CHAPTER FOUR:

PUBLIC OPINION

Nature of Public Opinion

• Public Opinion – the collection of individual opinions toward issues or objects of general interests, that is, those that concern a significant number of people

Formation of Public Opinion

• Political Socialization – learning about politics by exposure to new information supplied or filtered through parents, peers, schools, the media, political leaders, and the community.

Agents of Political Socialization, I

• The Family:• Parents share their opinions and children

imitate them;• Children reflect what they learn in the home;• Children inherit their social and economic

positions from their parents;• Agreement with parents declines when young

adults leave the home

Agents of Political Socialization, II

• School:• Schools promote patriotic rituals;• Textbooks foster commitment to government

and the status quo;• Reading habits and language skills help build

democratic citizenship;• College broadens students’ perspectives and

leads to greater understanding of the world

Agents of Political Socialization, III

• Peers:

• Have the most influence when the peer group is attractive to the individual and when the individual spends time with the group.

Agents of Political Socialization, IV

• Adult Socialization:

• Political opinions are affected by such factors as marriage, divorce, unemployment, new jobs, or moves to new locations.

Measuring Public Opinion, I

• Early polling efforts:

• Straw polls – unscientific polls run by newspapers or other media sources that attempt to forecast election outcomes

Measuring Public Opinion, II

• Emergence of Scientific Polling:

• Beginning after WWII and based on marketing research;

• Applies mathematical principles of probability;

• Gallup among the first to use the technique

Measuring Public Opinion, III • Polls and Politics:

• Polling catches on with politicians in the 1960s;• Presidents often follow polls on a weekly basis and

shape their messages based on these polls;• “Crafted talk” is allows politicians to move away from

the center and cater to the more extremist views of their base while appearing to be mainstream;

• Push polls – polls that try to determine if certain information can “push” voters in a particular direction

Knowledge and Information

• Many Americans do not know much about government beyond the Constitution;

• Most Americans do not keep up with what goes on in Washington, DC;

• Lack of knowledge prevents Americans from holding government accountable;

• Failure to stay informed means politicians can ignore what the public wants

Ideology

• Defined as a worldview leading to a consistent and coherent set of opinions on political issues, toward political personalities, or on political parties.

Types of Ideologies, I• Liberalism – viewing the national government as a

constructive force to extend a helping hand in such areas as:

• Economic recessions and unemployment;

• Improve schools;

• Gaining health insurance for individuals and families;

• Providing a cleaner environment and safer working conditions

Types of Ideologies, II• Conservatism – the notion that the nation and the

economy are best served if they are free of government interference:

• Government is not seen as a constructive force except in national security;

• The free market should be allowed to function;

• Individuals are responsible for their own well-being;

• Government should be small

Social Welfare and the Proper Role of Government

• Most Americans want to see government spend more for social programs;

• Americans favor helping the poor, but do not like “welfare”;

• Americans also think their taxes are too high;• The public generally thinks more favorably of

state rather than the federal government

Social Issues

• Social issues represent a clash of values between:• Those who want to impose a set of

standards on society; and• Those who believe such things

should be left to individuals to decide

Race

• Americans are increasingly opposed to discrimination and segregation but are divided as to how to achieve this:• African Americans and white Americans

live in different perceptual worlds;• Attitudes toward Arab-Americans have

become less trusting since 9/11

Political Tolerance• The willingness of individuals to extend

procedural rights and liberties to people with whom they disagree:• Fulbright’s comment: “American believe in

the right to free speech until someone tries to exercise it”;

• Elites tend to be more tolerant than the general public

Trust in Government

• Public trust of government has declined significantly in the last forty years

Trust in Government Declined during the 1960s and 1970s

Conclusions

• Policy may change with changes in opinions but sometimes it does not;

• Public officials must pay attention to the intensity of public opinion;

• Public opinion is not the only influence on public policy, nor is it necessarily the most important