Hostname: page-component-586b7cd67f-dlnhk Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-11-23T19:48:41.643Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Explaining the Gender Gap in Political Knowledge

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  17 June 2009

Mary-Kate Lizotte  and
Andrew H. Sidman
Mary-Kate Lizotte
Affiliation:
Stony Brook University
Andrew H. Sidman
Affiliation:
John Jay College of Criminal Justice
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

Much scholarship has noted that there are significant differences in the political behavior of women and men. Women, for example, are found to be more likely to identify as and vote for Democrats, less likely to hold conservative issue positions, and more likely to vote for incumbents. One of the more disturbing gender gaps occurs in political knowledge: Specifically, women are typically found to be less knowledgeable about politics and government than their male counterparts. We propose that much of the gap can be explained by theories of risk aversion, which imply that women are less likely to guess on questions for which they are uncertain. Using item response models, we demonstrate that failure to consider these gender-based differences leads to scales that significantly underestimate the political knowledge of women. Consistent with other work in this area, we find that accounting for the higher propensity of men to guess decreases the gender gap in knowledge by around 36%.

Type
Research Article
Information
Politics & Gender , Volume 5 , Issue 2 , June 2009 , pp. 127 - 151
Copyright
Copyright © The Women and Politics Research Section of the American Political Science Association 2009

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

REFERENCES

Arnett, Jeffrey. 1992. “Reckless Behavior in Adolescence: A Developmental Perspective.” Developmental Review 12: 339–73.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bord, Richard J., and O'Connor, Robert E.. 1997. “The Gender Gap in Environmental Attitudes: The Case of Perceived Vulnerability to Risk.” Social Science Quarterly 78: 830–40.Google Scholar
Brody, Charles J. 1984. “Differences by Sex in Support for Nuclear Power.” Social Forces 63: 209–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Byrnes, James P., Miller, David C., and Schafer, William D.. 1999. “Gender Differences in Risk Taking: A Meta-Analysis.” Psychological Bulletin 125: 367–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Claibourn, Michele, and Sapiro, Virginia. 2001. “Gender Differences in Citizen-Level Democratic Citizenship: Evidence from the Comparative Study of Electoral Systems.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago.Google Scholar
Converse, Philip E. 1964. “The Nature of Belief Systems in Mass Politics.” In Ideology and Discontent, ed. Apter, David E.. New York: Free Press.Google Scholar
Cooper, M. Lynne, Wood, Phillip K., Orcutt, Holly K., and Albino, Austin. 2003. “Personality and the Predisposition to Engage in Risky or Problem Behaviors during Adolescence.” Journal of Personality and Social Psychology 84: 390–410.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Cronbach, Lee J. 1946. “Response Sets and Test Validating.” Educational and Psychological Measurement 6: 475–94.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Keeter, Scott. 1993. “Measuring Political Knowledge: Putting First Things First.” American Journal of Political Science 37: 1179–1206.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Keeter, Scott. 1996. What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Flynn, James, Slovic, Paul, and Mertz, C. K.. 1994. “Gender, Race, and Perception of Environmental Health Risks.” Risk Analysis 14: 1101–8.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Frazer, Elizabeth, and Macdonald, Kenneth. 2003. “Sex Differences in Political Knowledge in Britain.” Political Studies 51: 76–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Garand, James C., Guynan, Emily, and Fournet, Monique. 2004. “The Gender Gap and Political Knowledge: Men and Women in National and State Politics.” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the Southern Political Science Association, New Orleans.Google Scholar
Gidengil, Elisabeth, André, Blais, Nevitte, Neil, and Nadeau, Richard. 2003. “Women to the Left? Gender Differences in Political Beliefs and Policy Preferences.” In Women and Electoral Politics in Canada, ed. Tremblay, Manon and Trimble, Linda. New York: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Ginsburg, Harvey J., and Miller, Shirley M.. 1982. “Sex Differences in Children's Risk-Taking Behavior.” Child Development 53: 426–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Goren, Paul. 1997. “Political Expertise and Issue Voting in Presidential Elections.” Political Research Quarterly 50: 387–412.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gullone, Eleonora, and Moore, Susan. 2000. “Adolescent Risk-Taking and the Five-Factor Model of Personality.” Journal of Adolescence 23: 393–407.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gwartney-Gibbs, Patricia A., and Lach, Denise H.. 1991. “Sex Differences in Attitudes toward Nuclear War.” Journal of Peace Research 28: 161–74.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hess, Robert D., and Torney, Judith V.. 1967. The Development of Political Attitudes in Children. Chicago: Aldine.Google Scholar
Hill, Kevin A. 1993. “The Domestic Sources of Foreign Policymaking: Congressional Voting and American Mass Attitudes toward South Africa.” International Studies Quarterly 37: 195–214.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holsti, Ole R. 1992. “Public Opinion and Foreign Policy: Challenger to the Almond-Lippmann Consensus—Mershon Series: Research Programs and Debates.” International Studies Quarterly 36: 439–66.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Holsti, Ole R., and Rosenau, James N. 1993. “The Structure of Foreign Policy Beliefs among American Opinion Leaders—After the Cold War.” Millennium 22: 235–78.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Iyengar, Shanto 1990. “Shortcuts to Political Knowledge: The Role of Selective Attention and Accessibility.” In Information and Democratic Processes, ed. Ferejohn, John A. and Kuklinski, James H.. Champaign: University of Illinois Press.Google Scholar
Jennings, M. Kent, and Niemi, Richard G.. 1981. Generations and Politics: A Panel Study of Young Adults and Their Parents. Princeton: Princeton University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kahneman, Daniel, and Tversky, Amos. 1979. “Prospect Theory: An Analysis of Decision Under Risk.” Econometrica 47: 263–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Kass, Norman. 1964. “Risk in Decision Making as a Function of Age, Sex, and Probability Preference.” Child Development. 35: 577–82.Google ScholarPubMed
Kenski, Kate, and Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. 2000. “The Gender Gap in Political Knowledge: Are Women Less Knowledgeable than Men about Politics?” In Everything You Think You Know About Politics … And Why You're Wrong, ed. Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. New York: Basic Books.Google Scholar
Kenski, Kate, and Jamieson, Kathleen Hall. 2001. “The 2000 Presidential Campaign and Differential Growths in Knowledge: Does the ‘Knowledge Gap’ Hypothesis Apply to Gender as Well as Education?” Presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association, San Francisco.Google Scholar
Lopes, Lola L. 1987. “Between Hope and Fear: The Psychology of Risk.” In Research on Judgment and Decision Making, ed. Goldstein, William M. and Hogarth, Robin M.. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.Google Scholar
Luskin, Robert C. 1987. “Measuring Political Sophistication.” American Journal of Political Science 31: 856–99.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mondak, Jeffery J. 1999. “Reconsidering the Measurement of Political Knowledge.” Political Analysis 8: 57–82.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mondak, Jeffery J.. 2001. “Developing Valid Knowledge Scales.” American Journal of Political Science (January): 224–38.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mondak, Jeffrey J., and Anderson, Mary R.. 2004. “The Knowledge Gap: A Reexamination of Gender-Based Differences in Political Knowledge.” Journal of Politics 66: 492–512.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mondak, Jeffery J., and Davis, Belinda Creel. 2001. “Asked and Answered: Knowledge Levels When We Won't Take ‘Don't Know’ for an Answer.” Political Behavior 23: 199–224.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Niemi, Richard G., and Junn, Jane. 1999. Civic Education: What Makes Students Learn. New Haven: Yale University Press.Google Scholar
Neuman, W. Russell. 1986. The Paradox of Mass Politics: Knowledge and Opinion in the American Electorate. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.Google Scholar
Pettey, Gary R. 1988. “The Interaction of the Individual's Social Environment, Attention and Interest, and Public Affairs Media Use on Political Knowledge Holding.” Communication Research 15: 265–81.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Plous, S. 1989. “Thinking the Unthinkable: The Effects of Anchoring on Likelihood Estimates of Nuclear War.” Journal of Applied Social Psychology 19: 67–91.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powlick, Philip J. 1991. “Attitudinal Bases for Responsiveness to Public Opinion among Foreign Policy Officials.” Journal of Conflict Resolution 35: 611–41.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Powlick, Philip J. 1995. “The Sources of Public Opinion for American Foreign Policy Officials.” International Studies Quarterly 39: 427–52.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Price, Vincent, and Zaller, John. 1993. “Who Gets the News: Alternative Measures of News Reception and Their Implications for Research.” Public Opinion Quarterly 57: 133–64.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Prior, Markus, and Lupia, Arthur. 2008. “Money, Time, and Political Knowledge: Distinguishing Quick Recall and Political Learning Skills.” American Journal of Political Science 52: 169–83.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Sherriffs, Alex C., and Boomer, Donald S.. 1954. “Who Is Penalized by the Penalty for Guessing?” Journal of Educational Psychology 45: 81–90.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slakter, Malcolm J. 1969. “Generality of Risk Taking on Objective Examinations.” Educational and Psychological Measurement 29: 115–28.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Slovic, Paul. 1966. “Risk-Taking in Children: Age and Sex Differences.” Child Development. 37: 169–76.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tversky, Amos, and Kahneman, Daniel. 1992. “Advances in Prospect Theory: Cumulative Representation of Uncertainty.” Journal of Risk and Uncertainty 5: 297–323.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Verba, Sidney, Burns, Nancy, and Schlozman, Kay Lehman. 1997. “Knowing and Caring About Politics: Gender and Political Engagement.” Journal of Politics 59: 1051–72.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaller, John R. 1990. “Political Awareness, Elite Opinion Leadership, and the Mass Survey Response.” Social Cognition 8: 125–53.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaller, John R.. 1992. The Nature and Origins of Mass Opinion. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Zaller, John R.. 1994. “Elite Leadership of Mass Opinion: New Evidence form The Gulf War.” In Taken by Storm: The Media, Public Opinion, and U.S. Foreign Policy in The Gulf War, ed. Bennett, Lance and Paletz, David. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.Google Scholar