Analysis of the Dynamics of Political Reasoning: A General-Purpose Computer-Assisted Methodology

Abstract

The purpose of this article is to present a methodology for better gauging the nature and dynamics of social and political attitudes. Starting from a particular view of attitude assessment, we show how computer-assisted interviewing can help transform the survey interview from a passive to an interactive process. Since the ultimate test of a methodological approach is its substantive yield, we shall present both specific measurement procedures and illustrative substantive results. The methodology itself, however, is quite general and readily applied to other substantive areas, thanks both to the generality of the theory of measurement of which it is a part and to the flexibility of the technology in which it is embedded.