“Analysis of voting behavior from the perspective of rationality and psychology”
In today’s world; Democratic system has become the demand of most nations of the world, and the essence of democracy is the political participation of individuals and different groups in society in governance and formulation of public policies. To this end, free voting is one of the most important tools of political participation in which individuals elect their representatives to the country’s important political institutions to formulate, implement and run policies. Therefore, it is significant to investigate the behavior of those who vote and the factors that influence and direct them. In this regard, there are two very important schools and directions in the field of behavior voting, as a rationality and psychological direction that play a significant role in analyzing voter behavior. That is why we will emphasize them and compare them in this discourse.
“Rationality of Voting Behavior”
The rationality of voter behavior in the reading and analysis of voting behavior goes back to the theory of rational choice. The roots of rational choice theory go back to utilitarian economics, where rationality is the maximization of profit from a utilitarian perspective. Not only that, but it also links morality to utility, profit and welfare, as John Stewart Mill (1806 – 1873), one of the utilitarian thinkers, emphasized the greatest welfare such as the moral class, since just action is the action that brings the greatest welfare, action The oppressor is the opposite, and prosperity means the acquisition of pleasure and the absence of pain.
In the sense that people are acting on the basis of personal pleasure and benefit. Thus, in the field of political economy later entered the field of sociology through the work of several thinkers and the analysis of individual social behavior in including voting behavior. Rational choice theory believes that voters vote on the basis of interpretation and comparison of costs and benefits. To do this, the voter tries to gather as much information as possible about the programs of the parties and compare them to see which party’s program can benefit him the most in the future, so that he can vote for that party.
“Psychology of Voting Behavior”
Many branches of psychology have had a significant role in the analysis of voting behavior, especially the two branches of “social psychology, psychology of knowledge”. The first one stresses on the groups, environments and circumstances in which the individual lives or is a member, and the second one emphasizes the individual’s tendencies, emotions, and personal situations. Early research in this area was more influential in the first direction, i.e. social psychology, but later and more recent research is more influential in theories of cognitive psychology.
The first direction is related to the work of Paul Lazarsfeld, also known as the Columbia School, in analyzing voter behavior. Although Lazarfield initially emphasized the impact of the media, mass media, and TV panels and debates on voter decisions, he later came to the conclusion that his tools the media does not have a decisive influence, but the groups to which the individual is a member have a decisive influence.
In general, according to this approach, which makes a psychological reading of voter behavior, it believes that voters choose options rationally and take into account the issues and agendas of the parties at the time. He does not vote for the election, but votes for him on a psychological, irrational, instinctive and emotional basis. This means that the individual does not try to know as much information about the candidates and the policies of the parties, but the voter takes all the complications (shortcuts) and tries to believe in himself with the least information and vote for the party and candidate to give it.
As a result; We found that both rational and psychological schools have played a significant role in analyzing voter behavior, and have contributed significantly to the development of electoral behavior science, although two schools and they are completely different in their reading and analysis of voter behavior rationalism emphasizes only self-interest and economic dimensions and ignores all social and psychological factors. The second, the “school of psychology,” emphasizes only irrational, mental, and emotional factors, ignoring self-interest and economic rationality.
