Public Opinion and Political Socialization Shaping the Peoples

Public Opinion and Political Socialization: Shaping the People’s Voice Chapter 6

The Nature of Public Opinion l Public opinion: opinions of citizens that are openly stated l How informed is public opinion? l Selective political interests l Quality of services vs. cost © 2009 Mc. Graw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 2

The Nature of Public Opinion l How informed is public opinion? l Well-informed vs. misinformed l Objective opinions vs. subjective opinions © 2009 Mc. Graw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 3

The Nature of Public Opinion l The measurement of public opinion l Measures public opinion using sample(s) l Samples estimation of population’s views l Population: citizens of a nation or group © 2009 Mc. Graw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 4

The Nature of Public Opinion l Problems with Polls l Sampling error l Poorly

Political Socialization: How Americans Learn Their Politics l Political socialization process l Childhood learning is paramount l Process is cumulative l Young more likely than old to switch parties © 2009 Mc. Graw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 6

Political Socialization: How Americans Learn Their Politics l Political socialization agents l Family l Media l Schools l Peers l Political institutions and leaders l Religious institutions © 2009 Mc. Graw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 7

Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically l Cultural thinking: common ideas l Ideological thinking: the outlook of some l Liberal l Conservative l Populists l Libertarians © 2009 Mc. Graw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 8

Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically l Group thinking: outlook of many l Religion l Class l Region l Race and ethnicity l Gender l Age l Crosscutting cleavages © 2009 Mc. Graw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 9

Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically l Partisan thinking: line that divides l Party identification emotional loyalty to a political party l Identification is stable and seldom changes over time l Leads to subjective opinions about new issues © 2009 Mc. Graw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 10

Influence of Public Opinion on Policy l Public opinion guides elected officials’ actions l Public opinion l Can become an issue in an election l Can be changed l Can be activated l Can be crystallized © 2009 Mc. Graw-Hill Higher Education. All rights reserved. 11