1. Public Opinion and Political Socialization: Shaping the People’s Voice
Chapter 6
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2. Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions
Public opinion: opinions of citizens that are openly stated
exs
Political culture: the characteristic and deep-seated beliefs of a particular people about government and politics
IN US, …
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3. Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions
Political socialization process (def)--
Childhood learning is paramount and remains the #1 socialization agent
Process is cumulative: political affiliations usually grow firmer with age
Family is #1 agent of socialization
Political Ideology
Religious or not (church goer article)
Morals and values
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4. Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions
Primary political socialization agents:
Family
Family is the strongest of all agents of socialization
Schools
Church
Scholars have not studied the effects of religion as well as schools or family, but it is a powerful influence
© 2013, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

5. Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions
Secondary political socialization agents:
Peers
Media
Leaders of organizations (scouts, teams, teachers etc)
Watershed events (ex. Vietnam vs. September 11th)
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6. Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically
Political ideology:
A coherent set of political beliefs
Few Americans have true political ideology
Ideological leanings:
Economic liberals/conservatives
Social liberals/conservatives
Populists and libertarians
Where do Democrats and Republicans fit in??
See Workbook section 1.3 and “Diamond Visual”
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7. Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically
Frames of reference: reference points by which individuals evaluate issues and developments
Party identification and PARTISANSHIP
Party identification: emotional loyalty to a political party; not formal membership
Partisanship-carrying out your loyalty to your party usually through donations and events.
Can lead to selective perception—define
Major shifts in loyalty are rare
Shifts occur among younger adults usually only with watershed events that cause upheaval (civil rights, September 11th )
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8. © 2013, McGraw-Hill Education. All Rights Reserved.

9. Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically
Group orientations (as an adult….) the following influence a bias toward liberal or conservative views…
Religion
Economic class
Region
Race and ethnicity
Gender
Generations and age
Crosscutting groups (def)
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10. The Measurement of Public Opinion
Traditional method: election results
Public opinion polls: primary method
Measure public opinion using randomly chosen population sample(s) and carefully constructed interviews
Samples—estimation of population’s views
Accuracy of a poll—expressed by sampling error
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11. The Measurement of Public Opinion
Problems with polls
Increasing refusal to participate in telephone polls
Polled individuals often unfamiliar with issues
Dishonesty by respondents or want to please pollster
Poorly worded questions and poor question order
Non-opinions
Internet and cell phones/personal devices—blogs, online polls, twitter, etc…younger generation more involved in politics due to this, HOWEVER, the political info they get is not always accurate.
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12. The Influence of Public Opinion on Policy
Disagreement over how much public opinion affects policy, and how much it should affect policy- in the end the politician has to make the decision….
Limits on public influence
Role of interest groups vs. average citizen
Inconsistencies in citizens’ policy preferences
Citizens’ lack of understanding of issues
Mastery of issues not necessary for opinion to be of value, but some issues require deeper political understanding
Ex. War in Middle East???
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13. The Influence of Public Opinion on Policy
Public opinion and the boundaries of action
Some policy actions are outside the boundaries of public acceptability (ex. Torture all terrorists-Guantanamo Bay)and will be discontinued.
The greater the level of public involvement, the more likely officials will respond to public sentiment
Even on popular issues, leaders have some discretion or can influence public opinion through concerted efforts and propaganda (proper wording—dodging the issue etc)
Ex. Hilary Clinton and Benghazi speeches.
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