Chapter 6 Public Opinion, Political Socialization and the Media
Slide 2 Public Opinion the aggregate of individual attitudes or
beliefs shared by some portion of the adult population there is no
one public opinion because there are many different publics
Consensus opinions when there is general agreement among the
citizenry on an issue Divisive opinions when public opinion is
polarized between two quite different positions Slide 3 Slide 4
Slide 5 Slide 6 Aspects of Polling Techniques Sampling techniques
simple random sample each member of the population has an equal
chance of being selected for the sample quota sample a less
accurate technique wherein polling organizations predetermine the
characteristics of the needed sample, and then find respondents
with those characteristics to fill the slots sampling error the
difference between a sample s results and the result if the entire
population had been interviewed Slide 7 Slide 8 Slide 9 The
Spectrum of Political Beliefs Liberal ideology endorse national
government solutions to public problems support social-welfare
programs to help the disadvantaged government should intervene to
ensure the economy runs smoothly support social change support
women s rights support civil rights oppose increased defense
spending Conservative ideology national government has grown too
large national government should not interfere with private sector
social welfare programs should be limited state and local
governments should be able to make their own decisions national
defense should be strengthened support traditional values oppose
gay rights Slide 10 What is Political Socialization? The process by
which individuals acquire political beliefs and attitudes Slide 11
How are Americans socialized? Family once the primary force in
socialization links us to other forces of socialization parents
communicate preferences to children children want to please parents
and are receptive to their views demonstrated the most in
consistency in party identification Education learn patriotism,
structure of government and how to form positions on issues more
the education a person has, the more likely he or she will be
interested in politics The Media Includes news, entertainment and
the Internet Replacing family and schools as the primary agents of
socialization Peers most likely to shape political opinions when
peer groups are politically active Religious Influence religious
groups are likely to transmit definite political preferences Roman
Catholics liberal Protestants conservative Jewish liberal Slide 12
How are Americans socialized? (cont.) Economic Status and
Occupation poorer people more inclined to favor social-welfare
programs, more isolationist richer people more tolerant of social
change, conservative economically Influence of Political Events
events impact people s political attitudes when the effect of an
event is long-lasting and impacts the preferences of those who came
of age at that time, it is called a generational effect Examples
include the Great Depression, World War II and the Vietnam War
Opinion Leaders Influence leaders sometimes influence the opinions
of others Demographic Traits African Americans liberal whites
comparatively conservative younger adults liberal older adults
comparatively conservative the gender gap the difference between
the percentage of votes a candidates receives from women versus
from men women tend to vote more Democratic than men (2000 54%
Women for Gore, 42% of Men) Slide 13 Ideology and Public Opinion
Liberal ideology endorse national government solutions to public
problems support social-welfare programs to help the disadvantaged
government should intervene to ensure the economy runs smoothly
support social change support women s rights support civil rights
oppose increased defense spending Conservative ideology national
government has grown too large national government should not
interfere with private sector social welfare programs should be
limited state and local governments should be able to make their
own decisions national defense should be strengthened support
traditional values oppose gay rights Slide 14 The Media and
Politics entertainment reporting the news identifying public
problems setting the public agenda socializing new generations
providing a political forum making profits Slide 15 The Primary of
Television the most influential medium criticized for
superficiality relies heavily on images constructs a story line
sound bite influences the way politics is conducted narrowcasting
the Internet talk show politics Slide 16 The Media and Political
Campaigns advertising the management of news coverage (spin)
presidential debates the media s impact on voters Slide 17 The
Media and Government the Media and the Presidency the role of the
White House Press Corps the role of the President s Press Secretary
Setting the Public Agenda Media treatment of issues Special
interest and political parties Slide 18 Hot Links to Selected
Internet Resources: http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-
wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M2&discipline_number=20&
product_isbn_issn=0534592651http://www.wadsworth.com/cgi-
wadsworth/course_products_wp.pl?fid=M2&discipline_number=20&
product_isbn_issn=0534592651
http://www.wadsworth.com/politicalscience
http://www.pollingreport.com http://www.Slate.msn.com
http://www.mediachannel.org Slide 19 Essentials of Government Very
Good Websites for Chapter 6 www.umich.edu/~nes
***www.umich.edu/~nes www.pollingreport.com
*****www.pollingreport.com http://Slate.msn.com
****http://Slate.msn.com www.mediachannel,org
*****www.mediachannel,org California Websites
www.self-gov.org/lp-quiz.html
