PUBLIC OPINION
THE BASICS
Public Opinion- citizens attitudes about
political issues, leaders, institutions, and events.
 Values (or beliefs)- the basic principles that
shape a person’s opinions about political issues
and events.
 Political ideology- a cohesive set of beliefs that
form a general philosophy about the role of
government.
 Attitude (or opinion)- a specific preference on a
specific issue.

COMMON VALUES IN AMERICA
Equality of opportunity- all have
the freedom to use whatever
talents and wealth they possess
to reach their full potential.
 Democracy- that public officials
should be chosen by majority
vote
 Liberty- the freedom to express
ones views

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
Political socialization- the
induction of individuals into the
political culture; the process of
learning the underlying beliefs and
values on which the political
system is based.
 Agents

Family
 Social Groups
 Education
 Political Conditions

http://www.gallup.com/poll/14515/teensstay-true-parents-politicalperspectives.aspx
FAMILY
Do you know what your parents’ political beliefs
are?
 Did your parents ever ask for a vote on where to
go to dinner?
 Did your parents tell you that everyone should
be allowed to express their opinions?
 Children are more likely to adopt the political
beliefs of their parents than not.

SOCIAL GROUPS

Can be chosen or involuntary
Race
 Gender
 Occupation
 Political Party


Political opinions can be rational for individuals
when considering their social groups: EX- Farmers
are overwhelmingly in favor of farming subsidies
EDUCATION
Governments use public education to try to teach
all children a common set of values.
 Level of education can be an indication of
opinions and participation.
 The largest difference is in the amount of
political participation. “college graduates vote,
write letters to the editor, join campaigns, take
part in protests, and generally make their voices
heard.”

POLITICAL CONDITIONS

Great or poor conditions in a country can color
the political beliefs and identifications of citizens
Ex: Those who grew up during the Great Depression
and WWII developed a great loyalty to Roosevelt and
the Democratic party.
 How has 9/11 impacted political participation and
opinion?

REALIGNING ELECTION
Realigning Election- where a segment of the
population align themselves with a different
party in an election.
 Only one true example- FDR’s first election in
1932 when many people left the Republican party
because of the Great Depression and aligned
themselves with the Democrats

POLITICAL KNOWLEDGE
•
•
25% of Americans polled could name their two
senators
Political ignorance is a fact of political life given
the high cost of political attentiveness.

Reading, thinking, participation, social friction, and
pessimism can all be costs of political knowledge
 You
can always be a free rider
 Free Rider- Someone who does not
contribute to the greater good


Someone will make the decision for a free rider
They might not be happy with it, but the
decision has been made
SHORTCUTS
The trusted other, believe what someone you
usually agree with believes (the opposite is also
true)
 Party affiliation or ideology

WHY THAT ISN’T SO GOOD IN A
DEMOCRACY
Issues are often too complex to lend themselves
to simple ideological interpretation.
 Shortcut takers can become victims in political
struggles because they cannot effectively defend
their political interests
 Large numbers of politically inattentive people
means that the political process can be more
easily manipulated by the forces that seek to
shape public opinion.

HOW POLARIZED IS PUBLIC OPINION?
State results,
by land area
State results,
by population
County results
by land area
County
results, by
population
MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION (BASICS)
Public Opinion Polls- the scientific
instruments for measuring public opinion
 Sample- a small group selected by researchers to
represent the most important characteristics of
an entire population

MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION (TYPES)
Probability sampling- a method used by
pollsters to select a representative sample in
which every individual in the population has an
equal probability of being selected as a
respondent
 Random digit dialing- a poll in which
respondents are selected at random from a list of
ten digit telephone numbers, with every effort
made to avoid bias in the construction of the
sample

MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION (ERRORS)
Measurement error- the failure to identify the true
distribution of opinion within a population because of
errors such as ambiguous or poorly worded questions
 Push Polling- A polling technique in which the
questions are designed to shape a respondent’s opinion



Selection bias- a polling error in which the sample is not
representative of the population being studied, so that some
opinions are over- or underrepresented.
Sampling error- a polling error that arises on account of
the small size of the sample
MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION (EFFECTS)

Illusion of Salience- The impression conveyed by
polls that something is important to the public when
it actually is not.
Bandwagon effect- a shift in electoral support
to the candidate whom public opinion polls report
as the front runner.
 Rally round the flag effect- a shift in electoral
support to the status quo during a time of war or
crisis.

HOW DOES THIS INFLUENCE POLICY?
Individual doorstep opinions vs. aggregate public
opinion
 Between 1935 and 1979 about 2/3 of all cases
significant changes in public opinion were
followed within one year by policy changes
 Why doesn’t policy always follow opinion

The majority may not be intensely committed as the
minority
 Structure of the government creates a lag time (ex:
supreme court rulings)
 Party leadership may be slow, or unwilling to react

SHAPING OPINION

Government

Presidents and the Executive branch use polls, focus
groups, planted news stories, and film to try to
persuade the public with propaganda.
SHAPING OPINION

Interest Groups

Special interests groups may try to shape opinion
because of values or personal interest.
Partial Birth Abortion Ban
 Cheap Handgun Ban
 Sweatshop campaign

SHAPING OPINION

The Media
Can be outlets for the other two
 Do the scandals that the media uncovers impact your
view of politicians and politics?
 Priming and Framing
 We will discuss more of
this this in the next notes
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