Chapter 8 Mass Media and Public Opinion Section 1 The Formation of Public Opinion

Objectives: * Examine the term public opinion and understand why it is difficult to define. * Analyze the factors that influence an individual’s political attitudes and actions including family and education.

The Formation of Public Opinion Do you like broccoli? Do you like old classic cars? Do you like fingernail polish? * You almost certainly have an opinion on each of the three questions. * On some of these questions, you may hold a strong opinion and they may be important to you. * Each of these questions is your own view, your private opinion. * Public Opinion works a little different

The Formation of Public Opinion What is Public Opinion??? * Few terms in American politics are more widely used and less well understood, than the term public opinion. * It appears regularly in newspapers and magazines, and you hear it on radio and television. * Quite often this phrase is used to suggest that all or most of the American people hold the same view on public issues such as arms control or environmental protection.

The Formation of Public Opinion * There are very few matters about which all or nearly all of “the people” think alike. * To understand what public opinion is, you must recognize this important point: Public opinion is a complex collection of the opinions of many different people. It is the sum of all of their views. It is NOT the single and undivided view of some mass mind. * People who believe that the national health care issue should go away belong to the public that holds that view.

The Formation of Public Opinion * People who believe that Congress is doing a great job with gun control belong to another public. * People who believe we should have prayer in public schools belong yet to another public. * Clearly many people belong to more than one of those publics: but certainly only a very few belong to all of the examples. * Not many issues capture the attention of ALL Americans. * In a proper sense, public opinion includes only those views that relate to public affairs.

The Formation of Public Opinion * Public Affairs included politics, public issues, and the making of public policies- those events and issues that concern the people at large. * To be a public opinion, a view must involve something of general concern and of interest to a significant portion of the people as a whole. * Public Opinion is so complex that it cannot be readily defined. * It can be described as those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics.

The Formation of Public Opinion Family and Education * No one is born with a set of attitudes about government and politics. * Each of us learns our political opinions in a lifelong “classroom” and from many different “teachers”. * Public opinion is formed out a very complex process. * There are many different agents of political socialization at work in the opinion-shaping process.

The Formation of Public Opinion 1) Family < Most parents do not think of themselves as agents of political socialization, nor do the other members of most families. > Parents and other family members are very important factors in this process. < Children first seek the political world from within the family and through the family eyes. > They learn about politics from their parents and grand-parents.

The Formation of Public Opinion * Young children do pick up fundamental attitudes from their parents. * They acquire a basic slant toward such things as authority and rules of behavior, property, neighbors, people of other racial or religious groups. * Basically the family has a strong influence on the political thinking of their children.

The Formation of Public Opinion * The schools start the break of the influence of the family in regards to opinions. * Schools work to teach children the values of the American political system. * They instill loyalty to a particular cause or idea. * Pledge of Allegiance to the Flag and the State of Texas each morning. * Learn about our fore-fathers and their views of our country and its government. * Family and Education are not the only forces at work in the process by which opinions are formed.

The Formation of Public Opinion Other Factors: * No factor, by itself, shapes a person’s opinion on any single issue. * How much money a person makes and the benefits they get for their job will influence their opinion on national health care coverage. * Occupation and Race affect a person’s opinion- making process. * The Mass Media include those means of communication that reach large audiences have a tendency to influence people’s opinions. * 98% of all homes have at least one television. * That is a big influence on people’s views.

The Formation of Public Opinion Peer Groups * People with whom one regularly associates with has a big influence of a way a person thinks and his/her opinions. * Peer Groups are classmates, neighbors, co- workers, friends, and etc. * When you belong to a peer group you reinforce what you have already come to believe.

The Formation of Public Opinion Opinion Leaders * This is a person who has an unusually strong influence on the views of others. * These opinion shapers are a distinct minority in the total population but they are found everywhere. * They can be doctors, lawyers, teachers, ministers, rabbis, and business leaders (to name a few). * They could be a president of the US or a member of congress, or a governor of a State.

The Formation of Public Opinion Historic Events: * Historic events can have a major impact on the views of large numbers of people. * The Great Depression – poverty and hunger * Turbulent politics of the 1960s and 1970s shaped the opinions of many Americans. * The American people who emerged from WWII and the prosperity of the 1950s came with a largely optimistic view of the future. * The years of turmoil and divisiveness produce a dramatic decline in the American people’s estimate of their government and their evaluation of its trustworthiness. * September 11, 2001 – increase support for a strong US foreign policy and military protection/safety.