| This dissertation has as general objective to explore the benefits of using a multimethod approach to describe the judgment process that takes place in the House of Representatives before and during the roll-call votes on the floor. The use of a multimethod approach can contribute to describing and explaining the judgment process of federal representatives, and, consequently, their decision-making process, improving the decision-making analysis that was done by other researchers in the field. The three methods that were used were interviews, voting data analysis and judgment analysis. Data collection took place in Brasilia, Brazil, during 2003 and 2004.; The results of the research show that a model that defines the voting behavior of the members of the Brazilian House of Representatives has a strong component of information overload due to the number of legislative Bills that are presented and analyzed every year. Moreover, the increasing complexity of the topics of the Bills and the pressures from members of society make the decision-making process more complex. Due to this reality, legislators act inside a bounded rationality aspect in the House that, when combined with the irreducible uncertainty of certain subjects, make the representative satisfice and, consequently, use a fast-and-frugal lens model on certain occasions. On other occasions, legislators, who are goal-oriented, will use their survival instincts and try to minimize future losses. In order to preserve their image and/or to satisfice, they trust their party and party leader as their main cue for deciding on their vote. When the party is not present, other cues such as the importance of the Bill for the country's future and the importance for their constituents assume a more relevant position in their decision process.; The use of the three methods resulted in a blend that creates a more calculated, substantial and scientific analysis about legislative decision making. The results from this research cannot be expanded beyond the Brazilian Congress; however, the method could be applied in other legislative bodies, creating the possibility of future compassion among them. |
