Attitude, interest and communication in a general election

Abstract

This dissertation provides an insight into voting behavior amongst first time voters in Malta. It analyzes the relationship between the assumptions on which the main political parties designed messages during the last general election in Malta, and the actual voting behavior of the voters, to see if communication was established. After reviewing the theorists who wrote about the main concepts surrounding the behavior of voters and their attitudes and perception of political messages, the study tests and describes the presence and form of these phenomena, among first time voters in Malta, particularly during the general elections of 1996. In-depth interviews were conducted with the party officials responsible for designing election strategies. The voters' attitudes, involvement and reception to political communication was examined through group interviews with a stratified sample of first time voters.