Problem:
You described political conduct and listed several activities in which citizens can influence political behavior such as "voting, campaigning, lobbying, protesting, and social media engagement". Settle (2014) discusses how citizens can make informed and rational choices, but emotions influence our opinions and actions. When people become passionate and emotional about an issue, we often see a call to action. It usually takes the emotional aspect of an issue to bring people together to discuss issues rationally.
There are many models of the policy process, with rational decision-making being one. This is difficult to achieve because we would have to know every option, every alternative action, the costs, and consequences of each alternative policy, including both intended and unintended consequences, and present and future impact; something impossible to achieve. Most policies are created using multiple models, with the possibility of some aspects of the rational model being included. Incrementalism and elite policymaking are also quite common.
What is political behavior in relation to the policy-making process?
What behaviors influence the models?
Reference:
Settle, J. (2014). Political Behavior [Syllabus]. Williamsburg, VA: Department of Government, William and Mary University.