ABSTRACT

Literature has shown that citizens’ mistrust in national institutions has a negative impact on their involvement with, and commitment to, their national group. We examine the idea that citizenship efficacy beliefs may revert this process. We propose that facing institutional inefficacy to exert social control, beliefs that civic participation is effective, strengthens individuals’ commitment to the national group. Participants (N = 176) were informed that national institutions were effective (vs. ineffective) in reacting to white-collar crime, and that citizens’ civic/political participation had an effective (vs. ineffective) impact on government’s decisions, the political system and their nation’s future. Results suggest that citizenship efficacy beliefs are crucial to counteract or even revert citizens’ disinvestment in the national group caused by the perception that the social control system is ineffective. We discuss the results in light of the theoretical and empirical framework of social psychology of citizenship and subjective group dynamics theory.

摘要

文献表明，公民对国家机构的不信任对其国家团体的参与和承诺具有负面影响。我们研究了公民效能信念可能会逆转这一过程的想法。我们建议，面对制度上施加社会控制的无效性，相信公民参与是有效的，可以加强个人对国家群体的承诺。参与者 ( N= 176) 被告知国家机构在应对白领犯罪方面是有效的（与无效的相比），并且公民的公民/政治参与对政府的决策、政治制度和他们国家的政策具有有效的（与无效的）影响未来。结果表明，公民效能信念对于抵消甚至恢复公民因社会控制系统无效的看法而对国家群体的投资减少至关重要。我们根据公民社会心理学和主观群体动力学理论的理论和经验框架讨论结果。