Introduction & Political Socialization
CHARACTERISTICS OF PUBLIC OPINION
 Public attitudes toward a given government policy can
vary over time, often dramatically
 Public opinion places boundaries on allowable types of
public policy
 If asked by pollsters, citizens are willing to register
opinions on matters outside their expertise
CHARACTERISTICS OF PUBLIC OPINION
 Governments tend to respond to public opinion
 Example – death penalty
 Majoritarian politics
 The government sometimes does not do what the
public wants
 Example – Court declared school prayer
unconstitutional
 Pluralist politics
WHAT IS PUBLIC OPINION???
 Collected attitudes of citizens concerning a given issue
or questions
 Polling is a relatively new feature of American life
 Before polling, most observers used newspaper stories,
politicians’ speeches and voting in order to determine
public opinion
PUBLIC OPINION & THE FRAMERS
 Public opinion during the Revolution
 40% supported
 20% opposed
 40% neutral
 Public opinion was built into our government by a
directly elected House of Representatives
 This would reflect public opinion on crucial issues like
taxes and spending
DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC OPINION: SKEWED DISTRIBUTION
 Asymmetrical but
generally bell shaped
distribution
 Most frequent response
lies off to one side
 Indicates homogeneity
of opinion
 RIGHT – Opinions on
Death Penalty
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Favor
Don't
Know
Oppose
DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC OPINION: BIMODAL
DISTRIBUTION
 Distribution that shows
two responses being
chosen about as
frequently as each other
 Provides potential for
political conflict
 RIGHT: Position on Gay
Marriage
50
45
40
35
30
25
20
15
10
5
0
Favor
Don't
Know
Oppose
DISTRIBUTION OF PUBLIC OPINION: NORMAL
DISTRIBUTION
 Symmetrical bell-shaped
distribution centered on a
single mode, or frequent
response
 Public tends to support a
moderate government policy
 It will tolerate policies that
lean slightly left or right
 RIGHT – Ideology Self-
Placement
30
25
20
15
10
5
0Extrem ely
Liberal
Moderate
Extrem ely
Conservative
STABLE DISTRIBUTION
 Distribution that shows little change over time
 When different questions on the same issue produce
similar distribution of opinions, underlying attitudes
are stable
 When the same question produces significantly
different responses over time, a shift in public opinion
has probably occured
WHAT MAKES THESE QUESTIONS BIASED?
 “Are you in favor of killing babies?” in an abortion
survey.
 “Would you say that Bill Clinton clobbered Bob Dole
in the last election?” in a postelection poll.
 “Do you like the President?” in a presidential approval
rating.
 “Whom did you vote for in the last election?” to assess
partisan affiliation.
THINK BACK. . .
 What is your earliest memory of a president?
 When did you first learn about political parties?
 Do you identify with a particular political party? How
did you decide to do so?
WHAT IS POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION??
 Complex process by which people acquire their
political values
 Most people are exposed to the same sources of
influence (agents of socialization)
 Family
 School
 Community
 Peers
 Television
AGENTS OF EARLY SOCIALIZATION: FAMILY
 Most important agent of political socialization
 Children tend to learn their social, moral, religious
economic and political values from their parents
 Parents who are interested in politics and public affairs
tend to influence their children to become more
politically aware
 Children tend to identify with the political party of
their parents
 If they switch, they likely identify themselves as Independent
THESE AREN’T YOUR GRANDFATHER’S
POLITICS!!
 Since the 1950’s, the number of people willing to
identify themselves as Democrat or Republican has
decreased
 Children are less likely to share their parent’s attitudes
on issues involving civil liberties and racial issues.
 Are you pondering what I’m pondering. . . Why might
children and parents differ on ideas of civil liberties
and race?
AGENTS OF EARLY SOCIALIZATION: ELEMENTARY
SCHOOL
 Prepare children to accept the social order
 Introduction to authority figures outside the family (i.e.
principal, teacher, etc)
 Students learn the nation’s slogans and symbols
 Pledge of Allegiance, flag, holidays
 Stress the norms of group behavior and democratic
decision making
 Respecting each other’s opinion
 Stress on political equality
AGENTS OF EARLY SOCIALIZATION: SECONDARY
SCHOOL
 Teachers challenge students to think critically about
American government and politics
 Students become more politically aware of the process
and prominent participants in the political process
 Teachers try to build children’s trust in the political
process
 External factors can oftentimes erode that trust
AGENTS OF SOCIALIZTION: COMMUNITY &
PEERS
 Community – people of all ages with whom you come
in contact because of proximity
 Homogenous communities can exert pressure on
children and adults to conform to the dominant attitude
of the community
 Peers – friends, classmates, coworkers
 Peers can provide a defense against community pressure
HERE’S A THOUGHT??
 As Americans, are we duped by the media into
thinking one way or another??