Hard Choices, Easy Answers: Values, Information, and American Public Opinion

"Hard Choices, Easy Answers offers a strikingly original and rigorous theory of public opinion built upon the interaction between psychological predispositions and political information. In addition to providing a refined portrait of the electorate's policy preferences, Alvarez and Brehm compare elites and masses, distinguish between individual and collective opinion, develop methods to interpret the variability of opinions, and draw lessons for theories of political representation--a total package that significantly advances our understanding of attitude formation, belief systems, and survey responses."--Dennis Chong, Northwestern University

"Hard Choices, Easy Answers is a very attractive book that has taught me a good deal. It treats numerous topics in public opinion research, but the underlying theme is the wavering in people's minds when they are asked their political views. Anyone concerned with these topics will have to consult the studies included here. This book--whose authors are smart, prominent, productive scholars--will draw considerable attention."--Christopher Achen, University of Michigan