Voter turnout has been declining across many democracies for decades. This trend has raised a familiar concern: if fewer people vote, do elections still represent what citizens want? A common assumption is that non-voters think differently from voters. According to this view, low turnout leads to distorted election outcomes because only a specific segment of […]
Author: Semih Çakır
The Affective Intelligence Theory
Affective Intelligence and Political Judgment by Marcus, Neuman, and MacKuen There is an ongoing debate on whether the electorate is competent enough to make sound political decisions. Some scholars have proposed that the influence of affects should also be discussed in the debate. Consequently, there is a growing literature on the influence of emotions, especially […]
Zaller’s Theory of Opinion Formation
Zaller presents the Receive-Accept-Sample Model, which has become a very influential theory of opinion formation in public opinion literature. To begin with, the inexplicable inconsistency in the survey response, and the unresolved debate on the political ignorance are the main factors that motivate Zaller in his study. His objective is to find out how individuals […]