American Government Note For Chapter 6

Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization: Shaping the People’s Voice ● Public Opinion- politically relevant opinions that ordinary citizens express openly. People’s private thoughts become public opinions when they are revealed to others. ○ Public opinion can be verbal when citizens voice an opinion to a neighbor or respond to a question asked in an opinion poll. ○ Other forms: participating in a protest demonstration or casting a vote in an election. The Measurement of Public Opinion Public Opinion Polls ● Public Opinion Poll-a relatively few individuals-the sample-are interviewed in order to estimate the opinions of a whole population, such as the residents of a country. ○ Today, opinion polls are the primary method for estimating public sentiment. Random selection is the key to scientific polling, which is theoretically based on probability sampling. ● Sampling Error-the error that results from using a sample to estimate the population. ○ The accuracy of a poll is expressed in terms of sampling error. ○ The larger the sample, the smaller the sampling error. Opinion Dimensions In studying opinions, scholars and pollsters focus on attributes of people’s opinions. One attribute is: ● Direction-whether people have a pro or con position on a topic. ○ Ex: A 2020 poll asked respondents whether marijuana use should be made legal. 58% of the respondents said should be made legal and 27% said it should not. The second attribute of people’s onions is: ● Intensity-how strongly people feel about their opinion on a topic. ○ Ex: Studies have regularly found a difference in intensity on the gun control issue. A third opinion attribute is: ● Salience-how important people think an issue is relative to other issues. ○ Salience is related to intensity; the more strongly people feel about an issue, the more likely they are to think that it’s important. ○ Ex: An individual might have an intense opinion about genetically modified food but see it as less salient than an issue such as unemployment. Problems with Polls _ Pollsters rarely have a list of all individuals in the population from which to sample. _ The refusal rate to participate has increased sharply in recent decades. _The accuracy of polling is also diminished when respondents are asked about issues with which they are not familiar. Although many respondents will answer the question in order not to appear uninformed, their responses cannot be regarded as valid. Scholars label such responses “non-opinion”. _Poorly worded questions and poorly ordered questions can also affect results. Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions ● Political Socialization-a learning process to acquire citizens’ prior attitudes, such as how they feel about the political parties and what they think is the proper role of government. ○ Political socialization has two distinguishing characteristics: ■ First-influenced by childhood learning. ■ Second-it is a cumulative process. ● The political socialization process takes place through● Agents of Socialization- Primary agents and Secondary agents. ○ Primary agents interact closely and regularly with the individual, usually early in life, as in the case of the family. ○ Secondary agents have a less intimate connection with the individual and are usually more important later in life, as in the case of work associates. Primary Socializing Agents: Family, School, and Religion ● Family is the strongest of all agents of socialization. ○ Has a near-monopoly on the attention of the young child. ● Schools, principally early childhood education is instrumental in building support for the nation and its cultural beliefs. ○ More so than schools in other democracies. ● Scholars have not studied the effects of religion as well as schools or families, but it is a powerful influence for some. Secondary Socializing Agents: Peers, Media, Leaders, and Events ● With age, additional socializing agents come into play and become sources of opinion. ○ Peers ○ Media ○ Leaders ○ Events Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically Americans’ frames of reference provide an indication of how they think politically and form a basis for a common cause. Three of the major frames of reference through which Americans evaluate political developments are party identification, political ideology, and group orientation. Party Identification-Partisanship ● Party identification-a person’s sense of loyalty to a political party. ○ Party identification is not formal membership in a party but an emotional attachment to it- the feeling that “I am a Democrat” or “I am a Republican.” In the everyday world of politics, no source of opinion divides Americans more clearly than their partisanship. ○ Ex: Democrats are more likely than Republicans to see climate change and income inequality as major problems. ○ Major shifts in loyalty are rare. Usually, these occur in response to a major event. Political Ideology ● Ideology-a general belief about the role and purpose of government. ○ Ex: Some Americans believe that government should use its power to help people who are economically disadvantaged. ● Economic Liberals- people who believe that government should use its power to help people who are economically disadvantaged. And Economic conservatives-Americans believe that the government should leave the distribution of economic benefits largely to the working of the free market. ● Cultural (social) liberals-would leave lifestyle choices to the individual. And Cultural (social) conservatives-would use government to promote traditional values. ○ Ex: through laws banning abortion. Conservatives prefer a smaller role for government on economic issues but want to use the power of government to uphold cultural traditions. The reverse is true of liberals. ● Populists-generally, economic liberals who are cultural conservatives. ● Libertarians-generally, economic conservatives who are cultural liberals; government should refrain from undue intervention in the economic marketplace and in people’s private lives. Group Orientations ● Religion-religious beliefs have long been a source of solidarity among group members and a source of conflict with outsiders. ○ Ex: Religious hatred sparked the rebirth of the Ku Klux Klan. ○ Religious beliefs also affect opinions on poverty programs. Support for such programs is higher among Catholics and Jews than among Protestants. ○ A 2020 Associated Press poll found that white evangelicals are twice as likely as other Americans to oppose gay rights and abortion rights. ● Economic Class-Economic class does not influence Americans’ opinions on some issue ○ Ex: lower-income Americans are more likely to support government-provided health care, while higher-income Americans are more likely to favor business deregulation. ● Region-regional differences have persisted that “red states” and “blue states” are concentrated in specific regions. ○ The red states are clustered in the South, Great Plains, and Rocky Mountains, whereas the blue states are clustered in the Northeast and the West Coast. ● Race and Ethnicity ● Gender-Although men and women think alike on many issues, they diverge on others. ○ Ex: Women have more liberal opinions than men on education and social welfare issues, reflecting their greater economic vulnerability and greater role in child care. ● Generations and Age-as a generation comes of age, it encounters a different political environment than its predecessors, with the result that its political views will differ somewhat from those of earlier generations. ○ Ex: A recent Kaiser Family Foundation poll found that climate change is of far greater concern to young adults than to older ones. Crosscutting Groups and Identity Politics In a pluralistic society such as the United States, groups tend to be “crosscutting”each group includes individuals who also belong to other groups, where they can encounter different opinions. ● Identity Politics-the term used to describe the situation where people base their concerns on a group identity (such as race or religion) and align themselves politically with those who share that identity and against those who don’t. The Influence of Public Opinion on Policy ● Delegate-responding to what constituents say they want. ○ This view holds that a representative should act as his or her constituents’ delegate. ● Trustees-responding by taking constituents’ interests into account but using their own judgment in deciding which policies will best serve that interests. Limites on the Public’s Influence Several obstacles stand in the way of governing by public opinion ● Contradictions in what citizens say they want. ○ People’s opinions are often inconsistent, contradictory, or poorly informed. ● Weak understanding of the issues. ○ Mastery of the issues is not necessary for an opinion to be of value, but a weak understanding can make it difficult for policymakers to respond. ○ Ex: Agriculture conversation programs are of keen interest to some farmers, hunters, and environmentalists but of little or no concern to most people. ● Described by Noam Chomsky as “manufacture consent.” ○ Most citizens are far too busy to take the time to carefully assess every policy issue, relying instead on what scholars call heuristics, or shortcuts, as when they take their cue from what a trusted political leader or their political party is saying. ○ Ex: lead-up to the U.S. invasion of Iraq in 2003. Public Opinion and the Boundaries of Action ● Officials normally must operate within the boundary of what the public will accept. ○ Although there are limits to the influence of public opinion, it never affects the choices that officials make. However, it limits their options. ○ Officials must operate within the boundary of what the public will accept. ○ Ex: changes to Social Security. ● Sweeping changes in public opinion of the Democratic Party during the Great Depression; shift away from federal power and spending in the 1970s. ● Abrupt shifts in opinion on a salient issue can change the boundaries of acceptable action. ○ Ex: Shift to anti-free trade policies in response to Donald Trump’s candidacy for the presidency. ● Congressional representatives pay close attention to public opinion. ○ Members of Congress are career politicians who want to keep their jobs, which requires them to maintain the support of their home state or district. ○ Tend to favor the position that will garner them the most support in their next election. ○ Ex: immigration.