Political Competence and Mass Media Use

Abstract

Relationships are examined between feelings of competence and cumulative media usage in five Western nations. Wide differentiation among the nations studied is found, suggesting that multivariate analysis is needed to establish whether media usage makes a unique contribution to feelings of competence, or acts as a surrogate for other background variables. Frank B. Feigert is Professor of Political Science, State University of New York, Brockport, New York. Data for this study were supplied through the facilities of the Inter-University Consortium for Political Research, which bears no responsibility for the analysis and interpretations which follow. POQ 40 (1976) 234-238 This content downloaded from 157.55.39.138 on Mon, 27 Jun 2016 06:03:45 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms POLITICAL COMPETENCE AND MASS MEDIA 235 Contrary to this hypothesis is the view that media actually serve to deprive a system of legitimacy. If political news is drunk up by the public as drama,3 the drama of politics may contribute to a widespread and chronic distrust of institutions and actors.4 Passive participation and the impersonality of the media may also reinforce feelings of futility or apathy as regards the possibility of citizen control-by-elections.5 Thus, increasing alienation may be a consequence of media usage. Which of these two hypotheses best describes the impact of mass media on feelings of competence? The Almond and Verba study contains several variables that permit us to examine this relationship. Almond and Verba defined or citizen competence as an ability to exert influence in the decision-making process. Subjective competence is one's belief in this ability, and in turn consists of (1) administrative competence (the belief that government officials and police would be responsive); and (2) subject competence, a belief that these officials would mete out equal treatment.6 In their study, Almond and Verba provide some information about media usage in the five nations under study (U.S., Great Britain, Germany, Italy, and Mexico).7 However, they do not relate such usage to the varieties of competence as defined. In the following analysis we hypothesize a positive relationship between the extent of mass media exposure to politics and several attitudinal variables. Media exposure is defined as the number of media used to follow public affairs, regardless of the frequency with which each medium is used. The attitudinal variables include the varieties of subjective competence, as operationalized by Almond and Verba; information; and more generalized attitudes toward government and the electoral process.