Democracy Under Pressure

1
Democracy Under Pressure

• Chapter 6
• Public Opinion

2
Public Opinion

• Public Opinion
• Expressions/attitudes about government and
  politics.
• Political Opinion refers to an individuals
  opinions on political issues such as choice of
  candidates or issues.
• Political Socialization
• The process of acquiring a set of political
  attitudes and forms opinions about political and
  social issues.

3
Public Opinion

• Political Socialization (continued)
• A childs crucial period is between the ages of
  9-13 (4th- 8th grades).
• Agents or factors of socialization
• Family
• Education
• Social Class
• Friends/peers/group influence

4
Public Opinion

• Political Socialization (continued)
• Religion
• Sex (gender)
• Ethnicity, race, culture, and language
• Geographic factors
• Mass Media
• Party Identification

5
Public Opinion

• Political Polls
• Public opinion is measured by surveys and polls.
• Polls are a standard part of political campaigns
  in an election year.
• Random Sample is a group of people, chosen by
  poll takers, that is representative of the
  universe being polled. A true random sample of
  the US would be very difficult and very expensive.

6
Public Opinion

• Political Polls
• How polls work?
• Groups include between 400 -1,500 Americans
• 1,000 polled Americans
• 294 million Americans
• That means, each American polled, speaks for
  294,000 other Americans.

7
Public Opinion

• Political Culture
• a set of fundamental beliefs about how government
  and politics should be conducted.
• Violence and Politics
• One-fourth of all U.S. Presidents have been
  murdered or targeted.