Public Opinion, Political Socialization and the Media

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Chapter 6 Public Opinion, Political Socialization
and the Media
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• Public Opinion the aggregate of individual
  attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of
  the adult population
• there is no one public opinion because there are
  many different publics
• Consensus opinions when there is general
  agreement among the citizenry on an issue
• Divisive opinions when public opinion is
  polarized between two quite different positions

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• Aspects of Polling Techniques
• Sampling techniques
• simple random sample each member of the
  population has an equal chance of being selected
  for the sample
• quota sample a less accurate technique wherein
  polling organizations predetermine the
  characteristics of the needed sample, and then
  find respondents with those characteristics to
  fill the slots
• sampling error the difference between a
  samples results and the result if the entire
  population had been interviewed

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• The Spectrum of Political Beliefs
• Liberal ideology
• endorse national government solutions to public
  problems
• support social-welfare programs to help the
  disadvantaged
• government should intervene to ensure the economy
  runs smoothly support social change
• support womens rights
• support civil rights
• oppose increased defense spending
• Conservative ideology
• national government has grown too large
• national government should not interfere with
  private sector
• social welfare programs should be limited
• state and local governments should be able to
  make their own decisions
• national defense should be strengthened
• support traditional values
• oppose gay rights

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What is Political Socialization? The process by
which individuals acquire political beliefs and
attitudes
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• How are Americans socialized?
• Family
• once the primary force in socialization
• links us to other forces of socialization
• parents communicate preferences to children
• children want to please parents and are receptive
  to their views
• demonstrated the most in consistency in party
  identification
• Education
• learn patriotism, structure of government and how
  to form positions on issues
• more the education a person has, the more likely
  he or she will be interested in politics
• The Media
• Includes news, entertainment and the Internet
• Replacing family and schools as the primary
  agents of socialization
• Peers
• most likely to shape political opinions when peer
  groups are politically active

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• How are Americans socialized? (cont.)
• Economic Status and Occupation
• poorer people ? more inclined to favor
  social-welfare programs, more isolationist
• richer people ? more tolerant of social change,
  conservative economically
• Influence of Political Events
• events impact peoples political attitudes
• when the effect of an event is long-lasting and
  impacts the preferences of those who came of age
  at that time, it is called a generational effect
• Examples include the Great Depression, World War
  II and the Vietnam War
• Opinion Leaders Influence
• leaders sometimes influence the opinions of
  others
• Demographic Traits
• African Americans ? liberal
• whites ? comparatively conservative
• younger adults ? liberal
• older adults ? comparatively conservative

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• Ideology and Public Opinion
• Liberal ideology
• endorse national government solutions to public
  problems
• support social-welfare programs to help the
  disadvantaged
• government should intervene to ensure the economy
  runs smoothly
• support social change
• support womens rights
• support civil rights
• oppose increased defense spending
• Conservative ideology
• national government has grown too large
• national government should not interfere with
  private sector
• social welfare programs should be limited
• state and local governments should be able to
  make their own decisions
• national defense should be strengthened
• support traditional values
• oppose gay rights

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• The Media and Politics
• entertainment
• reporting the news
• identifying public problems
• setting the public agenda
• socializing new generations
• providing a political forum
• making profits

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• The Primary of Television
• the most influential medium
• criticized for superficiality
• relies heavily on images
• constructs a story line
• sound bite
• influences the way politics is conducted
• narrowcasting
• the Internet
• talk show politics

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• The Media and Political Campaigns
• advertising
• the management of news coverage (spin)
• presidential debates
• the medias impact on voters

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• The Media and Government
• the Media and the Presidency
• the role of the White House Press Corps
• the role of the Presidents Press Secretary
• Setting the Public Agenda
• Media treatment of issues
• Special interest and political parties

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• Hot Links to Selected Internet Resources
• http//www.wadsworth.com/cgi-wadsworth/course_prod
  ucts_wp.pl?fidM2discipline_number20product_isb
  n_issn0534592651
• http//www.wadsworth.com/politicalscience
• http//www.pollingreport.com
• http//www.Slate.msn.com
• http//www.mediachannel.org

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Essentials of Government

• Very Good Websites for Chapter 6
• www.umich.edu/nes
• www.pollingreport.com
• http//Slate.msn.com
• www.mediachannel,org
• California Websites
• www.self-gov.org/lp-quiz.html