ABSTRACT
Electoral choice is viewed as fairly deterministic, allowing the individual voter only limited scope to change his or her vote in response to short-term considerations of interest. Voting from this perspective is a reflexive act. Expressive factors are more likely to stabilize voting patterns, as individuals repeat their voting choice in election after election. In Britain, the key group referents are the traditional working and middle classes, while in Japan, traditional occupational classes have been accorded little weight. Voter choice is conscious and deliberate, not reflexive or deterministic. It is most probable that voting behavior in both Japan and Britain represents a hybrid of expressive and rational voting models in three senses: the individual voter may act out of mixed motives in variable proportions from election to election; different voters may act out of different motives; and what is perceived as rational for the individual may be strongly shaped by class circumstances and associated lifestyle.
