Government 270 – Political Behavior, Political Process, and Policy

Professor Nalder, Spring 2008

 

Office: Tahoe 3121                                                                               

e-mail: klnalder@csus.edu

Phone: 278-6693

Office Hours: Wed 3-5, and by appointment

Website: http://www.csus.edu/indiv/n/nalderk

 

Scope and Purpose

 

            In this course we will explore the public opinion, voting behavior, representation, political psychology, and policy development literature.  Ideally in  a democracy, there is a basic assumption that an informed citizenry exercises its right to political participation wisely, determining who will serve in elected office.  If theories of representation are functioning properly, then the direction of policy pursued by these officials should generally reflect the will of the electorate.  This semester will involve the evaluation of these assumptions and the realities of representation, voter capability, and the resultant policies.  This course should familiarize you with the relevant literature and assist you in develop critical thinking, research, and presentation skills.

 

Texts

Caplan, Bryan (2007) The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies.  ISBN:  978-0691129426

 

            Delli Carpini, Michael and Scott Keeter (1996) What Americans Know about Politics and Why it Matters, Yale University             Press, ISBN: 0300072759

 

Fiorina, Morris (2005) Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America, 2nd Edition ISBN: 0321366069 (on reserve)

 

            Hibbing, John and Theiss-Morse, (2003) Stealth Democracy, Cambridge University Press, ISBN: 0521009863 (on reserve)

 

Jamieson, Kathleen Hall, and Paul Waldman, (2004) The Press Effect, Oxford University Press. 978-0195173291 (on reserve)

 

Lakoff, George.(2002) Moral Politics: How Liberals and Conservatives Think, 2nd Edition. The University of Chicago Press, ISBN:0-226-46771-6 (on reserve)

 

Marsh, David and Gerry Stoker. (2002) Theory and Methods in Political Science, 2nd Ed. Palgrave Macmillan. ISBN: 978-0333948552


Neuman, W. Russell, George E. Marcus , Michael MacKuen and, Ann N. Crigler (2007) The Affect Effect: Dynamics of Emotion in Political Thinking and Behavior. ISBN: 978-0226574424

 

Putnam, Robert (2001) Bowling Alone: The Collapse and Revival of American Community. ISBN: 978-0743203043 (on reserve)

 

            Sears,  David O., Huddy, Jervis, (2003) Oxford Handbook of Political Psychology,   Oxford University Press,                         ISBN:019516220X

 

Zaller,  John. (1992) The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion, Cambridge University   Press. (on reserve)

 

  

Requirements

 

Weekly papers           30%

Final                            25%

Paper                          25%

Presentation                10%

Participation              10%

 

Weekly Analysis Papers

            Weekly readings must be complete by the time of the seminar.  You will be asked to critique and evaluate the research in each area of inquiry as part of the seminar’s discussion.  At the beginning of each seminar, a one page (typed) critique and evaluation of the week’s reading is due.  This paper should relay your understanding of the material, its conceptual strengths and weaknesses, its holes, and how it relates to the themes of the seminar.  You are only required to submit 7 of these papers over the course of the semester.  It is up to you to choose which 7 weeks you would like to write the analysis papers for.  For every class meeting, you are expected to e-mail a discussion question regarding the readings to the discussion leader for that week.  The question should be sent at least 24 hours in advance.

 

Exam

            This course will culminate in a final exam.  It will consist of broad and inclusive essay questions modeled on M.A. exam questions.  This should serve as good practice for those of you taking the field exam route.  Please bring a large blue book for use on the day of the final.

 

Research Paper

            You will be assigned a 15-page research paper on the topic of your choosing within the political behavior, political psychology, public opinion, media and politics or political culture sub-literatures.  A detailed paper assignment sheet will be online soon.  University policy on plagiarism applies here – any violations will result in serious penalties. An outline is due on April 9.  The paper is due the last week of class.

 

Leading Discussion

            Each of you will have the opportunity to lead a portion of the seminar discussion this semester.  In preparing for this task, you should carefully read the literature for the week and construct some compelling discussion questions or issues brought out in the reading.  You will also be responsible for providing a brief overview of the readings to ground the discussion.  See the guidelines for leading discussion on the website for the course.  This should provide you with some experience presenting scholarly material which should be useful as practice for teaching or conference participation.

 

Schedule

 

Jan 30             Introduction

 

Feb 6             Social Science Research

 

·         Marsh and Stoker, Theory and Methods in Political Science.  Chapters: Intro, 1,2,3,10

·         Sears et al. Selection 1: Sears, Huddy and Jervis, “The Psychologies Underlying Political Psychology”

 

I.  Opinion and Attitude Formation, and Organization 

A. Individual Level

 

February 13      The Will of the People:  How are Political Opinions and Orientations Formed? – Psychological Explanations.

 

·         Jost et al. “Political Conservatism as Motivated Social Cognition” Psychological Bulletin, 2003, Vol. 129, no3, 339-375

·         Greenberg, Jeff and Eva Jonas. “Psychological Motives and Political Orientation—The Left, the Right, and the Rigid: Comment on Jost et al.     (2003)” Psychological Bulletin 2003, Vol. 129, No. 3, 376–382

·         Sears et al. Selection 3: Sears and Levy, “Childhood and Adult Political Development”

·         Neuman selection 8, “Identities, Interests, and Emotions” by Ted Brader and Nicholas Valentino

 

February 20    Ideology

 

 Lakoff, Moral Politics.  Carefully read Chapters 1-9, skim Chapters 10-17

 

February 27   Party Identification

The CCMS and Stimson are on reserve at the library.

 

·         Campbell, Converse, Miller, and Stokes. 1960. “The Impact and Development of Party Identification” Found in Classics in Voting Behavior by Niemi and Weisberg, and excerpted from chapters 6,7 of The American Voter.

·         Excerpt from “Tides of Consent” by James Stimson – on reserve.

·         Alan I. Abramowitz and Kyle L. Saunders. “Exploring the Bases of Partisanship in the American Electorate: Social Identity vs. Ideology” Political Research Quarterly, 6 2006; vol. 59: pp. 175 - 187

·         Party Identification by State, 2004 ANES, Annenberg Center. Here

                       

March 5    Patterns in Macro Opinion

 

 Zaller, The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion (skim chapters 7,9, read the rest)

 

B. Political Culture and Mass Preferences 

 

March 12          Political Culture

 

Putnam, Robert. 2001. Bowling Alone

 

March 19        Red vs. Blue

 

·         Fiorina, Morris. 2005. Culture War? The Myth of a Polarized America.                       

·         Brooks, “One Nation, Slightly Divisible” (online)

·         Here is a red/blue typology test to try http://typology.people-press.org/

 

March 26       Voting and Participation:  Can voters behave competently? Knowledge levels.

 

Delli Carpini and Keeter. 1996.  What Americans Know about Politics and Why it Matters

 

April 2      *****Spring Break******

 

April 9             Information vs. emotion effects

                         

·         Sears et al. Selection 13: Charles Taber, “Information Processing and Public Opinion”

·         James H. Kuklinski et al. 2000. “Misinformation and the Currency of Democratic Citizenship” Journal of Politics. Vol. 62, Issue 3

·         Neuman et al, Selection 3 “Political Cognition as Social Cognition” by Darren Schreiber

·         Neuman et al, Selection 5 “The Primacy of Affect in Political Evaluations” by Cassino and Lodge

 

******paper outline due*******

                                 II. Transmission

   

April 16           Voting

 

·         Redlawsk, David.  1997. “Voting correctly” American Political Science Review. Sept. 1997.

·         Neuman et al. Selection 7.  Affective Intelligence and Voting. By Redlawsk, Civettini, and Lau.

·         Neuman et al. Selection 10. Don’t Give up Hope. By Just, Crigler, and Belt

·         Neuman et al. Selection 12. Meaning, Cultural Symbols, and Campaign Strategies. By Leege and Wald 

 

April 23           Participation and Turnout

                       

·     Highton, Ben   Voter Registration and Turnout in the United States  Perspectives on Politics, 2004

·     Baldassare, Mark. 2006.  “California’s Exclusive Electorate” http://www.ppic.org/content/pubs/atissue/AI_906MBAI.pdf

·    Blais,  André. 2006. “What Affects Voter Turnout?”

      Annual Review of Political Science. Vol. 9: 111-125

                       

 

 

 

III. Media and Responsiveness and the Future

 

April 30            Media Effects

 

·         Jamieson and Waldman, The Press Effect.

·         Pew Report  “News Audiences Increasingly Politicized”

·         Baumgartner, Jody, and Jonathan Morris. 2006. “The Daily Show Effect

American Politics Research, Vol. 34, No. 3, 341-367 (2006)

                         

May 7              Policy Linkage

 

Caplan,  Bryan. (2007) The Myth of the Rational Voter: Why Democracies Choose Bad Policies

May 14          Does Responsiveness matter?  How much policy control does the public have or want?

 

·          PIPA report on perceptions of candidate positions

·         Bartels, Larry, “Homer Gets a Tax Cut ” (online)

·         Hibbing and Theiss-Morse. 2003.  Stealth Democracy.

 

 

 

Final Exam: Wednesday, May 21, 7:00-9:00