Political Parties Research Paper Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 2000 words - 1

Political Parties - Research Paper Example This notion implies that when it comes to demonstrating support for a candidate, partisan attitudes can be seen as a reflection of the elements which exist and prevail in the political environment. For example, in a majority of scenarios the information that an individual obtains as a consequence of face-to-face communication with members of the family, friend’s group and co-workers can be recognized as a factor which is responsible for shaping voter behavior, especially with regards to presidential politics (67). An important aspect of this discussion encompasses the analysis which aims to classify each of the current dimensions in accordance with their association with the external environment or even various internal factors. In this case, any interaction with peers or family members that either strengthens or weakens a voter’s behavior can be linked with the psychological elements rather than the forces which formulate the attitude of a partisan (Campbell 67). The u nderlying notion which is present in the preceding discussion outlines six distinct dimensions which govern the voting behavior of individuals. These factors can be distributed as: 1) the personal characteristics of the leader who presently holds office 2) the personal characteristics of the opponent 3) the agencies and bodies which are a part of the political process and the notion of group’s interests which has a potential to impact them 4) the problems which surround the formulation of domestic policy 5) the problems which surround the formulation of foreign policy and 6) the comparative performance of the political parties which have been responsible for administrating and implementing government policies (Campbell 67). The degree to which the formulation of such dimensions on which voter behavior is based has the ability to determine, influence and even predict an individual’s support for one political party over the other can be associated with the role of the in dividual in either accepting or refuting the principles of on which these dimensions are based. The determination of this component of voting behavior yet again sheds light on the significance of psychological forces that are present in this case. This notion implies that a voter’s intensity of feeling for the personal characteristics of a specific candidate is in fact a psychological factor. As seen in the American presidential elections of 1956, the research conducted by the University of Michigan reports that those individuals who had developed an unfavorable picture of Eisenhower chose the Democrats over Republics in a majority of cases (Campbell 68). This observation reaffirms the unparalleled significance of the psychological dimension of voting behavior which is rooted the cognitive map of the voter and how he perceives the things with which the decision to vote for one candidate and not the other is related (Campbell 42). 1B. There are several determinants which are r esponsible for governing an individual’s participation in politics and the democratic process itself. Perhaps, the most significant set of determinants which can be identified as being critical to an individual’s decision for choosing to vote or not to vote is that of the socioeconomic factors. The socioeconomic determinants can be categorized as: education, wealth and occupation (Political Science 692). The key influence of