Beyond left and right: the role of system trust in COVID-19 attitudes and behaviours across eight western countries. European Journal of Political Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12749. | During the COVID-19 pandemic, public opinion regarding restrictions and lockdowns was quickly characterized by significant disagreement. In a societal crisis such as COVID-19, it is important to understand the drivers behind citizens' attitudes and behaviours. Political disagreement related to COVID-19 restrictions and lockdowns has often been interpreted as an ideological or partisan divide along the left-right dimension of political opinion. Here, we argue that there is more to unpack. There is increasing awareness that public opinion is structured by both left-right orientation and trust in the system. In this paper, we examine the divide in COVID-19 attitudes and behaviours and compare the influence of ideology and system trust as drivers across countries and across time during the pandemic. Based on monthly surveys from eight countries (the United States, the United Kingdom, Sweden, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, France and Italy) from September 2020 to July 2021 (total sample of 49,414 respondents), we show that citizens with right-wing ideologies and those who do not trust 'the system' perceived a lower threat from the coronavirus, were less supportive of government measures against the virus, report having changed their behaviour less and report lower intentions to vaccinate against COVID-19 compared to citizens with left-wing ideologies and those with high system trust. These results are stable across time and across countries. We also find that behavioural differences are larger between those who support the system and those who do not than between those with right- and left-wing ideological outlooks, respectively. This implies that system trust is at least as important as ideology in terms of shaping cleavages in COVID-19 attitudes and behaviours. The results suggest that in order to increase public support for societal responses during a crisis, it is not only important to appeal to both sides of the ideological spectrum, but also to appeal to those who do not trust 'the system'. | European Journal of Political Research | Ideology; Political Trust; Covid-19; Crisis; Political Attitudes and Behaviours |
| 2024_425 | Nkhata, MJ; Chipofya, MV. (2024). Trust in the law but beware! the possible corruptogenic effects of the law on public procurement in Malawi. Crime Law and Social Change, 82(2), 307-333. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10611-024-10146-w. | The persistence of corruption in Malawi is well documented as are its heinous effects. Malawi's response to combating corruption has involved the adoption of legislation and the establishment of a dedicated agency for dealing with the vice. These efforts notwithstanding, the fight against corruption continues to be a lopsided undertaking with the country registering negligible commendable progress while reports of serious corrupt practices are a regular occurrence. Corruption in Malawi, arguably, has become systemic. Corruption seems particularly rife in the realm of public procurement. This paper posits that while the law may commonly be invoked in aid when tackling corruption, it is important to critically reflect on its contribution in fostering and/or enabling corruption. By specifically focusing on the law on public procurement, the paper demonstrates that this regime of law, by containing ambiguous terms, giving public officials broad discretion, conferring public officials with overboard freedom to create subsidiary legislation or regulations, creating burdensome processes, having lacunas in regulatory or administrative procedures, and giving certain groups preferential treatment during procurement processes motivates, enables and creates opportunities for corruption. As a possible solution, the paper proposes that Malawi should adopt corruption proofing of legislative enactments as an ex ante mechanism for dealing with corruption to supplement investigations and prosecutions, which are ex post facto procedures. | Crime Law and Social Change | Corruption; Public Procurement; Legislation; Corruption-Proofing; Malawi |
| 2024_426 | Noordzij, K; de Koster, W; van der Waal, J. (2024). Explaining the educational gradient in trust in politicians: a video-vignette survey experiment. West European Politics, 47(4), 784-812. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2023.2250163. | Many liberal democracies are characterised by strong educational gradients in political trust: less-educated citizens have strikingly less trust in politicians than more-educated citizens. Informed by a wide body of research, this study tests systematically the empirical relevance of three characteristics of politicians that have been theorised as explanations for the educational gradient in trust in politicians: (1) substantive cultural stances (progressiveness/conservatism); (2) (non-)populist rhetoric; and a recently developed explanation, (3) perceived distance to citizens' life-worlds. This study analyses data from an original, pre-registered, video-vignette survey experiment carried out among a high-quality, representative panel in the strategic case of the Netherlands, where respondents were assigned randomly to one of 16 professionally produced videos of an actor playing the role of a fictitious politician. It was found that the politician's cultural stances and use of (non-)populist rhetoric were important drivers of the educational gradient in trust in the politician. | West European Politics | Education; Political Trust; Substantive Representation; Populism; Survey Experiment |
| 2024_427 | Norkin, S; Johnsen, A; Byström, K. (2024). The role of information flows in trust-based management. International Journal of Public Sector Management http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-03-2024-0087. | Purpose - This paper explores the role of work-related information flows in trust-based management in public sector organizations. Whereas the relationship that trust affects information sharing between employees as such is well known, the opposite relationship where information flows that facilitate access to and sharing of work-related information affect trust is less studied. Design/methodology/approach - The paper analyses survey data from 481 employees at lower hierarchical levels in home care and schools in the City of Oslo four years after the City Council decided to implement trust-based management, using structural equation modelling (SEM). Findings - The results from the path models indicate that work-related information flows mediate the impact of trust-based management, contribute to the development of trust in managers and increase employee autonomy. Practical implications - A practical implication is that work-related information flows seem to be an important design variable in trust reforms. Organizations that plan to implement more trust-based management should therefore pay close attention to how changes in management systems and leadership practices impact work-related information flows. Originality/value - This paper contributes to the public management literature and research on trust reforms by identifying the role of work-related information flows as a mediator in trust-based management. The paper provides new insights into the relationship between information flows, trust and autonomy by combining perspectives from public management, information studies and organizational behaviour. | International Journal of Public Sector Management | Vertical Trust; Information Flow; Trust Reforms |
| 2024_428 | O'Donnell, J. (2024). Neighborhood Trust, Cohesion, and Diversity: How Demographic Patterns and Processes Shape Their Relationships. Population and Development Review, 50(3), 753-789. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/padr.12641. | Compelling evidence from around the world suggests that ethnic diversity is detrimental to neighborhood trust and cohesion. Much of this evidence derives from empirical associations found with static indicators of diversity, measuring the mix of ethnic groups at a single point in time, and controlling for a varied mix of individual and community-level covariates. Less attention though has sought to understand how dynamic processes of migration and residential settlement both create diversity and influence trust and cohesion. In this study, census and survey data are used to analyze the demographic and economic characteristics and dynamics coinciding with diversity in local communities in Australia, and the implications for neighborhood trust and cohesion. Diverse communities are heavily concentrated in moderately and highly disadvantaged communities in large immigrant gateway cities. Highly diverse communities experience continual high levels of immigration and population turnover and contain young age structures and more diverse and transient housing and household structures. Survey analyses reveal that these characteristics substantially explain observed negative associations between diversity and neighborhood trust and cohesion. The results point to the near-intractable difficulties in isolating the effects of diversity and the importance of understanding the dynamic demographic processes in the construction of neighborhood diversity, trust, and cohesion. | Population and Development Review | Social Cohesion; Population Dynamics; Migration; Ethnic Diversity; Social Trust; Neighborhoods |
| 2024_429 | Offer, A. (2024). Markets and Public Goods: Integrity, Trust, and Climate Change. Society, 61(4), 393-401. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s12115-024-01007-2. | Public goods are an anomaly in neoclassical economics, a form of 'market failure'. They exist outside the efficient and equitable optimality of market exchange. It can be shown however that competitive markets are only efficient in short product cycles. Long-term objectives require social support. Corruption arises from the consequent private public interaction. Integrity, the absence of corruption, is a public good. Corruption has risen since the 1980s with privatization and outsourcing. How did European governments become honest in the first place? In the century after the 1770s, they moved from regarding public office as a form of private property to a conception of serving the public good. This integrity revolution was facilitated by Weberian bureaucracies, selected by academic merit and committed to impartiality by long-term incentives. The neoliberal revolution of the 1980s regarded bureaucracies as obstructive and slow. It admired the business corporation with its opaque procedures and charismatic leadership. Concurrently economics moved from neoclassical harmony theory to an asymmetric information model of 'opportunism with guile', providing doctrinal legitimacy for corruption. Corporate advertising is deliberately deceptive, and undermines the public good of trustworthiness. Digital platforms, powered by advertising, have subverted public discourse. Misinformation and disinformation have become prime risk factors for current societies. The practical operation of markets undermines the public goods of integrity and trustworthiness. The public good of a habitable climate cannot be achieved by market methods. For long-term payoffs, 'free markets' are a harmful delusion, inefficient, corrupt, impossible to achieve, and not sustainable. | Society | Markets; Public Goods; Climate Change; Trust; Integrity; Friedrich Von Hayek; Paul Samuelson; Corruption; Leadership; Joseph Stiglitz; RA Musgrave |
| 2024_430 | Okolikj, M; Goubin, S; Stiers, D; Hooghe, M. (2024). Trust in political parties and ideological proximity voting in Europe: the role of trust in political parties as a heuristic mechanism. Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties, 34(1), 116-135. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2022.2113088. | Previous studies have investigated to what extent voters can achieve proximity between their preferences and the positions of the party they vote for. Combining data from the European Social Survey and the Chapel Hill Expert Survey, we investigate whether trust in political parties increases ideological proximity voting. We argue that voters use their level of trust in parties as a heuristic mechanism. First, trust can increase proximity voting because citizens need to trust that political parties will take voters' policy preferences into account when in government. Second, we examine whether low-trusting voters tend to cast a protest vote, and do not engage in ideological proximity voting. We test this assumption regarding three determinants of the vote choice: general left-right ideology views, preferences for income redistribution, and anti-immigrant sentiments. We find that ideological proximity voting is indeed moderated by trust: those who trust political parties are more likely to cast a vote based on their policy preferences, while those who distrust tend to vote for protest parties. Nevertheless, also among protest voters, trust is conducive for higher levels of proximity voting. | Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties | |
| 2024_431 | Okundaye, G; Ishiyama, J. (2024). Premigratory experiences with Civil War violence and social trust. Social Science Quarterly, 105(2), 253-266. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13342. | Do experiences with civil war violence affect an individual's level of social trust? The literature on this topic suggests that being a victim of violence or being involved in violence has a profound effect on an individual's political behavior in the new host country. However, what has not been explored is how experiences with civil war and violence impact levels of social trust among immigrants. Building on prior research on premigratory experience and literature on experience with violence, we intend to determine if the premigratory experiences with violence in an immigrant's country of origin affect whether social trust is increased or decreased in an immigrant's country of residence. We investigate this question using the National Latino and Asian American Study. We find that immigrants who had experienced civil war as unarmed civilians and were persecuted due to their political beliefs were less likely to acculturate to the host country. Participation in combat also tended to reduce acculturation but did not affect social trust. | Social Science Quarterly | Conflict; Immigration; Political Violence; Premigratory Experiences; Suitcase Socialization; Transnational Political Behavior |
| 2024_432 | Olaleye, SA; Ukpabi, D; Andreini, D; Salo, J. (2024). The mediation effects of gratification, performance expectancy and trust on retailing mobile apps continuous use. International Journal of Mobile Communications, 23(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1504/IJMC.2024.136638. | This research explicates the significance of mobile retail app continuous use to make the online shopping experience more trustful, comfortable, and enjoyable for consumers. The paper employed a quantitative method and collected empirical data from 289 Finnish mobile retail app users. Also, the study used covariance-based structural equation modelling to test the hypothesised relationships with AMOS 22.0. The paper broadens the theoretical and managerial insights into how trust, performance expectancy, and gratification play an active mediating role between effort expectancy, social influence, and continuous use of mobile retail apps. This paper recommends that retailing managers relate the mediation role of trust, performance expectancy, and gratification as a critical means of causing an effect on the mobile retail app's continuous use when reviewing their technology strategy. This paper will influence society by shortening retailing transaction time and promoting sustainable retailing. | International Journal of Mobile Communications | Mobile Apps; Hedonic; Retailing; Consumers; Trust |
| 2024_433 | Oñate, SP. (2024). Community policing and citizen trust. the cases in Nezahualcoyotl and Mexico City. Revista Cientifica General Jose Maria Cordova, 22(46). http://dx.doi.org/10.21830/19006586.1297. | This article analyses the capacity of the proximity or community policing programs to foster trust in the police in two localities: the Nezahualcoyotl municipality in the state of Mexico and the historic center of Mexico City. For this purpose, the results of a survey applied to the habitants of both localities are analyzed using a binomial logistic regression model. The results show that in both cases, these proximity strategies have achieved a positive impact on the trust of the habitants further than other individual and context factors. Nevertheless, the effectiveness of the police in preventing crimes is shown as the main determinant of trust in both cases. | Revista Cientifica General Jose Maria Cordova | Community Policing; Crime Prevention; Mexico; Police; Proximity Police; Security |
| 2024_434 | Oomens, EC; van Wegberg, RS; Klievink, AJ; van Eeten, MJG. (2024). To trust or to restrict? - mapping professional perspectives on intelligence powers and oversight in the Netherlands using Q-methodology. Intelligence and National Security, 39(1), 40-63. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02684527.2023.2239037. | In recent years, the intelligence domain has transformed and become more cyber-oriented. This has been accompanied by governance reforms of intelligence agencies' powers and oversight mechanisms. However, opinions on key points of these reforms diverge and diverging professional opinions may affect how reforms achieve intended goals. Using Q-methodology, this article identifies and analyses four distinct viewpoints that professionals in the Dutch intelligence community hold regarding intelligence powers and oversight thereof. This study was done in the context of recent reforms in the Netherlands and also considers how views on trust, privacy, and effectiveness play a role. | Intelligence and National Security | National Security; Intelligence Oversight; Checks-And-Balances; Intelligence Resources; Intelligence Powers; Intelligence Accountability; Perspectives; Q-Methodology |
| 2024_435 | Ou, MX; Zheng, H; Zeng, YL; Hansen, P. (2024). Trust it or not: Understanding users' motivations and strategies for assessing the credibility of AI-generated information. New Media & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448241293154. | The evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) facilitates the creation of multimodal information of mixed quality, intensifying the challenges individuals face when assessing information credibility. Through in-depth interviews with users of generative AI platforms, this study investigates the underlying motivations and multidimensional approaches people use to assess the credibility of AI-generated information. Four major motivations driving users to authenticate information are identified: expectancy violation, task features, personal involvement, and pre-existing attitudes. Users evaluate AI-generated information's credibility using both internal (e.g. relying on AI affordances, content integrity, and subjective expertise) and external approaches (e.g. iterative interaction, cross-validation, and practical testing). Theoretical and practical implications are discussed in the context of AI-generated content assessment. | New Media & Society | Credibility Assessment; Generative AI; Human-AI Interaction; Motivations |
| 2024_436 | Ouattara, E; Steenvoorden, E. (2024). The Elusive Effect of Political Trust on Participation: Participatory Resource or (Dis)incentive?. Political Studies, 72(4), 1269-1287. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217231194820. | Although political trust has long been linked to political participation, its effects remain elusive. Trust in political institutions may enhance levels of participation, diminish political engagement, or yield distinct effects depending on the activity. This article examines these diverging effects through a rational choice framework, with which we theorize and test whether political trust functions as a resource or a (dis)incentive to participate. Specifically, we assess the direct effects of political trust on intended participation and its moderating effects on outcome-related motivations and activity type. To this end, we use a factorial survey experiment in the Netherlands and the United Kingdom to isolate the effects of outcome-related motivations and to disentangle participation from the effectiveness of action and the effect of activity type, factors that remain confounded in existing survey measures of participation. Overall, our findings suggest that political trust operates as a (dis)incentive, rather than a resource spurring participation. | Political Studies | Political Trust; Political Participation; Rational-Choice; Survey Experiment |
| 2024_437 | Pacciardi, A. (2024). A European narrative of border externalisation: the European trust fund for Africa story. European Security http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09662839.2024.2304723. | This paper examines European narratives regarding border externalisation within the context of the European Trust Fund for Africa (EUTF). It seeks to understand how the EU shapes its discourse on African migration, recommends solutions, and evaluates outcomes. As the latest and most comprehensive instrument for externalising migration management, the EUTF offers abundant source material to comprehensively analyse the EU institutional narrative since the 2015 Valletta Summit. Furthermore, with its official conclusion, it presents a unique opportunity to track the complete evolution of EU policy narratives on border security, treating the EUTF as a story with a beginning, middle, and end. This paper relies on publicly accessible documents produced before, during, and after its implementation to uncover the underlying story shaping EU border externalisation. It aims to contribute to research on policy narratives related to migration and security, shedding light on the role of knowledge production in shaping border security policies. Moreover, it contributes to studies on policy narratives by proposing to couple Narrative Policy Framework approaches that look at the structure (setting, characters, plot, moral), with interpretative and critical approaches that focus on the content by uncovering the ideas, values, and assumptions on which such narratives are based. | European Security | EU; Border Externalisation; Migration; Policy Narratives; Knowledge |
| 2024_438 | Paek, HJ; Hove, T. (2024). Message framing and trust as moderated mediating mechanisms for effective government response to uncertain risk messages. Journal of Risk Research, 27(1), 124-137. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2024.2311410. | This study explores moderating and mediating mechanisms that determine the effectiveness of government responses to media messages about a risk. Focusing on the risk of radiation-contaminated water originating from Japan, it investigates how uncertainty, gain and loss frames, and trust affect the risk communication process. A survey experiment tested the extent to which media messages about a risk in conjunction with government responses to those messages would either amplify or dampen an unwarranted reaction to the risk (in this case, the intention to refrain from consuming seafood). The experiment was conducted among 982 adult residents of South Korea and consisted of a 2 message uncertainty (mentioned vs. not mentioned) x 2 government response frame (gain vs. loss) between-subjects design with conditions randomly assigned. Our conditional process model (Model 12 using PROCESS macro) yielded three main findings. First, neither the uncertainty of the message nor the type of government response frame had significant direct or interaction effects on unwarranted behavioral intention (UBI). Second, among those with a high level of basic trust in government (BTG), government messages with a gain frame generated a higher level of trust in the government's response (TGR). Third, a gain-framed government response also generated a lower level of UBI via TGR, but only among those with a high level of BTG. | Journal of Risk Research | Risk Communication; Uncertainty; Trust; Framing; Gain; Loss |
| 2024_439 | Pan, WJ; Liu, DY; Meng, JB; Liu, HL. (2024). Human-AI communication in initial encounters: How AI agency affects trust, liking, and chat quality evaluation. New Media & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448241259149. | Artificial intelligence (AI) agency plays an important role in shaping humans' perceptions and evaluations of AI. This study seeks to conceptually differentiate AI agency from human agency and examine how AI's agency manifested on source and language dimensions may be associated with humans' perceptions of AI. A 2 (AI's source autonomy: autonomous vs human-assisted) x 2 (AI's language subjectivity: subjective vs objective) x 2 (topics: traveling vs reading) factorial design was adopted (N = 376). The results showed autonomous AI was rated as more trustworthy, and AI using subjective language was rated as more trustworthy and likable. Autonomous AI using subjective language was rated as the most trustworthy, likable, and of the best quality. Participants' AI literacy moderated the interaction effect of source autonomy and language subjectivity on human trust and chat quality evaluation. Results were discussed in terms of human-AI communication theories and the design and development of AI chatbots. | New Media & Society | Artificial Intelligence Agency; Computers-Are-Social-Actors; Chat Quality; Human-Artificial Intelligence Communication; Liking; Trust |
| 2024_440 | Park, CS. (2024). Comparison of Objectivity, Transparency, Contextualization, and Trust Between Fact-Checking Sites and News Organizations. Journalism Practice http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2024.2411622. | This study compares U.S. adults' perception about the performance of news organizations and independent fact-checking sites. Drawing upon a survey of 1580 respondents, this study finds that rating of the objectivity and trust in news organizations is somewhat higher than that of fact-checking sites. Fact-checking sites, however, are perceived to give more contextual information about current topics than news organizations. In terms of transparency, no significant difference is found. The analysis also finds that the positive perceptions about objectivity, transparency, contextualization, and trust significantly predict fact-checking site use. The results suggest that audiences perceive fact-checking sites to play a journalistic role to some extent, which may blur the boundary of journalism. | Journalism Practice | Fact-Checking Sites; News Organizations; Objectivity; Transparency; Contextualization; Media Trust |
| 2024_441 | Park, K; Yoon, HY. (2024). Beyond the code: the impact of AI algorithm transparency signaling on user trust and relational satisfaction. Public Relations Review, 50(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2024.102507. | This study investigates the effectiveness of AI-algorithm transparency signaling as a strategy to enhance organization-public relationships (OPRs) in AI-assisted communications. Building upon signaling theory and trust transfer theory, the study examines whether the AI algorithm transparency influences trust in AI systems by users and this trust can be transferred into trust in AI systems' parent company, which in turn, influences the relational satisfaction with the company. An online experiment with 537 participants demonstrated that transparency signaling significantly improves users' relational satisfaction with the AI parent company. However, this effect is mediated by trust in both the AI system and the parent company, rather than a direct relationship. Our findings offer practical guidelines for AI domain experts and public relations practitioners to deliberately convey the true essence of transparency in AI-mediated communication and ensure accountability in AI adoption, thereby improving public relations outcomes. | Public Relations Review | AI Algorithm; Trust Transfer; Organization-Public Relationship; Trust in AI; Transparency Signaling; Relational Satisfaction; User Trust |
| 2024_442 | Park, LSC; Jaung, R; Park, JJ. (2024). Casting a long shadow: Examining the relationships between vicarious and direct racism and generalized trust among Asian communities in New Zealand during COVID-19. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 103. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2024.102072. | Utilizing a social learning perspective, this study investigated the associations between vicarious and direct racism and generalized trust among Asian communities in New Zealand during COVID19, highlighting the comparability of their effects. Data from a cross-sectional online survey conducted in 2021 (N = 1377), were utilized to estimate the prevalence of vicarious and direct racism experiences and the distribution of since-COVID generalized trust. Linear regression was used to assess the association between experiences of racism and shifts in generalized trust. Findings indicate that almost 40 % of participants experienced racism, with vicarious experiences of physical violence and unfair treatment being more prevalent, while direct experiences of microaggressions and verbal/written abuse were more common. Female, younger, Chinese, and South East Asian participants, those for whom English is a first language, and students reported disproportionate reductions in generalized trust. Negative associations were identified between vicarious and direct racism experiences and changes in generalized trust. Crucially, our analysis reveals that vicarious microaggression experiences have a greater negative association with generalized trust than direct experiences, challenging prevailing perceptions of their significance. Emphasizing a comprehensive approach to eliminating all forms of racism, the findings support the need for critical scrutiny of media reporting of racism and its influence on trust. | International Journal of Intercultural Relations | Vicarious Racism; Racism; Trust; Asian; New Zealand; COVID-19 |
| 2024_443 | Park, S; Fisher, C; Tandoc , E Jr; Dulleck, U; Yao, SP; Lukamto, W. (2024). The relationship between news trust, mistrust and audience disengagement. Journalism http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14648849241299775. | The global decline of trust in news is a concern for democracy and news organisations. It is often assumed that distrust in news will turn citizens away from it. However, the relationship between trust and news engagement is not straightforward. Those who distrust news may continue to consume it, and those who have high trust in news may choose to disengage from it. This study addresses this puzzling phenomenon by applying the concept of 'mistrust' and differentiating it from low or lack of trust. Mistrust is defined as exercising scepticism towards news and deferring trust. Confirmatory factor analysis of an online survey (n = 4401) conducted in Australia, Singapore and UK between March and April 2023 reveals that trust and mistrust are empirically separate constructs and that they co-exist. Further logistic regression analysis shows that mistrust can lead to news avoidance. This news avoidance does not necessarily mean disengagement from news. Instead, we find low trust is a factor that turns people away from news altogether. By deciphering the complex relationship between trust and mistrust, this study provides new insights into understanding audiences' disengagement with news. | Journalism | Trust; Mistrust; News Consumption; Audiences; Scepticism; Cynicism |
| 2024_444 | Park, S; Lee, JY; Curll, S; Fisher, C; McCallum, K; Tyrrell, P; Levesque, L; Mihalovich, A. (2024). Local news and audiences' wellbeing: the roles of motivation, satisfaction, and trust. Communication Research and Practice, 10(1), 7-22. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/22041451.2023.2281174. | Local news plays an important role in generating a sense of community attachment. However, the relationship between local news and wellbeing is less explored. Based on a national survey of 6,367 Australians, this study found that trust in and satisfaction with local news were linked with higher personal and community wellbeing. News-related factors (motivation, satisfaction, trust) were more strongly related to community wellbeing than to personal wellbeing. Accessing local news for community-related reasons was the strongest predictor of wellbeing. Guided by uses and gratifications theory, this study provides new insights into the role of local news in peoples' lives, and emphasises the need to protect local news from further decline. | Communication Research and Practice | News Motivation; Local News; Wellbeing; Community Connectedness; News Audiences |
| 2024_445 | Park, SY; Cook, DM; Yun, GW; Coppes, MJ. (2024). Are Patient-Centered Care, Healthcare Consumerism, and Trust in Physicians Compatible?: Positioning Analysis of the Patient-Provider Relationship. Health Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2024.2408065. | Patient-centered care and healthcare consumerism are dominant models of the patient-provider relationship. Positioning theory was applied to examine consumers' and physicians' positions on patient-centered care and healthcare consumerism, along with their attitudes toward direct-to-consumer healthcare service advertising and trust in the medical profession. Surveys were conducted with a convenience sample of consumers and physicians respectively. Patient-centered care was the only theoretical construct that both consumers and physicians unequivocally embraced. Both groups were either ambivalent or skeptical of the other three concepts. Between the two groups, physicians exhibited a stronger endorsement of patient-centered care and more negative attitudes toward advertising than consumers. When the relationships among the theoretical constructs were examined, a negative correlation between patient-centered care and consumerism was found among consumers. Also, patient-centered care and trust were negatively correlated in both groups. Implications of these findings are discussed for strategic communication, consumer and physician education, and future research. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_446 | Patrikios, S; Huhe, N. (2024). Neither religious nor rational: heterodoxy and institutional trust. West European Politics, 47(2), 255-279. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2022.2145101. | According to the optimistic reading of the trust deficit in contemporary democracies, an increasingly non-religious and presumably more rational citizenry is naturally inclined to distrust public institutions. This modern shift is viewed as a positive check that can supposedly improve representative government. This article proposes a more nuanced understanding of the influence of supernatural beliefs on institutional trust. Specifically, the article moves beyond the popular analytical dichotomy between the religious and the non-religious by separating the non-religious into a non-believer segment and a segment hitherto overlooked by studies of political trust: unconventional or heterodox believers (e.g. in astrology and lucky charms, but not in conventional religion). Using comparative data from the International Social Survey Programme, the study finds that heterodox believers, similarly to non-believers, tend to distrust institutions, albeit for very different reasons. The previously ignored role of heterodox beliefs points to grave implications regarding the current trust deficit. | West European Politics | Institutional Trust; Religiosity; Heterodoxy; Anti-Science Attitudes |
| 2024_447 | Paul, R. (2024). European artificial intelligence trusted throughout the world: Risk-based regulation and the fashioning of a competitive common AI market. Regulation & Governance, 18(4), 1065-1082. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12563. | The European Commission has pioneered the coercive regulation of artificial intelligence (AI), including a proposal of banning some applications altogether on moral grounds. Core to its regulatory strategy is a nominally risk-based approach with interventions that are proportionate to risk levels. Yet, neither standard accounts of risk-based regulation as rational problem-solving endeavor nor theories of organizational legitimacy-seeking, both prominently discussed in Regulation & Governance, fully explain the Commission's attraction to the risk heuristic. This article responds to this impasse with three contributions. First, it enrichens risk-based regulation scholarship-beyond AI-with a firm foundation in constructivist and critical political economy accounts of emerging tech regulation to capture the performative politics of defining and enacting risk vis-& agrave;-vis global economic competitiveness. Second, it conceptualizes the role of risk analysis within a Cultural Political Economy framework: as a powerful epistemic tool for the discursive and regulatory differentiation of an uncertain regulatory terrain (semiosis and structuration) which the Commission wields in its pursuit of a future common European AI market. Thirdly, the paper offers an in-depth empirical reconstruction of the Commission's risk-based semiosis and structuration in AI regulation through qualitative analysis of a substantive sample of documents and expert interviews. This finds that the Commission's use of risk analysis, outlawing some AI uses as matters of deep value conflicts and tightly controlling (at least discursively) so-called high-risk AI systems, enables Brussels to fashion its desired trademark of European cutting-edge AI & mldr; trusted throughout the world in the first place. | Regulation & Governance | Artificial Intelligence; Competition State; Critical Policy Analysis; Cultural Political Economy; EU; Risk-Based Regulation |
| 2024_448 | Peiró-Palomino, J; Gianmoena, L; Picazo-Tadeo, AJ; Rios, V. (2024). Social trust and the advanced aspects of social progress. Evidence for the European regions. European Journal of Political Economy, 83. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ejpoleco.2024.102547. | Social trust is a deeply -rooted feature of society, whose positive impact on economic performance has been widely documented in many contexts. However, its impact on the non -economic aspects of social progress that characterize advanced societies, such as personal rights, freedom, tolerance and inclusion and access to advanced education is still understudied, especially at the subnational level. As shown by the European Social Progress Index (EU-SPI) 2020, elaborated by the European Commission, the European regions present remarkable disparities in those non -economic aspects. Using the EU-SPI framework, this paper provides fresh evidence on a positive impact of social trust on several features defining advanced social progress. Social trust effects are mainly seen in improved quality of government, education and people's pro -social behaviors. These insights can be useful for the design of future policies that pursue a more equal Europe beyond purely economic indicators, given that regional social trust can condition their success. | European Journal of Political Economy | European Regions; European Social Progress Index; Social Trust |
| 2024_449 | Peña-García, N; Losada-Otálora, M; Auza, DP; Cruz, MP. (2024). Reviews, trust, and customer experience in online marketplaces: the case of Mercado Libre Colombia. Frontiers in Communication, 9. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fcomm.2024.1460321. | Purpose The research focuses on the crucial role of online reviews in shaping consumer trust in e-commerce platforms, examining the impact of perceived authentic and fake reviews on purchasing decisions and platform reputation. It assesses how consumers perceive review authenticity and quality and their effects on trust levels in reviews, marketplaces, and reputation systems. It also explores the relationship between trust forms and overall experiences.Design/methodology A quantitative approach is employed, utilizing a questionnaire distributed to recent Mercado Libre buyers. To test hypotheses, data from 326 valid responses are analyzed using confirmatory factor analysis and Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM).Findings Findings reveal that fake review perception negatively affects trust in rating systems, while high-quality reviews positively influence all trust forms. Customer experience is directly impacted by trust in marketplaces and rating systems, indicating a mediation effect of trust in the rating system on the relationship between fake review perception and customer experience.Research limitations/implications Limitations include using a convenience sample and focusing on trust in the rating system rather than reviews or the marketplace, suggesting avenues for future research. Practical implications include recommendations to ensure review quality, enhance rating system controls, and promote review usage in the purchase process.Originality The study addresses a timely and relevant gap in understanding the impact of reviews on e-commerce trust, particularly within the context of Latin America and Mercado Libre's dominance in the region's e-commerce landscape. | Frontiers in Communication | Trust; Fake Reviews; Customer Experience; Marketplace; Colombia |
| 2024_450 | Peng, LJ; Ross, JM. (2024). Is Trust in Local Government Influenced by the Marketplace of Choice?. Public Administration Review http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/puar.13869. | Governments are subjected to many sources of competition that can be productive or destructive to their ability to maintain citizen trust. This paper explores the role of competition in the local government marketplace as a determinant of trust in local government. Using individual respondent data from the Gallup Poll Social Series in the United States from 2001 to 2022, this paper explores the effect of policy space autonomy and availability of choice in government on trust in local government. We find evidence of productive competition increasing with the number of local governments in the respondent's labor market. Similarly, states that restrict the diversity of choice through tax and expenditure limits reduce productive competition, while limits on issuing debt enhance local trust. The results are supported by numerous robustness checks and a placebo test on trust in the federal government. | Public Administration Review | |
| 2024_451 | Pennington, A; Su, F; Wood, M. (2024). 'Untangling the entangled knot': a critical and genealogical examination of Multi-Academy Trusts' (MATs) ideologies, power and governance in England. International Studies in Sociology of Education, 33(3), 323-344. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09620214.2023.2230980. | The reduction in local control and oversight of schooling represented by the growth of Multi Academy Trusts (MATs) in England raises critical issues for public policy. These include the articulation and exercise of power in the governance of MATs, the future of democratic governance of local services and accountability. Applying Foucault's genealogical framework, the paper analyses the antecedents of current governance arrangements and highlights and reinvigorates suppressed, delegitimised and belittled knowledges. The authors argue that the threads of representation, community engagement and local control in school governance are important components of democratic renewal. The paper examines the play of historical and contemporary factors which have fostered a discourse that enables the subjugation of agency, self-governance and autonomy of MAT constituent schools and their communities. This discourse has wider significance for the centralisation of decision making and control away from communities, and the erosion of the polity. | International Studies in Sociology of Education | Academisation of Schools; Multi-Academy Trusts; Power; Democracy; Community; School Governance |
| 2024_452 | Pereira, C; Klevenhusen, A; Barros, L. (2024). In court we trust? Political affinity and citizen's attitudes toward court's decisions. Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gove.12898. | This article investigates the role of citizen political affinities in shaping attitudes towards judicial decisions in corruption cases involving politicians. Although emerging research suggests that decisions regarding a high-ranking politician can reduce general citizen trust in courts, there is no systematic evidence examining how political affinities differentially affect confidence in court decisions depending on the accused politician. We conducted a survey experiment during a 2022 presidential election rally in Brazil at a time of heightened affective polarization and corruption. We presented respondents with vignettes detailing a fictional corruption scheme and trial outcomes (acquittal or conviction) involving key political figures, including Presidents Luiz In & aacute;cio Lula da Silva and Jair Bolsonaro. The results indicate that when a court decision is consistent with citizens' electoral preferences, they are more inclined to trust the court decision and vice versa. | Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions | |
| 2024_453 | Pérez-Ahumada, P; Gutiérrez-Crocco, F; Astorga-Pinto, C. (2024). Class inequality, power, and trust in private companies: evidence from Latin America. Business and Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/bap.2024.17. | In the last few years, legitimacy has proven to be a fundamental power resource for the business class. Building on the idea of discursive power, investigations have demonstrated that when the business class successfully shapes public discourses and public opinion, its power increases. With this article, we contribute to this research by showing that businesses' success in building discursive power, as expressed in individual trust in private companies, is limited by individual- and macro-level factors associated with class inequality, class politics, and power. Using data from 15 Latin American countries (2005-2015), we show that in the period studied, the propensity to trust private companies was significantly lower among those in underprivileged class positions (e.g., working-class people or the informal self-employed) and among those who identify with the political left and have less confidence in political institutions. At the macro level, trust in companies was lower in countries ruled by the left or in countries where inequality rose or where citizens' trust in political institutions improved. At the end of this article, we identify three patterns of business legitimacy in Latin America and show how our results contribute to the recent research on trust, class, and power. | Business and Politics | Social Class; Latin America; Discursive Power; Trust in Business; Business Power |
| 2024_454 | Perrier, A; El Akremi, A; Manville, C; Molines, M. (2024). It's all about trust! a multilevel model of the effect of servant leadership on firefighters' group task performance, adaptivity and emotional exhaustion. Public Administration Review http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/puar.13893. | How and why does servant leaders' behavior influence both performance (individual and collective) and emotional exhaustion within dynamic and extreme environments such as those of firefighters? We develop and test a multilevel model that integrates the principles of servant leadership with social exchange theory to explore how servant leadership positively influences collective task performance and how it strengthens adaptivity at the individual level and reduces emotional exhaustion. Our four-wave and three-source study sample comprised 303 firefighters nested in 45 fire stations. The results of multilevel structural equation model (MSEM) analyses indicate that at the individual level, servant leadership significantly predicts high adaptivity and low emotional exhaustion through the mediating influence of firefighters' felt trust and the trust climate. The implications of our results for theory and practice are discussed. | Public Administration Review | |
| 2024_455 | Pesch, A; Todaro, R; Piper, D; Evans, NS; Pasek, J; Golinkoff, RM; Hirsh-Pasek, K. (2024). A bird's-eye view of phubbing: How adult observations of phone use impact judgments, epistemic trust, and interpersonal trust. Mobile Media & Communication, 12(3), 536-563. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20501579241246726. | Research demonstrates that phubbing-the act of snubbing someone in a social setting by looking at one's mobile phone-interferes with the quality and satisfaction of social interactions. This article examined how observations of an adult's phone use during a social interaction impact different social judgments. Adult participants (n = 331) watched a 3-min video showing four speakers having a discussion around a table. One speaker looked at their phone intermittently during the meeting (five times for 2-3 s each) while not interacting with the other speakers. Participants were asked to rate characteristics (e.g., attentiveness) of all four speakers and evaluate who they could trust both epistemically (e.g., for knowledge) and interpersonally (e.g., for social connection). Participants also provided information about their own technology use. Results indicated that participants' judgments, ratings of interpersonal trust, and epistemic trust toward the phone user were significantly lower when compared to their ratings toward the non-phone users in the video, especially among female participants. Additionally, the more participants reported using their own phones during group interactions, the more leniently they rated the phone user in the video. This research provides evidence that overseeing acts of co-present mobile phone use are negatively evaluated. This has implications for how adults view technology use during social engagements. | Mobile Media & Communication | Phubbing; Technology; Trust; Social Preferences; Human Interactions |
| 2024_456 | Pesu, M; Sinkkonen, V. (2024). Trans-atlantic (mis)trust in perspective: asymmetry, abandonment and alliance cohesion. Cambridge Review of International Affairs, 37(2), 206-225. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09557571.2023.2225650. | This article clarifies the role of trust in alliances with a focus on NATO. We bridge IR scholarship on trust and alliance theory by dealing with trust as a central factor in maintaining alliance cohesion and longevity. NATO has, throughout its history, been characterised by an asymmetric trusting relationship, with Europe being more vulnerable to defection than its American counterpart. This means that a fear of abandonment, intrinsic to the structure of reciprocal commitment in all alliances, has been felt differently on the opposite sides of the Atlantic, with implications for how specific crises have led to a fluctuation in (mis)trust. Whereas the Europeans have harboured mistrust regarding the longevity of the US commitment and extended deterrence, the Americans have doubted the Europeans' faithfulness to US leadership and willingness to share the alliance's burdens. Simultaneously, general trust - cultivated by shared interests, institutions, interdependence and converging identities - has bound the allies together. The article then uses these insights to analyse the Trump presidency, which marked an historic spike in mistrust between the US and the Europeans. Despite the unforeseen tumult, the presidency did not result in the definitive collapse of trust in the trans-Atlantic relationship, let alone NATO. | Cambridge Review of International Affairs | |
| 2024_457 | Peters, S. (2024). Purpose wins? A study of purpose-profit orientations, stakeholder perceptions and trust in firms. Journal of Communication Management, 28(1), 165-180. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/JCOM-12-2022-0133. | PurposeThe research seeks to evaluate stakeholder perceptions of firms, the extent these assessments impact trust in firms and possible implications for sustainability communications.Design/methodology/approachThree studies were undertaken involving two experiments (n = 436, n = 393) and one survey (n = 217). Analyses of variance was used in all three studies and in studies 2 and 3-to test for possible mediators-each variable was tested using Hayes' PROCESS macro (Hayes, 2013) with bootstrapping of 5,000 samples.FindingsResults demonstrate significant favouring of sustainability-minded firms. Some differences between consumers and investors were found but also notable commonalities such as a general propensity to favour purpose-oriented firms and similar determinations of trust in firms.Practical implicationsFindings could support more effective sustainability communications and firm decisions regarding investments in purpose- and sustainability-oriented initiatives. The results may also support designs to pursue and promote designations (e.g. B Corp) that legitimize sustainability claims.Originality/valueThis research was unique in its evaluation of two stakeholder types in the same context. Further, it provides new insights into how a firm's profit-purpose orientation affects stakeholder perceptions and assessments of trustworthiness. | Journal of Communication Management | Trust; Consumers; Investors; Profit; Purpose; Sustainability; Communications |
| 2024_458 | Pezalla, AE; Scott, A; Nappa, L; Hsieh, TY. (2024). Humanizing the Research Process: Collaborative Refllections on Prioritizing Research Par ticipants' Agency, Trust, and Connection. Qualitative Report, 29(6). http://dx.doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2024.6631. | All research is a social construction. In this paper, we work to illuminate those moments of coconstructed meaning by taking readers on a behind the scenes tour of a collaborative research project that explored educator relationships. We describe our priorities in and care for participant recruitment and scheduling, our post -hoc reflections on the differences in emotional tenor between interviews and focus groups, and our own roles and positionalities within the data collection and analysis process. Actionitems are recommended for other group -based qualitative studies to humanize the process of research and prioritize moments of agency, trust, and connection among participants. | Qualitative Report | Feminist Methodologies; Critical Focus Group Research; Interviewing; Reconceptualizing Collaboration; Decolonizing the Academy; Pedagogy |
| 2024_459 | Pfeuffer, A; Hatfield, HR; Evans, N; Kim, J. (2024). Illegally beautiful? the role of trust and persuasion knowledge in online image manipulation disclosure effects. International Journal of Advertising http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2403311. | The accessibility of powerful photo editing tools has caused image retouching and manipulation to become widespread among sponsored social media content. Images in sponsored posts featuring influencers are often edited to reflect unrealistic body proportions, potentially harming consumers if they compare themselves to unattainable beauty standards. In response to this trend, regulators in different countries have moved to consider or adopt disclosure policies; however, disclosure practices and their effects have not been extensively studied. An online experimental study (N = 480) identified that low- and high-detail disclosures of image manipulation lowered consumer trust. Decreased trust led consumers to use their persuasion knowledge, resulting in less favorable attitudes toward both the brand and influencer, reduced interest in seeking more information about the brand, and diminished body comparison. Finally, implications for various stakeholders, including content creators, brands, and policy-makers, are discussed. | International Journal of Advertising | Sponsored Content; Image Manipulation; Disclosure; Trust; Persuasion Knowledge |
| 2024_460 | Piper, L; Anciano, F; Bidla, B. (2024). Trust is personal and professional: the role of trust in the rise and fall of a South African civil society coalition. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(4), 464-478. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152231204988. | This article explores trust dynamics among a coalition of civil society organizations called Unite Behind that formed in Cape Town, South Africa, in late 2017. Unite Behind was established to demand more accountability from a state marred by corruption-and specifically for the resignation of then President Jacob Zuma. When Zuma resigned, the coalition attempted to transition to a social movement campaigning for social justice but declined as a coalition into an organization of sorts. Taking trust as a positive belief in the reliability, truth or ability of an actor or entity, this article argues that conceptions of political and social/generalized trust are of less importance in explaining the rise and fall of Unite Behind than a combination of personal trust in particular leaders, and a form of particularized trust, namely, trust in other organizations. This notion of organizational trust as a form of particularized trust is of potential wider importance to the analysis of civil society network co-ordination. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | Civil Society Coalition; Organizational Trust; Particularized Trust; Personal Trust; South Africa |
| 2024_461 | Pirkkalainen, P; Näre, L; Lyytinen, E. (2024). 'I do not trust any of them anymore': Institutional distrust and corrective practices in pro-asylum activism in Finland. Current Sociology, 72(3), 562-580. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00113921221129313. | Although there is extensive research on how institutional trust and distrust play out in the forms political participation takes, the existing research lacks thorough analysis on what trust and distrust actually consist of, that is, how individuals evaluate institutions as trustworthy or not and what consequences this evaluation has for individuals and their relation to the state more broadly. Drawing on qualitative research on Finnish citizens who engage in pro-asylum activism, we examine how institutional distrusting evolves as a reflexive process. By analysing citizens' trust judgements on institutional practices and actions that follow, we argue that distrust in institutions enhances activists' attempts to engage in corrective practices, in other words taking over the functions of institutions when noticing mistakes or unfairness in institutional practices. Corrective practices reinforce activists' distrust in the asylum-related institutions and make them question the 'myth' of Finland as an equal and inclusive country. Engaging in corrective practices is emotionally and economically taxing. Despite negative consequences of institutional distrust, activists continue their work indicating that they continue to trust the democratic system in Finland and its capability to absorb their claims in the long run. Institutional distrust and generalised trust can then coexist. Alors qu'il existe de nombreuses recherches sur la facon dont la confiance et la mefiance a l'egard des institutions se manifestent dans les formes que prend la participation politique, les recherches existantes manquent d'analyses approfondies sur ce en quoi consiste reellement la confiance et la mefiance, c'est-a-dire comment les individus evaluent les institutions comme etant dignes de confiance ou non et quelles sont les consequences de cette evaluation pour les individus et leur relation a l'etat de facon plus generale. A partir d'une recherche qualitative portant sur des citoyens finlandais engages dans l'activisme pro-asile, nous examinons comment la mefiance a l'egard des institutions evolue comme un processus reflexif. En analysant les jugements de confiance des citoyens sur les pratiques institutionnelles et les actions qui en decoulent, nous soutenons que la mefiance a l'egard des institutions renforce les tentatives des activistes de s'engager dans des pratiques correctives, c'est-a-dire de prendre en charge les fonctions des institutions lorsqu'ils relevent des erreurs ou des injustices dans les pratiques institutionnelles. Les pratiques correctives renforcent la mefiance des activistes a l'egard des institutions liees a l'asile et les amenent a remettre en question le <> d'une Finlande egalitaire et inclusive. S'engager dans des pratiques correctives a un cout emotionnel et economique. Malgre les consequences negatives de la mefiance a l'egard des institutions, les activistes poursuivent leur travail, ce qui indique qu'ils continuent a faire confiance au systeme democratique finlandais et a sa capacite a integrer leurs revendications a long terme. La mefiance a l'egard des institutions et la confiance generalisee peuvent donc coexister. Si bien existe un amplio volumen de investigacion sobre como la confianza y la desconfianza institucional se manifiestan en las formas que toma la participacion politica, la investigacion existente carece de un analisis exhaustivo sobre en que consiste realmente la confianza y la desconfianza, es decir, como los individuos evaluan las instituciones como confiables o no y que consecuencias tiene esta evaluacion para los individuos y su relacion con el Estado de manera mas amplia. A partir de una investigacion cualitativa sobre ciudadanos finlandeses que estan implicados en el activismo a favor del asilo, se examina como evoluciona la desconfianza institucional como proceso reflexivo. Al analizar las evaluaciones de confianza que hacen los ciudadanos sobre las practicas institucionales y las acciones que se derivan de ellas, se argumenta que la desconfianza en las instituciones refuerza las intenciones de los activistas de implicarse en practicas correctivas, en otras palabras, de asumir las funciones de las instituciones cuando notan que se producen errores o injusticia en las practicas institucionales. Las practicas correctivas refuerzan la desconfianza de los activistas en las instituciones relacionadas con el asilo y les hacen cuestionar el 'mito' de Finlandia como un pais igualitario e inclusivo. Involucrarse en practicas correctivas es emocional y economicamente costoso. A pesar de las consecuencias negativas de la desconfianza institucional, los activistas continuan su trabajo senalando que continuan confiando en el sistema democratico finlandes y en su capacidad para atender a sus demandas en el largo plazo. Por tanto, la desconfianza institucional y la confianza generalizada pueden coexistir. | Current Sociology | Activism; Asylum Seekers; Institutional Distrust; Institutions; Process |
| 2024_462 | Pjesivac, I; Eldredge, SA; Dalton, ED; Miller, LE. (2024). Between the Facts and a Hard Place: Trust Judgments and Affective Responses in Information-Seeking Processes During Early COVID-19. Health Communication, 39(3), 518-528. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2171561. | This study examined the formation of trust judgments of information sources about COVID-19 and the role played by emotions in this information seeking process. Twenty-seven in-depth interviews with Americans revealed that both trust and affective responses were present in information seeking of health messages, thus discovering the applicability of Risk Information Seeking and Processing (RISP) model's propositions during pandemics. Using qualitative methods to assess RISP variables in a new context (COVID-19), the study proposes modifications to the existing model. It also extends the socio-psychological traditions on which the RISP model was based, by finding that when evaluating information sources during pandemics, under conditions of high issue relevance, individuals' peripheral evaluation of messages might precede systematic evaluation and might be used as a selection criteria for further elaboration. Finally, the assessments of source credibility as a peripheral cue in this study expand current theoretical understandings by including compassion as a possible new dimension. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_463 | Poertner, M; Zhang, N. (2024). The effects of combating corruption on institutional trust and political engagement: evidence from Latin America. Political Science Research and Methods, 12(3), 633-642. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/psrm.2023.4. | While a number of high-level figures around the world have been prosecuted and even jailed for corruption in recent years, we know little about how such anticorruption efforts shape public opinion and patterns of political engagement. To address this question, we examine evidence from Argentina and Costa Rica involving the unprecedented sentencing of two former Presidents on corruption charges. Exploiting the coincidence in timing between these cases and fieldwork on nationally representative surveys, we find that citizens interviewed in the aftermath of these events expressed lower trust in institutions and were less willing to vote or join in collective demonstrations. Overall, these findings suggest that high-profile efforts to punish corrupt actors may have similar effects as political scandals in shaping citizens' relationship to the political system. | Political Science Research and Methods | Comparative Politics; Developing Countries; Comparative Politics; Political Behavior; Experimental Research; Latin American Politics and Caribbean Politics |
| 2024_464 | Pospieszna, P; Onderco, M; van der Veer, R. (2024). Comparing public attitudes towards internal and external EU sanctions: the role of populism, trust and Euroscepticism. East European Politics, 40(2), 345-366. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21599165.2023.2289089. | Do Europeans think about EU sanctions against member states and third countries in the same way? The EU regularly uses economic sanctions against third countries to promote democracy. Yet today with democracy being challenged within its borders by Hungary and Poland, the EU also resorts to coercive measures to react to norm violations among its members. Taking the case of Poland, we investigate public reactions to EU intentions to impose sanctions against EU members, non-members and Poland. Using a survey experiment in Poland, we study factors influencing how respondents think about EU sanctions, and whether the sanctions target matters. | East European Politics | Sanction Policy; European Union; Public Opinion; Poland; Rule of Law; Democracy Promotion |
| 2024_465 | Potipiroon, W. (2024). Political corruption, political responsiveness and public trust: Testing the implicit exchange hypothesis. Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gove.12888. | The question of why electoral punishment of corrupt politicians fails to materialize continues to captivate scholars and practitioners. In this research, I draw upon implicit exchange theory to demonstrate that corrupt politicians may retain public trust if they are seen as responsive to the constituency. Analyses of survey data from 590 local business owners in two municipalities in Thailand reveal that political corruption negatively affected public trust, while political responsiveness had a positive effect. Furthermore, as expected, political responsiveness neutralized the trust-eroding effect of political corruption. Specifically, citizens showed higher levels of trust for politicians perceived as corrupt but responsive than for those considered less corrupt but less responsive. The results were observed after considering the influence of politician competence and local government performance. These findings paint a rather somber view, suggesting that political corruption in the presence of political responsiveness may create a fa & ccedil;ade of politicians' trustworthiness. | Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions | |
| 2024_466 | Prasad, KDV; De, T. (2024). Generative AI as a catalyst for HRM practices: mediating effects of trust. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03842-4. | This study investigated the impact of generative AI tools on human resource management practices, organizational commitment, employee engagement, and employee performance. The authors also investigated the mediating role of trust in the relationship between user perception and organizational commitment. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the data from the information technology industry employees to measure the 9 reflective constructs optimism, innovativeness, ease of use, usefulness, trust, organizational commitment, vigor, dedication, and employee performance. Two constructs, ease of use and usefulness, are modeled as a higher-order construct - User Perception, whereas vigor and Dedication are modeled as another higher-order construct, Employee Engagement. The mode-fit indices were assessed for both the higher- and lower-order constructs, and the model-fit indices for both the models, higher- and lower-order constructs reveal an excellent model fit. Positive and statistically significant impacts were observed between the study constructs. The impact of organizational commitment on employee engagement was positive and statistically significant, and in turn, the impact of employee engagement on employee performance was also positive and statistically significant. Trust partially mediated the relationship between user perception and organizational commitment, fostering enhanced employee engagement and performance. The theories of technology readiness, stimulus-organization-response, and technology acceptance model were utilized in the development of the study's theoretical framework, which provided fresh perspectives on how employee engagement, organizational commitment, and performance are influenced by user experience and trust in the context of generative AI. Theoretically, it opens up new applications such as personalized education and services, digital art, and realistic virtual assistants that were previously unfeasible or impractical for automation. The practical implications are that the field of interdisciplinary research as well as the information technology industry will be greatly impacted by generative AI. To facilitate swift adoption, the principles of generative AI are conceptualized from model-, system-, and application-level perspectives in addition to a social-technical perspective, where they are explicated and defined. In the end, our research has given future scholars a significant research agenda that will enable them to study generative AI from different theoretical perspectives while incorporating the concepts from these theories. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_467 | Pratama, AB. (2024). When Trust Coexists with Mistrust: An Ethnographic Account of the Consequences of Digitalization Project. International Journal of Public Administration http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2024.2368253. | Recently, local governments utilize digital technology to improve transparency and achieve public trust. Drawing from the e-retribusi project, a digitalization enabling small-scale merchants to pay their levies in a cashless manner, this study investigates how the digitalization project shapes trust (and mistrust) between actors. My ethnographic fieldwork in Kebon Polo traditional market, Magelang City, Indonesia, reveals dual trust-building realities. Civil servants and auditors perceived greater trust, while small-scale merchants encountered diminished trust. This finding suggests the importance of transparency for all actors and critically reflects the exaggerated expectation of digitalization in enhancing transparency and public trust. | International Journal of Public Administration | Digitalization; Transparency; Panopticon; Trust; Ethnography |
| 2024_468 | Primig, F. (2024). The Influence of Media Trust and Normative Role Expectations on the Credibility of Fact Checkers. Journalism Practice, 18(5), 1137-1157. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2022.2080102. | Fact-checking has been granted a pivotal role in mitigating the effects of online disinformation, but its effectiveness has nonetheless been questioned (Lee and Shin 2019). Like any persuasive communication, fact checkers depend on their recipients perceiving both their messages and them as credible (Lombardi, Seyranian, and Sinatra 2014; Lombardi, Nussbaum, and Sinatra 2016). This study investigates the role of the perceived credibility of the fact checker as possible detriment to the effectiveness of fact-checking efforts by means of an online survey-embedded experiment. Results show that the perceived credibility of the fact checker and fact-checking messages is best explained by normative expectations of the roles of fact checkers and trust in traditional media. Some users perceive fact checkers as elite power structures in journalism or, in other words, as collaborative-facilitators for state propaganda (Hanitzsch and Vos 2018; see also Fawzi 2020). Further, low trust in media and politics predicts perceived credibility of disinformation better than political partisanship. The findings suggest that fact checkers should be more transparent and proactive in communicating their motives and identities. Further implications are discussed. | Journalism Practice | Fact-Checking; Credibility; Media Trust; Disinformation; Journalism; Journalistic Roles |
| 2024_469 | Prinz, A. (2024). Cultural tightness, trust, and power in enforcing tax compliance. Economic and Political Studies-Eps, 12(2), 143-170. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/20954816.2023.2203306. | The so-called Cultural Tightness-Looseness (CTL) concept intends to describe the socio-cultural foundation of societies by the strictness of social norms. In this paper, CTL is used to investigate its relevance to enforcing tax compliance. The CTL concept is formalised by structural payoff matrices for the confrontation between citizens and officials. Social norms and their impacts on the behaviour of the parties in a conflict are used to define several variants of tight and loose societies. The payoff matrices are employed to classify respective forms of societies. For a dynamic analysis, 'power' and 'trust', as policy measures of behaviour control, are introduced to determine which instrument or combination of instruments emerges as the most relevant and effective option in the respective societal setting. The result is that 'trust' emerges in tight societies as the more important instrument of behaviour control, whereas 'power' appears as the more crucial tool in loose societies. Therefore, it is concluded that power or the 'cops and robbers' approach is usually applied in loose societies to enforce tax compliance. By contrast, 'trust' via the provision of information and support for paying taxes can be more often used in tight societies. | Economic and Political Studies-Eps | Cultural Tightness; Cultural Looseness; Social Norms; Behaviour Control; Trust and Power; Tax Compliance |
| 2024_470 | Putri, N; Prasetya, Y; Handayani, PW; Fitriani, H. (2024). TikTok Shop: How trust and privacy influence generation Z's purchasing behaviors. Cogent Social Sciences, 10(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/23311886.2023.2292759. | TikTok has implemented e-commerce functions, such as short video media, images, and livestreaming for selling products, that make it a social commerce platform. As an emerging social commerce platform, it is important for TikTok that it evoke trust in its users, so they feel secure in doing transactions. Using trust transfer theory and the theory of security assurance, this current research analyzed how TikTok Shop users' trust in sellers on the shop as well as their privacy concerns (PCs) influence purchasing behaviors. This study was carried out using a mixed-method method, using a partial least square structural equation model and content analysis, which involved 717 questionnaire respondents and 30 interviews. It found that both cognitive and emotional trust has a significant effect on purchase intention on TikTok Shop, although not all sources of trust building (perceived familiarity, situational normality, trust in a platform, and social interactivity) equally effect on cognitive and emotional trust. This study also found that security-related factors (e.g. having a privacy/security policy, an assurance seal, and a disposition to third-party certification) influenced consumers' privacy concerns. Trust in a seller and PCs were proven to affect consumers' shopping intentions, which also influenced their shopping behaviors. This study is expected to guide social commerce providers in improving the actual shopping behavior of consumers, especially in the context of building trust and security. | Cogent Social Sciences | Privacy; Social Commerce; Actual Purchase; Tiktok Shop; Indonesia |
| 2024_471 | Qi, LX; Gong, HL. (2024). Local government performance: promoting trust in local government and reducing trust gap. Local Government Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2024.2424810. | This study elaborates the link between local government performance and the trust gap between higher trust in national government and lower trust in local government. The data in this paper come from China, which is characterised by an apparent trust gap between upper and lower government echelons. Ten national surveys are used for preliminary statistics, three of which are used for regression analysis and robustness testing. This paper finds that good local government performance can significantly increase trust in local government and thus narrow the trust gap between central and local government. In addition, by comparing the effect of cultural factors and local government performance on narrowing the trust gap, this paper finds a more critical role for local government performance. Therefore, in order to promote the balance of trust between national and local government, the focus should be particularly on improving local government performance. | Local Government Studies | Local Government Performance; Local Government; National Government; Trust in Government; Trust Gap |
| 2024_472 | Qin, HY; Zhu, YF; Jiang, Y; Luo, SQ; Huang, C. (2024). Examining the impact of personalization and carefulness in AI-generated health advice: Trust, adoption, and insights in online healthcare consultations experiments. Technology in Society, 79. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102726. | Artificial intelligence (AI) technologies, exemplified by health chatbots, are transforming the healthcare industry. Their widespread application has the potential to enhance decision-making efficiency, improve the quality of healthcare services, and reduce medical costs. While there is ongoing discussion about the opportunities and challenges brought by AI, more needs to be known about the public's attitude towards its use in the healthcare domain. Understanding public attitudes can help policymakers better grasp their needs and involve them in making decisions that benefit both technological development and social welfare. Therefore, this study presents evidence from two between-subjects experiments. This study aims to compare the public's adoption and trust levels in health advice provided by human vs. AI doctors and explore the potential effects of personalization and carefulness on the public's attitudes. Experimental designs adopt a trust-centered, cognitively and emotionally balanced perspective to study the public's intention to adopt AI. In Experiment 1, the experimental conditions involve the types of decision-makers providing online consultation advice, either AI or human doctors. In Experiment 2, the experimental conditions involve varying levels of perceived personalization and carefulness (high vs. low). A total of 734 participants took part in the study. They were randomly assigned to one of the intervention conditions and responded to manipulation checks after reading the materials. Using a seven-point Likert-type scale, participants rated their cognitive and emotional trust levels and intention to adopt the advice. Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling (PLS-SEM) is conducted to estimate the proposed theoretical perspective. Qualitative interviews on both real-world and AI-generated treatment recommendations further enriched the understanding of public perceptions.The results show that AI-generated advice is generally slightly less trusted and adopted by the public. However, a noticeable inclination towards AI-generated advice emerges when AI demonstrates proficiency in understanding individuals' health conditions and providing empathetic consultations. Further analyses confirm the mediating influence of emotional trust between cognitive trust and adoption intention. These findings provide deeper insights into the process of adoption and trust formation. Moreover, they offer guidance to digital healthcare providers, empowering them with the knowledge to co design AI implementation strategies that cater to the public's expectations. | Technology in Society | AI Health Chatbots; Chatgpt; Online Healthcare Consultations ; Public; Adoption; Cognitive Trust; Emotional Trust |
| 2024_473 | Qin, YS. (2024). Inspiring Employee Engagement in Remote Work: the Influence of Leadership Communication and Trust in Leadership. International Journal of Strategic Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1553118X.2024.2417669. | Remote work has become increasingly prevalent, yet more research is needed to examine the impact of effective leadership communication on employee outcomes in remote work environments. The purpose of this study is to investigate the influence of leadership communication on establishing trust with remote employees and its subsequent impact on employee engagement in remote work. A quantitative survey research design was employed, involving 527 full-time remote employees in the United States. Structural equation modeling (SEM) was used to test the proposed conceptual models. The results indicate that transparent leadership communication and the effective use of communication channels positively affect the perceived quality of leader-member conversations among remote employees, with transparent communication exhibiting a stronger influence. Furthermore, high-quality conversations helped remote employees view their leaders as competent in facilitating remote work, fostering trust and a strong relationship. Ultimately, this relationship led to increased employee engagement in remote work. This study contributes to the existing knowledge on leadership communication and its impact on employee engagement, with a specific focus on the remote work context. The findings provide valuable insights for corporate leaders and communication professionals on cultivating trust in leadership and enhancing remote employee engagement through effective leadership communication. | International Journal of Strategic Communication | |
| 2024_474 | Rachbini, W; Anggraeni, D; Burhan, AB; Wulandjani, H; Rahmawati, E. (2024). Effects of e-CRM: Experience-Based Marketing, Digital Communications on Garuda Indonesia Airlines, Brand Trust, and Repurchase Intention. Jurnal Komunikasi-Malaysian Journal of Communication, 40(1), 138-155. http://dx.doi.org/10.17576/JKMJC-2024-4001-08. | The research studied the effects of electronic customer relationship management (e-CRM), digital communications, and experience-based marketing on brand trust and repurchase intention in Garuda Indonesia Airlines, the National Flag Carrier of Indonesia. The primary data was collected through an online questionnaire distributed from March 2022 to July 2022. Purposive sampling was used to select passengers who had previously used the services of Garuda Indonesia Airlines. Out of the distributed online questionnaires, 270 respondents met the sampling criteria and responded to the questionnaire. Structural Equation Model (SEM), supported by LISREL software, was employed as the data analysis technique. The results show empirical findings on the significant effects of e-CRM, digital communications, and experience-based marketing on brand trust. The research also reveals that eCRM and the airline's brand trust have positive and significant effects on repurchase intention. Based on the obtained data, this research provides several valuable managerial implications for Garuda Indonesia, one of the largest airline companies in Indonesia. In general, the research yields four significant implications, including the optimization of Instagram usage, the utilization of social media as an e-CRM tool, experience-based marketing through brand collaboration, and the implementation of thematic campaigns. The other findings indicate that brand trust plays a crucial role in reducing risk and uncertainty. The majority of passengers surveyed in this study expressed that Garuda Indonesia Airlines demonstrates a strong commitment to fulfilling passengers' needs during flights, reflecting a high level of trust in the brand. This positive perception carries significant implications, as it encourages passengers to choose Garuda Indonesia Airlines for future travel. Moreover, it motivates passengers to willingly recommend the airline to their friends and family. Additionally, the research findings reveal that passengers actively seek up-to-date information on flight tickets, programs, and contribute to the scientific research and literature on marketing and communication. | Jurnal Komunikasi-Malaysian Journal of Communication | Airline's Brand Trust; Digital Communications; E-CRM; Experience-Based Marketing; Repurchase Intention |
| 2024_475 | Radiamoda, RB; Chuang, HH; Pernia, RA. (2024). Celebrity culture, level of education and trust in media institutions: Empirical evidence from the Philippines. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics, 9(4), 519-542. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20578911231207678. | This study aims to provide empirical evidence on the celebrity culture, i.e. the pervasive fascination of an audience with public figures, in the Philippines. We used data from the seventh wave of the World Values Survey (n = 1200) to establish whether celebrity culture exists in the Philippines. We then tested whether citizens' level of education affects one's attribution of confidence to an institution dominated by celebrities, i.e. television, over those institutions governed by experts, i.e. universities. Lastly, we performed a sentiment analysis in the comments of a YouTube video from a well-known celebrity, Toni Gonzaga, on her interview with Bongbong Marcos, the son of the late dictator, to investigate how strong celebrity influence is in the country traversing the social and political arena. The results showed that there is a significant difference between citizens' level of confidence in television and universities, and that those with lower levels of education are more likely to be confident in the television as an institution. The public sentiment of citizens on the infamous video was overwhelmingly positive. While the results underlined the strong celebrity influence in the country, our paper not only reinforces the need for a greater role of education in fostering democratic citizenry but also bears significant implications for the mediatization of politics in developing democracies. | Asian Journal of Comparative Politics | Celebrity Influence; Constructive-Development Theory; Education; Elaboration Likelihood; Philippines; Source Credibility |
| 2024_476 | Raiu, C; Negoita, IC. (2024). Bureaucratic Polarization: Balancing Merit and Trust in the Romanian Senate. Nispacee Journal of Public Administration and Policy, 17(2), 109-131. http://dx.doi.org/10.2478/nispa-2024-0015. | This paper addresses the advisory arrangements within the Chancellery of the President of the Romanian Senate, examining in a comparative manner the profiles and roles of the two types of in-house advisors, tenured parliamentary experts and personal advisors, in designing and influencing the decision-making process. The article uses a complex methodology based on social network analysis, qualitative and content analysis of semi-structured interviews with former Chancellery directors, and quantitative analysis of personnel data in order to present a full picture of the internal relations and interactions between the parliamentary experts and personal advisors over the period from March 10, 2014 until July 29, 2022, covering seven different Romanian Senate president mandates. Our findings show that for tenured civil servants, activity within the Chancellery constitutes one of the most important periods of their professional career, while for personal advisors, the activity within the Chancellery is another window of opportunity to enhance their political network. | Nispacee Journal of Public Administration and Policy | Civil Servants; Personal Advisors; Policy Advice; Political Patronage; Senate |
| 2024_477 | Ramirez, F; Bolaños-Carpio, A. (2024). The dialectic link between trust and privacy: Black and Latinx Women's perspectives on digital sharing practices in romantic relationships. Journal of Social and Personal Relationships http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02654075241302846. | Based on open-ended survey data of 400 women who self-identify as either Black or Latinx, this study examines women's digital media sharing practices in romantic relationships amid a growing trend towards the personalization of digital technologies. Communication Privacy Management (CPM) theory as well as scholarship on privacy and trust in romantic relationships frame our work. Approximately 56% of participants said romantic partners should not have access to each other's social media accounts, 24% said they should, and 20%, said that access needed to be negotiated based on situational and personal factors (e.g., seriousness of the relationship, special circumstances). Justifications for sharing included having nothing to hide, trust, and a desire for open communication in the relationship. Explanatory themes for keeping social media and smartphone access private focused on trust, privacy, risk of conflict, and the need to respect a person's individuality and personal boundaries. Interestingly, trust was a major motivator for both granting and denying access. We make sense of this duality of trust through the introduction of a trust/privacy dialectic relationship that extends current scholarship on CPM in romantic relationships. | Journal of Social and Personal Relationships | Communication Privacy Management; Digital Privacy; Qualitative Content Analysis; Romantic Relationships; Sharing Practices; Social Media |
| 2024_478 | Ramos, AM; Williams, JM. (2024). Trainer Views of Working Marine Mammals; Bonds, Trust, and Welfare: A Qualitative Exploration Using Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis. Anthrozoos http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08927936.2024.2430822. | This study delves into the complex dynamics between trainers and working marine mammals within military settings, utilizing Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis (IPA) to capture trainers' nuanced perspectives. It emphasizes the critical role of emotional and cognitive connections, going beyond traditional training methods to highlight mutual respect, trust, and the acknowledgment of individual animal personalities. Such elements are pivotal in creating a cooperative atmosphere that not only enhances training outcomes but also promotes animal welfare. Through in-depth interviews with 10 participants and a detailed analysis of the transcripts using IPA, it was evident that recognizing the distinct personalities and cognitive abilities of marine mammals is vital for fostering trust and cooperation, significantly benefiting both training efficacy and animal wellbeing. This approach not only optimizes training results but also underscores the ethical implications of utilizing sentient beings in military operations. Direct quotes are contextualized through three emerged themes: Human-Animal Relationship, Animal Mind, and Fostering the Relationship. By advocating for empathy, respect, and personalized care in the training of marine mammals, this research suggests that these principles are crucial for advancing positive training environments and could have wide-reaching effects on the practices of animal training and welfare, especially in contexts where animals are employed for national defense purposes. | Anthrozoos | Animal Welfare; Human-Animal Bond; Human-Animal Interaction; Human-Animal Relationship; Interpretive Phenomenological Analysis; Marine Mammal |
| 2024_479 | Read, R; Hirst, A; Pooley, A; Odeleye, ND. (2024). Negotiating Shared Lives: Territorialisation and Conviviality in an Urban Community Land Trust. Social Sciences-Basel, 13(11). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/socsci13110574. | Urban Community Land Trusts (CLTs) have been acclaimed for their politically transformative potential: de-commodifying land and providing permanently affordable housing under community control. Few studies include CLT residents and this paper features two case studies to help fill the gap. St Clements in East London, UK, and Citizens House, Southeast London, both created by London CLT, collectively have 34 households living in them. Unlike more geographically focused CLTs, London CLT provides governance, knowledge, and skills to support people across London to build the affordable housing they campaign for. The selection criteria prioritised the needs of those failed by the existing housing market, who had long-standing connections to the borough, and contributed to community life. London CLT hoped residents would have a transformational impact on the neighbourhood, spreading the ethos of community control. Using the conceptualisations of territorialisation and conviviality, new knowledge has been produced about residents' experience of negotiating shared lives. While residents are happy with their homes, and value the neighbourliness that comes from knowing others better, investing time and energy in more organised activity and decision making has been slow. The two spaces display both the affectivity and distancing associated with territorialisation and the 'rubbing along' and ambivalence of conviviality. | Social Sciences-Basel | Community Land Trust; Territorialisation; Conviviality; Community; London CLT; St Clements; Citizens House |
| 2024_480 | Reif, A; Taddicken, M; Guenther, L; Schröder, JT; Weingart, P. (2024). The Public Trust in Science Scale: A Multilevel and Multidimensional Approach. Science Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10755470241302758. | We developed and validated the Public Trust in Science (PuTruS) Scale to recognize the multidimensional nature of the concept. Drawing on an epistemic understanding of trust in science as a perception, we integrate prior research on different levels of trust objects, emphasizing the importance of trust in scientists. In addition, we include transparency and dialogue orientation to reflect increased public engagement expectations. Data from two German online panel surveys (nW1 = 3,439; nW2 = 1,030) points toward a five-dimensional structure (expertise, integrity, benevolence, transparency, dialogue orientation). For external validation, we used deference to scientific authority, conspiracy beliefs, and science populism. | Science Communication | Public Trust in Science; Scale Development; Confirmatory Factor Analysis; Science Populism; Conspiracy Beliefs; Deference To Scientific Authority |
| 2024_481 | Reiter, RM; Iveson, M. (2024). The establishment and breakdown of trust in human-bot marketing calls. Discourse & Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17504813241266905. | In this paper we explore human communicative behaviour in unsolicited commercial telephone calls between human telemarketers and 'bots' that exhibit human characteristics. Drawing on a corpus of recorded telephone conversations between telemarketers and a spam-interception service, we examine some of the communicative dimensions through which telemarketers make sense of their interactions with this technology as trust, or rather the illusion of it, is established, severed and restored. The analysis shows how trust is established early in the calls through an authentic human voice, the illusion of progressivity and purported intersubjectivity, including 'doing-being-human' excuses. In cases where telemarketers realise they had not been talking to a human, verbal abuse towards the bot, and expressions of surprise and embarrassment oriented to their professional face are articulated as the call is used as a training opportunity to identify bots. The article contributes to understanding some of the technology enabled contemporary communicative practices human beings engage in as part of their everyday lives. It raises questions about how humans negotiate trust and validate authenticity in an increasingly automated and technologically driven world. | Discourse & Communication | Bots; Excuses; Face; Intersubjectivity; Trust; Progressivity; Scam Calls; Spam Calls |
| 2024_482 | Rekker, R; Harteveld, E. (2024). Understanding factual belief polarization: the role of trust, political sophistication, and affective polarization. Acta Politica, 59(3), 643-670. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41269-022-00265-4. | Political opponents are often divided not only in their attitudes (i.e., ideological polarization) and their feelings toward each other (i.e., affective polarization), but also in their factual perceptions of reality (i.e., factual belief polarization). This paper describes factual belief polarization in the Netherlands around three core issues. Furthermore, this paper examines who are most susceptible to this type of polarization. Analyses on the 2021 Dutch Parliamentary Election Study reveal that citizens hold different perceptions than their political opponents about income inequality, immigration, and climate change. This type of polarization is strongest among citizens who have hostile feelings toward their political opponents and, paradoxically, among those who are highly educated and interested in politics. Trust in epistemic authorities did not mitigate factual belief polarization, perhaps because this trust has itself become politicized. These findings underline that factual belief polarization constitutes a core pillar of political polarization, alongside ideological and affective polarization. | Acta Politica | Factual Belief Polarization; Misperceptions; Affective Polarization; Media Trust; Climate Change |
| 2024_483 | Ressel, J; Völler, M; Murphy, F; Mullins, M. (2024). Addressing the notion of trust around ChatGPT in the high-stakes use case of insurance. Technology in Society, 78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102644. | The public discourse concerning the level of (dis)trust in ChatGPT and other applications based on large language models (LLMs) is loaded with generic, dread risk terms, while the heterogeneity of relevant theoretical concepts and empirical measurements of trust further impedes in-depth analysis. Thus, a more nuanced understanding of the factors driving the trust judgment call is essential to avoid unwarranted trust. In this commentary paper, we propose that addressing the notion of trust in consumer-facing LLM-based systems across the insurance industry can confer enhanced specificity to this debate. The concept and role of trust are germane to this particular setting due to the highly intangible nature of the product coupled with elevated levels of risk, complexity, and information asymmetry. Moreover, widespread use of LLMs in this sector is to be expected, given the vast array of text documents, particularly general policy conditions or claims protocols. Insurance as a practice is highly relevant to the welfare of citizens and has numerous spillover effects on wider public policy areas. We therefore argue that a domain-specific approach to good AI governance is essential to avoid negative externalities around financial inclusion. Indeed, as a constitutive element of trust, vulnerability is particularly challenging within this highstakes set of transactions, with the adoption of LLMs adding to the socio-ethical risks. In light of this, our commentary provides a valuable baseline to support regulators and policymakers in unravelling the profound socioeconomic consequences that may arise from adopting consumer-facing LLMs in insurance. | Technology in Society | Chatgpt; Large Language Models; Insurance; Governance; Trust |
| 2024_484 | Reyes, RS. (2024). On the contested compliance of CBDRRC and the erosion of trust. Environmental Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09644016.2024.2392370. | Trust is necessary to ensure international cooperation between nation-states who negotiate responses to address the causes and effects of climate change. There is reason to believe that an erosion of trust has been happening since the Paris Agreement negotiations. Yet, it is unclear if and how trust started to erode. Interviews with twenty-two climate negotiators indicate that a contested compliance with CBDRRC is resulting in an erosion of trust in line with issues of reliance, unfulfilled responsibility, lack of reciprocity, and absence of recognition. Such issues include a perceived lack of compliance with the provisions of finance and other forms of support, lack of progress in reflecting the highest possible ambition in the implementation of NDCs, and challenges in increasing resilience and addressing loss and damage. An erosion of trust from contested compliance with organising principles has significant implications for climate negotiations, especially for the transition away from fossil fuels. | Environmental Politics | Trust, CBDR; UNFCCC; Differential Treatment; Relational Climate Governance |
| 2024_485 | Rich, TS; White, S. (2024). The impact of social and institutional trust on South Korean perceptions of North Korean arrivals. Asian Politics & Policy, 16(4), 507-523. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/aspp.12762. | How do forms of trust influence South Korean views of North Korean arrivals? While a broad literature addresses the institutional and generalized social trust impacting a range of public perceptions, this has not been extended to views on North Korean arrivals. Meanwhile, research on views of arrivals often relies on only one measure for what are likely complex concerns. Through the use of a 2021 Korean Social Integration Survey, we find evidence of institutional and social trust positively influencing overall views of arrivals, with mixed results on the impact on proximal tolerance of arrivals, suggesting that policy efforts to enhance trust as a means to improve integration efforts may fail to produce substantive improvements for arrivals. | Asian Politics & Policy | Institutional Trust; North Korea; Social Trust; South Korea; Survey |
| 2024_486 | Rich, TS. (2024). When the tables turn: Parties in power, losers' consent, and institutional trust in Taiwan. Asian Journal of Comparative Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20578911231225501. | How does vote choice and partisanship affect institutional trust in Taiwan? While the literature tackles institutional trust in democracies, analyses often focus on only one time period with aggregate measures of trust. Data from two waves from the Asian Barometer finds evidence consistent with losers' consent of trust in electoral institutions corresponding with party support and vote choice, factors that remain after controlling for trust in non-electoral institutions and generalized trust. However, these factors do not seem to affect overall satisfaction with democracy, suggesting the public differentiates between support for the ideal of democracy and its constituent parts. | Asian Journal of Comparative Politics | Institutional Trust; Losers' Consent; Party Identification; Taiwan |
| 2024_487 | Ridzuan, MR; Razali, JR; Ju, SY; Abd Rahman, NAS; Kong, LK. (2024). Unveiling the Influence of Subjective Norms on Flood Preparedness Among Household Renters: the Moderating Effect of Trust in Public Protection. Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities, 32(2), 605-627. http://dx.doi.org/10.47836/pjssh.32.2.12. | This research builds on the social norms theory to investigate the connection between subjective norms, flood preparedness intention, and flood preparedness behavior. Furthermore, this study investigates how trust in public protection moderates the causal link between subjective norms and flood preparedness intention. Purposive sampling was used in this study by administering an online survey to a random sample of 150 tenants in Malaysia's East Coast Region. Structured equation modeling (SEM) utilizing Smart Partial Least Squares (SmartPLS) was then used to analyze the data. The results showed that subjective norms (SN) have a positive relationship with flood preparedness intention (INT), and INT has a positive relationship with flood preparedness behavior (FPB). Interestingly, trust in public protection negatively moderates the relationship between SN and INT. The findings will offer valuable insights for policymakers, renters, landlords, and community organizations to develop targeted interventions and bolster flood preparedness among household renters in the East Coast region, ultimately fostering resilience and mitigating the impact of future flood events. This study provides first-hand information on the predictors of flood preparedness behavior among household renters in the East Coast Region, Peninsular Malaysia | Pertanika Journal of Social Science and Humanities | Climate Change; Disaster Risk Reduction; Flood Preparedness; Renters; Social Norm Theory; Trust in Public Protection |
| 2024_488 | Rigsby, D; Bartels, WL. (2024). Exploring Trust Ecology in a Public-Private Partnership for Agricultural Innovation in the United States Bioeconomy. Society & Natural Resources http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/08941920.2024.2420315. | United States (US) federal agencies are endorsing public-private partnerships (PPPs) to link public institutions with industry to develop local supplies of biofuel and build a domestic bioeconomy. Although trust is a critical factor within effective PPPs, few studies have addressed the different types of trust needed to cultivate these partnerships. Employing a mixed-method design, we explore a PPP in the Southeast US through the lens of trust ecology. We describe how participants perceive trust types within different project spaces and how trust changed during the partnership. Our findings highlight the role that different interactive spaces can play in cultivating types of trust that accumulate in an additive fashion. We offer insights on process-design mechanisms and project management strategies that can bolster trust in PPPs. | Society & Natural Resources | Bioeconomy; Carinata; Facilitation; Process Design; Public-Private Partnerships; Trust |
| 2024_489 | Rim, H; Dong, CQ; Zhang, YF. (2024). Cross-National Study of Transparency in CSR Communication and Corporate Trust: Mediating Roles of Perceived Altruism and Perceived Skepticism. International Journal of Business Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23294884231223181. | This study uses online surveys administered in the US (N = 491), the UAE (N = 538), and South Korea (N = 548) to examine the associations between transparency strategies in CSR communication (i.e., participation, substantial information, and accountability) and the public's evaluation of corporate trust. Additionally, it investigates the mediating roles of perceived altruism and skepticism toward CSR, while also exploring how these associations differ across the three selected countries. When testing a proposed model using the combined data from three countries (N = 1,577), our findings suggest that transparency strategies do not directly contribute to corporate trust. However, the participation aspect leads to corporate trust only through the influence of perceived altruism, while substantial information predicts a reduced level of CSR skepticism. Notably, results derived from country-specific data reveal intriguing patterns concerning accountability. In the US, accountability leads to altruism and fosters corporate trust, while in the UAE, it contributes to fostering corporate trust. However, in South Korea, it leads to increased skepticism. Conversely, in South Korea, substantial information contributes to building corporate trust. We discuss the implications of these findings from the unique institutional, social, and cultural perspectives of the countries studied. | International Journal of Business Communication | CSR; Transparency; Trust; Skepticism; Altruism; Cross-National Comparison |
| 2024_490 | Robbins, BG. (2024). An Empirical Comparison of Four Generalized Trust Scales: Test-Retest Reliability, Measurement Invariance, Predictive Validity, and Replicability. Sociological Methods & Research, 53(2), 760-803. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00491241211055765. | The Stranger Face Trust scale (SFT) and Imaginary Stranger Trust scale (IST) are two new self-report measures of generalized trust that assess trust in strangers-both real and imaginary-across four trust domains. Prior research has established the reliability and validity of SFT and IST, but a number of measurement validation tests remain. Across three separate studies, I assess the test-retest reliability, measurement invariance, predictive validity, and replicability of SFT and IST, with the misanthropy scale (MST) and generalized social trust scale (GST) serving as benchmarks. First, tests of internal consistency, test-retest reliability, and longitudinal measurement invariance established that all four generalized trust scales were acceptably reliable, with SFT and IST yielding greater overall reliability than MST and GST. Second, tests of multiple group measurement invariance revealed that SFT and IST were equivalent across gender, race, education, and age groups, while MST and GST were non-equivalent across the same sociodemographic groups. Third, an investment game established the predictive validity of SFT and MST, with IST and GST yielding poor predictive validity. Fourth, tests of factor structure and measurement invariance indicated that all four generalized trust scales replicated across samples. The present findings bolster the validity, reliability, and measurement equivalence of SFT and IST, while illustrating the compromised validity and measurement non-equivalence of MST and GST. Implications for the measurement of generalized trust are discussed. | Sociological Methods & Research | Generalized Trust; Measurement Validation; Confirmatory Factor Analysis; Structural Equation Models |
| 2024_491 | Robbins, BG. (2024). The Influence of Rating Scales and Question Attributes on the Validity and Reliability of Generalized Trust Scales. Social Indicators Research, 173(3), 915-940. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-024-03372-1. | Trust is important for a range of societal outcomes. Despite its significance, there is considerable debate about how best to measure trust. In the context of a newly developed measure of generalized trust-the Stranger Face Trust scale (SFT)-this study evaluates whether different features of survey scales affect the reliability and validity of SFT, which relies on the standard 4-point unipolar scale used by many survey institutes. In a survey experiment conducted with a non-probability sample of U.S. adults (N = 4252), we randomly assigned intensity scale midpoints, polarity, and don't know options to SFT. Results indicate that 7- and 9-point bipolar scales without a don't know option slightly outperform all other scales on some psychometric tests, particularly those related to formal properties of the scales and factorial validity, but not on psychometric tests assessing survey environment or convergent, discriminant, and concurrent validity. | Social Indicators Research | Trust; Stranger Face Trust Scale; Psychometric Tests; Reliability; Validity |
| 2024_492 | Robertson, F. (2024). Who reduces political trust after experiencing corruption? Introducing the role of personality traits. International Political Science Review, 45(4), 490-505. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/01925121231186556. | This article examines the interplay between corruption, personality traits and political trust. It argues that individuals' personality traits may condition the effect of corruption experience on trust and that these traits also affect how individuals are exposed to corrupt experiences. Using data from the AmericasBarometer 2010, the study finds that openness, conscientiousness, agreeableness and emotional stability amplify the negative effect of corruption on trust in the police. However, only extraversion amplifies the negative effect of corrupt experiences on trust in government. The study also finds that openness, extraversion, agreeableness and emotional stability are linked to exposure to corruption. The study contributes to the literature by showing that personality affects exposure to corruption and constrains the effect of corruption on political trust. | International Political Science Review | Corruption Exposure; Bribery; Big Five; Police; Institutional Trust |
| 2024_493 | Robinson-Tay, K; Peng, W. (2024). The role of knowledge and trust in developing risk perceptions of autonomous vehicles: a moderated mediation model. Journal of Risk Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2024.2360923. | Autonomous vehicles (AVs) hold promise for revolutionizing transportation and reducing accidents. However, public opinions of AVs remain ambivalent and negative, potentially related to the risk of they perceive. The present study considers the complex dynamics shaping public risk perceptions of AVs, emphasizing the mediating role of trust in the relationship between AV-related knowledge and risk perceptions. The study also considers desire for experience, perceived safety, and deference toward scientific authority as moderators in this relationship. This cross-sectional survey sampled a total of 323 U.S. adults from an online panel. Findings reveal that trust significantly mediates the connection between knowledge and risk perceptions. Desire for experience intensifies the positive association between knowledge and trust. Perceived safety strengthens the negative association between trust and risk perceptions. While deference toward scientific authority did not influence the knowledge-trust relationship, it moderated the impact of trust on risk perceptions. The findings highlighted the need for a nuanced approach to public engagement, emphasizing trust-building initiatives alongside knowledge dissemination. Overall, the research contributed valuable insights for stakeholders navigating the future of AVs built on public acceptance and risk perception. | Journal of Risk Research | Autonomous Vehicles; Knowledge; Trust; Risk Perceptions; Deference Toward Scientific Authority |
| 2024_494 | Rodionova, Y. (2024). Conflict Resolution Strategies in Public Procurement: the Role of Informal Relations and Trust in Courts. International Journal of Public Administration, 47(7), 479-494. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2022.2145485. | This paper analyzes conflict resolution strategies in public procurement in two transition economies, Russia and Kazakhstan, based on a supplier survey. The results show that 25% of suppliers in Kazakhstan and 32% of suppliers in Russia said preferred to resolve all public procurement conflicts through negotiations with the procurer without involving a third party represented by the regulator and/or the judicial system. The findings also revealed that Russian suppliers, potentially affiliated with procurers, are less likely to encounter conflict situations. The attitude to the practice of predetermined choice, when the procurer selects a supplier before the formal procurement procedure, was used as an indirect indicator of such affiliation. In addition, the empirical analysis shows that, in both countries, suppliers who are not inclined to trust the court and indicate high costs of participation in litigation are more likely to use the strategy of direct negotiations to resolve procurement conflicts. | International Journal of Public Administration | Public Procurement; Conflict Resolution; Suppliers; Russia; Kazakhstan |
| 2024_495 | Romo, CM. (2024). Economic Inequality and Social Trust: Evidence from Changes Observed in 19 Countries between 1990 and 2020. Revista Espanola de Investigaciones Sociologicas http://dx.doi.org/10.5477/cis/reis.185.119-144. | Relying on aggregate -level or cross-sectional survey data, extant research suggests that economic inequality erodes social trust. In this article we distinguish between cross-sectional and longitudinal components of inequality, using a sample of approximately 140,000 individuals in 19 countries over a thirty year period (1990-2020). Accounting for individual -level predictors as well as the direct and conditional effect of income, findings suggest a strong negative association between inequality and trust among countries. Individuals from countries with higher levels of inequality systematically report lower levels of trust, but evidence is less clear to substantiate that individuals are less trusting of one another during times of higher inequality. In the second part of the paper, we reassess these findings using subnational data for Spain between 2008 and 2022. | Revista Espanola de Investigaciones Sociologicas | Longitudinal Components; Cross-Sectional Components; Social Trust; Economic Inequality; REWB |
| 2024_496 | Rosman, T; Grösser, S. (2024). Belief updating when confronted with scientific evidence: Examining the role of trust in science. Public Understanding of Science, 33(3), 308-324. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625231203538. | In one exploratory study (N = 985) and one preregistered study (N = 1100), we investigated whether trust in science influences belief change on a medico-scientific issue when laypersons are confronted with scientific evidence. Moreover, we tested whether individuals with high trust in science trust science blindly, meaning that their trust in a scientific claim's source prevents them from adequately evaluating the claim itself. Participants read eight fictitious studies on the efficacy of acupuncture, which were experimentally manipulated regarding direction (evidence favoring acupuncture vs diverging evidence) and quality (high vs low; only Study 2). Acupuncture-related beliefs were measured before and after reading. Moderator and mediator analyses showed that the magnitude of belief change indeed depends on trust in science. Furthermore, we found that people with high trust in science are better able to evaluate the quality of scientific studies, which, in turn, protects them from being influenced by low-quality evidence. | Public Understanding of Science | Belief Updating; Firsthand Evaluation; Scientific Evidence; Secondhand Evaluation; Trust in Science |
| 2024_497 | Rossi, FM. (2024). Democracy as a trust-building learning process: Organizational dilemmas in social movements. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(4), 423-447. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152231196509. | Combining agonistic pluralism and social movements literature with trust studies, I propose a conceptualization for how the organizational dilemma is tackled in social movements. Defined as a trust-building organizational learning process, I show the role-played by social trust-meaning, the construction of the relational boundaries of a shared goal without diluting the heterogeneity of self-identities and interests-as an organizational prerequisite for democratic organization of a political group. Empirically, I identify four alternative pathways to the (democratic) organizational dilemma: innovation through new organizational models; repetition of past experiences; reformulation of practices; and emulation of previous organizational models. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | Agonistic Pluralism; Organizational Dilemmas; Post-Representative Democracy; Social Movements; Trust |
| 2024_498 | Ryzhova, A; Toepfl, F. (2024). The Consequences of Evidence- Versus Non-Evidence-Based Understandings of the Truth: How Russian Speakers in Germany Negotiate Trust in Their Transnational News Environments. International Journal of Press-Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/19401612241257872. | Extant research on migrants' media use and trust has delivered mixed evidence on whether, and in which ways, migrants stay loyal to their homeland news media and/or develop trust in host-society media, particularly when the narratives of the two types of media clash. To advance this strand of research, this study scrutinizes how an audience group with migration background, who lived the first part of their lives under authoritarian rule but then relocated to a democracy, negotiates trust in their multilingual, transnational news environments. Specifically, we conducted semi-structured interviews with forty-two Russian-speaking first-generation migrants living in Germany in 2021. As we find, distinct understandings of the concept of truth played a pivotal role in how our participants negotiated trust in their transnational news environments. We distinguish broadly two understandings of truth: (1) truth as a category grounded in factual evidence and (2) truth as a non-evidence based category grounded in values, emotions, or identities. Illustrative for the second understanding, some participants felt a strong moral obligation to believe Kremlin-sponsored media as they perceived these organizations as representing their homeland, independently of whether their news coverage was factually accurate or not. The two understandings of truth also affected how and where participants sought for what they considered the truth. In the Discussion section, we argue that particularly the non-evidence-based truth-understandings formulated by our participants, and the ensuing truth-seeking strategies are conducive to the reach and persuasive impact of Kremlin-sponsored content among Russian speakers living abroad. | International Journal of Press-Politics | Russian Speakers; News Trust; Truth; Transnational Audiences; Germany |
| 2024_499 | Sadigov, T. (2024). Cost of a Policy: Social Trust and Health Insurance Uptake in Azerbaijan and Emerging Markets. Caucasus Survey, 12(2), 143-179. http://dx.doi.org/10.30965/23761202-BJA1002S. | Do low levels of social trust increase a population's sense of insecurity and desire to get an insurance policy or alternatively make it turn to informal networks for safety nets? While generalized social trust is an important variable to explain insurance uptake, the existing literature offers conflicting accounts of its impact on a population's insurance demand. By employing a mixed-methods research design that combines multivariate regression of large-N cross-country data with a qualitative case study of Azerbaijan, the study provides a systematic analytical measurement of the impact of social trust on the voluntary purchase of health insurance in 93 emerging markets. The article finds a statistically significant positive effect of generalized trust on voluntary health insurance purchases. The findings suggest that in countries with a low level of social trust, people favor informal safety nets rather than formal contracts with insurance firms. | Caucasus Survey | Generalized Social Trust; Emerging Markets; Voluntary Health Insurance; Rentier Economy; Insurance Market Concentration |
| 2024_500 | Sahasrabuddhe, A. (2024). Central Bankers in Crisis: Interpersonal Trust, Cooperation, and the Creation of the Fed Swap Network during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. International Studies Quarterly, 68(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/isq/sqae030. | How do policymakers respond to global crises? I argue that interpersonal trust enables policymakers to engage in ad hoc cooperation, in conditions of crisis and uncertainty. Leaders' differentiated ties by degree-of stronger, looser, or absent-interpersonal trust influenced economies' access to Federal Reserve swap lines over costlier unilateral and multilateral alternatives during the 2008 Global Financial Crisis. Using this framework, I re-examine the emergence of the Fed swap network. I triangulate evidence from elite interviews with central bankers in office during the crisis, and transcripts of Fed meetings. My findings highlight the role of interpersonal trust as an operating variable in shaping patterns of international cooperation and problematize the politics of technocratic governance. While necessary and successful, these crisis management policies reinforce global hierarchies and exacerbate the democratic deficit in central banking. This article thus draws attention to the contentious and undemocratic foundations of the global financial safety net. Como responden los responsables politicos a las crisis mundiales? Argumentamos que es la confianza interpersonal la que permite a los responsables politicos participar en la cooperacion ad hoc, en condiciones de crisis e incertidumbre. Los vinculos diferenciales por grados de los lideres (de confianza interpersonal mas fuerte, mas debil o ausente) influyeron en el acceso de las economias a las lineas de swap de la Reserva Federal por encima de alternativas unilaterales y multilaterales mas costosas durante la crisis financiera mundial de 2008. Utilizando este marco, volvemos a estudiar el nacimiento de la red de swaps de la Reserva Federal. Triangulamos los resultados obtenidos de entrevistas de elite con banqueros centrales que estaban en el cargo durante la crisis, y transcripciones de reuniones de la Reserva Federal. Nuestras conclusiones resaltan el papel que juega la confianza interpersonal como una variable operativa en la configuracion de los patrones de cooperacion internacional y problematizan la politica de gobernanza tecnocratica. Si bien son necesarias y exitosas, estas politicas de gestion de crisis refuerzan las jerarquias globales y aumentan el deficit democratico en la banca central. Por lo tanto, este articulo llama la atencion sobre los fundamentos polemicos y antidemocraticos de la red de seguridad financiera mundial. Comment les decideurs politiques reagissent-ils aux crises mondiales? J'affirme que la confiance interpersonnelle leur permet de cooperer ponctuellement, par temps de crise et d'incertitudes. Les differents degres de liens de confiance entre les dirigeants, qu'ils soient plus forts, plus faibles ou absents, ont eu une incidence sur l'acces des economies aux accords de swap de la Reserve federale des etats-Unis plutot qu'a des alternatives unilaterales et multilaterales plus couteuses lors de la crise financiere mondiale de 2008. A l'aide de ce cadre, j'examine a nouveau l'emergence du reseau de swap de la Reserve federale. Je resitue des elements provenant d'entretiens d'elite avec des employes de banques centrales en poste pendant la crise par rapport a des transcriptions de reunions de la Reserve federale. Mes conclusions mettent en lumiere le role de la confiance interpersonnelle en tant que variable intervenant dans le faconnement des schemas de cooperation internationale, avant de problematiser le role de la politique de gouvernance technocratique. Bien qu'elles soient necessaires et fructueuses, ces politiques de gestion de crise renforcent les hierarchies et aggravent le deficit democratique des banques centrales. Aussi cet article attire-t-il l'attention sur les fondements discutables et non democratiques du filet de securite de la finance mondiale. | International Studies Quarterly | |
| 2024_501 | Sahinoglu, B; Saygili, N; Muhtarogullari, A; Sinal, A. (2024). Implications of media reports of crime for public trust and social support: a conceptual analysis of individuals' psychological wellbeing. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-02848-2. | Crime reporting influences the public regardless of its source (traditional or social media outlets). In this regard, the current research focuses on crime reports in Northern Cyprus, a small society, where individual psychological and social aspects can be influenced by media content. Specifically the effects of media on public trust, presumption of innocence, psychological wellbeing and social support are addressed through a qualitative approach. In this study, a mixed methodology of content and discourse analysis determined the negative coverage of crime through the existence of unethical principles among 507 articles from different media outlets. Furthermore, a thematic network approach was used to analyse semi-structured interviews, in which 38 individuals provided in-depth data about their personal experiences and emotions regarding media publication. Results showed how the influence of media coverage of crime can extend to affect the psychological well-being and social relationships of those individuals involved, particularly concerning anxiety, public trust, and social support. These effects can be further amplified due to the increased stress and anxiety felt among the public during the COVID-19 pandemic, ongoing at the time of the interviews. This research can provide a better understanding of media and its influence on trust and support during uncertain times. Hence, both scholars and practitioners can benefit from the current findings. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_502 | Saiani, PP; Ivaldi, E; Ciacci, A; Di Stefano, L. (2024). Broken Trust. Confidence Gaps and Distrust in Latin America. Social Indicators Research, 173(1), 269-281. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-021-02796-3. | Latin American societies show lower levels of political trust when compared to other regions of the world. The lack of trust in institutions can led to ineffective management of public affairs, social crises, lack of transparency, economic problems and even difficulties in countering pandemics. The objective of this work is to build an index (LADI) that provides a measure of the level of perceived distrust in the institutions of the different Latin American countries and its variations over the period from 2008 to 2018. The data used for this analysis are of a subjective nature and come from the series of surveys provided by Latinobarometro. To develop the analysis, we have used a quantitative approach of a partially non-compensatory aggregative type, known as Adjusted Mazziotta and Pareto Index. The results show a generalized increase of distrust in the years 2017 and 2018 for several Latin American countries. On the other hand, in countries where the rule of law is more consolidated, a best perception of the functioning of democracy emerges. | Social Indicators Research | Institutional Trust; Government; Latin America; Aggregative Method; Temporal Index |
| 2024_503 | Salaverría, R; Bachmann, I; Magallón-Rosa, R. (2024). Disinformation and Media Trust: Proposals for Action. Index Comunicacion, 14(2), 13-32. http://dx.doi.org/10.62008/ixc/14/02Yconfi. | Disinformation has influenced public trust in democratic institutions, particularly the media. Through examples from countries with varying levels of democratic quality, it is demonstrated how disinformation is used to polarize and politically mobilize. The role of the media in this context is crucial, as trust in them depends on multiple interrelated factors, such as the impact of disinformation on news consumption and public trust, the psychological and sociocultural factors that affect vulnerability to disinformation, and technological advances, especially generative artificial intelligence. Based on this diagnosis, mechanisms of self-regulation and increased transparency are proposed as foundations to improve trust. Additionally, the need for academic research on the role of digital platforms and algorithms in the spread of disinformation and its impact on trust and democratic quality is emphasized. | Index Comunicacion | Disinformation; Media Trust; Journalism; Solutions |
| 2024_504 | Saldaña, M; Orchard, X; Rivera, S; Bustamante-Pavez, G. (2024). Your house won't be yours anymore! Effects of Misinformation, News Use, and Media Trust on Chile's Constitutional Referendum. International Journal of Press-Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/19401612241298853. | News consumption and voting behavior are interlinked and particularly important in elections where traditional political cleavages are not easily applicable. This relationship becomes more complex and uncertain in contexts of low trust in the news media and high levels of misinformation circulating in different news ecosystems. In this study, we test an indirect path between differentiated news media consumption and voting choices, mediated by belief in misinformation, and moderated by news media trust. Our data come from a two-wave panel survey of 1,332 respondents, conducted in Chile before and after the 2022 Constitutional Referendum, a political event that captured international attention after a constitutional proposal was rejected in a process initiated with high public support. Our analyses found that news media consumption significantly affected voting preferences in the referendum, not only indirectly through the acceptance of misinformation, but also directly, suggesting that news organizations might act, intentionally or not, as soundboards of misinformation. These findings suggest that countries with enough press freedom to rely on the news media to be informed but also a high concentration of ownership, topics, and angles covered, might become fertile soil for misinformation to spread in the form of professional news coverage, instead of fabricated, easy-to-spot fake pieces circulating in dubious websites or on social media. | International Journal of Press-Politics | News Use; Misinformation; Voting Choices; News Trust; Chile |
| 2024_505 | Salem, AM; Eyupoglu, SZ; Ma'aitah, MK. (2024). The Influence of Machine Learning on Enhancing Rational Decision-Making and Trust Levels in e-Government. Systems, 12(9). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/systems12090373. | The rapid growth in the use of AI techniques, mainly machine learning (ML), is revolutionizing different industries by significantly enhancing decision-making processes through data-driven insights. This study investigates the influence of using ML, particularly supervised and unsupervised learning, on rational decision-making (RDM) within Jordanian e-government, focusing on the mediating role of trust. By analyzing the experiences of middle-level management within e-government in Jordan, the findings underscore that ML positively impacts the rational decision-making process in e-government. It enables more efficient and effective data gathering, improves the accuracy of data analysis, enhances the speed and accuracy of evaluating decision alternatives, and improves the assessment of potential risks. Additionally, this study reveals that trust plays a critical role in determining the effectiveness of ML adoption for decision-making, acting as a pivotal mediator that can either facilitate or impede the integration of these technologies. This study provides empirical evidence of how trust not only enhances the utilization of ML but also amplifies its positive impact on governance. The findings highlight the necessity of cultivating trust to ensure the successful deployment of ML in public administration, thereby enabling a more effective and sustainable digital transformation. Despite certain limitations, the outcomes of this study offer substantial insights for researchers and government policymakers alike, contributing to the advancement of sustainable practices in the e-government domain. | Systems | Digital Transformation; Machine Learning; Artificial Intelligence; Rational Decision-Making; Trust; E-Government |
| 2024_506 | Sandberg, F. (2024). From Falling in love to being in love. on the search for trust in Erich Fromm's the art of loving. Sociologisk Forskning, 61(2), 215-232. http://dx.doi.org/10.37062/sf.61.25527. | The essay is a result of reading Erich Fromm's book The Art of Loving, , and its purpose is to explore the significance of trust in romantic relationships based on this book, focusing on the transition from falling in love to being in love. The transition from falling in love to being in love is the central theme, and it is in this process that trust is put to the test. According to Fromm, living in a lasting romantic relationship requires an art of loving. The essay argues that the art of loving has the potential to sustain trust, and it is trust that, in turn, safeguards love. | Sociologisk Forskning | Trust; Love; Romantic Relationships; the Art of Loving; Erich Fromm |
| 2024_507 | Santoro, LR; Sydnor, E. (2024). Blind Trust, Blind Skepticism: Liberals' & Conservatives' Response to Academic Research. American Politics Research, 52(1), 52-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1532673X231206136. | Public perceptions of science and scientific institutions have become more negative in recent years, especially among individuals who identify as ideologically conservative in the United States. While there is much work investigating the origins and implications of this decline, we focus instead on understanding the ways in which symbols of scientific expertise, like the university, convey information in a politicized environment. Universities are seen as trusted scientific experts or biased propagandists, depending on individuals' ideological identification. Are individuals more likely to believe research coming out of universities that they perceive to reflect their own ideological biases? This project looks at the effect of the academic source cue - the university label - on individual assessments of the research that these universities produce. Drawing on results from two survey experiments focused on climate change and racial wealth disparity research, we find that while liberals are more likely to believe research that confirms their previously held beliefs, they are also more likely to believe incongruent information when it comes from a university that they believe shares their bias. Conservatives, on the other hand, remain skeptical of academic research despite the message or its' source. The findings point toward both blind trust and blind skepticism in academic institutions. | American Politics Research | Source Cues; Confirmation Bias; Motivated Reasoning; Experiments |
| 2024_508 | Sarmiento-Mirwaldt, K. (2024). Experience Matters, After All: What Social Psychology Can Teach Us about Transnational Contact and Trust. Political Studies, 72(2), 442-462. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217221117657. | There has been much debate about the causes of trust in abstract groups of strangers such as foreign nations. Some scholars have highlighted the important role of personal experiences in shaping social trust, while others have largely dismissed such experiences. This article suggests that social psychological contact theory, which highlights one particular type of experience, has much to contribute to trust research: accordingly, people's contact experiences with strangers lead them to generalise from these experiences and undergo a process of social learning. Using original survey data from Poland, this article shows that, consistent with contact theory, pleasant contact experiences with members of specific other nations increase trust in those nations, while unpleasant contact experiences decrease it. The characteristics of different objects of trust do not fundamentally challenge the universalist logic of contact theory. Ultimately, this supports the position that personal experience in adult life matters greatly in shaping trust. | Political Studies | Transnational Trust; Contact Theory; Experience; Theories of Differentiation |
| 2024_509 | Schäfer, A; Esterbauer, R; Kubicek, B. (2024). Trusting robots: a relational trust definition based on human intentionality. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03897-3. | As robots are increasingly found in various aspects of human life, understanding how humans relate to and interact with robots is becoming more relevant. One important factor affecting the quality of human-robot interactions is trust, and in recent years there has been an increase in scientific interest in the nature of trust between humans and robots. However, it can be observed that a clear distinction between trust and its related constructs is not always made when examining trust in robots. To overcome these limitations, we propose a definition of trust in robots that clearly separates trust from its related constructs. To this end, we extend an established trust model for interpersonal trust, which we adapt to describe trust in HRI. The new definition describes trust as a particular way in which human trustor relates to a robot. By characterizing trust as an asymmetric relation with certain properties, the proposed definition adopts a perspective that focuses on the human trustor in describing trust. Furthermore, we argue that the proposed definition of trust is suitable for describing trust in all types of robots and for any form of human-robot interaction. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_510 | Schaffer, LM; Magyar, ZB. (2024). Comparative Energy Transition Policy: How Exposure, Policy Vulnerability and Trust Affect Popular Acceptance of Policy Expansion. Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis, 26(3-4), 283-302. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13876988.2024.2331166. | This article examines how exposure to energy transition and climate policy vulnerability influence popular support for more ambitious climate policy. Moreover, it explores whether this relationship depends on a person's generalized and political trust. Comparing data from surveys in Germany and Switzerland, the findings reveal that perceived exposure to energy transition positively influences climate policy support, while individual climate policy vulnerability decreases it. For individuals with higher levels of trust, exposure helps enhance the positive effect (subjective exposure) or dampen the negative effect (policy vulnerability). These results underscore the importance of incorporating trust and subjective perceptions into climate policy frameworks. | Journal of Comparative Policy Analysis | Climate Policy; Comparative; Policy Exposure; Subjective Exposure; Political Trust; Generalized Trust |
| 2024_511 | Scharte, B. (2024). Discussing trust and resilience: the need for a healthy dose of distrust. Risk Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/rhc3.12287. | How are trust and reslience related? There is a lack of conceptual discussions. This paper analyzes trust and resilience with respect to the system of critical infrastructures and engineers working on critical infrastructure resilience. The results are three findings based on the assumption that resilience and trust are mechanisms to cope with complexity and uncertainty inherent to modern societies and critical infrastructures. First, they are no functional alternatives. Trust is an everyday process where favorable expectations help to act as if uncertainty was successfully resolved. Resilience helps to cope in what if cases when disaster strikes. Second, resembling the risk perception paradox, too much trust in critical infrastructures might lead to complacency, decreasing individual coping capacities and subsequently resilience. People need a healthy dose of distrust-distrust being a functional alternative to trust and not its opposite-to be aware that a disruption might happen and prepare for it. Third, notwithstanding the difficulties of uncertainty communication, engineers need to communicate limits to knowledge resulting from complexity transparently. This might decrease trust in specific solutions, but could sustain overall system trust, because it helps to adjust favorable expectations. ?..固?.?替.??.? horizontal ellipsis 怎.?悖??.--替?--才坏.??仍限.??. Como se relacionan la confianza y la resiliencia? Faltan discusiones conceptuales. Este articulo analiza la confianza y la resiliencia con respecto al sistema de infraestructuras criticas y los ingenieros que trabajan en la resiliencia de las infraestructuras criticas. Los resultados son tres hallazgos basados en el supuesto de que la resiliencia y la confianza son mecanismos para hacer frente a la complejidad y la incertidumbre inherentes a las sociedades modernas y a las infraestructuras criticas. En primer lugar, no son alternativas funcionales. La confianza es un proceso cotidiano en el que las expectativas favorables ayudan a actuar como si la incertidumbre se hubiera resuelto con exito. La resiliencia ayuda a afrontar los casos hipoteticos cuando ocurre un desastre. En segundo lugar, similar a la paradoja de la percepcion del riesgo, demasiada confianza en las infraestructuras criticas podria llevar a la complacencia, disminuyendo las capacidades individuales de afrontamiento y, posteriormente, la resiliencia. Las personas necesitan una buena dosis de desconfianza (la desconfianza es una alternativa funcional a la confianza y no su opuesto) para ser conscientes de que podria ocurrir una disrupcion y prepararse para ella. En tercer lugar, a pesar de las dificultades de la comunicacion de la incertidumbre, los ingenieros necesitan comunicar de forma transparente los limites del conocimiento resultantes de la complejidad. Esto podria disminuir la confianza en soluciones especificas, pero podria mantener la confianza general en el sistema, porque ayuda a ajustar las expectativas favorables. | Risk Hazards & Crisis in Public Policy | Complexity; Resilience; Risk Communication; System Trust; Trust; Uncertainty |
| 2024_512 | Scheffauer, R; Goyanes, M; de Zúñiga, HG. (2024). Social media algorithmic versus professional journalists' news selection: Effects of gate keeping on traditional and social media news trust. Journalism, 25(4), 755-778. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14648849231179804. | Research has shown positive attitudes toward journalists and their roles foster pro-democratic outcomes. With the rise of social media as news sources, algorithms operate as gatekeepers, which may alter linkages between public opinion, journalists, and media trust. However, results from a panel-survey conducted in the U.S. underline citizens' preference for journalist gatekeeping in fueling trust in traditional and social media news. Conversely, preference for algorithmic news selection does not affect people's levels of trust. Furthermore, traditional news use moderates this relationship as those who report higher traditional news use and a preference for professional news gatekeeping trust traditional news the most. This study contributes to current discussions on the effects of preference for journalists' or algorithmic news selection, arguing that evaluations of journalists' editorial work remain critical to explain media trust. | Journalism | News Selection; Algorithms; Gatekeeping; Social Media; News Trust; Journalism |
| 2024_513 | Schilke, O; Rossman, G. (2024). Honor among Crooks: the Role of Trust in Obfuscated Disreputable Exchange. American Sociological Review, 89(2), 391-419. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00031224241232599. | When people want to conduct a transaction, but doing so would be morally disreputable, they can obfuscate the fact that they are engaging in an exchange while still arranging for a set of transfers that are effectively equivalent to an exchange. Obfuscation through structures such as gift-giving and brokerage is pervasive across a wide range of disreputable exchanges, such as bribery and sex work. In this article, we develop a theoretical account that sheds light on when actors are more versus less likely to obfuscate. Specifically, we report a series of experiments addressing the effect of trust on the decision to engage in obfuscated disreputable exchange. We find that actors obfuscate more often with exchange partners high in loyalty-based trustworthiness, with expected reciprocity and moral discomfort mediating this effect. However, the effect is highly contingent on the type of trust; trust facilitates obfuscation when it is loyalty-based, but this effect flips when trust is ethics-based. Our findings not only offer insights into the important role of relational context in shaping moral understandings and choices about disreputable exchange, but they also contribute to scholarship on trust by demonstrating that distinct forms of trust can have diametrically opposed effects. | American Sociological Review | Obfuscation; Trust; Economic Sociology; Bribery; Vignette Experiment |
| 2024_514 | Schlipphak, B. (2024). Threat perceptions, blame attribution, and political trust. Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties, 34(1), 59-78. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17457289.2021.2001474. | Under what conditions do threat perceptions lead to an increasing distrust in government? This article argues that the answer is the degree of ease with which a perceived threat can be linked to governmental actors. First, I argue that threats directed toward society should be more easily linked by citizens to the domestic government compared to perceived threats to the individual (general linkage). Second, a threat linked to a citizen's general political stance more strongly affects their attitude toward governmental actors in negative ways (heuristic linkage). Third, I expect threat perceptions to further increase governmental distrust if the latter's actors are blamed for a perceived threat that is salient to citizens' ideological worldviews (blame attribution). Empirical tests using self-administered survey- and experimental data corroborate the argument. In closing I discuss the implications of the theoretical and empirical setup, emphasizing the need for future studies on blame attribution, heuristic linkages, and political trust. | Journal of Elections Public Opinion and Parties | Threat Perceptions; Political Trust; Communication of Threats; Blame Attribution; Heuristic Linkage |
| 2024_515 | Schmid, S; Pham, BC; Ferl, AK. (2024). Trust in artificial intelligence: Producing ontological security through governmental visions. Cooperation and Conflict http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00108367241288073. | With developments in artificial intelligence (AI) widely framed as security concern in both military and civilian realms, governments have turned their attention to regulating and governing AI. In a study of United States (US), Chinese, and European Union (EU) AI documents, we go beyond instrumental understandings of AI as a technological capability, which serves states' self-interests and the maintenance of their (supra)national security. Our specific interest lies in how AI policies tap into both problem-solving approaches and affective registers to achieve both physical and ontological securities. We find that in governmental visions, AI is perceived as a capability that enhances societal and geopolitical interests while its risks are framed as manageable. This echoes strands within human-computer interaction that draw on human-centered perceptions of technology and assumptions about human-AI relationships of trust. Despite different cultural and institutional settings, the visions of future AI development are shaped by this (shared) understanding of human-AI interaction, offering common ground in the navigation of innovation policies. | Cooperation and Conflict | Innovation; Ontological Security; Technology; Trust; Vision |
| 2024_516 | Schraff, D; Hegewald, S. (2024). Ethnic diversity and political trust at the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. European Political Science Review http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1755773924000158. | Current research faces challenges in explaining how contextual factors account for variations in the rally effect in political trust during the COVID-19 pandemic. While systematic explanations of country-level differences are hard to establish by means of cross-sectional comparisons, we propose to compare subnational areas within a country to learn more about the role of contextual factors. In this research note, we argue that ethnic diversity is a crucial contextual factor that helps researchers understand differences in political trust at the onset of the pandemic. Specifically, we propose that the rally effect should be restricted to ethnically more homogeneous contexts. An analysis of geocoded household panel data from the Netherlands reveals a strong rally effect in ethnically homogenous areas, while political trust in ethnically diverse contexts appears not to respond to the pandemic. This suggests an entrenched geography of political trust, which is associated with ethnic divides and is even maintained under crisis. | European Political Science Review | COVID-19; Ethnic Diversity; Political Trust; Local; Rally Effect |
| 2024_517 | Seiter, JS. (2024). Trust everybody, but always cut the cards: An exercise for exploring truth bias and deception detection. Communication Teacher http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17404622.2024.2396503. | This activity helps students examine key elements of truth-default theory. Specifically, by participating in a deception detection game, which secretly prompts different teams to be more or less suspicious, students learn that people's tendency to be truth biased leads to lower accuracy when judging actual lies and higher accuracy when judging actual truths (i.e. the veracity effect). Courses: Persuasion, Interpersonal Communication, Theory, Research Methods. Objectives: Students learn about truth bias, its effects on perceptions of veracity, and its implications. | Communication Teacher | |
| 2024_518 | Seo, J; Lee, S; Newcombe, K; Yoon, D. (2024). Value perceptions and YouTube influencer-user dynamics: a mediated pathway to enhanced trust, commitment, and purchase intentions. Journal of Marketing Communications http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2024.2368533. | This study investigated the relationship between YouTube influencers and followers. The value perception model was utilized to test the impact of value perceptions on trust, commitment, attitude, and purchase intentions. Findings provide further insights into the influencer-follower relationship as value perceptions were seen to enhance trust and commitment, subsequently influencing users' attitudes and purchase intentions toward products or brands promoted by YouTube influencers. Results from this study can be used to help practitioners develop effective influencer marketing strategies. Future research should investigate the personality characteristics of individual users to explore their effects on relationship-building with influencers. | Journal of Marketing Communications | Value Perceptions; Influencer Marketing; Relationship Building; Trust; Commitment |
| 2024_519 | Setiawan, G; Arli, D; Woods, P. (2024). In the servant we trust: the brand impact of servant leadership from the case of a rising reformist. Journal of Marketing Communications, 30(5), 576-598. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2022.2152474. | Successful political outsiders from the largest democracies, such as Narendra Modi (India), Donald Trump (USA), Joko Widodo (Indonesia), and Jair Bolsonaro (Brazil), have strong leadership images as a reformist. The case of Widodo of Indonesia is unique considering that he rose to power within less than ten years with an image of a servant leader, compared to his counterparts, who tend to be perceived as far right-wing conservatives. Yet, the interplay between leadership brand image and important branding components such as personality and trust remained a gap in the literature. To fill these gaps, this study investigates the brand impact of servant leadership and reformist (perceived qualities, proposed programs, and voters' engagement style) on a leader's brand trust with the mediating effect of brand personality (responsible and active) based on Widodo's case. PLS-SEM is utilized to estimate the model with latent variables and conduct analysis. Results indicate high overall mean scores from all dimensions despite 53.4% of samples (n = 453) not having a political party preference. The study found that servant leadership and reformist image have moderate to substantial effects on brand personality and trust. Responsible persona has proven to mediate most proposed relationships. Implications are discussed. | Journal of Marketing Communications | Leadership Brand; Servant Leadership; Brand Personality; Brand Trust; Political Outsider |
| 2024_520 | Seyd, B; Hamm, JA; Jennings, W; McKay, L; Anness, M. (2024). 'Trust the messenger': Public trust in sources of information on COVID-19. Parliamentary Affairs http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/pa/gsae029. | A key lesson of the coronavirus pandemic was the importance for pro-social behaviour of popular trust in key information sources. Yet existing studies rarely consider the role of people's trust in a range of different information sources, and the relationship between such trust and particular attitudes and behaviours among individuals. This study goes beyond the general mantra that 'trust matters' and explores more specific effects, relating to trust in particular actors and for particular outcomes. Based on a survey fielded on a representative sample of the British population conducted towards the end of the pandemic, we find evidence that people's coronavirus attitudes and behaviours are particularly related to their trust in scientific experts and, in some cases, to their trust in local councils. However, trust in these actors is not uniformly associated with people's coronavirus beliefs and actions. This suggests that the link between people's trust and their pro-social attitudes and behaviours is often specific rather than general. The results hold important implications for the design of effective public communication strategies in the event of any future health emergency. | Parliamentary Affairs | Trust; Information Sources; Coronavirus; Compliance; Public Communication |
| 2024_521 | Seyd, B; Hamm, JA; Jennings, W; McKay, L; Valgarosson, V; Anness, M. (2024). 'Follow the science': Popular trust in scientific experts during the coronavirus pandemic. Public Understanding of Science http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/09636625241253968. | The coronavirus pandemic increased the role played by scientific advisers in counselling governments and citizens on issues around public health. This raises questions about how citizens evaluate scientists, and in particular the grounds on which they trust them. Previous studies have identified various factors associated with trust in scientists, although few have systematically explored a range of judgements and their relative effects. This study takes advantage of scientific advisers' heightened public profile during the pandemic to explore how people's trust in scientists is shaped by perceptions of their features and traits, along with evaluations of their behaviour and role within the decision-making process. The study also considers people's trust in politicians, thereby enabling us to identify whether trust in scientists reflects similar or distinctive considerations to trust in partisan actors. Data are derived from specially designed conjoint experiments and surveys of nationally representative samples in Britain and the United States. | Public Understanding of Science | Coronavirus; Risk Communication; Science Attitudes and Perceptions; Science Experts; Scientists Attitudes; Trust |
| 2024_522 | Seyfert, R. (2024). I trust (you) therefore I am! From trust to post-trust: Transforming social paradigms. European Journal of Social Theory http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/13684310241289344. | This paper challenges the conventional belief that trust is an essential component of social cohesion, for example, in the context of climate change denial and post-truth politics. It argues that simply increasing trust or distrust does not address the underlying issues of contemporary societal challenges. This is because these efforts presuppose a 'trusting subject' at the heart of the problem. The paper examines the process of subjectification, exploring forms of modern subjectification and how they relate to trust, and how individuals become trusting subjects in relation to and within certain social frameworks. Introducing a new typology, it categorises trust into subjectifying, counter-subjectifying and post-subjectifying forms, revealing how trust both influences and is influenced by social dynamics and power structures. The conclusion advocates a 'post-trust' approach, urging a reimagining of relationships with nature and others. This approach emphasises the interconnectedness of human and non-human actors and calls for new forms of relationality and sensitivity to address global challenges effectively. | European Journal of Social Theory | Trust; Affect; Subjectivity; Disparation; Post-Trust |
| 2024_523 | Shahzad, MF; Xu, S; Lim, WM; Hasnain, MF; Nusrat, S. (2024). Cryptocurrency awareness, acceptance, and adoption: the role of trust as a cornerstone. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-023-02528-7. | Cryptocurrencies-i.e., digital or virtual currencies secured by cryptography based on blockchain technology, such as Bitcoin and Ethereum-have brought transformative changes to the global economic landscape. These innovative transaction methods have rapidly made their mark in the financial sector, reshaping the dynamics of the global economy. However, there remains a notable hesitation in its widespread acceptance and adoption, largely due to misconceptions and lack of proper guidance about its use. Such gaps in understanding create an opportunity to address these concerns. Using the technology acceptance model (TAM), this study develops a parsimonious model to explain the awareness, acceptance, and adoption of cryptocurrency. The model was assessed using partial least squares structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM) with a sample of 332 participants aged 18 to 40 years. The findings suggest that cryptocurrency awareness plays a direct, positive, and significant role in shaping cryptocurrency adoption and that this positive relationship is mediated by factors that exemplify cryptocurrency acceptance, namely the ease of use and usefulness of cryptocurrency. The results also reveal that trust is a significant factor that strengthens these direct and mediating relationships. These insights emphasize the necessity of fostering an informed understanding of cryptocurrencies to accelerate their broader adoption in the financial ecosystem. By addressing the misconceptions and reinforcing factors like ease of use, usefulness, and trust, policymakers and financial institutions can better position themselves to integrate and promote cryptocurrency in mainstream financial systems. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_524 | Shannon, ER; Bull, A. (2024). Unwilling trust: Unpacking the assumption of trust between sexual misconduct reporters and their institutions in UK higher education. Sociology Compass, 18(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13197. | This article explores trust in organisations by analysing interview data from students and staff who have disclosed or reported gender-based violence and harassment (GBVH) to their higher education institution in the UK since 2016. GBVH contributes to gender inequality in higher education (HE), and increased reporting of it may not only help prevent GBVH, but also improve gender equality by helping to retain women and gender minorities within HE. Around half of the interviewees in this study (n = 12) expressed distrust in their institution, yet despite this they still reported or disclosed their experiences to their institution. Existing literature in this area, particularly the concept of institutional betrayal, assumes that survivors of GBVH trust their institutions-including HE institutions-because they are dependent upon said institutions. Our data challenges this assumption, and in this article, we analyse participants' trust orientations in the context of their reasons for reporting. We argue that dependence on and trust in institutions are separate phenomena, in that members of an organisation may be dependent upon the organisation in various ways, but their trust in the organisation reflects their structural positioning within it. To develop the theorisation of trust in institutional betrayal, we draw on and extend Luhmann's concept of 'system trust' as well as other sociological theories of trust. Finally, the article introduces the concept of 'unwilling trust'-a contradiction between an individual acting in trusting ways despite feeling a lack of trust-to explain this disconnect between dispositions and actions. | Sociology Compass | Gender-Based Violence; Higher Education; Institutional Betrayal; Reporting; Sexual Harassment; Trust |
| 2024_525 | Shilmenova, A; Otar, E; Arinova, O; Sokolovskiy, K. (2024). The Relationship Between Religious Faith and Trust in Science in the Context of Mandatory Vaccination Against COVID-19: Experience of Kazakhstan. Public Integrity, 26(5), 539-549. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2023.2247868. | This article investigates the covariation of belief and science credibility in Kazakhstan in the context of COVID-19 and vaccination. The research methodology is based on a multi-country analysis of COVID-19 indicators from a global database of COVID-19 vaccinations, and the covariance of belief and science credibility was estimated in the case of Kazakhstan. According to the survey, 33.5% of respondents changed their opinions in favor of vaccination and 29.6% of those surveyed affirmed their commitment to vaccination. Furthermore, 58.8% of respondents believe that this is the only and an effective way to protect themselves from COVID-19. Some of the main reasons for refusing to get a vaccine include contraindications (14.1%), fear of possible severe consequences (4.5%), and lack of confidence in vaccines and medicine in general (4.5%). Less than 1 percent of all respondents cited religious beliefs as the main reason for unwillingness to get vaccinated. | Public Integrity | Beliefs; COVID-19 Pandemic; Health Care System; Lack of Trust in Health Professionals; Survey |
| 2024_526 | Shirikov, A. (2024). Rethinking Propaganda: How State Media Build Trust through Belief Affirmation. Journal of Politics, 86(4), 1319-1332. http://dx.doi.org/10.1086/729941. | Research on propaganda often focuses on strategies that autocrats can use to persuade skeptical citizens. I outline a different function of propaganda-reinforcing regime support and building trust through identity-consistent messages. Such affirmation propaganda results in more positive perceptions of propaganda outlets and skepticism about independent media. I test this argument using three studies in Russia. In two randomized experiments, I demonstrate that pro-regime citizens trust reports from state media more than reports from independent media; however, state media lose trust if they send more critical messages. Additional survey evidence suggests that regime supporters often find state media accurate despite recognizing the pro-government bias of these outlets. My analysis suggests that autocrats are more constrained by public opinion than previously thought. It also helps to better understand the role of persuasion and censorship in authoritarian regimes, and it highlights that independent media have limited power to challenge authoritarian rule. | Journal of Politics | Propaganda; Autocracy; Media; Russia |
| 2024_527 | Shirikov, A. (2024). Why Is Media Trust Low in Post-Communist Countries?. Problems of Post-Communism, 71(6), 544-556. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2024.2310637. | Do long-term propaganda and indoctrination undermine media trust? Building on studies of communist legacies, I examine whether trust in media in post-communist countries can be explained by past or contemporaneous experiences. I find that trust in media is lower in post-communist countries, but this trust deficit is more likely a consequence of the post-communist period. It is higher among authoritarian regimes, which suggests that contemporaneous experiences matter; citizens with longer exposure to communism trust the media more; finally, the deficit grows as the communist past becomes more distant. These findings have implications for institutional development in the post-communist world. | Problems of Post-Communism | |
| 2024_528 | Sika, N. (2024). The consequences of trust and repression on the rise and fall of movements in authoritarian regimes. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(4), 448-463. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152231200415. | This article analyzes the relation between interpersonal trust, repression, mobilization, and demobilization in authoritarian regimes. Does interpersonal trust impact mobilization in authoritarian regimes? Does an authoritarian regime's strategies of repression and cooptation fuel distrust among movement actors and consequently lead to demobilization? Through relying on qualitative analysis in Egypt in the aftermath of the January 2011 uprising, I argue that interpersonal trust plays a significant role in the mobilization process of opposition movements. Yet, when movement members' interpersonal trust levels and mobilizational capacities are high, authoritarian regimes utilize excessive repressive strategies to fragment and demobilize them. However, repression is not the only strategy utilized by regimes to demobilize the opposition. Other strategies, mainly cooptation and movement infiltration, are used by authoritarian regimes to fuel distrust among opposition movement actors and between movement actors and the citizens at large. These three strategies add to opposition movement's fragmentation and demobilization. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | Authoritarian Regimes; Cooptation; Egypt; Interpersonal Trust; MENA; Repression; Social Movements; Trust |
| 2024_529 | Simon, S. (2024). Immigration policy congruence and political trust: a cross-national analysis among 23 European countries. Acta Politica, 59(1), 145-166. http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41269-023-00284-9. | This study examines how immigration policy impacts citizens' trust in politicians and political institutions. The article argues that immigration policy affects political trust through policy congruence. More specifically, it claims that the level of restrictiveness of immigration policy impacts political trust heterogeneously, conditional on whether citizens are anti- or pro-immigration and additionally on how strongly citizens are seeking information about political issues, the latter making it potentially easier for them to identify policy (in-)congruencies. Combining country-level data on immigration policy outputs in European countries with individual-level data to complex multilevel models, the findings reveal that the level of congruence of immigration policy to citizens' immigration preferences alone does not impact political trust. But they show that immigration policy impacts the political trust of citizens who are highly anti-immigration and at the same time very strongly seeking political information. Overall, however, the article concludes that the impact of immigration policy congruence on political trust is moderate at best. | Acta Politica | Immigration Policy; Political Trust; Policy Congruence; Attitudes To Immigration; Political Information Seeking |
| 2024_530 | Simonyan, A. (2024). Interrelation between Institutional Trust, Satisfaction of Economy, and Corruption Perception. Problems of Post-Communism, 71(5), 471-479. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10758216.2023.2258262. | Corruption perception indices are conventionally used as a proxy for mirroring the real corruption level in a country. This article studies the potential impact of the perception of institutional factors on corruption perception. Using a three-year survey dataset from all regions of Armenia, I argue that economic perception and trust in institutions directly and indirectly influence corruption perception by undermining individuals' satisfaction with the country's overall situation. Further mediation analysis manifests that satisfaction with the country's overall situation is the cornerstone linking corruption perception with economic perception and trust in institutions. Policy implications and further research avenues are discussed. | Problems of Post-Communism | |
| 2024_531 | Sims, RL; Barreto, TS; Sell, KM; Lawrence, ET; Seymour, P. (2024). Resolving organizational peer conflict via integrative behaviors: the role of trust and informational support. International Journal of Conflict Management, 35(3), 471-487. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJCMA-05-2023-0084. | PurposeThe purpose of this study is to investigate the role of trust, informational support and integrative behaviors in the effective outcomes of peer conflict in the workplace.Design/methodology/approachDeidentified secondary data were provided by a human resource management company that offers conflict resolution training. The authors studied a sample of 815 supervisors and middle-level managers (51% female; average age = 40) who reported their primary work experience was in the USA. Each respondent described a workplace conflict with a peer. A regression-based bootstrapping technique was used to test the hypothesized relationships between the constructs of trust, informational support, integrative behaviors and effective outcomes in peer conflict.FindingsThe relationship between trust and the use of integrative behaviors during peer conflict is conditional on the availability of informational support, such that those who solicit a third party's views are more likely to exhibit integrative behaviors during the conflict under study, even at relatively lower levels of trust in the conflict relationship.Originality/valueIn this study, the authors add to social interdependence theory and the role of integrative behaviors by proposing the importance of interpersonal trust and informational support, which may reduce uncertainty during peer conflict. The authors also extend existing literature on cooperation, cooperative approaches to managing conflict and integrative behaviors in the workplace by examining peer-to-peer organizational conflict. | International Journal of Conflict Management | Peer Conflict; Trust; Integrative Behaviors; Informational Support |
| 2024_532 | Singh, K; Chaudhuri, R; Chatterjee, S; Vrontis, D; Yildiz, H. (2024). Harmonious CSR and sustainable branding: evaluating the moderating role of corporate reputation and SDGs in shaping consumer trust in digital advertising. International Journal of Advertising http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02650487.2024.2432236. | This study examines the relationship between harmonious CSR and consumer trust in digital advertising. Furthermore, supported by the literature, we address the moderating effect of corporate reputation and alignment with Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) on the association between sustainable branding and consumer trust and propose sustainable branding as the mediator between harmonious CSR and consumer trust. These identified factors are presented in a conceptual framework, specifically focusing on three dimensions of harmonious CSR: education, community engagement, and livelihood initiatives. The relationships are analysed and validated with Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM), finding that CSR actions favourably impact on sustainable branding, thus enhancing consumer trust in digital advertising. The findings support both academic and practical aspects of CSR and branding research. The study provides insights on the precise mechanisms by which harmonious CSR establishes sustainable branding. Furthermore, it demonstrates that aligning with SDGs is a strategic way to favourably influence sustainable branding on consumer trust in digital advertising. | International Journal of Advertising | Digital Advertising; Harmonious CSR; Sustainable Branding; Consumer Trust; Corporate Reputation; SDG |
| 2024_533 | Singh, N; Misra, R; Quan, W; Radic, A; Lee, SM; Han, H. (2024). An analysis of consumer's trusting beliefs towards the use of e-commerce platforms. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03395-6. | This study evaluates the consumers' views on various security measures in e-commerce platforms and determines their impact on the trusting beliefs of consumers, which may further lead to an intention to use e-commerce platforms. The study also investigates the moderating effects of gender, age, and the frequency of e-commerce platform use on the proposed model. A total of 780 respondents were used for the study. We used structural equation modeling (SEM) to analyze the proposed trust-based model. The findings indicate a strong positive impact of information integrity and information confidentiality on the consumers' trusting beliefs. In addition, the study indicates the strong mediating effect of trusting beliefs with the association between information integrity, information confidentiality, and behavioral intention to use e-commerce platforms. A moderating effect of frequency of use on the relationship between perceived information confidentiality and preventing unauthorized secondary data usage on trusting beliefs was found to be significant. This research underwent an in-depth examination of different security aspects that e-commerce firms should consider in order to develop the trusting beliefs of consumers in e-commerce environments. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_534 | Singh, R. (2024). The curious case of tweeting an Aadhaar number: trust/mistrust in security practices of public data infrastructures. Journal of Cultural Economy, 17(6), 775-792. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17530350.2023.2229360. | This paper explores data security practices of Aadhaar, India's biometrics-based national identification number, and the co-constitution of trust and mistrust that underlies its operation as a public data infrastructure. Based on 18-months of multi-sited ethnographic research, I document tensions around whether Aadhaar numbers were designed to be disclosed publicly or kept confidential. I further map identification practices around how residents share their Aadhaar numbers with other government and private organizations to access services. These practices to promote sharing of Aadhaar numbers broke down with growing anxieties over their public disclosure on government websites, lack of audits, and emerging forms of Aadhaar-based frauds. In response to this rising mistrust, an ex-member of Aadhaar's design team publicly disclosed his number in a tweet that went viral. The paper uses this tweet as a point of departure to: (1) provide an account of infrastructural concerns (grounded in design choices and events) that transformed Aadhaar from a public to a confidential number; and (2) illustrate that this transformation reflects how trust and mistrust co-constitute Aadhaar's data security practices. I conclude by illustrating how these infrastructural concerns imbricate to produce a spectrum of possibilities where identity numbers are simultaneously public and confidential, trusted and mistrusted. | Journal of Cultural Economy | Trust; Mistrust; Public Data Infrastructures; Identification; Digital ID |
| 2024_535 | Siverbo, S; Johansson-Berg, T; Bentzen, TO; Winsvold, M. (2024). On the diffusion and implementation of trust-based management in Scandinavia: cross-country survey evidence. International Journal of Public Sector Management, 37(1), 1-19. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJPSM-01-2023-0020. | PurposeThis study aims to examine the diffusion and implementation of trust-based management (TBM) in Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden). TBM is a novel anti-New Public Management (NPM) innovation within the realm of New Public Governance (NPG), which asserts that leadership and control in public sector organizations should be practiced and designed based on the assumption that civil servants and employees in general are trustworthy. The research questions are as follows: How has TBM been diffused and implemented in Scandinavia? To what extent can the institutional logics framework increase understanding of similarities and differences between the Scandinavian countries (Denmark, Norway and Sweden)?Design/methodology/approachThe authors designed and submitted surveys to the municipal directors of the three Scandinavian municipal populations, thereby producing a unique cross-country dataset on TBM diffusion and implementation in Scandinavia (Denmark, Norway and Sweden).FindingsThe authors' study shows that TBM has diffused widely among Scandinavian municipalities and has developed into a municipal-level concept across policy fields and sectors. While Denmark stands out as an earlier and more decisive TBM reformer, the results show that similarities in the diffusion and implementation of TBM in Scandinavian countries are more apparent than the differences.Originality/valueThis study contributes to the public management literature and research on anti-NPM and NPG concepts by being the first wide-scale empirical study of TBM diffusion and implementation in the Scandinavian municipal sectors. | International Journal of Public Sector Management | Diffusion; Municipalities; Scandinavia; New Public Management; New Public Governance; Trust-Based Management |
| 2024_536 | Skalicky, MM. (2024). Four Pillars of Building Trust in Czech News Podcasts. Journal of Radio & Audio Media http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19376529.2024.2396828. | As trust in the media declines, podcasts' ability to forge bonds between hosts and listeners can be a crucial factor. This study identifies four pillars of trust in the consumption of news podcasts: (1) trust in the voice, (2) trust in the person, (3) trust in the sound practices, and (4) trust in the editorial team and publisher. The dataset is based on five focus groups consisting of 30 Czech news podcast listeners (aged 20-49 years). The results are discussed in the context of the current debate on para-social connections in podcasts and their potential for rebuilding media trust. | Journal of Radio & Audio Media | |
| 2024_537 | Slater, MD; Coleman, S; Freiberger, N. (2024). Using the Media as Mediator Approach to Understand the Influence of Communication Channel Trust on COVID-19 Protective Behaviors: England, January 2022. Journal of Health Communication, 29(10), 635-643. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10810730.2024.2404912. | In a secondary analysis, we examine how trust in pro-recommendation versus alternative communication channels mediated effects of demographic, personality, lifestyle, and political variables on COVID-19 protective behavior in England. In so doing, we adapt the media-as-mediator approach to the pandemic context. Respondents reported that family, close friends, primary care medical providers, and mainstream news media were relatively supportive of public health recommendations, and social media friend networks, faith/community groups, alternative news sites, and alternative health practitioners were relatively unsupportive. Parallel mediation analyses showed that effects of age, dutiful civic-mindedness, sensation-seeking, healthy lifestyle orientation, and more marginally, race on COVID-19 protective behavior were mediated by trust in these pro-recommendation and/or alternative communication channels. In some cases, trust in exemplars of both types of channels resulted in these channels influences largely canceling one another out. | Journal of Health Communication | |
| 2024_538 | Smejkal, K; Macek, J; Slavík, L; Serek, J. (2024). Just a Mouthpiece of Biased Elites? Populist Party Sympathizers and Trust in Czech Public Service Media. International Journal of Press-Politics, 29(2), 548-569. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/19401612221143067. | Existing research indicates that people with populist attitudes express lower trust in media, especially in Public Service Media. It is assumed that these people are alienated because of their values: populist ideology stems from anti-pluralism whereas Public Service Media promotes pluralism. This study tests this assumption by comparing the predictors of trust in Public Service Media between the populist party sympathizers and the sympathizers of other political parties in the Czech Republic. Two main expectations were included as predictors for trust in Public Service Media, specifically that media should conform to one's worldview (i.e., the cohesive dimension of trust in media) and that media should adhere to the normative standards of journalism (i.e., the normative dimension of trust in media). Using multigroup structural equation modeling, the study analyzes data from a 2019-2020 representative survey of the adult Czech population (N = 3,251). The results suggest that, for the populist party sympathizers, trust in Public Service Media links only to their expectation that media should conform to their worldview, while the sympathizers of other political parties expect normative standards to be maintained. This is interpreted and discussed as support for the assumption that this value-based mismatch links to the populist audience members' lower trust in Public Service Media. | International Journal of Press-Politics | Public Service Media; Populism; Anti-Media Populism; Trust in Media; Political Attitudes; Trust in Public Service Media |
| 2024_539 | Smith-Khan, L; Piller, I; Torsh, H. (2024). Trust at the border: identifying risk and assessing credibility on reality television. Journal of Law and Society, 51(4), 513-538. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jols.12505. | Every day, officers working at international airports investigate potential risks to state safety and security. But how do they decide who they can trust, and also ensure that the broader public trusts them to conduct this work? This article explores these questions through an examination of the reality television show Border Security: Australia's Front Line. Through critical discourse analysis of a collection of 108 televised airport encounters, we explore the aspects of communication, behaviour, and identity made salient in officers' evaluations of passengers' credibility and critically examine the assumptions underlying them. Further, we consider how power and role divisions are implicated in the construction of passenger and officer credibility, both within border encounters and in discourses about them. Our analysis makes a novel contribution to the literature on credibility assessments in intercultural communication, demonstrating how an institutional and social 'culture of disbelief' is constructed vis-& agrave;-vis certain groups through seemingly banal border work. | Journal of Law and Society | |
| 2024_540 | Smith, DJ. (2024). 'A debt never dies': Navigating trust and betrayal in southeastern Nigeria. Ethnography, 25(4), 486-504. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14661381241263850. | In southeastern Nigeria, Igbo-speaking people commonly assert that a debt never dies. In anthropology, it is well established that debts contribute to constituting social relations. Whether related to money or not, debt has wide social significance and invites moral and metaphorical interpretations. The Igbo provide a particularly salient case for exploring the multidimensional implications of debt because they regularly deploy the concept across a range of domains well beyond the businesses for which they are renowned. In honor of Peter Geschiere, this paper focuses on debt in southeastern Nigeria as a vehicle to examine sociality and its underbelly. Several ethnographic examples of debt are presented and analyzed drawing on Geschiere's insights to illuminate and explain what can otherwise appear to be paradoxical tensions and connections between cooperation and conflict, trust and betrayal, and other antinomies integral to everyday life. | Ethnography | Debt; Trust; Sociality; Intimacy; Betrayal; Nigeria; Igbo; Geschiere |
| 2024_541 | Smyslova, OY; Linchenko, AA. (2024). Representations of Trust and Distrust in Financial Institutions in Russian Regional Speech Culture. Changing Societies & Personalities, 8(3), 665-683. http://dx.doi.org/10.15826/csp.2024.8.3.294. | The article is devoted to a comparative analysis of the representation of trust and distrust in financial institutions in the language and speech culture of the Russian province. The use of the constructivist methodology of P. Bourdieu made it possible to interpret trust as an internal component of the practices of an agent involved in the current situation in the financial market. The content analysis of 55 semi- structured interviews with three generations of residents of the region showed that the conservative model of financial behavior continues to be reproduced in the speech culture. The difference between generations is less noticeable against the background of a significant difference between residents of rural and urban settlements. The study revealed a high level of resentment associated with the collective memory of the collapse of the USSR and privatization. All generations in rural settlements showed a low level of assessment of their own financial situation, while both rural and urban informants had a rather pessimistic representation of social change. Semantic analysis revealed the dominance of the image of the state as a collector of payments in their consciousness, and to a lesser extent, an assistant supporting a person in their relationship with financial institutions. | Changing Societies & Personalities | Trust in Financial Institutions; Distrust; Speech Culture; Culture of Trust; Language of Trust; Financial Literacy; Collective Memory |
| 2024_542 | Sohlberg, J; Agerberg, M; Esaiasson, P. (2024). Waiting for Asylum: Reduced Institutional and Interpersonal Trust. Political Studies, 72(1), 343-363. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217221103728. | Refugees arriving in Western countries spend long periods, often over a year, as asylum seekers. We examine how the period affects asylum seekers' institutional and interpersonal trust. Drawing on theories of need gratification, we suggest that several needs are unfulfilled during this period of existential limbo. Still, some aspects in the new society are positive, especially in Sweden, the host country of this study. To study these combined forces, we rely on repeated interviews with the same asylum seekers as well as other quantitative approaches. Results show that both types of trust are reduced over time, suggesting that the negative aspects take precedence. We also present results based on a matching analysis, which indicate that interpersonal trust at the beginning of the asylum-seeking process is higher compared to similar refugees in Jordan and Lebanon. Overall, our results show that trust can be highly malleable in certain circumstances. | Political Studies | Asylum Seekers; Institutional Trust; Interpersonal Trust; Sweden |
| 2024_543 | Sohlberg, J; Esaiasson, P. (2024). Dual superordinate identities in Sweden's vulnerable neighborhoods: Stronger local and national identities associated with increases in institutional and interpersonal trust. Political Psychology http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.13015. | A superordinate identity that emphasizes the shared bond between people of different groups can have beneficial outcomes according to the theoretical argument of the common ingroup identity model. Unlike previous research that focuses on a single superordinate identity, we simultaneously study two superordinate identities: local identity (identification with the neighborhood) and national identity (identification with the country of residence). Our study is set in two ethnically heterogenous and low-income neighborhoods in Sweden. Based on four waves of panel survey data, we find that both types of superordinate identities are associated with increases in interpersonal and institutional trust. The identities have distinct consequences, however. Local identity is related to local trust and national identity to national trust. These results are based on within-individual variation. Since high trust generally has a range of positive consequences, our results point to an approach at improving communities that are often in much need of it. We observe low correlation between the two superordinate identities and high convergent and discriminant validity of the concepts. Our results may be relevant to similar neighborhoods that exist across Europe. | Political Psychology | Institutional Trust; Interpersonal Trust; Local Identity; National Identity; Superordinate Identities; Vulnerable Neighborhoods |
| 2024_544 | Solimani, AF; Ahmed-Mohamed, K. (2024). Digital Citizenship: Levels, Consumption, and Trust in Information among Spanish Youth. Media & Jornalismo, 24(45). http://dx.doi.org/10.14195/2183-5462_45_9. | In a context of digital citizenship development, this article examines whether young people (18-24 years old) show statistically significant differences in their level of information, news consumption, and trust in sources. A sample of 27,433 Spanish individuals was used to conduct nine models of binary logistic regressions controlled by a set of relevant variables. Multivariate results show that young people significantly express lower levels of information, consume less information through traditional media (television, press, and radio), and more through social networks. Additionally, they trust the press more than other age groups. No direct relationships were found between age group and trust in social networks. The findings suggest the importance of promoting digital citizenship literacy mechanisms that help develop individuals' critical thinking. | Media & Jornalismo | Digital Citizenship; Youth; News Consumption; Trust in Sources; Information Perception |
| 2024_545 | Son, J; Sung, PD. (2024). The relationship among generalized trust, social networks, and social resources across 30 countries. International Sociology, 39(4), 375-398. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02685809241251770. | The study proposes an integrative model of individual social capital and examines if trust, social networks, and social resources are related across countries. Although trust and social resources were often referred to as social capital or its essential components, the literature lacks empirical verification of whether and how they are associated. Particularly, examining the relationship by a specific measurement of social networks is imperative. The relationship should be identified considering the influences of country-level contingencies. The study applied a multilevel within-between mixed regression method to the International Social Survey Program 2017 data from 30 countries. Using a position generator of social networks, the study found that generalized trust was associated with interpersonal networks primarily through weak ties across countries, accounting for country-level contingencies. Both strong and weak ties were instrumental in embedding social resources. The results supported the integrative model of social capital that connects generalized trust to social resources. Cette & eacute;tude propose un mod & egrave;le int & eacute;gratif de capital social individuel et analyse dans diff & eacute;rents pays si la confiance, les r & eacute;seaux sociaux et les ressources sociales sont li & eacute;s. Bien que la confiance et les ressources sociales aient souvent & eacute;t & eacute; d & eacute;sign & eacute;es comme capital social ou comme composantes essentielles du capital social, les & eacute;tudes sur le sujet n'incluent pas de v & eacute;rification empirique pour d & eacute;terminer si ces & eacute;l & eacute;ments sont li & eacute;s et de quelle mani & egrave;re. En particulier, il est imp & eacute;ratif d'examiner leur relation & agrave; l'aide d'une mesure sp & eacute;cifique des r & eacute;seaux sociaux. Cette relation doit & ecirc;tre identifi & eacute;e en tenant compte des influences des contingences nationales. Dans cette & eacute;tude, nous avons appliqu & eacute; une m & eacute;thode mixte de r & eacute;gression multiniveaux avec effets intra- et inter-pays aux donn & eacute;es de l'International Social Survey Program de 2017 dans 30 pays. En utilisant un g & eacute;n & eacute;rateur de position de r & eacute;seaux sociaux, il ressort de l'& eacute;tude que la confiance g & eacute;n & eacute;ralis & eacute;e & eacute;tait associ & eacute;e dans les diff & eacute;rents pays aux r & eacute;seaux interpersonnels, principalement par le biais de liens faibles, en tenant compte des contingences au niveau des pays. Aussi bien les liens forts que les liens faibles ont jou & eacute; un r & ocirc;le d & eacute;terminant dans l'int & eacute;gration des ressources sociales. Les r & eacute;sultats soutiennent le mod & egrave;le int & eacute;gratif de capital social, qui relie la confiance g & eacute;n & eacute;ralis & eacute;e aux ressources sociales. Este estudio propone un modelo integrador de capital social individual y analiza si la confianza, las redes sociales y los recursos sociales est & aacute;n relacionados en diferentes pa & iacute;ses. Aunque a menudo se hac & iacute;a referencia a la confianza y los recursos sociales como capital social o como sus componentes esenciales, la literatura carece de verificaci & oacute;n emp & iacute;rica de si est & aacute;n asociados y c & oacute;mo. En particular, es necesario analizar la relaci & oacute;n mediante una medici & oacute;n espec & iacute;fica de las redes sociales. La relaci & oacute;n debe identificarse considerando las influencias de las contingencias a nivel de pa & iacute;s. En este estudio se aplica un m & eacute;todo mixto de regresi & oacute;n multinivel con efectos intra pa & iacute;s y entre pa & iacute;ses a los datos del International Social Survey Programme de 2017 en treinta pa & iacute;ses. Utilizando un generador de posiciones de redes sociales, se ha hallado que la confianza generalizada est & aacute; asociada con las redes interpersonales, principalmente a trav & eacute;s de v & iacute;nculos d & eacute;biles, en los diferentes pa & iacute;ses, controlando por el contexto a nivel de pa & iacute;s. Tanto los v & iacute;nculos fuertes como los d & eacute;biles fueron fundamentales para incorporar recursos sociales. Los resultados sostienen el modelo integrador de capital social que conecta la confianza generalizada con los recursos sociales. | International Sociology | Generalized Trust; Multinational Comparison; Social Networks; Social Resources |
| 2024_546 | Song, EE. (2024). How Outsourcing Social Services to NGOs Bolsters Political Trust in China: Evidence from Shanghai. Chinese Political Science Review, 9(1), 36-62. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s41111-021-00207-z. | The Chinese Communist Party has recently acknowledged its attempts to bolster good governance by outsourcing public and social service functions to social organizations-non-profit organizations, either created by relevant government bureaus, developed through non-profit incubators, or voluntarily created civil society groups. Do these services gender political trust for the party-state? Using matching methods on an original survey data collected in communities in Shanghai, this article reveals two important findings. (1) Service efficacy-the internal belief that one can affect the content of the services show strong correlation with political trust and the relationship is stronger than that between service quality and political support. (2) There is strong evidence for credit transfer-whilst accountability for these services is attributed to grassroots actors and there is strong correlation between service efficacy and political support, political support increases only for the central government level. The results show how the new programs of social service outsourcing and incorporation of non-governmental organizations in service provision can increase support for the party-state. | Chinese Political Science Review | NGO Outsourcing; Political Trust; Chinese Politics; Non-State Welfare |
| 2024_547 | Song, H; Mbah, PT. (2024). When Trust Matters: Perceived Characteristics of Behavioral Guidance as Moderators of Trust in Compliance Decisions. Science Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10755470241304389. | We tested whether perceived characteristics of behavioral measures suggested by a public health authority such as uncertainty, complexity, subjective knowledge, and perceived behavioral control would moderate the effect of trust in that authority on compliance intentions. We also tested how other known determinants of behavior such as attitude, subjective norms, perceived risks and benefits, and freedom threat would moderate trust effects. Findings suggest that trust was more strongly associated with behavioral compliance decisions when individuals felt more confident in their understanding of the suggested behavior. In addition, behavioral characteristics involving affective evaluations appeared to enhance the effects of trust. | Science Communication | Trust; Uncertainty; Knowledge; Affect; Heuristics |
| 2024_548 | Splendore, S; Garusi, D; Valeriani, A. (2024). A Deliberative Democracy Framework for Analysing Trust in Journalists: An Application to Italy. Media and Communication, 12. http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/mac.7251. | In the current public sphere, the deliberative model of democracy may represent both the necessary benchmark and the best lens through which to view developments in the public debate. Democracy can never become really deliberative without the active participation of news media. The assumption of this article is that if news media are to disseminate knowledge, trust in them is crucial. This article examines an aspect neglected by studies on media trust: trust in journalists. It presents the results of a longitudinal survey carried out in May and September 2020 in Italy, right at the end of the first mass Covid-19 lockdown (Wave 1) and after the first pandemic summer (Wave 2), therefore a time when there was a great need for quality information. The main findings reveal that the use of social media decreases trust in journalists; furthermore, those who mainly rely on political institutions' social media accounts for information place less trust in journalists than those who mainly rely on journalistic sources on those platforms. Instead, the use of traditional media (radio, television, newspapers) increases trust in journalists. | Media and Communication | Deliberative Democracy; Information Crisis; Media Trust; News Consumption; Trust in Journalists |
| 2024_549 | Spörlein, C; Kristen, C; Schmidt, R. (2024). The intergenerational transmission of risk and trust attitudes: Replicating and extending Dohmen, Falk, Huffman and Sunde 2012 using genetically informed twin data. Social Science Research, 119. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ssresearch.2024.102982. | This replication revisits an influential contribution on the intergenerational transmission of risk and trust attitudes, which, based on data from the German Socioeconomic Panel (GSOEP), reveals a positive correlation between parents' and children's attitudes. The authors of the original study argue that socialization in the family is important in the transmission process. The replication is motivated by mounting evidence indicating that within-family transmission has a considerable genetic component, which calls into question socialization as the main transmission pathway. To consider genetic transmission in addition to social transmission, the replication relies on the German twin family panel TwinLife. The findings reveal that, first, most of the variation in children's risk and social trust attitudes is attributable to differences in the non-shared environment, followed by genetic differences, whereas differences in the shared family environment - the main candidate for social transmission - do not matter. Second, correlations between parents' and children's attitudes essentially involve genetic similarity. Third, family conditions do not moderate these relationships. Thus, the findings do not support the socialization assumption. | Social Science Research | Replication; Intergenerational Transmission; Behavioral Genetics; Risk Attitudes; Trust Attitudes |
| 2024_550 | Squevin, P; Carlier, N; Brans, M; Aubin, D. (2024). The multifaceted nature of trust in the uptake of advice: policy advice utilization in ministerial cabinets. Policy Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01442872.2024.2381529. | What makes policy advice circulate more easily towards the apex of governments and shape the opinions of its users along the way? This article investigates the utilization of policy advice in ministerial cabinets, by focusing on the individuals appointed to work as closest aides of ministers: ministerial advisers. While we know quite a lot about the operation of policy advisory systems at the macro and meso levels, the micro-dispositions affecting the circulation and utilization of policy advice are under-researched topics. Building on recent research waves on policy advice and policy advisory systems, we expect that trust between ministerial advisers and their advice-suppliers is a pivotal driver of policy advice utilization. Based on an original survey conducted in the ministerial cabinets of French-speaking Belgium, this article provides evidence that ministerial advisers' overall propensity to trust advice-suppliers tends to boost policy advice utilization. Yet, we show that the characteristics of advice suppliers also come into play in advisory relationships and that ministerial advisers have various needs in that regard, depending on them being high or low trust individuals. Our findings speak to the importance of paying attention to relational dynamics and informality in policy advising. | Policy Studies | Ministerial Advisers; Policy Advice Utilization; Policy Advisory Systems; Trust; Trustworthiness; Policy Formulation |
| 2024_551 | Sriramneni, C; Babu, GNPV; Sriramaneni, SD. (2024). Enhancing Brand Reliance: Unraveling the Impact of Brand Image and Trust on Online Repurchases in the Tourism Sector. International Journal of Marketing Communication and New Media http://dx.doi.org/10.54663/2182-9306.2024.SpecialIssueM&D.86-107. | The purpose of the study is to examine factors influencing repurchase intention using online travel platforms from the perspective of brand image and brand trust using the SOR framework. The study employed partial least squares- structural equation modeling to examine the proposed research framework. An online and offline survey with a purposive sampling method was used to collect the data from 381 consumers with prior experience purchasing from online tourism platforms, and the final data set was analyzed using Smart PLS 3 software. Customer service support and compatibility seem to significantly influence brand image and trust in online repurchase intention, whereas information quality significantly influences brand image but not brand trust. Additionally, this study determined that brand image and brand trust had a partial mediation between customer service, compatibility, and repurchase intention. However, brand image and trust are considered important for customers, but with increased performance, it will meet customer expectations. Management should prioritize building a strong brand image and fostering trust to enhance customer experience. Additionally, the study provides valuable insights for improving targeted marketing strategies to strengthen consumer brand perception and encourage long-term engagement. This research comprehensively explains various factors influencing online repurchase intention. Integrating structural equation modeling (SEM), mediation analysis, and ImportancePerformance Map Analysis (IPMA) can enhance our understating of these complex relationships. | International Journal of Marketing Communication and New Media | Brand Image; Trust; Online Repurchase; Compatibility; Online Tourism; Structural Equation Modelling |
| 2024_552 | Stabler, L. (2024). They Finally See Me, They Trust Me, My Brother's Coming Home Recognising the Motivations and Role of Siblings Who Become Kinship Carers. Societies, 14(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/soc14020024. | Despite a widespread focus on grandparents, a large proportion of kinship care in the UK is provided by older siblings. What drives older siblings to become kinship carers, and how this might differ from other kinship carers, is not well represented in academic literature. In this study, narrative interviews were carried out with thirteen adults across England, Scotland, and Wales who had experience being the main carer for their younger sibling(s) when their parents could not care for them sufficiently. The narrative method elicited holistic accounts of participants experiences of being a sibling carer, and the analysis generated three groups of narrative accounts highlighting how and why some sibling kinship care arrangements come about-with siblings wanting to bring their younger siblings back into their family; siblings trying to keep their younger siblings in their family; or older siblings stepping in to fill a gap in parenting at home. The paper draws on the narrative accounts of participants to build the groups, presenting an illustrative narrative account to represent each group. Importantly, these accounts demonstrate how becoming a kinship carer as an older sibling may, or may not, be recognised or fit into wider narratives of what becoming a kinship carer looks like. It is hoped that these accounts will prompt practitioners and policymakers to look more closely at the role of siblings when considering who is and who should be involved in deciding how to support children to remain within their family network. | Societies | Kinship Care; Sibling Relationships; Social Work; Narrative Inquiry |
| 2024_553 | Stals, L; Ziemes, JF. (2024). Determinants of trust in order and representative institutions among adolescents across Europe: testing rational and cultural approaches. Acta Politica http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41269-024-00331-z. | Empirical findings on the origins of political trust among adolescents are limited and tend to understand political trust as unidimensional. Building on recent research capturing the importance of conceptualizing political trust as a two-dimensional construct, the present study aims to investigate origins of trust in order and representative institutions among adolescents, using three theoretical frameworks: social capital, procedural fairness, and critical citizen theory. It draws on data from a representative sample of eight-grade students across 15 European countries that participated in the International Civic and Citizenship Education Study (ICCS) 2016. Multilevel analyses show that positive relationships with peers and feeling fairly treated by teachers are strong, positive predictors of both dimensions of political trust and affect European adolescents in a uniform way. The effect of civic knowledge varies by country characteristics, becoming more positive with lower levels of public sector corruption. Overall, our findings confirm the validity of both rational and cultural approaches in explaining political trust among young emerging citizens across Europe. Implications for teachers and civic education practices are discussed. | Acta Politica | Political Trust; Early Adolescence; Social Capital; Procedural Fairness; Critical Citizen; Multi-Level Modelling; International Civic and Citizenship Education Study 2016 |
| 2024_554 | Steindl, N; Obermaier, M; Fawzi, N; Lauerer, C. (2024). Explaining media trust among journalists and recipients: Different experiences, different predictors?. Journalism, 25(8), 1657-1676. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14648849231190698. | Media trust has been studied particularly from the audience perspective so far, while journalists' trust has been neglected. Therefore, based on representative survey data of journalists and recipients in Germany, we investigated media trust levels of both groups, and we examined political factors driving their trust. Our findings suggest that journalists indicate higher trust levels than recipients and their levels of political trust and political satisfaction increase it. In comparison, social and political trust, along with perceived political influences on journalistic work, are decisive for the level of media trust among recipients. | Journalism | Media Trust; Journalists; Audience; Survey; Influence |
| 2024_555 | Steinhardt, HC; Gong, X; Delhey, J. (2024). Chasing a phantom: a re-evaluation of China's trust crisis. Chinese Sociological Review http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21620555.2024.2430265. | A trust crisis has sparked public concern and driven state-led moral engineering in China. If China's rapid development has indeed eroded social trust, it would challenge the optimistic theory of modernization and trust. This study draws on 11 probability survey samples from the Chinese World Values Survey and the China Family Panel Studies, collected between 1990 and 2020, to re-evaluate the development of trust. We do not find evidence of a decline in social trust. The levels of trust in most people, general trust in strangers, and particular trust in neighbors have been stable or have modestly increased over time. Examining associations between indicators of social trust and modernization reveals concurrent support for both optimistic and pessimistic theories of modernization and trust. We further demonstrate that survey items on trust in most people should be used with more caution in China. The central problem of social trust in China is that the supply of general trust has not kept pace with the rapidly growing demand for this valuable component of social capital. | Chinese Sociological Review | |
| 2024_556 | Stetka, V; Brandao, F; Mihelj, S; Tóth, F; Hallin, D; Rothberg, D; Ferracioli, P; Klimkiewicz, B. (2024). Have people 'had enough of experts'? the impact of populism and pandemic misinformation on institutional trust in comparative perspective. Information Communication & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/1369118X.2024.2413121. | Public trust in institutions is a key prerequisite for effective crisis management. However, the rise of populism and misinformation in recent years made it increasingly difficult to maintain institutional trust. Despite this recognition, we still lack a systematic understanding of how exposure to misinformation and populist political orientation affect people's trust in institutions. This paper fills this gap by adopting an original approach to trust, focusing on prospective trust rather than trust in the present, and by comparing four countries led by populist leaders during the pandemic - Brazil, Poland, Serbia, and the United States. The comparative design allows us to consider not only the role of individual-level factors (populist attitudes and misinformation exposure) but also the role of different approaches to the COVID-19 pandemic adopted in the four countries. The study utilizes data from a cross-sectional survey, carried out between November and December 2022 (N = 5000). Our findings show that populist attitudes are the most significant predictor of distrust in political institutions in all four countries. Believing in false information related to COVID-19, on the other hand, has a stronger impact on distrust in expert institutions - public health authorities, scientists, and medical professionals. The data also highlight the importance of local context and different approaches to handling the pandemic in the dynamics of trust. In Poland and Serbia, populist voters have more trust in both healthcare authorities as well as in political institutions; however, in Brazil and the United States, populist voters were more likely to distrust expert institutions. | Information Communication & Society | Trust; Pandemic; COVID-19; Misinformation; Populism |
| 2024_557 | Stetka, V; Brandao, F; Tóth, F; Mihelj, S; Rothberg, D; Hallin, D; Klimkiewicz, B; Ferracioli, P. (2024). Beyond Social Media: the Influence of News Consumption, Populism, and Expert Trust on Belief in COVID-19 Misinformation. International Journal of Press-Politics http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/19401612241302755. | The COVID-19 pandemic was accompanied by an unprecedented influx of misinformation often with adverse impact on the effectiveness of institutional responses to the health crisis. However, relatively little is still known about the factors that may have facilitated the proliferation and public acceptance of misinformation related to the virus or to the government's anti-pandemic measures, particularly in comparative perspective. Utilizing data collected by a representative cross-country survey (N = 5,000) in four countries led by populist leaders during the pandemic-Brazil, Poland, Serbia, and the United States-this study explores the links between three mutually interrelated factors, namely media usage across different platforms, affinity to populism, and trust in scientific expertise, and people's beliefs in selected COVID-related misinformation. The findings show that preexisting attitudes, especially affinity to populism and mistrust in experts, are generally stronger predictors of people's likelihood to endorse misinformation related to the pandemic than their news consumption patterns. Nevertheless, the analysis also indicates an important role played by exposure to specific media brands, particularly those promoting a skeptical stance toward preventive measures and COVID-19 vaccines, as well as messaging apps, which display stronger relationship with misinformation beliefs than social networking sites. The article concludes by discussing implications for practical efforts to combat misinformation, especially during a health crisis. | International Journal of Press-Politics | COVID-19 Pandemic; Misinformation; News Consumption; Populism; Expert Trust |
| 2024_558 | Stylianou, S. (2024). Trust and Online Privacy Concerns in a General Population of Internet Users. International Journal of Communication | Even though research on online privacy has been accumulating for the last two decades, the etiology of online privacy concerns is still open to more inquiry. The present study investigates whether and to what extent online privacy concerns are affected by trust, a variable that has received limited dedicated attention in this respect. Using data from a telephone survey of a representative sample of the general population of Internet users in a Mediterranean society, the study models trust in people and trust in institutions as the focal predictors of Internet users' concerns about online privacy violations by other people, corporations, and governments. Five hypotheses are tested using multiple regression equations with several controls, including measures of offline and online social capital, digital literacy, length of Internet use, and privacy violation experience. The study concludes that trust, independently and consistently, albeit mildly, reduces online privacy concerns. | International Journal of Communication | Online Privacy Concerns; Trust in People; Trust in Institutions; Social Capital; Digital Literacy; Privacy Violation; General Population Survey |
| 2024_559 | Sumiyana, S; Komariyah, EF. (2024). Satisfaction and Trust Should First Be Nested in Commitment Before Affecting Loyalty in the Use of Mobile Shopping Applications. Sage Open, 14(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241288020. | This study investigates the active role of commitment in explaining loyalty programs when customers get their satisfaction and trust through a Mobile Shopping Application (MSA). Moreover, it reveals the staging process of satisfaction and trust, nesting in customers' commitment before affecting loyalty. This study challenges freshness. Firstly, it criticizes that customers' loyalty, as suggested by some extant research, depends on their direct benefits from loyalty programs but because of their involvement with them. Secondly, it offers a new alternative model by complementing the extant research, which discusses loyalty programs, inducing the users' enhanced commitment. Thirdly, it proposes that research designed using cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT), which influences the users' commitment, results in validity in conclusion by implementing the measurements of general and multidimensional commitments. Moreover, multidimensional commitment outperforms the general one. Finally, this research contributes that the functional role of users' commitment has mediated between satisfaction and trust, and loyalty programs in using an MSA. Commitment requires satisfaction and trust but must also be developed through user loyalty. Furthermore, CBT's interactional role is in developing customers' commitment as the second contribution due to gaining some benefits from the firm that facilitated them. | Sage Open | Loyalty Program; Social Influence; Cognitive Behavioral Therapy; Commitment; Satisfaction; Trust |
| 2024_560 | Sundbäck, L. (2024). Exploring sensemaking of trust through the lens of time: Finnish welfare professionals' perspectives on institutional encounters with forced migrants in the neoliberal welfare state. Time & Society, 33(4), 373-394. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0961463X241255869. | While attention has recently been given to the time sensitivity of trust, current research seems to fall short of examining welfare professionals' experiences of the relation between trust and time. Therefore, this article employs an analytical lens of time and temporality to explore how welfare professionals make sense of trust and distrust in encounters with forced migrant service users in a changing neoliberal welfare state. Empirically, the analysis draws on semi-structured individual interviews with welfare professionals in employment and social service institutions in Finland. Theoretically, I apply a dual framework that leans on the interplay between trust and time. Recognising trust as relational yet fragile, contextual and dynamic, and viewing time as increasingly commodified and accelerated, I show how time impacts and shapes trust in institutional encounters. My analyses uncover four ways in which welfare professionals' sensemaking of trust was linked to time. First, I show how the welfare professionals perceived the foundations of the trusting relationship in relation to time. Second, time and trust were interconnected in the efficient institutional tempo of encounters. Third, when the welfare professionals were replaced, trust was shaped negatively through disruptions to service user relationships in the series of institutional encounters. Fourth, I show how flows of institutional encounters shaped trust both positively and negatively. Thus, this article contributes to the literature on the intersections of trust, time and migration research, particularly in the transformation of the neoliberal Nordic welfare state context. | Time & Society | Trust; Time; Institutional Encounters; Forced Migrants; Welfare Professionals; Nordic Welfare State |
| 2024_561 | Susan, EB; Pan, YC. (2024). Trust as a determinant of green finance through information sharing and technological penetration: Integrating the moderation of governance for sustainable growth. Technology in Society, 77. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.techsoc.2024.102565. | This study makes the first attempt to evaluate trust as a determinant of green finance as well as the collective effect of trust and green finance on the pillars of sustainable development. It further explores two parallel mediators (information sharing and technological penetration) and the moderation role of good governance in this relationship. The empirical evidence is based on Hayes's process analysis and the following findings were established: (1) Trust has a positive impact on green finance both directly and indirectly through technological penetration; (2) Good governance has a strengthening influence on the link between trust and green finance, particularly when trust levels are low; and (3) Trust and green finance collectively foster sustainable development. Thus, our study emphasizes the need to source funds in a manner that is transparent and digitally accessible. Overall, the result provides empirical support for the need for trustworthy collaborations and funding to drive sustainable development. An important policy implication is to reset the minimum information coverage and technological penetration levels to at least 6.86% and 7.54%, respectively. | Technology in Society | Trust; Green Finance; Information-Sharing; Technological Penetration; Good Governance; Sustainable Development |
| 2024_562 | Sychev, VV. (2024). Between Ratio and Irratio: In Search of an Optimal Strategy for Studying Trust in Political Space. Politeia-Journal of Political Theory Political Philosophy and Sociology of Politics, 114(3), 82-108. http://dx.doi.org/10.30570/2078-5089-2024-114-3-82-108. | The literature on political trust currently continues to be dominated by the cognitive approach, whose adherents perceive trust as a function of political knowledge and social experience. In turn, the psycho-emotional foundations of political trust (personality traits, psychological needs and emotions) are still in the shadow of the cognitive revolution and remain poorly understood. The article attempts to justify the need to study political trust not only as a rational-evaluative construct, but also as a complex psycho-emotional phenomenon that arises at the intersection of cognitive and affective processes occurring at the conscious and subconscious levels. Having consistently analyzed three approaches to understanding the nature of political trust - as knowledge, as heuristics and as affect - the author elaborates his definition of this phenomenon, describing it as a specific psycho-emotional state that accumulates knowledge about objects of political space, emotionally and symbolically significant images of politicians and institutions formed in the process of socialization, as well as the confidence that the expectations arising on this basis will be met to one degree or another in the future. Moving from the conceptual to the empirical level, he examines survey and experimental strategies for distinguishing between cognitive and affective foundations of trust, revealing their possibilities and limitations. The final part of the article outlines potential further directions for research in the field of political trust. According to the author, agent-based modeling is extremely promising in this regard, as it allows looking at the cognitive and affective bases of political trust as a single whole, where cognitive and affective processes are closely interconnected and capable of moving from one state to another. | Politeia-Journal of Political Theory Political Philosophy and Sociology of Politics | Political Trust; Cognitive Approach; Trust Heuristics; Affective Processes; Survey and Experimental Strategies; Agent-Based Modeling |
| 2024_563 | Szydlowski, G; Charbonneau, E. (2024). Media, trust, and the influence of urban/rural context and education on public sector worker stereotypes. Public Management Review http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14719037.2024.2419898. | Public employees often face pervasive negative stereotypes. Despite a growing body of research, the factors contributing to such stereotypes remain underexplored. We present a pre-registered study with two population-based survey experiments using video vignettes-on teachers and police officers. Both investigate the impact of mediatized events, trust, and personal characteristics on stereotyping (n = 3,502). Our results show that news reports affect stereotyping of both professions. High and low trust are linked to positive and negative stereotyping, respectively. Lastly, urban/rural setting and education yield mixed effects. Our findings offer theoretical and practical implications for understanding factors shaping public employee stereotyping. | Public Management Review | Public Sector Stereotype; Trust; Population-Based Survey Experiment; Police; Teachers |
| 2024_564 | Ta'amneh, MM; Ta'amneh, AM; Abu Eid, AI. (2024). Corporate Social Responsibility Programs and Employee Retention: the Mediating Effects of Employee Trust in Organization. Journal of Public Affairs, 24(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1002/pa.2964. | This study aims to examine the impact of corporate social responsibility initiatives on employee retention rates in private hospitals in Jordan. Additionally, this study investigates the mediator function of employee trust in private hospitals regarding the relationship between CSR initiatives and employee retention. A stratified sample of 363 personnel from private hospitals in northern Jordan is used, representing four distinct groups: physicians, nurses, technicians, and administrators. The data analysis uses the structural equation modeling (SEM) technique. The results indicate that corporate social responsibility (CSR) measures and trust in private hospitals in Jordan benefit employee retention. Furthermore, the level of trust in hospitals plays a crucial role in mediating the connection between corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives and the ability to retain employees. These findings hold promise for the healthcare sector in Jordan, offering potential solutions to the pressing issue of employee retention and the potential to improve patient care quality significantly. | Journal of Public Affairs | CSR Programs; Employee Retention; Jordan; Organizational Trust; Private Hospitals |
| 2024_565 | Tam, L; Lee, HYL. (2024). From Conspiracy Orientation to Conspiracy Attribution: the Effects of Institutional Trust and Demographic Differences. American Behavioral Scientist, 68(10), 1395-1411. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00027642231174330. | The current post-truth era is characterized by the rapid spread of conspiracy theories which has been exacerbated by public's lack of agreement on objective facts and presentation of unverified information without supportive evidence. Existing research has examined a myriad of factors which explain the causes of conspiratorial thinking. To extend current research, this study examines the effects of institutional trust and demographic factors (i.e., age, gender, political ideology, household income and education in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics [STEM]) in explaining conspiracy orientation (i.e., the dispositional tendency to subscribe to different conspiracy theories) and conspiracy attribution (i.e., the situational tendency to subscribe to conspiracy theories about specific problematic situations). A survey dataset (N = 720) was collected in South Korea. The findings showed that institutional trust had greater effects than STEM education in explaining conspiracy orientation and attribution. On the other hand, different demographic factors had different effects on conspiracy orientation and attribution. | American Behavioral Scientist | Conspiracy Attribution; Conspiracy Orientation; Conspiratorial Thinking; Institutional Trust; STEM Education |
| 2024_566 | Tamò-Larrieux, A; Guitton, C; Mayer, S; Lutz, C. (2024). Regulating for trust: Can law establish trust in artificial intelligence?. Regulation & Governance, 18(3), 780-801. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12568. | The current political and regulatory discourse frequently references the term trustworthy artificial intelligence (AI). In Europe, the attempts to ensure trustworthy AI started already with the High-Level Expert Group Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI and have now merged into the regulatory discourse on the EU AI Act. Around the globe, policymakers are actively pursuing initiatives-as the US Executive Order on Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI, or the Bletchley Declaration on AI showcase-based on the premise that the right regulatory strategy can shape trust in AI. To analyze the validity of this premise, we propose to consider the broader literature on trust in automation. On this basis, we constructed a framework to analyze 16 factors that impact trust in AI and automation more broadly. We analyze the interplay between these factors and disentangle them to determine the impact regulation can have on each. The article thus provides policymakers and legal scholars with a foundation to gauge different regulatory strategies, notably by differentiating between those strategies where regulation is more likely to also influence trust on AI (e.g., regulating the types of tasks that AI may fulfill) and those where its influence on trust is more limited (e.g., measures that increase awareness of complacency and automation biases). Our analysis underscores the critical role of nuanced regulation in shaping the human-automation relationship and offers a targeted approach to policymakers to debate how to streamline regulatory efforts for future AI governance. | Regulation & Governance | Artificial Intelligence; Automation; Human-Automation Trust; Regulation of Technology; Trust; Trustworthy AI |
| 2024_567 | Tan, LP. (2024). Customer participation, positive electronic word-of-mouth intention and repurchase intention: the mediation effect of online brand community trust. Journal of Marketing Communications, 30(7), 792-809. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13527266.2023.2177709. | This study investigates the relationship between customer participation, positive electronic word-of-mouth intention (peWOMi), online brand community (OBC) trust, and repurchase intention, especially the mediating effect of OBC trust and peWOMi in the relationship between customer participation and repurchase intention. Data were collected from a sample survey of 502 customers, which were analysed through Partial Least Squares - Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) and PLS-Predict. In PLS-SEM, data were evaluated for hypothesis testing. After hypothesis result was obtained, the PLS-SEM model was assessed for its predictive validity through PLS-Predict. The results show that customer participation positively affects online brand community trust and repurchase intention. In contrast, the direct relationship between customer participation and peWOMi is insignificant. In addition, OBC trust and peWOMi also mediate the relationship between customer participation and repurchase intention. This study shows the importance of customer participation and OBC trust and suggests practical insights for marketing professionals on interacting with and managing their online brand community. | Journal of Marketing Communications | Ewom; Customer Participation; Online Brand Community Trust; Repurchase Intention; Electronic Word-Of-Mouth |
| 2024_568 | Tan, TL; Ngoc, KNC; Thanh, HLT; Thu, HNT; Hoang, UVT. (2024). Enhancing Repurchase Intention on Digital Platforms Based on Shopping Well-Being Through Shopping Value, Trust and Impulsive Buying. Sage Open, 14(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241278454. | The surge in digital platforms has revolutionized how consumers purchase, favoring online shopping. Despite its popularity, customer loyalty in this sphere requires enhancement. Companies are striving to augment loyalty and repurchase intention among consumers. However, the factors driving repurchase intention through shopping well-being in the online context, particularly in Vietnam, remain incompletely understood. This study examines shopping value components, including utilitarian and hedonic values, while exploring their relationships with customer trust and impulsive buying, influencing repurchase intention through customer's shopping well-being on digital platforms. Employing a mixed-method approach, the study conducts qualitative interviews with online shoppers, marketers, and researchers to refine assessment scales for the Vietnamese context. A quantitative survey will gather data and use Covariance-based Structural Equation Modeling (CB-SEM) to test proposed hypotheses. In addition, the PRISMA model is applied in the systematic evaluation of literature reviews. This research offers a theoretical model for understanding consumer behavior in the Vietnamese online shopping landscape. Additionally, it furnishes valuable insights for digital platform sellers aiming to improve customers' repurchase intention by refining the shopping experience and well-being. | Sage Open | Online Shopping; Utilitarian; Hedonic; Customer Well-Being; Trust; Impulsive Buying; Repurchase Intention; Digital Platforms |
| 2024_569 | Teangsompong, T; Yamapewan, P; Sawangproh, W. (2024). Consumer trust in Thai street food vendors: implications for the post-pandemic era. International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/IJSSP-09-2023-0220. | PurposeThis study aims to investigate the impact of service quality (SQ), perceived value (PV) and consumer satisfaction on Thai street food, with customer satisfaction (CS) as a mediator for customer loyalty and repurchase intention (RI). It also explores how consumer trust (CT) in Thai street food safety moderates these relationships.Design/methodology/approachStructural equation modelling (SEM) was utilised to analyse the complex interrelationships between various constructs. Multi-group analyses were conducted to investigate the moderating effects of CT on the structural model, considering two distinct groups based on trust levels: low and high.FindingsThe findings revealed that SQ and PV significantly influenced CS and behavioural intention, while the perceived quality of Thai street food had no significant impact on post-COVID-19 consumer satisfaction. The study highlighted the critical role of CT in moderating the relationships between SQ, PV and CS, with distinct effects observed in groups with varying trust levels.Social implicationsThe research emphasises the importance of enhancing SQ and delivering value to customers in the context of Thai street food, which can contribute to increased CS, RI and positive word-of-mouth. Furthermore, the study underscores the critical role of building CT in fostering enduring customer relationships and promoting consumer satisfaction and loyalty.Originality/valueThis research offers valuable insights into consumer behaviour and decision-making processes, particularly within the realm of Thai street food. It underscores the significance of understanding and nurturing CT, especially in the post-COVID-19 landscape, emphasising the need for effective business strategies and consumer engagement. | International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy | COVID-19; Moderating Role; Street Food; Consumer Behaviour; Behavioural Intention |
| 2024_570 | Tencerová, J; Kassaiová, Z; Uhrecky, B. (2024). What Do You Mean by Trust? the Free Associations of the Word Trust. Human Affairs-Postdisciplinary Humanities & Social Sciences Quarterly, 34(2), 204-223. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/humaff-2023-0110. | The notion of trust has been discussed among several scientific fields, but it still lacks the joint theory. The goal was to analyze the trust associations of 600 participants and clarify how people associate the word trust. Overall, 600 participants produced 1800 associations which were sequentially divided into five domains and 14 categories. The findings imply, that when it comes to trust people tend to associate it mainly with relationships and positive emotions. The fact that associations involved mainly positive emotional states and significant others may show, that trust in itself is something emotional and obviously bound to people we have the strongest bonds with. | Human Affairs-Postdisciplinary Humanities & Social Sciences Quarterly | Trust; CQR; Free Associations |
| 2024_571 | Teubner, T; Dann, D; Hawlitschek, F; Möhlmann, M. (2024). First vs. Lasting Impressions: How Cognitive and Affective Trust Cues Coordinate Match-Making in Online Sharing Platforms. Group Decision and Negotiation, 33(2), 217-265. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10726-023-09860-y. | Digital platforms facilitate the coordination, match making, and value creation for large groups of individuals. In consumer-to-consumer (C2C) online sharing platforms specifically, trust between these individuals is a central concept in determining which individuals will eventually engage in a transaction. The majority of today's online platforms draw on various types of cues for group coordination and trust building among users. Current research widely accepts the capacity of such cues but largely ignores their changing effectiveness over the course of a user's lifetime on the platform. To address this gap, we conduct a laboratory experiment, studying the interplay of cognitive and affective trust cues over the course a multi-period trust experiment for the coordination of groups. We find that the trust-building capacity of affective trust cues is time-dependent and follows an inverted u-shape form, suggesting a dynamic complementarity of cognitive and affective trust cues. | Group Decision and Negotiation | Online Sharing Platforms; Reputation Systems; Trust Cues; Lab Experiment |
| 2024_572 | Thomas, ES. (2024). Between trust and resentment: Examining competing views toward the police in Latino neighborhoods. Politics Groups and Identities, 12(4), 741-760. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21565503.2023.2224780. | In this paper, I examine citizen-police interactions in Latino communities near the US-Mexico border. Drawing on evidence from sixty-one in-depth interviews with residents, activists, and nonprofit workers living in San Diego, I explore Latinos' perceptions of the police. Interview data, in conjunction with observational evidence from work with community-based organizations, revealed heterogeneity in the views of Latinos toward the police. Some Latino residents were skeptical of the police and resented policing practices, including sobriety checkpoints, vehicle seizures, and investigatory stops that targeted people concerning documentation status or prior system involvement, while other Latino residents trusted the police and their efforts to reduce crime. Yet still, some Latino residents expressed critical and positive views about the police. Interview data also highlight the financial, psychological, and social strain of local police practices on Latinos who have uncertain status or live in mixed-status households. These findings underscore the centrality of the criminal legal system in the lives of many Latinos and draw attention to heterogeneity in their experiences with, and views about, the police. | Politics Groups and Identities | Latino; A Politics; Policing; Immigration Enforcement; Race and Ethnicity; Qualitative Research |
| 2024_573 | Thompson, AAB; Martin, ND. (2024). Unpacking Young Adults' Voting Preferences: the Role of Neighborhood Trust. American Behavioral Scientist http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00027642241285995. | Compared to previous generations, young adults today report lower levels of trust in government, law enforcement, and their communities. This study investigates neighborhood factors influencing social trust among Arizona young adults during the lead-up to the 2020 presidential election. Through an analysis of online survey data for a sample of young adults (N = 1,376) who participated in the Arizona Youth Identity Project, we explore how neighborhood diversity, population density, racial identity, and political affiliation are associated with social trust and voting preferences. We find that Arizona young adults' trust in police and their neighbors varies by neighborhood diversity and racial identity, with residents of mostly White neighborhoods reporting higher levels of trust. Additionally, support for Trump is highest among young adults who expressed high trust in local police. This study underscores and begins to unpack the interplay between race, space, and trust in shaping political identities and preferences. | American Behavioral Scientist | Arizona; Generation Z; Policing; Residential Segregation; Social Trust |
| 2024_574 | Thompson, C; Collins, PA; Dean, J. (2024). It Just Galls Me, as a Taxpayer: Trust Implications of School Closure Decision-Making in Ontario. Administration & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00953997241296117. | More than 400 publicly funded schools in Ontario, Canada, permanently closed between 2011 and 2017. This study examines the impact of highly criticized closure decisions on trust, guided by the OECD competence-values framework for citizens' trust in public institutions. Interviews with key informants reveal factors affecting trust, including timing and format of public consultations, reliability of data informing closure recommendations, silencing of community concerns, timeliness of government coordination, asset management horizons, and system-wide approaches to planning. This study underscores the need for an alternative school-closure decision-making model for Ontario. | Administration & Society | School Closures; Public Schools; Trust; Public Asset Management; Ontario |
| 2024_575 | Thompson, EE. (2024). Do knowledge, trust in source content, and magnitude of information influence COVID-19 risk perceptions? Comparing Ghanaian and US respondents. Journal of Risk Research, 27(2), 254-273. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13669877.2024.2317319. | Diverse outcomes from the COVID-19 pandemic from different countries raise questions about how information related factors influence judgements about the risks of the outbreak. Adopting a comparative survey approach, this study investigates whether and how, knowledge, content trust, and content magnitude are associated with COVID-19 risk perception among respondents in Ghana and the United States (n = 736) during the first phase of the pandemic (April -June 2020). Using snowball and convenience sampling strategies, the online comparative cross-sectional survey found that US respondents had higher risk perceptions, but in both countries, risk perceptions were moderate to low. The study found that those who trusted traditional media content (television, radio, and printed materials) and received high volumes of information from these sources had higher risk perceptions. Hierarchical linear regression (stepwise) indicated that income is a positive predictor of risk perceptions in both US and Ghana. However, while all three knowledge variables influenced risk perceptions in the US, only transmission knowledge influenced risk perceptions in Ghana. While trust in content from radio lowered risk perceptions, trust in content from television and printed materials increased risk perceptions in Ghana. For the US, trust in the content of printed materials led to higher risk perception. High volumes of information from printed materials increased risk perceptions in Ghana but lowered risk perceptions in the US. For pandemics that require stay-at-home orders, legacy media such as television and printed materials should be considered and utilized for information dissemination in both countries. | Journal of Risk Research | Risk Perception; Knowledge; Content Trust; COVID-19; Content Magnitude |
| 2024_576 | Tian, HW. (2024). Influence of Mobile App Live Streaming Characteristics on Clothing Impulse Purchase Intention: Mediation of Swift Guanxi and Perceived Trust. Sage Open, 14(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241290005. | Live streaming enhances the marketing vitality and possibility. However, the academic research on this new marketing method is still insufficient. To fill this literature gap, this paper tests whether the characteristics of mobile app live streaming (MALS) can create the swift guanxi and enhance consumers' perceived trust, to enhance consumers' impulse purchase intention of clothing. Based on the literature review, this paper established a live streaming shopping evaluation system including MALS interaction, MALS entertainment, MALS credibility, swift guanxi, perceived trust, and impulse purchase intention. A total of 537 valid questionnaires were collected. The data were analyzed by structural equation model (SEM) and stepwise regression. The results showed that all hypotheses were verified. The MALS characteristics positively affected the swift guanxi and perceived trust, and the swift guanxi and perceived trust positively affected the impulse purchase intention. This paper added the literature on mobile app live streaming and clothing impulse purchase intention. The results provide suggestions for live streaming companies on how to enhance consumers' impulse purchase intention. This paper tests whether the characteristics of mobile app live streaming (MALS) can create the swift guanxi and enhance consumers' perceived trust, to enhance consumers' impulse purchase intention of clothing. Based on the literature review, this paper established a live streaming shopping evaluation system including MALS interaction, MALS entertainment, MALS credibility, swift guanxi, perceived trust, and impulse purchase intention. A total of 537 valid questionnaires were collected. The data were analyzed by structural equation model (SEM) and stepwise regression. The results showed that all hypotheses were verified. The MALS characteristics positively affected the swift guanxi and perceived trust, and the swift guanxi and perceived trust positively affected the impulse purchase intention. This paper added the literature on mobile app live streaming and clothing impulse purchase intention. The results provide suggestions for live streaming companies on how to enhance consumers' impulse purchase intention. | Sage Open | Mobile App; Live Streaming; Swift Guanxi; Perceived Trust; Impulse Purchase Intention |
| 2024_577 | Tian, Y; Chan, TJ. (2024). Predictors of Mobile Payment Use Applications from the Extended Technology Acceptance Model: Does Self-Efficacy and Trust Matter?. Sage Open, 14(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241292525. | With the development of the global economy, there is growing attention to mobile payment. However, the attention on mobile payment was mainly focused on developed context, while research in developing context is still at an early stage. In recent years, mobile payments have decisive influence on the financial transactions of consumers all over the world. This research seeks to look into the predictors affecting the adoption of mobile payments through the extended Technology Acceptance Model (TAM) which incorporates perceived quality, self-efficacy, and trust as additional predictors. Survey questionnaires were spread and 371 valid feedbacks were received from consumers in Malaysia who have experience using mobile payment. Structural equation modeling was utilized via the SmartPLS for processing data analysis. The results showed that the behavioral intention of Malaysian consumers was significantly predicted by perceived usefulness, perceived ease of use, and perceived quality, while the behavioral intention was found to positively influence the use behavior of mobile payment. In addition, trust was confirmed to significantly moderate the relationship between behavioral intention and use behavior. However, the moderating effect of self-efficacy was not ascertained. The results served as a reference for FinTech service companies to develop mobile payment platforms in the future and contribute to the technology marketing scholarship. | Sage Open | Mobile Payment; Use Behavior; Technology Acceptance Model; Trust; Perceived Quality; Self-Efficacy |
| 2024_578 | Tian, Y; Robinson, JD; Yoo, J; Cho, SJ. (2024). Medical Drama Viewing, Parasocial Relationship, and Trust in Physicians: A Cross-Lagged Panel Study. Psychology of Popular Media, 13(3), 501-506. http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/ppm0000469. | This study investigates the relationships among medical drama viewing, parasocial relationship (PSR), and trust in physicians in real life. Analysis of two-wave cross-lagged survey data from 446 U.S. adults suggests that exposure to medical dramas at Time 1 predicts PSR with physicians in medical dramas at Time 2, which in turn predicts trust in physicians in real life at Time 2. Trust in physicians in real life at Time 1, however, does not predict exposure to medical dramas at Time 2 or PSR at Time 2. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed. | Psychology of Popular Media | Medical Drama; Trust in Physicians; Parasocial Relationship; the Reinforcing Spiral Model; Cross-Lagged Panel Study |
| 2024_579 | Tomay, K; Hegedus, M. (2024). Social capital and trust: the 'fuel' of local integration of rural and small-town enterprises. Intersections-East European Journal of Society and Politics, 9(4), 123-140. http://dx.doi.org/10.17356/ieejsp.v9i4.1147. | In the present article we examine a sub -segment of the 'locally integrated social group': rural and small-town entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs are especially interesting from the integration point of view since, in the current academic discourse, entrepreneurship is considered a contextual process in which the former depend on local information and resources and base their activities on the needs of the local environment. Accordingly, rural and small-town entrepreneurs are commonly studied through the concepts of local embeddedness, social capital, and trust. The aim of our paper is to contribute to the understanding of those mechanisms: the impact of trust among entrepreneurs and their social networks that result in the local integration of this rural group. The study, based on 25 semi -structured in-depth interviews, focuses on the role of values, attitudes, social capital, and trust networks in local economic success in three Hungarian settlements of different sizes: a small village of 300, a small town of 3,000 and a medium-sized town of 30,000 inhabitants. Our conclusion is that in the case of rural and small-town entrepreneurship, community resources (values, attitudes, social capital, and trust) play a chief role in the foundation and existence of a local entrepreneurial ecosystem. However, their efforts must be accompanied by an institutional framework to make them sustainable in the long term. | Intersections-East European Journal of Society and Politics | Rural and Small-Town Entrepreneurship; Social Capital; Trust; Locally Integrated Social Group; Entrepreneurial Ecosystem; Lifestyle Entrepreneurs |
| 2024_580 | Tosyali, F. (2024). The Link Between Trust and Subjective Health: Role of Bridging Social Capital Depending on the Cultural Context. Cross-Cultural Research http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10693971241241566. | Objective: Various forms of social relationships (e.g., family, romantic relationships, friendship) have been shown to predict health-related outcomes. Bridging social capital, referring to a less intimate social circle, is among those forms of social relationships associated with health. For the first time, the current study aims to examine whether the link between bridging social relationships and a health outcome (i.e., subjective health evaluations) would differ based on the cultural context defined in terms of the individualism-collectivism dimension. Methods and Measures: Data, including representative samples from 64 countries (N = 94,278), were analyzed using the last wave of the World Values Survey. Results: Findings indicated that the positive link between bridging social capital and subjective health was more salient when individualism scores were greater after controlling for the covariates (gender, age, education, income, marital status, and the number of children). However, the effect size was weak. Conclusion: Given that the predictor role of bridging social ties on health could vary based on the cultural context, findings suggested a more nuanced perspective regarding the influence of social relationships on health. | Cross-Cultural Research | Trust; Bridging Social Capital; Subjective Health; Culture; Individualism; Collectivism; Multi-Level Analysis; the World Values Survey |
| 2024_581 | Tran, HD; Diep, PPU. (2024). Investigating the relationship between knowledge of the media industry and media trust in a government-owned and government-controlled media system. Communication and the Public http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20570473241269064. | We examined the influence of news media literacy, focusing on knowledge of the media industry, on media trust in Vietnam-a distinctive media environment subject to governmental control and ownership. Results from 307 survey responses (N = 307) indicated that knowledge of media categorizations negatively predicted multiple dimensions of media trust. In addition, online newspapers, the only media category that can legally produce hard news in Vietnam, acquired the highest public trust among media categories. Theoretically, we contributed to the literature on news media literacy in the era of globally declining media trust, specifically yielding insights into news media literacy and media trust in a non-Western setting with a unique media system controlled and owned by its government. Practically, our results suggested that Vietnam needs widespread media literacy education and enhancement programs to foster citizens' media literacy, particularly knowledge of the media industry. News media organizations and journalists, on the contrary, may employ various strategies to build trust among their audience, including being transparent about their categorization and governing body, harnessing social media platforms, and devising sections to promote media literacy in the media. We argue that our approach and findings can be applied to study the media in authoritarian contexts or countries where the media are strictly governed. Implications, limitations, and suggestions for future research were further discussed. | Communication and the Public | Authoritarian; Media Trust; News Media Literacy; State-Owned Media; Vietnam |
| 2024_582 | Trein, P; Varone, F. (2024). Citizens' agreement to share personal data for public policies: trust and issue importance. Journal of European Public Policy, 31(9), 2483-2508. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2023.2205434. | The digitalisation of public policy requires that the State uses citizens' personal data. Although researchers agree that data privacy is important, we know little about the conditions under which citizens approve of their personal data being used in different policy domains. This study relies on data from original surveys conducted in Switzerland to demonstrate that citizens' willingness to share their data with the State is low and varies across policy domains. Support for sharing is significantly higher when the data are used to prevent benefit fraud in social assistance or to improve health research than when they are used to fight tax evasion or to prevent crime and terrorism. Nevertheless, we also argue that the more citizens trust government and the more important they consider a policy issue to be, the more likely they are to share their data with the State officials in charge of the relevant policy. Previous use of apps also increases citizens' agreement for the policy-related use of their personal data. | Journal of European Public Policy | Privacy; Policy-Making; Health; Taxes; Welfare; Security |
| 2024_583 | Tsfati, Y; Vliegenthart, R; Strömbäck, J; Lindgren, E. (2024). An asymmetrical reinforcing spiral? Disentangling the longitudinal dynamics of media use and mainstream media trust. Journal of Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/joc/jqae039. | While numerous studies have documented an association between mainstream media trust and mainstream media use, only little is known about potential causal mechanisms underlying the association. We theorize that selective exposure, social influence, and the reinforcing spirals model offer three possible mechanisms that may underlie the association. These possibilities were studied using random intercept cross-lagged panel models and latent curve models on a four-wave panel data set (n = 3,540). For mainstream media, the results show an asymmetrical reinforcing spiral, in which the effect of mainstream media trust on use can be considered as one of yielding maintenance, while the impact of media use on mainstream media trust to a limited degree is in line with the notion of a spiral gradually (though inconsistently) increasing trust over time. We also find that use of right-wing alternative media consistently and sometimes robustly leads to decreasing mainstream media trust. | Journal of Communication | Reinforcing Spirals Model; News Media Trust; News Media Exposure; Selective Exposure; Random Intercepts Cross-Lagged Panel Modeling |
| 2024_584 | Tuckwell, W. (2024). Virtue Signalling to Signal Trustworthiness, Avoid Distrust, and Scaffold Self-Trust. Social Epistemology, 38(6), 683-695. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/02691728.2022.2150989. | Justin Tosi and Brandon Warmke argue that virtue signalling - saying things in order to improve or protect your moral reputation - has a range of bad consequences and that as such there is a strong moral presumption against engaging in it. I argue that virtue signalling also has a range of good consequences, and that as such there is no default presumption either for or against engaging in it. Following from this, I argue that given that virtue signalling is sometimes bad and sometimes good, we should avoid virtue signalling when we can be confident that the consequences will be bad, and we should press on with signalling when we can be confident that the consequences will be good. For the most part, I focus on three good consequences that are related to trusting dispositions: signalling trustworthiness, avoiding distrust, and scaffolding self-trust. I also highlight some additional positive consequences that are unrelated to trust. | Social Epistemology | Virtue Signalling; Trustworthiness; Distrust; Self-Trust |
| 2024_585 | Tyquin, E; Mehta, A; Bradley, L. (2024). Spotlight on a complex crisis spillover: A multi-organisational perspective on rebuilding trust and reducing distrust in the Australian banking industry. Public Relations Review, 50(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.pubrev.2023.102414. | Recent crisis spillover research expands our understanding of the effects of crisis spillover on reputation, legitimacy, consumer attitudes and behaviours, as well as how organisations can respond to these types of crisis spillover events. However, there remains scant exploration of the impact of crisis spillover on trust and limited if any consideration of distrust as a separate and distinct concept from trust. In a crisis, trust is an important relationship outcome, and the present lack of empirical understanding of it in crisis spillover can limit future research and practice. Consequently, this study 's examination of message strategies that address both trust and distrust concerns, and in turn repair these key relational concepts, can address the current void in public relations theory. In addition, the research record provides limited insights into the strategies employed by multiple organisations with varied responsibility for crisis spillovers. To address these gaps in our understanding about complex crisis spillover, this study adopts associative network theory and extends its application via a case study approach focussing on the Australian banking industry. The findings contribute new knowledge to the crisis communication, trust repair and crisis spillover literature. | Public Relations Review | Crisis Spillover; Crisis Communication; Trust; Distrust; Trust Repair; Message Strategies |
| 2024_586 | Tyrberg, M. (2024). The impact of discrimination and support on immigrant trust and belonging. European Political Science Review, 16(1), 18-34. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S1755773923000139. | How are immigrants' feelings of inclusion and trust in political institutions affected by interactions with the host society? In a field dominated by observational correlation studies, I use a survey experiment in two national contexts to test how perceptions of discrimination and expressions of pro-immigrant support influence non-Western immigrants' political trust and national belonging. Following standard experimental procedures to test the hypotheses, I attempt to prime perceptions of group discrimination by asking questions about unfair treatment. Expressions of pro-immigrant support are, in turn, primed with facts about public and institutional support for immigrants' rights. The results from the survey experiment are in line with expectations from prior work in some subgroups and underline the importance of equal treatment to achieve social cohesion. They also paint a rather complex picture of discrimination and its psychological impact. These findings have substantial implications for our understanding of host societies' roles in immigrant inclusion. | European Political Science Review | Political Trust; National Belonging; Discrimination; Pro-Immigrant Support |
| 2024_587 | Tyson, K. (2024). It's a Battle You Can't Win: Domination and Class Differences in Real-World Trust among Black Families. American Sociological Review, 89(5), 937-969. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00031224241278355. | How does class affect one's propensity to trust? Previous research finds higher-status actors express less trust than lower-status actors in interpersonal and institutional contexts. Scholars explain this finding as an outcome of structural dependence-when people have few alternative means for accessing valuable resources. In contrast, I find dependence inadequate to explain the relationship I observe between class and institutional trust among black families whose children were recommended for special education and other remedial program placement in an affluent, predominantly white school district. Drawing on retrospective interviews from a community ethnography, findings show that real-world trust decision processes also involve domination. Empirical studies of trust have overlooked the ways trustees-those being given trust-exercise power to achieve deference in trust exchanges, and how trustors-those placing trust in others-deploy their power to withstand trustees' influence. I argue that trust might best be conceptualized as a two-part decision process, because class and other status resources affect trustors' freedom to choose at two key junctures: (1) in weighing options and costs of trust errors, and (2) in communicating distrust in face-to-face interactions, where the potential for domination is high. Focusing on intersecting systems of power in authentic trust exchanges, this study shows how middle-class black trustors use symbolic resources to go up against the institutional power of educational experts and refuse placement, whereas working-class trustors consent to placement. | American Sociological Review | Trust; Distrust; Power; Class; Race; Social Inequality |
| 2024_588 | Ubeda, F; Mendez, A; Forcadell, FJ. (2024). Sustainable banking and trust in the global South. Global Policy http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1758-5899.13314. | Trust in banking plays a significant role in promoting financial inclusion. Multinational banks (MNBs) have the potential to enhance trust by adopting sustainable banking practices. We investigate the impact of MNBs' adoption of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) practices on trust in banking in 38 developing countries. Using an instrumental variable approach and control function estimation, our findings indicate that sustainable practices by commercial MNBs are positively and significantly associated with increased trust in banking. The results remain consistent across different samples, lending robustness to our findings. By demonstrating the importance of sustainable banking in fostering trust, this study contributes to the limited literature on trust in banking in the global South. | Global Policy | |
| 2024_589 | Uddin, N. (2024). Impact of Crime and Insecurity on Citizen Trust in Public Institutions: Evidence from Bangladesh. International Journal of Public Administration http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01900692.2024.2341149. | The paper aims to explore how crime and insecurity influence citizen trust in public institutions. The study takes Bangladesh as a case study to analyze individual-level data from 1200 respondents obtained from Wave 7 of the World Values Survey (WVS) conducted following a representative sampling. Employing simple linear and multiple regression models, the results demonstrate that the relationships between citizen trust and the four variables of crime and insecurity are significantly negative. The findings indicate that crime incidence in neighborhoods, victimization, fear of crime, and worrying about life detrimentally affect or erode citizen trust and confidence in public institutions. Therefore, the study concludes that combating crime, protecting public security, and maintaining law and order are crucial to restoring citizen trust in public institutions and improving government performance. | International Journal of Public Administration | Citizen Trust; Crime; Insecurity; Social Disorganization; Government Performance |
| 2024_590 | Ulbricht, L; Egbert, S. (2024). In Palantir we trust? Regulation of data analysis platforms in public security. Big Data & Society, 11(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20539517241255108. | Organizations increasingly rely on digital technologies to perform tasks. To do so, they have to integrate data banks to make the data usable. We argue that there is a growing, academically underexplored market consisting of data integration and analysis platforms. We explain that, especially in the public sector, the regulatory implications of data integration and analysis must be studied because they affect vulnerable citizens and because it is not just a matter of state agencies overseeing technology companies but also of the state overseeing itself. We propose a platform-theory-based conceptual approach that directs our attention towards the specific characteristics of platforms-such as datafication, modularity, and multilaterality and the associated regulatory challenges. Due to a scarcity of empirical analyses about how public sector platforms are regulated, we undertake an in-depth case study of a data integration and analysis platform operated by Palantir Technologies in the German federal state of Hesse. Our analysis of the regulatory activities and conflicts uncovers many obstacles to effective platform regulation. Drawing on recent initiatives to improve intermediary liability, we ultimately point to additional paths for regulating public sector platforms. Our findings also highlight the importance of political factors in platform regulation-as-a-practice. We conclude that platform regulation in the public sector is not only about technology-specific regulation but also about general mechanisms of democratic control, such as the separation of power, public transparency, and civil rights. | Big Data & Society | Palantir Technologies; Public Security; Police Databanks; Data Protection; Platform Regulation; Civil Rights |
| 2024_591 | Urban, J; Duda, E. (2024). Using the Campbell Paradigm to Understand the Role of Institutional Trust in Environmental Policy Support. International Journal of Sociology, 54(5-6), 476-509. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/00207659.2024.2376985. | Previous studies have shown that institutional trust is associated with people's support for some environmental policies (e.g., support for higher taxation) but not others (e.g., support for subsidies and bans). Such findings seem to contradict the notion that institutional trust helps to resolve social dilemmas and thus facilitates collective action on environmental problems. In the current study, we use the conceptual framework of the attitudinal theory of the Campbell paradigm to understand the lack of institutional trust as a behavioral cost of policy support which counterweights people's motivation to support a policy. Using a dataset from the Environmental module of a recent ISSP survey conducted in 28 countries, we corroborated the theoretical prediction, namely the expected positive effect of institutional trust on support for both pro- and anti-environmental policies. We also corroborated, albeit with some qualifications, that the choice of environmental policy depends on perceived behavioral costs exemplified, in our study, by institutional trust. The Campbell paradigm provides a useful analytical framework for understanding the role of trust in environmental policy support. It also helps us to understand previous inconsistent findings regarding the effect of trust on environmental policy support. | International Journal of Sociology | Institutional Trust; Policy Support; Pro-Environmental Behavior; the Campbell Paradigm; Environmental Attitude |
| 2024_592 | Uth, B. (2024). The quality oriented, the audience engagers, the transparent: Types of editorial trust-building in German news outlets. Journalism, 25(2), 391-408. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14648849221141522. | Trust in journalism is highly relevant for society. Within the past years, especially during the COVID19-pandemic, trust in journalism became a recurring subject of public debate in Germany: Journalism is often vilified as 'lying press' and the legitimacy of traditional media is increasingly questioned. While in Germany, unlike other countries, we do not see a crisis in media trust, there nonetheless is a certain share of the population being skeptical towards traditional journalism. News outlets therefore need to ask themselves how to win back these sections of their audience and strengthen trust in their work. So far, research on media trust has largely focused on the audience - the journalistic perspective has hardly been examined. By conducting 29 interviews with German journalists, this paper aims to analyze which strategies news outlets pursue to cultivate trust in their work. Three main approaches to trust-building can be identified: The quality oriented, the audience engagers and the transparent. The results enable us to get a clearer overview on how news outlets try to regain and build their audience's trust - which presents starting points for both journalism practice and research. | Journalism | Media Trust; Trust-Building; Media Quality; Audience Engagement; Transparency; Journalism Studies |
| 2024_593 | Uttenthal, M. (2024). A conceptual analysis of trust. Social Science Information Sur Les Sciences Sociales, 63(3), 392-410. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/05390184241270835. | With this article, I present a novel conceptual analysis of trust. The analysis is interdisciplinary, as it acknowledges and combines influential conceptualizations from political science, psychology, and sociology. I emphasize diverging conceptual aspects as complementary and develop an argument for how they relate within different forms of trust. Concretely, I employ Sartori's conceptual guidelines to systematically develop the concept along the ladder of abstraction. As I descend the ladder, I move from a universal conceptual definition into the development of increasingly concrete subtypes within the realms of interpersonal and institutional trust. The resulting framework centrally exists beyond any particular school of thought, and thereby represents an important move toward multidisciplinary consensus around the meaning of this fundamentally important concept. Cet article pr & eacute;sente une nouvelle analyse conceptuelle de la confiance. Cette analyse est interdisciplinaire, car elle prend en compte et combine des conceptualisations influentes issues des sciences politiques, de la psychologie et de la sociologie. Je souligne la compl & eacute;mentarit & eacute; d'aspects conceptuels divergents et d & eacute;veloppe un argumentaire sur la mani & egrave;re dont ils s'articulent au sein de diff & eacute;rentes formes de confiance. Concr & egrave;tement, j'utilise les lignes directrices conceptuelles de Sartori pour d & eacute;velopper syst & eacute;matiquement le concept le long de l'& eacute;chelle d'abstraction. En descendant l'& eacute;chelle, je passe d'une d & eacute;finition conceptuelle universelle au d & eacute;veloppement de sous-types de plus en plus concrets dans les domaines de la confiance interpersonnelle et institutionnelle. Le cadre qui en r & eacute;sulte se situe au-del & agrave; de toute & eacute;cole de pens & eacute;e particuli & egrave;re et repr & eacute;sente ainsi une avanc & eacute;e importante vers un consensus multidisciplinaire sur la signification de ce concept d'une importance fondamentale. | Social Science Information Sur Les Sciences Sociales | Conceptual Analysis; Conceptualization; Institutional Trust; Interpersonal Trust; Sartori; Analyse Conceptuelle; Conceptualisation; Confiance Institutionnelle; Confiance Interpersonnelle |
| 2024_594 | Valgarosson, VO. (2024). The recession generation? Age-period-cohort dynamics of political trust in six countries severely affected by the 2008 crisis. Frontiers in Political Science, 6. http://dx.doi.org/10.3389/fpos.2024.1245666. | A potential puzzle has emerged in the study of political trust: recent studies indicate that individuals' trust judgements are remarkably stable over their life course, but many other studies have observed long-term declines of trust in the aggregate. In particular, trust clearly declined substantially during and following the 2008 economic (and political) crisis in many European countries severely affected by it: especially Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Portugal and Spain. In this study, I focus on these countries and ask to what extent the crisis may have resulted in a recession generation of citizens who were in their formative years at the time and may have adopted less trusting political orientations that have persisted since, more or less independent of life-cycle and period effects. To answer this question, I present descriptive visualizations of trust levels by citizens' age over time and conduct statistical age-period-cohort (APC) analysis of political trust levels using generalized additive models (GAMs) on data from the Eurobarometer (1997-2022) and the European Values Study/World Values Survey (EVS/WVS). The findings are inconclusive: descriptive comparisons of age-by-year diagonals suggest this cohort of citizens may indeed have lower levels of trust than older and younger cohorts, above and beyond the effects of life cycle and period-but the results from GAMs differ between countries and data sources and only show the expected cohort effect in three cases. These tentative results have implications for our understanding of the nature of political trust judgements and the potential socializing effects of major political events on citizens attitude-formation, but they await confirmation in future studies which will have the benefit of longer-term data and potentially further innovations in APC analysis. | Frontiers in Political Science | Political Trust; Generations; Socialization; Age-Period-Cohort Analysis; Public Opinion |
| 2024_595 | Van Der Meer, TWG; Van Erkel, PFA. (2024). Moving beyond the political trust crisis debate: Residual analyses to understand trends in political trust. European Journal of Political Research, 63(3), 1240-1257. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/1475-6765.12645. | For decades, political scientists have hotly debated longitudinal trends in political trust rates. An important undercurrent in the debate is that any decline in political trust might signal a legitimacy crisis. Yet, descriptive figures are unable to distinguish between two interpretations of these downward trends: (i) declines that can reasonably be expected as a reflection of declining political trustworthiness (i.e., procedural or output performance) and thereby reflect critical citizens who monitor their democratic institutions; and (ii) downward trends that are not warranted by democratic performance and thereby suggest a more fundamental disconnect between citizens and their democratic institutions.This research note argues that residuals to multilevel models of political trust allow us to distinguish between these two types, and thereby provide a better understanding of trends in political trust. These residuals do not only reveal short-term aberrations to the explanatory model (often reflecting short-lived, country-specific events), but also the extent to which a country's trust rate systematically underperforms in the middle- to long-term. To the extent that declining trust rates are lower than explanatory models predict, the residuals express excessive distrust. To the extent that declining trust rates are in line with the explanatory models, the residuals reflect critical, monitoring citizenship.We outline the approach of residual analyses as a tool to better understand trends in political trust. We illustrate the use of these residual analyses on a cross-national, longitudinal data set (the Eurobarometer), covering 15 Western and Southern European countries between 1999 and 2019. While political trust rates fluctuate in all these countries, we only find evidence for a structural decline in two of these countries. In France and Spain political trust failed to recover in line with improving economic and institutional performance after the Great Recession. We then test the versatility of the tool to different conditions, including retests on an alternative set of countries (11 Central and Eastern European countries between 2004 and 2019) and an alternative dataset with different measures and time points (the European Social Survey).Finally, we elaborate on the two main conditions under which residual analyses offer a useful tool to the trend debate in political trust research: (1) a firm understanding of the object-driven determinants of political trust, and (2) a detailed coverage of country-wave combinations to separate structural trends from short-term fluctuations. | European Journal of Political Research | Political Trust; Crisis; Trend; Residuals; Trust in Government |
| 2024_596 | Van Dooren, W; Hjortskov, M; De Vadder, SF; Verhoest, K. (2024). The consistency of question-order bias in a changing political context Six large-scale surveys on trust and perceptions of pandemic governance effectiveness. Public Administration, 102(2), 349-369. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/padm.12919. | Question-order bias is a well-known weakness of surveys commonly used in public administration research. However, most research on question-order bias uses question-order experiments that are relatively small, performed in one context, and rarely replicated. We carry out six question-order experiments in six large-scale Belgian surveys conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic. All experiments vary whether the respondents see questions regarding the effectiveness of pandemic governance or trust in different actors first. Results show that question-order effects are real and reasonably consistent across the high-powered replications, despite the changing political context of the pandemic. However, the direction of the effects largely changes when we flip the order of the trust outcome questions in the last three experiments, which sheds light on an underappreciated point: question-order bias also seems to exist within batteries of seemingly similar outcome questions. | Public Administration | |
| 2024_597 | Van Fossen, JA; Bakare, O; Olson, TH; Zwickle, A; Hamm, JA. (2024). The Dynamics of Trust and Trustworthiness Perceptions in a Government Agency: A Longitudinal Perspective. American Review of Public Administration, 55(1), 28-40. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/02750740241283031. | Although trust is widely recognized as key to effective public administration, little is known about trust dynamics, especially in typical governance relationships. We conducted an intensive longitudinal experience sampling study via a weekly survey of Florida residents' (N = 97) trust in and perceptions of the trustworthiness of the (US) National Hurricane Center over a 25-week hurricane season. We estimated two-level time series models to examine reciprocal relationships among four constructs: trust, ability, benevolence, and integrity. All four exhibited significant intraindividual variability such that participants demonstrated change in their ratings of the agency over time. Ability perceptions showed the greatest variability over the study duration. In line with classic models of trust, previous-week trustworthiness perceptions were significant predictors of subsequent trust. Our results also provide some support for self-reinforcing accounts of trust by demonstrating that previous-week trust predicted subsequent trustworthiness. Several of the one-week lagged relationships weakened substantially when tested with two-week lags, suggesting that trustworthiness is the stronger driver of trust. Overall, our results demonstrate that trust is not static, even in business-as-usual governance relationships. Results position perceptions of ability, benevolence, and integrity as partially responsible for changes in trust over time. Further, an exploratory analysis suggested that people who reported higher average integrity perceptions tended to have more stable trust. Thus, all the dimensions of trustworthiness serve as short-term levers for administrators seeking to positively manage relationships with the public, and integrity may be most critical for supporting steady levels of trust. | American Review of Public Administration | Trust; Trustworthiness; Dynamics; Multilevel; Benevolence; Competence; Integrity |
| 2024_598 | van Noord, J; Kuppens, T; Spruyt, B; Kavadias, L; Darnon, C; Marot, M. (2024). Education-based affective attitudes: higher educated-bias is related to more political trust and less populism. Acta Politica http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41269-023-00322-6. | Recent political trends and events have been marked by strong educational differences. In addition, education has also been shown to be a basis for group identity and group conflict. In this paper, we argue that educational groups are likely to understand their position in society and their inclusion or exclusion (in politics) as being related to their educational level. Thus, it is likely that education-based affective attitudes are related to evaluations of the societal and political status quo. Using data from nine European countries, this article charts the relationships of higher educated-bias (i.e., the preference for higher educated compared to less educated groups) with different political outcomes. In analyses of preregistered hypotheses, we demonstrate that the higher educated show ingroup bias, in particular those who identify strongly with their educational group. The less educated do not show (significant) ingroup bias. Those who have a stronger (positive) bias towards the higher educated display more political trust and satisfaction with democracy, and are less likely to be populist. We measured support for populism in four different ways with populist attitudes, populist voting, affective attitudes towards populist party supporters compared with mainstream party supporters, and identification with 'the common people.' | Acta Politica | Education; Affective Polarization; Populism; Trust; Intergroup Conflict |
| 2024_599 | Varnum, CN; Wojdynski, BW; Binford, MT; Duncan, J. (2024). Designing for Trust: How Online News Consumers View and Interpret Informational Transparency Boxes. Digital Journalism http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2024.2346749. | Amid a global decline in the perceived credibility of news organizations, the idea that providing greater transparency into journalistic decision-making may help increase consumer trust has gained popularity. A number of news organizations has integrated transparency boxes into article page design to provide readers with information about why and how the story was reported, particularly in controversial stories. However, limited research to date suggests these boxes are only sometimes effective and readers often do not notice them. The present study examines the role transparency box design plays in both shaping readers' attention to their contents and their perception of reporting ethics and credibility, in the context of local news reporting about suicide. In a two-article mixed-factorial eye-tracking experiment, (N = 90) participants read two articles containing a transparency box in which the design of the boxes varied in position, visual prominence, and shape. Study results show that both a no-box design and high-contrast box design drew readers' attention to information boxes relative to other design treatments, and attention to box content situationally affected perceptions of reporting ethics, but did not significantly influence perceptions of the news organization's credibility. Implications of the findings for the design of future journalistic transparency elements are discussed. | Digital Journalism | Transparency; Eye-Tracking; Trust; Credibility |
| 2024_600 | Vasile, M; Jderu, G; Cristea, D. (2024). Trust in the Public Health System and Sesonal-Influenza Vaccination. Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences http://dx.doi.org/10.24193/tras.71E.7. | Human vaccination is a complex process that engages social actors, products, infrastructures, and ideology. We explore the role of trust in the healthcare system for immunization with the seasonal influenza vaccine. We use data from a probabilistic national representative survey among Romanian adults 18 years old or older (n = 2115) fielded in 2019. Binary logistic regression modeling shows that probability of vaccinating against seasonal influenza is higher when the participants trust the overall healthcare system [Odds Ratio = 1.36, p <= 0.001], discussed, and gathered information about vaccines [OR = 3.12, p <= 0.001], had positive evaluations of the vaccination services [OR = 2.19, p <= 0.001], and evaluate today's vaccine as being safer [OR = 3.05, p <= 0.001] or at least as safe [OR = 2.11, p <= 0.001] than those from the past. Results suggest that trust in the family physicians is built through personal experiences with them which can be easily adjusted in contrast with overall trust in the healthcare system. Increasing the quality of vaccines and vaccination and emphasizing vaccines' benefits and safety is not sufficient but just the tip of the iceberg; the entire healthcare system needs a serious facelift which will make it trustworthy. | Transylvanian Review of Administrative Sciences | Seasonal-Influenza Vaccine/Vaccination; Vaccine Hesitancy; Trust in the Healthcare System |
| 2024_601 | Vasilopoulou, S; Halikiopoulou, D. (2024). Democracy and discontent: institutional trust and evaluations of system performance among core and peripheral far right voters. Journal of European Public Policy, 31(9), 2397-2421. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2023.2215816. | This article contributes to the debate about democratic discontent and far right party support taking into account the heterogeneity of the far right voter pool. Distinguishing between peripheral far right voters driven by discontent, and core far right voters driven by nationalism, we argue that citizens' evaluations of the democratic process are associated with their electoral behaviour; but this relationship varies depending on their immigration attitudes. Using data from 9 waves of the European Social Survey (2002-2018), we confirm that whereas among the general population positive evaluations of the democratic process may serve as a deterrent for far right party support, the same assessments are unlikely to deter the far right's core ideological voters. In some circumstances, they might have a galvanising effect, prompting a backlash among some core voters. Our findings add nuance to voting behaviour theories, and illustrate why scholars should pay more attention to far right intra-partisan heterogeneity. | Journal of European Public Policy | Far Right; Voting Behaviour; Democracy; Immigration; ESS; Trust |
| 2024_602 | Vasilopoulou, S; Talving, L. (2024). Euroscepticism as a syndrome of stagnation? Regional inequality and trust in the EU. Journal of European Public Policy, 31(6), 1494-1515. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/13501763.2023.2264891. | This article advances the literature on the spatial patterns of EU support by arguing that the relationship between regional inequality and EU trust is not linear. We posit that, to fully understand this relationship, we should systematically investigate three dimensions of regional inequality, i.e., regional wealth status, regional wealth growth, and regional wealth growth at different levels of wealth status. Using individual-level survey data for EU27 countries and the UK from 11 Eurobarometer waves (2015-2019), we show that a non-linear association exists whereby poor and rich European regions tend to trust the EU more compared to middle-income regions, and that within-region over-time growth is associated with higher levels of EU trust. We demonstrate that the association between growth and EU trust is more pronounced among poor and middle-income regions compared to rich regions. Our findings have implications about the nature of public Euroscepticism and the ways in which to address it. | Journal of European Public Policy | Euroscepticism; EU Trust; Inequality; Geography; Wealth Status; Wealth Growth |
| 2024_603 | Vento, I; Himmelroos, S; Back, M. (2024). Does Social Trust Travel? Comparing Resident and Non-resident Citizens from a High-Trusting Country. Sociological Inquiry http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/soin.12625. | In this study, we analyzed the effects of emigration on a high-trust population's trust in other people. Our object of study was the Swedish-speaking Finns, a homogenous national language minority of Finland with a relatively high proportion of emigrants. Using two highly comparable random sample surveys, one among Finland-Swedes who had emigrated and one among Finland-Swedes residing in Finland, we used emigration as a quasi-experiment for explaining change in social trust. Theoretically, our aim was to test the symmetry of the experiential theory that, in similar studies but with low-trust populations emigrating to higher trusting countries, has been found to explain an increase in trust. We distinguished between highly similar destinations and destinations that have lower levels of social trust. With the entropy balancing technique of weighting the covariates of the control group, we constructed two conditionally identical groups. The average difference in outcome of the weighted groups shows that the emigrants lost some of their trust when moving to countries with lower levels of trust. The effect was, however, time indifferent, which casts doubt on the assimilation hypothesis. The findings indicate that the experiential theory can explain also the loss of trust but that this comes with some restrictions. | Sociological Inquiry | |
| 2024_604 | Vento, I. (2024). Trust, collaboration, and participation in governance: A Nordic perspective on public administrators' perceptions of citizen involvement. Public Administration Review, 84(5), 870-887. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/puar.13833. | This study analyzes public administrators' trust in citizens' capacities to participate in governance, their collaborative tendency, and the association between these factors and public administrators' willingness to implement citizen involvement efforts. The purpose of the study is to examine whether public administrators' trust in citizens' participatory capacities predicts a willingness to implement citizen participation efforts within the central administration of a Nordic welfare country. The central administration of Finland presents a counter case to previous studies, which have mostly focused on the United States. A unique survey of administrators, operationalized similarly to previous studies, was conducted, and analysis of the data provides both confirmatory and novel insights. The analysis finds that administrators' trust in citizens' participatory capacities strongly predicts their willingness to implement citizen participation initiatives. However, this relation can significantly decrease or increase depending on the degree to which administrators value the procedural legitimacy of collaborative governance. | Public Administration Review | |
| 2024_605 | Verboord, M. (2024). Bundles of trust? Examining the relationships between media repertoires, institutional trust, and social contexts. Communications-European Journal of Communication Research, 49(2), 243-262. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/commun-2022-0013. | How the media influence the trust that citizens have in institutions such as politics and science seems more important than ever, given the decline of institutional trust in Western societies, and the increasingly diversified media landscape. This paper focuses on the relationship between media repertoires, institutional trust, and two socializing contexts (parents, social networks). Applying Latent Class Analysis, this paper examines (a) how parental socialization and social networks predict membership of media repertoires, and (b) how repertoires are associated with levels of institutional trust. Outcomes reveal five distinct media repertoires, among which the emerging type of cross-media news consumers. Membership of repertoires is associated with both parental socialization and social networks. There are clear differences in the levels of institutional trust among media repertoires: Popular media omnivores and quality news consumers have the most trust; the non-print-oriented the least. | Communications-European Journal of Communication Research | Media Repertories; Media Usage; Institutional Trust; Parental Socialization; Social Network; Latent Class Analysis |
| 2024_606 | Verboord, M. (2024). Trust repertoires and the reception of institutional responses to the COVID-19 crisis in Europe: A latent class analysis. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(6), 711-730. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152231223730. | This article examines the role of institutional trust in current European societies. Based on a secondary data analysis of Eurobarometer data (response rate 39.6%), it maps institutional trust repertoires and analyzes their consequences for a crisis that disturbed public life immensely in 2020 and 2021-the COVID-19 pandemic and the measures to fight this. Methodologically, it applies a multilevel latent class analysis of 18 institutions. Taking inspiration from cultural backlash theory, the explanatory analyses incorporate socio-political values and geographical identifications. The results show that there are seven different trust repertoires in the European Union (EU) countries, ranging from 24 percent mostly trustful to 11 percent mostly distrustful. EU Countries can be clustered into four classes, each with specific repertoire distributions. Particularly satisfaction with one's own life and world developments is associated with higher trust. Compliance with COVID-19 policies is most likely when citizens trust both national political institutions and media institutions; other institutions matter less. Country health expenditure has a limited effect on the reception of COVID-19 policies but does influence membership of trust repertoires. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | COVID-19; Europe; Institutional Trust; Latent Class Analysis; Trust Repertoires |
| 2024_607 | Verhoest, K; Maggetti, M; Guaschino, E; Wynen, J. (2024). How trust matters for the performance and legitimacy of regulatory regimes: the differential impact of watchful trust and good-faith trust. Regulation & Governance http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/rego.12596. | Trust is expected to play a vital role in regulatory regimes. However, how trust affects the performance and legitimacy of these regimes is poorly understood. Our study examines how the interplay of trust and distrust relationships among and toward political, administrative, and regulatory actors shapes perceptions of performance and legitimacy. Drawing on cross-country survey data measuring trust and distrust among various actors within regulatory regimes, our analysis reveals that relationships of watchful trust in terms of a trust but verify attitude among actors are conducive to higher regulatory performance. Conversely, the combination of high trust with low distrust fosters regime legitimacy, while high levels of watchfulness even have a detrimental impact on legitimacy. Our research underscores that actors within regulatory regimes adopt a logic of consequentiality when evaluating and contributing to regime performance. In contrast, for fostering regime legitimacy, a logic of appropriateness appears to be more relevant. | Regulation & Governance | Distrust; Legitimacy; Performance; Regulatory Regimes; Trust |
| 2024_608 | Verma, S; Kaur, G. (2024). Faculty Retention Dynamics: Investigating the Role of HR Climate, Trust, and Organizational Commitment in Higher Education Context. Sage Open, 14(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241233372. | With economies and business becoming knowledge intensive, the role of education industry has immensely risen in significance. This has given rise to a highly competitive landscape in higher education, with faculty retention as a major challenge for the institutions leading to negative consequences in terms of education quality, stakeholder satisfaction and rankings. This paper discusses the factors influencing faculty retention in HEIs in India within the framework of Social Exchange Theory. The sub dimensions of HR climate were explored using Principal Components Analysis. The relative importance of sub dimensions in forming the overall climate was estimated and the effect of HR climate on faculty retention was studied with Organizational Commitment and Organizational Trust as mediators employing a hierarchical components model in the PLS-SEM analysis. The results indicate that HR climate has a significant positive effect on faculty retention through organizational commitment and organizational trust as partial complementary mediators. Findings have significant theoretical as well as practical implications in extending the present knowledge regarding the subdimensions and effect of HR climate on faculty retention and the suggested measures to be taken in implementing effective HR Management systems in the Higher Education Institutions. | Sage Open | HR Climate; Retention; Social Exchange Theory; Organizational Commitment; Organizational Trust; Higher Education |
| 2024_609 | Versluis, E; Michel, N; Spendzharova, A. (2024). Trust Matters in the Single Market, but How? Analysing Trust Amongst European Financial Supervisors. Jcms-Journal of Common Market Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/jcms.13608. | European regulatory co-operation has become essential for the smooth operation of the single market, and this in turn requires trust. In the case of the European Union (EU) 'Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities' (UCITS) Directive, for example, the member states' financial supervisory authorities rely on each other to provide a harmonised regime for the sale of investment funds across the EU. Funds authorised in one member state can be sold freely in another member state without further authorisation. The national authorities need to trust each other to ensure a consistent application of EU law. Yet we know very little about how trust matters from the perspective of member state regulators. In this article, we provide a better understanding of the relevant components of trust in the single market in financial services through an in-depth case study of an EU network of national financial market supervisory authorities. | Jcms-Journal of Common Market Studies | European Securities and Markets Authority (ESMA); Financial Supervision; Regulatory Networks; Single Market; Trust; Undertakings For Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITS) Directive |
| 2024_610 | Vidyarthy, AK; Kuthambalayan, TS. (2024). Partnering Implementation in SMEs: the Role of Trust. Systems, 12(10). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/systems12100432. | Resource Dependence Theory suggests that (a) power balance with resource interdependency, (b) formal/informal procedures for resource exchange, and (c) matching in goals and operational philosophies positively affect partnering implementation (information exchange and joint decision-making). Additionally, improved partnering implementation positive affects commitment fulfillment and dispute resolution. In a setting where SMEs supply to small local retailers, the SMEs do not suffer from low bargaining power and rely on informal contracts, and both firms are compatible. The small trading partners in this study predominantly have face-to-face and telephonic interactions with each other (possible due to the small number). Knowledge of one another and a simple transaction process reduces risk and uncertainty, and leads to trust. In this study, trust is a contextual factor, and we aim to determine if there is a positive effect of (a), (b), and (c) on partnering implementation, and if the effect strengthens with an increase in the level of trust. Survey data are used to calibrate and validate a structural equation model independently. Through empirical research, we aim to identify deviations in results, determine the cause of deviation in the study characteristics, and add explanatory power to research findings. Except for the influence of trust on the positive relationship between informal procedures and partnering implementation, the finding fits with the theoretical bases. With a high level of trust, clarity in time, accuracy, and relevance of information exchanged may be lacking, compromising decision-making and adding to the ambiguity of partnering implementation with an informal agreement. | Systems | Power; Partner Match; Trust; Partnering Implementation; Resource Dependence Theory; Structural Equation Modeling; Smes |
| 2024_611 | Vigoda-Gadot, E; Levitats, Z. (2024). Like a bridge over troubled water: Wellbeing and trust in governance during turbulent times. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 90(4), 863-884. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00208523231221971. | The COVID-19 pandemic extended interest in the relationships between citizens and governments in turbulent times of crises and emergencies. While the pandemic generated a critical existential threat to the lives of many, it also had a significant effect on the quality of life and on the wellbeing of even larger populations. This paper deals with the relationship between the wellbeing of citizens and three types of trust in governance (i.e. trust in political institutions, trust in public administration, trust in enforcement institutions) during the pandemic. We aim at advancing knowledge on both wellbeing and trust during crises, and more specifically on direct and indirect patterns of these important relationships. To do so, we suggest alternative models and a series of hypotheses aimed at examining them empirically. Two datasets on Israeli citizens are used. They were collected over two points in time during the heat of the pandemic and toward its decline and end (Study 1/t1; N = 1026 and Study 2/t2; N = 3024) and largely represent major sectors and ethnicities in the population. The findings generally support a positive relationship between wellbeing and trust, but more importantly indicate that during crisis, trust in public administration and enforcement institutions mediates the relationship between wellbeing and trust in political institutions. We thus argue that the public service may act as a bridge between citizens' wellbeing and political trust. In our view, the findings testify to the complexity of the wellbeing-trust relationship, especially in challenging times. Implications and directions for future studies are suggested.Points for practitioners Trust in governance is different for various political institutions and for different public administration organizations, especially in turbulent times Civil servants should be aware of citizens' wellbeing during crises as it affects trust in governance Citizen trust and wellbeing are significantly related in times of emergency and crises | International Review of Administrative Sciences | Trust; Governance; Wellbeing; Crisis; COVID 19 |
| 2024_612 | Vinarski-Peretz, H; Kidron, A. (2024). Comparing Organizational Trust and Public Service Motivation Influence on Job and Organization Engagement Between Public and Private Sector Organizations Employees. Review of Public Personnel Administration, 44(4), 655-683. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0734371X231175342. | This study investigates sectoral differences in the socio-motivational mechanism behind job engagement and organization engagement. Relying on the Job Demands-Resource Model and using a cross-sectional study of 350 employees in the Israeli labor market, we conduct a multiple group comparison and analysis within an SEM framework to identify the mechanisms by which the employment sector relates to the mediating role of PSM via the link between organizational trust and job and organization engagement. Differences were observed between sectors as the presence of PSM empowered the organizational trust effect on two engagement factors (job, organization) only among public servants. More specifically, the findings underline that, first, an individual's PSM is expressed differently among private than public organizations; second, organization and job engagement are differentially related to antecedents; third, employees may vary in terms of the extent to which they are engaged in their organization role and in their job. | Review of Public Personnel Administration | Job Engagement; Organization Engagement; Organizational Trust; Public Service Motivation; Sectoral Differences |
| 2024_613 | Wang, CL; Zhu, JN; Zhang, D. (2024). The Paradox of Information Control Under Authoritarianism: Explaining Trust in Competing Messages in China. Political Studies, 72(4), 1431-1452. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217231191399. | To steer public opinion, autocracies prioritize state media reports of political news while marginalizing commercial and foreign media. Can this dominance guarantee people's trust in state media news? We contend that rumors, circulated via informal channels and resistant to state information control, present a formidable challenge to public trust in state media news. Our two survey experiments in China pitted news of varying information quality (e.g. informative/detailed reports vs cursory mentions of events) from state media sources against rumors, showing that state media news can retain high levels of trustworthiness only if its information quality is high; however, low-quality state media news resulting from information control diminishes its trustworthiness and prompts people to believe rumors. Low-quality rumors have more negative effects than high-quality rumors on news trustworthiness and citizens' satisfaction with government policies. Thus, information control can paradoxically erode trust in state media, which often represent the government in autocracies. | Political Studies | Information Control; State Media News; Rumors; Authoritarianism; China |
| 2024_614 | Wang, L; Zhang, Q; Ye, MJ; Wong, PPW; Gong, Y. (2024). Green hotels visit intention among young adults: integrating the familiarity, novelty, trust, perceived risk, and theory of planned behaviour. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03935-0. | Previous hospitality research typically focuses on consumers' positive attitudes and intentions toward addressing an existing research gap in the literature on consumer attitude and behaviour in green hotel marketing. Those studies have frequently neglected to investigate the effects of negative attitudes and perspectives. This study aims to explore the relationships between seven indicators of perceived risk, familiarity, novelty, trust, attitude, subjective norm, perceived behavioural control, and intention to visit green hotels. A total of 606 questionnaires were collected and analysed using structural equation modelling. Results showed that perceived risk negatively influences trust, subjective norm, and perceived behavioural control. Familiarity positively influences perceived risk but negatively influences attitude. Novelty negatively influences perceived risk and attitude, while trust positively influences attitude and intention. Subjective norm positively influences attitude, perceived behavioural control, and intention, and attitude influences intention. This study provides an alternative negative factor perspective on green hotel visitation using a theoretically driven approach. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_615 | Wang, M. (2024). What is the ownership of trust property in China? Empirical research over court judgments from 2001 to 2023. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-04045-7. | The ownership of trust property is a debatable issue in China due to the ambiguity of the Chinese Trust Law, and there are several relevant theories. In 2019, the Supreme People's Court of China issued the Minutes of the National Conference on Civil and Commercial Trials which emphasized the absolute independence of trust property in China, that is different from traditional trust property theories. This could be summarized as a new theory of Absolutely Independent Trust Property which is, in the duration of trust, trust property is absolutely separated from the inherent property of settlors, trustees and beneficiaries. In China, court judgments play a significant social governance role in making policies and clarifying ambiguous legal rules. Therefore, it is necessary to test the new theory through empirical research of court judgments for advancing trust legal theories and improving relevant rules. Based on the approach of practical reasoning, it is assumed that, in China, the theory of Absolutely Independent Trust Property is applied in judicial practice. Based on the research of 252 Chinese court judgments related to trust property ownership from 2001 to 2023, the Absolutely Independent Trust Property theory is verified to some extent, especially after 2019, and some consensus on the nature of trust property has been formed in judicial practice. However, there still exists confusion and contradiction regarding trust property ownership in China, causing practical challenges to citizens' constitutional property rights and violating the Morality of Law theory. In practice, to solve the problems caused by the unclear ownership of trust property, the Chinese government has adopted several systems regarding trust property, however, there still exits some problems. Chinese Trust Law will be revised soon, it is supposed to clarify the ownership of trust property. At the same time, more supportive and applicable laws and regulations should be issued to improve the trust registration system and trust property registration system. Moreover, the rule of trust taxation and a complete trust taxation system should be established in China. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_616 | Wang, R; Chan-Olmsted, S. (2024). Brand Communication Through Social Media Influencers: Trust Building and Trust Transfer Mechanisms. International Journal of Business Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23294884241255911. | By leveraging the trust they have instilled in followers, social media influencers open up new brand communication opportunities. Drawing on interpersonal and brand trust theories, this study conceptualizes influencer trust as a relational, multidimensional concept, and adopts the trust transfer theory to explain how this trust helps with brand communication outcomes. Using a national survey, the study shows that influencer ability, benevolence, integrity, authenticity, interactivity, relatability, and past experience quality contribute to trust in influencer, which then contributes to brand trust and consequently purchase and word-of-mouth intentions. Influencer-brand congruence also plays a moderating role in the model. Relatability and interactivity consistently contribute to all dimensions of trust (i.e., cognitive, affective, and behavioral trust), while other factors only predict certain dimensions. All trust dimensions could transfer from influencers to brands, with cognitive and behavioral trust being the most transferable. The moderating role of influencer-brand congruence only applies to cognitive trust. | International Journal of Business Communication | Social Media Influencers; Trust Transfer; Brand Trust; Brand-Consumer Relationship |
| 2024_617 | Wang, XY; Ni, XX. (2024). We usually use paragraph one to introduce the topic: trust building via appraisals by practicum EFL teachers in classroom interactions. Text & Talk http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/text-2023-0111. | This study investigates how practicum EFL teachers build trust through appraisals in classroom interactions at a local senior high school in Mainland China. Building upon prior research on trust discourse and appraisals, we present a model of teachers' trust discourse, which we apply to analyze six English reading lessons conducted by three young EFL practicum teachers. The findings reveal that the practicum EFL teachers construct two distinct types of trust: cognition-based trust (CBT) and affect-based trust (ABT). CBT is formed through the communication of the teachers' epistemic and deontic authority, while ABT is fostered by emphasizing values congruence and guanxi (interpersonal connections) between the teachers and the students. Appraisals play a crucial role in the trust-building efforts of the practicum teachers. Our analysis further indicates a preference among the practicum teachers for prioritizing CBT, as evidenced by their strategic use of appreciation and judgment resources in the attitude system, as well as the application of force resources in the graduation system. This study provides valuable insights into the pivotal role of appraisals in cultivating trust between EFL teachers and students in classroom settings. | Text & Talk | Trust-Building; Discourse Analysis; Teacher Talk; Appraisals; Practicum EFL Teachers; Chinese Culture |
| 2024_618 | Wang, YJ; Bouroncle, L. (2024). To Trust or Not to Trust: Consumer Perceptions of Corporate Sociopolitical Activism. Business and Professional Communication Quarterly, 87(3), 488-510. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23294906231166141. | When companies take a stance on sociopolitical issues, it is considered corporate social advocacy (CSA). This article examines to what extent perceived corporate motives of engaging in CSA affect consumer skepticism and brand equity. It is one of the few published studies of consumer attitudes toward companies' CSA involvement. An online survey was conducted (N = 375). It provides evidence that consumer assessments of the motives that inspire CSA are similar to the better-researched motives that inspire CSR. The findings imply that companies need to develop a good understanding of the consumers' attributions when engaging in CSA. | Business and Professional Communication Quarterly | Corporate Social Advocacy; Rebranding; Corporate Motives; Consumer Skepticism; Brand Equity |
| 2024_619 | Wang, YY; Liu, WZ; Yao, MK. (2024). Which recommendation system do you trust the most? Exploring the impact of perceived anthropomorphism on recommendation system trust, choice confidence, and information disclosure. New Media & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448231223517. | Recommendation systems (RSs) leverage data and algorithms to generate a set of suggestions to reduce consumers' efforts and assist their decisions. In this study, we examine how different framings of recommendations trigger people's anthropomorphic perceptions of RSs and therefore affect users' attitudes in an online experiment. Participants used and evaluated one of four versions of a web-based wine RS with different source framings (i.e. recommendation by an algorithm, recommendation by an AI assistant, recommendation by knowledge generated from similar people, no description). Results showed that different source framings generated different levels of perceived anthropomorphism. Participants indicated greater trust in the recommendations and greater confidence in making choices based on the recommendations when they perceived an RS as highly anthropomorphic; however, higher perceived anthropomorphism of an RS led to a lower willingness to disclose personal information to the RS. | New Media & Society | Anthropomorphism; Choice Confidence; Human-Computer Communication; Information Disclosure; Recommendation Systems; Trust |
| 2024_620 | Wei, C; Wu, ZY; Dang, JN; Liu, L. (2024). Earning trust in intergroup contexts: the interplay of perceived warmth and competence. Political Psychology http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pops.13043. | Previous research on intergroup trust has focused predominantly on trustors' dispositional profiles while overlooking the pivotal role of perceptions of the target outgroup and their intricate interactions. Building on the Big-Two model of social perception, four studies (N = 802) examined the proposition that intergroup trust is a joint function of the target outgroup's perceived warmth and competence. Studies 1 and 2 investigated how American and Chinese people's perceptions of each other regarding warmth and competence impact their mutual trust, respectively. Study 3 manipulated social perceptions of a virtual group by presenting warmth- and competence-related cues and captured the resulting intergroup trust behavior. Study 4 examined intergroup trust toward four natural groups generally perceived to have different levels of warmth and competence in both cooperative and competitive contexts. Consistent with our theoretical predictions, perceived warmth promoted intergroup trust only when the target outgroup was perceived as competent. Alternatively, the sign of perceived competence's role in predicting intergroup trust depended primarily on perceived warmth. These findings underscore the indispensability of both warmth and competence in shaping intergroup trust and have implications for international conflict resolution and peacekeeping. | Political Psychology | Competence; Functional Relationships; Intergroup Trust; Sino-US Relations; Warmth |
| 2024_621 | Wei, YM; Fan, DW; Zhang, BY; Li, T; Feng, YQ. (2024). How to improve tourists' trust in official tourism destination websites in China-an empirical research based on CV and PASP. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03263-3. | An increasing number of Chinese tourists exhibit reluctance in trusting and using Official Tourism Destination Websites (OTDWs). To address this hesitancy, our study developed an integrated framework and structural model based on Hofstede's cultural values (CV) and perceived administration service power (PASP) to explore methods for enhancing tourists' trust in OTDWs. This research investigated the impacts of collectivism, low power distance, high context, local distinctiveness, perceived economic management power, perceived tourism management power, perceived benevolence, and perceived integrity on CV and PASP. Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) was employed to analyze questionnaires completed by 324 Chinese tourists with experience in traveling and using OTDWs. The overall fit of our structural model was acceptable, and the Cronbach's Alpha values indicated adequate reliability. Findings revealed that tourists' trust in OTDWs is positively and significantly influenced by collectivism, low power distance, high context, and perceived benevolence. Furthermore, CV positively impacts PASP. Consequently, OTDW management departments should give special attention to collectivism, low power distance, high context, and perceived benevolence to enhance tourists' trust in OTDWs. The study's results offer valuable insights for tourism destination managers to understand tourists' preferences and optimize OTDWs. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_622 | Weinberg, J. (2024). Building Trust in Political Office: Testing the Efficacy of Political Contact and Authentic Communication. Political Studies, 72(4), 1288-1312. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00323217231185706. | While a large literature interrogates the causes and consequences of declining political trust in democracies, considerably less work has considered the everyday leadership strategies that might arrest this trend. I tackle this gap as I ask: what can politicians do to build trust? Going beyond the performance perspective current in political science, I suggest that all politicians can build trust by (1) increasing occasions for political contact and (2) utilising authentic political communication. These arguments are developed out of interviews with national politicians in five democracies (N = 51) and tested empirically with observational and experimental survey data gathered from a longitudinal sample of the UK public (N = 705). Attesting to academic work on the contact hypothesis and 'authentic trust', as well as the testimony of politicians themselves, these analyses suggest that both strategies carry appraisive potential. These findings contribute conceptually and practically to our understanding of both trust and leadership in politics. | Political Studies | Trust; Trustworthiness; Politicians; Contact; Authenticity |
| 2024_623 | Weipert-Fenner, I; Rossi, FM; Sika, N; Wolff, J. (2024). Trust and social movements: A new research agenda. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(4), 409-422. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152241246216. | Social movement studies clearly suggest that trust matters for processes of social mobilization: When engaging in costly, and potentially risky, contentious collective action on a common goal, activists and groups rely on the expectation that fellow protestors and allies will not fail them. To date, however, we lack research that explains which types of trust shape the emergence and evolution of social movements. Trust, we argue, is not simply an independent variable influencing mobilization, but is itself shaped-built, stabilized, weakened, or even destroyed-over the course of collective contentious action. To set the stage for a corresponding research agenda, this introduction to the special issue Trust and Social Movements bridges the gap between research on trust and social movement studies and clarifies the complex conceptual relationship between various types of trust and the dynamics of social mobilization. Furthermore, we identify overarching research questions, summarize the contributions to the special issue, and discuss key findings. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | Mass Protest; Risk and Uncertainty; Social Movements; Trust; Trust-Building |
| 2024_624 | Wen, YT; Zhao, XD; Zang, YQ; Li, XG. (2024). How the crisis of trust in experts occurs on social media in China? Multiple-case analysis based on data mining. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03640-y. | The importance of experts in the communication of scientific knowledge cannot be ignored, however, the crisis of trust in experts persists and is widening on social media in China. In this study, nine cases related to experts' communication of scientific knowledge on Chinese social media Weibo during the period of 11 November 2022 to 22 January 2023 were selected based on the principles of high relevance, high discussion, and high visibility, and public comments on key post under the case were clustered and compared through data mining methods to understand what aspects of the public questioned the experts. The study found that the crisis of trust in experts on social media was the result of the combined effect of the experts, the media, and the public. Conflicting knowledge in expert systems, the perceived common-sense character of communicated knowledge, the lack of rigor and data-supported knowledge, the blurring of the boundaries between experts and administration and between experts and capital, and the dominance of instrumental rationality for experts could all affect public trust in experts. The media's conscious or unconscious artistic processing of knowledge communicated by experts might mislead the public. The irrational emotion and populist tendencies of the public can amplify feelings of distrust towards experts. This study provides a theoretical and factual basis for understanding the mechanisms of the public's behavior after receiving knowledge communicated by experts and for enhancing the effectiveness of science communication on social media. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_625 | Werner, EAL. (2024). Typology of Terrorist Profiling Using Centrality Metrics: Hinge Figures, Influential Operatives and Trusted Assets. Terrorism and Political Violence http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/09546553.2024.2342866. | The increase in terrorist activity worldwide has prompted the development of research tools and methodologies to study the phenomenon of terrorism. Among them, social network analysis (SNA) has found its way into the security studies discipline, which, despite its still timid presence, has increasingly been proven to be a useful tool for detecting underlying structures and key actors. This article seeks to contribute to the body of knowledge on the uses of SNA in the study of covert networks by testing the usefulness of metrics such as betweenness, closeness, and eigenvector centrality in identifying terrorist roles and functions in the cells that were behind the major terrorist attacks orchestrated by the Islamic State's external operations apparatus. The study ends with the proposal of a new typology of terrorist profiling according to the results obtained from centrality measures: hinge figures, influential operatives and trusted assets. | Terrorism and Political Violence | Social Network Analysis; Centrality Measures; Terrorism; Islamic State's External Operations Apparatus |
| 2024_626 | Whittington, KE. (2024). Should We Trust the Censor?. Daedalus, 153(3), 244-259. http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/daed_a_02100. | Central to the American tradition of expanding protections for controversial speech is a robust distrust of potential censors to make reasonable judgments about what speech should be suppressed. But the arguments for a more restrictive approach to speech often implicitly or explicitly evince much greater trust in the likely decisionmakers who will be entrusted with the authority to suppress speech. Whether restricting Communist speech, antiwar speech, hate speech, or disinformation, the case for empowering some authority figure-such as campus administrators, technology company employees, or government officials-builds on an assumption that those authority figures will be motivated by good intentions and be endowed with good judgment to make reasonable distinctions between the speech that should be tolerated and the speech that should not. Such confidence would often seem to be misplaced. | Daedalus | |
| 2024_627 | Wiesehomeier, N; Ruth-Lovell, SP. (2024). Trust the People? Populism, Trust, and Support for Direct Democracy. Politics and Governance, 12. http://dx.doi.org/10.17645/pag.8648. | Populism is commonly understood as a response to frustrations with the functioning of modern democracy, while the use of direct democratic mechanisms has been hailed as a remedy for the ailing of representative democracies. Indeed, populism's emphasis on direct citizen participation in decision-making is tightly linked to its distrust of representative institutions and the political elite as the cornerstone of mediated representation. Trust, however, matters for any functioning democratic institutional arrangement, and we contend that its role warrants more attention when considering the viability of alternative modes of decision-making such as referendums, particularly in the nexus of populism-democracy. Using original public opinion surveys implemented in Argentina, Germany, Italy, Portugal, and Spain, we distinguish among different objects of trust-elites, institutions, the people, or the society at large. We also explore citizens' levels of trust in these objects and their association with institutional designs of direct democracy. Our results offer preliminary insights into the importance of horizontal and vertical trust relationships in shaping procedural preferences for different configurations of direct democracy. | Politics and Governance | Bottom-Up Mechanisms; Direct Democracy; Populism; Top-Down Mechanisms; Trust |
| 2024_628 | Wilson, RK; Eckel, CC. (2024). Attributions of Trust and Trustworthiness. Political Behavior, 46(2), 961-983. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11109-022-09855-6. | This study examines whether individuals can accurately predict trust and trustworthiness in others based on their appearance. Using photos and decisions from previous experimental trust games, subjects were asked to view the photos and guess the levels of trust and trustworthiness of the individuals depicted. The results show that subjects had little ability to accurately guess the trust and trustworthiness behavior of others. There is significant heterogeneity in the accuracy of guesses, and errors in guesses are systematically related to the observable characteristics of the photos. Subjects' guesses appear to be influenced by stereotypes based on the features seen in the photos, such as gender, skin color, or attractiveness. These findings suggest that individuals' beliefs that they can infer trust and trustworthiness from appearance are unfounded, and that efforts to reduce the impact of stereotypes on inferred trustworthiness may improve the efficiency of trust-based interactions. | Political Behavior | Trust; Facial Expressions; Bargaining; Experiments; Sequential Games; Behavioral Economics |
| 2024_629 | Wilson, WC; Preuhs, R; Gervais, BT. (2024). Spanish Vs. English Language Media Consumption and Latino Political Trust and Efficacy. Political Communication, 41(3), 482-503. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10584609.2024.2305752. | Do Latinos who consume more Spanish language media relative to English language media express greater political trust and efficacy? While research produces increasing evidence that variations in English language media content shape core democratic attitudes like political trust, and that Spanish language media shapes acculturation and issue attitudes among Latinos, research has not explored whether broader linguistic media environments shape attitudes fundamental to democracy. Given revolutionary changes the English language media environment, and stark contrasts between English and Spanish language media environments in terms of fragmentation, ideological and partisan news reporting, narratives portraying Latinos as a threat, and Latino-oriented and affirming content, relative consumption of Spanish or English language news may come with important implications. Bilingual Latinos who consume varying mixtures of media from these environments offer a unique population for exploring these relationships. Building off studies relating patterns of Latino acculturation and Spanish language media to a variety of attitudinal effects, we explore the relationship between linguistic media consumption and political trust and efficacy using three unique datasets: the 2008 CMPS, 2016 CMPS, and our own survey conducted in 2021. We then leverage unique variables in the 2016 CMPS to explore whether Latino trust and efficacy relate directly to relative consumption of Spanish language media or indirectly to Spanish language media through recall of Latino-oriented content and induced emotional reactions. | Political Communication | Media; Language; Spanish; English; Latino; Latino Threat Narrative; Political Trust; Political Efficacy |
| 2024_630 | Winsvold, M; Haugsgjerd, A; Saglie, J; Segaard, SB. (2024). What makes people trust or distrust politicians? Insights from open-ended survey questions. West European Politics, 47(4), 759-783. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2023.2268459. | High political trust is often interpreted as a sign of good democratic health, and widespread distrust as a sign of democratic ill health. However, there is little knowledge about the basis on which people make assessments about whether to trust or distrust political actors. This article develops and applies a typology for political trust judgement. Through a content analysis of 1,105 open-ended survey questions about political trust and distrust, the study finds that people tend to assess (dis)trust of politicians based on whether they see the politicians as predictable, intrinsically committed, competent and responsive. Moreover, the study finds that citizens use different judgement bases to describe trust and distrust, suggesting that the two concepts are not pure negations of each other. While predictability is the most frequently reported basis for trusting politicians, a lack of intrinsic commitment is the most frequently reported basis for distrusting politicians. This article discusses the reasons for and implications of the apparently different bases for weighing judgements on trust and distrust. | West European Politics | Political Trust; Political Distrust; Trustworthiness; Trust Judgements; Political Representatives |
| 2024_631 | Wintterlin, F; Gurr, G; Metag, J. (2024). How Are Attitudes Toward News Coverage of Immigration Related to General Trust in News Media? A Longitudinal Test of Spillover Effects of Hostile Media and Credibility Perceptions. International Journal of Communication | Trust in news media can be understood as the expectation that the news media will fulfill their social function. The factors that predict trust in news media, such as media content or the characteristics of the recipients, are well researched. To date, however, little attention has been paid to two areas that our study addresses: the role of issues in building trust in news media and longitudinal analyses. Based on a representative three-wave online panel survey in Switzerland, a cross-lagged panel model shows that credibility judgments of issue-specific coverage are positively correlated with general trust in news media. However, no causal effects on trust are found over time. | International Journal of Communication | Credibility; Hostile Media Perceptions; Trust in News Media; Cross-Lagged Panel Model; Fixed Effects Regression |
| 2024_632 | Wolters, EA; Pirch, K. (2024). Held in trust: How political elites are ignoring the public over federal supremacy of public lands. Social Science Journal http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/03623319.2023.2301111. | Public lands in the American West have remained a contested resource since their formation, particularly in the 11 westernmost states where public lands are in abundance. These lands are held in trust by the federal government for all Americans and have consistently been reaffirmed as the domain of the federal government to own and manage. Even so, there are continued efforts to transfer public lands or management of public lands to the states. These efforts are predominantly proposed by Republican legislators in both state and federal governments. However, these legislative efforts are unpopular among residents of the American West, regardless of partisanship, defying the theory of majoritarianism. By investigating state-level legislation from 2012 to 2022 which aimed to reduce federal control over public lands, this paper will explore efforts of legislators supporting these unpopular measures. Utilizing the subconstituency politics theory, this study examines the potential motivations of Western legislators attempting repeatedly to nullify the will of the majority on federal supremacy and management of public lands. Specifically, we examine the proximity of legislative districts to public lands, election results, and partisanship. | Social Science Journal | Public Lands; Transfer of Public Lands; Management of Public Lands; Social Identity; Subconstituency Theory |
| 2024_633 | Wu, C; Bierman, A; Schieman, S. (2024). A social price to the rising cost of living? the bidirectional relationship between inflation and trust. Canadian Review of Sociology-Revue Canadienne de Sociologie http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/cars.12481. | This study examines whether social trust, the general belief that most people are honest and trustworthy, shapes perceptions of personal increases in cost of living and whether perceptions of increases in cost of living affect social trust. We analyze panel data from the Canadian Quality of Work and Economic Life Study (N = 2353) that was gathered between the fall of 2021 and spring of 2022, when inflation rose precipitously in Canada. Using a combination of entropy balancing and logistic regression, we estimate a statistically significant but weak causal effect of social trust on the perception of an increase in cost of living. The estimated causal effect of subjective inflation on declining trust is substantially larger. Additionally, financial strain does not moderate either estimated causal effect. In conclusion, rising inflation appears to not only threaten economic security-inflation also appears to harm the social fabric by depleting social trust. Cette & eacute;tude examine si la confiance sociale, c'est-& agrave;-dire la conviction g & eacute;n & eacute;rale que la plupart des gens sont honn & ecirc;tes et dignes de confiance, influence les perceptions des augmentations personnelles du co & ucirc;t de la vie et si les perceptions des augmentations du co & ucirc;t de la vie affectent la confiance sociale. Nous analysons les donn & eacute;es de panel du Canadian Quality of Work and Economic Life Study (N = 2 353) recueillies entre l'automne 2021 et le printemps 2022, lorsque l'inflation a augment & eacute; de fa & ccedil;on pr & eacute;cipit & eacute;e au Canada. En utilisant une combinaison de l'& eacute;quilibrage de l'entropie et de la r & eacute;gression logistique, nous estimons un effet causal statistiquement significatif mais faible de la confiance sociale sur la perception d'une augmentation du co & ucirc;t de la vie. En utilisant une combinaison de l'& eacute;quilibrage de l'entropie et de la r & eacute;gression logistique, nous estimons un effet causal statistiquement significatif mais faible de la confiance sociale sur la perception d'une augmentation du co & ucirc;t de la vie. L'effet causal estim & eacute; de l'inflation subjective sur la baisse de la confiance est nettement plus important. En outre, les tensions financi & egrave;res ne mod & egrave;rent aucun des deux effets causaux estim & eacute;s. En conclusion, la hausse de l'inflation ne semble pas seulement menacer la s & eacute;curit & eacute; & eacute;conomique-l'inflation semble & eacute;galement nuire au tissu social en r & eacute;duisant la confiance sociale. | Canadian Review of Sociology-Revue Canadienne de Sociologie | |
| 2024_634 | Wu, JJ; Talley, PC; Xiao, SW; Kuo, KM. (2024). Roles of Attribution and Government Intervention in the Trust Repair Process During the COVID-19 Pandemic. Sage Open, 14(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241306844. | This study, bases on both the attribution theory and trust repair theory, and explores the effects of attribution and government intervention in the trust repair process, willingness to reconcile and one's intention to share during the COVID-19 pandemic. Questionnaires are distributed online, and 799 responses are collected, as based on convenience sampling. Partial least squares structural equation modeling is used to conduct analysis. Results show that controllability, stability, affective repair, functional repair, and informational repair have a positive and significant effect on individuals' willingness to reconcile, but the locus of causality does not have a significant effect. Willingness to reconcile has a positive effect on individuals' intention to share. Based on these findings, it is recommended that governments develop appropriate strategies to repair peoples' levels of trust and eliminate the chance of any major crisis event recurrence. Moreover, the findings further confirm that governments and public sector organizations can use the attribution theory and trust repair strategies to affect positive change. | Sage Open | Attribution Theory; COVID-19; Government Intervention; Trust Repair; Willingness To Reconcile |
| 2024_635 | Wu, SW; Zhang, JW; Du, LH. (2024). I Do Not Trust Health Information Shared by My Parents: Credibility Judgement of Health (Mis)information on Social Media in China. Health Communication, 39(1), 96-106. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2022.2159143. | The surge of health misinformation on social media poses a threat to public health. This qualitative study reports how users process health misinformation from the dominant strong-tie social media, WeChat, in China. We conducted ten on-site focus groups involving 76 adult participants. Drawing on the apomediation theory and the dual processing model of credibility assessment, we found the heuristic approach to processing health information was the dominant route of engagement. We identified four categories of credibility assessment cues, including (1) expertise, authority, and commercial intent of original sources, (2) expertise of apomediaries (i.e. social media information sharers) and generational bias, (3) clickbait and sensational content versus objective scientific style, and (4) disconfirmation versus confirmation bias. We highlight that apomediaries are playing an increasingly important role in informing credibility judgment. Specifically, younger adults have formed a generational bias of deeming older apomediaries as cues of lower credibility. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_636 | Wu, YF; Zhao, QY. (2024). The social gradient of trust in government: An empirical analysis based on the 2019 wave of the Chinese Social Survey. Chinese Journal of Sociology, 10(4), 616-638. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/2057150X241291302. | Recent research on trust in the Chinese government has increasingly focused on whether it can be seen as the civic foundation of political stability. Differing from previous studies discussing the authenticity of the high mean level of trust in China, this paper responds to this discussion by examining how trust in the government varies across different social classes. By analyzing data from the Chinese Social Survey, our research revealed a gradient in trust towards both central and local governments across social classes, with notably lower trust observed in the lower classes. The social gradient was more pronounced in trust towards local governments compared to the central government. Furthermore, we found that the implementation of equity-oriented policies was effective in bridging the gap in trust between classes. These findings not only indicate that highly stratified trust may lead to potential risk to political stability, but also provide valuable insights into government behavior and its consequences, which are essential for guiding the transformation of governmental functions in the future. | Chinese Journal of Sociology | Government Trust; Social Stratification; Political Stability; Equity-Oriented Policies |
| 2024_637 | Wu, YY; Kuru, O; Baruh, L; Çarkoglu, A; Cemalcilar, Z; Yildirim, K. (2024). Partisan Bias in COVID-19 Conspiracy Theories: News Reliance and the Moderating Role of Trust in Health Authorities. Health Communication, 39(4), 697-716. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10410236.2023.2181678. | Neglecting the role of political bias in the public's perceptions of health authorities could be deceptive when studying potentially politicized COVID-19 conspiracy theories (CCTs); however, previous studies often treated health authorities as a single entity and did not distinguish between different types of CCTs. Drawing from motivated reasoning theory, we investigate the politically motivated nature of CCTs by examining their associations with individuals' media reliance, party identification, conspiratorial mentality, and importantly, trust in (politicized or independent) health authorities. In a national survey conducted in late 2020 (N = 2,239) in Turkey, a heavily polarized context, we found that not accounting for political identities shown in CCTs and health authorities could be misleading. While those with a strong conspiracy mentality were more likely to endorse all types of CCTs, party identification and trust in different types of health authorities led people to believe in certain CCTs aligning with their political attitudes. The influence of media reliance on CCTs depended on the level of trust in health authorities, again suggestive of the influence of political partialities. | Health Communication | |
| 2024_638 | Wuerth, M; Storer, E; Simpson, N; Sarafian, I; Duale, S. (2024). Securitized trust: on the multiple guises of the UK policy agenda during the Covid-19 pandemic. Critical Policy Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19460171.2024.2429709. | Against the backdrop of the uncertainty that characterized the COVID-19 pandemic, trust emerged as a key term employed by public officials and policymakers in the UK to represent the existence or dissolution of state-society relationships. Despite its ubiquity, trust remained ambiguous in its precise meaning and multiple in its usage. Through an analysis of key policy documents published since the onset of the pandemic, we look beyond the definition of trust to explore its various roles in the UK policymaking at the national level. Drawing on the work of Vivien Schmidt (2008, 2010), we bring attention to the relationship between the cognitive (or instrumental) and normative (or valued-based) functions of trust in contradicting domains of community and security. We argue that the multiplicity of trust in policy discourse creates a false unity across conflictual domains of the government agenda, obfuscating the workings of an increasingly austere state. 'Securitized trust', we propose, is produced when the language of trust is mobilized through policies that work to enforce compliance with government agendas, to monitor organizing at the community level, to manage personal data, and to enhance policing. | Critical Policy Studies | Trust; Covid-19; UK; Austerity; Policy; Health |
| 2024_639 | Wyant, MH; Cionea, IA. (2024). To Trust or Not to Trust: Sensemaking of Trust Building and Maintenance Between Expatriates and Host Nationals in a Multinational Corporation. Communication Studies http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10510974.2024.2443262. | This study examined communication messages and behaviors expatriates and host nationals relied on to make sense of whom to (continue) trust(ing) in a multinational corporation, using sensemaking theory. Thirty-two participants (16 Japanese expatriates and 16 U.S. host nationals) were recruited from a Japanese manufacturing company in the U.S. Semi-structured individual interviews revealed that expatriates and host nationals relied on one's competence, skills, and dedication to work, support from one another, and personal and emotional connections in making sense of whom to trust. Notably, some host nationals already trusted expatriates to begin with. In maintaining trust, host nationals and expatriates relied on constant interpersonal interactions and continued to observe work-related behavior, such as support, collaboration, competence, and proactivity. These findings are discussed in relation to organizational practices in multinational corporations, culture, and sensemaking to provide theoretical insights to literature but also practical recommendations for diverse workplaces. | Communication Studies | Trust; Expatriates; Host Nationals; Sensemaking |
| 2024_640 | Xi, JR; Ratigan, K. (2024). Treading Through COVID-19: Can Village Leader-Villager Relations Reinforce Public Trust Toward the Chinese Central Government?. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 29(1), 31-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11366-023-09846-2. | Can village leaders' performance impact villagers' trust in the central government? Using village leader-villager relations at the village level as the explanatory variable, we examine a previously ignored source of public trust toward the Chinese government: face-to-face interactions with local leaders. We argue that, as the party-state's first point of contact with villagers, villagers use their interactions with village leaders as a proxy to determine the trustworthiness of China's central government. By analyzing the latest Guangdong Thousand Village Survey from 2020, we find that when villagers report better relations with village leaders, they also express greater trust in the Chinese central government. We find additional evidence for this relationship through open-ended interviews of villagers and village leaders. These findings advance our understanding of hierarchical political trust in China. | Journal of Chinese Political Science | China; Local Government; Political Attitudes; Rural China; Social Welfare; Covid-19; Political Trust; Hierarchical Trust |
| 2024_641 | Xiao, HY; Gong, T; Tu, WY. (2024). Why Trust Weighs More? Investigating the Endogenous Relationship Between Trust and Perceived Institutional Effectiveness. Administration & Society, 56(5), 602-627. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00953997241239000. | This study investigates the intricate interplay between citizens' trust in government institutions and their perceptions of institutional effectiveness. The two may have an endogenous relationship as they influence each other. Yet, since they stem from different sources and have distinct dynamics, their relationship may exhibit a directional bias in terms of causality: citizens' trust may impact the perception of institutional effectiveness more than vice versa. As the survey results from Hong Kong suggest here, this may indicate that trust is not only performance-based but also character-based, with the latter lasting longer and exerting a greater impact on perceptions of institutional performance. | Administration & Society | Institutional Effectiveness; Trust; Anti-Corruption Agency; Hong Kong |
| 2024_642 | Xie, YZ; Zhang, ZM; Wu, JX; He, WJ. (2024). Development and Validation of the Chinese Trust Scale: A Culturally Appropriate Measure Based on the Three-Factor Model of Chinese Trust. Sage Open, 14(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241266431. | Numerous studies have shown that trust has cross-cultural differences. Currently, China has limited tools and scales for measuring trust. Referring to Wu and Huang's three-factor model of Chinese trust, we develop a Chinese Trust Scale (CTS) for Chinese people and measure its reliability and validity. This scale contains 20 items and three factors: (1) public awareness, (2) trust from others, and (3) trust in others. We explore the dimensions and preliminary items of the CTS using item analysis and exploratory factor analysis on one sample (N = 551) and confirmatory factor analysis on a second sample (N = 831) to replicate the suggested factor structure and validate the scale's reliability and validity. Both the overall and subscale scores of the CTS were significantly correlated with inclusive general trust, belief in a just world, social capital, and satisfaction with life. The results suggest that newly developed CTS could be an effective tool for Chinese trust measurement. | Sage Open | Trust; Scale Development; Three-Factor Model; Chinese Version |
| 2024_643 | Xu, H; Miro, CJ; Kim, E; Myers, MD. (2024). National identity, institutional trust, and beliefs in COVID-19 origin conspiracies: A cross-national comparative study. International Communication Gazette http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/17480485241305316. | Conspiracy theories flourished during the COVID-19 outbreak. The present study takes a cross-national comparative perspective to understand the relationships among people's national identities, trust in institutions, and their beliefs in COVID-19 origin conspiracy theories blaming other nations. Four cross-national surveys were conducted in China, South Korea, Spain, and the United States with a total of 1642 respondents. The results revealed that two dimensions of national identities-national hubris and restrictive views of legitimate membership-are positively related to beliefs in conspiracy theories targeting other nations. This relationship was supported in three countries with different social, political, historical, and cultural contexts and diverse meanings attached to national identities. Also, people's trust in mainstream media, governments, and scientists was found to moderate the relationships between national identities and beliefs in conspiracy theories; yet, this moderating effect was not consistent across the selected nations. | International Communication Gazette | COVID-19; Conspiracy Theory; National Identity; Trust; Cross-National Survey |
| 2024_644 | Xu, Y; Zhou, DR; Wang, W. (2024). Using and Believing-Exploring Public Trust in Online News Sources in China. Journalism Practice http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17512786.2024.2361370. | This research investigated online news consumption and public trust in online news sources in China. It aims to understand the dynamic relationship between media use and media trust in China, with a contrast between official media and social media. In this study, we measured the frequency of use and credibility of 50 online news sources categorized into five groups and two social media platforms, WeChat/Weibo, with a survey (N = 585). The results indicated people used and trusted each online news source group differently. Social media were used most often and the reliance on official media was less. Habitual use of social media enhanced its credibility; however, official media were trusted the most, followed by news portals. This study advances the literature by identifying the online news consumption pattern in China and examining the public trust in online news sources where the government's control of media extends online. This study reveals how the public perceives the legitimacy of the state via official information systems and how technologically-driven media transformations have produced vibrations among the public. The findings also provide important implications for practitioners to understand the trust structure of online news media and conduct targeted regulation. | Journalism Practice | Online News Source; News Credibility; Public Trust; Media Use; Online News Consumption; China |
| 2024_645 | Xu, YY; Fu, C; Tu, W; Zhou, FJ. (2024). The Role of the Informal Institution: How Does It Shape the Trust Relationship Between Government and Social Organizations in China?. Sage Open, 14(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241251930. | This paper analyses the influences of informal institutions on interorganizational trust. Based on a case study, it identifies five impact paths of informal institutions operating between government and social organizations in China: internal referencing, direct entrustment, office visits, favor provision, and key figure decision-making. Most of these function to maintain relationships and facilitate affection. Trust in these informal institutions is particularistic, exclusive, limited in transferability, discrete, and information based. Accordingly, this paper shows that while informal institutions can foster simple cooperation between a particular government and social organization, they can also strengthen the power imbalance between these two subjects and undermine basic public values. | Sage Open | Institution; Informal Institution; Interorganizational Trust; Emotional; Social Organization |
| 2024_646 | Yaghi, A; Yaghi, M. (2024). Impact of Institutional Performance and Integrity on Public Trust during COVID-19: A Retrospective Examination in the Arabic Context. Public Integrity, 26(5), 562-578. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2023.2253571. | PurposeThis study examines trust in public sector institutions during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic and the impact factors.MethodologyA survey was administered to a convenience sample of 1,372 local and expatriate residents in the United Arab Emirates during 2022-2023. Bivariate and multiple regression analyses were utilized.FindingsThere was a high level of general public trust among respondents (mean = 4.11), with the highest trust in the police (mean = 4.21) followed by trust in the information disseminated by the government (mean = 4.06) and in the performance of public sector institutions (mean = 3.89). On the bivariate and multivariate levels, demographic variables had an insignificant impact on public trust. General trust was significantly correlated with institutional performance (& beta; = 0.417), institutional integrity (& beta; = 0.397), perceived gains (& beta; = 0.378), and government-disseminated information (& beta; = 0.374).ImplicationsPublic trust is a complex reality linked to numerous organizational and nonorganizational factors. Improving public trust requires enhancing ethical conduct-crucial for maintaining trust-as well as good governance practices and leadership behavior.LimitationsThe sample size and quantitative focus might have limited the generalizability of the findings. In the future, researchers should use in-depth interviews or mixed methodologies. | Public Integrity | Trust; Public Sector; COVID-19; UAE; Multiple Linear Regression |
| 2024_647 | Yaghi, A. (2024). Longitudinal Examination of Trust in Public Administration during the COVID-19 Pandemic. Public Integrity, 26(2), 156-173. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/10999922.2022.2159286. | Examining public trust during the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic can shed light on the factors that contribute to people's trust in public administration. This longitudinal study examines the changes in the Jordanian people's trust in government in general and public administration in particular by administering a questionnaire online in July 2020 to 1629 citizens in wave 1 and in July 2021 to 1145 citizens in wave 2. On a five-point scale, the trust in the public institutions declined from 4.44 at wave 1 to 2.46 at wave 2. There was a decline in the overall trust in the government (from 4.16 to 2.19), in the government's performance (from 4.83 to 1.64) and in the top administrative officials (from 3.59 to 1.67). Pearson's correlations identified the complexities associated with trust in public administration, and the hierarchical multiple linear regression analysis confirmed those complexities as well as the continual nature of trust during the pandemic. Trust at wave 1 explained 41% of the variance in trust, and when other independent variables-gender, overall government's performance, satisfaction, success in managing the crises, confidence, personal exposure to COVID-19 and receiving public service-were added, the regression model explained around 60% of the variance in trust. | Public Integrity | COVID-19; Government; Hierarchical Multiple Linear Regression; Jordan; Longitudinal; Public Administration; Trust |
| 2024_648 | Yair, O; Cavari, A; Efrat, A. (2024). Conspiracy Thinking and Electoral Trust During Tumultuous Times: the Case of Israel. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 36(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edae014. | Recent research reveals the association between conspiracy thinking, i.e., one's predisposition to believe in conspiracy theories, and trust in elections and election outcomes. This research, however, has thus far only examined single election cycles. In this letter, we examine whether citizens' conspiracy thinking, across electoral winners and losers, predicts electoral mistrust in the polarized, crisis-laden state of Israel. We test our expectation using four nationally representative samples fielded in 2022-before the electoral campaign started, during the campaign, and after the November national election, when a change in government took place. We show that conspiracy thinking predicts electoral mistrust and that this effect is independent of the effect of being an electoral loser. We also demonstrate that losing or winning the election does not meaningfully moderate the effect of conspiracy thinking on electoral mistrust. | International Journal of Public Opinion Research | |
| 2024_649 | Yang, YP; Zhang, K; Lei, ZJ. (2024). A Consensus Reaching Process for Product Design Decision-Making by Integrating Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets and Trust Network. Systems, 12(11). http://dx.doi.org/10.3390/systems12110494. | In the process of product design decision-making (PDDM), decision-makers (DMs) conventionally engage in discussions to evaluate design alternatives. Achieving a consistent result is essential for selecting optimal product design schemes, as it helps eliminate preference conflicts. However, uncertainties and ambiguities, along with the interrelationships among DMs, make it challenging to attain an acceptable consensus level in PDDM. To address this issue, intuitionistic fuzzy sets (IFSs) are introduced to capture DMs' preferences regarding product design schemes, and a trust network is integrated to analyze DMs' interrelationships. A double hierarchy linguistic term set (LTS) is employed to assess DMs' relationships, and an incomplete trust network is supplemented by leveraging the transitivity principle, thereby determining DMs' weights. By establishing a consensus measurement model, DMs contributing less to consensus are identified, and consensus optimization is achieved through the modification of DMs' preferences or the calibration of their trust relationships. A consensus reaching process (CRP) for PDDM is proposed, and the technique for order preference by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) is utilized to rank product design schemes after consensus is reached. A case study involving the decision-making process for a specific household disinfection machine design illustrates the efficacy of our method in achieving consensus by integrating vague PDDM data. | Systems | Product Design; Design Decision-Making; Intuitionistic Fuzzy Sets; Trust Network; Consensus Reaching |
| 2024_650 | Yang, Z; Yang, T. (2024). Differentiated Trust Strategies and Rebellious Acceptance: A Qualitative Comparative Analysis of the Trust Strategies Used by Scientist Communicators and Citizen Science Communicators in Chinese Online Climate Communication. Science Communication http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/10755470241230487. | Trust is a core issue in online climate communication where communicators are found to be diverse. This study explores the trust strategies used by different communicators and their audience acceptance in climate communication on Zhihu through Qualitative Comparative Analysis. The results indicate there are structured differences in the trust strategies adopted by scientist communicators and citizen science communicators when facing climate change issues. In terms of audience acceptance, audiences have shown considerable initiative and exhibited an acceptance characteristic with certain Chinese cultural features which highlights the context of acceptance in the research and practices of trust issues in climate communication. | Science Communication | Trust Strategies; Audience Acceptance; Climate Communication; Citizen Science Communicators; Qualitative Comparative Analysis |
| 2024_651 | Ye, BJ; Zhu, ZX; Im, H; Chen, X; Fan, NN; Yang, Q; Xia, F. (2024). Maintaining social trust: Family cohesion and enhancing mindset in the face of COVID-19 stress. Personal Relationships, 31(2), 282-300. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/pere.12542. | We recruited a large cross-sectional sample of undergraduate students in China (n = 1134) early in the COVID-19 pandemic to investigate how family cohesion may be related to the maintenance of social trust. Family cohesion was positively associated with social trust, and this effect was partially mediated by psychological stress responses to COVID-19 (PSRC), that is, family cohesion was negatively associated with greater PSRC which was also negatively associated with social trust. Having a stress-as-enhancing mindset had an additive negative effect on the association between family cohesion and PSRC but only had a weak dampening effect on the negative association between PSRC and trust. Interventions focusing on cultivating positive family relationships and embracing a stress-as-enhancing mindset may offer avenues for maximizing protective factors in times of public health crises. | Personal Relationships | COVID-19 Stress; Family Cohesion; Stress Mindset; Trust |
| 2024_652 | Ye, XY; Sun, XW. (2024). Why they don't trust the media: the Chinese public's perception and evaluation of news media in the social media era, taking the Liu Xuezhou incident as an example. Global Media and China, 9(4), 521-541. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/20594364241293153. | With the advent of the post-pandemic era characterised by increasing social uncertainty, the public is placing higher demands on the trust in news media. According to the 2023 Edelman Trust Barometer, the image of the media in the public's mind is deteriorating. Why don't they trust the media? What are the reasons given by the public when the media is denounced as unscrupulous? Taking the Liu Xuezhou incident as a typical case, the study extracts key elements from 5,225 related microblog texts, identifies the main topics of public discussion with the help of LDA topic modelling, clarifies the referential dimension of unscrupulous media with the help of pointwise mutual information, and analyzes netizens' evaluations related to different referential levels of the media through visual semantic networks, which can help formulate dialectical thinking on media trust in the context of China in the era of social media. | Global Media and China | LDA Topic Modelling; Media Trust; Positive Trust; Social Media |
| 2024_653 | Yi, YM; Enns, PK; Wildeman, C. (2024). Reconsidering the Relationship between Incarceration, Trust in the State, Community Engagement, and Civic Participation. Socius, 10. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/23780231241277436. | Scholars have reached different conclusions about the relationship between carceral contact and community engagement and civic participation. We offer a theoretical account that aims to synthesize this work to argue that incarceration should depress trust in the state but may increase, decrease, or produce no substantial effect on community or civic engagement, leading to no overall average association. We use data from the Family History of Incarceration Survey (FamHIS), a nationally representative survey of adults in the United States (n = 2,703) to conduct an expansive test of associations between direct (own) and indirect (family member) incarceration and trust in the state, civic participation, and community engagement. Our findings show that incarceration may not uniformly depress political and civic behaviors, on average. Furthermore, they inform our understanding of seemingly divergent conclusions in prior research, underscoring potential variability of prosocial actions and their enabling and constraining conditions in the wake of carceral contact. | Socius | Incarceration; Civic Participation; Family Incarceration; Trust; Family History of Incarceration Survey |
| 2024_654 | You, Y; Ma, DY; Chen, C. (2024). Public Trust During a Public Health Crisis: Evaluating the Immediate Effects of the Pandemic on Institutional Trust. Journal of Chinese Political Science, 29(1), 1-29. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11366-023-09874-y. | Institutional trust is pivotal in facilitating targeted policy implementation and fostering appropriate preventative behavior amid public health crises. This study examines the immediate effects of the pandemic on institutional trust, investigating whether public trust in responding institutions underwent substantial changes pre and post the early outbreak of the pandemic. Leveraging data from two large-scale online surveys administered before and after the outbreak of the pandemic, our findings highlight a marked erosion of public trust toward the government in the aftermath of the outbreak. This effect is more pronounced at the local government level compared to the central government. Conversely, there was a significant increase in trust in medical institutions. Additionally, shifts in public trust in the government were found to be closely tied to evaluations of the government's pandemic-handling measures, with this relationship moderated by diverse media consumption. | Journal of Chinese Political Science | COVID-19 Pandemic; Institutional Trust; Immediate Effects; Public Performance Evaluations; Media Effect |
| 2024_655 | Younger-Khan, S; Weidmann, NB; Oswald, L. (2024). Consistent effects of science and scientist characteristics on public trust across political regimes. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03909-2. | Recent years have seen an increased research interest in the determinants of public trust in science. While some argue that democracy should be the political regime most conducive to science, recent debates about salient scientific findings revealed considerable cracks in the public perception of science. We argue that existing cross-national work on trust in science is incomplete because it uses an aggregate concept of science. People in different political environments likely have different conceptions of what science is, which can have consequences for perceptions and trust. To remedy this shortcoming, we present results from a preregistered survey experiment in ten countries (N = 8441), which covers a broad spectrum of political regimes and tests how science and scientists' characteristics influence public trust. We find that, against expectations, female scientists and scientists engaging in public activism are both perceived as more trustworthy. High-impact research is trusted more than low-impact research, and it does not matter whether a scientist is a co-national. Overall, our experiment reveals few differences across political regimes. Additional survey results show that respondents' education and exposure to science have similar relationships with trust across autocratic and democratic countries. A striking difference we find is that while political orientation has little impact in autocratic countries, it is strongly related to trust across democracies as perceptions of science become increasingly politicized. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_656 | Yuan, M; Mayorga, M; Johnson, BB; Swedlow, B. (2024). Explaining compliance with COVID-19 regulation in China and the United States: cultural biases, political trust, and perceptions of risk and protective actions. Journal of Public Policy, 44(2), 284-326. http://dx.doi.org/10.1017/S0143814X23000429. | How do cultural biases, trust in government, and perceptions of risk and protective actions influence compliance with regulation of COVID-19? Analyzing Chinese (n = 646) and American public opinion samples (n = 1,325) from spring 2020, we use Grid-Group Cultural Theory and the Protective Action Decision Model to specify, respectively, cultural influences on public risk perceptions and decision-making regarding protective actions. We find that cultural biases mostly affect protective actions indirectly through public perceptions. Regardless of country, hierarchical cultural biases increase protective behaviors via positive perceptions of protective actions. However, other indirect effects of cultural bias via public perceptions vary across both protective actions and countries. Moreover, trust in government only mediates the effect of cultural bias in China and risk perception only mediates the effect of cultural bias in the United States. Our findings suggest that regulators in both countries should craft regulations that are congenial to culturally diverse populations. | Journal of Public Policy | China; COVID-19; Cultural Biases; Public Perceptions; Regulatory Compliance; United States |
| 2024_657 | Yuan, XJ; Zeng, ZY; Chen, QY; Ma, WY; Wang, XG. (2024). Intergroup trust among Tibetan adolescents in China: the role of intergroup contact and Chinese national identity. International Journal of Intercultural Relations, 99. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.ijintrel.2023.101930. | This study aimed to explore the relationship between intergroup contact quantity and intergroup trust and test the mediating role of intergroup contact quality and the moderating role of Chinese national identity among Tibetan adolescents in China. The study surveyed 705 Tibetan adolescents in Southwest China (57% females; Mage = 15.80 +/- 1.63 years) employing cluster sampling using the Intergroup Trust Scale, Intergroup Contact Experience Scale, Chinese National Identity Scale, and a self-made demographic questionnaire. The results showed that after controlling for demographic variables such as gender, academic stage, and school type, the intergroup contact quantity of Tibetan adolescents positively predicted intergroup trust through the mediating effect of intergroup contact quality. In addition, the degree of affiliation with Chinese national identity positively predicted intergroup trust. Furthermore, after controlling for the indirect effect of intergroup contact quality, Chinese national identity was found to moderate the direct effect of intergroup contact quantity on intergroup trust. This study highlights the importance of integrating the theoretical frameworks of intergroup contact and social identity in research on intergroup relationships in China's diverse and integrated contexts. | International Journal of Intercultural Relations | Intergroup Trust; Intergroup Contact; Chinese National Identity; Tibetan Adolescent |
| 2024_658 | Yuan, Y; Wu, CF; Niu, J; Mao, LM. (2024). The Effects of Human-Robot Interactions and the Human-Robot Relationship on Robot Competence, Trust, and Acceptance. Sage Open, 14(2). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/21582440241248230. | As social robots may be used by a single user or multiple users different social scenarios are becoming more important for defining human-robot relationships. Therefore, this study explored human-robot relationships between robots and users in different interaction modes to improve user interaction experience. Specifically, education and companion were selected as the most common areas in the use of social robots. The interaction modes used include single-user interaction and multi-user interaction. The three human-robot relationships were adopted. The robot competence scale, human-robot trust scale, and acceptance of robot scale were used to evaluate subjects' views on robots. The results demonstrate that in the two scenarios, people were more inclined to maintain a more familiar and closer relationship with the social robot when the robot interacted with a single user. When multiple persons interact in an education scenario, setting the robot to Acquaintance relationships is recommended to improve its competence and people's trust in the robot. Similarly, in multi-person interaction, Acquaintance relationships would be more accepted and trusted by people in a companion scenario. Based on these results, robot sensors can be added to further optimize human-robot interaction sensing systems. By identifying the number of users in the interaction environment, robots can automatically employ the best human-robot relationship for interaction. Optimizing human-robot interaction sensing systems can also improve robot performance perceived in the interaction to meet different users' needs and achieve more natural human-robot interaction experiences. This study explored human-robot relationships between robots and users in different interaction modes to improve user interaction experience. Specifically, education and companion were selected as the most common areas in the use of social robots. The interaction modes used include single-user interaction and multi-user interaction. The three human-robot relationships were adopted. The robot competence scale, human-robot trust scale, and acceptance of robot scale were used to evaluate subjects' views on robots. | Sage Open | Acceptance; Competence; Human-Robot Interaction; Human-Robot Relationship; Interaction Mode; Trust |
| 2024_659 | Yue, L; Liu, Q. (2024). How anti-corruption actions win hearts: the evaluation of anti-corruption performance, social inequality and political trust-Evidence from the Asian Barometer Survey and the Latino Barometer Survey. International Journal of Comparative Sociology, 65(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00207152231211483. | Corruption is seen as a political cancer that erodes the public's trust in political system. While it is generally agreed that corruption and political trust are negatively correlated, few researchers have explored the impact of anti-corruption performance on political trust. In this article, we focus on whether combating corruption can enhance political trust and how this influencing mechanism is realized. Based on analyses of the Asian Barometer Survey and the Latino Barometer Survey, we found that political trust is affected by the evaluation of anti-corruption performance and social inequality. The evaluation of anti-corruption performance can enhance political trust directly, while social inequality undermines political trust directly. Social inequality can also moderate the positive effect of the evaluation of anti-corruption performance on political trust. This study not only fills the previous research gap in the relationship between anti-corruption and political trust but also has great practical significance. | International Journal of Comparative Sociology | Corruption Governance; Multi-Level Linear Analysis; Political Trust; Social Inequality; the Evaluation of Anti-Corruption Performance |
| 2024_660 | Zambrano-Monserrate, MA. (2024). Trust, corruption, and willingness to pay for improved environmental goods: An experimental analysis from a developing country. Social Science Quarterly, 105(3), 709-725. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/ssqu.13381. | ObjectiveThe objective of this study was to determine whether the type of provider institution affects the Willingness to Pay (WTP) of a population for an urban regeneration project.MethodsThis research conducts a discrete choice experiment under a split-sample approach, conducting two types of surveys, with the only variation being the administering institution for the funds.ResultsThe main findings indicate a significant difference in WTP between the sample associated with international non-governmental organization (NGO) and the municipal sample. For example, the WTP of the population when the provider institution is an international NGO is almost six times higher than when the administering institution is the municipality, which is related to green spaces. The findings suggest that WTP may be underestimated because of the low levels of trust in local public institutions.ConclusionThe findings of this study have significant implications for economic valuation and public-policy development. Future research aiming to estimate WTP for environmental goods and services must carefully consider the choice of administering institutions. The sensitivity of WTP to the institutional context, particularly in developing countries, highlights the need for thorough discussions in focus groups and validation through pilot surveys. | Social Science Quarterly | Corruption; Discrete Choice Experiment; Developing Countries; Providing Institution; Willingness To Pay |
| 2024_661 | Zamith, R. (2024). Open-Source Repositories as Trust-Building Journalism Infrastructure: Examining the Use of GitHub by News Outlets to Promote Transparency, Innovation, and Collaboration. Digital Journalism, 12(7), 985-1006. http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2023.2202873. | This study incorporates the concepts of transparency, innovation, and collaboration within a broader analytic lens of trust-building infrastructure and applies that lens to an examination of the use of GitHub by 124 prominent news outlets over more than a decade. It finds that (a) their use of GitHub is not widespread but several outlets do actively use it; (b) they use GitHub to open-source a mixture of technologies and journalistic materials; (c) their introductory project documentation routinely includes at least partial amounts of both ambient and disclosure forms of transparency, but rarely exhibits participatory transparency; (d) collaboration is almost non-existent in the vast majority of their repositories; and (e) there has been a decline in their use of GitHub and the collaboration affordances within their repositories in recent years. The study extends the transparency literature by adapting key concepts to journalism-adjacent infrastructure and offers empirical evidence about the innovativeness of open-source technologies originating from prominent news organizations and the amount of collaboration that occurs around them. This builds to an intervention that raises some questions about the direct impact of open-source repositories as trust-building infrastructure while drawing attention to less-considered but nevertheless useful performative functions that such infrastructure enables. | Digital Journalism | Github; Open-Source; Infrastructure; Transparency; Innovation; Collaboration; Trust; Journalism |
| 2024_662 | Zeng, JJ; Huang, GH. (2024). Bureaucratic biases in trust of expert policy advice: a randomized controlled experiment based on Chinese think tank reports. Policy Sciences, 57(2), 305-351. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11077-024-09533-w. | The role of policy advisory systems in the bureaucratic policy-making process has expanded greatly, yet little is known about officials' trust in the analyses they produce. This study investigates whether mid-career administrators in China place greater trust in policy analyses produced by governmental, quasi-governmental, or private think tanks, and the extent to which trust biases among administrators differ based on their age, gender, or the department they work in. We test for the predicted differences through a web-based randomized controlled experiment conducted with mid-career administrators selected for an executive MPA program (N = 405). The findings, derived from ordinal logistic and OLS regression analyses, reveal that bureaucratic officials have greater trust in reports produced by governmental think tanks. Women, older officials, and officials working in social service departments exhibit greater trust bias favoring government produced analyses. The discussion explores how close institutionalized linkages with the party-state align analyses conducted by governmental think tanks with agencies' strategic direction. In contrast, the dependency of quasi-governmental and private think tanks on external resources may undercut their credibility, leading their analyses to serve as a complement to, rather than substitute for that of governmental think tanks. | Policy Sciences | Trust Biases; Think Tanks; Policy Advisory Systems; Randomized Controlled Experiment |
| 2024_663 | Zhai, YD; Han, GH. (2024). Lockdown, information quality, and political trust: An empirical study of the Shanghai lockdown under COVID-19. International Review of Administrative Sciences, 90(1), 132-148. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/00208523231166254. | Many countries have adopted various measures to curb the spread of the COVID-19 pandemic. The regulation measures of lockdown have triggered changes in public political trust in the government (including in its competence, benevolence and integrity). Information shapes the attitudes and values of residents; this paper aims to study the effect of a lockdown on political trust and the moderating effect from quality of government shared information. From 12 March to 31 May 2022, Shanghai implemented strict lockdown measures. In this study, we randomly sampled the participation information of 1063 participants. Data-based regression analysis shows that lockdown has had a negative impact on all subcategories of political trust. However, timely and accuracy information weakens its negative effect. The accuracy of information moderates the relationship between lockdown and political trust in competence and integrity, while a sufficient supply of information moderates the relationship between lockdown and political trust in benevolence. Points for practitioners This study explores how different dimensions of information quality affect each component public's political trust, and thereby inspires practitioners to strategically improve information communication in crisis. | International Review of Administrative Sciences | COVID-19 Pandemic; Information Quality; Lockdown; Political Trust |
| 2024_664 | Zhang, C; Rice, RE; Wang, LH. (2024). College students' literacy, ChatGPT activities, educational outcomes, and trust from a digital divide perspective. New Media & Society http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/14614448241301741. | This study investigates the association of socioeconomic status (SES) and digital and AI literacy with types of Chat GPT use by college students, with subsequent implications for academic self-efficacy and creativity, conditioned by trust. Analyses of a survey of U.S. college students (N = 947) show that SES has a greater association with AI literacy than with general digital literacy. Two dimensions of Chat GPT activities emerge: academic support and displacement. Structural equation modeling reveals that AI literacy is positively associated with both activity dimensions, while digital literacy is unexpectedly a negative contributor. Further, academic support is strongly linked to positive outcomes whereas academic displacement is negatively associated. Attitudinal trust in Chat GPT moderates the overall relationships. Our findings suggest that conventional digital inequality persists and evolves with generative AI, traditional digital literacy becomes insufficient in the age of AI, and trust in this new and opaque digital technology influences these relationships. | New Media & Society | Academic Self-Efficacy; AI Literacy; Chatgpt; College Education; Digital Divide; Digital Equality; Digital Literacy; Generative AI; Socioeconomic Status; Structural Equation Modeling |
| 2024_665 | Zhang, JS; Yang, KF; Li, H. (2024). Legislative capacity, bureaucratic reputation, and delegation from a trust perspective: A survey experiment. Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions, 37(1), 281-301. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/gove.12763. | Challenging the assumptions of the principal-agent theory, the recent bureaucratic politics literature contends that politicians do not necessarily have weaker capacities and bureaucrats are not necessarily bad apples. What this means for the delegation decision remains underexplored, particularly regarding how legislative capacity and bureaucratic reputation jointly affect delegation. We examine this issue with a trust perspective and a survey experiment of city mayors. Treating bureaucratic reputation as individual trustworthiness and perceived legislative capacity as institutional trustworthiness, we find they interact in complex ways in influencing delegation. When bureaucratic reputation is high, perceived legislative capacity is not associated with delegation. Perceived legislative capacity matters only when bureaucratic reputation is low, and high capacity relates to greater delegation willingness than when capacity is not considered. The findings have implications for studies on delegation, discretion, and bureaucratic reputation. | Governance-An International Journal of Policy Administration and Institutions | |
| 2024_666 | Zhang, TH; Jiang, AL. (2024). Urbanization, education, and religion: Rationalization and erosion of political trust in Asia. Sociology Compass, 18(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/soc4.13155. | Secularization, expansion of higher education, and urbanization have led to disenchantment with politics and the erosion of political trust in many societies. Religion may continue to be salient, however, how these forces interact with enduring religious influences to shape political trust is unclear. This paper examines the issue using Asian Barometer Survey (2001-2016) data with hierarchical age-period-cohort (HAPC) models. Our results show supportive evidence for the following findings: in East and Southeast Asia, urbanization is associated with less political trust for most religions except Islam; education is associated with less political trust; education's effect is the most salient for the atheists and Buddhists, but it disappears among the Muslims. The findings suggest the power of modernization and secularization significantly differs across cultures and religions. We should not simply perceive religion as a universally conservative force; instead, we need to understand religions through an integrated macro-micro perspective by situating it in the social contexts. | Sociology Compass | Asia; Education; Hierarchical Age-Period-Cohort (HAPC) Analysis; Political Trust; Religion; Urbanization |
| 2024_667 | Zhang, YJ. (2024). The road home: intimacy with parents, trust, and depression. Humanities & Social Sciences Communications, 11(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1057/s41599-024-03433-3. | Within the contemporary mental health discourse, the complex interplay of intimacy with parents, trust, and their collective impact on depression remains insufficiently explored, especially amid the merging of Western and Eastern sociocultural norms propelled by modernization, casting doubt on the foundational role of the family in individual psychological health. This study introduces a theoretical framework that merges attachment theory with modern societal shifts to clarify the intricate relationship between familial connections and individual mental health amidst changing social paradigms. Leveraging data from the 2018 and 2020 waves of the China Family Panel Studies, which included 3048 participants, this study utilizes ordered logistic regression to probe the subtle relationship between intimacy with parents and depression. Additionally, it employs Structural Equation Modeling to assess the mediating effects of five distinct dimensions of interpersonal trust, thus uncovering the complex linkages between intimacy with parents, trust, and depression. The results highlight the crucial role of intimacy with parents in mitigating depression, with trust in parents and neighbors identified as key mediators, while trust in strangers, local government officials, and physicians showed minimal mediating influence. These findings accentuate the critical importance of robust family and community bonds in addressing depression and call for a deeper understanding of trust's role in both policymaking and clinical interventions. Despite the modern era's trend towards individualism and greater mobility altering family structures and trust dynamics, the family remains an essential infrastructure and haven for individual intimacy, trust, and mental health, underscoring the subtle balance between modernity and tradition in societies undergoing transition. | Humanities & Social Sciences Communications | |
| 2024_668 | Zhao, MX; Li, YX; Lin, JQ; Fang, Y; Yang, YC; Li, BY; Dong, Y. (2024). The Relationship Between Trust and Well-Being: A Meta-Analysis. Journal of Happiness Studies, 25(5). http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s10902-024-00737-8. | An increasing number of studies emphasize that trust is most relevant to well-being. However, the results of this relationship remain inconclusive. This meta-analysis aims to synthesize the evidence on the association between trust and individual well-being. We searched several electronic databases to identify relevant studies published before September 30, 2022. Studies were included if they reported a Pearson's correlation coefficient between trust and well-being. And a random-effects model was used. We identified 132 primary studies with a total of 1,060,174 participants. The results provided a moderate correlation between trust and well-being (rho = 0.255) with 95% CI = [.240, .269]. Furthermore, we explored different trust types, well-being types, individualism, age, and gender as moderators. The results showed that the well-being types moderated the relationship between trust and well-being. Specifically, the strongest is social well-being, while the weakest is physical well-being. Trust types and individualism did not moderate the link between trust and well-being, whereas age and gender did. This study provides the evidence that trust plays an important role in promoting well-being. | Journal of Happiness Studies | Trust; Well-Being; Meta-Analysis; Moderator Analysis; Individualism |
| 2024_669 | Zhou, D; Zeng, C. (2024). Ingroup Trust, Outgroup Trust, and Internet Use During Situational Crises: Evidence from Chinese Panel Data, 2016-2020. Social Indicators Research, 171(2), 467-491. http://dx.doi.org/10.1007/s11205-023-03266-8. | This study examined how Chinese ingroup and outgroup trust have changed by the recent situational crises, the COVID-19 pandemic, and the China-US trade war since 2019. Based on a nationwide individual-level longitudinal dataset, we found ingroup trust has significantly increased within persons, while outgroup trust in Americans ceased its upward pattern and obviously decreased in 2020. The trends imply negative correlations between ingroup and outgroup trust as the Antagonism Theory stated. To better comprehend the connections, we utilized temporal and regional variations of pandemic exposure and adopted difference-in-differences approach to evaluate whether and how the domestic health crisis explained the trends. By analyzing alterations in trust levels within individuals before and after the COVID-19 outbreak, we obtained strong proof that the domestic health crisis played a causal role in decreasing Chinese trust in Americans. However, there is no significant evidence to support the causal link between increasing trends of ingroup trust and pandemic severity or regulation stringency. The results imply that domestic existential threats do not necessarily causally promote ingroup trust, but instead degrade outgroup trust, which potentially fuels intergroup competition and rivalry. Furthermore, the ingroup/outgroup divide in the digital realm augmented interpersonal rivalry in reality. Empirical evidence corroborates this conclusion, as positive moderating effects of internet usage were found, and stronger impacts were detected in export-focused regions. This discovery highlights the significance of building trust and cultivating intergroup empathy in the increasingly complex international situation. | Social Indicators Research | Ingroup Trust; Outgroup Trust; the COVID-19 Pandemic; Intergroup Rivalry; Internet Use; Difference-In-Differences |
| 2024_670 | Zillich, AF; Schlütz, D; Roehse, EM; Möhring, W; Link, E. (2024). Populism, Research Integrity, and Trust. How Science-Related Populist Beliefs Shape the Relationship Between Ethical Conduct and Trust in Scientists. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 36(3). http://dx.doi.org/10.1093/ijpor/edae038. | Science-related populism is often used to undermine public trust in science. Good scientific practice contributes to public trust in science, whereas misconduct promotes public skepticism. Since research ethics are a vital part of research integrity, we argue that ethical misconduct potentially undermines trust in scientists, particularly among people with populist beliefs. Drawing on a quota sample of German citizens (N = 1,321), the experimental study examines the influence of ethical conduct on trust in scientists, moderated by science-related populist beliefs. More specifically, we tested the influence of experimental deception (with and without debriefing) using a vignette design. The results of our study showed that ethical misconduct is negatively associated with trust in scientists. In addition, the relationship between ethical misconduct and trust in scientists was influenced by both science-related populist beliefs and science literacy. Although people with high science-related populist beliefs generally placed less trust in scientists, the negative effect was even more pronounced for people with low science-related populist beliefs. Our findings further revealed that ethical misconduct reduces trust in science among people with both low and high science literacy. This demonstrates the importance of researchers transparently discussing and reflecting on ethical research conduct to promote trust in scientists. | International Journal of Public Opinion Research | |
| 2024_671 | Zoch, G; Wamsler, S. (2024). From rally to reality: unveiling long-term dynamics in political trust over two years of COVID-19 in Germany. Political Research Exchange, 6(1). http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/2474736X.2024.2403438. | Crises like wars, terrorist attacks, and economic or health crises are frequently followed by profound changes in political trust. Whereas immediate external threats often induce a strong initial increase in political trust, the 'rally-around-the-flag' effect, prolonged crises are more detrimental to this core feature of political support. We extend previous research on political trust during extended crises by using the case of the global Covid-19 pandemic. Employing individual-level panel data from Germany (N = 21,001, 2017-2022) and district-level data on infection rates and government-imposed restrictions, we distinguish time trends from both government action and crisis severity for various government and non-government actors such as media or corporations. Results from fixed-effects regression models reveal a prolonged increase in individual-level political trust throughout 2020 and early 2021, followed by a significant decline in 2021/22. Contrary to extant work, we find limited influence of infection rates, whereas more stringent government policies explain decreasing trust later in the pandemic. These results are robust to including individual-level pandemic experiences like changes in work and family life. Thus, our results provide first evidence on the longevity of the initial rally effect in a high-trust country, which remains discernible at least one year into the pandemic. | Political Research Exchange | Crisis; Panel Analysis; Lockdown; Rally-Around-The-Flag Effect; Trust in Media |
| 2024_672 | Zuhlke, S; Katz, J; Brinkman, E. (2024). Strike While the Iron is Hot: Land Trusts, Temperature Anomalies, and Agenda Setting for Local Open Space Referenda. Nonprofit Policy Forum, 15(4), 315-347. http://dx.doi.org/10.1515/npf-2023-0028. | Despite substantial progress on understanding the influence of nonprofits in the policy process, the role of nonprofits in local agenda setting remains under-examined. Policy for land conservation is a key plank in climate change mitigation strategies making the role of land trusts in agenda setting for land conservation votes an important topic. Prior studies demonstrate that temperature anomalies increase the likelihood that climate change policy appears on state political agendas. We propose that land trusts play a critical role in facilitating this connection at the local level. Temperature anomalies create a policy window which contributes to the likelihood that conservation measures make it onto the political agenda. Combining temperature, land trust presence, and local conservation vote data from U.S. counties from 2009 to 2019, we find that both temperature anomalies and the presence of land trusts increase the probability that a land conservation measure will appear on the local political agenda. Further, we find that the effect of temperature anomalies on the probability of a vote taking place is conditional on land trust presence within the county. The findings advance existing nonprofit theory on ways in which nonprofits engage in the policy process and hint towards promising avenues of future research. The findings also provide practical evidence for practitioners and hold implications for how local policymakers can leverage existing organizations to implement climate change policy. | Nonprofit Policy Forum | Climate Change; Nonprofit Sector; Land Trusts; Policy Agenda; Land Conservation |
| 2024_673 | Zumbrunn, A. (2024). Confidence Across Cleavage: the Swiss Rural-Urban Divide, Place-Based Identity and Political Trust. Swiss Political Science Review, 30(1), 46-65. http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/spsr.12586. | Since political trust is crucial to the survival of political systems, securing its high levels is essential. While Switzerland exhibits a large rural-urban divide in direct democratic votes, it has not yet been researched whether such a divide also exists with regard to political trust. In my investigation of the Swiss rural-urban divide in political trust, I bring in place as a social identity and evaluate whether the rural-urban divide is contingent upon place-based identity. I employ OLS regression models using original survey data from 2022 with about 4,000 respondents. Results reveal a significant but irrelevantly small rural-urban difference in political trust. However, when interacting place-based identity with place of living, I find that identity inverts the rural-urban divide. When place-based identity is low, rural residents exhibit higher levels of political trust than urban residents, but when place-based identity is high, trust is higher in urban than in rural places. Politisches Vertrauen ist fur das uberleben politischer Systeme entscheidend. In der Schweiz zeigt sich bei den direktdemokratischen Abstimmungen ein grosser Land-Stadt-Graben; es ist aber noch nicht erforscht, ob ein solcher Graben auch bei politischem Vertrauen besteht. In dieser Untersuchung des Schweizer Land-Stadt-Grabens bei politischem Vertrauen wird der Ort als soziale Identitat miteinbezogen und evaluiert, ob der Land-Stadt-Graben von der ortsbezogenen Identitat abhangig ist. Ich verwende OLS-Regressionsmodelle und Original-Umfragedaten aus dem Jahr 2022 mit rund 4.000 Befragten. Die Ergebnisse zeigen einen signifikanten, aber unerheblich kleinen Unterschied zwischen Stadt und Land in Bezug auf politisches Vertrauen. Bei einer Interaktion zwischen ortsbezogener Identitat und Wohnort zeigt sich, dass die Identitat den Effekt des Land-Stadt-Grabens umkehrt. Wenn ortsbezogene Identitat schwach ausgepragt ist, haben Landbewohner ein hoheres Mass an politischem Vertrauen als Stadtbewohner; wenn aber die ortsbezogene Identitat stark ausgepragt ist, ist das Vertrauen in der Stadt hoher als auf dem Land. La confiance politique est cruciale pour la survie des systemes politiques. La Suisse presente un fosse villes-campagnes dans les votes democratiques directs, mais aucune recherche n'a ete effectuee pour savoir si une telle difference existe aussi concernant la confiance politique. Dans cette etude, je considere le lieu comme une identite sociale et j'evalue si le fosse villes-campagnes depend de l'identite basee sur le lieu. J'utilise des modeles de regression OLS a partir de donnees d'enquete originales datant de 2022 et comprenant environ 4 000 repondants. Les resultats revelent un fosse villes-campagnes significatif mais insignifiant. Cependant, en faisant interagir l'identite fondee sur le lieu avec le lieu de residence, l'identite inverse l'effet du fosse. Lorsque l'identite fondee sur le lieu de residence est faible, les residents ruraux affichent des niveaux de confiance plus eleves que les residents urbains, mais lorsque l'identite est forte, la confiance est plus forte dans les zones urbaines. Siccome la fiducia politica e cruciale per la sopravvivenza dei sistemi politici, e importante fare in modo che essa si situi a livelli elevati. Sebbene la Svizzera conosca un divario citta-campagna significativo nelle votazioni popolari, finora non e stata studiata l'esistenza di un tale divario in ambito della fiducia politica. Nella mia analisi del divario citta-campagna in Svizzera ho considerato il luogo come identita sociale e esaminato in quale misura tale divario sia influenzato dall'identita legata al luogo. Usando modelli di regressione OLS e dati originali del 2022 con 4000 partecipanti, i risultati dell'analisi rivelano che la differenza fra citta e campagna relativa alla fiducia politica e statisticamente significativa ma di fatto trascurabile. Tuttavia, quando si fa interagire l'identita legata al luogo con il luogo di residenza, si scopre che questa forma di identita inverte il divario citta-campagna. Se e poco pronunciata, il livello di fiducia politica e maggiore fra gli abitanti delle aree rurali rispetto a quelli delle citta, ma quando e piu forte, la fiducia politica e maggiore nelle aree urbane rispetto a quelle rurali. | Swiss Political Science Review | Place-Based Identity; Political Trust; Rural-Urban Divide; Suburbs |