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Data from the 1984 Canadian National Election Study (N not given) are analyzed to measure two dimensions of political knowledge: factual knowledge, based on Rs' ability to name the ten provincial premiers; & conceptual knowledge, in terms of how Rs defined & used the concepts of Left & Right. Four explanations of levels of political knowledge are tested: education, political participation, media effects, & region -- with controls for income, residency in several provinces, age, & sex. The findings reveal that education is significantly associated with both forms of knowledge, especially conceptual knowledge. Reading about politics in newspapers & magazines is strongly related to the two knowledge variables; the contribution of TV is much weaker. There are significant effects for region, with the patterns depending on type of knowledge. Some observations are made about the role of knowledge in political behavior. 3 Tables. Modified HA

Data from the 1974, 1979, 1980, & 1984 Canadian National Election Studies are employed to examine the organization of respondents' (Rs) images of the major political party leaders. It is argued that Rs' images of the leaders are not typically idiosyncratic to the leader or to the election in question but are shaped by a prototypical leader schema that affects the information about leaders that is processed & recalled. Results reveal considerable commonality in the content of a citizen's images of leaders in any one election, as well as both aggregate & individual-level stability in the structure of images across elections; however, better-educated Rs are more likely than less-educated Rs to cite task-relevant dispositional attributes of the leaders. 6 Tables. Modified HA

Data from Canadian national election studies are used to examine the impact of feminism on levels of political activity, 1964-1985. Findings show little change in women's participation rate over time; however, the presence of children was significantly associated with male-female differences, & there was a significant increase in voters mentioning women's issues during the 1984 election. Moreover, among the better educated there was a perception of the social-democratic New Democratic Party as being most sympathetic to feminist issues, & for many of those supporting women's concerns that perception is translated into votes. 7 Tables, 34 References. Modified HA

AbstractThis note addresses questions relating to the level of women's political activity and specific obstacles that restrict it. The work of Black and McGlen, showing a decrease in the traditional participation differences between Canadian men and women, is replicated over an expanded series of six national election studies. The results challenge the suggestion that there has been a decline in difference over time, and there is an attempt to account for this lingering distinction between the genders. Data are presented which indicate that the presence of children in the home has a much more constraining impact upon women's political activity than upon that of men.

Nous proposons ici une étude comparative des niveaux de vote de classe subjectif (vcs) au Canada, aux échelles provinciale et fédérale, au moyen des données de l'Etude électorale nationale de 1984. Sont considérées les différences interprovinciales, et l'influence du statut socio‐éonomique (sse) et de certaines variables psycho‐sociales sur le niveau du vcs. Notre analyse indique que le vcs est généralement plus élevé lors déections provinciales que fédérales. Il tend aussi àêtre élevé pour les deux types délections en Colombie Britannique, en Saskatchewan et au Manitoba, et très bas au Québec. Lorsqu'on ajoute des variables subjectives (i.e., le répondant se dit‐il de gauche ou de droite) à celles, objectives, reliées au sse la pertinence du vcs est grandement renforcée. De tels résultats appellent leurs propres questions, quant aux moyens de maximiser ou minimiser le vote de classe, et au statut théorique de ce dernier au sein des théories du vote.Using data from the 1984 Canadian National Election Study, we tested predictions about the comparative levels of subjective class voting (scv) in provincial and federal elections, interprovincial differences in scv, and the contributions of ses and selected social psychological intervening variables to the explanation of scv. We found, in general, more evidence of scv in provincial elections than in federal elections. Also, provincial and federal scv was generally highest in British Columbia, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, and lowest in Quebec. Finally, the addition of two social psychological variables (respondents' social class self‐placements and self‐descriptions on a left/right political orientation rating scale) to the standard objective ses indicators (occupation, income and education) greatly increased the total variance explained in scv. We conclude with some observations about the circumstances under which class voting will be maximized vs. minimized, and about the desirability of viewing the specialized problem of class voting within the larger context of voting theory.

Data from the 1965, 1968, 1974, 1979, 1980, & 1984 national election studies in Canada are drawn on to reanalyze the findings of Jerome H. Black & Nancy E. McGlen (see SA 29:2/81L3759) on sex differences in political activity. Results challenge their suggestion that such differences have declined over time. Any changes in political activity that did occur were idiosyncratic. It is found that the presence of young children has a differential effect on men's vs women's political activity, & that this difference accounts for much of the difference in political activity overall. 4 Tables. Modified HA

AbstractThe authors tested predictions concerning the effects of respondents' identification with governing versus opposition political parties on feelings of political efficacy and trust, using data from the 1984 Canadian National Election Study. Dependent variables were political competence, perceived system responsiveness, and political trust, each measured federally and provincially. Respondents who supported the party in power scored significantly higher on perceived responsiveness and trust than those who supported opposition parties, although mainly at the provincial level. Whether respondents' preferred party was in power or not interacted with strength of party identification on the responsiveness and trust measures, both federally and provincially, as expected. Effects were much less pronounced for feelings of political competence. The authors suggest an interpretation to explain the weaker and inconsistent federal results. The article concludes with some observations concerning the relationship between partisanship, on the one hand, and efficacy and trust, on the other.

AbstractWe report on findings from alternative ways of assessing the meaning given to "left" and "right" by respondents in the 1984 National Election Study. Approximately 40 per cent of the sample supplied definitions of the concepts; in comparison, about 60 per cent stated their feelings toward left-wingers and right-wingers and described their political orientations using a seven-point left/right rating scale. Left signified socialism or communism for about one-half of those who supplied definitions, and dislike for left-wingers seemed to be associated with these conceptions of left. Right, which was much more highly regarded than left, signified conservatism for one-quarter of those who defined the term. We also factor analyzed respondents' self-ratings on the left/right scale along with their answers to 15 attitude statements. Left was weakly associated with support for labour's use of the strike weapon. In a criterion group of respondents who had completed university and who had ventured definitions of left and right, self-ratings correlated with factors tapping attitudes toward the military and toward economic disparity and social welfare. As expected, respondents' ratings of themselves on the left/right scale were more similar to their ratings of their preferred parties than to their ratings of other parties. The relationship between self-ratings and ratings of preferred parties generally varied directly with the strength of party identification. We conclude with some observations about the political utility of political labels such as left and right.

An examination of alternative ways of assessing the meanings given by 3,377 Rs to the 1984 Canadian National Election Study to the terms "Left" & "Right." About 40% of Rs defined the terms, while about 60% stated feelings toward them & used a Left-Right scale to describe their own political orientations. Left signified socialism or communism for about 50% of Rs, especially among those who disliked the Left. Right signified conservatism for 25% of Rs. Factor analysis of self-ratings & 15 attitude statement responses shows a weak association of Left with support for strikes. Among a criterion group of Rs with U degrees, self-rating correlated with attitudes toward the military & toward economic inequality & social welfare. Rs' ratings of themselves on the Left/Right scale more closely resembled their ratings of their preferred parties than their ratings of other parties; the strength of the resemblance varied with that of party identification. The concepts of Left & Right are not held by the entire electorate, but have the capacity to reach diverse subsets of the electorate who define them in different ways. 8 Tables. Modified HA