PSJ — 2026-03-17
Original Understanding Citizens' Acceptance of AI in Policymaking: How Policy Domains, Levels of AI Involvement, and Stereotypical Perceptions Shape Public Support
PMR — pp. 1-25 2026-03-17 Original Outcome mutability, culpable control, and blame attribution in crisis
Yanwei Li, Hongbo Yu
Abstract
This study investigates the influence of two critical but underdeveloped factors, namely outcome mutability and culpable control, on citizens’ blame towards governments during crises. Based on a pre-registered survey experiment with 1364 Chinese citizens, our analysis shows that citizens assign more blame when they perceive the government as culpable for negative outcomes arising from crises. Additionally, outcome mutability increases citizens’ blame on the government, especially when they believe negative consequences could have been prevented. These findings demonstrate that counterfactual reasoning and causal inference influence citizens’ blame of the government, deepening our understanding of the psychological mechanisms underlying it in crises.
PSJ — 2026-03-15
Original Can Money Buy Trust? Social Transfers and Trust During the Covid‐19 Pandemic
PSJ — 2026-03-12
Original Cities Creating Citizens: Policy Feedback and the Effects of Local Naturalization Support on Immigrant Civic Engagement
Megan Dias
Abstract
ABSTRACT Despite an increasingly hostile federal stance towards immigrants, cities across the United States have passed policies and implemented programs that help eligible immigrants on their path to citizenship. This paper examines the effects of these local policies on immigrants' political behavior and sense of civic efficacy. Using a multi‐method approach combining national survey data with qualitative interviews and a survey of participants from the City of San Francisco's Pathways to Citizenship Initiative, it finds that receiving local naturalization support affects the way immigrants behave and understand themselves as citizens. Immigrants who received support from their city government through the naturalization process have higher levels of political engagement and civic efficacy than those who navigated the process alone. These findings extend policy feedback to the local level, showing how local policies produce effects for target populations within a conflicting federal context. They have implications for our understanding of policy feedback more broadly, and the role local governments play in helping immigrants become full citizens and political actors.
AJPS — 2026-03-11
Original Encouraging crossover voting in the 2024 presidential primary
Hayley M. Cohen, Daniel B. Markovits
Abstract
Abstract Will voters participate in the primary of a party they oppose to prevent the nomination of a candidate they fear? Partnering with a political action committee, we conduct a first‐of‐its‐kind, large, preregistered field experiment ( N = 83,902) in the lead‐up to the 2024 Republican presidential primary in New Hampshire. A specialized get‐out‐the‐vote intervention increases turnout in the Republican primary among undeclared voters who are modeled as likely to vote for Democratic candidates in the general election. Our treatment increased Republican primary turnout in this sample by 1.6 percentage points while reducing turnout in the Democratic Primary by .5 percentage points. Supplementing our experiment with surveys before and after the primary, we estimate that each vote cast by Democratic‐leaning voters in the Republican primary had between a 78% and 95% probability of supporting the relatively moderate Republican primary candidate. We argue that voters are capable of sophisticated, risk‐mitigating behavior in primaries.
PSJ 54/2 2026-03-09
Original Unpacking Welfare Deservingness Theory: Evidence From the Perceived Deservingness of Gig Workers
Juhyun Bae
Abstract
ABSTRACT The theory of welfare deservingness provides valuable insights into the social legitimacy of welfare programs and the principles underlying policy design. In examining the question of who deserves what and why, established deservingness criteria emphasize that individuals demonstrating motivation to work (“reciprocity”) are typically perceived as more deserving. However, little is known about how the nature of work might affect perceived deservingness. This study addresses this gap by investigating the perceived deservingness of gig workers, a rapidly growing segment of the labor force characterized by distinctive work arrangements. The flexibility and autonomy inherent in gig jobs are argued to amplify perceptions of personal responsibility and control, thereby reducing public support for benefits for gig workers. Through preregistered survey experiments conducted as part of the 2022 Cooperative Election Study, this research identifies a significant “gig work deservingness penalty,” where gig workers are perceived as less deserving of welfare benefits compared to traditional workers, even when demonstrating motivation to work. This penalty is especially pronounced for immigrant gig workers. These findings uncover the established criterion of “job searching” is not homogeneous, offering critical insights into the challenges of building consensus for policy reforms aimed at creating security systems for emerging precarious groups.
JCC — pp. 1-17 2026-03-09 Original Imported Nationalism: How Foreign Influencers and Local Followers Amplify the Chinese Dream in Weibo’s Attention Economy
PAR — 2026-03-09
Original Behavioral Charity: Third‐Party Ratings of Nonprofits as Salience and Heuristics
PA — 2026-03-07
Original Who Is Accountable? How Citizens Attribute Success and Failure in Cross‐Sector Collaborations
JCC — pp. 1-20 2026-03-06 Original Serve the People: Public Service Information and Communication Strategies of Local Governments in China
Jianjun Yu, Shuyuan Shen
Abstract
While ideological propaganda remains central to Chinese political communication, public service information is a vital yet underexamined component. We argue that public service information enhances service visibility, strengthens government credibility, and fosters affective proximity between local authorities and citizens, boosting government satisfaction and conferring greater legitimacy. Its practical utility also attracts a broader audience and increases engagement with government accounts. Combining a survey experiment and computational analysis of over one million articles from local governments’ WeChat accounts, we find that public service information increases citizens’ support for local governments and draws readers to both government accounts and ideological propaganda. These findings underscore the significance of public service information in legitimation and audience acquisition, warranting greater scholarly attention to public service information in China.