Suchergebnisse

Jeffery Mondak argues that students of political knowledge have erred by not differentiating between "don't knows" (DKs) & incorrect answers to factual queries on surveys. He also contends that previous scholarship has failed to appreciate the impact of personality traits on knowledge scores when DKs & wrong answers are put into the same category. Data from the 1992-2000 National Election Studies (NES), however, show that not only do DKs & incorrect answers behave differently for well- & poorly known personalities, but also, multivariate models do not look different depending on the treatment of DKs & incorrect answers. Finally, the 1964 NES shows that personality traits affect knowledge scores regardless of how DKs & incorrect answers are coded. 4 Tables, 35 References. Adapted from the source document.

Examines levels of interest and involvement in politics and consumption of print and electronic news media for adults born in 1979 or later; implications for democracy; based on polls of adults aged 18-21 conducted for the Pew Research Center for The People & The Press, 1998-2000; US. Compares with 1987 data on Generation X adults born 1968-70; some focus on impact of educational attainment.

Although young Americans are normally less engaged in politics than their elders (Converse with Niemi 1971), today's youth are more withdrawn from public affairs than earlier birth cohorts were when they were young (Bennett 1997). One indicator of youthful disregard for politics is their avoidance of exposure to mass media coverage of public affairs (Pew Center 1996, 1997; Times Mirror Center 1990). Polls conducted during the 1990s indicate that adults under 30 are considerably less likely than those over 30 to read newspapers and to watch TV news-casts, and slightly less inclined to listen to the news on radio. The Pew Research Center's April 1996 poll, for example, found that 31% of persons under 30 claimed to have read a newspaper the day before they were interviewed (compared with 76% of individuals over 30), 45% of young people said they had watched a TV news show yesterday (as did 86% of persons over 30), and 37% of the young had listened to the news on radio yesterday (versus 56% of people over 30).The young are also less likely than older persons to have dispositions that motivate them to use the news media. The Pew Center's February 1997 poll shows, for example, that individuals under 30 are less likely than those over 30 to say they look forward to reading a daily newspaper (12% vs. 32%) and to report enjoying TV newscasts (14% vs. 30%).This is a study of young adults' disconnection from mass media coverage of public affairs.

Examines the level of exposure to news and entertainment media of young adults, aged 18 to 29, the amount of attention they give to different kinds of media stories, and their ignorance of contemporary politics, 1996-97; US.

Examines what impact call-in radio shows have on citizens' political participation, some focus on listener demographics and media exposure; based on Times Mirror/Pew Research Center polls, 1993-96; US.

In this article I use pooled data from the 1988 and 1992 National Election Studies to explore the relationship between knowledge of politics and belief that one can understand the political universe. Although the 2 are related, the association is weaker than might be anticipated. Moreover, the meaning of the belief that one is sometimes confused by political affairs varies according to how well-informed citizens are. Among those who are largely ignorant of politics, admitting that public affairs are sometimes baffling seems to constitute a confession of political incapacity. For those who are well-informed, however, stating that one sometimes finds politics confusing is related to lack of trust in political leaders. Finally, among the well-informed, at least, believing that one sometimes cannot understand politics is related to lower rates of electoral participation.