Today we will …

OBJECTIVES

Review American political Culture

Examine public opinion and polling

Identify Political ideology and the source of public opinion

BELL RINGER

Give examples to help compare/contrast: Equality of opportunity

vs. equality of results Orthodox vs. Progressive Liberal vs. Libertarian Conservative vs. Populist

Agenda

1. Political Culture – review key points2. Public Opinion - slide notes3. Quiz – ch. 4 and 54. Closure and start HW

Public Opinion Ch. 5Day 2

Public Opinion

What the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at a given time

Cleavages Social Class Race and ethnicity Region

When all these cleavages intersect, we say “crosscutting cleavages’

Marco Rubio, the Hispanic son of exiles from Cuba is a conservative Republican elected from Florida to the US Senate in 2010.

Political Socialization

Process by which an individual acquires his/her political orientations—knowledge, attitudes, opinions

When? Basics by age 12, but continues Agents?

Family School Peers Media Religion

Gender Gap

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

Influence of the Media

Fig. 8-2a, p. 267

Fig. 8-2b, p. 267

Political Ideology

Political ideology – a more or less consistent set of beliefs about what policies gov. ought to pursue. Mass ideology = Typology

Liberal & Conservative Elites: people who have a disproportionate amount of some valued resource

Defining “Liberal” & “Conservative”

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

Check for Understanding

What do liberals call themselves? What do liberals call conservatives?

What do conservatives call themselves?

What do conservatives call liberals?

How do we measure public opinion?

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

Check for Understanding

• 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?

Changing Demographics

Race/Ethnicity Age Family/Family Size Gender Composition of Workforce

6.49.0

12.515.5

17.820.1

22.324.4

4.7

1970 1980 1990 2000 2010* 2020* 2030* 2040* 2050*

Quiz

• No Talking• Keep your eyes on your own paper• You may use your notes. • Put in basket when you are done.

Closure

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”