Slides

1. POL 205
Fall 2017

4.  Public opinion is:
 (1) Collective political beliefs and attitudes,
 (2) of the public, or groups within the public,
 (3) on matters important to government.

6.  Salience
 Issue’s important to a person or public
 Stability
 Are issues likely to stay the same or change?
 Direction
 Does public favor or oppose issue? (agree or disagree)
 Intensity
 How strongly do people feel about issues?

10. Children are broadly politically
socialized through formal education.

11. A peer group can include friends,
neighbors, and co-workers.
They can reinforce or refine
about the political system.

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

13. Citizens turn to political leaders and institutions
when forming their political opinions.
Different political ideologies have different opinions on issues.

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

16. Younger people may have
different attitudes and
beliefs from older
generations.
Example: Those coming of
age during WorldWar II
versus those who grew up
during theVietnamWar

17. National events like Watergate and 9/11
can affect someone’s political socialization.

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

44. George Gallup

46.  Ambiguous Questions
 Questions that are not clearly defined
 What is your income? How many children?
 Leading Questions
 Encourages respondents to choose response because
researcher expects it; “social desirability”
 Don’t you think that global warming is a serious environmental
problem?
 Word Choice
 Helping “the needy” vs. “those on welfare”
 “Going toWar” vs. “FightingTerrorism”