Chapter 5: Public Opinion and
Political Participation
• Public Opinions
• On What Americans Agree and
Disagree
• Political Socialization
• Political Participation
What Is Public Opinion?
• Public opinion is the term used to
denote an array of beliefs and
attitudes that people have about
issues, events, and personalities.
• We need to understand what factors
shape public opinion.
An Opinionated Public
• Americans possess a wide range of
opinions on political matters.
• This is particularly true for salient
issues.
• Salient issues are those issues that are
important to that individual.
Political Trust
• Which social/governmental institutions
do Americans Trust –
–
–
–
–
–
–
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1 Military 90%
2 Big Business 82%
3 Civil Servants 80%
4 Church 74%
5 Labor Unions 72%
6 TV News 68%
7 Congress 67%
8 Press 62%
Americans at Odds
• Liberty
– In abstract and in reality
• Equality
– Opportunity, results, and treatment
• Majority rule with Minority Rights
• Economics - Free Market System
• Polarization
– Political Ideology
• Income and education
How We Form Public Opinion
• Political Knowledge
• The Influence of Political Leaders,
Private Groups, and the Media
• Political Socialization - how most
people acquire their political
attitudes, opinions and beliefs.
Agents of Political Socialization
• The forces that are engaged in
political socialization are referred to
as agents.
• These agents include
— family,
— education,
— social peer groups,
— political conditions,
— government,
— media.
Family
• Most people acquire their initial
orientations toward government
from their family.
• Differences in family background,
opinions, and child rearing will
ultimately affect your political and
social values and beliefs.
Social Groups
• Involuntary
— gender
— race
• Voluntary
— political parties
— labor unions
— occupational groups
Education
• Education used to convey a common
set of civic values.
• Yet schools are often seen as “boot
camps” because they stress order and
compliance.
• College education stresses
participation and democratic values.
Government and Public
Opinion
• All governments attempt to influence,
manipulate, or manage their citizens’
beliefs.
• Nationalism and encouraging
participation allow citizens to buy into
the system.
Private Groups and Public
Opinion
• Interest groups also attempt to
mobilize the public to support their
own issues and to put pressure on
government officials.
The Media and Public Opinion
• The communication media are
among the most powerful forces
operating in the market place of
ideas.
Measuring Public Opinion
• Constructing Public Opinion from
Surveys
• Public Opinion, Political Knowledge,
and the Importance of Ignorance
Measuring Public Opinion:
Questions
• How can public opinion be
measured?
• What problems arise from public
opinion polling?
Constructing Public Opinion
from Surveys
• Public opinion polls are scientific
instruments for measuring public
opinion.
• To be accurate, the poll must be
based on a representative sample of
the population.
• The validity of the poll depends on
the sampling procedure used.
• Straw polls - not representative polls
Problems with Polls
•
•
•
•
•
The good citizen response
The bandwagon effect
Inconsistent responses
Push polls
Survey wording
Question Differences
Electoral Participation
• Political Participation
- Political activities whose purpose is to
support and influence those within
government.
- Simplest most common is voting
- Turn out low in US
- 1996 49%
- 1998 25%
- 2000 51 %
Forms of Political Participation
• Efficacy - ability to produce results
– Internal political efficacy - feeling that you
have the skills to influence policy
– External political efficacy - feeling
government is responsive to your input
• Sense of Duty - good citizens get involved
in politics.
• Conventional participation - legal
• Unconventional participation - unusual
and may be illegal
Modes of Participation
•
•
•
•
•
Voters - minimal, easiest 50%
Contactors - contact officials 25%
Campaigners - volunteer time 15%
Community activists - group joiners 20%
Protesters - use legal and illegal methods
– marched, rallies, boycotts 5%
– civil disobedience
– political terrorism
• Complete activists - engage in all forms of
participation 11%
Rational Actor Model
• Weighing cost of participating against the
benefits received - voting.
• Collective efforts can reduce costs.
• Minority groups uses of collective protest
to have their concerns heard can be an
example of a rational approach to
participation.
• Electoral Vote Poll