1. Review: Political Culture and Public Opinion Vincent Montuori Lake Minneola High School 2014

2. Vocabulary Civic Competence Civil Society Exit Polls Gender Gap
Orthodox
Opinion Poll
Opinion-Policy Congruence
Opinion Saliency
Opinion Stability
Political Culture
Political Elites
Political Socialization
Political Ideology
Progressive
Public Opinion
Random Sample
Sampling Error

3. The Processes of the United States Government
Safari Video
The Processes of the United States Government

4. Political Culture
A patterned and sustained way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be, including the:
Political System
Persistence of Conflict
Economic System

5. The Political System
Liberty Freedoms via our rights Equality Equal participation and opportunity Democracy Government by the people Civic Duty Give back to the community Individual Responsibility We are responsible for our own actions and well being

6. Persistence of Conflict
Past Debates
Ending Slavery
Civil Rights
Due Process
Expression
State Sovereignty
Current Debates
Women’s Rights
Same Sex Marriage
Immigration
Diversity
Role of Religion

7. The Economic System Capitalism v. Socialism
Free Markets v. Government Regulation
Welfare v. Workfare
Equal Opportunity, but not Equal Results
Income Inequlaity

8. Political Socialization
Family
Peers and Friends
Opinion Leaders
Media
Political events and crisis can produce a long-lasting impact; we call such an impact a generational or cohort effect
Researchers feel that young people often hold more liberal views than their parents because of greater access to information about issues and values.
During the large influx of immigrants in the late nineteenth century, one factor in promoting mandatory education for all children was the ability to use schools to promote U.S. culture and values, including political information and attitudes.

9. Political Socialization Class Consciousness and Race
The belief that you are a member of an regional, economic, race or ethnic group whose interests are opposed to people in other such groups

10. Political Socialization Political Ideology
Political beliefs and parties
At their best, forums for diverse ideas
At their worst, platforms for partisan bickering and intolerance

11. Red States and Blue States
Source: www-personal.umich.edu/~mejn/election/2008/.

12. Red States and Blue States Have Similar Opinions on Many Controversial Issues

13. Political Socialization The Culture War
Orthodox
Belief that morality and religion ought to be of decisive importance
Progressive
Belief that personal freedom and solving social problems are more important than religion

14. Who are “We the People?” Civil Society
A collection of private, voluntary groups that – independent of the government and the commercial market – make human cooperation easier and provide ways of holding the government accountable for its actions
Most political scientists agree that individualism is the key element of U.S. civic culture, the single trait most distinguishing it from other nations. Individualism is likely the reason the United States, alone among major democracies, has never had a major socialist movement or labor party.

15. Public Opinion
An aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of a population
Private opinion becomes public opinion when an individual takes some type of action to express an opinion to others publicly

16. Measuring Public Opinion
Public Opinion is an aggregate measure of people beliefs about politics and policy issues
There is rarely a single public opinion due to the diversity of populations
Public opinion is one of the products of political learning
Public opinion polling was first developed by George Gallup in 1932
Survey research centers are in place at many universities.

17. How Polls Are Conducted
Polls rely on a sample of the population to measure public opinion
A sample of about 1,500 to 2,000 people can be representative of the “universe” (the larger group)
The key to accuracy is random sampling, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected
The sample is questioned with one of several methodologies (e.g. live canvas, telephone, exit, etc.)

18. Early Polling
Straw polls- asking the same question of a large # of people
Unreliable; doesn’t necessarily include a cross section of general population
1936-Literary Digest incorrectly predicted that Alf Landon would defeat FDR, used car registrations and phone directories- Depression Era

19. Gallup Polls Sampling- rep. general population and chosen at random
Valid questions- clear and not misleading
Control- responents should have knowledge on issue, pollster shouldn’t influence
Analyze/report results- reveal how it was conducted, sampling errors

20. Historical Polling Approval Ratings
What is the current Gallop Presidential Approval Rating?
What is the current Gallop Congressional Approval Rating?

21. Divisive Opinion Consensus Opinion
Most Americans are willing to express opinions on political issues when asked.

22. Problems with Polls Opinion Saliency Opinion Stability
There is always a certain amount of risk of inaccuracy involved, known as the sampling error
Opinion Saliency
Some people care about some issues more than other people
Opinion Stability
Some opinions are steady or volatile
Opinion-Policy Congruence
The government is either in synch with the public opinion or not

23. Dewey Defeats Truman?
The famous and erroneous headline published on November 2, 1948 by the Chicago Tribune
Truman particularly enjoyed this photo as the Tribune had a low opinion of Truman, and had referred to him as a “nincompoop”

24. Problems with Polls Poll Questions
Pollsters can get the results they want by altering the wording of questions
This bias is easy to detect if a polling organization reports how the survey questions were worded
Additionally, Yes and No answers are a problem if the issue is complicated
Often people will attempt to please the interviewer
Push polls are used by candidates at every level, from local city council races to presidential elections. How would a voter respond to the following question,

25. Problems with Polls Push Polls
Attempts to spread negative statements by posing as a polltaker

26. Public Opinion and Policymaking
The general public believes the leadership should pay attention to popular opinion
Public opinion is strongest when preventing politicians from embracing unpopular policies
Supporters believe polls help policymakers keep in touch with changing opinions
However critics feel too many politicians just follow the polls versus leading from the information contained in them
When public opinion changes drastically, government policy is much more likely to change as well.

27. Group Activity Create your own Public Opinion Poll
Choose a current issue which is important to your group
Develop one question which will help you ascertain the public opinion of the issue with your school-mates
On Thursday execute your opinion poll; remember the larger the sample, the more accurate your results
Present your results: Include the issue/question polled; the total sample (# of people asked) and the results (presented as a % of the total)