Emre Toros
Professor, Dean,
Department of Communication Sciences,
Faculty of Communication,
Hacettepe University, Ankara
Naïve and Critical Trust in Media: An analysis of a new trust typology
Date:/ Time: 6 Feb. / 12:30-13:30
Place: FB 309
Naïve and Critical Trust in Media: An analysis of a new trust typology
Trust is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, while a certain level of trust for formal and informal institutions is essential in democratic societies, on the other, an active and attentive public with a healthy scepticism of these institutions is required. Following this argument, this study defines trust as an attitude of individuals driven by exposed information, personal cognitive features, and an interaction between the two, producing positive and negative consequences on attitudes and behaviours related to media and theorises two sub-types of trust as naïve and critical. Based on this fresh theoretical approach, it examines the naïve and critical trust’s link to multiple political and social domains, using data based on a country-representative survey carried out in Turkey in April 2023 as a part of TUBİTAK funded “Turkey Trust Research”. Findings show that although naïve and critical trust relate to multiple attitudes and behaviours, these relations are shaped by factors including partisanship and gender.
Emre Toros is a professor of Political Science and dean at the Faculty of Communication, Hacettepe University Ankara, Turkey. He has completed his academic studies in Turkey and abroad, including Malmö, King’s College London, Stanford and Harvard Universities. He is a student of political behaviour, and his primary interest is social research design, including data collection, processing, analysis, and reporting. During his research, Professor Toros received several awards and grants, including the Swedish Institute Visiting Scholar Grant, the British Academy Newton Advanced Scholarship Award, the Fulbright Visiting Scholar Grant and The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey Research Grant. His work appeared in journals including Democratization, British Journal of Middle Eastern Studies, Southeast European and Black Sea Studies, Political Research Exchange, International Journal of Forecasting and Turkish Studies.