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The argument that political science research should incorporate measures of political context is illustrated through a discussion of the effects of political culture on political behavior in the US. The utility of using culture to account for political mobilization processes as reported in recent studies is discussed. Measures of political culture can help explain both differences between states & variations within a state in political mobilization processes. 15 References. Modified HA

"Race, Ethnicity, and Political Behavior" published on by Oxford University Press.

Political scientists are making increasing use of the methodologies of behavior genetics in an attempt to uncover whether or not political behavior is heritable, as well as the specific genotypes that might act as predisposing factors for—or predictors of—political "phenotypes." Noteworthy among the latter are a series of candidate gene association studies in which researchers claim to have discovered one or two common genetic variants that predict such behaviors as voting and political orientation. We critically examine the candidate gene association study methodology by considering, as a representative example, the recent study by Fowler and Dawes according to which "two genes predict voter turnout." In addition to demonstrating, on the basis of the data set employed by Fowler and Dawes, that two genes do not predict voter turnout, we consider a number of difficulties, both methodological and genetic, that beset the use of gene association studies, both candidate and genome-wide, in the social and behavioral sciences.

"Education, Inequality, and Political Behavior" published on by Oxford University Press.

The social context of political decision making is a critical component of explanations of political behavior. Little research, however, has focused on direct observation of the social circles that transmit political information & influence. The influences of local, neighborhood-based social networks on individual political attitudes are described on the basis of interview data from about 250 Rs to a 1979 pilot study for the 1980 National Election Survey conducted by the Center for Political Studies. A model of the sources & impacts of interpersonal networks in the mass public is proposed. 2 Tables, 1 Appendix, 77 References. Modified HA.

What are the most important concepts in the political behavior literature? Have experiments supplanted surveys as the dominant method in political behavior research? What role does the American National Election Studies (ANES) play in this literature? We utilize a content analysis of over 1,100 quantitative articles on American mass political behavior published between 1980 and 2009 to address these questions. We then supplement this with a second sample of articles published between 2010 and 2018. Four key takeaways are apparent. First, the agenda of this literature is heavily skewed toward understanding voting to a relative lack of attention to specific policy attitudes and other topics. Second, experiments are ascendant, but are far from displacing surveys, and particularly the ANES. Third, while important changes to this agenda have occurred over time, it remains much the same in 2018 as it was in 1980. Fourth, the centrality of the ANES seems to stem from its time-series component. In the end, we conclude that the ANES is a critical investment for the scientific community and a main driver of political behavior research.