In addition to their beliefs about the reasons for status difference in society, it also matters what people think are the reasons for their own status. Do they prioritise the same explanations for status difference in general as they do for their own status, or do they emphasise different things? After asking them to selectContinue reading “Survey Variable: Reasons for Own Status”
Author Archives: joegreenwoodhau
Survey Variable: Ranked Reasons for Status Difference
Asking people to select the reasons that they think status differences in society exist allows us to see the list of factors that the think play any part in driving inequality, but it does not tell us what they think the most important reasons are. The process of identifying the key factors is more cognitivelyContinue reading “Survey Variable: Ranked Reasons for Status Difference”
Survey Variable: Selected Reasons for Status Difference
A key component of perception of privilege is the attribution of reasons for inequality in society. Those who prioritise structural explanations for differences between people’s statuses, such as background and inequality, can be said to perceive privilege. On the other hand, those who emphasise individual reasons, such as ambition and hard work, are not perceivingContinue reading “Survey Variable: Selected Reasons for Status Difference”
Survey Variable: General Social Trust
In addition to features of their own networks, such as the status and homogeneity of their acquaintances, how often they see the people they know, and the help that they can ask for, social capital also covers people’s dispositions towards society more generally. The survey did not cover this area extensively, because of its focusContinue reading “Survey Variable: General Social Trust”
Survey Variable: Past Vote
Perhaps the form of political participation that has received most attention is voting. This is for good reason; it is consequential in the sense that it clearly affects who governs and the policies that are implemented. From the perspective of political science, it also has the advantage of being a form of participation for which,Continue reading “Survey Variable: Past Vote”
Survey Variable: Party Identity
An important element of people’s political engagement and their perception of themselves is whether they identify with a political party and, if so, which. Party identity is a well-established concept within political science and has been argued to be a key driver of electoral behaviour, meaning that it is widely measured in political surveys. TheContinue reading “Survey Variable: Party Identity”
Survey Variable: Left-Right Self-Placement
An important driver and facet of people’s political engagement is their ideology, which we have already measured through their views on specific economic and social issues. However, beyond their specific views and the underlying ideological positions that they indicate, we also need to take into account how people think of themselves ideologically. Someone might makeContinue reading “Survey Variable: Left-Right Self-Placement”
Survey Variable: When MPs Lose Touch
Alongside their assessments of how much influence the public generally and they specifically have over the political system, and their view of how much attention politicians would pay to them, we can also consider whether people think their representatives are in touch with the public. The idea that MPs are out of touch is commonplaceContinue reading “Survey Variable: When MPs Lose Touch”
Survey Variable: Attention Paid by Elected Representatives
Another facet of people’s assessments of the political system is whether they think elected representatives will pay attention to concerns that they raise. This can be thought of as another feature of external political efficacy, but focused on the individuals who populate the political system rather than the system itself. It may also relate toContinue reading “Survey Variable: Attention Paid by Elected Representatives”
Survey Variable: Internal Political Efficacy
In addition to their views of the efficacy of the political system, which we refer to as external political efficacy and which centres on the openness and responsiveness of the system, people also have views of their own abilities to engage with that system. We refer to these views as their sense of internal politicalContinue reading “Survey Variable: Internal Political Efficacy”
Privilege and Participation 