Laura A. Pazos ^1* Evan Murphy ² Monica K. Miller ¹

• ¹ University of Nevada, Reno, Reno, United States
• ² United States Department of Labor, Washington D.C., United States

Community Sentiment is the collective opinions, attitudes, and behaviors related toward a particular issue. Because the US is a representative democracy, lawmakers are generally expected to act in accordance with the sentiment of those who elected them. However, there are instances in which this could lead to negative outcomes or counter the good of the community. Following community sentiment can also be tricky on highly political and divided issues such as abortion. Community sentiment research has origins in the work of scholars such as Finkel and Blumenthal, who first developed ways to measure community sentiment. Community sentiment research also focuses on changing sentiment by providing information and identifying communities. This subject is also difficult to study because it is so complex. Thus, community sentiment often studies the boundaries of support. Researchers also study the psychological underpinnings of community sentiment, including emotion, priming, and other psychological principles. Different communities can also differ in support, based on their expertise, knowledge, and personal relevance. There are also many "communities" ranging from the general population of a region to a particular group such as parents, doctors, or a particular age group. The ultimate goal of this article is to provide an overview and synthesis of the theoretical and methodological components of community sentiment research, building on the Handbook of Community Sentiment and subsequent, new research. This review discusses the history, evolution, and future of community sentiment, including the complexities of measurement and the nuances of this research.