Inside the Mind of a Voter

Inside the Mind of a Voter PDF Author: Michael Bruter
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069120201X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 374

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Book Description
An in-depth look into the psychology of voters around the world, how voters shape elections, and how elections transform citizens and affect their lives Could understanding whether elections make people happy and bring them closure matter more than who they vote for? What if people did not vote for what they want but for what they believe is right based on roles they implicitly assume? Do elections make people cry? This book invites readers on a unique journey inside the mind of a voter using unprecedented data from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Africa, and Georgia throughout a period when the world evolved from the centrist dominance of Obama and Mandela to the shock victories of Brexit and Trump. Michael Bruter and Sarah Harrison explore three interrelated aspects of the heart and mind of voters: the psychological bases of their behavior, how they experience elections and the emotions this entails, and how and when elections bring democratic resolution. The authors examine unique concepts including electoral identity, atmosphere, ergonomics, and hostility. From filming the shadow of voters in the polling booth, to panel study surveys, election diaries, and interviews, Bruter and Harrison unveil insights into the conscious and subconscious sides of citizens’ psychology throughout a unique decade for electoral democracy. They highlight how citizens’ personality, memory, and identity affect their vote and experience of elections, when elections generate hope or hopelessness, and how subtle differences in electoral arrangements interact with voters’ psychology to trigger different emotions. Inside the Mind of a Voter radically shifts electoral science, moving away from implicitly institution-centric visions of behavior to understand elections from the point of view of voters.

Inside the Mind of a Voter

Inside the Mind of a Voter PDF Author: Michael Bruter
Publisher: Princeton University Press
ISBN: 069120201X
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 374

Get Book Here

Book Description
An in-depth look into the psychology of voters around the world, how voters shape elections, and how elections transform citizens and affect their lives Could understanding whether elections make people happy and bring them closure matter more than who they vote for? What if people did not vote for what they want but for what they believe is right based on roles they implicitly assume? Do elections make people cry? This book invites readers on a unique journey inside the mind of a voter using unprecedented data from the United States, the United Kingdom, Germany, France, South Africa, and Georgia throughout a period when the world evolved from the centrist dominance of Obama and Mandela to the shock victories of Brexit and Trump. Michael Bruter and Sarah Harrison explore three interrelated aspects of the heart and mind of voters: the psychological bases of their behavior, how they experience elections and the emotions this entails, and how and when elections bring democratic resolution. The authors examine unique concepts including electoral identity, atmosphere, ergonomics, and hostility. From filming the shadow of voters in the polling booth, to panel study surveys, election diaries, and interviews, Bruter and Harrison unveil insights into the conscious and subconscious sides of citizens’ psychology throughout a unique decade for electoral democracy. They highlight how citizens’ personality, memory, and identity affect their vote and experience of elections, when elections generate hope or hopelessness, and how subtle differences in electoral arrangements interact with voters’ psychology to trigger different emotions. Inside the Mind of a Voter radically shifts electoral science, moving away from implicitly institution-centric visions of behavior to understand elections from the point of view of voters.

On Voter Competence

On Voter Competence PDF Author: Paul Goren
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 0195396146
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 288

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Book Description
Argues with the standard interpretation of the American voter as incompetent in matters of policy.

The People's Choice

The People's Choice PDF Author: Paul Felix Lazarsfeld
Publisher:
ISBN:
Category :
Languages : en
Pages : 178

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Book Description


A Citizen’s Guide to the Political Psychology of Voting

A Citizen’s Guide to the Political Psychology of Voting PDF Author: David P. Redlawsk
Publisher: Routledge
ISBN: 1317272870
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 206

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Book Description
In the run-up to a contentious 2020 presidential election, the much-maligned American voter may indeed be wondering, “How did we get here?” A Citizen’s Guide to the Political Psychology of Voting offers a way of thinking about how voters make decisions that provides both hope and concern. In many ways, voters may be able to effectively process vast amounts of information in order to decide which candidates to vote for in concert with their ideas, values, and priorities. But human limitations in information processing must give us pause. While we all might think we want to be rational information processors, political psychologists recognize that most of the time we do not have the time or the motivation to do so. The question is, can voters do a “good enough” job even if they fail to account for everything during the campaign? Evidence suggests that they can, but it isn’t easy. Here, Redlawsk and Habegger portray a wide variety of voter styles and approaches—from the most motivated and engaged to the farthest removed and disenchanted—in vignettes that connect the long tradition of voter survey research to real life voting challenges. They explore how voters search for political information and make use of it in evaluating candidates and their positions. Ultimately, they find that American voters are reasonably competent in making well-enough informed vote choices efficiently and responsibly. For citizen voters as well as students and scholars, these results should encourage regular turnout for elections now and in the future.

The Rationalizing Voter

The Rationalizing Voter PDF Author: Milton Lodge
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
ISBN: 1107064759
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 476

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Book Description
Political behavior is the result of innumerable unnoticed forces and conscious deliberation is often a rationalization of automatically triggered feelings and thoughts. Citizens are very sensitive to environmental contextual factors such as the title 'President' preceding 'Obama' in a newspaper headline, upbeat music or patriotic symbols accompanying a campaign ad, or question wording and order in a survey, all of which have their greatest influence when citizens are unaware. This book develops and tests a dual-process theory of political beliefs, attitudes and behavior, claiming that all thinking, feeling, reasoning and doing have an automatic component as well as a conscious deliberative component. The authors are especially interested in the impact of automatic feelings on political judgments and evaluations. This research is based on laboratory experiments, which allow the testing of five basic hypotheses: hot cognition, automaticity, affect transfer, affect contagion and motivated reasoning.

A California State of Mind

A California State of Mind PDF Author: Mark Baldassare
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520236483
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 300

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Book Description
"A thought-provoking analysis by one of the most astute analysts of the California scene."—U.S. Senator Dianne Feinstein "If you care about the direction in which America is headed, then you must pay attention to California. To understand California today and decades from now, you must read Baldassare’s masterful assessment. He knows the issues and he takes you inside the head of California voters—old, young, Latino, white, he talks to them all. And you can forget your assumptions: Baldassare proves the stereotypes wrong."—Judy Woodruff, Anchor, CNN’s Inside Politics "Probing the social and political mindset of California offers a shortcut into the American future. No one knows California better in this regard than Baldassare, and never has he been more on top of his game than in this landmark study of California today—and America tomorrow."—Dr. Kevin Starr, State Librarian of California "Many people speculate about the expanding social and political clout of Latinos in California, but Baldassare uses solid evidence to reveal what's driving this dynamic population—from unique political attitudes to highest-level optimism. Read this book and you'll understand the profound influence that growing Latino participation will have on the Golden State's future."—Monica Lozano, President, La Opinion "Baldassare has probed as deeply and wisely as anyone ever has into that most fascinating and, at times, most enigmatic of public phenomena, the behavior of the California voter. With A California State of Mind, he has made an indispensable contribution to our understanding of the politics of our time."—Peter Schrag, author of Paradise Lost: California’s Experience, America’s Future "An invaluable book for policy makers in California and nationwide. Baldassare both provides a detailed and thoughtful analysis of the disconnect between Californians and their government and buttresses his argument with a wealth of data. Anyone interested in improving our political life will want to own this book."—Dan Yankelovich, Chairman, Public Agenda and Viewpoint Learning "No one knows how Californians think about politics better than Baldassare does. Anyone interested in California politics should read this book."—Jack Peltason, coauthor of Government by the People and Understanding the Constitution "Backed by stunningly thorough documentation, this book is an essential and sobering primer to understanding why California really is different."—Tom Goldstein, editor of Killing the Messenger "Baldassare has long been one of the most perceptive analysts of politics and public opinion in California. His new book is indispensable reading for anyone who wants to understand the changing political landscape, and the subtle shadings of public attitudes, in the nation’s largest state."—Ronald Brownstein, political columnist, Los Angeles Times

Brave New Ballot

Brave New Ballot PDF Author: Aviel D. Rubin
Publisher: Random House Digital, Inc.
ISBN:
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 296

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Book Description
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The Political Brain

The Political Brain PDF Author: Drew Westen
Publisher: PublicAffairs
ISBN: 1586485997
Category : Political Science
Languages : en
Pages : 497

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Book Description
The Political Brain is a groundbreaking investigation into the role of emotion in determining the political life of the nation. For two decades Drew Westen, professor of psychology and psychiatry at Emory University, has explored a theory of the mind that differs substantially from the more "dispassionate" notions held by most cognitive psychologists, political scientists, and economists -- and Democratic campaign strategists. The idea of the mind as a cool calculator that makes decisions by weighing the evidence bears no relation to how the brain actually works. When political candidates assume voters dispassionately make decisions based on "the issues," they lose. That's why only one Democrat has been re-elected to the presidency since Franklin Roosevelt -- and only one Republican has failed in that quest. In politics, when reason and emotion collide, emotion invariably wins. Elections are decided in the marketplace of emotions, a marketplace filled with values, images, analogies, moral sentiments, and moving oratory, in which logic plays only a supporting role. Westen shows, through a whistle-stop journey through the evolution of the passionate brain and a bravura tour through fifty years of American presidential and national elections, why campaigns succeed and fail. The evidence is overwhelming that three things determine how people vote, in this order: their feelings toward the parties and their principles, their feelings toward the candidates, and, if they haven't decided by then, their feelings toward the candidates' policy positions. Westen turns conventional political analyses on their head, suggesting that the question for Democratic politics isn't so much about moving to the right or the left but about moving the electorate. He shows how it can be done through examples of what candidates have said -- or could have said -- in debates, speeches, and ads. Westen's discoveries could utterly transform electoral arithmetic, showing how a different view of the mind and brain leads to a different way of talking with voters about issues that have tied the tongues of Democrats for much of forty years -- such as abortion, guns, taxes, and race. You can't change the structure of the brain. But you can change the way you appeal to it. And here's how

The Oxford Handbook of American Elections and Political Behavior

The Oxford Handbook of American Elections and Political Behavior PDF Author: Jan E. Leighley
Publisher: Oxford University Press (UK)
ISBN: 0199604517
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 796

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Book Description
The Oxford Handbooks of American Politics are the essential guide to the study of American political life in the 21st Century. With engaging contributions from the major figures in the field The Oxford Handbook of American Elections and Political Behavior provides the key point of reference for anyone working in American Politics today

The Myth of the Independent Voter

The Myth of the Independent Voter PDF Author: Bruce E. Keith
Publisher: Univ of California Press
ISBN: 0520077202
Category : History
Languages : en
Pages : 243

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Book Description
Debunking conventional wisdom about voting patterns and allaying recent concerns about electoral stability and possible third party movements, the authors uncover faulty practices that have resulted in a skewed sense of the American voting population.