The Role of Interpersonal Communication in Political Participation (Case of 9th Parliamentary Elections of Iran)

The article is the result of a survey conducted on the role of interpersonal communication in political participation. It compares the effects of interpersonal communication and media on decisions of Tehran citizens in 10th parliamentary election of Iran. The study is based on Lazarsfeld's theory of two-step flow of communication which was completed by Robinson. According to Robinson, community is divided at least into three sections; leaders, followers and inactive people. The spread of information by the media can affect all sectors of society. An information and influence flow from leaders to followers. The study is a survey one with a sample of 840 individuals. Data were collected using a structured questionnaire one week after 9th parliamentary election of Iran from residents of 22 districts of the Tehran city. The results show that "interpersonal communications" were stronger and more effective in comparison to the "mass media" in 2013 Iranian parliamentary election. According to the results of study political behavior of citizens could be categorized into five categories including passive, follower, leader, individualist, and dialectic based on their interpersonal communications. Furthermore, political participation, media consumption and sources of news and engagement of each group was investigated.