Originally published in Contemporary Psychology: APA Review of Books, 1994, Vol 39(2), 225. Reviews the book, The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion by John Zaller (1992). The author's commendable effort to specify a model of mass opinion formation offers readers an introduction to the prevailing vi

The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion.

The Political Consciousness of Post-Industrialism@@@The Silent Revolution: Changing Values and Political Styles among Western Publics.

“WHAT can men do, what do they do, and what do they want to do ?”—these are the uestions that Prof. Thorndike seeks to answer in a very comprehensive and elaborate treatise. His undertaking is inspired by the belief that man has the possibility of almost complete control of his fate if only he will be guided by science, and that his failures are attributable to ignorance or folly. The main approach is through biological psychology, but all the social sciences are appealed to and utilized in an effort to deal with the human problem as a whole. The relative immaturity of the sciences dealing with man is continually stressed, but it is claimed that they provide a body of facts and principles which are “far above zero knowledge”, and that even now they are capable of affording valuable guidance in the shaping of public policy. Human Nature and the Social Order By E. L. Thorndike. Pp. xx + 1020. (New York: The Macmillan Company, 1940.) 18s. net.

Human Nature and the Social Order

Populist Radical Right Parties in Europe.

The Psychology of Religion and Coping: Theory, Research, Practice

This study explores explanations for the approval of euthana- sia by assessing differences among individuals and countries, using four main arguments used by opponents and proponents in the public debate over euthanasia. We performed multilevel analysis on data from thirty- three countries, obtained from the European Values Study 1999/2000 and the World Values Survey 2000; we enriched these data with country- specific information. First, our results supported the hypothesis based on the religion argument: religious people and people living in a religious context are more strongly opposed to euthanasia. In addition, Protestants and people living in Protestant countries have more favorable attitudes toward euthanasia than do Catholics and people living in Catholic coun- tries. Second, we found support for the hypothesis derived from the slippery slope argument: fear that euthanasia will be abused resulted in people from vulnerable groups and people living in countries with low- responsive health care systems being more opposed to euthanasia. Third, as the autonomy-hypothesis predicted, highly educated people and peo- ple who highly value autonomy as well as people living in a country with a stronger than average attachment to autonomy show a more fa- vorable attitude toward euthanasia. Fourth, while the death with dignity argument predicts that people who witness unbearable suffering in their personal or national environment are more favorable toward euthanasia, our results show only weak support. Furthermore, cross-level interaction tests showed that national contexts are, to some extent, able to decrease the differences between groups in society in terms of their response to euthanasia.

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A Comparative Study on Permissiveness Toward Euthanasia Religiosity, Slippery Slope, Autonomy, and Death with Dignity

This article examines support for radical left ideologies in 32 European countries. It thus extends the relatively scant empirical research available in this field. The hypotheses tested are derived mainly from group-interest theory. Data are deployed from the 2002�2010 European Social Surveys (N = 174,868), supplemented by characteristics at the country level. The results show that, also in the new millennium, unemployed people and those with a lower income are more likely to support a radical left ideology. This is only partly explained by their stronger opinion that governments should take measures to reduce income differences. In contrast to expectations, the findings show that greater income inequality within a country is associated with reduced likelihood of an individual supporting a radical left ideology. Furthermore, cross-national differences in the likelihood of supporting the radical left are strongly associated with whether a country has a legacy of an authoritarian regime.

Support for radical left ideologies in Europe

With a unique longitudinal data set covering a time-span of 18 years, we test to what extent euroscepticism evolved among the Dutch between 1990 and 2008. We compare Eurosceptic attitudes on the eve of the signing of the Treaty of Maastricht with attitudes after the Dutch ‘no’ in the referendum on the European Constitution. We find a strong increase in euroscepticism among the Dutch. This change did not develop evenly across the educational strata. We propose to explain these differences through the utilitarian, political cueing, political cynicism and identity approaches. Over the years, the less educated have become more cynical about politics and have come to perceive a greater ethnic threat than before, which explains their stronger increase in euroscepticism. In contrast to 1990, perceived ethnic threat was the main predictor of euroscepticism in 2008.

A longitudinal study of euroscepticism in the Netherlands: 2008 versus 1990

The Netherlands, as many other Western countries, has experienced large shifts in intolerance in only a few decades. Aggregate opinions on euthanasia and homosexuality have become more accommodating over time, whereas the general opinion on the presence of ethnic minorities has become much more critical. This book describes observed trends and seeks explanations for the rapid socio-cultural changes in the Netherlands. Transformations in the composition of Dutch society, specific historical circumstances and personal contact experiences with homosexual men and women and with ethnic minorities are all evaluated as possible causes of changed intolerance levels. Furthermore, a validity study at the heart of this book investigates the use of retrospective attitude measurements in survey designs. This book addresses the changes observed in the Netherlands over time and within individuals over their life courses. Large-scale cross-sectional and longitudinal datasets are employed. Multi-level models are used to analyse cross-sectional changes, and growth curve models to analyse individual changes over time.

/pdf/intolerance-over-time-macro-and-micro-level-questions-on-4tnsb6o5mg.pdf

Intolerance over time : macro and micro level questions on attitudes towards euthanasia, homosexuality and ethnic minorities

This study aims to explain why boys and girls in secondary education choose different educational tracks. We argue that adolescents internalise gender expectations as to what is “appropriate” male and female behaviour in their gender ideology. Gender ideology can affect educational choices by influencing (1) how adolescents evaluate their competence in certain subjects (competence beliefs), (2) what they find important in a future occupation (occupational values) and (3) what school subject they prefer right now (subject preferences). Longitudinal data collected among adolescents at age 15 and 16 (N = 1062) are used. Multinomial path models show that gender ideology shapes boys’ occupational values and subject preferences, whereas for girls it shapes their competence beliefs. Only for boys this leads to gender-stereotypical educational choices, however. Our results support the idea that gender expectations are stricter for boys than for girls and may prevent men from entering more feminine career ...

https://tandfonline.com/doi/pdf/10.1080/03055698.2016.1160821

Eva Jaspers

Papers

A Comparative Study on Permissiveness Toward Euthanasia Religiosity, Slippery Slope, Autonomy, and Death with Dignity

Support for radical left ideologies in Europe

A longitudinal study of euroscepticism in the Netherlands: 2008 versus 1990

Intolerance over time : macro and micro level questions on attitudes towards euthanasia, homosexuality and ethnic minorities

Boys’ and girls’ educational choices in secondary education. The role of gender ideology