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The Public Opinion and Political Action

Chapter 6

Learning Objectives• Describe the process of political socialization and

identify the primary agents of socialization.

• Understand the implications for political change of the movement toward a new minority majority.

• Contrast the relative positions of minority groups in the American political and economic spheres.

• Identify the political implications of an increasingly elderly population.

• Identify the political beliefs that encompass political participation in the United States.

3Introduction

• Public Opinion

– The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues.

• Demography

– The science of population changes.

• Census- a count of the people

– A valuable tool for understanding population changes- required every 10 years.

4The American People

• The Immigrant Society

– Wave 1: Before the late 19th century-northwestern Europeans.

– Wave 2: During the late 19th century-southern and eastern Europeans.

– Wave 3: Recent decades- Hispanicsfrom Central America & Mexico. Asiansfrom Vietnam, Korea, etc.

5The American People: Population Trends

6The American People

• The American Melting Pot– Melting Pot: The mixing of cultures,

ideas and peoples that has changed the American nation.

• Political Culture: An overall set of values widely shared within a society.

• Minority Majority- minorities will pass 50% of population by mid century– African Americans: legacy of racism &

discrimination

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– Hispanics:

• illegal immigration / Simpson-Mazzoli: employers must document the citizenship of their employees

• Hispanic population will outnumber the black population in the early 21st Century.

– Asians:

• most highly skilled immigrant group in U.S. history

• The best off financially of America’s minority groups

– Native Americans

• The poorest, least educated

• The worst off of America’s minority groups

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• The Regional Shift– Demographic changes

are associated with political changes.

– Reapportionment: The process of reallocatingseats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.

– Population changes from “rust belt” states to “sunbelt” states.

The American People

9The American People

• The Graying of America

– Fastest growing group is over 65

• People are living longer as a result of medicaladvances, and our birthrate has dropped.

– Potential drain on Social Security by 2020

– New political interests have been mobilized under the umbrella of “Gray Power”

• A higher percentage of older citizens vote in elections.

• They desire tax breaks and service benefits

– One advantage that no other group has- we are all going to get older

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How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization

• Political Socialization:

– “…the process through which an individual acquires [their] particular political orientation”

• The Agents of Political Socialization

– The Family

• Time & emotional commitment

• Political leanings of children often mirror their parent’s leanings

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How Americans Learn About Politics: Political

Socialization

– The Mass Media

• Generation gap in TV news viewing

– Commercials aimed at older viewers

• TV replaces parents as the chief source of news as kids get older.

– School / Education

• Governments use schools to instill a commitment to the basic values of the system.

• Used by government to socialize the young into the culture and they have better jobs and a more positive view of government

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13How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization

• Political Learning Over a Lifetime

– Political behavior is to some degree learned behavior.

– Governments largely aim their socialization efforts at the young because one’s political orientations grow firmer as one becomes more socialized with age.

Understanding Political Socialization 14

Socialization Agents(Major influences on howone perceives the world around him)-Family-Education-Religion-Group Associations-Events-Region-Socio-economic status-Race & ethnicity-Media-Peers

IMPACTS

Political SocializationThe ongoing process wherebyindividuals acquire the information,opinions, attitudes, and valuesthat help comprehend the workingsof the political system and orient themselves within it.

DETERMINES

Political IdeologyA set of consistent andinterrelated attitudes thatshape judgments about,and reactions to political issues

Political Culture

• A political culture is a set of basic values and beliefs about a country or government that is shared by most citizens.

– Example: most Americans believe freedom is precious.

• Beliefs about political culture influence political opinions and behaviors.

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American Democratic Values

• Political culture includes a common set of beliefs and attitudes about government and politics.

– This political culture translates into a consensus of basic concepts that support democracy.

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Basic Concepts of American Political Culture

• Majority rule/minority rights

• Equality of all before the law and in the political process.

• Private property: ownership of property is protected by law and supported by our capitalist economic system.

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• Individual freedom

• Compromise: allows for combining of different interests to form the best public policy.

• Limited government: powers of government are restricted in our democracy by the will of the people and by the law.

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Political Socialization

• The process by which citizens acquire a sense of political identity.

• It is a complex process

– Begins early in childhood and continues throughout a person’s life.

– You become aware of politics, learn political facts, and form political values and opinions.

• People are exposed to a combination of influences that shape their political identities and opinions.

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Common Agents of Political Socialization

• Family and home

– Strongest when both parents identify with the same political party.

• Schools:

– teach patriotism and basic governmental functions and structures.

• Group affiliations

– Provide common bonds between people

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• Demographic Factors

– Occupation, race, ethnicity, sex, income, education, area of country

• Mass Media:

– Informs the public about issues

– Helps set the political and public agendas

• Opinion Leaders

– May formally, or informally exercise influence.

• Events may instill positive or negative attitudes.

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The Formation ofPublic Opinion

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Learning Objectives

• Outline the components that are essential if one wants to obtain accuracy in public opinion polling.

• Evaluate the role of polls in American democracy.

• Evaluate how the American political system works as well as it does given the lack of public knowledge about politics.

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Public Opinion

• Public opinion is the distribution of people’s beliefs about politics and policy issues.

– Because of America’s pluralistic society, there is rarely a single public opinion.

– Public opinion is one of the products of political learning.

25Measuring Public Opinion

and Political Information

• How Polls Are Conducted– Random Sampling: The key technique

employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample.

– Sampling Error: The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll.

– Most polling is now done on the telephone.• What about cell phones that are not listed?

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• The Role of Polls in American Democracy

– Polls help politicians figure out public preferences.

– Does it make politicians think more about following the polls?

• is polling a tool for democracy or a distortion of the process?

– Exit Polls- used by the media to predict election day winners.

– Do pollsters alter poll results by changing the wording of questions?

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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• What Polls Reveal About Americans’ Political Information

– The average American has a low level of political knowledge.

• The Decline of Trust in Government

– Now only about 25% of the public trust the government most of the time or always.

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What Americans Value: Political Ideologies

• Political Ideology:

– A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose.

– Ideological thinking is not widespread in the American public. People are not consistent in their attitudes.

– Ideology is not an important concept to most Americans.

• Ideologue- a person who thinks consistently in ideological terms.

– Only about 20% of Americans are ideologues.

– Most people think in terms of how policies affect groups they like or dislike.

Liberals and Conservatives

• Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives?

– Views change over time

– Currently about 42% conservative, 25% liberal, 34% moderate.

– People of higher socioeconomic classes tend to be conservative.

• This trend is declining.

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30What Americans Value: Political Ideologies• Liberals:

– Less military spending

– Opposed to prayer in schools

– Favor affirmative action

– Tax the rich more

– Solve the problems that cause crime

• Conservatives:

– More military spending

– Support prayer in schools

– Oppose affirmative action

– Keep taxes low

– Should stop “coddling criminals”

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What Americans Value: Political Ideologies

• Has There Been a Turn Toward Conservatism? (not really)– Swing voters care more about results

than ideology.

– Ronald Reagan was most conservativepresident since the New Deal.

– People liked Reagan, but not his policies.

– Because of economic downturn, swingvoters propelled Clinton into the White House.

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How Americans Participate in Politics

• Political Participation:

– All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue.

• Conventional Participation

– Voting in elections: 51% in 2000 Presidential; less in local elections (FBG 18-20%)

– Working in campaigns / running for office

– Contacting elected officials

33Unconventional Political Participation

• Protest as Participation– Protest: A form of political participation

designed to achieve policy changes through dramatic and unconventional tactics.

– Civil disobedience: A form of political participation that reflects a consciousdecision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.• Can be non-violent (King 1960’s) or violent

(some Vietnam era protests in 1960’s)

34Political Participation

• In the U.S., participation is a class-basedactivity.

– Citizens of higher socioeconomic status participate more than others.

– Minority groups like Hispanics and African Americans are below average in terms of political participation.

– When we compare blacks, Hispanics, & whites of equal incomes, minorities participate more in politics.

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How Americans Participate in Politics

• Class, Inequality, and Participation by Income Status

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Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action

• Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government

– Many people haven’t thought about it.

• Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action

– We select our leaders, not policies.

– We protest for specific policies, not seek to overthrow the government.

• Americans are ideological conservatives but operational liberals.

• The media plays an important role in the formation of public opinion.

• How the media reports on an event, and whether they report on an event, is critically important.

• The public responds to events that are brought to their attention

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