Annual Review of Political Science Political Trust in a Cynical Age Jack Citrin and Laura Stoker Department of Political Science, University of California, Berkeley, California 94720, USA; email: gojack@berkeley.edu, stoker@berkeley.edu Annu. Rev. Political Sci. 2018. 21:49–70 First published as a Review in Advance on January 31, 2018 The Annual Review of Political Science is online at polisci.annualreviews.org https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-050316- 092550 Copyright c  2018 by Annual Reviews. All rights reserved Keywords trust, cynicism, disaffection, polarization, performance, legitimacy Abstract This article reviews recent survey-based research on citizens’ trust in govern- ment, focusing particularly on the United States. It addresses the long-term decline in trust and potential causes for this decline, with an emphasis on the effects of partisanship, polarization, performance, process, and media priming. While dispositions can anchor trust levels, the dominant research findings show that the sources of variation and change in trust are political, if multifaceted, in nature. We discuss new versions of standard measures, call for a renewed look at the distinction between trust in authorities and trust in the regime, review ongoing work on how and why trust matters, and recommend broadening the foci of mistrust to include antiestablishment sentiments and attacks on electoral integrity. How trust intervenes between perceptions of political processes and compliance with authoritative com- mands is a critical domain for additional research. We conclude with a caveat against confidence that the decline in trust can be quickly or easily reversed. 49 Click here to view this article's online features: • Download figures as PPT slides • Navigate linked references • Download citations • Explore related articles • Search keywords ANNUAL REVIEWS Further Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci. 2018.21:49-70. Downloaded from www.annualreviews.org Access provided by 54.82.56.168 on 10/10/21. For personal use only.