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Public Opinion and Voting Behavior (323-0-20)

Instructors

Martin Naunov

Meeting Info

Scott Hall 201 Ripton Room: Tues, Thurs 9:30AM - 10:50AM

Overview of class

This course examines how political opinions are formed, measured, and expressed through voting and other forms of political behavior. We explore why citizens hold the views they do about political issues, candidates, and parties, and how factors such as identity, information, emotion, and social context shape political decision-making. Along the way, we will ask foundational questions about democracy: How informed are citizens? How coherent and stable are their beliefs? Can democratic systems function when voters rely on heuristics, stereotypes, or affect rather than detailed policy knowledge? And how does public opinion influence policymaking?

Many of the concepts introduced in this course apply broadly across advanced democracies, though much of the empirical evidence we will examine comes from the United States.

Learning Objectives

  • Develop understanding of what political opinions are, where they come from, and how they change, engaging classic and contemporary research of public opinion and voting behavior.
  • Critically evaluate empirical research on public opinion and voting behavior.
  • Reflect on and appreciate the nature and origins of their own political beliefs, those of their peers, and those of the broader public.
  • Explain and apply quantitative and qualitative approaches to study public opinion.

Teaching Method

Seminar/ Discussion with some lecture

Evaluation Method

Attendance, Participation, Exams and/or paper

Class Attributes

Social and Behavioral Science Foundational Discipl
Social & Behavioral Sciences Distro Area

Enrollment Requirements

Enrollment Requirements: Pre-registration -- Reserved for Political Science students until the end of preregistration, after which time enrollment will be open to everyone who has taken the prerequisites.