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A Test of Gamson's Theory of Political Trust Orientation 1
Author(s) -
MICHENER H. ANDREW,
ZELLER RICHARD A.
Publication year - 1972
Publication title -
journal of applied social psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.822
H-Index - 111
eISSN - 1559-1816
pISSN - 0021-9029
DOI - 10.1111/j.1559-1816.1972.tb01268.x
Subject(s) - biology and political orientation , affect (linguistics) , politics , test (biology) , social psychology , psychology , orientation (vector space) , variables , political science , mathematics , statistics , law , communication , paleontology , biology , geometry
Two issues derived from Gamson's theory of political trust are examined and tested. Essentially, this theory hypothesizes that prior probability of success and type of available influence technique determine the extent to which political partisans will attempt to influence decisions made by authorities. Further, the theory suggests that prior probability of success, type of influence technique, and the partisans' success or failure in getting preferred outcomes will determine the level of political trust toward the authorities. The present study reports data relevant to these predictions. These data show that type of influence technique strongly determines the extent of influence usage, while prior probability of success is a significant, hut weaker determinant. Although all three independent variables affect political trust orientation, the effect of success‐failure is particularly strong, while that of type of influence technique is weak. There are no significant interactions among these three independent variables. In general, the findings support some aspects of Gamson's theory, while disconfirming others.