Index

Page numbers in italics refer to figures and tables.

American College Testing (ACT) Score, 145, 146, 156, 162

American National Election Studies, 4, 12, 19, 98n, 100n, 103n, 131, 133, 138

American Research Group, 1

Attitudes on importance of civic participation. See Perceived importance of civic participation

Attributions on motivation, 50 self-serving bias in, 48–49

Bar-Tal, Daniel, 96 Beliefs

on importance of civic participation. See Perceived importance of civic participation

political ideology. See Ideology, political partisanship. See Partisanship

Bias

endogeneity (omitted variable), 5, 19,

21, 128

in motivation attribution, 48–49 reciprocal causation, 5, 19, 21, 128 selection, 5, 19, 21, 128

Brady, Henry E., 16, 55, 92 Bush, George H. W., 41 Bush, George W., 65, 139

Cacioppo, John T., 72

Campaign activities, participation in, 15, 34, 51, 149

in Obama rally, 32, 32n, 36, 49, 66 survey evidence on, 94, 121, 153

Campbell, David E., 60n, 95n Causal mechanisms, 7, 129

civic engagement in, 54, 57, 154–155 correlation of, 58–59

difficulties in research on, 18–20, 27, 128, 135–137

focus group evidence on, 48–49, 64–69 information resources in, 53–54, 57, 154 multivariate analysis of, 59–64 reciprocal, 5, 19, 21, 128

recruitment in, 155

social norms in, 55–56, 58, 155

survey evidence on, 42–48, 57–64, 154– 155

validity of research on, 24–26 Civic participation

awakening moment in, 29

changes between high school and college, 34, 38–42, 116

changes during college years, 116–117 costs and benefits of, 3, 35, 40–41, 52– 56, 63–64, 69, 73–74, 120–121, 121n

176

Index

Civic participation (continued) definition of, 13–16 differentiated from civic talk, 16

difficulties in research on, 18–20, 21, 27, 128

focus group evidence on, 48–49, 64–69, 87–88, 107, 131, 140

future research on, 135–137 individual characteristics affecting, 71–

89. See also Individual-level characteristics

knowledge about politics and current events affecting, 37–38. See also Knowledge about politics and current events

lasting effect of civic talk on, 8, 116–124, 129–130

measurement of, 33–42 motivation for, 52–56, 69. See also

Motivation for civic participation non-political activities in. See Non-

political civic participation

peer characteristics affecting, 91–108.

See also Peers

perceived importance of. See Perceived importance of civic participation

political activities in. See Political activity participation

predisposition to. See Predisposition to civic participation

prior experience with. See Prior civic participation experiences

recruitment for. See Recruitment role in democracy, 3, 9, 13–16 self-reinforcement of, 120–124 social-level antecedents of, 17–18

social norms affecting, 55–56, 58, 68–69.

See also Norms

survey evidence on, 42–48, 57–64, 75– 88, 96–106, 110–113, 116–124

trends across different activities, 34, 35–38 validity of research on, 24–26

in voluntary membership organizations. See Voluntary civic organization participation

voting in. See Voter turnout Civic talk

amount of, in social network, 7, 12, 30– 32, 131

awakening moment in, 29

and civic engagement, 7, 54, 57–66, 113–115

compared to deliberation, 12, 130–135 composition of discussion network in,

12–13

conflict avoidance in, 31–32, 65, 94–95, 107, 134

definition of, 2, 11–12, 16

differentiated from civic participation, 16 difficulties in research on, 18–20, 27,

128, 135–137

duration of impact, 8, 116–124, 129–130 focus group evidence on, 48–49, 64–69,

87–88, 107, 131, 140

frequency of. See Frequency of civic talk future research on, 135–137

individual characteristics in, 71–89. See also Individual-level characteristics

influence of, compared to individual level characteristics, 8, 43–47, 50, 110–113, 129

informal and accidental nature of, 11–12, 131

as information resource, 53–54, 57, 59–65 lasting effect of, 8, 116–124, 129–130 measurement of, 30–33

news media use affecting, 33, 87n, 105, 131

normative implications of, 8, 130–135 in participatory democracy, 2, 5, 8–9,

23–24, 50, 71, 89, 94, 109, 116, 127– 128, 130, 135, 138–139

peer characteristics in, 7–8, 91–108, 129.

See also Peers

persuasion attempts in, 49, 65, 68, 72– 75, 92–93

and political participation, 45–46, 50–51, 119–120, 123–124

potential problems in, 132–135 recruitment in. See Recruitment self-reports on, 30–33

survey evidence on, 42–48, 57–64, 75– 88, 96–106, 110–113, 116–124

topics discussed in, 32–33 validity of research on, 24–26

variables not influenced by, 115, 134 and voluntary civic organization partici-

pation, 7, 42–45, 51, 60–61, 75–88, 96–107, 118–119, 122, 129

and voter turnout, 7, 46–48, 51, 62–63, 75–88, 96–107, 119–120, 129

Civil society, 14, 14n, 15

participation in, 14. See also Civic participation

Index

177

Clinton, Bill, 41

Clinton, Hillary, 1–2, 32n, 65, 141 Cognitive dissonance

in political disagreements, 94–95 in social norm violations, 56

College students in first year, 6, 21–22 as crucial case of peer influence, 24–26 changes in civic participation between

high school and college, 34, 38–42, 116

free time of, 39, 40, 158

political activities of, 34, 35–38, 116, 153

preference for community involvement, 36–37, 46, 114–115, 140–141, 158 prior civic participation experience of,

34, 38, 75–78 priorities of, 38–40

as respondents and non-respondents in C-SNIP Panel Study, 144–147

College students in fourth year, 6, 22, 129– 130

changes in civic participation during college years, 116–117

continuing effect of civic talk on, 8, 116– 124

as respondents and non-respondents in C-SNIP Panel Study, 144–147

Collegiate Social Network Interaction Project (C-SNIP) Focus Group Study, 23n, 23–24

on causal mechanisms, 48–49, 64–69 on civic engagement, 65–66

on decreases in civic participation between high school and college, 40– 42

on disagreement and conflict avoidance, 31–32, 65, 107

on frequency of civic talk, 31–32 on individual characteristics, 87–88 on information resources, 64–65

on link between civic talk and civic participation, 48–49

on political and non-political civic participation, 36–38

questions asked in, 147–149

on recruitment attempts, 65, 66–68, 69, 87–88

research design in, 147–149 on social norms, 68–69

on topics discussed while engaging in civic talk, 32–33

Collegiate Social Network Interaction Project (C-SNIP) Panel Survey, 6–8, 21– 22

on causal mechanisms, 42–48, 57–64, 154–155

characteristics of respondents and nonrespondents in, 144–146

on civic engagement, 57, 58–64, 78–81, 154–155

on civic expertise of peers, 103–106 on frequency of civic talk, 30, 154

on homogeneity of peer group, 100–103 on importance of civic participation, 37,

48, 106, 158

on individual characteristics, 75–87, 155–156

on knowledge and education, 85–87, 88, 103–104, 156, 157

matching procedure in. See Matching procedure in data pre-processing on peer characteristics, 96–106, 157

on political participation, 34–38, 45–46, 116, 119–120, 152–153

on political preferences, 82–85, 156

on preference for community or political involvement, 36–37, 46, 114–115, 140–141, 158

on prior civic participation experience, 34, 38, 75–78

questions and variables in, 151–159 research design in, 143–147, 151–159 response rate in, 144

on social intimacy, 96–100

on voluntary organization participation, 7, 34, 35–36, 42–45, 51, 60–61, 75– 88, 96–107, 118–119, 122, 129, 151,

152

on voter turnout, 7, 34–35, 46–48, 51, 62–63, 75–88, 96–107, 119–120, 129, 153

wave 1, 6, 21–22, 143, 145, 146. See also High school students

wave 2, 6, 21–22, 143, 145, 146–147. See also College students in first year wave 3, 6, 22, 116–124, 143, 145, 146–

147. See also College students in fourth year

Commission on National and Community Service, 41

Community involvement, preference for, compared to political involvement, 36–37, 46, 114–115, 140–141, 158

178

Index

Competence, civic, 18, 66

Compliance with group, social intimacy affecting, 92

Conflicts in political disagreements, 93–95 avoidance of, 31–32, 65, 94, 95, 107, 134

Conservative ideology, 82–85, 156 Contact with elected officials, 14, 15, 34,

51, 152, 153

survey evidence on, 152, 153 Cooperation in social networks, 131–132

and groupthink, 134

Corporation for National and Community Service, 41

Cost-benefit analysis of civic participation, 3, 35, 40–41, 52–56, 63–64, 69, 73–74, 120–121, 121n

data gathering and data analysis phases in, 73–74

Crucial cases, 24–26, 26n, 135

C-SNIP Focus Group Study. See Collegiate Social Network Interaction Project (C-SNIP) Focus Group Study

C-SNIP Panel Survey. See Collegiate Social Network Interaction Project (C-SNIP) Panel Survey

Data matching procedure. See Matching procedure in data pre-processing

Deliberation, 12, 130–135

as benchmark for civic discourse, 130 compared to civic talk, 12, 130, 131–132 policy implications of, 12, 132, 134 social level factors in, 17, 92

Democracy

active involvement of citizens in, 3, 9 citizen interactions in, 17, 17n

and civil society, 14, 14n

costs and benefits of participation in, 3, 35, 40–41, 52–56, 63–64, 69, 73–74, 120–121, 121n

disengagement affecting, 13–14, 26, 89, 91, 133, 137–138

participatory, role of civic talk in, 2, 5, 6–9, 71, 116, 127, 130, 135

peer-based civic mobilization in, 138– 139

political disagreements in, 93–94, 135n sociological studies of, 5, 17–18

Democracy in America (Tocqueville), 17 Disagreements, political, 8, 93–95

conflict avoidance in, 31–32, 65, 94–95, 107, 134

focus group evidence on, 31–32, 107

and peer group homogeneity, 100–103 persuasion attempts in, 65

policy solutions in, 135, 135n Discursive discourse, 130–132 Discussions

common topics in, 31–33 discursive, 130–132

frequency of civic talk in, 7, 12, 30–32 on large scale issues, 135

network of individuals included in, 12–13 Dormitory assignment, 21, 21n

Downs, Anthony, 52 Duty, civic, 54

An Economic Theory of Democracy (Downs), 52

Education level

and civic participation, 3–4, 74 of parents, 87–89, 112, 113, 156

Edwards, John, 1 Efficacy, political

civic talk affecting, 114–115 compared to effect of civic talk, 111

and motivation for civic participation, 54 survey evidence on, 57, 59, 61, 62, 79–

81, 154–156

and voluntary organization participation, 60–61, 78–81

and voter turnout, 62, 63, 79–81 Egalitarian discussions in social networks,

131–134

Elaboration Likelihood Model of persuasion, 72

Elections

ambivalence about, 94n civic mobilization in, 139

midterm congressional election (2006), 119–120, 123–124, 125, 153

political disagreements on, 94 presidential primary elections. See Presi-

dential primary elections recruitment attempts in, 55, 62–63, 66 as topic of civic talk, 32, 64, 65

voter turnout for. See Voter turnout Endogeneity bias, 5, 19, 21, 128 Engagement, civic, 3, 7, 129

civic talk affecting, 7, 54, 57, 59, 61, 62, 65–66, 113–115

compared to effect of civic talk, 111 correlation with other causal mecha-

nisms, 58–59

in cost-benefit analysis of civic participation, 74

Index

179

focus group evidence on, 65–66 knowledge on politics and current events

affecting, 18, 37–38, 66 measures of, 57, 64n

and motivation for civic participation, 54 multivariate analysis of, 59–63

in Obama campaign, 36

preference for community involvement affecting, 36–37

of roommate, 103–106

and sense of political efficacy, 78–81 survey evidence on, 57, 58–63, 78–81,

154–155

and voluntary organization participation, 60–61

and voter turnout, 54, 63–64, 69, 79–81 Enjoyment of time spent with roommate,

98–100, 105–106, 157

Environmental concerns as discussion topic, 33, 49

Environmental stimuli, interaction with personal characteristics, 71–89

Expertise, civic, 91, 95–96, 103–106 civic talk affecting, 114–115, 129

compared to effect of civic talk, 110–113 and influence of civic talk, 7, 91, 95–96,

103–106, 108

survey evidence on, 103–106, 108, 157

Festinger, Leon, 56, 72, 93

Focus group study in C-SNIP. See Collegiate Social Network Interaction Project (C-SNIP) Focus Group Study

Free time available, 3

survey evidence on, 39–40, 158 Frequency of civic talk, 7, 12, 30–32, 131

conflict avoidance affecting, 31–32 focus group evidence on, 31

interest of roommate in politics and current events affecting, 32

self-reports of, 12, 30–32 survey evidence on, 12, 30, 154

Gender, and effect of home life on civic participation, 77

Gerber, Alan, 55

German Weimar Republic, 14n Green, Donald, 55 Groupthink, 134

Health care concerns as discussion topic, 33 Heterogeneity of community, and voter

turnout, 95n

High school students, 6, 22 free time of, 39, 158

knowledge about politics and current events, 39, 85n, 156, 158–159

news media use of, 85n, 158–159 political activities of, 34, 36–38, 46, 47,

152–153

political ideology of, 82–85, 156 preference for community involvement,

36–37

service learning opportunities of, 40–42, 117, 140

transition to first year of college, 35–42, 116–117

variables measured in, 152, 153, 156, 158 voluntary organization membership of,

34, 35–38, 40–42, 152 Homogeneity of peer group, 91, 93–95,

107–108, 129

survey evidence on, 100–103, 157 Huckfeldt, Robert, 12, 18, 74, 94n, 94–95

Ideology, political

changes during college years, 117 compared to effect of civic talk, 112–113 disagreements on, 8, 31–32, 93–95, 107 in high school, 82, 156

and homogeneity of peer group, 100– 103

minimal impact of civic talk on, 115, 125 and persuasion attempts, 65

survey evidence on, 82–85, 117, 156 Importance of civic participation, 3, 9, 14–

15

norms on, 58, 68–69, 154, 155 perceptions on. See Perceived importance

of civic participation Income, 3

and voter turnout, 133 Individual-level characteristics, 3–4, 7, 9,

71–89, 129

existing research on, 19, 19n focus group evidence on, 87–88

influence of, compared to civic talk, 8, 44, 47, 110–113, 129

interaction with environmental stimuli, 71–89

survey evidence on, 75–87, 155–156 Information resources

correlation with other causal mechanisms, 58–59

focus group evidence on, 64–65, 131 multivariate analysis of, 59–63

180

Index

Information resources (continued)

peers as, 18, 53–54, 57, 59, 64–65, 95– 96, 154

quantity and quality of, 137 survey evidence on, 57, 58–63, 154 and voter turnout, 53–54, 62, 63

Interest group contributions, cost-benefit analysis of, 52, 52n

Interest in politics and current events, 3, 7, 131

changes during college years, 117 and civic engagement, 54, 64n, 78–79

civic talk affecting, 49, 59, 62, 63–64, 114 focus group evidence on, 65–66

in high school, 155, 156 norms on, 154, 155

of parents, 77, 78, 110–111, 155, 156 of roommate, 7, 32, 58, 59, 60n, 68–69,

103–106, 157

survey evidence on, 57, 59, 62, 63–64,

154, 156, 157

and voluntary organization participation, 59, 60–61, 63–64

and voter turnout, 59, 62, 63–64, 79, 80 Intimacy, social, 8, 91, 92–93, 108, 129

in physical proximity, 92–93 survey evidence on, 96–100 trust as measure of, 96–97

Iowa caucuses (2008), 1–2, 9, 141 Italy, regional differences in, 15

Kerry, John, 139

Kids Voting USA, 141n

Knowledge about politics and current events

and civic competence, 18, 66

and civic engagement, 18, 37–38, 66 civic talk affecting, 114, 129 compared to effect of civic talk, 111 compared to free time and news media

use, 39–40

correlation with other causal mechanisms, 58–59

cost-benefit analysis of information sources in, 53–54

enhancing civic talk effect, 108 in high school, 39, 84n, 156, 158

of peer or roommate, 7, 91, 95–96, 103– 106, 157

source of information in. See Information resources

survey evidence on, 40, 57, 85–87, 89, 103–106, 156, 158

La Follette, Bob, 82n Lake, Ronald La Due, 18

Lasting effect of civic talk, 8, 116–124, 129–130

Latané, Bibb, 56

Laver, Michael, 11

Learn and Serve America, 41 Liberal ideology, 31, 82–85, 156

The Logic of Collective Action (Olson), 52 Lupia, Arthur, 93n

Massachusetts Institute of Technology, 56, 93

Matching procedure in data pre-processing, 22–23, 23n, 128, 161–163

benefits of, 22–23, 135–136 pre-treatment variables used in, 161–162 on voluntary civic organization participa-

tion, 43–44, 44n

on voter turnout, 46, 47, 47n MatchIt package, 161

McCain, John, 65

McClurg, Scott D., 18, 25n, 74

McCubbins, Matthew D., 93n Measurement methods

on civic participation, 33–42 on civic talk, 30–33

Media. See News media use Menand, Louis, 127 Mendelberg, Tali, 92, 130

Michigan School of political behavior, 19n Mobilization, civic, 4n, 121

peer-based, 138–139 Modeling, behavioral, 58, 59, 68

Motivation for civic participation, 52–56, 69, 117, 117n

attributions on, 48–49, 50 cost-benefit analysis of, 52–56, 69, 73–

75

and response to environmental stimuli, 72–75

Multivariate analysis of causal mechanisms, 59–63

Mutz, Diana, 93–94, 94n

National and Community Service Act (1990), 41

National and Community Service Trust Act (1993), 41

Newcomb, Theodore, 17n News media use

changes during college years, 117, 158, 159

Index

181

civic talk affecting, 114, 115

compared to effect of civic talk, 112, 113 compared to free time and political

knowledge, 39–40

in high school, 85n, 158 as information resource, 64 as source of civic talk, 33

Non-political civic participation, 14, 15–16 compared to political participation, 16,

35–38

examples of activities in, 15–16 measurement of, 34, 35, 116

peer characteristics affecting, 97, 99, 101, 102, 104, 106, 107

prior experience with, 38 trends in, 35–42

voluntary organization membership in. See Voluntary civic organization participation

Norms, 17, 55–56, 58, 129 correlation with other causal mecha-

nisms, 58–59 definition of, 55

focus group evidence on, 68–69

on importance of civic participation, 58, 68–69, 154, 155

modeling of, 58, 68 multivariate analysis of, 59–63

survey evidence on, 58–63, 154, 155 and voluntary organization participation,

61

and voter turnout, 56, 62, 63

Obama, Barack

as discussion topic, 33, 36, 49, 64, 65 Iowa caucus votes for, 1–2, 141 Wisconsin campaign rally for, 32, 32n,

36, 49, 66 Olson, Mancur, 52

Omitted variable bias, 5, 19, 21, 128 Optmatch package, 161

Panel Survey in C-SNIP. See Collegiate Social Network Interaction Project (C-SNIP) Panel Survey

Paradigmatic cases, 26

Parent civic interest and activity, 77, 78, 155, 156

compared to effect of civic talk, 110–111 Parent education, 87–89, 156

compared to effect of civic talk, 112, 113 Parks, Rosa, 120n

Path dependence concept, 120–121, 121n

Peers, 5–8, 91–108, 129

civic expertise of, 91, 95–96, 103–106, 108

in civic mobilization efforts, 138–139 cooperative and egalitarian discussions

with, 131–132

disagreements with, 93–95, 100–103 focus group evidence on, 107 frequency of contact with, 138–139 information resources transferred by,

53–54, 57, 59, 64–65, 95–96 recruitment by, 55, 57, 59, 66–68, 92 roommates as. See Roommates similarity with, 91, 93–95, 100–103,

107, 129, 157

social comparison theory on, 72

social intimacy with, 91, 92–93, 96–100 social norms of, 56, 58, 59, 68–69 survey evidence on, 96–106, 157

trust between, 8, 91, 93, 96–97, 157 Perceived importance of civic participation

norms on, 58, 68–69, 154, 155 survey evidence on, 37, 58, 59, 154,

155, 158

Persuasion attempts in civic talk, 49, 65 individual characteristics affecting

response to, 72–75

social intimacy affecting response to, 92–93

Petty, Richard E., 72 Policy implications

of civic talk and participation, 15, 16, 132, 134–135

of deliberation, 12, 132, 134 Political activity participation, 14, 15

changes during college years, 116–117, 119, 123–124

compared to non-political participation, 16, 35–38

effect of civic talk on, 45–48, 119, 123– 124

examples of, 15, 34

of high school students, 34, 36, 38, 46,

47, 116, 153

long term effect of civic talk on, 119, 123–124

measurement of, 34–35

preference for community involvement affecting, 36–37, 46, 140–141, 158

prior experience in, 38

sleeper effect of civic talk on, 123–124 survey evidence on, 34–37, 45–48, 152–

153

182

Index

Political activity participation (continued) trends in, 35–42

voting in. See Voter turnout

Political party representatives, frequency of contact with, 138–139

Political similarity with roommate, 91, 93– 95, 100–103, 107, 129, 157

Popkin, Samuel, 95–96

Predisposition to civic participation, 7, 50 benefits of civic talk in, 89, 133

data matching procedure on, 162 recruitment effectiveness in, 67–68 response to environmental stimuli in,

72–75, 89

Presidential primary elections

Iowa caucuses in (2008), 1–2, 141 recruitment attempts in, 66

as topic of civic talk, 32, 64, 65

voter turnout for (2004), 34–35, 46–48, 124, 153

voter turnout for (2008), 36, 49

Prior civic participation experiences, 7, 38, 50

compared to effect of civic talk, 110–111 data matching procedure on, 162 self-reinforcement in, 120–123

survey evidence on, 75–78

in voluntary civic organizations, 43, 44, 45, 75–78

and voter turnout, 45–48, 75–78 Prisoners Dilemma task, 132

Protest activities, participation in, 14–15, 34, 51, 82n, 149, 152, 153

Putnam, Robert, 15, 56, 89

Random assignment of roommates, 6–7, 20–21, 21n, 23

Reciprocal causation, 5, 19, 21, 128 Recruitment, 3n, 7, 55, 129

correlation with other causal mechanisms, 58–59

face-to-face style of, 55, 55n

focus group evidence on, 66–68, 69, 87– 88

multivariate analysis of, 59–63 by rational prospectors, 121

social intimacy affecting response to, 92 survey evidence on, 57, 58–63, 69, 154,

155

and voluntary organization participation, 61, 63–64, 69

and voter turnout, 55, 55n, 62, 63–64, 66

Research design, 5–6, 20–26, 135–137 bias in, 5, 19–23, 128

crucial cases in, 25–26, 26n, 135

in C-SNIP Focus Group Study, 147– 149

in C-SNIP Panel Survey, 143–147, 151– 159

data matching procedure in. See Matching procedure in data pre-processing

future agenda in, 8, 135–137 random assignment in, 5–6, 7, 20–23,

21n

validity of, internal and external, 24–25 Resources

in cost-benefit analysis of civic participation, 3, 53–54, 74

focus group evidence on, 64–65 free time, 3, 39–40, 158 income, 3, 133

information. See Information resources survey evidence on, 57, 58–63, 154

Roommates characteristics of, 157

civic engagement of, 103–106 civic expertise of, 103–106, 157

disagreements and conflict avoidance with, 31–32, 65, 107

enjoyment of time spent with, 98–100, 105–106, 157

frequency of civic talk with, 154

as information resource, 57, 64–65, 154

interest in politics and current events, 7, 32, 58, 59, 60n, 103–106, 157

modeling behavior of, 68 perceived activity level of, 154, 155 random assignment of, 6–7, 20–21,

21n, 23

recruitment by, 57, 58–64, 66–68 similarity with, 100–103, 108, 157 topics discussed with, 30–33

trust in, 96–97, 157

Saxe, Leonard, 96

Selection bias, 5, 19, 21, 128 Self-reinforcement process, 120–123 Self-report measures

on civic participation, 34–35 on civic talk, 30–33

Service learning opportunities in high school, 40–42, 117, 140

Silbiger, Sara, 127

Index

183

Similarity with roommate or peer, 91, 93– 95, 100–103, 108, 129

in overall general characteristics, 91, 100, 101, 108, 129, 157

political, 91, 93–95, 100–101, 102, 108, 129, 157

Sleeper effects, 123–124 Social comparison theory, 72 Social impact theory, 56

Social intimacy. See Intimacy, social Socialization, political, 17, 77, 121 Social-level variables, 5–6, 17–18, 19

peer characteristics. See Peers Social networks, 17–18

amount of civic talk in, 5, 12, 18, 30–32 in civic mobilization, 138–139 cooperative and egalitarian discussions in,

131–132, 133–134

design of research on, 5–6, 20–26, 135– 137

disagreements in, 93–95

non-political and political discussions in, 12–13

peers in. See Peers

social comparison theory on, 72

social intimacy in, 108. See also Intimacy, social

Sprague, John, 12, 18, 74

Student government involvement, 34–35, 67, 151, 151n, 152

Survey evidence in C-SNIP. See Collegiate Social Network Interaction Project (C-SNIP) Panel Survey

Tocqueville, Alexis de, 17, 17n Trust

in government, 115, 134

in roommate or peer, 8, 91, 93, 96–97, 157

in society, 56

University of Wisconsin, Madison C-SNIP Focus Group Study in, 6, 23n,

23–24. See also Collegiate Social Network Interaction Project (C-SNIP) Focus Group Study

C-SNIP Panel Survey in, 6, 21–22. See also Collegiate Social Network Interaction Project (C-SNIP) Panel Survey progressive political culture in, 82, 82n random assignment of roommates in, 21,

21n, 23

Validity of research, internal and external, 24–25

Values on importance of civic participation. See Perceived importance of civic participation

Verba, Sidney, 3, 3n, 53n, 74, 121

Voice and Equality (Verba, Schlozman, and Brady), 3

Voluntary civic organization participation, 7, 15–16

civic expertise of roommate affecting, 103–106

of college students in fourth year, 116– 117, 152

compared to political activities, 35–38 cost-benefit analysis of, 63–64

data matching procedure on, 43–44, 44n effect of civic talk on, 42–45, 51, 60–61, 75–88, 96–107, 110–113, 116–124 information resources on, 59, 61, 64–65

knowledge about politics and current events affecting, 85–87

lasting effect of civic talk on, 116–124 measurement of, 34, 35, 116

parent civic interest or activity affecting, 77–78

parent education affecting, 87, 88

peer group homogeneity affecting, 100– 103

policy implications of, 15–16, 132 political efficacy affecting, 60–61, 79–81 political ideology affecting, 82–85

prior experience in, 43–45, 75–76 recruitment affecting, 61, 63, 69 self-reinforcement in, 120–123

in service learning opportunities, 40–42, 117, 140

social intimacy affecting, 96–100 survey evidence on, 35–36, 40, 42–45,

51, 60–61, 75–88, 96–107, 110–113, 116–124, 151, 152

types of organizations in, 35, 151, 152 Voter turnout

civic engagement affecting, 54, 59, 62, 63, 69, 78–79

civic expertise of roommate affecting, 103–106

of college students in fourth year, 116, 119–120, 123–124, 153

cost-benefit analysis of, 52–56, 63–64 data matching procedure on, 46, 47,

47n

184	Index
Voter turnout (continued)	political efficacy affecting, 62, 63, 78–81
and education level, 4	political ideology affecting, 82–85
effect of civic talk on, 46–48, 51, 62–63,	prior civic participation experience
75–88, 96–107, 110–113, 116–124	affecting, 46, 47–48, 75–77, 78, 120–
heterogeneity of community affecting, 95n	121
by income, 133	recruitment affecting, 55, 55n, 62, 63,
information resources affecting, 53–54,	66
62, 63	self-reinforcement in, 120–121
knowledge about politics and current	social intimacy affecting, 96–100
events affecting, 85–87	social networks affecting, 139
long term effect of civic talk on, 119,	social norms affecting, 56, 62, 63
123–124	survey evidence on, 34–35, 40, 46–48,
measurement of, 34–35, 116, 153	51, 62–63, 75–88, 96–107, 110–113,
parent civic interest or activity affecting,	116–124, 120, 153, 153
75–77, 78	trends in, 34, 116, 132–133, 153
parent education affecting, 87, 88
peer group homogeneity affecting, 100–	Wolbrecht, Christina, 60n
103	Wolf, Sharon, 56

CASEY A. KLOFSTAD is an Assistant Professor of Political Science

at the University of Miami.