Logo UAB
2023/2024

Political Behaviour

Code: 101075 ECTS Credits: 6
Degree Type Year Semester
2500259 Political Science and Public Management OB 2 2

Contact

Name:
Eva Anduiza Perea
Email:
eva.anduiza@uab.cat

Teaching groups languages

You can check it through this link. To consult the language you will need to enter the CODE of the subject. Please note that this information is provisional until 30 November 2023.

Teachers

Beatriz Elias Valverde
Adrian Caballero Escusol

Prerequisites

Students should have acquired basic concepts of Political Science and Research Methods. They must be able read English texts and work with spreadsheets.


Objectives and Contextualisation

The course has three objectives:

- To know the basic elements that characterize political and electoral behaviour in democratic contexts

- To be able to use theories and variables that explain how citizens think and act in politics

- To know and be able to use the main methods and data available for the analysis of political behaviour


Competences

  • Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  • Analysing the behaviour of the political actors, both individually and collectively (parties, interest groups, social movements, etc.).
  • Analysing the electoral processes, including campaigns, parties' electoral strategies, political scenarios and analysis and interpretation of electoral results.
  • Arguing from different theoretical perspectives.
  • Assess the social, economic and environmental impact when acting in this field of knowledge.
  • Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  • Demonstrating the comprehension of citizen behaviour and democratic values, particularly in internal or international concrete cases.
  • Designing data collection techniques, coordinating the information processing and meticulously applying hypothesis verification methods.
  • Develop critical thought and reasoning and be able to communicate them effectively, both in your own language and second or third languages.
  • Develop strategies for autonomous learning.
  • Explaining political, individual and collective attitudes and behaviours, as well as the education process and expression of political preferences.
  • Identifying and distinguishing the functioning of the electoral processes.
  • Identifying main actors of the political system, inspecting their interactions and assessing their behaviour in their environment and in the political system from a theoretical and practical perspective.
  • Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
  • Interpreting and applying English texts in an academic way.
  • Make changes to the methods and processes of the area of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and wishes of society.
  • Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  • Managing the different theoretical contributions about actors and actor's networks, as well as the characteristics of collective action.
  • Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
  • Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
  • Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
  • Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  • Using the main information and documentation techniques (ICT) as an essential tool for the analysis.
  • Working autonomously.
  • Working by using quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in order to apply them to research processes.
  • Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.

Learning Outcomes

  1. Act with ethical responsibility and respect for fundamental rights and duties, diversity and democratic values.
  2. Analysing the behaviour of the political actors, both individually and collectively (parties, interest groups, social movements, etc.).
  3. Analysing the electoral processes, including campaigns, parties' electoral strategies, political scenarios and analysis and interpretation of electoral results.
  4. Arguing from different theoretical perspectives.
  5. Assess the social, economic and environmental impact when acting in this field of knowledge.
  6. Demonstrating good writing skills in different contexts.
  7. Designing data collection techniques, coordinating the information processing and meticulously applying hypothesis verification methods.
  8. Develop critical thought and reasoning and be able to communicate them effectively, both in your own language and second or third languages.
  9. Develop strategies for autonomous learning.
  10. Explaining political, individual and collective attitudes and behaviours, as well as the education process and expression of political preferences.
  11. Identifying and distinguishing the functioning of the electoral processes.
  12. Identifying main actors of the political system, inspecting their interactions and assessing their behaviour in their environment and in the political system from a theoretical and practical perspective.
  13. Identifying sources of data and conducting bibliographic and documentary searches.
  14. Interpreting and applying English texts in an academic way.
  15. Make changes to the methods and processes of the area of knowledge to provide innovative responses to the needs and wishes of society.
  16. Managing the available time in order to accomplish the established objectives and fulfil the intended task.
  17. Managing the different theoretical contributions about actors and actor's networks, as well as the characteristics of collective action.
  18. Realising effective oral presentations that are suited to the audience.
  19. Showing a good capacity for transmitting information, distinguishing key messages for their different recipients.
  20. Synthesizing and critically analysing information.
  21. Take sex- or gender-based inequalities into consideration when operating within one's own area of knowledge.
  22. Using the main information and documentation techniques (ICT) as an essential tool for the analysis.
  23. Working autonomously.
  24. Working by using quantitative and qualitative analysis techniques in order to apply them to research processes.
  25. Working in teams and networking, particularly in interdisciplinary conditions.

Content


1. Theoretical and methodological approaches

2. Political participation

3. Attitudes, values and emotions

4. Elections

5. The explanation of vote

6. Gender and political behavior


Methodology

Classroom sessions requieres prior reading of the materials that will be indicated at the beginning of the course. There are three types of classroom sessions:

1. Theory classes where the teacher presents the theoretical content in interaction with the students

2. Seimnar sessions. The students work on an exercise of applying the knowledge acquired through the analysis of the readings

3. Practice sessions. The students work on an exercise to apply the knowledge acquired through data analysis

During the autonomous activities, students must prepare the materials corresponding to each session, work on the assigments that will be evaluated and prepare the contents of the exam

Annotation: Within the schedule set by the centre or degree programme, 15 minutes of one class will be reserved for students to evaluate their lecturers and their courses or modules through questionnaires.


Activities

Title Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Type: Directed      
Lectures and presentations 36 1.44 4, 6, 18, 12, 14, 19, 20, 22
Practical sessions and seminars 19 0.76 4, 16, 13, 19, 20, 24, 23, 25, 22
Type: Supervised      
Evaluation 2 0.08 2, 3, 4, 10, 16, 12, 11, 19, 20, 23
Tutorials 15 0.6 4, 16, 12, 11, 19, 20, 23, 22
Type: Autonomous      
Compulsory readings and readings related to the practical sessions 30 1.2 12, 13, 11, 14, 20, 23
Study of the theory presented in class 30 1.2 2, 4, 16, 12, 11, 14, 20, 23, 22
Writing of practical exercices 15 0.6 16, 20, 24, 23, 25, 22

Assessment

Final exam (60%). The exam involves a test and a short essay.

Lab exercises (30%). The result of the work during the class will be handed in.

Essay/assignments in seminars  (10%). The result of the work during the class will be handed in.

In accordance with article 117.2 of the UAB rules, students that are re-taking this course may be evaluated with a single exam. If you want to follow this kind of evaluation inform the professors at the beginning of the academic year.

To pass the course students need a minimum overall grade of 5/10, with a minimum of 4 in the test exam and a 3.5 in the comment exam.

Compensatory evaluation

Students will have the right to a compensatory evaluation only if the following conditions are met:

  • Having 3.5 in the test exam
  • Having a grade of 5/10 or above in the lab exercises

Single (one-shot) assessment

One exam with a test part and two in-class short essays.


Assessment Activities

Title Weighting Hours ECTS Learning Outcomes
Essays/assignments 10% 0 0 1, 3, 4, 6, 9, 8, 7, 17, 10, 16, 13, 14, 15, 19, 20, 24, 23, 25, 22
Final exam 60% 3 0.12 21, 5, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8, 17, 10, 16, 12, 11, 19, 20
Lab exercises 30% 0 0 2, 3, 4, 6, 7, 17, 10, 18, 16, 12, 13, 11, 14, 19, 20, 24, 23, 25, 22

Bibliography

Compulsory readings

Anduiza Perea, E., & Bosch, A. (2004). Comportamiento político y electoral. Barcelona: Ariel.

Arzheimer, K., Evans, J.,& Lewis-Beck, M. (2017). The Sage Handbook of Electoral Behaviour. London: Sage.
Dalton, R. J., & Klingemann, H.-D. (2007). Oxford Handbook of Political Behavior. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Boussalis, C., Coan, T. G., Holman, M. R., & Müller, S. (2021). Gender, Candidate Emotional Expression, and Voter Reactions During Televised Debates. American Political Science Review, 115(4), 1242–1257. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0003055421000666

Dalton, R. J. (2014 o posterior). Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Los Angeles: Sage CQ Press.

Fraile, M., & de Miguel Moyer, C. (2021). Risk and the gender gap in internal political efficacy in Europe. West European Politics, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1969146
Geus, R. de, Ralph-Morrow, E., & Shorrocks, R. (2022). Understanding Ambivalent Sexism and its Relationship with Electoral Choice in Britain. British Journal of Political Science, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123421000612

Guinjoan, M. (2016). Per què fallen les enquestes? Eines 27, 71-80.

Mintz, A., Valentino, N. A., & Wayne, C. (2021). Beyond Rationality: Behavioral Political Science in the 21st Century. Cambridge University Press.

Rodon, T., & Guinjoan, M. (2018). “Mind the Protest Gap: The Role of Resources in the Face of Economic Hardship”. PS - Political Science and Politics, 51(1): 84-92.

Sanders, D. (1995). Behavioral Analysis. In Theory and Methods in Political Science (pp. 23–41)

Reif, K., Schmitt, H. and NORRIS, P. (1997), Second-order elections. European Journal of Political Research, 31: 109-124. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1475-6765.1997.tb00768.x

Theocharis, Y., & Van Deth, J. W. (2018). “The Continuous Expansion of Citizen Participation: A New Taxonomy”. EuropeanPolitical Science Review, 10(1): 139-163.

Urban, Tim. 2023. What’s Our Problem?: A Self-Help Book for Societies. Wait But Why. Chapter 1: The Laddery

Verge, T. (2014). “Comportamiento político”. En Ciencia Política con Perspectiva de Género. Madrid: Akal

Vries, C. E. D., Hobolt, S. B., Proksch, S.-O., & Slapin, J. B. (2021). Foundations of European Politics: A Comparative Approach. Oxford University Pres

Additional readings

To go deeper into some questions or for the final essay.

Surveys and experiments

Anspach, N. M., Jennings, J. T., & Arceneaux, K. (2019). “A Little Bit of Knowledge: Facebook’s News Feed and Self-Perceptions of Knowledge”. Research & Politics, 6(1): 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1177/2053168018816189

Penadés, A. (2015). Especial encuestas: errores, cocina y predicción. In Zoom Político 25, 1-19.Sniderman, Paul M. (2011): “The Logic and Design of the Survey Experiment. An Autobiography of a Methodological Innovation”, in Druckman et al. (editors), Cambridge Handbook of Experimental Political Science: 102-114. New York: Cambridge University Press.
Tormos, R. (2014). Aspectes metodològics de l’enquesta online amb experiments. Barcelona: Centre d’Estudis d’Opinió.

Participation

Dalton, R. J. (2014). Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Los Angeles: Sage CQ Press. Capítols 3 (political participation) i 4 (protest politics).
Armingeon, K., & Schädel, L. (2015). “Social Inequality in Political Participation: The Dark Sides of Individualisation”. West European Politics, 38(1): 1–27. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2014.929341
Font, J., Navarro, C., & Wojcieszak, M. (2012). Preferencias dela ciudadanía española sobre las formas de decisión política y sus factores explicativos. Madrid: Centro de Investigaciones Sociológicas. Capítols 1 i 2.
Gallego, A., San, J., & Cristancho, C. (2010). “La movilización política: medición y relevancia”. Revista Española de Ciencia Política, 23: 113-124.
Klandermans, B., & van Stekelenburg, J. (2013). “The Social Psychology of Protest”. Current Sociology, 61(5-6): 886-905.
Rodon, T., & Guinjoan, M. (2018). “Mind the Protest Gap: The Role of Resources in the Face of Economic Hardship”. PS - Political Science and Politics, 51(1): 84-92.
Theocharis, Y., & Van Deth, J. W. (2018). “The Continuous Expansion of Citizen Participation: A New Taxonomy”. European Political Science Review, 10(1): 139-163.
Torcal, M., Rodon, T., & Hierro, M. J. (2016). “Word on the Street: The Persistence of Leftist-dominated Protest in Europe”. West European Politics, 39: 326-350.
Trujillo, M., & Gómez, B. (2016). Urnas vacias en los suburbios de las ciudades. Barcelona: Observatorio Social La Caixa

Attitudes

Dalton, R. J. (2014). Citizen Politics: Public Opinion and Political Parties in Advanced Industrial Democracies. Los Angeles: Sage CQ Press. Capítols 2 (mass beliefs) 5 (values in change), 6 (issues and ideological orientations) i 12 (citizens and democratic process)
Converse, P. E. (1964). “The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Publics”. Critical Review, 18(1): 1-74.
Fernbach, P. M., Rogers, T., Fox, C. R., & Sloman, S. A. (2013). “Political Extremism Is Supported by an Illusion of Understanding”. Psychological Science, 24(6): 939-946. https://doi.org/10.1177/0956797612464058

Fraile, M., & de Miguel Moyer, C. (2021). Risk and the gender gap in internal political efficacy in Europe. West European Politics, 1–19. https://doi.org/10.1080/01402382.2021.1969146

Geus, R. de, Ralph-Morrow, E., & Shorrocks, R. (2022). Understanding Ambivalent Sexism and its Relationship with Electoral Choice in Britain. British Journal of Political Science, 1–20. https://doi.org/10.1017/S0007123421000612

Inglehart, R., & Welzel, C. (2005). Modernization, Cultural Change, and Democracy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Capítol 1 (en castellano, publicado por el CIS)

Prior, M. (2018). Hooked. How Politics Captures People’s Interest. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press. Capítol 1.
Shively, W. P. (1979). “The Development of Party Identification among Adults: Exploration of a Functional Model”. The American Political Science Review, 73(4): 1039-1054.
Shorrocks, R. (2016). “A Feminist Generation? Cohort Change in Gender-Role Attitudes and The Second-Wave Feminist Movement”. International Journal of Public Opinion Research, 30(1): 125-145.
Romero, X. (2018). “Una opinió pública termostàtica. L’efecte de les crisis econòmiques i l’acció governamental en les preferències de polítiques públiques a Catalunya”. Quaderns de l’ICPS, 1–9.
VVAA. (2015). Informe sobre la democracia en España 2015. Madrid: Fundación Alternativas. Capítol 2: “El descontento con el funcionamiento de la democracia en España”

Elections

Downs, A. 1992. “Una teoría económica de la democracia”. En Diez textos básicos de ciencia política. Ariel.

Blais, A., & Anduiza, E. (2013). “Voter Turnout”. In R. Valelly (Ed.), Oxford Bibliographies in Political Science. Oxford: Oxford University Press DOI: 10.1093/obo/9780199756223-0066
Iyengar, S., Sood, G., & Lelkes, Y. (2012). “Affect, Not Ideology”. Public Opinion Quarterly, 76(3): 405-431.
Medina, L. (2015). Les eleccions al Parlament de Catalunya del 27S. Polarització en clau identitària i divisió de l’electorat. Quaderns de l’ICPS, (11), 1–11. https://www.icps.cat/archivos/Quaderns/q11_cat.pdf
Nai, A. (2020). “Going Negative, Worldwide: Towards a General Understanding of Determinants and Targets of Negative Campaigning”. Government and Opposition, 55(3): 430-455. https://doi.org/10.1017/gov.2018.32
Westwood, S. J., Iyengar, S., Malhotra, N., Lelkes, Y., & Levendusky, M. (2018). The Origins and Consequences of Affective Polarization in the United States. Annual Review of Political Science, 22(1), 1–18. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-polisci-051117-073034

Vote

Astudillo, J., & Rodon, T. (2013). “El comportamiento electoral del votante en la mediana y las «paradojas» de la competición política española / The Electoral Behaviour of the Median Voter and the ‘Paradoxes’ of Spanish Political Competition”. Revista Española de Investigaciones Sociológicas, 144: 3-21. https://doi.org/10.5477/cis/reis.144.3
Equipo Piedras de Papel. (2015). Aragón es nuestro Ohio: así votan los españoles. Barcelona: Malpaso. Capítols 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 9 i 10
Barberá, P. (2018). “Explaining the Spread of Misinformationon Social Media: Evidence from the 2016 US Presidential Election”. APSA Comparative Politics Newsletter, 1-5.
Carmines, E. G., & Stimson, J. A. (1980). “The Two Faces of Issue Voting”. The American Political Science Review, 74 (1): 78-91
Pallarés, Riba,Fraile (2007). Variables socioestructurales y comportamiento electoral en las elecciones generales españolas. Una perspectiva evolutiva 1979-2000. Revista de Estudios Políticos, 109-158.Garzia, D. (2017). “Voter Evaluation of Candidates and Party Leaders”. In Arzheimer, K., Evans, J., and Lewis-Beck, M. (eds.). Sage Handbook of Electoral Behavior. London: Sage. 633-653.
Johnston, R. (2015). “Election Campaigns”. Sage Handbook of Electoral Behavior. London: Sage
Kinder, D. R., & Kiewiet, D. R. (1981). “Sociotropic Politics: The American Case”. British Journal of Political Science, 11(2): 129-161.
Pallarés, F., Riba, C., & Fraile, M. (2007).“Variables socioestructurales y comportamiento electoral en las elecciones generales españolas. Una perspectiva evolutiva 1979-2000”. Revista de Estudios Políticos, 135, 109–158.


Software

R, Jamovi, Excel