Citizenship, Socialization, and Measuring Public Opinion

U.S. Citizenship By Birth Naturalization Jus Soli Jus Sanguinis Naturalization 5 year resident in the U.S. (if married – 3 years) Read, write, and speak English Good moral character Have an understanding of Am. Gov’t and History USCIS - Naturalization Self Test Process: file a declaration with the Attorney General and submit a petition; investigation and tests; oath

Political Socialization How Political Socialization and other Factors Influence Ideology Formation Political Socialization The process through which an individual acquires particular political orientations The learning process by which people acquire their political beliefs and values Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Agents of Socialization Family Mass Media School Peers Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Social Groups Group effects – certain characteristics that allow persons to be lumped into categories – also affect the development of political beliefs and opinions. Religion Age Race and Ethnicity Gender Region Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Ideological Self-Identification of First-Year College Students Support for RR in 1980-88 led to a decline of . . . . But in general college students are . . . . In their first year . . . Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Impact of Events Key political events play a very important role in a person’s socialization. Nixon’s resignation in 1974 Impression on young people Government not always right or honest Clinton Scandals Impact on Millennials Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Why We Form Political Opinions Personal Benefits Political Knowledge Cues from Leaders or Opinion Makers Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

American’s Political Knowledge Percentage Unable to Identify Number of senators 52 Representative in the House 53 Who has the power to declare war? 60 Chief justice of the United States 69 Source of the phrase “government of the people, by the people, for the people” 78 Sources: “A Nation That is in the Dark” San Diego Union-Tribune (November 3, 2002): E3; John Wilkens, “America Faces a Crisis of Apathy,” San Diego Union-Tribune (November 3, 2002): E3 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Personal Benefits Most Americans more “I” centered Attitudes on moral issues are often based on underlying values. If faced with policies that do not Affect us personally Are not moral in nature …Then we have difficulty forming an opinion. Foreign policy is such an example. Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Political Knowledge Political knowledge and political participation have a reciprocal relationship. High literacy rate Level of knowledge about history and politics low Hurts American’s understanding of current political events Geographically illiterate Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Cues from Leaders Low levels of knowledge can lead to rapid opinion shifts on issues. Political leaders may move these shifts. President is in an important position to mold public opinion But who is truly leading, public or the president? Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Family Traced to communication and receptivity Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Mass Media Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

School Taught patriotism and respect Citizenship Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Peers As family wanes in influence, peers influence increases, especially in middle-school and high-school Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

The Ideological Self-Identification of Protestants, Catholics, and Jews Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Comparing Four Age Cohorts on Issues, 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Group-identified Voting Patterns in the 2004 Presidential Election Pearson Education, Inc. © 2006

Measuring Public Opinion

Did you know . . . During the presidential election in 1948, public opinion polls heavily favored Thomas E. Dewey over Harry S Truman. The news editors at the Chicago Tribune had been so confident of a Dewey victory that they had printed a “Dewey Defeats Truman” headline and distributed their early edition before the election results were fully tabulated

Traditional Methods (in the past) Political parties Interest groups The mass media Newspapers, magazine cover stories, editorials, letters to the editor, talk shows, and television newscasts Letter writing campaigns to public officials by mail, fax, and e-mail.

Traditional methods Straw polls organized by media provide responses to specific questions. Unscientific Biased sample/sampling error

Scientific Polling Scientific polling involves three basic steps: 1) select a sample of the group to be questioned; 2) presenting carefully worded questions to the individuals in the sample; 3) interpreting the results. In a scientific poll the term universe refers to the group of people that are to be studied, such as all Texans or all women in the United States. A representative sample is a small group of people typical of the universe. Most pollsters use representative samples to measure public opinion. Using a random sample gives everyone in the universe an equal chance of being selected.

Scientific Polling A sampling error defines how much the results may differ from the sample universe A cluster sample is a group of people from the same geographical area. Pollsters may weight their results for race, age, gender, or education. The way a question is phrased can greatly influence people’s responses.

Which Presidents has higher approval ratings at the end of their terms than at the beginning?

Exit Ticket: Interpreting the skill Pg. 523 in your textbook Read: Learning the Skill Answer the questions under “Practicing the Skill” What is the poll about? What was the size of the polling sample and what was the margin or error? State the results of the poll in sentence form Compose a non-biases question to poll American on their approval or disapproval of Congress’s work.