Jämför metoder

	Voter Cynicism Scale	Democratic Support Scale	Skala för politisk egenmakt
Ämnesområde	Politisk psykologi	Politisk psykologi	Politisk psykologi
Familj	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline	Process / pipeline
Ursprungsår	1960	1999	1969
Upphovsperson	Angus Campbell et al.	Russell Dalton & Pippa Norris	Richard Niemi, Steven Craig, Albert Bandura
Typ	Self-report	Self-report	Self-report
Ursprungskälla	Campbell, A., Converse, P. E., Miller, W. E., & Stokes, D. E. (1960). The American voter. New York: John Wiley & Sons.	Dalton, R. J. (2004). Democratic challenges, democratic choices: The erosion of political support in advanced industrial democracies. Oxford: Oxford University Press.	Niemi, R. G., Craig, S. C., & Mattei, F. (1991). Measuring internal political efficacy in the 1988 National Election Study. American Political Science Review, 85(4), 1407-1413.
Alias	PCS, Political Efficacy Cynicism, Electoral System Cynicism	SFD, Democratic Legitimacy Scale, System Support Scale	Political Efficacy, Internal Efficacy, External Efficacy
Närliggande	3	3	3
Sammanfattning	The Voter Cynicism Scale measures citizen skepticism and disillusionment regarding the political process, including beliefs that the electoral system is rigged, politicians are self-serving, and voting does not matter. The measure captures a pessimistic orientation toward electoral democracy distinct from distrust in institutions (which can coexist with belief in democratic potential) or political alienation. Rooted in Campbell et al.'s American Voter (1960) tradition of measuring political efficacy and cynicism, the scale remains central to understanding voter turnout decline, support for populist alternatives, and democratic legitimacy crises.	The Democratic Support Scale measures citizen commitment to democracy as a regime type, including beliefs that democracy is the best system of government, willingness to defend democratic institutions, and rejection of non-democratic alternatives. Pioneered by Norris (1999) and Dalton (2004) in comparative research, the measure distinguishes regime support (belief in democracy's superiority) from performance support (satisfaction with current government). It addresses the paradox of 'critical citizens'—in advanced democracies, people often express dissatisfaction with current government performance while maintaining deep commitment to democratic principles.	Political efficacy measures sense of personal agency and power in the political system, encompassing both internal efficacy (belief in own political competence and understanding) and external efficacy (belief that the political system is responsive to citizen input). Rooted in Bandura's self-efficacy theory (1977) and developed for political contexts by Niemi, Craig, and colleagues (1969 onwards), the measure explains why some citizens feel empowered to engage in politics while others feel powerless. High-efficacy citizens are substantially more likely to participate, contact representatives, and vote; low-efficacy citizens withdraw from politics and are susceptible to anti-democratic appeals.