Voting Behaviour Flashcards
Why study voting behaviour?
- Voting behaviour is a quantifiable and widespread form of political behaviour
- It helps parties to shape their policies
- Provides information about the interactions between individual people, society as a whole and politics
- Provides information on the attitudes towards parties/issues
Short term effects on voting behaviour
- The state of the economy
- Personality of leaders
- Effective campaigning
- Media
What are the 4 theories of voting?
- Party-identification model
- Sociological model
- Rational choice model
- Dominant-ideology model
What is the party-identification model for voting behaviour?
People have psychological attachments to parties due to family loyalties, group membership and social experience.
Describes long term supporters.
Advantages of party-identification voting
- Creates patterns and allows predictions to be made
- Shows the impact of short term influences
Disadvantages of party-identification voting
- Events are interpreted to fit pre-existing beliefs
- Partisan dealignment means that it is no longer as effective - there is a decline in the extent to which people identify themselves with a party i.e. Independents in the USA grew from 6% in 1952 to 42% in 2017.
What is the sociological model for voting behaviour?
This is when voting behaviour reflects the economic and social groups a person belongs to i.e. class, gender, ethnicity, religion etc.
Peter Pulzer on the sociological model
“Class is the basis of British party politics” 1967
Disadvantages of the sociological model
- It puts focus on groups rather than individuals
- Modern societies have seen class dealignment and movement between classes, so it is no longer a strong indicator of voting behaviour
i. e. in 1997, Labour received more votes from non-manual workers than manual workers for the first time
Reasons for deviance in the sociological model
- Deference, the idea that elites are good at running the country
- Ambitious working class want to be something more
- Solidarity, community over self
What is the rational choice model for voting behaviour?
Choices are made based on personal self-interest.
V.O. Key on the rational choice model
Valence voting - voting is a comment on the party in power and its competency.
Himmelveit on the rational choice model
Voters make an active choice depending on the available policy options.
Disadvantages of the rational choice model
- Our ability to evaluate issues and make choices is affected by party attachments
- Is there ever a rational choice / is it rational to vote at all?
Noris and Inglehart on voting behaviour
Partisan and class dealignment is seen because people are more interested in post-material issues i.e. issue voting.
What is the dominant-ideology model?
People base their vote on ideologies.
Disadvantages of the dominant-ideology model
- The media causes voters to conform to dominant ideologies, so policies that fall outside of that ideology are left behind
- Lacks personal autonomy and calculation
