Confidence in Government and Emotional Responses to Terrorism After September 11, 2001

Abstract

In the aftermath of September 11, 2001, an unusually large percentage of Americans expressed high levels of confidence in the institutions charged with responding to the terrorist attacks. By the following summer, such confidence had declined significantly. This study draws on data from a panel study conducted in fall 2001 and summer 2002 to track Americans' emotional responses to terrorism and their levels of confidence in government institutions as well as to explore how these phenomena were related. It is focused on whether—and if so, how—the positive emotions of pride and hope influenced confidence in institutions and helped sustain that confidence over time. Positive relationships between hope, pride, and confidence during both study periods are found. Analysis of confidence and emotions over time suggests reciprocal relationships between confidence and hope. Taken as a whole, the findings point to the importance of considering the emotional sources and implications of confidence.