Not just mirror images: how political trust and distrust relate to public service experiences

Political trust and distrust are increasingly recognized as distinct judgements of
political institutions, rather than opposite ends of a single continuum. While
poor performance of and unfair processes in public services are assumed to
fuel distrust, most research infers distrust from low trust. We address this gap
by using measures designed to capture both political trust and distrust.
Specifically, we examine whether outcome and procedural dissatisfaction
relate to political distrust in the same way they relate to trust. Using a two-stage design, we analyze a cross-sectional survey of service users across eight
European countries and a pre-registered vignette experiment that manipulates
information about public service experiences. Cross-sectional evidence shows
that positive outcome and process experiences are linked to higher political
trust, and that their combined absence marks the lowest trust. In contrast, only
process experiences are associated with political distrust. Experimentally,
evidence indicates primarily that exposure to both negative outcome and
process experience information decreases trust and increases distrust, though
distrust does differ more across process than outcome manipulations. Overall,
we conclude that satisfactory service outcomes primarily align with political
trust, while fair and respectful processes are more tied to political distrust,
though experimental evidence is more mixed