Date of Award
12-16-1980
Date Published
Winter 1-23-2025
Degree Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
Department
Social Science
Advisor(s)
Richard G. Braungart
Second Advisor
Neil H. Katz
Third Advisor
Louis Kriesberg
Keywords
protesting, campaigning, voting, alienation, nonviolence, race, Legacy ETD
Subject Categories
Political Science
Abstract
Political behavior during the 1950s and early 1960s was seen as tied to enduring social roots and long-lasting partisan pre-dispositions. Political consciousness factors such as ideology, issues, and political alienation exerted only minimal influence. Since the late 1960s and early 1970s, however, new political and social conditions have brought about a substantial reformulation to these earlier assessments concerning the relationships among social position, political consciousness, and political behavior. The analysis in this dissertation underscores the multi-faceted nature of political behavior in the United States. Although, in terms of numbers of participants, voting remains the core act in American politics, this study suggests that other activities, such as campaigning and political protest, may hold more potential for widening the scope of interchange between society and politics. In one form or another, divergent social and political groups have increasingly become active in political affairs. The decade of the 1970s witnessed a quieting down compared to the decade of the 1960s. To the extent that the trends and patterns uncovered in this study continue, however, American politics and political behavior will become increasingly turbulent in the decade to come.
Access
Open Access
Recommended Citation
Hunt, John Phillips, "Social Position, Political Consciousness, and Political Behavior: A Multivariate Analysis" (1980). Dissertations - ALL. 2017.
https://surface.syr.edu/etd/2017