Important notice
The course guide is provisional.
The PDF version of the course guide may take a few days to become available in the DDD.
Public Opinion and Political Behaviour
Code: 45820Credits: 5
| Degree programme | Type | Course |
|---|---|---|
| Political Science | OB | 1 |
Contact lecturer
- Name :
- Alina Vranceanu
- Email :
- alina.vranceanu@uab.cat
Group languages
You can consult this information at the end of the document.
Prerequisites
Students enrolled in this course are expected to have a bachelor's degree in political science or in any other social science discipline. Students are encouraged to gain familiarity with the following book, particularly if they have degrees from other disciplines:
- Dalton, R.J. (2013) Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. CQ Press
Objectives
This course introduces students to the systematic study of public opinion and political behaviour, focusing on the main theoretical and methodological approaches used in contemporary empirical research. Together we will explore how political attitudes, preferences and identities are formed, how and why people participate in politics, and how structural and contextual factors influence these processes. The course also covers the main explanatory models of voting behaviour, political socialisation and polarization. By the end of the course, students will be able to critically evaluate research and apply theoretical and methodological tools to the study of citizen behaviour and public opinion.
Learning outcomes
- CA09 (Incorporate theory and empirical evidence into research projects on political behaviour from a critical perspective.) Incorporate theory and empirical evidence into research projects on political behaviour from a critical perspective.
- CA10 (Analyse political inequalities in comparative democracy using robust empirical evidence.) Analyse political inequalities in comparative democracy using robust empirical evidence.
- CA11 (Communicate research findings in accordance with ethical and inclusive principles at every stage of the academic process.) Communicate research findings in accordance with ethical and inclusive principles at every stage of the academic process.
- CA12 (Design and evaluate public policies, taking social justice, sustainability and political feasibility into account.) Design and evaluate public policies, taking social justice, sustainability and political feasibility into account.
- KA08 (Analyse the main theoretical frameworks dealing with public opinion and political behaviour, examining the interaction between attitudes, behaviours and individual and structural variables.) Analyse the main theoretical frameworks dealing with public opinion and political behaviour, examining the interaction between attitudes, behaviours and individual and structural variables.
- KA09 (Describe the processes by which political attitudes and behaviour is formed and their connection to individual factors.) Describe the processes by which political attitudes and behaviour is formed and their connection to individual factors.
- KA10 (Critically examine the data sources used in public opinion and their ability to capture social inequalities.) Critically examine the data sources used in public opinion and their ability to capture social inequalities.
- KA11 (Describe the main methodological designs and measurement strategies used in the empirical study of political behaviour, with particular attention paid to gender-sensitive and context-sensitive approaches.) Describe the main methodological designs and measurement strategies used in the empirical study of political behaviour, with particular attention paid to gender-sensitive and context-sensitive approaches.
- SA07 (Critically evaluate the empirical literature on public opinion and political behaviour.) Critically evaluate the empirical literature on public opinion and political behaviour.
- SA08 (Critically evaluate the empirical literature on public opinion and political behaviour, identifying theoretical, methodological and interpretative biases.) Critically evaluate the empirical literature on public opinion and political behaviour, identifying theoretical, methodological and interpretative biases.
- SA09 (Interpret relationships between political variables, taking contextual and institutional factors into account.) Interpret relationships between political variables, taking contextual and institutional factors into account.
Contents
Note that exact session content and/or order may vary until the start of the course.
Content
1. Political behaviour
1.1 Introduction: The schools of voting behaviour
1.2 The social-position and the value bases of the vote: cleavages or identities?
1.3 Models of voting
1.4 The political consequences of non-voting
2. Political attitudes and other topics in electoral behaviour
2.1 Formation of political attitudes and preferences
2.2 Attitudes about new issues: the case of immigration
2.3 Far right parties and support
2.4 Ideological and affective polarisation
3. Public opinion
3.1 Public opinion: measurement and challenges
3.2 Dynamics of public opinion formation and change
Learning activities and methodology
| Title | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Essay writing | 17.5 | 0.7 | CA09, CA10, CA11, CA12, KA08, KA09, KA10, KA11, SA07, SA08, SA09 |
| Keynote sessions | 18 | 0.72 | CA10, KA08, KA09, KA11, SA08, SA09 |
| Presentation/discussion articles | 12 | 0.48 | CA11, KA08, KA09, KA10, KA11, SA07, SA08, SA09 |
| Individual study | 54.5 | 2.18 | CA09, CA10, CA11, KA08, KA09, KA10, KA11, SA07, SA09 |
| Reading | 17.5 | 0.7 | CA11, KA11, SA07, SA08, SA09 |
A typical session will include:
- A keynote session led by the instructor where the theoretical aspects of the session will be covered.
- Presentation and discussion by lead students of the mandatory readings of the day.
- Additional discussion of the session content.
All students are expected to read the mandatory seminar readings and prepare their contributions.
Assessment
Continuous assessment activities
| Title | Weight | Hours | ECTS | Learning outcomes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Final written essay | 30 | 2 | 0.08 | CA09, CA10, CA11, CA12, KA09, KA10, SA08, SA09 |
| Final test | 40 | 1 | 0.04 | CA11, KA08, KA09, KA10, KA11, SA08, SA09 |
| Presentation/discussion of compulsory readings by lead students and class participation | 30 | 2.5 | 0.1 | KA10, KA11, SA07, SA08 |
The continuous assessment is structured as follows:
- Presentation/discussion of compulsory readings by lead students and class participation: 30% of the final grade
- Short written essay: 30% of the final grade
- Final exam (multiple-choice test): 40% of the final grade.
In case of exam retakes, the same evaluation method described above will apply. Exam retakes will only be granted to students who have attended the first exam and have failed it.
Students will be graded with a numeric grade ranging from 0 to 10, being 10 the highest grade.
The evaluation of the short written essay may involve a short oral defence (Q&A).
Important:
On carrying out each evaluation activity, the professor will inform students (through Moodle) of the procedures to be followed for reviewing the grades awarded, and the date on which such review takes place.
Criteria for the grade “Non-assessable”: In accordance with point 9 of article 266 of UAB’s Academic Regulations, a student will be given a “Non-assessable” grade when they have not provided sufficient evidence of learning to allow for a reliable assessment. In this course, it will be considered that there is no sufficient evidence for assessment when the student has not submitted any continuous assessment activity, nor attended any test or exam.
In the event of a student committing any irregularity that may lead to a significant variation in the grade awarded to an assessment activity, the student will be given a zero for this activity, regardless of any disciplinary process that may take place. In the event of several irregularities in assessment activities of the same subject, the student will be given a zero as the final grade for this subject.
Exams where there have been irregularities (e.g. plagiarism, unauthorized use of AI, etc.) cannot be retaken.
The unique evaluation system is not foreseen in this module.
Use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies
For this course, the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) technologies is allowed exclusively to support tasks such as searching for information and bibliographic sources, translating and linguistically correcting texts written by the student, and generating preliminary outlines or summaries, provided that these are subsequently reworked by the student. It is not permitted to use AI to write entire texts, develop main arguments, or produce answers in individual assessment activities (exams, essays, final papers, or other main learning evidence). The student must explicitly indicate which parts of the work have been generated or assisted by AI, specify the tools used, and include a critical reflection on how these tools have influenced the process and the final result. Lack of transparency in the use of these technologies will be considered a breach of academic honesty and may result in partial or full penalties in the grading of the activity, or even more severe sanctions in serious cases.
Bibliography
The core readings are:
Arzheimer, Kai, Evans, Jocelyn, and Lewis-Beck, Michael (2017). The Sage handbook of electoral behaviour. London: Sage.
Bartels, Larry M. 2008. "The Study of Electoral Behavior." Extended version of a chapter in Jan E. Leighley, ed., The Oxford Handbook of American Elections and Castells, M (2009). Communication Power. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Eijk, Cees van der, and Mark Franklin. 2009. Elections and Voters. London: Palgrave Macmillan.
Evans, Jocelyn A.J. 2004. Voters and Voting: An Introduction. London: Sage.
Soroka, Stuart N., Wlezien, Christopher (2010). Degrees of Democracy: Politics, Public Opinion and Policy. New York: Cambridge University Press
The syllabus contains detailed bibliography for each lecture.
Software
The final essay needs to be empirical in nature. The course however does not impose any software constraints for empirical analyses.
Course groups and languages
The information provided is provisional until November 30. After this date, you will be able to consult the language of each group through this link. To access the information, you will need to enter the course CODE