OBJECTIVES
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Review American
political Culture
Examine public opinion
and polling
Identify Political
ideology and the
source of public opinion
BELL RINGER
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Give examples to help
compare/contrast:
 Equality of opportunity
vs. equality of results
 Orthodox vs. Progressive
 Liberal vs. Libertarian
 Conservative vs. Populist
1.
2.
3.
4.
Political Culture – review key points
Public Opinion - slide notes
Quiz – ch. 4 and 5
Closure and start HW
Day 2
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What the public thinks
about a particular issue
or set of issues at a
given time
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Cleavages
 Social Class
 Race and ethnicity
 Region
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When all these
cleavages intersect, we
say “crosscutting
cleavages’
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Marco Rubio, the Hispanic son of exiles from Cuba is a
conservative Republican elected from Florida to the US
Senate in 2010.
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Process by which an individual acquires
his/her political orientations—knowledge,
attitudes, opinions
When? Basics by age 12, but continues
Agents?
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Family
School
Peers
Media
Religion
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Difference between men & women on issues & ideology
More women identify as democrats than men do.
Men deserted the Democratic party more than women did.
Presidential elections
Fig. 8-2a, p. 267
Fig. 8-2b, p. 267
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Political ideology – a more or less consistent
set of beliefs about what policies gov. ought
to pursue.
 Mass ideology = Typology
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Liberal & Conservative Elites: people who
have a disproportionate amount of some
valued resource
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Liberal = one who supports active gov
involvement in regulating our economy &
providing safety net programs, but expects
gov to be tolerant on social issues (gay rights
& abortion)
Conservative = one who supports minimal
gov oversight in the economy, but expects
gov to uphold traditional values on social
issues
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What do liberals call themselves?
What do liberals call conservatives?
What do conservatives call themselves?
What do conservatives call liberals?
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How polling works
 Poll/Survey
 Random Sample
▪ Sampling Error – difference of results between 2 equally
randomized methods
▪ Larger sample size gives a lower margin of error
 Exit polls after voting
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Identify two characteristics of a valid,
scientific, public opinion poll.
What might a state legislator do with this
information?
When would a rep want to follow public
opinion, why might they not follow public
opinion?
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Race/Ethnicity
Age
Family/Family Size
Gender Composition of Workforce
20.1
22.3
24.4
17.8
15.5
12.5
9.0
4.7
6.4
1970 1980 1990 2000 2010* 2020* 2030* 2040* 2050*
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No Talking
Keep your eyes on your own paper
You may use your notes.
Put in basket when you are done.
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3 - Ways you form your ideology (political
socialization)
2 - Cleavages in public opinion
1 - Question about polling
Homework: Chapter 6 Questions and go to
http://www.people-press.org/typology/quiz/
 Search “Pew Political Ideology quiz”