The cylindrical structure of political involvement

Abstract

This research is devoted to a methodological study of interrelations among varieties of involvement in political issues, utilizing data designed and gathered in the context of the Israel election campaign for the Seventh Knesset in 1969. The observations on political involvement were defined by means of a mapping sentence. The interrelations were studied by calculating a weak monotonicity coefficient between each pair of variables. This correlation matrix was submitted to a smallest space analysis (SSA-I) in order to help ascertain the correspondence between the structure of the matrix and the facets of political issues in the mapping sentence. It is hypothesized that the regression of one form of involvement on another should be monotone and of positive sign. Such a ‘first law’ of involvement does hold empirically here. Furthermore, the structure of the intercorrelation matrix can be represented geometrically by a cylindrical interpretation of the SSA space which corresponds to the facet design of the varieties of involvement. The axis of the cylinder distinguishes between instrumental and cognitive involvement, while the circularity within strata of the cylinder corresponds to the facet of political issues which are the objects of the involvement.