Public Opinion Flashcards
What is public opinion
Is a collection of individual opinions about a matter of general interest
People learn and develop opinions against government and politics through the process of
Political socialization
Agents of political socialization
Parents
Educational system
Peer group
Mass media
Education for all children was the ability to use schools to promote public opinion
Us cultures and values
Patriotic rituals
National holidays
Operations in government
Commitment to stability by positively depicting government and the status quo is often fostered by
Textbooks
People who tend to be more politically tolerant and more likely to participate in government are
More educated
College students are more open and tolerant that the population as a whole because
College provides students with self-confidence and independence to think for themselves
Peers tend to be influential in the socialization process
On issues of special relevance to youth
_ are the effects on opinion from the Era in which one lives
Generational effect
Measures public opinion by asking people to answer questions in a survey or poll
Pollsters
Polls are the best measure of public opinion, but they are not perfect 2 problems
-May create public sentiment rather than measuring it
-may not capture what the public is interested in but what the poll sponsors think is most important
Straw polls
No way to ensure the sample of individuals giving opinions is representative of the larger population
Random sampling provides pollsters with a methodology to measure opinions of the large population
Smaller sample
First president to hire a pollster in the white house
JFK
Extended the use of polling to new levels
Clinton
