Hooked
How Politics Captures People's Interest

Political interest is the strongest predictor of 'good citizenship', yet little is known about it. This book explains why some people find politics interesting while others don't.

Markus Prior (Author)

9781108420679, Cambridge University Press

Hardback, published 13 December 2018

412 pages
23.4 x 15.8 x 2.6 cm, 0.72 kg

Political interest is the strongest predictor of 'good citizenship', yet hardly anything is known about it. For the first time in over three decades, here is a study explaining what political interest is, where it comes from, and why it matters. Providing the most thorough description available of political interest in four Western democracies this study analyzes large household panel data sets rarely used in political science to explain how interest develops in people's lives. In an accessible manner, the book's analytical approach pushes applied social scientists to consider how panel data can be used to better understand political behavior. It does so in a way that doesn't gloss over complexities, and explains them in straightforward language. Advanced statistical methods are presented informally, accompanied by graphical illustrations that require no prior knowledge to understand the methods used.

1. Why political interest matters and how to understand its origins
Part I. Describing Political Interest: 2. The psychology of political interest 3. Measuring political interest
4. The impact of elections
5. Sixty years of political interest
Part II. The Development of Political Interest: 6. Political interest over the life course: the population average
7. Stability and variation in political interest
8. Differences in age trajectories
Part III. Explaining Change in Political Interest: 9. The big benefits of panel data analysis
10. Education
11. Parents
12. Money, health, and happiness
13. Encounters with politics
14. The impact of political attitudes and identities
15. Conclusion
Data appendix
Index.

Subject Areas: Central government [JPQ], Comparative politics [JPB], Political science & theory [JPA], Politics & government [JP], Social, group or collective psychology [JMH], Social research & statistics [JHBC], Social theory [JHBA], Sociology [JHB], Research methods: general [GPS]