A set of basic values and beliefs about a country or government that is shared by most citizens and that influences political opinions and behaviors

 Political culture  Political socialization  Opinion leaders  Public opinion  Straw polls  Sampling/ sampling errors  Ideology  Political ideology ◦ radical/liberal/moderate/conservative/reactionary

 Chapter 6: Public Opinion-due Monday  Chapter 7: Mass Media-due Monday  Chapter 10: Interest Groups –discuss Monday and Tuesday—notes check after break  Friday Discussion ◦ Page 205 chapter 6  Immigrants as a Percentage of State Populations  Prepare thoughtful answers to the Questions for discussion

 Majority rule/minority rights ◦ Although democracy is based upon majority, minority rights must be guaranteed  Equality ◦ Equality of every individual before the law and in the political process  Private property ◦ Ownership of property is protected by law and supported by the capitalist system  Individual freedoms ◦ Guarantees of civil liberties and protections of infringements upon them

 Process where citizens acquire a sense of political identity  Allows citizens to become aware of politics, learn political facts, form political values and opinions  Combination of Influences ◦ Family and home ◦ Schools teach patriotism ◦ Group affiliations ◦ Demographics ◦ Mass media ◦ Opinion Leaders

 A collection of shared attitudes of many different people in matters relating to politics, public issues, or the making of public policy  Consensus ◦ General agreement on an issue  Diverse opinion ◦ When public opinion is strongly divided between very different views  Can be analyzed ◦ Distribution  Physical shape of responses when graphed ◦ Intensity  How strongly the opinions are held ◦ Stability  How much the opinion changes over time

 Straw Polls ◦ an unofficial vote taken to obtain an indication of the general trend of opinion on a particular issue. ◦ Iowa Republican Caucus  Ames straw poll  Iowa GOP should drop straw poll Iowa GOP should drop straw poll  Gallup Polls (1930’s) ◦ George Gallup started polling reader interest in news print ◦ Asked by mother-in –law to predict how she would do in Iowa race after her husband ( a party man) died  She won as Iowa’s first Secretary of State ◦ 1935 established the American Institute of Public Opinion ◦ "If the 1936 election performance of scientific polls [correctly picking the Roosevelt victory against conventional wisdom] gave the fledgling industry considerable credibility with the U.S. public, their performance in the 1948 election threatened to undo everything... As long as public opinion is important in this country, and until someone finds a better way of appraising it -- I intend to go right ahead with the task of reporting the opinions of the people on issues vital to their welfare.“  George Gallup on polling

◦ Sampling  Chosen participants must be representative of the general population and chosen at random ◦ Valid questions  Clear, fair and unbiased ◦ Controlling how poll is taken  Respondent has to have some knowledge of the issues addressed in the poll  Pollster’s appearance and tone don’t influence respondents  Survey methods may include telephone, mail and in-person interviews ◦ Analyzing and reporting results  Sampling errors  Reporting results of polls without providing information about how the poll was conducted  “ “ about when the poll was conducted  Both can lead to misinformation and error  gallup and evolution 2007 gallup and evolution 2007  job approval rating and midterm elections job approval rating and midterm elections

 Political Ideology ◦ A set of beliefs about politics and public policy that creates the structure for looking at government and public policy/can change over time  Political Spectrum ◦ Radical  Favors rapid, fundamental change in existing social, economic or political order/may be willing to resort to violence/revolution  Extreme change to create an entirely new social system ◦ Liberal  Supports active government in promoting individual welfare and supporting civil rights/accepts peaceful promotion of change within existing political system ◦ Moderate  Usually thought of as tolerant of others’ political opinions and not likely to hold extreme views on issues/ political ideology that falls in between liberal and conservative ◦ Conservative  Promotes limited government role in helping individuals economically, support traditional values and lifestyles, favors more active role for govt. in promoting national security, approaches change cautiously ◦ Reactionary  Advocates a return to a previous state of affairs, often a social order or government that existed earlier in history (may be willing to go to extremes to achieve their goals)