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Outer voice and Inner voice: the influence of political efficacy and political trust on college students' political expression

Jiayuan Wen (HongKong Baptist University)

Keywords: Political behavior, participation and culture

Abstract

People who have lower political trust, are they more likely to speak out? The question is not easy to answer, especially in Chinese context where the severe Internet censorship may stifle citizens’ willingness to speak out. This paper is trying to explore the impacts of political trust and efficacy on Chinese college students' political expression. It mainly focuses on two modes of political expression. One is via social media; the other is interpersonal political talk. Considering the different characteristics of these two modes, it is wondering do they really have the same relationship with political trust and efficacy? To answer these questions, the study has selected university students in south China conducted a questionnaire survey. It finds that those students who have lower trust and external efficacy but higher internal efficacy make more political expression. It also finds that students prefer to express in interpersonal political talk instead of via social media with lower trust.