POLS 206 Lecture 9 Outline of Previous Lecture 4 5 Right to Bear Arms 4 6 Defendants Rights 4 7 Right to Privacy Outline of Current Lecture Chapter 6 Public Opinion and Political Action o 6 1 American Melting Pot Regional Shift Graying of America o 6 2 Process of Political Socialization Political Learning Over a Lifetime o 6 3 How Polls are Conducted Role of Polls in American Democracy Lecture Chapter 6 Public Opinion and Political Action o 6 1 American Melting Pot A nation of nations 1 million legal immigrants a year 500000 illegal immigrants a year 12 of residents foreign born Minority Majority Hispanic population growing rapidly Regional Shift Northeast most populous West and south growing since WWII Sun belt migration Arizona Texas Florida Political power of these areas increasing Reapportionment reallocation of seats in House of Representatives 435 seats Once each decade after census Graying of America Over 65 fastest growing age group People living longer Fertility rate lower Implications for social security Ratio changing Politically sensitive 6 2 o Process of Political Socialization Civics class tip of iceberg Family Biggest agent in socialization Attributed to monopoly on your time Central role Time and emotional commitment Mass and media The new parents and teachers TV called new parents Age gap in following politics School Forming civic virtue Leads to forming own political ideology Political Learning over a Lifetime Increasing participation with age Party identification strengthens Political behavior is learned 6 3 o How Polls are Conducted Sample Random sample Key to accuracy of any public opinion poll Sampling error Every poll has some kind of sampling error Larger the sample the less the error will be Random digit dialing Scientifically everyone has an equal chance to be chosen Cell phones Internet polling Not scientific and should not be trusted Biased because they cannot be random Gallop poll is very reliable Role of Polls in American Democracy Polling as a tool for democracy pros and cons Gauge opinion between elections Following rather than leading Pandering or shaping Bandwagon effect Exit polls Affect election results Question wording Close ended questions don t show intensity but open ended questions cant be reported
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