How racialized policy contact shapes the social constructions of policy targets

Abstract

Policy feedback scholars argue the relationship between policy and politics is dynamic and reciprocal. For instance, policies "make citizens," teaching the public who deserves positive government treatment and who does not. Furthermore, individual experiences with policy shape participation and beliefs about government, which shapes future policy. But few scholars have examined how experiences with a law shape attitudes toward those targeted by policy. We use a survey of 3000 respondents on MTurk (including an over-sample of people of color) to show how direct and indirect experience with policy shapes social constructions of politically relevant groups. Specifically, we examine how direct (personal) and indirect (via someone they know well) experience with two policy areas (criminal justice and social welfare) shape perceptions of the targets of criminal justice and welfare policy. We find the effect of policy contact is racialized; policy contact has a greater effect on white respondents compared to Black respondents. But despite this contact, whites' attitudes about groups' deservingness remain lower than those of their Black counterparts.

Editorial introduction: Exploring the frontier of policy theory research

“…The Social Construction Framework (SCF) suggests that the public rewards policymakers for distributing benefits and burdens to target populations (Blanton & Jones, 2023; Maltby & Kreitzer, 2023). In the lead article “Policy design receptivity and target populations: A social construction framework approach to climate change policy,” Koski and Manson (2024) investigate how public receptivity to policy design varies with target population choice.…”

Editorial Introduction: Contributing to the policy process literatures

“…In their article, “How Racialized Policy Contact Shapes the Social Constructions of Policy Targets,” Maltby and Kreitzer (2023) investigate the potential of citizens to alter how the targets of public policies are viewed. Using survey data, the authors examine how direct and indirect experiences with the criminal justice and social welfare systems influence perceptions of target populations.…”

Editorial introduction: Exploring policy theories, narratives, and policing

“…The final three articles focus on critical issues related to policing, which remain ongoing policy problems, particularly in the US context (Baumgartner et al., 2021; Maltby & Kreitzer, 2023; Shoub et al., 2021). These articles examine police unions and use‐of‐force reform in American cities, the adoption of citizen oversight of police, and how police agency diversity, policies, and outcomes shape citizen trust and willingness to engage.…”