Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jn8rn Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T19:27:23.789Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

International Knowledge and Domestic Evaluations in a Changing Society: The Case of China

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  07 August 2015

HAIFENG HUANG
HAIFENG HUANG*
Affiliation:
University of California, Merced
*
Haifeng Huang is Assistant Professor of Political Science, University of California, Merced ([email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Do knowledge and information about foreign countries affect people’s evaluation of domestic situations? Using unique survey and experimental data, this research finds that Chinese citizens with more positive perceptions and especially overestimation of foreign socioeconomic conditions have more negative evaluations of China and the Chinese government. Moreover, correcting socioeconomic misinformation about foreign countries improves one’s evaluations of China, indicating that the causal direction is at least partly from rosier estimation of foreign conditions to lower domestic evaluations. The relationship between domestic evaluations and international political knowledge, as measured by familiarity with political affairs and figures in foreign countries, is typically not significant, although awareness of political instability in other countries can increase satisfaction with one’s own country. These results contribute both substantively and conceptually to the study of politically relevant knowledge and information, and shed new light on the nuances of information flow and opinion formation in changing societies.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 109 , Issue 3 , August 2015 , pp. 613 - 634
Copyright
Copyright © American Political Science Association 2015 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Adman, Per, and Stromblad, Per. 2011. “Utopia Becoming Dystopia? Analysing Political Trust among Immigrants in Sweden.” Swedish Institute for Future Studies Working Paper (10).Google Scholar
Aldrich, John, Lu, Jie, and Liu, Kang. 2015. “How Do Americans View the Rising China?” Journal of Contemporary China 24 (92): 203–21.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barabas, Jason, Jerit, Jennifer, Pollock, William, and Pollock, Carlisle. 2014. “The Question(s) of Political Knowledge.” American Political Science Review 108 (4): 840–55.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Barry, Ellen. 2012. “A Hunger for Tales of Life in the American Cul-de-Sac.” New York Times (December 10).Google Scholar
Bartels, Larry M. 1996. “Uninformed Votes: Information Effects in Presidential Elections.” American Journal of Political Science 40 (1): 194–230.Google Scholar
Berinsky, Adam J., Huber, Geregory A., and Lenz, Gabriel S.. 2012. “Evaluating Online Labor Markets for Experimental Research: Amazon.com’s Mechanical Turk.” Political Analysis 20 (3): 351–68.Google Scholar
Besley, Timothy J., and Case, Anne C.. 1995. “Incumbent Behavior: Vote-Seeking, Tax-Setting, and Yardstick Competition.” American Economic Review 85 (1): 25–45.Google Scholar
Bildner, Eli. 2013. “Chinese Web Users Marvel at Detroit, Where a Home Is as Cheap as a Pair of Shoes.” Tea Leaf Nation (March 22). http://www.tealeafnation.com/2013/03/chinese-web-users-marvel-at-detroit-where-a-home-as-cheap-as-a-pair-of-shoes/.Google Scholar
Blaydes, Lisa. 2010. Elections and Distributive Politics in Mubarak’s Egypt. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Buhrmester, Michael, Kwang, Tracy, and Gosling, Samuel D.. 2011. “Amazon’s Mechanical Turk: A New Source of Inexpensive, Yet High-Quality, Data?” Perspectives on Psychological Science 6 (1): 3–5.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Careja, Romana, and Emmenegger, Patrick. 2012. “Making Democratic Citizens: The Effects of Migration Experience on Political Attitudes in Central and Eastern Europe.” Comparative Political Studies 45 (7): 875–902.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Chen, Jie. 2004. Popular Political Support in Urban China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Chu, Yun-han. 2013. “Sources of Regime Legitimacy and the Debate over the Chinese Model.” China Review 13 (1): 1–42.Google Scholar
Coppedge, Michael, and Gerring, John. 2011. “Conceptualizing and Measuring Democracy: A New Approach.” Perspectives on Politics 9 (02): 247–67.Google Scholar
Dekker, Henk, and van der Noll, Jolanda. 2013. Attitudes towards the EU among Chinese Urban Citizens. In China and the European Union, eds. Dong, Lisheng, Wang, Zhengxu and Dekker, Henk. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Keeter, Scott. 1996. What Americans Know about Politics and Why It Matters. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Dickson, Bruce J., Shen, Mingming, and Yan, Jie. 2013. “They Have Issues: Public Goods and Regime Support in Urban China.” Working Paper.Google Scholar
Dong, Lisheng, Wang, Zhengxu, and Dekker, Henk, eds. 2013. China and the European Union. Abingdon, UK: Routledge.Google Scholar
Duch, Raymond M. 1993. “Tolerating Economic Reform: Popular Support for Transition to a Free Market in the Former Soviet Union.” American Political Science Review 87 (3): 590–608.Google Scholar
Duch, Raymond M., and Stevenson, Randy T.. 2008. The Economic Vote: How Political and Economic Institutions Condition Election Results. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Dugan, Andrew. 2014. “Americans View China Mostly Unfavorably.” Gallup. http://www.gallup.com/poll/167498/americans-view-china-mostly-unfavorably.aspx?utm_source=WWW&utm_medium=csm&utm_campaign=syndication.Google Scholar
Easterlin, Richard A. 1995. “Will Raising the Incomes of All Increase the Happiness of All?” Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization 27 (1): 35–47.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Festinger, Leon. 1954. “A Theory of Social Comparison Processes.” Human Relations 7 (2): 117–40.Google Scholar
Geddes, Barbara, and Zaller, John. 1989. “Sources of Popular Support for Authoritarian Regimes.” American Journal of Political Science 33 (2): 319–47.Google Scholar
Gilens, Martin. 2001. “Political Ignorance and Collective Policy Preferences.” American Political Science Review 95 (2): 379–96.Google Scholar
Goodman, Joseph K., Cryder, Cynthia E., and Cheema, Amar. 2012. “Data Collection in a Flat World: Strengths and Weaknesses of Mechanical Turk Samples.” Journal of Behavioral Decision Making 26 (3): 213–24.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gries, Peter Hays, Crowson, H. Michael, and Cai, Huajian. 2011. “When Knowledge Is a Double-Edged Sword: Contact, Media Exposure, and American China Policy Preferences.” Journal of Social Issues 67 (4): 787–805.Google Scholar
Han, Donglin, and Zweig, David. 2010. “Images of the World: Studying Abroad and Chinese Attitudes towards International Affairs.” The China Quarterly 202: 290–306.Google Scholar
Herrmann, Richard K., and Fischerkeller, Michael P.. 1995. “Beyond the Enemy Image and Spiral Model: Cognitive–Strategic Research after the Cold War.” International Organization 49 (03): 415–50.Google Scholar
Herrmann, Richard K., Voss, James F., Schooler, Tonya Y. E., and Ciarrochi, Joseph. 1997. “Images in International Relations: An Experimental Test of Cognitive Schemata.” International Studies Quarterly 41 (3): 403–33.Google Scholar
Hetherington, Marc J. 1996. “The Media’s Role in Forming Voters’ National Economic Evaluations in 1992.” American Journal of Political Science 40 (2): 372–95.Google Scholar
Huang, Haifeng. Forthcoming. “A War of (Mis)Information: The Political Effects of Rumors and Rumor Rebuttals in an Authoritarian Country.” British Journal of Political Science.Google Scholar
Huang, Haifeng, and Yeh, Yao-Yuan. 2015. “Foreign Media, Selective Exposure, and Opinion Change in China.” Working Paper.Google Scholar
Hui, Ning, and Wertime, David. 2014. “Is This the New Face of China’s Silent Majority?” Foreign Policy (October 21). http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2014/10/21/is_this_the_new_face_of_chinas_silent_majority.Google Scholar
Iyengar, Shanto, and Hahn, Kyu S.. 2009. “Red Media, Blue Media: Evidence of Ideological Selectivity in Media Use.” Journal of Communication 59 (1): 19–39.Google Scholar
Johnston, Alastair Iain. 2004. “Chinese Middle Class Attitudes towards International Affairs: Nascent Liberalization?” The China Quarterly 179: 603–28.Google Scholar
Johnston, Alastair Iain, and Stockmann, Daniela. 2007. Chinese Attitudes toward the United States and Americans. In Anti-Americanisms in World Politics, eds. Katzenstein, Peter J. and Keohane, Robert A.. Ithaca: Cornell University Press.Google Scholar
Kayser, Mark Andreas, and Peress, Michael. 2012. “Benchmarking Across Borders: Electoral Accountability and the Necessity of Comparison.” American Political Science Review 106 (3): 661–84.Google Scholar
Kenez, Peter. 1985. The Birth of the Propaganda State: Soviet Methods of Mass Mobilization, 1917–1929. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Kern, Holger Lutz, and Hainmueller, Jens. 2009. “Opium for the Mass: How Foreign Free Media Can Stabilize Authoritarian Regimes.” Political Analysis 17 (4): 377–99.Google Scholar
Kuklinski, James H., Quirk, Paul J., Jerit, Jennifer, Schwieder, David, and Rich, Robert F.. 2000. “Misinformation and the Currency of Democratic Citizenship.” Journal of Politics 62 (3): 790–816.Google Scholar
Lam, Andrew. 2006. “Vietnam’s Love Affair.” Los Angeles Times (November 15). http://articles.latimes.com/2006/nov/15/opinion/oe-lam15.Google Scholar
Li, Cheng. 2010. “Shaping China’s Foreign Policy: The Paradoxical Role of Foreign-Educated Returnees.” Asia Policy 10: 65–85.Google Scholar
Lupia, Arthur, and McCubbins, Mathew D.. 1998. The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Need to Know? Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Lynch, Daniel C. 1999. After the Propaganda State: Media, Politics, and “Thought Work” in Reformed China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Magaloni, Beatriz. 2006. Voting for Autocracy: Hegemonic Party Survival and Its Demise in Mexico. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Manheim, Jarol B., and Albritton, Robert B.. 1984. “Changing National Images: International Public Relations and Media Agenda Setting.” American Political Science Review 78 (3): 641–57.Google Scholar
Meirowitz, Adam, and Tucker, Joshua. 2013. “A Dynamic Model of Protest: People Power or a One Shot Deal.” American Journal of Political Science 57 (2): 478–90.Google Scholar
Myers, B. R. 2010. The Cleanest Race: How North Koreans See Themselves and Why It Matters. Brooklyn: Melville House.Google Scholar
Nelson, Michael. 1997. War of the Black Heavens: The Battles of Western Broadcasting in the Cold War. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press.Google Scholar
Nicholson, Stephen P. 2003. “The Political Environment and Ballot Proposition Awareness.” American Journal of Political Science 47 (3): 403–10.Google Scholar
Oppenheimer, Daniel M., Meyvis, Tom, and Davidenko, Nicholas. 2009. “Instructional Manipulation Checks: Detecting Satisficing to Increase Statistical Power.” Journal of Experimental Social Psychology 45 (4): 867–72.Google Scholar
Osnos, Evan. 2008. “Angry Youth: The New Generations Neocon Nationalists.” The New Yorker (July 28).Google Scholar
Page, Benjamin I., and Xie, Tao. 2010. Living with the Dragon: How the American Public Views the Rise of China. New York: Columbia University Press.Google Scholar
Pew Research Center. 2013. “America’s Global Image Remains More Positive than China’s – But Many See China Becoming World’s Leading Power.” http://www.pewglobal.org/files/2013/07/Pew-Research-Global-Attitudes-Project-Balance-of-Power-Report-FINAL-July-18-2013.pdf.Google Scholar
Prior, Markus. 2007. Post-Broadcast Democracy: How Media Choice Increases Inequality in Political Involvement and Polarizes Elections. New York: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Puddington, Arch. 2000. Broadcasting Freedom: The Cold War Triumph of Radio Free Europe and Radio Liberty. Lexington: University Press of Kentucky.Google Scholar
Redlawsk, David P. 2002. “Hot Cognition or Cool Consideration? Testing the Effects of Motivated Reasoning on Political Decision Making.” Journal of Politics 64 (4): 1021–44.Google Scholar
Rose, Richard, Mishler, William, and Haerpfer, Christian. 1998. Democracy and Its Alternatives: Understanding Post-Communist Societies. Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University Press.Google Scholar
Rose, Richard, Mishler, William, and Munro, Neil. 2011. Popular Support for an Undemocratic Regime: The Changing Views of Russians. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Shadmehr, Mehdi, and Bernhardt, Dan. 2011. “Collective Action with Uncertain Payoffs: Coordination, Public Signals and Punishment Dilemmas.” American Political Science Review 105 (04): 829–51.Google Scholar
Shambaugh, David. 1993. Beautiful Imperialist-China Perceives America, 1972–1990. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Shi, Tianjian. 2001. “Cultural Values and Political Trust: A Comparison of the People’s Republic of China and Taiwan.” Comparative Politics 33 (4): 401–19.Google Scholar
Shi, Tianjian, Lu, Jie, and Aldrich, John. 2011. “Bifurcated Images of the US in Urban China and the Impact of Media Environment.” Political Communication 28 (3): 357–76.Google Scholar
Smith, Richard H. 2000. Assimilative and Contrastive Emotional Reactions to Upward and Downward Social Comparisons. In Handbook of Social Comparison: Theory and Research, eds. Suls, Jerry and Wheeler, Ladd. New York: Springer.Google Scholar
Sprouse, Jon. 2011. “A Validation of Amazon Mechanical Turk for the Collection of Acceptability Judgments in Linguistic Theory.” Behavior Research Methods 43 (1): 155–67.Google Scholar
Stillman, Steven, Gibson, John, McKenzie, David, and Rohorua, Halahingano. 2015. “Miserable Migrants? Natural Experiment Evidence on International Migration and Objective and Subjective Well-Being.” World Development 65: 79–93.Google Scholar
Stouffer, Samuel A., Lumsdaine, Arthur A., Lumsdaine, Marion Harper, Williams, Robin M. Jr, Smith, M. Brewster, Janis, Irving L., Star, Shirley A., and Cottrell, Leonard S. Jr. 1949. The American Soldier: Combat and Its Aftermath. Princeton: Princeton University Press.Google Scholar
Taber, Charles S., and Lodge, Milton. 2006. “Motivated Skepticism in the Evaluation of Political Beliefs.” American Journal of Political Science 50 (3): 755–69.Google Scholar
Tang, Wenfang. 2005. Public Opinion and Political Change in China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Tocqueville, Alexis de. 1955. The Old Regime and the French Revolution. New York: Anchor Books.Google Scholar
Vogel, Ezra F. 2011. Deng Xiaoping and the Transformation of China. Cambridge, MA: Belknap Press.Google Scholar
Want China Times, Staff Reporter. 2013. “Offers of US $1 Houses in Detroit Lure Naive Chinese Buyers.” Want China Times (March 22). http://www.wantchinatimes.com/news-subclass-cnt.aspx?id=20130322000007&cid=1202 .Google Scholar
Wheeler, Ladd, and Miyake, Kunitate. 1992. “Social Comparison in Everyday Life.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 62 (5): 760–73.Google Scholar
Whyte, Martin. 2010. Myth of the Social Volcano: Perceptions of Inequality and Distributive Injustice in Contemporary China. Stanford: Stanford University Press.Google Scholar
Yang, Hengjun. 2014. “In Defense of Zhou Xiaoping.” The Diplomat (November 5). http://thediplomat.com/2014/11/in-defense-of-zhou-xiaoping-chinas-patriotic-blogger/.Google Scholar
Yang, Lijun, and Zheng, Yongnian. 2012. “Fenqing (Angry Youth) in Contemporary China.” Journal of Contemporary China 21 (76): 37–653.Google Scholar
Yung, Jean. 2011. “Indian ‘Immigration Bureau’ Thrilled Chinese Internet With Tales of Democracy, Free Trains.” The Wall Street Journal China Realtime Report (August 29).Google Scholar
Zaller, John. 1992. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Zhao, Dingxin. 2009. “The Mandate of Heaven and Performance Legitimation in Historical and Contemporary China.” American Behavioral Scientist 53 (3): 416–33.Google Scholar
Supplementary material: PDF

Huang supplementary material

Appendix

Download Huang supplementary material(PDF)
PDF 198.4 KB
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.