📚 Class-Based Voting and Other Influences on Voting Patterns: A Statistical Analysis | 基于阶级的投票及其他投票模式影响因素:统计分析
Voting behaviour in the UK has often been summarised by the phrase "class is the basis of British party politics". From a mathematical perspective, this claim can be turned into a testable question: do different social classes vote in significantly different proportions?
英国投票行为常被概括为“阶级是英国政党政治的基础”。从数学角度看,这一说法可以转化为一个可检验的问题:不同社会阶级的投票比例是否存在显著差异?
1. Voting Patterns as Data | 作为数据的投票模式
In A-Level Mathematics, we treat voting patterns as categorical data. Each voter is classified by social class and by party choice. We can summarise the relationship using a two-way table and calculate proportions, probabilities, and measures of association.
在A-Level数学中,我们将投票模式视为分类数据。每位选民按社会阶级和政党选择进行分类。我们可以用双向表总结这种关系,并计算比例、概率和关联度量。
The key question is whether the observed differences are large enough to be considered statistically significant, rather than the result of random sampling variation.
关键问题是,观察到的差异是否足够大,可以被认为具有统计显著性,而不是随机抽样变异的结果。
2. Class-Based Voting: Operationalising Social Class | 基于阶级的投票:社会阶级的量化
Social class is often simplified into categories such as "working class" and "middle class". Suppose a survey records that 55% of working-class voters support Party A, while only 40% of middle-class voters do so.
社会阶级通常简化为“工人阶级”和“中产阶级”等类别。假设一项调查记录显示,55%的工人阶级选民支持A党,而中产阶级选民中只有40%支持A党。
The conditional probability P(A | WC) = 0.55 and P(A | given their class. The difference 0.55 - 0.40 = 0.15 is a simple measure of the class gap.
条件概率 P(A | WC) = 0.55 和 P(A | MC) = 0.40 描述了给定阶级时选民支持A党的概率。差值 0.55 - 0.40 = 0.15 是阶级差距的一个简单度量。
3. Conditional Probability and Independence | 条件概率与独立性
If class and voting were independent, then P(A | WC) would equal P(A | MC) and both would equal the overall proportion P(A). Independence means knowing a voter's class gives no additional information about their party choice.
如果阶级与投票相互独立,那么 P(A | WC) 将等于 P(A | MC),且两者都等于总体比例 P(A)。独立意味着知道选民的阶级不会提供关于其政党选择的额外信息。
We can test independence using a two-way table. For example, if the overall support for Party A is 48%, an independent model would predict about 48% support in every class category.
我们可以使用双向表检验独立性。例如,如果A党的总体支持率为48%,独立模型将预测每个阶级类别中的支持率都约为48%。
4. Binomial Model for Voting Samples | 投票样本的二项分布模型
Suppose we take a random sample of n working-class voters and record the number X who support Party A. If the true proportion is p, then X follows a binomial distribution: X ~ B(n, p).
假设我们随机抽取 n 名工人阶级选民,记录支持A党的人数 X。如果真实比例为 p,则 X 服从二项分布:X ~ B(n, p)。
The mean of X is np and the variance is np(1 - p). These results allow us to calculate the probability of observing a particular number of Party A supporters under a given null hypothesis.
X 的均值是 np,方差是 np(1 - p)。这些结果使我们能够计算在给定原假设下观察到特定数量A党支持者的概率。
For large n, the binomial distribution can be approximated by a normal distribution with mean np and variance np(1 - p). This is useful for constructing hypothesis tests.
当 n 较大时,二项分布可用均值为 np、方差为 np(1 - p) 的正态分布来近似。这对于构造假设检验非常有用。
5. Hypothesis Test for a Single Proportion | 单一比例假设检验
of working-class voters support Party A. The alternative hypothesis might be H₁: p ≠ 0.50.
为了检验关于阶级投票的说法,我们建立原假设。例如,H₀: p = 0.50,表示一半的工人阶级选民支持A党。备择假设可能是 H₁: p ≠ 0.50。
Given a sample proportion p̂ = X/n, the test statistic for a large sample is:
给定样本比例 p̂ = X/n,大样本检验统计量为:
z = (p̂ - p₀) ÷ √(p₀(1 - p₀) ÷ n)
z with critical values from the standard normal distribution. If z is beyond ±1.96 for a 5% we reject H₀ and conclude that the observed proportion is significantly different from p₀.
我们将 z 与标准正态分布的临界值进行比较。如果在5%显著性水平下 z 超出 ±1.96,就拒绝 H₀,并得出结论:观察到的比例与 p₀ 存在显著差异。
6. Comparing Two Proportions: Class Gap Test | 比较两个比例:阶级差距检验
middle-class support for Party A differ significantly, we compare two sample proportions p̂₁ and p̂₂. The null hypothesis is H₀: p₁ = p₂.
为了检验工人阶级和中产阶级对A党的支持率是否存在显著差异,我们比较两个样本比例 p̂₁ 和 p̂₂。原假设为 H₀: p₁ = p₂。
Using a pooled estimate p̂ = (X₁ + X₂) ÷ (n₁ + n₂), the test statistic is:
使用合并估计 p̂ = (X₁ + X₂) ÷ (n₁ + n₂),检验统计量为:
z = (p̂₁ - p̂₂) ÷ √(p̂(1 - p̂)(1/n₁ + 1/n₂))
If the test rejects H₀, we have statistical evidence of a class gap in voting behaviour. This does not prove causation but shows the difference is unlikely to have occurred by chance.
如果检验拒绝 H₀,我们就有了阶级差距在投票行为中存在的统计证据。这并不证明因果关系,但表明这种差异不太可能仅由偶然因素造成。
7. Correlation Between Class Voting and Time | 阶级投票与时间的相关性
Class-based voting has declined in the UK since the 1960s. We can measure this trend by recording the percentage of working-class voters supporting the Labour Party each decade and calculating the product moment correlation coefficient (PMCC) with time.
自20世纪60年代以来,英国基于阶级的投票已经下降。我们可以记录每十年工人阶级选民支持工党的百分比,并计算其与时间的积矩相关系数(PMCC)来衡量这一趋势。
If the PMCC r is close to -1, there is a strong negative linear correlation between time and class voting. A hypothesis test for r can determine whether this correlation is statistically significant.
如果 PMCC r 接近 -1,则时间与阶级投票之间存在强负线性相关。对 r 的假设检验可以确定这种相关是否具有统计显著性。
A scatter diagram with a regression line would show the model:
带有回归线的散点图将显示模型:
ClassVoting = a + b × Time
where b is the average change in percentage points per year.
其中
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