DETERMINANTS AND MECHANISMS BEHIND GOVERNMENTAL SUPPORT – BUILDING A MEDIATION MODEL USING COMMITMENT AND OPTIMISM

Abstract

The nation’s ability to successfully address a crisis is highly associated with the citizen’s abidance and approval of the government and its regulations, as the government acts as the main center for crisis management. In this paper, we propose a mediation model that outlines the determinants and mechanisms behind governmental support in times of crisis. We argue that commitment and optimism are important factors that contribute to governmental support. Commitment is a component of the CIDS model, an identification model, while optimism is dichotomized as affective optimism and collective efficacy. We hypothesize that optimism mediates the relationship between commitment and governmental support. We used a sample of undergraduate participants (N = 211) to examine this hypothesis. Structural equation modelling was used to test the veracity of this model. Analysis provided evidence for the pathway from commitment to governmental support via collective efficacy but not affective optimism. The lack of evidence for the affective optimism pathway may suggest that more cognitive or cost-benefit approach is utilized to assess if it is worth supporting the government in times of crisis.