The political behavior of African Methodist Episcopal Church members in Detroit: The influence of context, cognition, and socio psychological characteristics.

Abstract

This study tested the assumption that most citizens rely on their perception of the environment and information stored in memory to make political decisions. How people think, know, and cognitively organize information about politics influences their political behavior. This research investigates these cognitive functions by examining the influence of church context, perceptions of that context, and general orientations embedded in memory on the political behavior of black religionists. A modified survey format was used to measure each of these factors among a representative sample of 200 members of the African Methodist Episcopal Churches in Detroit. Context was measured with situational inventories and observation. The subject was presented by means of a number of realistic church-related situations which vary according to risks, time involved, presence of relevant others, etc., and church members were asked to participate. In addition, memories of past experiences of the situation were measured. Other variables included religious beliefs, race, consciousness, and altruism. The hypothesis predicted specific correlational relationships between members' behavior and independent variables. Relationships were examined through the use of zero-order correlations and beta coefficients. Overall, significant relationships were found between predicted members' behaviors and situational perceptions. Memory proves to have a modest effect on political behavior. Key predictors for participation in church politics were demographic factors. Income and psychological factors emerged as the most significant predictors of external political participation. Finally, a discussion of the research results, implications for theory and practice, and suggestions for future research are presented.