19 Facts About Philip Converse

Philip Ernest Converse was an American political scientist.

Philip Converse was a professor in political science and sociology at the University of Michigan who conducted research on public opinion, survey research, and quantitative social science.

Philip Converse was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 1969.

Philip Converse's sister, Connie was a singer-songwriter who recorded music in the 1950s before disappearing in the 1970s.

Philip Converse was drafted into US military service during the Korean War, working as a newspaper editor on a base in Battle Creek, Michigan.

In 1961, Converse married social scientist Jean G McDonnell, an expert in interviewing techniques who directed the Detroit Area Study.

Philip Converse served in leadership roles for the center and for the broader Institute for Social Research in which it was housed for the rest of his career, including as director of the Center for Political Studies and director of ISR itself.

Philip Converse became an assistant professor of sociology at the University of Michigan in 1960.

Philip Converse quickly earned tenure with promotion to associate professor in 1964.

Philip Converse left the University of Michigan to become director of the Center for Advanced Study in Behavioral Sciences at Stanford University in 1989.

Philip Converse returned to the University of Michigan as an emeritus professor of sociology and political science in 1994.

Philip Converse died December 30,2014, in Ann Arbor, Michigan, at the age of 86.

Philip Converse was survived by his wife, Jean, and his two sons.

Philip Converse is known for his work on ideology and belief systems, voters and elections, partisanship, political representation, party systems, the human meaning of social change, and political sophistication.

Philip Converse's work drew on extensive public opinion survey data from the United States and France.

Philip Converse says belief systems are constructed by political elites, who decide the issue views that go together, and he says political information is key for determining whether members of the mass public are capable of following these connections in their own thinking.

Philip Converse concludes that mass publics generally lack the structured belief systems seen in political elites, and he speculates that this finding from mid-century America applies broadly across publics in other places and eras.

Philip Converse summarizes by stating that the mass public has a very narrow understanding of political issue and vote accordingly, thus explaining the instability of voting trends among the masses versus the elites.

Philip Converse co-authored The American Voter with Angus Campbell, Warren Miller, and Donald Stokes.