The Dimensions of Cue-Taking in the House of Representatives: Variation by Issue Area

Abstract

In this article, we test the thesis that legislators' cue-taking varies by policy area, using data collected in interviews with 99 members of the House of Representatives in the fall of 1987. They were asked to rate the importance of 11 different cue-givers--staff, party leaders, committee chairs, ranking minority members, state party delegation, other party colleagues, media, organized groups, constituents, president, and bureaucracy--in six different policy areas--agricultural, foreign, defense, social welfare, budget and economics, and civil rights. Operationalizing cue-taking differences by comparing legislators' mean ratings across both cue-givers and policy areas, we use analysis of variance techniques to find significant differences by both policy area and cue-givers. The pattern of differences varies for Democrats and Republicans.