Anderson Mary R. Community Identity and Political Behavior

Palgrave Macmillan, 2010. — 242 p. — ISBN10: 0230621910 ISBN13: 9780230621916Social scientists are motivated to understand how various facets of society influence all sorts of behavior. Individual's perceptions about their significance in a given community can have meaningful effects on the way in which we look to communities to develop and foster democratic values and promote civic engagement. The focus of this book is on how community comes to influence political behavior; it takes an interdisciplinary approach blending the fields of community psychology, sociology, and political science. We know from previous research that the context in which an individual interacts influences his/her political behaviors and attitudes. With this in mind, the present research addresses two major questions, 1) how does sense of community influence political behavior and attitudes? and 2) what impact-if any-does involvement in multiple contexts have on political behavior and attitudes?