全球智库信息集成服务系统

Most previous studies focus on trust but disregard active distrust

• The authors of this report developed a ten-point scale that ranges from high trust (10) through lack of trust or distrust (5) to active distrust (0).

Distrust in media and government institutions is widespread

• Social media and Congress registered the lowest levels of trust among respondents.
• Only two institutions—local newspapers and the military—registered a level of trust that was above the midpoint of the scale.
• Levels of trust, most notably for media institutions, varied depending on respondents' individual characteristics.

Respondents prioritized components of trustworthiness differently for different institutions

• Five dimensions—competence, integrity, performance, accuracy, and relevance of information provided—were the most-reported drivers of trust in institutions among respondents.
• Perceived competence and integrity of representatives mattered most in assessments of trust in Congress; accuracy and relevance of information provided were most consistently associated with trust in media. Competence, performance, and accuracy of information provided were most relevant to reported trust in the military.

Researchers examined how various respondent characteristics tied to perceptions of trustworthiness

• When such characteristics as gender, age, education, partisanship, and employment were factored into analysis, the result indicate that different groups of people named different components as driving their perceptions of trustworthiness of different institutions.
• Individuals who reported active distrust in the institutions examined had different demographic and other characteristics (and named different components of trustworthiness as relevant to their attitudes) from other respondents who reported no trust or distrust or higher levels of trust.

Trust in many institutions, such as government and media, has declined in the past two decades. Although such trends are well documented, they are not well understood. The study described in this report presents a new framework for assessing institutional trust and understanding the individual characteristics and institutional attributes that affect trust. Analysis is based on a survey of 1,008 respondents conducted through the RAND Corporation's American Life Panel in April 2018. The study makes several key contributions to the field of institutional trust research. First, researchers used a scale that distinguishes between trust and distrust, thus allowing a different understanding of trust. Second, the analysis is a first step toward understanding why people trust institutions. The framework allows exploration of components of trustworthiness—i.e., the institutional attributes that people say they consider important to levels of trust (e.g., integrity, competence). The researchers also analyzed relationships between components of trustworthiness and the individual characteristics of those expressing the level of trust. Third, the survey featured questions about multiple institutions, allowing researchers to make comparisons across institutions. The research provides insights into individual characteristics and institutional attributes associated with institutional trust. This study is a "first cut" at a complicated concept and at exploring what is needed to rebuild institutional trust.

• Chapter One

  Introduction

• Chapter Two

  What Does the Literature Tell Us About Trust in Institutions?

• Chapter Three

  Methodology and Data

• Chapter Four

  Congress

• Chapter Five

  Media Institutions

• Chapter Six

  The Military

• Chapter Seven

  Conclusions and Recommendations for Future Research

• Appendix A

  Full Regression Results

• Appendix B

  Methodology

• Appendix C

  Survey

• Appendix D

  Graphs and Figures: Trust in Media and Trust in Military