Decision-Making Stimuli in the State Legislative Process
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 3406984 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Robert J Huckshorn (Florida Atlantic University, corresponding author) |
| Year | 1965 |
| Volume | 18 |
| Issue | 1 |
| Pages | 164-185 |
| Publication date | 1965-03-01 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | The Western Political Quarterly (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 0043-4078 • E-ISSN: 2325-8675 |
| Publisher | SAGE Publications Inc (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.1177/106591296501800113 |
| OpenAlex | W1973238957 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 6 |
ECENT YEARS have seen a burst of effort by political scientists to close the research gap in the analysis of the dynamics of legislative action. Much of their effort has been directed toward a better understanding of the political decision-maker and the influences which shape his decisions. This study has been undertaken to ascertain what factors state legislators perceive as affecting the decisions which they make. These factors were isolated during extended personal interviews which sought answers to the following questions: What effect does personal background or career development have on the legislator's choices? What degree of influence is exercised by his constituents or key community leaders? Is he subject to the persuasion of his political party or the governor? Do his decisions reflect the desires of interest groups or lobbyists who have access to him? Does his daily contact with fellow legislators have an effect on his choice of alternatives? Shortly after the 35th session of the Idaho Legislature adjourned in 1959, 96 of the 103 members were interviewed in their homes or places of work. All interviews were conducted by the author. With few exceptions the reception of the interviewer was friendly, as was the interview itself, and the respondents were cooperative. The key questions designed to elicit the respondents' perception of decision-making stimuli were open-ended and the responses quite varied. Where structured answers were offered, the fact has been noted in the text. Because of the restricted number of interviews and the heterogeneity of the answers to the open-ended questions, it would be impractical to subject them to the usual tests of statistical significance, and I have relied instead on simple percentage distributions to indicate the degree to which any set of answers represented the total interview group. The men and women in any legislative body are subject, as are all persons, to the influence of their own environmental conditions and experiences. Their perception of the issues which require their consideration is often determined by their personal backgrounds and political careers. Decisions reached by some of them reflect individual occupations, social status, religious affiliations, group associations, and educational levels. Their decisions in legislative affairs sometimes are determined by whichever of these experiences is uppermost in their minds at the time of action. Recent Idaho legislatures have been characterized by a high rate of member
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| Unique citing works | 5 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,11 |
| Citation span | 1971 - 2020 (50) |
| Citation velocity | historical |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 3 |