PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION How American democracy works depends largely on who participates and how.

PUBLIC OPINION The study of public opinion aims to understand distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues. Diversity makes the study of public opinion complex because of the variety of opinions-thus a variety of publics. The task is further complicated by the fact that people are often not well informed about the issues, and they may have contradictory attitudes .

Political behavior is to some degree learned behavior. How do Americans Learn about Politics which in turn forms “public opinion?: Political Socialization Politics is a lifelong activity Aging increases your political participation and the strength of your party attachment. Political behavior is to some degree learned behavior. Governments largely aim their socialization efforts at the young because one’s political orientations grow firmer as one becomes more socialized with age.

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION

POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION AN ONGOING, LIFE-LONG PROCESS: ACQUISITION OF INFORMATION, BELIEFS, ATTITUDES, AND VALUES. POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION HELPS US COMPREHEND THE POLITICAL SYSTEM. HELPS US LEARN TO BE CITIZENS. (MEMBERS OF A POLITICAL SOCIETY)

AGENTS OF SOCIALIZATION PEOPLE & INSTITUTIONS WE COME IN CONTACT WITH THAT INFLUENCE OUR BELIEFS

AGENT #1- THE FAMILY HOW DOES FAMILY INFLUENCE OUR BELIEFS?

FAMILY HAS STRONGEST INFLUENCE ON PARTY I.D. 98%

AGENT #2- SCHOOLS & EDUCATION HOW DOES THE EDUCATION WE RECEIVE IMPACT ON OUR POLITICAL VIEWS?

STUDIES SHOW THE MORE FORMAL EDUCATION ONE RECEIVES, THE MORE KNOWLEDGE OF ISSUES AND EVENTS, THE MORE LIKELY TO PARTICIPATE

AGENT #3- RELIGION HOW DOES RELIGIOUS DOCTRINE IMPACT ON OUR POLITICAL VIEWS?

SOCIAL STATUS THEORY CATHOLICS & JEWS ORIGINALLY POOR & DISCRIMINATED, ATTACHED TO MORE LIBERAL SOCIAL DOCTRINE

AGENT #4- PEERS DO YOU & YOUR FRIENDS DISCUSS ISSUES? STUDIES SHOW WHEN PEERS ENGAGE IN POLITICAL DISCUSSION, POLITICAL ATTITUDES ARE FORMED AND SOLIDIFIED

AGENT – 5 MASS MEDIA

MOST GET INFORMATION FROM TELEVISION PEOPLE TEND TO GRAVITATE TOWARDS MEDIA THAT MATCHES THEIR VIEWS (SELECTIVE ATTENTION)

AGENT #6-INTEREST GROUPS

PEOPLE ARE ATTRACTED TO GROUPS WITH SIMILAR VIEWS - GROUPS SUPPORT AND STRENGTHEN PARTY I.D. -GROUPS HELP INSPIRE POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

AGENT #7-RACE, GENDER & ETHNICITY

AFRICAN AMERICANS OVERWHELMINGLY DEMOCRAT ASIAN AMERICANS IDENTIFY MORE WITH REPUBLICANS LATINOS AND JEWISH MORE DEMOCRATIC CAUCASIAN MALES IDENTIFY WITH REPUBLICANS

AGENT #8- REGION

GEOGRAPHY Solid South – Use to be DEMOCRATIC, shifting to REPUBLICAN North East – Generally DEMOCRATIC (MA, NY, RI, PA), REPUBLICAN (NH, ME, VT, CT) West – CA – DEMOCRATIC Middle America – REPUBLICAN Source: Miller & Shanks 2003

AGENT #9- EVENTS

PEOPLE FORM OPINIONS BASED ON WAY EVENTS ARE COMMUNICATED AND COVERED BY MEDIA HOW GOVERNMENT RESPONDS ALSO HAS A BIG INFLUENCE

What is Public Opinion and how do we measure it? Public opinion is the distribution of people’s beliefs about politics and policy issues. Rarely is there a single public opinion.

Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information MEASURING PUBLIC OPINION Polling is a way to measure public opinion, the first poll was developed by George Gallop in 1932. Polls rely on samples of the population (relatively small proportion who are chose as a representative of the whole)

How We Form Political Opinions Personal Beliefs Political Knowledge Cues From Leaders Political Opinions

How We Measure Public Opinion In general, do not trust a poll that does not tell you the question wording, the sampling method, and the ways in which respondents were contacted. Reputable pollsters will also tell you the number of respondents (the 'n') and the error rate (+ or - 5%). Any poll that tells you to call 555-5554 for yes and 555-5555 for no is unscientific and unreliable. This is not a random sample at all! Samples usually include about 1500-2000 people can be representative of what pollsters call a universe (the larger group whose opinion is being measured) of potential voters.

Judge the reliability (dangers) Who sponsored the poll? Who did the polling? Was was interviewed? How many? What questions were asked? How/when were the interviews conducted? Are all the results based o the entire sample? Computer and telephone technology have made surveying less expensive and more commonplace. Most polls are done through random digit dialing in which calls are placed to telephone number with randomly chosen exchanges.

Polls can be Misleading-some problems with polls Problems with the wording-what were the exact words used? Did you have to pay to participate? Can you control for how many times someone got to respond (internet surveys, over the phone-when they ask YOU to call) The survey is too long The survey is looking for snap judgments (yes/no-when more is needed) The time of day the poll was taken (who is home during the day?) Current events affect decisions made on each day. “How do you feel about terrorism the day after 9/11”? Who paid for the poll? Why is the poll being done? What area, region, state, or group did you poll? (teachers, doctors, lawyers)

Types of Polls Tracking polls--continuous surveys that enable a campaign to chart its daily rise and fall in popularity. These may be a decent measure of trends. Exit polls--polls conducted at polling places on election day. Straw polls – impromptu often are taken to see if there is enough support for an idea (non-binding) Deliberative polls--a new kind of poll first tried in 1996. A relatively large scientific sample of Americans (600) were selected for intensive briefings, discussions, and presentations about issue clusters including foreign affairs, the family, and the economy. A deliberative poll attempts to measure what the public would think if they had better opportunities to thoughtfully consider the issues first.

Public Opinion Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information WHAT POLLS REVEAL ABOUT AMERICAN’S POLITICAL INFORMATION We have a low level of political knowledge! Part of the reason our system works is the fact that people DO know what basic values they want upheld even when they don’t know about policy questions or decision makers. Unfortunately, increased levels of education over the last 4 decades have scarcely raised public knowledge about politics.