AMERICAN GOVERNMENT FIELD EXAM MAY 1998

DAY 2

Political Behavior
Answer TWO of the following questions.
1. In his 1995 American Political Science Association Presidential Address, Sidney Verba argues that:
Surveys produce just what democracy is supposed to produce -- equal representation of all citizens. The sample survey is rigorously egalitarian; it is designed so that each citizen has an equal chance to participate and an equal voice when participating. Here is where science and political representation meet.
Evaluate this claim.

2. "Our results imply that... (the media)... has become an imposing authority, one that shapes the American public's political conceptions in pervasive ways." Evaluate this statement in light of the literature on the effects of the mass media on public opinion and contemporary voting behavior. How do the media matter? Do different media differ in their effects; do different types of voters respond differently to media messages: and do media matter more in different types of electoral and nonelectoral contexts?

3. Can rational choice theory explain voter turnout and individual participation in other forms of political behavior? Critically evaluate the contribution of the rational actor theory of political behavior and compare it with the leading alternative models.

4. Three decades ago, the prevailing view among political scientists was that "most Americans approach the political world innocent of ideology: indifferent to standard ideological concepts, lacking a consistent perspective on public policy, and holding authentic opinions on only a handful of policy questions." What was the basis for this assessment? Was it a fair one? What has become of this claim in the ensuing years? Are citizens in 1998 truly "ideologically innocent"?