Public Opinion I Public Opinion 10 28 2014 a Democratic governments should reflect the will of the people i How do we know what that is 1 Determine and ask people and poll Research ii Average citizens do not always have informed opinions about every issue and thus are open to influence II Understanding Public Opinion a Public Opinion The values and attitudes that people have about issues events and personalities b Values or beliefs A person s basic orientations to politics c Political Ideology A cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about government d Attitude or opinion Specific view about a particular issue personality or event III Political Values a Most Americans share a belief in a common set of principles IV How Political Values are Formed a Our underlying beliefs tend to shape how we approach new info b Those underlying beliefs are shaped by our life s experiences especially those involving family upbringing social groups education and the general political climate c Process by which we come to form beliefs is called political socialization V Influences on Our Political Values a Family i The stories we hear growing up in our families can be highly influential if they are coherent and consistent b Social Groups i If people of the same backgrounds tend to have similar life experiences then it is possible those experiences will shape their understanding of the political world VI Examples of Social Groups a Peer Groups Race Gender Political Party Religion b Group membership can also lead to conformity through social pressure VII Influences on Our Political Values a The Gender Gap issues differently 1 Men War Money 2 Women Social Issues Welfare Stopping War b Religion i Due to their experiences in life men and women often see i Religions can be powerful if they repeat stories ceremonies and rituals that tell its members about who they are and how they should see the world c Lifetime Social and Political Context i Peace wartime stability or not ii Economic prosperity and downturns iii Race and gender relations iv Regency Distance from immigrant experience VIII How We Form Political Opinions a Political Knowledge i The more we know the more we can 1 Integrate new knowledge into our interpretations 2 Understand what new data is important 3 Come to see the political world in all of its complexity b Three very powerful sources of influence over public opinion i Government ii Private Groups iii The media IX Shaping Public Opinion a Government i Presidential administrations have enormous capacities to shape public opinion 1 Stress certain issues and not others 2 Influence how departments depict issues 3 Use the bully pulpit a Rally around the flag effect b Private Groups churches Interest groups churches community organizations i ii Many groups have a very wide reach into society especially iii Groups can also often employ their specialists to deploy specific knowledge effectively iv Groups are also well positioned to feed the media and can often reach like minded individuals easily i Are very effective at telling Americans what issues are ii Can at times frame what it means for a politician to be c Media iii Can sometimes also shape how people understand the meaning important successful of the conflict X Ideology a Ideology set of underlying orientations ideas beliefs b Liberalism and conservationism are two main political ideologies in the United States today i Liberalism Domestic a Government involvement in economy to protect workers b Expansion of social services c Efforts on behalf of the poor minorities women consumers and the environment d Rights for the accused e Separation of church and state i Liberalism Foreign Affairs I Favor arms control II Opposition to expansion of nuclear weapons III Support aid to poor nations IV Opposition to the use of American troops to influence the domestic affairs of developing countries V Support for international organizations ii Conservatism Domestic I Opposed to social and economic engineering such as wealth redistribution and affirmative action II Favor light regulation of business low taxation traditional family structures school prayer III Concern for victims of crimes over perpetrators iii Conservatism Foreign Affairs 1 Support for military power 2 Distrust of entanglements with international organizations 3 Poorer countries must bring themselves up through market based reforms XI Sharing Public Opinion a Depression of 1930 b 1960s Vietnam War c 9 11 d Current Recession XII Measuring Public Opinion a Polling Probability sampling Random digit dialing i Sample ii iii iv Selection bias v Sample size vi Margin of error XIII Survey Design a Measure Error i Question wording ii Push polling some surveys intentionally biased iii Salient interests the illusion of saliency iv Bandwagon effect XIV Why don t leaders always follow public opinion a How strongly do people hold opinions b The structure of American government c Government often involves compromise XV A Savvy Consumer a Who is sponsoring the poll b Who participates in the poll c d Is the wording or order of the questions suspicious e Could this be a push poll Is the margin of error given What is it 10 28 2014 10 28 2014
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