2007 Conference Program - Midwest Political Science Association

Paper States in States: The Crisis of Autonomy in the EZLN's
'Autonomous' Mexico
Wendy L. Wright, Rutgers University
Overview: The past sixteen years have seen a consolidation of
non-state power in several indigenous regions of Mexico. This
territorial domination by forces standing in open opposition to, yet
not in rebellion against the dominant state structure creates a
political autonomy.
Disc. Jason P. Sorens, SUNY, Buffalo
Steven I. Wilkinson, University of Chicago
21-12 ADVANCES IN GENETICS AND POLITICS
Room Salon 12, 3 rd Floor, Sat at 4:25 pm
Chair Thomas Craemer, University of Connecticut
Paper B.F. Skinner is Dead: the Black Box Isn't Empty
Roger D. Masters, Dartmouth College
Overview: Cognitive neuroscience contradicts behaviorist models
of rational choice and makes possible synergistic choice models
based on the functional specialization of prefrontal cortex,
amygdala, other brain structures, and neurotransmitters.
Paper From Genes, to Mind, to Politics: Finding the Yellow Brick
Empirical Road
Ira H. Carmen, University of Illinois
Overview: Several genes have now been linked to human
personality profiles. This paper examines research designs for
testing whether these genes exhibit meaningful association with
more discrete political attitudes and behaviors.
Paper Politics and Genetics
John R. Hibbing, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
John R. Alford, Rice University
Peter K. Hatemi, University of Nebraska, Lincoln
Nicholas G. Martin, Queensland Institute of Medical Research
Overview: Recent claims about the extent to which genetics
influences political beliefs are frequently misunderstood. In this
paper, we use modern structural equation modeling techniques to
elucidate the connection between genes and politics.
Disc. Darren M. Schreiber, University of California, San Diego
22-7 UNCERTAINTY AND ISSUE VOTING
Room Salon 8, 3 rd Floor, Sat at 4:25 pm
Chair Jonathan N. Katz, California Institute of Technology
Paper Perceptions of Party Differences and Voting for Non-Major
Party Candidates
Gregg R. Murray, SUNY, Brockport
Craig Goodman, Texas Tech University
Overview: Motivated by the heuristics and burgeoning behavioral
economics literatures, we find that the uncertainty experienced by
voters who miss partisan cues creates a bias towards voting for
third party and independent candidates.
Paper Winnowing Choices: Political Choice Sets in Multi-Party
Elections
Carole J. Wilson, University of Texas, Dallas
Marco R. Steenbergen, University of North Carolina
Overview: We present a choice set analysis drawing from methods
developed in consumer research. We model choice sets and vote
choice with MLE and Bayesian estimators, validate these
estimators with Dutch data and compare the results to traditional
vote models.
Paper Voting under Uncertainty: Electoral Spaces and Vote
Decisions
Joan Serra, University of Chicago
Current spatial models of elections assume that voters perfectly
know their ideal points in the electoral spaces. In this paper I
develop and test a model with the empirically correct assumption
that voters are uncertain about their own ideal points.
Paper Spatial Voting in Low Information Elections
Elisabeth R. Gerber, University of Michigan
Jeffrey B. Lewis, University of California, Los Angeles
Overview: We analyze ballot image data to study electoral choices
in low-information primary elections. Preliminary analysis finds
strong evidence of spatial voting.
Disc. Jonathan N. Katz, California Institute of Technology
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22-12 SOCIAL GROUPS AND ELECTORAL APPEALS
Room Montrose 7, 7 th Floor, Sat at 4:25 pm
Chair Marc J. Hetherington, Vanderbilt University
Paper Ballots of Punishment and Reward: Target Groups and
Electoral Support for Direct Legislation
Stephen P. Nicholson, University of California
Overview: Target groups constitute low-cost cues about the
content of direct legislation. In using target group cues, I find that
the electorate rewards groups with positive stereotypes and
punishes groups with negative stereotypes.
Paper Race and Perceptions of Candidate Ideologies in U.S. House
Elections
Matthew L. Jacobsmeier, University of Rochester
Overview: Using National Election Studies data on recent U.S.
House elections, I examine the impact of race on vote choice, and
attempt to disentangle the effects of racial prejudice from the
effects of race on perceptions of candidate ideologies.
Paper Testing the Effect of Social Identity Appeals in Election
Campaigns (fMRI)
Eric S. Dickson, New York University
Kenneth Scheve, Yale University
Overview: We expose experimental subjects to political speech
stimuli from scripted (hypothetical) and from actual campaigns;
measure their responses using functional magnetic resonance
imaging (fMRI); and interpret results in the context of ongoing
debates.
Paper The Two Faces of Government Spending
Paul Goren, University of Minnesota
Overview: This paper uses welfare reform as a vehicle to explore
whether voters are responsive to demonstrable changes in public
policy. I use 1984-2004 NES data to assess the welfare-vote
choice relationship in the pre- and post-reform eras.
Disc. Marc J. Hetherington, Vanderbilt University
23-10 INSIDE AN OUTSIDE GAME; PARTIES AND
GROUPS IN THE 2006 MIDTERM ELECTIONS
Room PDR 5, 3 rd Floor, Sat at 4:25 pm
Chair Paul S. Herrnson, University of Maryland
Paper Party and Interest Group Activity in the 2006 Colorado 7th
Congressional District Election
Robert Duffy, Colorado State University
Kyle Saunders, Colorado State University
Overview: This paper systematically examines the spending and
activity of groups and parties in the Colorado 7 th district.
Paper Party and Interest Group Activity in the 2006 Pennsylvania
Senate and 6th Congressional District Elections
Robin Kolodny, Temple University
Overview: This paper systematically examines the spending and
activity of groups and parties in the Pennsylvania senate race and
6th district.
Paper Party and Interest Group Activity in the 2006 Minnesota
Senate and 6 th Congressional District Election
Nancy Zingale, University of St. Thomas
William Flanigan, University of Minnesota
Overview: This paper systematically examines the spending and
activity of groups and parties in the Minnesota senate race and the
Minnesota 6th district.
Disc. Paul S. Herrnson, University of Maryland
Kelly D. Patterson, Brigham Young University
24-8 ELECTORAL SYSTEM CHANGE
Room Parlor F, 6 th Floor, Sat at 4:25 pm
Chair Jae-Jae M. Spoon, University of Iowa
Paper Does Democratizing Electoral Insitutions Democratize
Politics?
Andrew Reeves, Harvard University
Overview: I examine the consequences of equal representation and
universal suffrage enacted by the British Great Reform Acts;
specifically I test how the reforms affected the power of political
parties and the nature of representation in Parliament.