Group Deliberation.

Political scientists know that education, gender, income, age and race matter for public opinion and behavior. But these are more than characteristics of individuals; they are features of groups too. This paper argues that the growing interest in citizen deliberation is an opportunity to revive the study of groups. I analyze data on over 400 groups from a study of jury-eligible Arizona citizens reaching decisions about punitive damages against large corporations. I first establish that these decisions resemble the ones people make about the politics of redistribution, which allows the findings to generalize to the study of public opinion. I then analyze decisions at both the individual and group level and find that the group's demographic composition can be at least as potent as the individual's demographics. The experience of deliberating among many women or people of color can matter far beyond the experience of being a woman or person of color. The implications of this group influence extend to our understanding of deliberation, social cleavages, and the contextual dynamics of public opinion. ..PAT.-Unpublished Manuscript [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]