American Voter Argument

Speaker: I have found topics regarding the American voter incredibly interesting in my current research. I have also spent a significant time studying the work of my academic peers. There have been plenty of debates about the ability of the American voter to think rationally. I am not sure what people mean, exactly, by rational. However, if I were giving out grades on the basis of the ability of an American voter to formulate reasonably well-thought opinions grounded in substantive knowledge, I’d be handing out a lot of failing grades.

Ashley: You offer a powerful assertion regarding the level of knowledge the American voter has in support of their political opinions. I am hesitant to take this comment at face value. May I ask what research

The speaker offering little insight on his assertion pushed Ashley to do her own research and decide whether or not she agreed with the key note speaker. Uninspired by the answers the speaker gave me, I decided to take his advice and analyze the works of other researchers in the field to draw my own conclusions. First, I remembered from my political psychology class that we had discussed The American Voter; the book the speaker had asked me to research. In class, we discussed how the average American votes, utilizing The Funnel Model of Voting. The book discusses how most people vote based on six attitudinal dimensions. These dimensions include: personal attributes of both party’s candidates, domestic policy, foreign policy, the comparative record of the two parties managing the government, and the groups involved as well as the group interest affecting them (“he represents the working man”). This dimension predicts voting decisions with 87% accuracy. Each of these feelings are shaped by our party identification, and our party supplies us with the cues to “properly” evaluate elements of politics through the lens of

Speaker: Does anyone have any final thoughts regarding my presentation tonight?

Ashley: I do. Last week you told me to do my research on an assertion you made about how numerous American voters lacked the ability to formulate reasonably well-thought opinions grounded in substantive knowledge. From my experience, I agree that most Americans cannot provide much information on many issues in political debate. Based on Campbell’s, Converse’s, and Zaller’s work, it can be shown that Americans do not have a clear set of political attitudes on many issues nor do they fully understand all of the issues that pertain to their political affiliations. However, I think it is irresponsible to assert that Americans are “unable” to form knowledgeable opinions. Sniderman, Tetlock, and Elms () found that people do in fact make decisions based on all of the knowledge they have available when asked certain questions. It was not that they could not make up their mind nor that they drew opinions at random. Rather in relation to the context of certain situations, their preceding political opinions are altered or affirmed based on the situation. The question then would be, what are your standards for a knowledgeable