Knowledge and Opinions About the Iranian Crisis: A Reconsideration of Three Models

Abstract

This paper tests Gamson and Modigliani's enlightenment, mainstream, and cognitive consistency models of the linkage between knowledge and foreign policy opinions. Data from a survey of Lexington, Kentucky residents shortly after the seizure of the American embassy in Teheran, Iran in late 1979 indicate that although the mainstream model performs somewhat better than its two competitors, none of the Gamson-Modigliani models adequately explains public opinion concerning American policy options. Concluding discussion centers on the possible reasons for the weak showing of the models.