Public Opinion

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Chapter 6

• Public Opinion
• and
• Political Socialization

Prof. Alfaros students at a voting site.
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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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Consensus and Divisive
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Qualities of Public Opinion

• Intensity the strength of a position for or
  against an issue
• intense opinions are often critical in generating
  public action
• an intense minority often can win on issue over a
  less intense majority
• Fluidity the extent to which public opinion
  changes over time
• Stability the extent to which public opinion
  remains constant over a period of time

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Qualities of Public Opinion (cont.)

• relevance the extent to which an issue is of
  concern at a particular time
• issues become relevant when they are viewed as of
  direct concern to daily life
• political knowledge the extent to which
  individuals are aware of an issue

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Aspects of Polling 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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Problems with Polls

• polls as a snapshot in time of potentially
  shifting opinions
• presidential election polls in 1948 and 1980
• sampling errors
• unscientific polls Internet, phone-in, push
  polls
• wording of questions
• influence of interviewer
• high nonresponse rates

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Political Socialization

• the process by which individuals acquire
  political beliefs and attitudes
• How are Americans socialized?
• Family
• the most important 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
• important for party identification

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Political Socialization, (cont.)

• Education
• learn patriotism, structure of government and how
  to form positions on issues
• the more education a person has, the more likely
  he or she will be interested in politics
• Peers
• most likely to shape political opinions when peer
  groups are politically active

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Political Socialization, (cont.)

• Religious Influence
• religious groups are likely to transmit definite
  political preferences
• Roman Catholics ? more liberal
• Protestants ? more conservative
• Jewish ? more liberal

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Political Socialization, (cont.)

• Economic Status and Occupation
• poorer people ? more inclined to favor
  social-welfare programs, more conservative on
  social issues, more isolationist
• richer people ? more tolerant of social change,
  conservative economically

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Political Socialization, (cont.)

• 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
• Great Depression, World War II and the Vietnam
  War

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Political Socialization, (cont.)

• Opinion Leaders Influence
• leaders sometimes influence the opinions of
  others
• Media Influence
• newspapers, television, radio and the Internet
  influence public opinion
• through agenda setting
• by shaping opinions

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Political Socialization, (cont.)

• Demographic Traits
• African Americans ? more liberal
• whites ? comparatively conservative
• younger adults ? more liberal
• older adults ? comparatively conservative
• The Gender Gap the difference between the
  percentage of votes a candidates receives from
  women versus from men
• women tend to vote more Democrat
• men tend to vote more Republican

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Political trust
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Confidence in institutions
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Problem trends
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Discussion

• How can public opinion influence politicians and
  other government officials?
• How much should public opinion influence
  government decisions?
• What are some current examples of unscientific
  polls?

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Discussion, (cont.)

• In what ways are political socialization agents
  working on you now?
• How much does college shape political views?