This Article Full Text (PDF) References Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Alert me to new issues of the journal Add to Saved Citations Download to citation manager Request Permissions Request Reprints Add to My Marked Citations Citing Articles Citing Articles via Scopus Google Scholar Articles by Klofstad, C. A. Social Bookmarking                         What's this?

Civic Talk and Civic Participation

The Moderating Effect of Individual Predispositions

University of Miami, Coral Gables, klofstad{at}gmail.com

Individuals who discuss politics and current events in their social network also participate in civic activities. However, analytical biases make it difficult to show a causal relationship between these two phenomena. To obtain a more accurate measurement of the effect that civic talk has on civic participation, data were collected through a panel study conducted on students who were randomly assigned to their college dormitory roommates. These data show that engaging in civic talk causes civic participation. The evidence also shows that the civic talk effect is mitigated for individuals who are not already predisposed to participate in civic activities.

Key Words: social networks • civic participation • political predispositions • political discussion • matching methods • political participation

American Politics Research, Vol. 37, No. 5, 856-878 (2009)
DOI: 10.1177/1532673X09333960


CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    Twitter    What's this?