Unit 10: Opinion Flashcards
Public Opinion
What the public thinks about a particular issue at a point in time.
Measured by public opinion polls: surveys with samples of citizens used to estimate the feelings of the entire population.
Political Socialization
The process by which individuals acquire political beliefs and values.
Political Ideology
A person’s coherent set of beliefs and values about the purposes, methods, and scope of government.
Conservative
Smaller government, “traditional” values; most Republicans.
Liberal
Bigger government, “non-traditional” values; most Democrats.
Libertarian
Smaller government, “non-traditional” values
Populist
Bigger government, “traditional” values
Factors that are the main influences on political socialization:
1) Family: childhood influences
2) School/Peers: effect on older children comparable to the family’s.
3) the mass media
4) Religion
5) Race & ethnicity
6) Gender: women are more strongly in favor of issues like education & the environment, while men are more strongly in favor of issues like capital punishment and military intervention.
7) Age: People tend to grow more conservative (and Republican) as they get older.
8) Region: South is more conservative (and Republican), while West Coast and Northeast are more liberal (and Democrat).
9) Events: dramatic events (like 9/11 and the Vietnam War) can shape political beliefs for a lifetime.
Forming Public Opinion
Once the process of political socialization is complete, mature adults are subject to a narrower range of significant influences:
1) How much benefit they perceive in a policy, morally or financially
2) Their political knowledge (or lack thereof)
3) The influence of important political leaders (like the President)
Polling Public Opinion
A) The success of polls depends on their precepts:
1) Content & phrasing of poll questions can skew results.
2) Selecting the sample: nonstratified or stratified
3) Polling methods (by phone or in person) can also affect the poll results.
Nonstratified Poll
With few or no conditions on participants–with questionable results
Stratified Poll
A stronger effort made to get a representative sample
Push Poll
Loaded questions aimed at finding which of a candidate’s personal characteristics make people more or less likely to vote for him
Tracking Poll
Daily polls which chart short-term changes in voter support.
Exit Poll
Surveys of people who have just voted.
Shortcomings of polls
1) Statistical flaws (like poor sampling) can produce inaccurate results.
2) Even the best polls have a margin of error, an unavoidable range of uncertainty (“plus or minus 3%”).
3) Providing limited choices can also yield inaccurate results.
4) People can respond to polls with no real knowledge of the issues.
5) Polls generally cannot/do not measure how strongly held opinions are.
Effects of Public Opinion
A) Politicians (to varying degrees) are poll-driven in their decision- and policy-making.
B) The “bandwagon effect”: a significant number of voters want to be on the winning side, and throw their support behind whomever the polls show to be ahead in a given race.
C) News media choose what to cover based on polls, and they may focus on public opinion poll numbers rather than issues.
The Changing Media Scene
A) Electronic media (TV, Internet) are growing in numbers and influence, while print media (newspapers, magazines) are declining accordingly.
B) As media outlets expanded in numbers and into new types, the audience has fractured, leading to a decline in influence for older media like newspapers & network TV news.
Media Coverage of the President
A) The prime focus of media coverage–most of it negative.
B) Presidents periodically face off with journalists in press conferences, but leave this job on a day to day basis to the White House Press Secretary.
Media Coverage of Congress
C) Media focus heavily on the leadership, leaving most members in relative obscurity.
D) Since Congress lacks the unity of the Presidency, it has a much tougher time getting its messages out.
E) Special investigative commissions (like the Watergate hearings) draw the greatest media focus on Congress.
Media Coverage of the Federal Courts
F) Receive the least media coverage due to the fact cameras are banned from all court proceedings, and are likely to remain so.
Changing Media Coverage
A) The Watergate era spawned generations of journalists who are all digging for political scandals that will make them rich & famous.
B) The post-Watergate era gave rise to journalists with as much interest in advocating certain policies in their stories as they have in reporting the news.
C) In the early 1970s, “new journalism” and “gonzo journalism” made political candidates’ personal lives and character, as well as the reporters’ own opinions, part of the news.
D) N.Y. Times v. Sullivan (1964): The Supreme Court sets a higher standard of proof to win a libel case if the plaintiff is a public official or voluntarily seeks publicity (like celebrities).
E) Media are often politically biased in its coverage–only 6% of journalists describe themselves as political conservatives. Other media outlets (like talk radio) are dominated by conservative commentators.
F) Journalists often more favorably cover politicians they personally like, and are biased against less-likeable personages.
The Media’s Influence on the Public
A) They can sway people who are uncommitted on particular issues.
B) They can influence people on issues far removed from personal experiences.
C) They can influence what people think about (more so than how), such as a president’s policy agenda.
Policy Agenda
A set of issues, problems, or subjects viewed as important by government decision-makers
