(Week 4) public opinion

Chapter 6 Public Opinion

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Political Socialization• Political socialization

– How individuals acquire political knowledge, attitudes, and beliefs

– Lifelong process, although most scholarly focus has been on children and adolescents

– Studies: children tend to personalize and idealize government


Political Socialization• Agents of Socialization – the factors that

contribute to political socialization by shaping formal and informal learning

– Includes• family • school• religious institutions • peer groups • media


Measuring Public Opinion• The opinions of a large population, or universe

– Measured based on interviews with a relatively small sample

• Sampling– Must be representative of that population, or universe– Biased samples are not representative – Margin of error

• Related to sample size and bears on how poll results should be interpreted

– Random sample • Every member of the poll’s universe has just as

much chance of being polled as any other member.



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Measuring Public Opinion– Question Wording – invalid questions: too

complicated or too simple, may be biased and tend to produce results too one-sided

– Question Sequencing – determines context– Phantom Opinions – made-up responses– Interviewer-Respondent Interaction – race or

gender of interviewer can affect results– Timing – most valid on day poll is taken



Political Knowledge and Attitudes• Knowledge and Interest:

– Americans are poorly informed about politics and government.

– Some groups are more informed than others.• Support for democratic principles:

– Support of majority rule and minority rights in the abstract.

– Opinions are mixed when it comes to specific applications of these concepts.



Political Trust and Political Legitimacy

• Political trust – Essential to political legitimacy in a

democracy • Political legitimacy

– Popular acceptance of a government and its officials as rightful authorities in the exercise of power

• Declining trust in government officials contributes to decline in political legitimacy


• Political efficacy

– The extent to which people believe they can affect the policymaking process.

• For some Americans

– Levels of internal political efficacy have risen over the last two decades.

– Meanwhile, levels of external political efficacy have fallen dramatically.


Political Trust and Political Legitimacy


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Political Philosophy• Liberalism: political

philosophy that favors the use of government power to promote the welfare of society.

• Conservatism: political philosophy that government undermines the development of the individual and undermines society.


CORBIS

Political Philosophy• More Americans say

they are conservative than say they are liberal.

• The terms political left and political right are used to describe political ideology.


Bettmann/CORBIS

Political Philosophy Opinion Differences Among Groups:

– Social Class: Lower-income Americans are more liberal than middle and upper-income people on some issues and more conservative on other issues.

– Race and Ethnicity: African Americans and Hispanics hold more liberal views on economic issues than white Americans do.

– Religion: Affiliation with different religious denominations affect many Americans’ political views; church attendance correlates with political participation.


Political PhilosophyOpinion Differences Among Groups:–Generation: Younger people are more liberal, especially on issues such as women’s rights, civil rights for racial and ethnic minority groups, and gay/lesbian rights.–Region : Differences in political views among people from different geographical regions are less evident than they once were, but they still exist.–Gender : Studies have found major differences between men and women on a number of issues, particularly those concerning war and peace and spending on social programs.



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Public Opinion and Public Policy

• Does public opinion affect public policy? – Public opinion establishes a zone of

acquiescence. • This is the range of policy options acceptable

to the public on a particular issue. – Public opinion

• Affects policy not by dictating policy but by limiting options

• Usually only one of several factors affecting the public policy process
