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PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL ACTION Chapter 6 Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008 Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy Thirteenth AP*

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Presentation on theme: "PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL ACTION Chapter 6 Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008 Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy Thirteenth AP*"— Presentation transcript:

1 PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL ACTION Chapter 6 Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008 Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy Thirteenth AP* Edition Edwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry

2 Introduction Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  Public Opinion  The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues  Demography  The science of population changes  Census  A valuable tool for understanding population changes  Required every 10 years by the Constitution

3 The American People Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  The Immigrant Society  United States is a nation of immigrants.  Three waves of Immigration: Northwestern Europeans (prior to late 19 th Century) Southern and eastern Europeans (late 19 th and early 20 th centuries) Hispanics and Asians (late 20 th century)

4 The American People Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  The American Melting Pot  Melting Pot: the mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation  Minority Majority: the emergence of a non-Caucasian majority  Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society.

5 The American People Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

6 The American People Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  The American Melting Pot (continued)  African Americans face a legacy of racism.  Hispanics are the largest minority group faced with the problem of illegal immigration. Simpson-Mazzoli Act: requires employers document citizenship of employee  Asian immigration has been driven by a new class of professional workers.  Native Americans: indigenous and disadvantaged

7 The American People  The Regional Shift  Population shift from east to west  Reapportionment: the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

8 The American People Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  The Graying of America  Fastest growing age group is over 65  Potential drain on Social Security Pay as you go system In 1942, 42 workers per retiree In 2040, 2 workers per retiree

9 How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  Political Socialization:  “the process through which and individual acquires [their] particular political orientation”  Orientation grow firmer with age  The Process of Political Socialization  The Family Political leanings of children often mirror their parents’ leanings

10 How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

11 How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  The Process of Political Socialization (continued)  The Mass Media Chief source of information as children age Generation gap is viewing television news  School Used by government to socialize young into political culture Better-educated citizens are more likely to vote and are more knowledgeable about politics and policy.  Political Learning Over a Lifetime  Aging increases political participation and strength of party attachment.

12 Political Socialization Video Clip  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fdJ2URru0Lwwww.youtube.com/watch?v=fdJ2URru0Lw Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

13 How American Learn About Politics: Political Socialization Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

14 Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  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

15 Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  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

16 Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  The Role of Polls in American Democracy (continued)  Exit Polls: used by the media to predict election day winners May discourage people from voting 2000 presidential election in Florida  Question wording may affect survey results

17 Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  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.  The Decline of Trust in Government  Since 1964, trust in government has declined.  Trust in government has gone up somewhat since September 11.

18 Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information  Citizens Show Little Knowledge of Geography Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

19 Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

20 What Americans Value: Political Ideologies Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  Political Ideology:  A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose  Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives?  Predominance of conservative over liberal thinking  Currently about 38% conservative, 24% liberal, 38% moderate Gender gap: women tend to be less conservative than men Ideological variation by religion too

21 What Americans Value: Political Ideologies Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

22 What Americans Value: Political Ideologies Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  Do People Think in Ideological Terms?  Ideologues: those who think in ideological terms (12 percent)  Group Benefits voters: view politics through party label (42 percent)  Nature of the Times: view of politics based on whether times are good or bad (24 percent)  No issue content: vote routinely for party or personality (22 percent)

23 How Americans Participate in Politics Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  Political Participation: all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue  Conventional Participation  Voting in elections  Working in campaigns or running for office  Contacting elected officials

24 How Americans Participate in Politics Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  Protest as Participation  Protest: a form of political participation designed to achieve policy changes through dramatic and unconventional tactics  Civil disobedience: a form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences

25 How Americans Participate in Politics  Class, Inequality, and Participation Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008

26 Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government  Many people have no opinion about scope of government.  Public opinion is inconsistent, which may lead to policy gridlock.  Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action  Americans select leaders, but do they do so wisely?  If people know little about candidates’ issues, how can they?  People vote more for performance than policy.

27 Summary Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008  American society is ethnically diverse and changing.  Knowing public opinion is important to a democracy, just as polling has costs and benefits.  Americans know little about politics.  Political participation is generally low.


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