Suchergebnisse

The characteristics of "closet partisans" are investigated, using a typology of partisans & independents developed from an alternative Partisan Supporter Typology. Data from the 1980 National Election Study (N = 2,461 US voters) indicate that those leaners who are most like strong partisans on the criteria of political involvement & partisan commitment are nonetheless least like strong partisans on two further criteria: independence attitudes & affective response to the substantive content of elections. Thus, the American Voter analysis (Dennis, Jack, "Preadult Learning of Political Independence: Media and Family Communication Effects," Communication Research, 1986, 13, 401-433), which assumes all political leaners are Independents, & the Wolfinger et al, critique (eg, see Keith, Bruce, et al, "The Partisan Affinities of Independent Leaners," British Journal of Political Science,, 1986, 16, 155-184), which concludes that leaners are partisans, are both oversimplifications of political reality. 6 Tables, 2 Figures, 1 Appendix. Adapted from the source document.

This second article asks what it means to be independent in the contemporary United States. Four different meanings are hypothesized: (1) negative feelings about major political parties and partisanship; (2) positive identification with ideals of independence, especially individualistic autonomy; (3) neutrality or indifference because of no detectable party differences of significance; (4) a self-perceived pattern of variability in partisan behaviour. These four attitudinal dimensions are supported empirically via principal components analysis using both national and Wisconsin data. The four dimensions of independence attitudes show varied patterns of association with general indices of Independence self-classification, relevant political attitudes and behaviours, and various antecedents such as age and education.

Analysis of new survey questions incorporated into the 1980 National Election Study; based on conference paper.

With the decline in popular attachment to the two major parties in the United States since the mid-1960s, collective political independence has risen. Using new survey questions introduced in 1980, this article employs alternative measures of independence to reassess the phenomenon of independence in America. These new measures give us fresh insights beyond what we had using only the traditional measures. One casualty of this new approach is the portrait of the Independent given byThe American Voter. This portrait appears seriously misleading, given that it is those who deny beingeitherpartisan or Independent who fit that portrait – not Independentsper se. And the most politically involved voters turn out to be Independent Partisan Supporters; not simple partisans.

Groups, as opposed to political party affiliation, are a central element in the formation of US PO. Connected to such evaluations is the character of group comparisons, such as in group-focused relative power deprivation; also of relevance are competing political value constellations, especially individualism & majoritarianism. Here, the impact of groups on voting behavior is examined, using survey data collected in Wisc & nationally. Relative approval of group-based pluralism is shown to affect the patterns of relationships of major predictors of turnout. Also, LISREL analysis reveals that a group focus is as important as a party focus in affecting the level of political alienation pertinent to voter participation. 14 Tables, 2 Figures, 60 References. Modified HA

This article addresses the question of the influence of mass media and interpersonal communication on the growth of partisan independence among American preadults; 3-wave panel interview data from Wisconsin preadults (aged 10-17 in early 1980) and their parents are used. New measures of political independence are introduced. Preadults become increasingly independent as they get older. Significant antecedent variables are the parent's independence and education, and the preadult's media exposure, attention and trust, and interpersonal political information seeking. None of these effects is large, and they are specific to particular measures of independence.