Voter Psychology Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 1250 words

Voter Psychology - Essay Example why voters cast their ballots for this candidate and that party. Downs implies that what is ideal is to vote on the basis of issues and ideologies but the reality is that many voters follow certain rules and others certain logical steps which they use as guidelines to vote. Downs intimates that most voters vote for selfish reasons, that at the heart of the voting process is their own interests, which is the maximization of their utility incomes (42). If their incomes are below the desired level, they are apt to support a change of the status quo and thus a vote against the incumbent. But if their incomes have skyrocketed because of the incumbent's policies that favor them, they will necessarily dread a change of policies or a fracture in the continuity of present policies and thus bat for retention of the incumbent in office. fat chance of winning. Thus in order to ensure that his voting is not an exercise in futility, he becomes engaged in forecasting, predicting and estimating the outcome of the election contest. If such processes prove that his preferred bet is not "part of the relevant range of choice" (48), then he has no option but switch vote for another party that has a better chance of winning. Related to the idea that a voter opts for that which carries or protects the voter's best interests is the idea of partisanship. Downs, however, refuses to mention this word. Instead, he designates partisans as loyalists (85), who have set their minds to vote for a particular candidate election after election. These voters are knowledgeable about the issues and are often zealous and participative in political discussions. Downs also introduces the idea of trend factor which voters may use as guideline in their decision of whom to vote for in an election (41). Voters tend to reelect the incumbent who at the outset of his government incurred mistakes but then has improved steadily his governance and at the present has governed expertly to voters' satisfaction. Conversely, voters tend to boot out of office that incumbent who started office splendidly, but has since spiraled out to degeneracy. Another Downs syndrome is the performance ratings concept (41). Sometimes voters are thrown out of equilibrium when candidates carry identical platforms and policies. To resolve the impasse, the basis of the decision is drastically changed to whether or not the incumbent has performed better in office than their predecessors. If not, then the verdict is to replace the incumbent.

Buss's Strategic Conflict Model Between Two Sexes Essay

Buss's Strategic Conflict Model Between Two Sexes - Essay Example These studies, according to Buss, provide modest support for the strategic conflict model and implicate the negative emotions of anger and upset as proximate mechanisms that alert men and women to strategic interference. Moreover, the diversity of upset elicitors discovered here (being condescending, possessive, neglecting, abusive, inconsiderate, moody, and self-centered), point to the limitations of this evolutionary model and the need to develop more comprehensive models of conflict between the sexes. At a closer look, the following observations and comments have been drawn: First, the highly selective samples of American college students and their generalizability may be limited. There is an uneven distribution of subjects, with 51 men and 56 women. Second, the reliance on self-report measures, although that has been the methodology of choice in most research examining sexual desires may not yield and objective result. Self-rating method can be bias in the sense that the subjects feelings and prejudice may interfere with the results. Moreover, the subjects have so many differences. They come from different backgrounds and have differing knowledge and perceptions of the same and opposite sexes of participants. They also differ in dating history and marital status. The ones with longer dating history may have different perceptions and experiences with those of short-term dating. The married ones, divorced, widowed and singles have definitely different experiences and maturity. In addition, this is a problematic development of upset instrument because the instrument is based on responses from undergraduates only. There is a disparity in the level of maturity compared to the lower and higher levels of actual, real-life individuals and experiences, as well as psychological make-up. Furthermore, the participants of this research are either single and in a relationship. This could lead to the responses based on the participant's imaginative capabilities. This could further cause more differences. Another bias is the partial explanation for males only, such as: Men's upset and anger about women's withholding of sex. Women are not necessarily upset and angered by the hypothesized feature of male reproductive strategy involving sexual aggressiveness. According to attachment fertility theory (Miller and Fishkin, 1997) that might argue that unattached participants were in the phase of "promiscuously" seeking potential mates in an attempt to enhance the likelihood of a good mate choice. The unattached female here can take male's aggression and may be happy with it because of the initial motivation of seeking a potential mate. Female, in this case are unfairly described. In addition, differences of features of the opposite sex's reproductive strategy or different reproductive strategy may not interfere with one's adopted reproductive strategy and thus cause conflict. Moreover, the research claims that negative emotions provide signal and reduce