Testing a Psychological Model of Political Trust

Abstract

The article examined the predictors of political trust and distrust in the context of a new democracy. Latvia regained its independence from the Soviet Union 25 years ago, and its political culture differs from traditional Western democracies by high voter volatility, low ideological constraint, and low political trust. The study tested how perceived characteristics of politicians, political parties and institutions, perception of socio-economic factors, and individual characteristics of respondents predicted the reported political trust in political parties and specific politicians. The results show that different considerations used when people think about trust in political parties vs. politicians. When political parties evaluated, the perceived benevolence predicted trust in the political party. When politicians evaluated, the strongest predictor was the perceived integrity. The findings illustrate the complex nature of political trust, showing that the predictors of reported political trust can change depending on the specific political context.