Stereotypes and welfare attitudes: a panel survey of how ‘poor Carina’ and ‘lazy Robert’ affected attitudes towards social assistance in Denmark
What is the impact of a predominantly negative debate about social assistance on public and individual support for the social benefit? Over the course of a year the public debate about social assistance flared up twice in Denmark. The debates drew on classic stereotypes of the social assistance reci...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Scandinavian University Press/Universitetsforlaget
2014-08-01
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| Series: | Nordic Journal of Social Research |
| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/njsr/article/view/2078 |
| _version_ | 1827775996494872576 |
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| author | Troels Fage Hedegaard |
| author_facet | Troels Fage Hedegaard |
| author_sort | Troels Fage Hedegaard |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | What is the impact of a predominantly negative debate about social assistance on public and individual support for the social benefit? Over the course of a year the public debate about social assistance flared up twice in Denmark. The debates drew on classic stereotypes of the social assistance recipients lacking both the financial incentives and the will to work. According to theories of the impact of media on welfare attitudes, this had the potential to undermine public support. A two-wave panel survey, however, showed only a small drop in public support for spending on social assistance, in a comparison of attitudes before and after the debates. The small overall impact on public opinion, however, hid a polarization of attitudes on the individual level. This shows that there was not a uniform reaction to welfare debates, but that people tend to seek out a version of reality that is consistent with their values and self-interest. The article thus shows that people when faced with public debates on welfare policies will seek to confirm their personal biases and this limits the possibility for overall changes in public support. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:57:56Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-2e5cbf4f1f6a464da73691b868e2e33e |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1892-2783 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-11T13:57:56Z |
| publishDate | 2014-08-01 |
| publisher | Scandinavian University Press/Universitetsforlaget |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nordic Journal of Social Research |
| spelling | doaj.art-2e5cbf4f1f6a464da73691b868e2e33e2023-11-02T05:48:31ZengScandinavian University Press/UniversitetsforlagetNordic Journal of Social Research1892-27832014-08-01510.7577/njsr.20781257Stereotypes and welfare attitudes: a panel survey of how ‘poor Carina’ and ‘lazy Robert’ affected attitudes towards social assistance in DenmarkTroels Fage Hedegaard0Aalborg UniversityWhat is the impact of a predominantly negative debate about social assistance on public and individual support for the social benefit? Over the course of a year the public debate about social assistance flared up twice in Denmark. The debates drew on classic stereotypes of the social assistance recipients lacking both the financial incentives and the will to work. According to theories of the impact of media on welfare attitudes, this had the potential to undermine public support. A two-wave panel survey, however, showed only a small drop in public support for spending on social assistance, in a comparison of attitudes before and after the debates. The small overall impact on public opinion, however, hid a polarization of attitudes on the individual level. This shows that there was not a uniform reaction to welfare debates, but that people tend to seek out a version of reality that is consistent with their values and self-interest. The article thus shows that people when faced with public debates on welfare policies will seek to confirm their personal biases and this limits the possibility for overall changes in public support.https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/njsr/article/view/2078welfare attitudesstereotypesattitude formationpanel studysocial assistancewelfare |
| spellingShingle | Troels Fage Hedegaard Stereotypes and welfare attitudes: a panel survey of how ‘poor Carina’ and ‘lazy Robert’ affected attitudes towards social assistance in Denmark Nordic Journal of Social Research welfare attitudes stereotypes attitude formation panel study social assistance welfare |
| title | Stereotypes and welfare attitudes: a panel survey of how ‘poor Carina’ and ‘lazy Robert’ affected attitudes towards social assistance in Denmark |
| title_full | Stereotypes and welfare attitudes: a panel survey of how ‘poor Carina’ and ‘lazy Robert’ affected attitudes towards social assistance in Denmark |
| title_fullStr | Stereotypes and welfare attitudes: a panel survey of how ‘poor Carina’ and ‘lazy Robert’ affected attitudes towards social assistance in Denmark |
| title_full_unstemmed | Stereotypes and welfare attitudes: a panel survey of how ‘poor Carina’ and ‘lazy Robert’ affected attitudes towards social assistance in Denmark |
| title_short | Stereotypes and welfare attitudes: a panel survey of how ‘poor Carina’ and ‘lazy Robert’ affected attitudes towards social assistance in Denmark |
| title_sort | stereotypes and welfare attitudes a panel survey of how poor carina and lazy robert affected attitudes towards social assistance in denmark |
| topic | welfare attitudes stereotypes attitude formation panel study social assistance welfare |
| url | https://journals.hioa.no/index.php/njsr/article/view/2078 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT troelsfagehedegaard stereotypesandwelfareattitudesapanelsurveyofhowpoorcarinaandlazyrobertaffectedattitudestowardssocialassistanceindenmark |