Charles Prysby

STUDYING CONTEXTUAL EFFECTS ON POLITICAL BEHAVIOR A Research Inventory and Agenda

The study of contextual effects on political behavior has expanded dramatically in the last two decades. In this article we review the recent progress of the field in an attempt to develop a coherent framework for categorizing and analyzing contextual effects. We note that some types of effects have been understudied and that the processes by which context affects individuals have not received sufficient attention. Taking an information approach, we argue that context works through individual perceptions of contextual phenomena and that many sources of and reactions to information condition contextual effects. Finally, we suggest profitable future research efforts based on previous research and our preferred approach to the field.

Attitudes of Southern Democratic Party Activists Toward Jesse Jackson: The Effects of the Local Context

This article examines the effect of the racial composition of the local context on the attitudes of southern Democratic Party activists toward the 1984 Jesse Jackson presidential candidacy. Relying on a survey of delegates to the 1984 North Carolina Democratic Party state convention, the analysis finds that white activists were more likely to have a negative attitude toward the Jackson candidacy when they were from a county that had a higher proportion of blacks. This relationship occurs because the racial composition of the local context affects both the conservatism of white activists, especially on racially related issues, and the assessment these activists have of the likely effects of the Jackson candidacy. Most important are beliefs that white activists have about the impact of the Jackson candidacy on the mobilization of black voters and on the generation of intra-party conflict.

Psychological Sources of Working-Class Support for Leftist Political Parties

LEFT VOTING long has been a topic of interest to political scientists interested in comparative electoral politics. Considerable study of the sources of left voting has shown that in most democracies support for leftist political parties comes disproportionately from the working class, although the degree of class polarization varies considerably among countries. It is less clear, however, why some working-class individuals vote for the left while others do not. Different explanations have been offered, but the existing research appears to be incomplete and even contradictory on this point. This study suggests some general psychological factors that affect working-class support for leftist political parties. Although the data are from a single research setting, the theoretical arguments are intended to apply in general to societies with competitive elections and class-based electoral politics.

The Structure of Southern Electoral Behavior

The distinctiveness of southern electoral behavior has been a well-studied aspect of politics in the region. While distinctiveness can refer to absolute differences in attitudes and behavior, it also can refer to the structure of electoral behavior, and that is the focus of this article. Developments in the region and in the nation suggest that the structure of electoral behavior may no longer be different in the North and the South. This possibility is examined using data from several recent General Social Surveys, merged to yield large Ns for the regions. The analysis results show little difference between the regions in both the social and the attitudinal sources of partisan choice.

Modeling contextual effects on political behavior: Static versus dynamic models

Contextual studies rely more and more on explicit mathematical models in their efforts to find and explain contextual effects. This manuscript reviews the types of models which have been employed in the literature on social context, reveals some of the shortcomings of popular static models, and urges the use of more explicitly dynamic models. It suggests that current models often are underspecified or incorrectly specified, that they contain unnecessarily unrealistic assumptions, and that they inadequately consider time in their formulations. It then suggests ways in which these problems can be overcome, including an exhortation to consider a broader range of possible effects in more fully formulated models.

Mass Policy Orientations on Economic Issues In Post-Industrial America

ALTHOUGH CLASS CLEAVAGES in American politics have been less intense than in many European countries, a connection between social class and partisan choice has been an enduring aspect of American politics for several decades. The New Deal realignment fostered the perception of the Democrats as the party of the working class, the poor, and the disadvantaged. The Republicans, on the other hand, have been seen as the party of business, the affluent, and the middle class. Underlying this simple association of p;arties with socio-economic groupings is the belief that the two parties differ significantly in their economic philosophies and programs, with the Democrats more attuned to the desires of the working class and the Republicans appealing more to the preferences of the middle class. Thus, the class polarization that has existed in American politics has rested on class differences in orientations on key economic issues. A recent development in American politics has been a decline in the extent of class voting. On the whole, working-class voters still provide stronger support for Democratic candidates than do middle class voters, but these differences are no longer as clear and as

Book review: Local Party Organizations in the Twenty-First CenturyRoscoeDouglas DJenkinsShannon, Local Party Organizations in the Twenty-First Century, Albany, NY: State University of New York Press, 2016; x + 159 pp.: ISBN 9781438459493,

“demagogic” outsiders. But in line with his constructivist approach, the author emphasizes recent media developments too exclusively. Surely The Global Rise of Populism has structural and institutional roots as well, such as the erosion of class cleavages and the organizational weakening of political parties, which this volume barely mentions. Moreover, there is a lack of systematic empirical evidence. Instead of conducting a real “inductive” analysis of his 28 cases of populism (as announced on pp. 7–8, 41–43), Moffitt presents only snippets and examples. Many claims, therefore, remain sheer assertions. For instance, how many of the 28 populists have actually relied significantly on “new media”? And do they depend primarily on “new media” for their mass appeal, or do established media such as TV remain decisive? The frequent attempts of populist leaders to dominate or control traditional mass media suggest the latter. Moffitt’s conceptualization of populism has some loose ends as well. Does his definition via political style apply only to “contemporary populism” (pp. 3, 28, 45, 131, 152)—or to populism in general? Moreover, the definition itself seems incomplete. Although the book properly stresses the role of political leadership, this core component of populism is missing from the definition (p. 45). Furthermore, the three elements of this definition—namely, “an appeal to ‘the people’ versus ‘the elite’, ‘bad manners’, and the performance of crisis, breakdown or threat”—are rather disparate. Why select these three elements? What inner logic integrates them? Despite these quibbles, however, The Global Rise of Populism makes an important contribution to the proliferating literature on populism and helps the reader understand the proliferation of populism in so many regions. The emphasis on the media and on populists’ spectacular performances adds an interesting facet to the picture. For these reasons, Moffitt’s fine study deserves a broad audience.

75.00 (hbk)

This year, for the first time, the data for the 1984 American National Election Study sETUPS (Supplementary Empirical Teaching Unit in Political Science) will be available for use with microcomputers. In the past, the Voting Behavior SETUPS data set was only available for mainframe computer users, either in OSIRIS or SPSS format. These SETUPS data will still be available in a format suitable for mainframe (or supermini) computers, but now users will have the option of a microcomputer version. The 1984 SETUPS data set is composed of 115 variables and 1989