Reconsidering Political Cynicism and Political Involvement: A Test of Antecedents

This study investigates the relationship between political cynicism and political involvement by connecting them with antecedent variables: need for cognition, elaboration and perceived media importance. The findings show that elaboration and political involvement are exogenous, casting influence on political cynicism, need for cognition, and perceived importance of media. This finding confirms the previous contention that political involvement is the key to harnessing political disaffection. The results also show that political involvement is positively associated with political cynicism, echoing recent evidence that cynical citizens can be politically involved in some context. The implications of the results for future research are discussed.