Impact of Trust on Candidates, Branches of Government, and Media Within the Context of the 2004 U.S. Presidential Election

ABSTRACT

Based on a nationwide survey completed just prior to the 2004 U.S. presidential election, an investigation was undertaken to contrast the views of younger and older voters in terms of their trust in the political system (e.g., a democratic form of government and the various branches of the government) and their trust of political candidates (e.g., “trusting a particular candidate to do the right thing”). In particular, respondents' perceptions of their trust of the candidates for president and vice president, as well their trust in the media and other sources of information about political candidates, were explored. Voter perceptions concerning the importance of voting in the then-upcoming 2004 U.S. election were also considered. The article concludes with some recommendations for future research in the area of political trust, implications for political strategists, and thoughts about some potential research directions for moving closer to a research framework or theory relating political trust and voter age.

KEYWORDS:

• Political trust
• 2004 presidential election
• trust in media and other sources of information about political candidates
• trust in political candidates
• trust in the form of government
• younger and older voters

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elaine Sherman

Elaine Sherman is Professor of Marketing and International Business at Hofstra University. She has published extensively in selected areas of marketing and consumer behavior, including political marketing, direct marketing, and elderly consumers. For the past 17 years, Dr. Sherman has also conducted public opinion polls for News 12/Cablevision. Dr. Sherman has made over 100 presentations at conferences held in five continents.

Leon Schiffman

Leon Schiffman is Professor of Marketing and the J. Donald Kennedy Endowed Chair in Marketing and E-Commerce at St. John's University. For more than 20 years, he has conducted research on the consumer behavior of elderly consumers. He also has a keen interest in consumer innovativeness and the acceptance of consumer-relevant technology, as well as the consumer behavior aspects of political marketing. Dr. Schiffman is coauthor of Consumer Behavior, 9th edition (2007), published by Prentice Hall.

Shawn T. Thelen

Shawn T. Thelen is an Assistant Professor of Marketing and International Business at Hofstra University. Prior to entering academic life, Dr. Thelen worked as a product manager, export manager, Peace Corps volunteer (Russia, 1996–1998), and academic administrator. Dr. Thelen's research interests include trust, offshoring of services, business development in transitional economies, and the impact of technology on customer interfaces.