Review: Political Culture and Public Opinion Vincent Montuori Lake Minneola High School 2014

Vocabulary Civic Competence Civil Society Exit Polls Gender Gap Orthodox Opinion Poll Opinion-Policy Congruence Opinion Saliency Opinion Stability Political Culture Political Elites Political Socialization Political Ideology Progressive Public Opinion Random Sample Sampling Error

The Processes of the United States Government Safari Video The Processes of the United States Government

Political Culture A patterned and sustained way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be, including the: Political System Persistence of Conflict Economic System

The Political System Liberty Freedoms via our rights Equality Equal participation and opportunity Democracy Government by the people Civic Duty Give back to the community Individual Responsibility We are responsible for our own actions and well being

Persistence of Conflict Past Debates Ending Slavery Civil Rights Due Process Expression State Sovereignty Current Debates Women’s Rights Same Sex Marriage Immigration Diversity Role of Religion

The Economic System Capitalism v. Socialism Free Markets v. Government Regulation Welfare v. Workfare Equal Opportunity, but not Equal Results Income Inequlaity

Political Socialization Family Peers and Friends Opinion Leaders Media Political events and crisis can produce a long-lasting impact; we call such an impact a generational or cohort effect Researchers feel that young people often hold more liberal views than their parents because of greater access to information about issues and values. During the large influx of immigrants in the late nineteenth century, one factor in promoting mandatory education for all children was the ability to use schools to promote U.S. culture and values, including political information and attitudes.

Political Socialization Class Consciousness and Race The belief that you are a member of an regional, economic, race or ethnic group whose interests are opposed to people in other such groups

Political Socialization Political Ideology Political beliefs and parties At their best, forums for diverse ideas At their worst, platforms for partisan bickering and intolerance

Red States and Blue States Source: www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/.

Red States and Blue States Have Similar Opinions on Many Controversial Issues

Political Socialization The Culture War Orthodox Belief that morality and religion ought to be of decisive importance Progressive Belief that personal freedom and solving social problems are more important than religion

Who are “We the People?” Civil Society A collection of private, voluntary groups that – independent of the government and the commercial market – make human cooperation easier and provide ways of holding the government accountable for its actions Most political scientists agree that individualism is the key element of U.S. civic culture, the single trait most distinguishing it from other nations. Individualism is likely the reason the United States, alone among major democracies, has never had a major socialist movement or labor party.

Public Opinion An aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of a population Private opinion becomes public opinion when an individual takes some type of action to express an opinion to others publicly

Measuring Public Opinion Public Opinion is an aggregate measure of people beliefs about politics and policy issues There is rarely a single public opinion due to the diversity of populations Public opinion is one of the products of political learning Public opinion polling was first developed by George Gallup in 1932 Survey research centers are in place at many universities.

How Polls Are Conducted Polls rely on a sample of the population to measure public opinion A sample of about 1,500 to 2,000 people can be representative of the “universe” (the larger group) The key to accuracy is random sampling, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected The sample is questioned with one of several methodologies (e.g. live canvas, telephone, exit, etc.)

Early Polling Straw polls- asking the same question of a large # of people Unreliable; doesn’t necessarily include a cross section of general population 1936-Literary Digest incorrectly predicted that Alf Landon would defeat FDR, used car registrations and phone directories- Depression Era

Gallup Polls Sampling- rep. general population and chosen at random Valid questions- clear and not misleading Control- responents should have knowledge on issue, pollster shouldn’t influence Analyze/report results- reveal how it was conducted, sampling errors

Historical Polling Approval Ratings What is the current Gallop Presidential Approval Rating? What is the current Gallop Congressional Approval Rating?

Divisive Opinion Consensus Opinion Most Americans are willing to express opinions on political issues when asked.

Problems with Polls Opinion Saliency Opinion Stability There is always a certain amount of risk of inaccuracy involved, known as the sampling error Opinion Saliency Some people care about some issues more than other people Opinion Stability Some opinions are steady or volatile Opinion-Policy Congruence The government is either in synch with the public opinion or not

Dewey Defeats Truman? The famous and erroneous headline published on November 2, 1948 by the Chicago Tribune Truman particularly enjoyed this photo as the Tribune had a low opinion of Truman, and had referred to him as a “nincompoop”

Problems with Polls Poll Questions Pollsters can get the results they want by altering the wording of questions This bias is easy to detect if a polling organization reports how the survey questions were worded Additionally, Yes and No answers are a problem if the issue is complicated Often people will attempt to please the interviewer Push polls are used by candidates at every level, from local city council races to presidential elections. How would a voter respond to the following question,

Problems with Polls Push Polls Attempts to spread negative statements by posing as a polltaker

Public Opinion and Policymaking The general public believes the leadership should pay attention to popular opinion Public opinion is strongest when preventing politicians from embracing unpopular policies Supporters believe polls help policymakers keep in touch with changing opinions However critics feel too many politicians just follow the polls versus leading from the information contained in them When public opinion changes drastically, government policy is much more likely to change as well.

Group Activity Create your own Public Opinion Poll Choose a current issue which is important to your group Develop one question which will help you ascertain the public opinion of the issue with your school-mates On Thursday execute your opinion poll; remember the larger the sample, the more accurate your results Present your results: Include the issue/question polled; the total sample (# of people asked) and the results (presented as a % of the total)