Blackwell Reference Online

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In the wake of World War II, political sociologists began to develop models and theories of electoral choice. An early version of the sociology of elections was the so-called opinion leaders model , also known as the two-step hypothesis . Developed by Paul Lazarsfeld and his colleagues in the 1950s, the model sought to explain the 1948 US presidential election using the theories of primary and secondary groups, which were much in vogue at the time. Lazarsfeld took issue with the view that voters' decisions were based on influence by the press. He argued that voters were not directly influenced by the media or advertising, but that the effect was indirect ( Lazarsfeld et al. 1988 ). When making decisions, most people rely on what Lazarsfeld called an “opinion leader.” The opinion leader is an individual in a “primary group” whose views on a subject are trusted. A primary group is a small group characterized by face-to-face interaction (e.g., a family or a social group). Every primary group is characterized by a division of labor. In making their decisions, members of a primary group will tend to listen to an opinion leader, someone in the primary group whom others listen to in matters concerning politics. The media – according to this model – would only change the opinions of the voters at large if they manage to persuade the opinion leaders. The process goes as follows: Mass ... log in or subscribe to read full text