This application seeks continuation support to extend my ongoing analysis of cohort effects and life-span variation in the stability of socio-political attitudes. A new conceptual framework is proposed for examining the life-span stability of attitudes. This framework integrates into one model three conceptually distinct aspects of life-span stability and/or instability: (1) differential stability, or the consistency of individual differences over time, (2) structural stability, or the persistence of correlational (covariance) patterns among sets of variables over time, and (3) intra-cohort stability, or the constancy of absolute levels of attributes within cohorts over time. Past research has primarily isolated one or another of these aspects of stability the present application seeks support to examine all three within a well-integrated, conceptually strong and methodologically sound framework.Support is requested for the examination of several theoretically-grounded hypotheses regarding differential stability, structural stability, and intra-cohort stability , using existing data from the National Election Study series. The NES series is a set of 18 national election-year surveys conducted by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research from 1952 to 1988. In addition to these nationally representative cross-sections, I propose to continue my use of three three-wave panel studies in the NES series: two 4-year panels (1956-1958-1960 and 1972-1974-1976) and one 4-wave panel spanning a single year (1980).Evidence is sought for three separate, but not mutually exclusive explanations for these three aspects of stability: cohort or """"""""generational"""""""" explanations of stability/change, life-cycle or """"""""aging"""""""" explanations of stability/change, and historical or """"""""period"""""""" explanations of social and individual change.Synthetic cohort models of life-span processes are used to model aspects of stability/instability over time. Estimates of the components of these models will be obtained using structural equation analysis methods employing a variety of different statistical estimation strategies.
| Krosnick, J A; Alwin, D F (1989) Aging and susceptibility to attitude change. J Pers Soc Psychol 57:416-25 |
