Some Observations on Mass Beliefs in the U.S. and Georgia

Abstract

Debates about the political abilities of the public remain one of the major controversies in political behavior research. This controversy implies normative presumptions about what level of sophistication is required for democracies to achieve their political ideals. For citizen politics to be purposeful, the electorate must have at least a basic level of political skills. Political attention is also very important sign of the public’s political skills. Reflecting and reinforcing the general development of cognitive mobilization, interest in politics and government affairs has increases in the U.S. and Georgia as well. Interest in specific election may vary from campaign to campaign, but statistics suggest a trend of increasing politicization. More people seem to be spreading reliance on social group and partisan cues as a basis of voting. The present level of issues voting is generally higher than during earlier periods.