Testing a Model of Institutional Confidence Across Branches of Government

Recent evidence showing the American public losing confidence in its government has been identified as one of the fundamental problems in society today. Social science has an opportunity to make important contributions to this problem by deepening understanding of public trust and confidence in government.

The primary goal of our research is to test a model of institutional confidence that focuses on individuals’ knowledge of and experiences with the institution. The project builds on the UNL research team’s previous studies, toward a long-term goal of developing a framework of institutional confidence that can be used to understand the public’s perceptions of government, specifically, and the way that people form attitudes toward public institutions, more broadly.

The project’s specific objective is to evaluate whether there are distinct, underlying factors in assessments of institutional confidence. Our tests are conducted in laboratory and field settings and examine attitudes toward a variety of institutions, such as those that regulate water resources, the courts, and city government.

Key Partners
University of Nebraska-Lincoln, Department of Psychology

Funding
National Science Foundation, Law and Social Sciences Division (SES-1061635)
National Science Foundation, Integrative Graduate Education and Research Traineeship (DGE-0903469)
National Institute of Justice (2008-IJ-CX-0022)