Prospecting for Participants: Rational Expectations and the Recruitment of Political Activists

Abstract

A survey of the American public is used to model citizen political recruitment as a two-stage process. First, those who recruit others to become active in politics seek likely activists through “rational prospecting.” Second, they seek acquiescence to their requests. We model each part of the process, delineating the characteristics of individuals that make them attractive prospects and that make them likely to say “yes.” Recruiters who have information about, and leverage over, their targets are more likely to be successful. In seeking out people who would be likely not only to participate but also to participate effectively, rational prospectors select people with characteristics that are already overrepresented among participants. The net result of the recruitment process for political activity in general—and for financial contributions, in particular—is to exacerbate participatory stratification.

Explaining Differences in Philanthropic Behavior between Christians, Muslims, and Hindus in the Netherlands

“…Engaging in philanthropy is more often than not preceded by a request to do so (Brady, Verba & Scholzman 1999;Bekkers & Schuyt 2008). Christian religious communities are known to organize activities for their members that create opportunities for their members to volunteer.…”

Understanding the Mobilization of Professionals

“…Two of these strands-recognition of the effects of workplace experiences and of adult socialization-contribute directly to our mobilization framework. Our framework also builds on existing theories of mobilization (Rosenstone & Hansen, 1993) and recruitment (Brady, Schlozman, & Verba, 1999;Verba et al, 1995). To show how the model works for a specific set of professionals, we apply it to women clergy from mainline Protestant and Jewish traditions and discuss how well the model fits the data we have available on the mobilization of these women clergy.…”

How do Civic Associations Foster Political Participation? The Role of Scope and Intensity of Organizational Involvement

“…The mobilization approach asserts that individuals are embedded in their social networks where contextual cues and political opportunities may be supplied and participation may be mobilized. Being asked to participate by one's political party, groups of affiliation, family, friends, or others in the social networks, makes one more likely to engage in political activities (e. g., Booth and Richard 1998;Brady, Schlozman, and Verba 1999;Bratton 1999;Huckfeldt and Sprague 1992;Kenny 1992;Knoke 1990). In the social movement literature, for example, many studies have highlighted the positive association between recruitment and the likelihood of one's engagement in protests, boycotts, or the like (Diani and McAdam 2003;Fernandez and McAdam 1988;McAdam and Paulsen 1993;Walker 2008).…”

“…They first focus on the personal-level indicators, such as income, education, psychological involvement, political efficacy, or party identification. The standard socioeconomic model, or the resource model, developed by Verba and colleagues (e. g., Brady, Schlozman, and Verba 1999;Brady, Verba, and Schlozman 1995;Verba et al 1993;, is the most influential one. It proposes that participation is primarily driven by individuals' resources (i. e., time, money).…”