This document discusses several topics related to political science including public opinion, political socialization, polling, and survey methodology. It defines public opinion and its components of salience, stability, direction, and intensity. It also outlines several key agents of political socialization like family, education, peer groups, religious institutions, media, and national events. Additionally, it introduces common polling topics, populations and samples, biases, question wording issues, and types of polls.

1. POL 140
Fall 2014

9.  Collective political beliefs and attitudes of the
public, or groups within the public, on
matters important to government.

11.  Salience
 Stability
 Direction
 Intensity

13. Sen. Stephen A. Douglas
(D-IL)
1854 Political Map

14. Gray Davis (CA) Scott Walker (WI)

18. Family is most important socializing
agent in the life of a child.
Children learn about politics through
informal conversations with parents at
meal times, gatherings, etc.

19. Children are broadly politically socialized
through their years of formal education.

20. A peer group can include friends,
neighbors, and co-workers.
They can reinforce or refine
what we already know
about the political system.
College can be an important time
for political socialization

21. Religious institutions teach values relating to
law and authority, equality, and social justice.

22. Citizens often turn to political leaders and institutions
(usually political parties) when forming their political opinions.
Different political ideologies have different opinions on issues.

23. Political
socialization
can depend on
what the media
covers, how
they cover it,
and the
accessibility of
coverage.

25. Occurs when younger
members of society are
influenced by events in a way
that their attitudes and
beliefs are different from
older generations.
Example: Those coming of
age during World War II
versus those who grew up
during the Vietnam War

26. National events can also affect one’s political socialization.

29.  Economic Self-Interest
 Ideology and Partisanship
 Education
 Age
 Gender
 Race and Ethnicity
 Religion
 Geographic Region

46. This map represents voting trends
in the last four presidential elections
(2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012).
Which states are more Republican?
Which states are more Democratic?

49.  Population
 Sample
 Simple Random Sample (SRS)
 Sample Bias

54. George Gallup

56.  Question that contains a concept that is
not clearly defined
 Examples:
 What is your income?
 How many children do you have?

57.  Encourages respondents to choose a
particular response because the question
indicates the researcher expects it
 Example: Don’t you think that global
warming is a serious environmental
problem?

58.  Helping “the needy” vs. those “on welfare”
 “Socialized medicine”
vs. “National Health Insurance”
 “Going to War” vs. “Fighting Terrorism”

60.  National Polls
 Campaign Polls
 Benchmark
 Tracking
 Exit Polls
 Pseudo-Polls
 “Push” Poll