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This article contrasts short-term self-interest and longstanding symbolic attitudes as determinants of (1) voters' attitudes toward government policy on four controversial issues (unemployment, national health insurance, busing, and law and order), and (2) issue voting concerning those policy areas. In general, we found the various self-interest measures to have very little effect in determining either policy preferences or voting behavior. In contrast, symbolic attitudes (liberal or conservative ideology, party identification, and racial prejudice) had major effects. Nor did self-interest play much of a role in creating "issue publics" that were particularly attentive to, informed about, or constrained in their attitudes about these specific policy issues. Conditions that might facilitate more self-interested political attitudes, specifically having privatistic (rather than public-regarding) personal values, perceiving the policy area as a major national problem, being high in political sophistication, perceiving the government as responsive, or having a sense of political efficacy, were also explored, but had no effect. The possibility that some long-term self-interest might be reflected in either group membership or in symbolic attitudes themselves is examined. While such possibilities cannot be definitively rejected, problems with interpreting standard demographic findings as self-interest effects are discussed.

"In the summer of 1967, in response to violent demonstrations that rocked 164 cities across the U.S., the National Advisory Commission on Civil Disorders, commonly known as the Kerner Commission, was formed. As part of its work, the Commission employed social scientists to research the root causes of the disturbances, including the role that law enforcement played. Chief among its research projects was a study of 23 American cities, headed by social psychologist Robert Shellow. Shellow's social scientists worked from the vast material brought back by teams of Commission investigators who fanned out across those cities, conducting interviews and gathering data. An early draft of the scientists' analysis was delivered on November 22, 1967. Their report, titled "The Harvest of American Racism: The Political Meaning of Violence in the Summer of 1967" provoked the Commission's staff by uncovering political causes for the unrest; the team of researchers was fired, and the controversial report remained buried at the LBJ Presidential Library until now. The first publication of the Harvest report half a century later reveals that many of the issues it describes are still with us, including how cities might more effectively and humanely react to groups and communities in protest."--Provided by publisher

Attempts to explain whites' paradoxical support for principles of racial equality & intransigence on social policies aimed at rectifying racial inequities. A multivariate model is used to explore the effects of racial prejudice, beliefs about racial discrimination, stratification beliefs, & self-interest on whites' attitudes toward racial policies, based on data from the 1990 General Social Survey & the 1986 American National Election Study. Class positions were not found to be important determinants of whites' attitudes regarding race-targeted social policy. However, recognition of continuing racial discrimination, structuralist attributions of the causes of racial inequality, & group self-interest all played a significant part in determining whites' views of race-targeted policies. It is concluded that educational programs aimed at demonstrating the legacy of past & present discrimination & the effects of structured inequality can improve the prospects for successful policy interventions. 3 Tables, 1 Appendix, 40 References. Adapted from the source document.

Frontmatter -- Contents -- List of Tables and Figures -- Acknowledgments -- I Interdisciplinary Cross-Fertilization -- I. An Overview of the Field of Political Psychology -- 2. The Poly-Psy Relationship: Three Phases of a Long Affair -- 3. Psychohistory and Political Psychology: A Comparative Analysis -- II Attitudes and Behavior -- 4. Political Perception -- 5. Symbolic Politics: A Socio-Psychological Theory -- 6. Nonverbal Behavior and Leadership: Emotion and Cognition in Political Information Processing -- 7. The Psychology of Group Conflict and the Dynamics of Oppression: A Social Dominance Perspective -- III Information Processing and Cognition -- 8. Inside the Mental Voting Booth: An Impression-Driven Process Model of Candidate Evaluation -- 9. Political Information Processing -- 10. Affect and Political Judgment -- IV Decision Making and Choice -- 11. Information and Electoral Attitudes: A Case of Judgment Under Uncertainty -- 12. The Drunkard's Search -- 13. Decision Making in Presidential Primaries -- 14. Cognitive Structural Analysis of Political Rhetoric: Methodological and Theoretical Issues -- References -- Index -- Contributors