Discussion: Western Union
ylang_2005
PublicOpinion.pptxChapter 10
Public Opinion
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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After You’ve Read This Chapter, You Will Be Able To: (1 of 2)
Explain the role of public opinion in a democracy.
Evaluate how well American citizens measure up to notions of an ideal democratic citizen.
Identify key factors that influence our individual and collective political opinions.
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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After You’ve Read This Chapter, You Will Be Able To: (2 of 2)
Describe different techniques used to gauge public opinion.
Give examples of ways in which public opinion enhances or diminishes the relationship between citizens and government.
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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Public Opinion
Public opinion: the collective attitudes and beliefs of individuals on one or more issues
Public opinion polls: scientific efforts to estimate what an entire group thinks about an issue by asking a smaller sample of the group for its opinion
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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The Role of Public Opinion in a Democracy
Why public opinion should matter:
The government’s legitimacy rests on the idea that government exists to serve the interests of its citizens
Why public opinion does matter:
Politicians act as though they believe the public is keeping tabs on them
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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Two Competing Views of Citizenship
The ideal democratic citizen:
A virtuous citizen concerned for the common good
Recognizes that democracy carries obligations as well as rights
Informed about politics and current events
The apolitical, self-interested citizen:
Inattentive and ill informed
Easily manipulated
Politically intolerant
Unlikely to participate
Apathetic
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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Citizen Values
Political knowledge and interest
The ideal democratic citizen understands how government works, who the main actors are, and what major principles underlie the operation of the political system
Tolerance
A key democratic value
Participation
Criticism that citizens do not participate enough
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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What Influences Our Opinions About Politics? (1 of 3)
Political socialization: the process by which we learn our political orientations and allegiances
Patriotism: a strong emotional attachment to one’s political community
Spiral of silence: the process by which a majority opinion becomes exaggerated because minorities do not feel comfortable speaking out in opposition
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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What Influences Our Opinions About Politics? (2 of 3)
Differences in public opinion
Race and Ethnicity
Gender
Gender gap
Marriage gap
Stages of life
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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What Influences Our Opinions About Politics? (3 of 3)
Partisanship and ideology
Partisan sorting
Education
Economic self-interest
Religion
Geographic region
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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Measuring and Tracking Public Opinion
The quality of opinion polling today
Random sample
Sample bias
Nonresponse bias
Sampling error
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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Types of Polls (1 of 3)
National polls: include Gallup, CBS News, and so on
Campaign polls:
Benchmark poll
Tracking poll
Exit poll
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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Types of Polls (2 of 3)
Pseudo-polls:
Self-selection
Push poll
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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Types of Polls (3 of 3)
Survey experiments
survey questions are manipulated in an effort to get respondents to disclose more information than they think they are disclosing
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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How Accurate Are Polls?
Polls do make predictions, and we can tell by the vote count whether the polls are correct
The record of most polls is quite good
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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Citizenship and Public Opinion (1 of 2)
Rational ignorance
The state of being uninformed about politics because of the cost in time and energy
Shortcuts to political knowledge:
On-line processing
Two-step flow of information
Opinion leaders
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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Citizenship and Public Opinion (2 of 2)
The rational electorate: a third competing view of citizenship?
Analogy to football fans from the text
Constitutes rational ignorance
Barbour, Keeping the Republic, Brief 8e. © SAGE Publications, 2020
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