Perceptions and expectations of the legislature and support for it.

Abstract

In this study, based on a random household probability sample of 1,001 Iowa adults, the basic hypothesis is that congruence between perceptions and expectations about the legislature leads to high support for the legislature, and incongruence between perceptions and expectations leads to low support for the legislature. Data from the Iowa sample provide tentative confirmation of this hypothesis. Congruent and incongruent groups on each of ten factors were compared on their levels of legislative support. For each factor, the congruent group had a higher mean support score than did the incongruent group, although in only five cases was this difference satistically significant. The results do suggest that support for the political system, or some subsystem of it, is dependent to some extent upon congruencies in the mass public between expectations and perceptions of the system.