Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-vdxz6 Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-25T15:40:26.814Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

The Social Calculus of Voting: Interpersonal, Media, and Organizational Influences on Presidential Choices

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  03 March 2004

PAUL ALLEN BECK ,
RUSSELL J. DALTON ,
STEVEN GREENE  and
ROBERT HUCKFELDT
PAUL ALLEN BECK
Affiliation:
Professor of Political Science, The Ohio State University, Columbus, OH 43210-1373 ([email protected]).
RUSSELL J. DALTON
Affiliation:
Professor of Politics and Society, University of California, Irvine, CA 92697-5100 ([email protected]).
STEVEN GREENE
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor of Political Science, Texas Tech University, Lubbock, TX 79409-1015 ([email protected]).
ROBERT HUCKFELDT
Affiliation:
Professor of Political Science, Indiana University, Bloomington, IN 47405 ([email protected]).
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Voting choices are a product of both personal attitudes and social contexts, of a personal and a social calculus. Research has illuminated the personal calculus of voting, but the social calculus has received little attention since the 1940s. This study expands our understanding of the social influences on individual choice by examining the relationship of partisan biases in media, organizational, and interpersonal intermediaries to the voting choices of Americans. Its results show that the traditional sources of social influence still dominate: Interpersonal discussion outweighs the media in affecting the vote. Media effects appear to be the product of newspaper editorial pages rather than television or newspaper reporting, which contain so little perceptible bias that they often are misperceived as hostile. Parties and secondary organizations also are influential, but only for less interested voters—who are more affected by social contexts in general. Overall, this study demonstrates that democratic citizens are embedded in social contexts that join with personal traits in shaping their voting decisions.

Type
Research Article
Information
American Political Science Review , Volume 96 , Issue 1 , March 2002 , pp. 57 - 73
Copyright
© 2002 by the American Political Science Association

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Abramson Paul R. Aldrich John H. Rohde David W. 1998 Change and Continuity in the 1996 Elections Washington, DC Congressional Quarterly Press
Asher Herbert B. Heberlig Eric S. Ripley Randall B. Snyder Karen 2001 American Labor Unions in the Electoral Arena Lanham, MD Rowman and Littlefield
Bartels Larry M. 2000 Partisanship and Voting Behavior, 1952–1996 American Journal of Political Science 44 January 35 50Google Scholar
Beck Paul Allen Dalton Russell J. Haynes Audrey Huckfeldt Robert 1997 Presidential Campaigning at the Grass Roots Journal of Politics 59 November 1264 75Google Scholar
Beck Paul Dalton Russell J. Huckfeldt Robert 2000 Cross-National Election Studies: United States Study, 1992 [computer file] (Study 6541), 2nd ICPSR version. Columbus: Ohio State University/Irvine: University of California/Bloomington: Indiana University [producers], 1992. Ann Arbor, MI: Inter-university Consortium for Political and Social Research [distributor], 2000
Bennett W. Lance 1996 News: The Politics of Illusion White Plains, NY Longman
Bennett W. Lance Entman Robert M. 2001 Mediated Politics: Communication in the Future of Democracy Cambridge, UK Cambridge University Press
Berelson Bernard R. Lazarsfeld Paul F. McPhee William N. 1954 Voting Chicago University of Chicago Press
Campbell Angus Converse Philip E. Miller Warren E. Stokes Donald E. 1960 The American Voter New York Wiley
Converse Philip E. 1964 The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics Ideology and Discontent David E. Apter New York Free Press 206 61
Dalton Russell J. Beck Paul Allen Huckfeldt Robert 1998a Partisan Cues and the Media: Information Flows in the 1992 Presidential Campaign American Political Science Review 92 March 111 26Google Scholar
Dalton Russell J. Beck Paul Allen Huckfeldt Robert Koetzle William 1998b A Test of Media-Centered Agenda Setting: Newspaper Content and Public Interests in a Presidential Election Political Communication 15 October–December 463 81Google Scholar
Downs Anthony 1957 An Economic Theory of Democracy New York Harper & Row
Eagly Alice Chaiken Shelly 1993 The Psychology of Attitudes New York Harcourt, Brace, Jovanovich
Finifter Ada W. 1974 The Friendship Group as a Protective Environment for Political Deviants American Political Science Review 68 June 607 25Google Scholar
Fiorina Morris P. 1981 Retrospective Voting in American National Elections Haven, CT Yale University Press
Gerber Alan S. Green Donald P. 2000 The Effects of Canvassing, Telephone Calls, and Direct Mail on Voter Turnout: A Field Experiment American Political Science Review 94 September 653 63Google Scholar
Gibson James L. Cotter Cornelius P. Bibby John F. Huckshorn Robert J. 1985 Whither the Local Parties? American Journal of Political Science 29 February 139 60Google Scholar
Granovetter Mark J. 1973 The Strength of Weak Ties American Journal of Sociology 78 6 1360 80Google Scholar
Hofstetter C. Richard 1976 Bias in the News Columbus Ohio State University Press
Huckfeldt Robert Sprague John 1995 Citizens, Politics, and Social Communication New York Cambridge University Press
Huckfeldt Robert Beck Paul Allen Dalton Russell J. Levine Jonathan 1995 Political Contexts, Cohesive Social Groups, and the Communication of Public Opinion American Journal of Political Science 39 November 1025 54Google Scholar
Huckfeldt Robert Beck Paul Allen Dalton Russell J. Morgan William 1998 Ambiguity, Distorted Messages, and Nested Environmental Effects on Political Communication Journal of Politics 60 November 996 1030Google Scholar
Huckfeldt Robert Ikeda Ken'ichi Pappi Franz Urban 2000a Political Expertise, Interdependent Citizens, and the Value Added Problem in Democratic Politics Japanese Journal of Political Science 1 2 171 95Google Scholar
Huckfeldt Robert Sprague John Levine Jeffrey 2000b The Dynamics of Collective Deliberation in the 1996 Election: Campaign Effects on Accessibility, Certainty, and Accuracy American Political Science Review 94 September 641 51Google Scholar
Huckfeldt Robert Johnson Paul E. Sprague John 2002 Political Environments, Political Dynamics, and the Survival of Disagreement Journal of Politics 64 in pressGoogle Scholar
Ikeda Ken'ichi Huckfeldt Robert 2001 Political Communication and Disagreement among Citizens in Japan and the United States Political Behavior 23 March 23 52Google Scholar
Iyengar Shanto 1991 Is Anyone Responsible? Chicago University of Chicago Press
Iyengar Shanto Kinder Donald R. 1987 News That Matters Chicago University of Chicago Press
Just Marion R. Crigler Ann Alger Dean E. Cook Timothy E. Kern Montague West Darrell M. 1996 Crosstalk: Citizens, Candidates, and the Media in a Presidential Campaign Chicago University of Chicago Press
Kish Leslie 1949 A Procedure for Objective Respondent Selection within the Household Journal of the American Statistical Association 44 September 380 7Google Scholar
Lazarsfeld Paul F. Berelson Bernard R. Gaudet Hazel 1944 The Peoples' Choice New York Duell, Sloan, and Pearce
Leege David C. Kellstedt Lyman A. 1993 Rediscovering the Religious Factor in American Politics Armouk, NY M. E. Sharpe
Lichter S. Robert Lichter Linda S. Rothman Stanley 1986 The Media Elite New York Adler and Adler
Lodge Milton Steenbergen Marco R. Brau Shawn 1995 The Responsive Voter: Campaign Information and the Dynamics of Candidate Evaluation American Political Science Review 89 June 309 26Google Scholar
Lupia Arthur McCubbins Mathew D. 1998 The Democratic Dilemma: Can Citizens Learn What They Really Need to Know? New York Cambridge University Press
Arthur H. Miller Wlezien Christopher Hildreth Anne 1991 A Reference Group Theory of Partisans Coalitions Journal of Politics 53 November 1134 49Google Scholar
Miller Warren E. Shanks J. Merrill 1996 The New American Voter Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press
Mutz Diana C. Martin Paul S. 2001 Facilitating Communication Across Lines of Political Difference: The Role of the Mass Media American Political Science Review 95 March 97 114Google Scholar
Mutz Diana C. Mondak Jeffery J. 1998 Democracy at Work: Contributions of the Workplace Toward a Public Sphere Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago
Niemi Richard G. 1974 How Family Members Perceive Each Other New Haven, CT Yale University Press
Page Benjamin I. 1996 Who Deliberates? Mass Media in Modern Democracy Chicago University of Chicago Press
Patterson Thomas 1980 The Mass Media Election: How Americans Choose Their President New York Praeger
Patterson Thomas 1993 Out of Order New York Knopf
Przeworski Adam Teune Henry 1970 The Logic of Comparative Social Inquiry New York Wiley
Putnam Robert D. 2000 Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community New York Simon and Schuster
Ranney Austin 1983 Channels of Power New York Basic Books
Robinson Michael J. Sheehan Margaret A. 1983 Over the Wire and on TV: CBS and UPI in Campaign '80 New York Russell Sage Foundation
Rosenstone Steven J. Hansen John Mark 1993 Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America New York Macmillan
Rubin Richard L. 1981 Press, Party and Presidency New York Norton
Semetko Holli A. 1995 Cultures Apart: TV News and Campaigning in Europe and the U.S. Presented at the Annual Meeting of American Political Science Association, Chicago
Sniderman Paul M. Brody Richard A. Tetlock Philip E. 1991 Reasoning and Choice: Explorations in Political Psychology New York Cambridge University Press
Stanley Harold W. Niemi Richard G. 1998 Vital Statistics on American Politics 1997–1998 Washington, DC Congressional Quarterly, Inc.
Tomz Michael Wittenberg Jason King Gary 2000 CLARIFY: Software for Interpreting and Presenting Statistical Results, Version 1.2.2 Cambridge, MA Harvard University March 3
Wattenberg Martin P. 1998 The Decline of American Political Parties, 1952–96 Cambridge, MA Harvard University Press
Wielhouwer Peter W. Lockerbie Brad 1994 Party Contacting and Political Participation American Journal of Political Science 38 February 211 29Google Scholar
Vallone Robert P. Ross Lee Lepper Mark R. 1985 The Hostile Media Phenomenon: Biased Perceptions and Perceptions of Media Bias in Coverage of the Beirut Massacre Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 49 3 577 85Google Scholar
Zaller John 1992 The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion New York Cambridge University Press
Submit a response

Comments

No Comments have been published for this article.