Concept and two dimensions
Campbell et al. (1954) measured political efficacy with items such as "People like me don't have any say about what the government does." Later researchers concluded that the concept has two dimensions. Internal efficacy is the belief that one can understand politics and participate effectively; external efficacy is the belief that the political system responds to citizens' demands. External efficacy is close to political trust, but trust evaluates government performance and intentions, while external efficacy concerns the system's responsiveness.
Relationship with participation
Abramson and Aldrich (1982) attributed much of the decline in US turnout during the 1960s and 1970s to falling external efficacy and weakening party identification. Pollock (1983) reported that internal efficacy better predicts conventional participation such as voting and campaigning, while low external efficacy can predict unconventional participation such as protest. Finkel (1985) used panel data to show a reciprocal relationship in which participation in turn raises efficacy, linking to participatory democrats' claim that participation builds civic capacity.
Measurement and significance
Craig et al. (1990) and Niemi et al. (1991) identified reliability problems with the original items and validated new items that measure internal and external efficacy more precisely. Morrell (2003) combined survey and experimental evidence to strengthen the validity of internal efficacy measures. Political efficacy is also treated as a component of psychological engagement in the civic voluntarism model, and education, deliberative experience and institutional responsiveness are studied as factors that raise it.
FAQ
- What is political efficacy in simple terms?
- It is how much you believe that if you act, politics can change.
- How do internal and external efficacy differ?
- Internal efficacy is "I can understand and take part in politics"; external efficacy is "the government responds to citizens' voices."
Sources reviewed: 2026-10-26
References
- Campbell, A., Gurin, G., & Miller, W. E. (1954). The voter decides. Row, Peterson. The election study that introduced political efficacy.
- Abramson, P. R., & Aldrich, J. H. (1982). The decline of electoral participation in America. American Political Science Review, 76(3), 502–521. Links declining efficacy to declining turnout.
- Pollock, P. H., III. (1983). The participatory consequences of internal and external political efficacy: A research note. Western Political Quarterly, 36(3), 400–409. Internal vs. external efficacy and participation.
- Finkel, S. E. (1985). Reciprocal effects of participation and political efficacy: A panel analysis. American Journal of Political Science, 29(4), 891–913. Panel evidence of reciprocal effects.
- Craig, S. C., Niemi, R. G., & Silver, G. E. (1990). Political efficacy and trust: A report on the NES pilot study items. Political Behavior, 12(3), 289–314. Validation of new NES efficacy and trust items.
- Niemi, R. G., Craig, S. C., & Mattei, F. (1991). Measuring internal political efficacy in the 1988 National Election Study. American Political Science Review, 85(4), 1407–1413. Validates the internal efficacy scale.
- Morrell, M. E. (2003). Survey and experimental evidence for a reliable and valid measure of internal political efficacy. Public Opinion Quarterly, 67(4), 589–602. Survey and experimental refinement of the measure.