- The Oxford Handbooks of Political Science
- [UNTITLED]
- Dedication
- Preface
- About the Contributors
- Citizens and Political Behavior
- Political Socialization
- Belief Systems and Political Decision Making
- Elite Beliefs and the Theory of Democratic Elitism
- Political Psychology and Choice
- Information, Persuasion, and Political Communication Networks
- Political Communication
- Perspectives on Mass Belief Systems and Communication
- The Political Culture Paradigm
- Individual Modernity
- Left–Right Orientations
- Postmaterialist Values and the Shift from Survival to Self‐Expression Values
- Clash of Values across Civilizations
- Democratization: Perspectives from Global Citizenries
- Perspectives on Political Behavior in Time and Space
- Political Values
- Political Intolerance in the Context of Democratic Theory
- Social and Political Trust
- The Welfare State: Values, Policy Preferences, and Performance Evaluations
- Citizen Opinion on Foreign Policy and World Politics
- Norms of Citizenship
- Democratic Values
- An Institutional Theory of Political Choice
- The Decline of Social Class?
- The Effects of Religion and Religiosity on Voting Behavior
- Race and Political Behavior
- Economic Models of Voting
- New Dimensions of Political Cleavage
- Partisanship Reconsidered
- The Personalization of Politics
- The Interaction of Structures and Voter Behavior
- Perspectives on Electoral Behavior
- Turnout in Elections
- Political Activism and Party Members
- Social Capital
- Civil Society and Democratization
- Social Movements
- The Spread of Protest Politics
- New Feminist Challenges to the Study of Political Engagement
- New Modes of Campaigning
- E‐Government and Democracy
- Perspectives on Political Participation
- The Relationship between Public Opinion and Policy
- Political Elites
- Political Representation and Democracy
- Perspectives on Representation: Asking the Right Questions and Getting the Right Answers
- Research Resources in Comparative Political Behavior
- Comparative Opinion Surveys
- Methods of Elite Research
- Subject Index
- Name Index
Abstract and Keywords
This article studies the belief systems and political decision making and examines the observation that political scientists have the ability to tell a coherent story about citizens and public opinion. It reviews and summarizes the original story about citizens and politics, which can be found in Converse's ‘The Nature of Mass Belief Systems’. The next section discusses three revisions of the story and the studies that gird them. The article ends with an examination of the validity of these three revisions.
Keywords: belief systems, political decision making, original story, citizens and politics, The Nature of Mass Belief Systems, revisions, political scientists
James H. Kuklinski is Professor of Political Science at the University of Illinois.
Buddy Peyton is a Graduate Student at the University of Illinois.
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- The Oxford Handbooks of Political Science
- [UNTITLED]
- Dedication
- Preface
- About the Contributors
- Citizens and Political Behavior
- Political Socialization
- Belief Systems and Political Decision Making
- Elite Beliefs and the Theory of Democratic Elitism
- Political Psychology and Choice
- Information, Persuasion, and Political Communication Networks
- Political Communication
- Perspectives on Mass Belief Systems and Communication
- The Political Culture Paradigm
- Individual Modernity
- Left–Right Orientations
- Postmaterialist Values and the Shift from Survival to Self‐Expression Values
- Clash of Values across Civilizations
- Democratization: Perspectives from Global Citizenries
- Perspectives on Political Behavior in Time and Space
- Political Values
- Political Intolerance in the Context of Democratic Theory
- Social and Political Trust
- The Welfare State: Values, Policy Preferences, and Performance Evaluations
- Citizen Opinion on Foreign Policy and World Politics
- Norms of Citizenship
- Democratic Values
- An Institutional Theory of Political Choice
- The Decline of Social Class?
- The Effects of Religion and Religiosity on Voting Behavior
- Race and Political Behavior
- Economic Models of Voting
- New Dimensions of Political Cleavage
- Partisanship Reconsidered
- The Personalization of Politics
- The Interaction of Structures and Voter Behavior
- Perspectives on Electoral Behavior
- Turnout in Elections
- Political Activism and Party Members
- Social Capital
- Civil Society and Democratization
- Social Movements
- The Spread of Protest Politics
- New Feminist Challenges to the Study of Political Engagement
- New Modes of Campaigning
- E‐Government and Democracy
- Perspectives on Political Participation
- The Relationship between Public Opinion and Policy
- Political Elites
- Political Representation and Democracy
- Perspectives on Representation: Asking the Right Questions and Getting the Right Answers
- Research Resources in Comparative Political Behavior
- Comparative Opinion Surveys
- Methods of Elite Research
- Subject Index
- Name Index
