Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science Equality in Context: Implications of Multidimensional Values for Policy Preferences

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This project investigates the extent to which multiple understandings of political values present in American political culture influence the nature of mass public policy preferences. The objective of the project is to test a general theoretical framework grounded in both psychological and political science literatures. The project assesses specifically the availability of value meanings in American political culture, the relation of those meanings to individual-level characteristics and issue contexts, and their implications for the formation of policy preferences. This current work expands the literature in the realm of political values, public opinion, and political psychology by conceptualizing values as multidimensional in nature, the meaning of which is dependent on social, psychological, and contextual factors. The project uses survey and experimental methodologies in conjunction with student and community subject samples to examine the meanings of equality common to American citizens and their roles in forming the foundation for opinions regarding affirmative action, social welfare, and civil rights policies. The general theoretical orientation of the project provides potential for the advancement of scientific understanding of public opinion as it seeks to attain a more nuanced assessment of the foundations of public policy preferences.