Political talk over here, over there, over time

Data from Great Britain acid the United States from the late 1950s to the e arly 1990s show relatively little change in the frequency with which citize ns engage in political discussions, with whom they are likely to speak, and the variables that shape their propensity to engage in political talk. In addition, analyses of the data show that discussing politics enhances citiz ens' knowledge of public affairs, even net of other variables known to affe ct political knowledge. Students of political behaviour and those intereste d in strengthening democracy need to treat political discussions as an impo rtant form of political participation.