Public Opinion and the Media Unit 9 Essential Question: How do others form and influence our political views?

How our politics form Political socialization = formation of beliefs and values from early childhood to old age. So, what teaches us this? Maybe… Parents/family – likely our #1 teaching agent School – teach respect, participation Religion – affects political views Peers – others’ opinions matter Gender & ethnicity – we may ID with these groups News media – what we pay attention to

Public opinion = is the sum of many individual opinions about a person or issue. Shaped by… Special interest groups (think enviro group, 2nd Amendment group) Journalists, “talking heads” on TV, etc. Politicians – speak of “what the people think” Peers – social media “3 Gs” of public opinion… Guide – it gives direction for our gov’t Guard – it protects against unpopular actions Glue – agreement on fundamental principles, despite disagreements on details (gov’t leaders listen to us)

Common persuasive techniques The tricks to get us to think the way they want. Name-Calling – personal attacks to distract from the real issues Transfer – symbols or images that evoke emotions Bandwagon – impression that everyone feels this way Plain Folks – everyday images/language to show that the candidate is a regular person

Common persuasive techniques (cont.) Testimonial – having a well-known celebrity endorse a candidate Card-Stacking – facts, statistics, evidence that support only one side Glittering Generalities – vague, sweeping statements that appeal emotionally, but lack specifics Humor – something funny often means it will be remembered

Polling Straw polls – simply, “raise your hand if you support…” Scientific sampling – reflects the whole population; this is used by opinion polls The difference…straw polls may NOT reflect the whole population Ex.: mailing out a poll only reaches certain people and only certain people respond (same with phone polls) Margin of error – this is a +/- accuracy stat (usually +/- 4%) Tracking polls – measure support day-by-day Exit polls – asked just after people vote These polls are used/abused by candidates, media, & special interest groups