Racial Issues and The Structure of Mass Belief Systems

Abstract

C ONVERSE'S MASTERLY STUDY of political belief systems in mass publics generated a controversy that, if anything, has grown more intense during the last few years.' Examining a large collection of diverse data pertaining to mass political attitudes and issue preferences, Converse drew a most unflattering portrait of the American electorate. According to his analysis most voters did not use ideological terms to evaluate political parties and candidates, and did not even recognize the terms when asked about them; their