Issue Publics (Elements In Political Psychology)

An often-forgotten passage of Philip Converse's classic essay on mass belief systems introduced the concept of an issue public-a segment of voters that has crystallized attitudes about a particular topic. Some people deeply care about particular topics, and they might be equipped to reach judgments on these topics. As discussed in this Element, this simple idea could provide an important corrective to work that casts citizens' political competence in a negative light. It discusses reasons why previous attempts to evaluate the issue publics hypothesis have been unsatisfying. Then, it proposes and tests a new measurement approach. The evidence gathered leads to the conclusion that issue publics exist, but are smaller and more particularistic than existing approaches presume them to be. As such, scholars markedly underappreciate the significance of issue opinions in electoral politics.

• | Author: Timothy J. Ryan, J. Andrew Ehlinger
• | Publisher: Cambridge University Press
• | Publication Date: May 11, 2023
• | Number of Pages: 90 pages
• | Language: English
• | Binding: Paperback
• | ISBN-10: 1009242415
• | ISBN-13: 9781009242417