Public Opinion Flashcards
what is public opinion ?
collection of attitudes and preferences of the mass public
Politicians must balance between being a ___ and a _____.
a trustee and a delegate.
The relationship between the public and government is what problem ?
principal-agent problem
What is rationality ?
habit of choosing the best choice among available options, given a person’s interests and information.
What are straw polls ?
early attempt to predict election results (not scientifically valid)
How to measure public opinion ?
Through random selection
When are polls more accurate ?
when they are closer to the election.
In a typical presidential election poll, what is the margin of error ?
around 1.5 percent
Samples are biased when they do not reflect the population with 100% accuracy….
Self-selection
Phones and random digit dialing
Nonresponse
what is question wording ?
The way questions are worded can introduce other kinds of biased responses in opinion polling.
what are Alternatives Methods to Surveys ?
Intensive interviews
Focus groups
Listening to everyday conversations
Experiments
Brain imaging (MRIs)
Genetic makeup
what is push pulling ?
surveys or polls in which respondents are given information before answering an opinion question about a candidate, party, or political issue, where the information is given with the intention of influencing the opinion expressed.
Where do Political Attitudes Come From?
Socialization
Material interests are often correlated with what ? exception ?
political attitudes
- sometimes people have attitudes that seemingly conflict with their material interests
public opinion research often assumes people are not always ____?
rational
_____ guide individuals’ political attitudes and opinions, often conflicting with ______.
Group interests
self-interests
Positive ads with emotional images and music _______.
polarize viewers
negative ads with disturbing images and tense music _____.
reduce confidence in convictions
What is priming ?
psychological process of shaping people’s perceptions of a particular issue, figure, or policy. (Remember: Primining is PRIOR)
What is framing ?
Establishing the context for an issue in such as way as to emphasize certain aspects over others.
What 2 things are long-term predispositions that shape opinions towards politicians and government policies ?
ideology and partisanship
What is ideological “constraint.” ?
Preferences on one policy may correlate with preferences on another.
What is the best predictor of how someone would vote in a congressional or presidential election ?
party identification
Survey research shows that party identification is generally stable or unstable ?
stable with some changes over time, but most individuals retain their party loyalties throughout adulthood.
Which opinions are more amenable to change and may be shaped by a number of factor ?
opinions toward current events and the policies of the government
Surveys reveal that a significant number of Americans ____ factual understanding of their government, other countries’ governments, and world affairs.
lack
What is a significant predictor of how presidents will perform in their reelection efforts and relationship with Congress ?
Presidential approval rating
What evaluations do people often giving Congress as a whole vs their individual representatives or senators ?
negative evaluations of Congress as a whole
positive evaluations of their individual representatives or senators.
How many American adults cannot name the chief justice of the Supreme Court ? the vide-president ? which party controls the U.S. House ?
2/3 chief justice of the Supreme Court,
1/3 the vide-president
1/3 which party controls the U.S. House
What is Non-attitude ?
lack of opinion on an issue or very weak opinion
Political ignorance has remained ______ since the 1950s.
constant
What is Rational Ignorance ?
people can engage in political ignorance by free riding off those who are knowledgeable about politics.
Commentators in the early to mid-twentieth century feared that ignorance could lead to what ? (3)
support for oppressive policies, authoritarian leadership, and fascism
How to accurately estimate populations’ opinions on policies and politicians, and for research into whether people are embarrassed to give certain answers ?
giving full options including “don’t know” and “no answer”
Comparing public opinion ? why the difference ?
Americans’ ideologies not as widely spread on the spectrum from far left to far right as in other countries with similar levels of economic development and democracy.
- United States’ foundation on principles transcending ethnicity, religion, and class,
whereas other countries were organized along ethnic or religious lines.
The United States is significantly more _____ than countries with similar wealth and economic development.
religious (85%)
What does Cramer say ?
- Rural consciousness: Sense of injustice over the distribution of power and resources and + resentment about a lack of power compared to city people
What does Jardina say ?
Distinction between two types of white racial attitudes:
1. out-group racial resentment
- in-group racial identity and solarity
*linked to preference for trump (as well as those w/ Racial resentment)
Literary Digest mailed out millions of sample ballots to its readers months before a presidential election and then recorded responses from those completed and returned. From 1920 through 1932, these ______ predicted election results quite accurately, including the margins of victory.
A. Straw polls
B. Push polls
C. State polls
D. Social surveys
E. Sample surveys
A. Straw polls
What were the three main predictors for support for Trump in 2016?
Party ID, Racial Resentment, and Hostility between the Genders
Many people express opinions and attitudes in surveys that are inconsistent with their own personal material interests but are in accordance with collective interests. For example, quite a few wealthy African Americans support more liberal social welfare policies than their wealthy white counterparts. This is an example of _____.
A. Socialization
B. Irrationality
C. Group attachment
D. Social connectedness
E. Racial consciousness
C. Group attachment
Ideology and partisanship are two fundamental _____ that are usually long term and shape people’s opinions toward specific politicians and government policies.
A. Attitudes
B. Values
C. Predispositions
D. Worldviews
E. Opinions
C. Predispositions
Through careful analysis, scholars have shown that government policy changes in a liberal or conservative direction on economic policy come ______ public opinion mood changes in the ______ direction.
A. Before; same
B. After; same
C. Before; opposite
D. After; opposite
E. Concurrently; same
B. After; same
