POS 3931r Lecture 5: Models of Vote Choice
Document Summary
3 major models of vote choice: sociological model (columbia school model) 1930s: interested in consumer preference model (why do people buy the products they do as consumers?) 1940 election: fdr re-election; rst election columbia studied. Engaged in panel survey (where you interview, then re-interview the exact same people at di erent places in time) 7-way panel design (6 pre-election interviews, 1 post-election interview) Most people stuck with the same candidate throughout the interview. Sample determinants: religion, living area- urban/rural, social class. Embedded in networks of family, friends, co-workers, fellow churchgoers: political cues, information, and reinforcement (of how people like us vote) Contact (again reinforcement of our attitudes and values) Di erentiation (shared interest regarding policy and political parties perhaps us v. them ) Relatively few people change their minds over the course of a campaign. Major shifts in partisan outcomes from one election to the next on occasion.