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Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons

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Articles 1 - 9 of 9

Full-Text Articles in Social and Behavioral Sciences

Authority, Legitimacy, And The Obligation To Obey The Law, Richard Dagger Jun 2018

Authority, Legitimacy, And The Obligation To Obey The Law, Richard Dagger

Political Science Faculty Publications

According to the standard or traditional account, those who hold political authority legitimately have a right to rule that entails an obligation of obedience on the part of those who are subject to their authority. In recent decades, however, and in part in response to philosophical anarchism, a number of philosophers have challenged the standard account by reconceiving authority in ways that break or weaken the connection between political authority and obligation. This paper argues against these revisionist accounts in two ways: first, by pointing to defects in their conceptions of authority; and second, by sketching a fair-play approach to …


American Voter Attitudes Towards Divided Government, Tyler Ferrari Dec 2016

American Voter Attitudes Towards Divided Government, Tyler Ferrari

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

Divided government has been a major part of American politics for decades, and it has made governing often difficult at times. Recently, this type of government has proven to be especially frustrating for many voters, so why do they vote to keep this government? Are there partisan reasons for voting for a split ticket, or is the answer more fundamental? This paper highlights the facts and reasons for polarization, ranging from ideology to trust in the federal government as a whole. This paper utilizes the ANES 2012 Study to illustrate that it is not just political ideology that plays a …


Attitudes Towards Immigration In The United States, Tianna M. Martinez Dec 2015

Attitudes Towards Immigration In The United States, Tianna M. Martinez

Student Scholar Symposium Abstracts and Posters

The topic of immigration in the United States has been one of great contention for U.S citizens over the past year. Despite being a country built on immigrants, it seems that public attitudes towards the issue are changing. It is hard to pinpoint an exact reason for this change in opinion as there are so many factors playing a role. This paper will examine quantitative research data provided by the American National Election Survey to assess different factors that are actively playing a role in altering the public’s overall opinion on immigration levels. The data examined reveals how age, feeling …


Health Professionals’ Attitude Towards Substance Abusers : A Part Of The Health Professionals’ Value And Belief System Which Prevails In Society, Ana Gotay Jan 2014

Health Professionals’ Attitude Towards Substance Abusers : A Part Of The Health Professionals’ Value And Belief System Which Prevails In Society, Ana Gotay

Master in Public Administration Theses

No abstract provided.


Differences In Negativity Bias Underlie Variations In Political Ideology, John R. Hibbing, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Alford Jan 2014

Differences In Negativity Bias Underlie Variations In Political Ideology, John R. Hibbing, Kevin B. Smith, John R. Alford

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

Disputes between those holding differing political views are ubiquitous and deep-seated, and they often follow common, recognizable lines. The supporters of tradition and stability, sometimes referred to as conservatives, do battle with the supporters of innovation and reform, sometimes referred to as liberals. Understanding the correlates of those distinct political orientations is probably a prerequisite for managing political disputes, which are a source of social conflict that can lead to frustration and even bloodshed. A rapidly growing body of empirical evidence documents a multitude of ways in which liberals and conservatives differ from each other in purviews of life with …


Exceptionalist-In-Chief: Presidents, American Exceptionalism, And U.S. Foreign Policy Since 1897, John A. Dearborn May 2013

Exceptionalist-In-Chief: Presidents, American Exceptionalism, And U.S. Foreign Policy Since 1897, John A. Dearborn

Honors Scholar Theses

“American exceptionalism” has been an important part of presidential foreign policy, especially since the end of the nineteenth century when the United States emerged as a global power. I argue that presidents’ beliefs, rhetoric, and actions during their administrations reveal their attitudes toward exceptionalism. In this work, I propose four types of Presidential American Exceptionalism that presidents’ foreign policies since 1897 can be categorized into: messianic Americanism, messianic internationalism, realist exemplarism, and pragmatic moralism. I define these categories and explain them using case studies of Presidents Theodore Roosevelt, Woodrow Wilson, Franklin Roosevelt, Richard Nixon, Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush, and …


Political Attitudes Bias The Mental Representation Of A Presidential Candidate's Face, Alison I. Young, Kyle G. Ratner, Russell H. Fazio Feb 2013

Political Attitudes Bias The Mental Representation Of A Presidential Candidate's Face, Alison I. Young, Kyle G. Ratner, Russell H. Fazio

Faculty Scholarship – Psychology

Using a technique known as reverse correlation image classification, we demonstrate that the physical face of Mitt Romney represented in people’s minds varies as a function of their attitudes toward Mitt Romney. This provides evidence that attitudes bias how we see something as concrete and well-learned as the face of a political candidate during an election. Practically, this implies that citizens may not merely interpret political information about a candidate to fit their opinion, but that they may construct a political world where they literally see candidates differently.


Causes And Effects: An Examination Of Legislative Professionalism As An Independent And Dependent Variable In State Legislatures, Alexandra Edelstein May 2012

Causes And Effects: An Examination Of Legislative Professionalism As An Independent And Dependent Variable In State Legislatures, Alexandra Edelstein

Mahurin Honors College Capstone Experience/Thesis Projects

Professionalism’s dual role as an independent and dependent variable makes the impact of its institutional characteristics on legislator attitudes and behavior important to understand. Professionalism affects the behavior and attitudes of the same legislators who control the strength of its characteristics through the policies they create. In this two-part study, I measure the influence of personal and contextual factors on legislator attitudes towards the adequacy of legislative professionalism in state legislatures. I then identify the effects of legislative professionalism on legislator allocation of time. I find that political (party) and personal (ambition) factors play the primary roles in shaping how …


Attitudes, William A. Cunningham, Ingrid J. Haas, Andrew Jahn Jan 2011

Attitudes, William A. Cunningham, Ingrid J. Haas, Andrew Jahn

Department of Political Science: Faculty Publications

This chapter reviews social neuroscience research that links social psychological attitudes and evaluative processes to their presumed neural bases. The chapter is organized into four parts. The first section discusses how attitude representations are transformed into evaluative states that can be used to guide thought and action. The next two sections address the related processes of attitude learning and change. The final section discusses applications of these concepts for the study of prejudice and political behavior.