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Chapter 5 PUBLIC OPINION AND POLITICAL SOCIALIZATION
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Learning Outcomes 5.1 Identify the various roles played by public opinion in majoritarian and pluralist democracy. 5.2 Analyze the effect of skewed, bimodal, and normal distributions of opinion on public policy. 5.3 Explain the influence of the agents of early socialization – family, school, community, and peers – on political learning. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 2
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Learning Outcomes 5.4 Compare and contrast the effects of education, income, region, race, ethnicity, religion, and gender on public opinion. 5.5 Define the concept of ideology, describe the liberal-conservative continuum, and assess the influence of ideology on public opinion. 5.6 Assess the impact of knowledge, self- interest, and leadership on political opinions. Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 3
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Public Opinion Public Opinion on Death Penalty Reveals: Opinions about a given government policy can change over time, often dramatically Public opinion places boundaries on allowable types of public policies If asked by pollsters, citizens are willing to register opinions on matters outside their experience Governments tend to respond to public opinion Government sometimes does not do what the people want Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 4
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A Fatal Choice Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 5
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Public Opinion and the Models of Democracy Opinion Polling Started in the 1930s Became powerful in 1950s with computers Majoritarian Majority of people hold clear, consistent opinions on government policy Pluralist Public is uninformed and ambivalent Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 6
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Stop the Presses! Oops, Too Late… Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 7
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The Distribution of Public Opinion Shape of the Distribution To understand and act on public opinion, government must understand how it’s distributed Three patterns of distribution: Skewed Bimodal Normal Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 8
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The Distribution of Public Opinion Shape of the Distribution Description of public opinion results depends on most frequent response Skewed: most respondents with one opinion Bimodal: two answers chosen with equal frequency Normal: bell-shaped, requiring a moderate approach to policymaking Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 9
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The Distribution of Public Opinion Stability of the Distribution Stable distributions: little change over time Same question produces different responses over time: public opinion has shifted Different questions on same issue produce similar results: underlying attitudes stable Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 11
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Political Socialization Political Socialization Process by which people acquire their political values Agents of Early Socialization Primary principle Structuring principle Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 13
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Political Socialization Agents of Early Socialization Family Earliest political memories linked to family Politically involved parents create politically involved children Party identification learned from parents Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 14
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Political Socialization Agents of Early Socialization School Elementary: social order; national slogans and symbols, norms of behavior, decision making High School: build good citizens; rights, responsibilities; greater awareness of political process College: question authority and dominant political values Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 15
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Political Socialization Agents of Early Socialization Community and peers Homogenous communities: strong influence Pressure to conform Peer groups defend against community pressure Continuing Socialization Adulthood: peer groups and mass media assume greater importance Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 16
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Word of God? Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 17
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Social Groups and Political Values Each Person’s Political Socialization: Unique People with similar backgrounds tend to develop similar political opinions Ties Between Background and Values Ex: 2008 American National Election Study Abortion Government guaranteeing employment Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 18
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Social Groups and Political Values Education Increases awareness and understanding of political issues College-educated tend to choose personal freedom over social order and equality Abortion: college-educated tend to view it as matter of women’s choice Government guarantee of employment: college- educated tend to favor freedom over equality Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 19
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Social Groups and Political Values Income Most Americans consider themselves “middle class” Wealth linked to opinions favoring limited government role in promoting equality Groups with higher income and higher education tend to favor freedom Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 20
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Social Groups and Political Values Region Historically, regional differences in political opinion were important Differences in wealth fed cultural differences between regions Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 21
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Social Groups and Political Values Ethnicity and Race Political values differ with race and ethnic background Minority groups display somewhat similar political attitudes on equality Low socioeconomic status Targets of prejudice and discrimination Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 22
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Social Groups and Political Values Religion Religious makeup of U.S. fairly stable since 1940s 56% Protestant 22% Catholic 13% no religion 9% other (including fewer than 2% Jewish) Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 23
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Social Groups and Political Values Religion Religious groupings Little effect on attitudes on economic equality More influence on attitudes of social order Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 24
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Clashing Opinions on Same-Sex Marriage Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 25
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Social Groups and Political Values Gender Men and women differ on social and political issues Gender gap: women are more likely to be and vote Democrat Women: m ore likely to favor government actions to support equality Men: m ore supportive of death penalty and going to war Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 26
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From Values to Ideology Degree of Ideological Thinking in Public Opinion Some believe terms liberal and conservative no longer relevant to American politics Ideological labels necessary for classification Most people don’t think of themselves in ideological terms Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 27
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From Values to Ideology Quality of Ideological Thinking in Public Opinion Two themes when describing ideology Liberals = change; conservatives = tradition Attitude toward equality Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 28
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From Values to Ideology Ideological Types in The U.S. Liberals: favor freedom over order and equality over freedom Conservatives: favor freedom over equality and order over freedom Libertarians: favor freedom over equality and order Communitarians: favor equality over freedom and order Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 29
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From Values to Ideology Ideological Types in The U.S. People’s preferences for government action depend on what the action targets Poll respondents don’t always categorize themselves the same way their responses do Ideological typology reflects important differences between diverse social groups Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 30
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From Values to Ideology Ideological Types in The U.S. Americans who know politics have difficulty locating themselves on liberal-conservative continuum Problem: liberal on some issues and conservative on others, so they chose middle category (moderate) People who classify themselves as liberal or conservative do fit categories Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 31
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Forming Political Opinions Political Knowledge About 50 percent of public knows: Basic institutions and procedures of government Party positions on major issues Public less knowledgeable on: Critical public policy matters Government expenditures Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 33
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Forming Political Opinions Costs, Benefits, and Cues Self-interest principle: people choose what benefits them personally In some cases, individuals are unable to determine personal costs or benefits Opinion also emerges from cues and mental shortcuts Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 34
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Forming Political Opinions Political Leadership Public opinion on specific issues molded by political leaders Politicians make arguments based on shared ideology and self-interest Issue framing or “spin” Politicians’ ability to influence public opinion enhanced by growth of broadcast media Copyright © 2014 Cengage Learning 35
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