The discussion of the intervening factors in the electoral process has polarized into two perspectives: the sociological and the psychological. Establishing electoral choice as a dialectical process, Camino, Torres and Da Costa (1995) used two independent dimensions to systematize the factors that influence the vote. The first one consists of the two building processes of political reality: concrete political alternatives and individual acts of choice. The second formed by three levels of analysis: observation, inference and metatheory. This systematization led to a line of electoral research done by Camino and collaborators with students. The results allowed the elaboration of a psychosociological Model proposing that Electoral Choice is a process established from the insertion of the individual in the society organizations up to the moment of voting. The model locates stages of the process and relates them to the electoral choice. The present work presents a study that confirms the main relationships proposed in the "psychosociological model". It is observed that voters with social participation believe more in the efficacy of electoral activities. There is also evidence that the various forms of social participation shape peculiar views concerning the social structure. The social structure view, as an ideological matrix, also influences electoral choice. The data show that there is a close relationship between the voter's party ideology and the type of representation of social structure. Finally, the perspectives opened by the model in the study of the electoral behaviour are discussed.
Psychological Model; Social Participation; Electoral Behaviour
