Premium
The Effect of 9/11 on the Heritability of Political Trust
Author(s) -
Ojeda Christopher
Publication year - 2016
Publication title -
political psychology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.419
H-Index - 95
eISSN - 1467-9221
pISSN - 0162-895X
DOI - 10.1111/pops.12223
Subject(s) - biosocial theory , politics , heritability , population , social psychology , psychology , positive economics , political science , sociology , economics , biology , demography , genetics , law , personality
Following the attacks of S eptember 11, 2001, a rally effect led to a precipitous rise in political trust. However, the increase in political trust concealed a simultaneous decline among a smaller portion of the population. This article examines the psychological mechanisms underlying these heterogeneous attitudes towards government and shows that a biosocial model best explains the observed patterns of response. The interplay of genetic and environmental factors of political trust reveals the stable but dynamic nature of heritability: genetic influences of political trust increased immediately following 9/11 but quickly decayed to pre‐9/11 levels.