1. Public Opinion and Political Participation
Chapter 6
CHAPTER 6: PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL PARTICIPATION

2. In this chapter, you will:
The sources of our opinions about public issues.
How public opinion is measured
The role of public opinion in a democracy.
Different forms of political participation across U.S. history
Examine why people participate
The benefits and drawbacks of an emerging “clickocracy,” as political engagement moves online
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3. Sources of Public Opinion
Political socialization refers to the factors that shape our political opinions: economic interest, family, friends, education, gender, race, religion, and major life events.
Party identification has become the most reliable predictor of public opinion.
Self-interest and political elites also influence political attitudes.
Issue framing can shift individual and collective views.
Dramatic events, especially wars, also have a powerful role in shaping our opinions. However, most spikes in public opinion are short lived.
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4. Measuring Public Opinion
Scientific surveys have come a long way. Professionals now design well-specified polls—that can occasionally have unanticipated errors—as happened with the 2018 state-based election polls.
Always pay attention to the polls’ margin of error.
Poll results can affect public opinion.
Sampling errors, response bias, and other potential flaws inevitably confer a measure of uncertainty on any survey.
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5. Public Opinion in a Democracy
Some Americans have viewed public opinion as an unreliable, even dangerous, guide to government policy making, based in part on voter ignorance.
Others argue that, in practice, a “rational public” is the best source of democratic decision making.
One way to combine these clashing views is to focus not on what individuals know about politics but on how the many different popular views add up to a “wisdom of crowds.”
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6. Public Opinion in a Democracy
If public opinion is to guide politics, three conditions must be met: The public must know what it wants; its views must be effectively communicated; and leaders must pay attention.
Even strong public opinion may not be specific enough to offer policy guidance.
All government officials constantly have to weigh doing what they think is best against doing what the public desires. Popular views can help set governing agendas.
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7. Getting Involved: Political Participation
Traditional participation involves engaging politics through formal government channels. Voting is the most familiar form of traditional political participation.
Americans participate in politics year round. One in five contacts a public official in the course of a year.
Civic voluntarism is a form of engagement with public life that operates outside of government—but enhances democracy.
Direct action seeks change by going outside the formal channels of government. It has a long legacy in the United States that goes back to the nation’s founding and includes some of the nation’s great reform movements.
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8. Why Do People Get Involved?
People participate in politics at very different rates.
Five factors influence their decision to get involved: background characteristics such as income and education; family and friends; the community they live in; political mobilization efforts; and receiving government benefits from programs that treat beneficiaries with respect (e.g., Social Security).
Political mobilization also is influenced by the larger social and historical context.
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9. What Discourages Political Participation?
Participation in civic life tends to vary by age, income level, and education.
Several other factors have fueled a decline in Americans’ political participation in recent years. These include alienation, barriers to participation, complacency, and shifting mobilization patterns.
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10. New Avenues for Participation: The Internet, Social Media and Millennial Participation
The Internet, and especially social media, has launched a revolution that is changing the way Americans participate politically.
An online and social media revolution is changing the way Americans participate in politics.
It may refresh American Democracy. Or diminish it.
Millennials participate in these new methods, but are less likely to vote, belong to a party, or get involved in traditional politics.
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11. Chapter Summary
Scientific surveys have come a long way since the Literary Digest in Professionals now design well-specified polls that capture popular views with a high degree of accuracy. However, be cautious when reading polls, such as those without a well-defined sample (for example, online surveys). Always pay attention to the margin of error when interpreting results.
Political socialization is the study of the forces that shape public opinion. The most important are demographics such as race, gender, religion and economic interests; family and friends; community; party affiliation; and defining events such as war.
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12. Chapter Summary
In a democracy, public opinion should guide the government. But are the people capable of self-rule? From the Constitutional Convention to contemporary social scientists, many experts consider public opinion uninformed and unreliable.
Others respond that the public, taken as a whole, is a rational, reliable source of government decision making. Even if individuals do not know much, there is wisdom in crowds.
Public officials generally balance public opinion with their own beliefs about the best decisions.
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13. Chapter Summary
Popular views can be especially important in setting the agenda: if something seems important to the public (and the media), politicians respond. Congress, in particular, pays attention to spikes in public opinion. Presidents find it easier to get their policies passed when public opinion is strongly in favor of those policies.
Participation in civic and political life is a longstanding American tradition. Today, Americans still exhibit higher levels of voluntarism than citizens of other countries. However, our rates of participation in politics and government have fallen to disturbing levels.
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14. Chapter Summary
People participate in public life in three broad ways: First, by participating through traditional mechanisms: voting, going to rallies, contributing to campaigns, and contacting public officials.
Second, by contributing to civil society through volunteering and getting involved in the community.
Third, Americans have been quick to get involved in direct action when traditional mechanisms seem unresponsive. This is the politics of demonstrations, protest movements, and even armed confrontations.
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15. Chapter Summary
An online and social revolution is changing the way Americans participate in politics. It may refresh American Democracy. Or diminish it.
Mass engagement in politics and other civic activities is the lifeblood of American democracy, helping explain why analysts ar so anxious to expand participation.
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