Politics with Paul

Approachable, nonpartisan, and nonideological analysis of various political topics by nonpartisan political analyst, writer, researcher, and speaker Paul Rader.

Politics with Paul #38: The Funnel of Causality - Why We Vote the Way We Vote

E39 • Apr 29, 2025 • 46 mins

Why do we make the vote choices that we do? How we fill out our ballots is inevitably shaped by a series of forces that we consciously (and subconsciously) think about. These influences are internal and external, group-based and individual-based, long-term and short-term. The interactions between these things are often represented as the Funnel of Causality, where they all filter into what our vote choice is at the narrow end of the funnel. Today's episode dives deep into this funnel: the history behind its development, how it has shaped our understanding of voter behavior, what it looks like...and why you should even care about it. Ultimately, the funnel is a representation of empathy for why people make the choices they make, including when we don't agree with them.

Key Points

The funnel of causality is a model that visualizes how various long-term and short-term factors influence an individual's vote choice over time.
The predominant early models of voting behavior are the Columbia School (highlighting sociological influences on our vote) and the Michigan School (highlighting both the sociological and the psychological).
Understanding the funnel of causality can foster greater empathy and comprehension of why people vote the way they do, emphasizing the importance of recognizing diverse influences and mitigating biases in political discussions.

My original Medium article on the Funnel of Causality: https://paulrader-42650.medium.com/the-funnel-of-causality-why-we-vote-the-way-we-vote-e94ad70ab3ca

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Speakers

Paul Rader

Host • 100%

Chapters

0:00	Today's Topic: the Funnel of Causality
3:42	The Beginnings of Academic Voter Research: The Columbia School
9:29	The Birth of the Funnel of Causality: The Michigan School
17:41	What Goes Into the Funnel of Causality?
25:34	Is There a "Correct" Visualization of the Funnel?
33:29	What About People Who DON'T Vote?
41:09	Why Should You Care About the Funnel of Causality?

Transcript

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