A theory of political belief system dynamics should incorporate causal connections between elements of the belief system and the possibility that belief systems are influenced by exogenous factors. These necessary components can be satisfied by conceptualizing an individual’s belief system as a network of causally connected attitudes and identities which, via the interactions between the elements and the push of exogenous influences, produces the disparate phenomena in the belief systems literature. We implement this belief systems as networks theory in a dynamic Ising model and demonstrate that the theory can integrate at least six otherwise unrelated phenomenon in the political belief systems literature, including work on attitude consistency, cross-pressures, spillover effects, partisan cues, and ideological differences in attitude consensus. Our findings suggest that belief systems are not just one thing, but emerge from the interactions between the attitudes and identities in the belief system. All code is available: https://osf.io/aswy8/?view_only=99aff77909094bddabb5d382f6db2622.

政治信仰系统动力学理论应包含信仰系统要素之间的因果关系以及信仰系统受外生因素影响的可能性。这些必要的组成部分可以通过将个人的信仰系统概念化为一个因果联系的态度和身份网络来满足，这些态度和身份通过元素之间的相互作用和外生影响的推动，在信仰系统文献中产生不同的现象。我们将此信念系统作为动态 Ising 模型中的网络理论实施，并证明该理论可以整合政治信念系统文献中至少六种其他不相关的现象，包括态度一致性、交叉压力、溢出效应、党派线索和态度共识的意识形态差异。我们的研究结果表明，信仰系统不仅仅是一回事，而是从信仰系统中态度和身份之间的相互作用中产生的。所有代码均可用：https://osf.io/aswy8/?view_only=99aff77909094bddabb5d382f6db2622。