Publication Date
2-1-2025
Description
We theorize and examine how partisan identity conditions the attitudinal policy feedback process. Democrats and Republicans have developed opposing perceptions of the utility of government, federal social policies, and the deservingness of government aid recipients. Using novel nationally representative data, we explore how partisanship conditions both the interpretive and resource effects of attitudinal policy feedback. Our findings reveal that partisans differ more in how their use of social policy affects their attitudes about the role of government in society than they do on perceptions of the role of social policies in contributing to their own economic security. So while all citizens perceive social programs as a safety net in times of need, only Democrats view using social policies as reason for updating their broader beliefs about the role of government in society.
Type
Working Paper(unpublished)