Political Science 215a Spring 2015
POLITICS 215A: SEMINAR IN POLITICAL BEHAVIOR
Professor Jill Greenlee
Email:
Office: 205 Olin-Sang
Office Hours: Wednesday 1:30 – 3:30 and by appointment
COURSE OVERVIEW: This course is an overview of the political behavior subfield, with a focus on American politics. We will survey the major areas of research within political behavior, in terms of theoretical approaches and empirical research questions. While this course focuses on American politics, political behavior research from the comparative politics subfield – and to a much lesser extent, international relations – is integrated into the syllabus. You should emerge from this course with a clear understanding of the major debates and areas of research in the American political behavior scholarship, a familiarity with a variety of methodological approaches used by students of political behavior, and an ability to apply the core questions and approaches from political behavior to matters of substantive interest to you, regardless of your field in political science.
ASSIGNMENTS AND GRADING: Your performance in this class will be based on an evaluation of your written work and oral presentations in class. Specifically, grades for this course will be determined by your submission of weekly discussion questions (10%), 2 short papers the synthesize the readings for two separate weeks in the class (30%), leading class discussion for two separate weeks in the class (30%), and a final paper (30%).
The weekly discussion questions should be posted on Latte by 5pm on the day before our class meeting. You should post 3 to 4 questions that are based on multiple readings.
The short papers will be a 3 – 4 pages in length and offer a synthesis of the questions, themes, and controversies that emerge from the assigned readings from that week. Each student will sign up for to lead the class discussion for two weeks throughout the semester (one student per week); your paper will be based on the readings covered in the week that you will lead our discussion.
You will be responsible for leading our class discussion of the assigned texts during two separate weeks during the semester (this will correspond with your reading response paper).
The final paper will be a 15-20 page research prospectus that marries an area of political behavior research with a question of substantive interest to you. All students should speak to me early on in the semester about a potential topic.
Of note, class participation and attendance is required. Please contact me in advance is extenuating circumstances make it impossible for you to attend class.
STUDENT SUPPORT:
If you are a student who needs academic accommodations because of a documented disability, please contact me and present your letter of accommodation as soon as possible.
If you have questions about documenting a disability or requesting academic accommodations, you should contact Beth Rodgers-Kay in Academic Services (x6-3470 or .)
Letters of accommodation should be presented at the start of the semester to ensure provision of accommodations, and absolutely before the day of an exam or test. Accommodations cannot be granted retroactively.
READINGS: Several books are required for this course:
Zaller, John. 1992. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lee, Taeku. 2002. Mobilizing Public Opinion: Black Insurgency and the Civil Rights Movement. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Green, Donald, Bradley Palmquist, and Eric Schickler. 2002. Partisan Hearts and Minds: Political Parties
Burns, Nancy, Kay Schlozman and Sidney Verba. 2000. The Public Roots of Private Action. Cambridge: Harvard University Press.
Wolfinger, Raymond and Steven Rosenstone. 1980. Who Votes? New Haven: Yale University Press.
Rosenstone, Steven and John Mark Hansen. 1993. Mobilization, Participation, and Democracy in America. New York: MacMillian Press.
You should be able to order inexpensive, used copies of these books on Amazon. All other readings will be available on Latte. You are responsible for having carefully read all the required readings before our weekly meetings. The recommended readings are there to guide you in further exploration of the topic – either for the purposes of the final paper, or for preparation for the comprehensive exam in American politics.
Class Schedule and Readings
Week 1: Introduction
January 15
Dalton, Russell and Hans-Dieter Klingemann. 2007. “Citizens and Political Behavior.” In The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior. Eds. Russell Dalton and Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Oxford: Oxford University Press: 3-29
Dalton, Russell J. 2000. “Citizen Attitudes and Political Behavior.” Comparative Political Studies. Vol. 33: 912- 940.
Week 2: Rational Choice and Its Critics
January 22
Green, Donald and Shapiro, Ian. 1994. Pathologies of Rational Choice Theory. New Haven. Yale University Press. Chapters 2-3
Morris Fiorina. 1995. “Rational Choice, Empirical Contributions, and the Scientific Enterprise.” Critical Review, 9: 85-94.
Chong, Dennis. 2000. Rational Lives: Norms and Values in Politics and Society. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Chapters 1, 2, and 5
Recommended
John Ferejohn and Debra Satz. 1995. “Unification, Universalism, and Rational Choice Theory.” Critical Review, 9: 71-84.
Sheplse, Kenneth. 1995. “Statistical Political Philosophy and Positive Political Theory.” Critical Review, 9:
Green, Donald and Ian Shapiro. 1995. “Pathologies Revisited: Reflections on Our Critics.” Critical Review 9: 235-76
Citrin, Jack and Donald Green. 1990. “The Self Interest Motive in American Public Opinion.” Research in Micropolitics 3:1-28.
Chong, Dennis, Jack Citrin, and Patricia Conley. 2001. “When Self-Interest Matters.” Political Psychology 22: 541-570.
Amartya Sen. 1977. "Rational Fools." Philosophy & Public Affairs, 6: 317-344.
Lau, Richard. 2003. “Models of Decision Making.” In Sears et al., eds., Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Monroe, Kristen. The Heart of Altruism: Perceptions of Common Humanity. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Sears, David and Carolyn Funk. 1990. “Self Interest in Americans’ Political Opinions.” In Jane J. Mansbridge (ed). Beyond Self Interest
Bartels, Larry. “Homer Gets a Tax Cut.” Perspectives on Politics 3(1): 15-31.
Lupia et al. 2007. “Were Bush Tax Cuts Supporters ‘Simply Ignorant?’ A Second Look at Conservatives and Liberals in ‘Homer Gets a Tax Cut’” Perspectives on Politics 5(4)
Bartels, Larry. 2007. “Homer Gets a Warm Hug: A Note on Ignorance and Extenuation.” Perspectives on Politics 5(4)
Robert Lane. 1995. “What Rational Choice Explains.” Critical Review, 9: 107-126.
Robert P. Abelson. 1995. "The Secret Existence of Expressive Behavior." Critical Review, 9: 25-36.
Week 3: Public Opinion
January 29
Key, V.O. 1961. Public Opinion and American Democracy. New York: Knopf. p. 3-18.
Zaller, John. 1992. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lee, Taeku. 2002. Mobilizing Public Opinion: Black Insurgency and the Civil Rights Movement. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
Feldman, Stanley, Leonie Huddy, & George Marcus. 2012. “Limits of Elite Influence on Public Opinion.” Critical Review 4: 489-503
Kam, Cindy. 2012. “The Psychological Veracity of Zaller’s Model. Critical Review: 545-67
Zaller, John. 2012. “What Nature and Origins Leaves Out.” Critical Review: 569-642.
Recommended
Lodge, Milton, Marco Steenbergen, & Shawn Brau. 1995. “The Responsive Voter: Campaign Information and the Dynamics of Candidate Evaluation.” American Political Science Review 89.
Berinksky, Adam. 2004. Silent Voices: Public Opinion and Political Participation in America. Introduction, Chapters 1 and 3.
Bullock, John. 2011. “Elite Influence on Public Opinion in an Informed Electorate.” American Political Science Review. 105(3): 496-514
Hochschild, Jennifer. 2012. “”Should the Mass Public Follow Elite Opinion? It Depends . . . . Critical Review 4: 527-543.
Sniderman, Paul, Phillip Tetlock, and Laurel Elms. 2001. “Public Opinion and Democratic Politics: The Problem of Nonattitudes and Social Construction of Political Judgements.” In James Kuklinksi (ed) Citizens and Politics. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Lippmann, Walter. 1922. Public Opinion. New York: Pelican Books. Chapter 1.
Zaller, John, and Stanley Feldman. 1992. “A Simple Theory of the Survey Response: Answering Questions or Revealing Preferences?” American Journal of Political Science 36(3): 579-616.
Alvarez, R. Michael and John Brehm. 2002. Hard Choices, Easy Answers: Values, Information, and American Public Opinion. Princeton: Princeton University Press.
Miller, Joanne and David Peterson. 2004. “Theoretical and Empirical Implications of Attitude Strength.” Journal of Politics. 66: 847-867.
Petty, Richard, Duane Weneger, and Leandre Fabriger. 1997. “Attitudes and Attitude Change.” Annual Review of Psychology 48: 609-647
Bartels, Larry. 2003. Democracy with Attitudes. In George Rabinowitz and Michael MacKuen (eds) Electoral Democracy. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press. Pp. 48-82
Brody, Richard and Catherine Shapiro. 1989. “A Reconsideration of the Rally Phenomenon in Public Opinion.” In Political Behavior Annual, Volume 2, ed. Samuel Long
Druckman, James and Arthur Lupia. “Preference Formation.” Annual Review of Political Science 3: 1-24
Week 4: Ideology and Belief Systems
February 5
Converse, Philip. 1964. “The Nature of Belief Systems in the Mass Publics.” Ed. D.E. Apter, Ideology and
Discontent, Free Press.
Jennings, M. Kent. 1992. “Ideological Thinking Among Mass Publics and Political Elites.” Public Opinion Quarterly 56: 419-441.
Converse, Philip E. 2000. “Assessing the Capacity of Mass Electorates.” Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 3: 331-353.
Kuklinski, James H. and Buddy Peyton. 2007. “Belief Systems and Political Decision Making.” The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior. Eds. Russell J. Dalton and Hans-Dieter Klingman. Oxford University Press:45-64.
Kinder, Donald. 2006. “Belief Systems Today.” Critical Review 18(1-3): 197-216
Recommended
Delli, Carpini, Michael X. and Scott Keeter. 1996. What Americans Know About Politics and Why it Matters. New Haven: Yale University Press. Selected Chapters
Page, Benjamin and Robert Shapiro. 1992. The Rational Public. Chicago: University of Chicago Press. Selected Chapters
Krosnick, Jon. 1990. “Government Policy and Citizen Passion: A Study of Issue Publics in Contemporary America.” Political Behavior 12(1): 59-92
Lavine, Howard et al. 2012. The Ambivalent Partisan: How Critical Loyalty Promotes Democracy. Oxford University Press. Selected Chapters
Luskin, Robert. 1987. “Measuring Political Sophistication.” American Journal of Political Science 31: 856-899
Nie, Norman and Kristi Anderson. 1974. “Mass Belief Systems Revisited: Political Change and Attitude Structure.” Journal of Politics 36: 540-87
Sullivan, John, James Pierson, and George Marcus. 1978. “Ideological Constraint in the Mass Public: A Methodological Critique and Some New Findings.” American Journal of Political Science 22: 233-49
Converse, Phillip and Gregory Markus. 1979. “Plus ca Change: The New CPS Election Study Panel.” American Political Science Review 73(1): 32-49
Jerit, Jennifer, Jason Barabas, and Toby Bolsen. 2006. “Citizens, Knowledge, and the Information Environment.” American Journal of Political Science 47: 266-282
Lau, Richard and David Redlawsk. 1997. “Voting Correctly.” American Political Science Review 91: 585-98
Gilens, Martin. 2001. “Political Ignorance and Collective Party Preferences.” American Political Science Review 95(2): 379-396
Luskin, Robert. 1990. “Explaining Political Sophistication.” Political Behavior 12: 331-361.
Lane, Robert. 1962. Political Ideology. New York: The Free Press.
Carmines, Edward and Nicholas D’Amico. 2015. “The New Look in Political Ideology Research.” Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 18.
Week 5: Partisanship
February 12
Green, Donald, Bradley Palmquist, and Eric Schickler. 2002. Partisan Hearts and Minds: Political Parties
Hetherington, Marc. 2011. “Resurgent Mass Partisanship: The Role of Elite Polarization.” Controversies in Voting Behavior. Eds. Richard G. Niemi, Herbert F. Weisberg, and David C. Kimball. Washington, DC: CQ Press: 242-265
Abramowitz, Alan & Kyle Saunders. 2008. “Is Polarization a Myth.” The Journal of Politics 70(2): 542-55
Fiorina, Morris, Samuel J. Abrams, and Jeremy C. Pope. 2008. “Polarization in the American Public: Misconceptions and Misreadings. The Journal of Politics. Vot 70: 556-560.
Recommended
Campbell, Angus, Philip Converse, Warren Miller, and Donald Stokes. 1960. The American Voter. New York: Wiley. Chapters 6 and 7.
Fiorina, Morris. “Explorations of a Political Theory of Party Identification.” In Retrospective Voting in American National Elections. New Haven: Yale University Press.
Hatemi, Peter, John Alford, John Hibbing, Nicholas Martin, Lindon Eaves. 2009. “Is There A ‘Party’ in your Genes?” Political Research Quarterly 62(3): 584-600
Fiorina, Morris. 2002. “Parties and Partisanship: A 40 Year Retrospective.” Political Behavior 24(2): 93-115
Fiorina, Morris & Samuel Abrams. “Political Polarization in the American Public.” Annual Review of Political Science 11: 563-88
Johnston, Richard. 2006. “Party Identification: Unmoved Mover or Sum of Preferences?” Annual Review of Political Science 9: 329-51
Carsey, Thomas and Geoffrey Layman. 2006. “Changing Sides or Changing Minds?: Party Identification and Policy Preferences in the American Electorate.” American Journal of Political Science 50: 464-77
Layman, G. C., Carsey, T. M., & Horowitz, J. M (2006). Party polarization in American politics: Characteristics, causes, and consequences. Annu. Rev. Polit. Sci 9 83-110.
Spring Break
Week 6: Political Socialization
February 26
Jennings, M. Kent. 2007. “Political Socialization.” In The Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior. Eds. Russell Dalton and Hans-Dieter Klingemann, Oxford: Oxford University Press: 29-44.
----- and Laura Stoker. 1995. "Life-Cycle Transitions and Political Participation: The Case of Marriage." American Political Science Review 89(2): 421-36.
-----, Laura Stoker, and Jake Bowers. 2009. “Politics Across Generations: Family Transmission Reexamined.” The Journal of Politics. Vol. 71: 782-799.
Stoker, Laura. 2014. “Reflections on the Study of Generations in Politics.” The Forum. Vol. 12.
Dinas, Elias. 2014. “The Long Shadow of Parental Political Socialization on the Development of Political Orientations.” The Forum. Vol. 12.
Luecke, Tim. 2014. “Political Generations in American Politics: Insights from Research in International Relations.” The Forum. Vol. 12.
Busch, Andrew E. 2014. “More Than a Trace: Political Periods, Presidential Losers, and the Goldwater and McGovern Experiences.” The Forum. Vol. 12.
Cook, Zachary F. 2014. “How Impressionable Were the Younger Reagan Cohorts?” The Forum. Vol. 12.
Recommended
Jennings, Kent M. and Laura Stoker. 2005. "Political Similarity and Influence between Husbands and Wives." In The Social Logic of Politics: Personal Networks as Contexts for Political Behavior Ed. Alan S. Zuckerman. Philadelphia, PA: Temple University Press.
Greenlee, Jill S. 2014. The Political Consequences of Motherhood. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press.
Lay, J. Celeste. 2012. A Midwestern Mosaic. Philadelphia: Temple University Press.
Sears, David and Nicholas Valentino. 1997. “Politics Matters: Political Events as Catalysts for Preadult