An age-old question: Are relationships between age and political attitudes a consequence of life cycle or cohort-replacement effects?
(2005) An age-old question: Are relationships between age and political attitudes a consequence of life cycle or cohort-replacement effects?. In Proceedings Social Change in the 21st Century, QUT Carseldine, Brisbane.
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Abstract
Researchers observing associations between age and political attitudes have frequently puzzled over what such relationships mean. Do they reflect aging or political maturation processes that occur over the life cycle or do they reflect differences between age cohorts or political generations? Cross-sectional sample survey data, the most common form of evidence available, is notoriously impotent in the face of such questions, since for the most part any observed correlation between age and political attitudes could be consistent with either explanation. Ideally, what is needed to address the issue appropriately is longitudinal panel data, in which the same individuals are monitored over a substantial period of time. Panel studies, however, are not only extremely rare but seldom run for the length of time required to allow for robust monitoring of age-related changes. In a less than ideal world, an alternative data source is repeated cross-section studies spread out over a significant period. This paper employs six cross-sectional surveys, collected over a decade and a half in an attempt to untangle life cycle and generational effects on political attitudes.
| Item Type: | Conference Paper |
|---|---|
| RM Number: | 2006001805 |
| Status: | Published |
| Keywords: | political attitudes; age; life cycle; generation; age cohorts |
| Subjects: | 370000 Studies in Human Society > 370100 Sociology > 370107 Social Change 360000 Policy and Political Science > 360100 Political Science > 360102 Comparative Government and Politics |
| ID Code: | 3444 |
| Deposited By: | Bradbury, Stephanie J |
| Deposited On: | 03 February 2006 |
| Copyright Owner: | Copyright 2005 Clive S. Bean |