Public Opinion Flashcards
What is public opinion
Is a collection of individual opinions about a matter of general interest
People learn and develop opinions against government and politics through the process of
Political socialization
Agents of political socialization
Parents
Educational system
Peer group
Mass media
Education for all children was the ability to use schools to promote public opinion
Us cultures and values
Patriotic rituals
National holidays
Operations in government
Commitment to stability by positively depicting government and the status quo is often fostered by
Textbooks
People who tend to be more politically tolerant and more likely to participate in government are
More educated
College students are more open and tolerant that the population as a whole because
College provides students with self-confidence and independence to think for themselves
Peers tend to be influential in the socialization process
On issues of special relevance to youth
_ are the effects on opinion from the Era in which one lives
Generational effect
Measures public opinion by asking people to answer questions in a survey or poll
Pollsters
Polls are the best measure of public opinion, but they are not perfect 2 problems
-May create public sentiment rather than measuring it
-may not capture what the public is interested in but what the poll sponsors think is most important
Straw polls
No way to ensure the sample of individuals giving opinions is representative of the larger population
Random sampling provides pollsters with a methodology to measure opinions of the large population
Smaller sample
First president to hire a pollster in the white house
JFK
Extended the use of polling to new levels
Clinton
A way of packaging policies that cater to a specific base while appearing to remain mainstream
Crafted talk
Focus group
A group of a dozen or so average men and women brought together by political consultants and pollsters to share their feelings and reactions to candidates and policies
Type of poll that is conducted to determine if certain information can sway voters away from one candidate to another
Push poll
A small number of people are pulled on successive evenings throughout a campaign to assess changes in the level of voters support
Tracking polls
Election day polls of voters leaving thr polling place, conducting mainly by TV nteworks and major newspapers
Exit polls
Other types of polling
Telephone polls
Internest polls
Ideology
A highly organized and coherent set of opinions
Idea that the govenrment can be a positive and constructive force in society, endorses government action to bring about a better life for their citizens
Liberalism
Individuals and communities better off without govenrment assistance
Small government
Conservatives oppose govenrment interference yet they favor government restrictions on sexual behavior and its consequences
Abortion
Availability of contraceptives
Guys and lesbians right to marry
Are the swing group
Moderates
