AP GOVERNMENT
PUBLIC OPINION
Chapter 5
PUBLIC OPINION
• The aggregate of individual attitudes or
beliefs by some portion of the adult
population
• No ONE public opinion
• Consensus Opinion – majority portion
of the public expresses the same view
• Divisive Opinion - when the public holds
widely differing attitudes
• John Q Public – average man or woman on
the street
• Middle America – (Kraft, 1968) refers to
Americans not in poverty but not yet affluent
& hold traditional middle class values
• Silent Majority – people w/traditional values
(against counterculture)
What Shapes Our Public Opinions?
1. FAMILY – the majority of young
people identify with their parents’
political party
Most important factor!
–
Table 5.1
• When do we acquire our political
knowledge?
– Preschool – ideas of authority and
rules
– Elementary School – concept of govt
as an institution AND political figures
portrayed as honest and benevolent
– Adolescence – Begin to identify with
a political party (can id w/liberal and
conservative)
– Adulthood – generally no change in
political beliefs
• Major life change could change
beliefs
Other Factors that Shape our PO…
2. Religion – for 2 reasons:
1. The social status of a religion
(Catholics and Jews were often poor
immigrants and ∴ are more liberal)
2. Religious Tradition (Protestants
emphasize personal salvation ∴ are
more conservative)
Other Factors continue…
3. Gender
More women identify with the liberal
view (Democratic)
Figure 5.1
The gender gap is the difference in
political views between men and
women (Table 5.3)
Other Factors continue…
4. Schooling – College students are
more liberal than the general
population
More schooling increases the rate at
which people participate in politics
WHY? 3 reasons on page 110
People more likely to vote…
• Middle age or
older
• White
• Highly educated
• Outside the South
• Male
• Married
• White Collared
Job
• Long time
residents
• Wealthy
SOCIAL CLASS
• Has changed over the decades
– EX. Occupation - Professionals –
conservative in 50s but more liberal
in 60s
What has remained constant?
• Unskilled workers tend to be more
Democratic
• ↑in higher educational degrees
favors Democrats (16 points
gained)
RACE and ETHNICITY
• African Americans – Democratic
• Whites – Republican
• Are the differences narrowing?
– Younger AAs more likely to be Republican
(26%) Table 5.6 (but is that trend changing
with the election of Obama?)
– Differing views b/t leaders and AA citizens
• Most Latinos are Democratic
– Except Cubans – Republican
– Mexican – most Democratic
• Asians more Republican
– Japanese most conservative
– Koreans more liberal
REGIONAL DIFFERENCES
• Southerners more conservative
(social issues)
– Table 5.8 (only white Protestants)
– Pro business (less so to organized
labor)
– Less Democratic (Dixiecrats)
Political Ideology
• Liberal v. Conservative
• Either has a patterned of set beliefs
about how govt should operate
• TWO MAIN CATEGORIES
– Economics and Personal Conduct
Measuring Political Ideology…
1. Self labeling
2. How accurate your ideology is
based on your views on
particular subjects
• Most Americans are moderates
Then Conservatives
Last Liberals
Changes in the Definitions…
• Early 1800’s, liberalism meant
personal and economic freedom
from the state
– Conservatives favored restoration of
the state (more govt control)
• FDR – liberal referred to active govt
DEFINE THE FOLLOWING:
•
•
•
•
•
Pure Liberal
Pure Conservative
Libertarian
Populist
Political Elite (activists)
INCONSISTENCIES in Public
Opinions
• 1992-President George Bush
• Presidential Approval rating at a low
(<40%)
• Disapproval of Congress (about 80%)
• Pride in being American over 90%
• Belief in democracy over 60%
Public Opinion Polling
• Sampling must be representative
and random
• Complete list of all available people
• Selection of a random # to be
interviewed
– Equal chance of being chosen
DIVISION OF U.S.
• Division of nation into regions
• Regions into subregions
• Select several subregions in each
region
• Random sample of each subregion
– Random # phone callers
– Every X # of houses
Sampling Error
• Difference between sample and
entire population
Margin of Error
• Accuracy of poll increases when
the # polled increases
Other Inaccuracies
• Type of Questions
– Emotional-loaded questions (please
the interviewer)
– Differences in wording
• Respondents’ truthfulness
Push Polling
• Given misleading information in the
questions
• To vote AGAINST a particular
candidate
Opinions of Various Groups
• Gender differences
– Health for women, defense for men
• Age differences
– Less military-conscious at younger age
• Class differences
– Education and income gap
– Poorer-gov’t assistance
– Middle to upper class-support civil
liberties
• Regional differences
– South-strong military
– South-prayer in school
– White southerners-minimum support
for civil rights
• Racial differences
– Race gap
– OJ Simpson (divisive opinions)
– Civil Rights support
– More than Million Man March
– Criticizing the Katrina Efforts
– % of AA who voted for Obama v. % of
all Americans who voted for Obama