..., the justification for doing so, and a discussion of some of the consequences of the choices for how one ought to interpret the findings. The third part describes both the survey data sets analyzed and the aggregate-level data collected to augment these surveys. Ultimately, the chapter can function almost as a stand...

... at the individual level and the institutional and aggregate level. American Psychological Association behaviorism human choice learned optimism optimistic disposition quality of life Seligman Marty American Constitution cultural change perception of deficit orientation dogma happiness human beings...

... an argument that the impact of mass beliefs on democracy can only be analyzed at the aggregate level, because democracy only exists at this level. The article ends with a report of the findings from recent studies, which show that mass beliefs have indeed an aggregate effect on the emergence and survival...