Public Opinion Divided by Race Chapter 10 CHAPTER
Public Opinion: Divided by Race? Chapter 10 CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Public Opinion Overview • Public opinion: – Collective opinions of large segments of the population on an issue, candidate, or public policy on which the public might be divided and lack consensus • Presidents are often concerned with conforming to or swaying public opinion CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Political Culture and Public Opinion • Political culture: Attitudes, beliefs, and values that are at the foundation of a political system CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Political Culture and Public Opinion • Political socialization – Family – Friends – Schools CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Expressions of Public Opinion • Political participation – – Voting Writing to elected officials, newspapers, blogs Participation in demonstrations Online ballots CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Measuring Public Opinion • Survey research: Administration of questionnaires to a sample of respondents selected from a population, useful for making descriptive and explanatory studies of large populations – Public opinion polls conducted by universities, commercial polling organizations, and news organizations CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
The Mechanics of Polling • How the sample is drawn – Sampling • Quota • Probability – Sampling error • Question wording CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
The Mechanics of Polling • When a question is asked within the survey • When data are gathered – 2016 presidential primaries • How data are gathered CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Race, Gender, and Public Opinion • Traditional understandings of American public opinion were developed based on survey research that did not incorporate the opinions of racial and ethnic minorities • With increasing racial and ethnic minority populations in the United States, it is increasingly necessary to understand the opinions of these groups CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Race, Gender, and Public Opinion • Race – Public opinion is directly influenced by histories of and continuing racism and discrimination – There a great deal of differences in public opinion based on race, such as differences concerning social policy CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Race, Gender, and Public Opinion • Race (cont. ) – The media often paints Blacks as liberal because of their support for the Democratic Party; however, many Blacks have socially conservative views – Liberal versus conservative ideological designations do not necessarily mean much in terms of race CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
“Evaluating Equality: Differences in Perception of Racism against Black Americans” CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Race, Gender, and Public Opinion • Gender – Gender gap • Presidential support • Differences at the intersection of race and gender – Social and political contexts in which women find themselves influence their public opinion formation CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Race, Gender, and Public Opinion • Demographic factors – Education – Region – Religion CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Race, Gender, and Public Opinion • Partisan identification – 2016 Republican and Democratic parties • The media – Television • News programs • Entertainment programs CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
“Where People Get Their Campaign News” CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
The Bradley Effect • Bradley/Wilder effect: The difference between how Black candidates poll and how they perform at the ballot box – Influence of racial attitudes on White voting patterns CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
Public Opinion and Politics • Public opinion can: – – Reflect the degree of public support for government actions Serve to check political leadership Serve as motivation for campaign strategies Provide a gauge of how people feel about government and its institutions CHAPTER 10 Public Opinion: Divided by Race?
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