1. Public Opinion Polls

2. Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society.
For example, there is agreement among many ethnic groups about the value of equality.
Public Opinion is the distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues

5. Public Opinion Polling
Case Study:1936 Literary Digest Poll
Predicts Alf Landon will win in 1936, 57% to 43%.
Literary Digest had been right in every previous election.
. . . but not this time!
Why did it go wrong?

6. Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information
How Polls Are Conducted
Sample: a small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey to be representative of the whole
Random Sampling: the key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample
Sampling Error: the level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll

7. 1936 Literary Digest Poll: What Went Wrong?
A SERIOUS CASE OF SAMPLE BIAS

8. The Role of Polls in American Democracy
Polls help politicians detect public preferences.
But critics say polls make politicians think more about following than leading public, even though politicians do not track opinion to make policy
Polls may distort election process
Exit Polls
May discourage people from voting
2000 presidential election in Florida

9. What Polls Reveal About Americans’ Political Information
Americans don’t know much about politics.
Americans may know their basic beliefs but not how that affects policies of the government.
Example: Citizenship Quiz