Introduction
The study of political behavior seeks to explain how individuals develop political attitudes and how these translate into political behavior. By studying how individual attitudes and behavior are produced by deep-seated factors such as personality predispositions or early socialisation, as well as contemporaneous factors such as personal experiences and mass communications, we can arrive at a nuanced understanding of how individuals are shaped as political actors.
Political Behavior covers the field of political behavior through four grand themes, each covering a number of topics:
Grand Theme 1: Outcomes
- Intro + Public opinion
- Engagement
- Turnout
- Vote choice
Grand Theme 2: Psychological foundations
- Early-life socialization, genes and predispositions
- Groups in politics
- Elite cues and motivated reasoning
Grand Theme 3: Media and context
- Media, priming, and framing
- Personal experiences and collective events
- Networks and social context
- Political knowledge, misinformation and heuristics
Grand Theme 4: Representation
- Descriptive representation
- Responsiveness
Special Topics
- Politics of AI
- Affective polarization
- Urban/rural conflict
- Democratic backsliding
The course is closely tied to Advanced Quantitative Methods in the Study of Political Behavior, the other mandatory course in the Political Behavior core subject.
The instruction language is Danish and English, depending on the first language of the instructor.
Time and place
See the online course schedule.
Instructors
Frederik Hjorth
E-mail: fh@ifs.ku.dk
Office: 18.2.14
Office hours: Tuesdays 9-10
Peter Thisted Dinesen
E-mail: ptd@ifs.ku.dk
Office: 8.2.01
Office hours: Tuesdays 13-14
Books
There are no whole books assigned in the class. All readings are available either through online access or shared in the course Absalon folder.
Final exam
For more info on the free exam, see the Final exam page.