rational choice model

Question 1

what are primacy factors and what do they lead to?

Answer 1

-long term factors
-they lead to stability (limited change in the results from election to election)

Question 2

what are recency factors and what do they lead to?

Answer 2

-short term factors
-lead to volatility (significant changes to the votes cast in each election)

Question 3

what is swing?

Answer 3

the movement of voters from one party to another, shown as a percentage

Question 4

definition of rational choice model:

Answer 4

argues that voters evaluate the parties and make a conscious choice based on a range of factors e.g. their policies

Question 5

what are positional issues?

Answer 5

-divisive issues that reasonable people can take different positions on
-e.g. should taxes be increased

Question 6

what’s the spatial model?

Answer 6

-stresses the importance of positional voters and issues. the party whose policies most closely match the positions of the majority of voters are more likely to win the election

Question 7

what are salient issues?

Answer 7

-issues that are considered to be the most important in an election
-economy, healthcare, taxation, education, crime, immigration

Question 8

what are valence issues?

Answer 8

-issues where there’s broad agreement on the goals government should pursue, e.g. crime rates

Question 9

what’s the valence model?

Answer 9

parties will win if they appear to be the most capable of delivering certain results on valence issues

Question 10

what’s electoral volatility?

Answer 10

the idea that swing and churn suggests that many floating voters are being influenced by short tern factors from election to election