Doctoral Dissertation Research in Political Science: The Causes, Consequences, and Measurement of Perceived Political Control

控制感（POC）是一个来自社会心理学的概念，是一种个人对自己能在多大程度上控制世界某些方面的感觉或信念。该项目考察了个人对政治世界（如选举结果和政府政策）的感知控制水平是决定他或她的公民参与和政治参与水平的关键因素的理论。本项目侧重于四个主要研究目标。首先，它为研究界提供了一种准确的方法来衡量公民调查中的POC。其次，它表明POC结构既不同于政治学文献中现有的衡量标准（如政治效能），又优于后者。第三，它为检验POC理论的假设提供了数据。第四，该项目通过使用计算机心理测试技术，为科学界提供了以经济有效的方式测量POC的方法。对POC的研究很重要，因为拥有高POC的公民更有可能履行“好公民”的角色。从理论上讲，POC较高的个人应该更加关注政治，并寻求机会了解自己，与他人合作，在公共领域倡导自己的信仰，并通过投票或写信等行为积极参与民主。相比之下，那些认为自己无法控制政治结果的人更有可能被疏远、超然、不感兴趣、不参与。因此，通过更好地理解POC以及如何在公民中鼓励它，本项目旨在为设计课程、志愿服务项目和其他旨在促进公民参与和良好公民实践的干预措施提供基础。

The perception of control (POC), a concept from social psychology, is a feeling or belief that individuals have about how much they can control some aspects of the world. This project examines the theory that an individual's level of perceived control over the political world (e.g., election outcomes and government policy) is a critical factor in determining his or her level of civic engagement and political participation.This project focuses on four primary research goals. First, it provides the research community with an accurate way to measure POC in citizen surveys. Second, it demonstrates that the POC construct is both distinct from and superior to existing measures in the political science literature (e.g., political efficacy). Third, it provides data to test hypotheses derived from the POC theory. Fourth, the project provides the scientific community with the methodology to measure POC in a cost-effective way through the use of computerized psychological testing techniques.Research on POC is important, because citizens with high POC are more likely to fulfill the role of the "good citizen." Individuals with higher POC should theoretically pay more attention to politics and seek out opportunities to inform themselves, to work with others to advocate their beliefs in the public sphere, and to be active participants in democracy through acts like voting or writing letters to elected officials. By contrast, individuals who perceive that they have no control over political outcomes are more likely to be alienated, detached, uninterested, and uninvolved. Thus, by providing a better understanding of POC and how we might encourage it in citizens, this project aims to provide a basis for designing curricula, volunteerism projects, and other interventions designed to foster civic engagement and good citizenship practices.