Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Chapter 8: Public Opinion, Participation, and Voting Forming Political Opinions and Values Public Opinion: Taking the Pulse of the People Participation: Translating Opinions into Action Voting Choices Counting Votes

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Chapter Outline and Learning Objective Forming Political Opinions and Values LO 8.1 Identify the forces that create and shape individuals’ political attitudes. Public Opinion: Taking the Pulse of the People LO 8.2 Outline the key dimensions of public opinion, how public opinion is measured, and the relationship between public opinion and public policy.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Chapter Outline and Learning Objective Participation: Translating Opinions into Action LO 8.3 Identify forms of political participation, and assess the effect on voter turnout of demographic, legal, and electioneering factors. Voting Choices LO 8.4 Analyze why people vote the way they do in elections. Counting Votes LO 8.5 Identify problems associated with administering elections and evaluate proposed solutions to those problems.

Forming Political Opinions and Values LO 8.1 Identify the forces that create and shape individuals’ political attitudes. Political Socialization Family Schools Peers and Friends Mass Media Religious, Ethnic and Racial Background LO 8.1 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Other Influences Religious, ethnic, and racial backgrounds, as well as the workplace, can also shape opinions, both within and outside the family. Forming Political Opinions and Values LO 8.1 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Stability and Change People who remain in the same place, in the same occupation, and in the same income group throughout their lives tend to have stable opinions. Forming Political Opinions and Values LO 8.1 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Awareness and Interest Many people find politics complicated and difficult to understand. Younger adults who remember learning the details in school typically know most about how the government works. The public knows even less about important public policy issues. Forming Political Opinions and Values LO 8.1 Back to Learning Objectives

LO 8.1 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 8.1 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Public Opinion: Taking the Pulse of the People LO 8.2 Outline the key dimensions of public opinion, how public opinion is measured, and the relationship between public opinion and public policy. Public Opinion: Taking the Pulse of the People In a public opinion poll, a relatively small number of people can accurately represent the opinions of a larger population if the researchers use random sampling. The art of asking questions is also important to scientific polling Scientific polls also require thorough analysis and reporting of the results. LO 8.2 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 8.2 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Public Opinion: Taking the Pulse of the People (cont.) Intensity Latency Salience Public Opinion: Taking the Pulse of the People LO 8.2 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Public Opinion and Public Policy For much of human history, public opinion has been difficult to measure. Many examples from history show how public opinion can shape policy and, in turn, of how policies shape opinion. Typically, elected officials focus on issues of importance to the public. Polls are no substitute for elections. Public Opinion: Taking the Pulse of the People LO 8.2 Back to Learning Objectives

Participation: Translating Opinions into Action LO 8.3 Identify forms of political participation, and assess the effect on voter turnout of demographic, legal, and electioneering factors. Participation: Translating Opinions into Action U.S. citizens influence their government’s actions in several ways, many of which the Constitution protects. For most people, politics is a private activity. Levels of political participation rose during the 2008 presidential election, in part because of increased use of the Internet. LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Participation: Translating Opinions into Action (cont.) Voting Turnout Participation: Translating Opinions into Action LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives

LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Characteristics of Those Who Vote Education Race and Ethnicity Women Age Participation: Translating Opinions into Action LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Mobilization In a nation as evenly divided politically as the United States is now, candidates must also mobilize their most loyal supporters, or their “base.” Campaigners learn which issues matter to potential voters and which candidates these voters prefer by conducting interviews on the telephone or in person, a process called a canvass. Participation: Translating Opinions into Action LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman How Serious Is Nonvoting? There is considerable disagreement about how to interpret low voter turnout. Some political scientists argue that nonvoting does not change the outcome, as nonvoters closely resemble voters in policy views. Those who argue that nonvoting is a serious problem cite the “class bias” of those who do vote. Participation: Translating Opinions into Action LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives

LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

Voting Choices Political scientists have identified three main elements of the voting choice: Party identification Candidate appeal Issues Voting Choices LO 8.4 Analyze why people vote the way they do in elections. LO 8.4 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

The Impact of Campaigns Candidates and campaigns are important to the voting choice. Campaigns are a team sport. Spending more money does not guarantee that a candidate will win. Campaigns are not for the faint of heart. Voting Choices LO 8.4 Back to Learning Objectives

Counting Votes LO 8.5 Identify problems associated with administering elections and evaluate proposed solutions to those problems. Counting Votes Votes are counted in the United States according to state law as administered by local officials. Voting is imperfect. Who is and who is not allowed to vote on election day is also a source of controversy. Interest groups, political parties, and candidates have made the integrity of the voting process a high priority. LO 8.5 Back to Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman

If knowledge about political issues were graded what would be the highest score achieved by the American people according to the previous figure? A.(A) B.(B) C.(C) D.(D) E.(F) LO 8.1 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman A.(A) B.(B) C.(C) D.(D) E.(F) LO 8.1 Back to Learning Objectives If knowledge about political issues were graded what would be the highest score achieved by the American people according to the previous figure?

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman A relatively few people can be used to predict the behavior of a much larger group because of a tool called __________. A.Intensity verification B.Latency testing C.Random sampling D.Persistent questioning LO 8.2 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman A.Intensity verification B.Latency testing C.Random sampling D.Persistent questioning A relatively few people can be used to predict the behavior of a much larger group because of a tool called __________. LO 8.2 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Every state except ________requires registration, usually in advance. A. Iowa B. Minnesota C. New Mexico D. North Dakota LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Every state except ________requires registration, usually in advance. A. Iowa B. Minnesota C. New Mexico D. North Dakota LO 8.3 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Political parties and candidates often look for ______issues that motivate particular segments of the electorate to vote and on which the opposing candidate or party has a less popular position. A.Prospective B.Retrospective C.Salient D.Wedge LO 8.4 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman A.Prospective B.Retrospective C.Salient D.Wedge LO 8.4 Back to Learning Objectives Political parties and candidates often look for ______issues that motivate particular segments of the electorate to vote and on which the opposing candidate or party has a less popular position.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Concern about the way votes are counted became an important issue because of problems during the 2000 election in the state of _____________. A.New York B.California C.Florida D.Michigan LO 8.5 Back to Learning Objectives

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman A.New York B.California C.Florida D.Michigan LO 8.5 Back to Learning Objectives Concern about the way votes are counted became an important issue because of problems during the 2000 election in the state of _____________.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman Text Credits 217: From “Senate Legislative Process a Mystery to Many: Political Knowledge Update,” January 28, 2010 by Pew Research Center for the People and Press, a Project of the Pew Research Center. Copyright (c) 2010 by Pew Research Center. Reprinted with permission. 234: From GLOBAL OPINION TRENDS 2002– 2007: A RISING TIDE LIFTS MOOD IN THE DEVELOPING WORLD by Pew Global Attitudes Project. Copyright (c) 2007 by Pew Global Attitudes Project, a project of the Pew Research Center. Reprinted with permission.

Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman 212: Tim Boyles/Getty Images 214: Mark Humphrey/AP Photo 215: Lynn Avedisian 218: (top) Suzanne Dechillo/The New York Times/Redux 218: (bottom) Bettmann/Corbis 221: Teri Stratford/Six-Cats Research Inc. 223: Jeff Widener/AP Photo 224: Damian Dovarganes/ AP Photo 228: Tom Olmscheid/AP Photo 231: Getty Images 233: (top) AP Photo 233: (bottom) AFL-CIO : Teri Stratford/Six-Cats Research Inc. Photo Credits