1. Public Opinion and Political Socialization: Shaping the People’s Voice
Chapter 6

2. Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions
Public opinion: opinions of citizens that are openly stated
Political culture: the characteristic and deep-seated beliefs of a particular people about government and politics
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

3. Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions
Political socialization process
Childhood learning is paramount
Process is cumulative: political affiliations usually grow firmer with age
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

4. Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions
Primary political socialization agents
Family
Family is the strongest of all agents of socialization
Schools
Church
Scholars have not studied the effects of religion as well as schools or family, but it is a powerful influence
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

5. Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions
Secondary political socialization agents
Peers
Media
Leaders
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

6. Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically
Frames of reference: reference points by which individuals evaluate issues and developments
Party identification
Party identification: emotional loyalty to a political party; not formal membership
Major shifts in loyalty rare and in younger adults
Can lead to selective perception
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

7. Partisanship and Issue Opinions
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8. Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically
Political Ideology
A coherent set of political beliefs
Few Americans have true political ideology
Ideological leanings:
Economic liberals/conservatives
Social liberals/conservatives
Populists and libertarians
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

9. Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically
Group orientations
Religion
Economic class
Region
Race and ethnicity
Gender
Generations and age
Crosscutting cleavages
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

10. Gender and Military Conflicts
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11. The Measurement of Public Opinion
Traditional method: election results
Public opinion polls: primary method
Measure public opinion using randomly chosen population sample(s) and carefully constructed interviews
Samples—estimation of population’s views
Accuracy of a poll—expressed by sampling error
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

12. The Measurement of Public Opinion
Problems with polls
Increasing refusal to participate in telephone polls
Polled individuals unfamiliar with issues
Dishonesty by respondents
Poorly worded questions and poor question order
Non-opinions
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13. The Influence of Public Opinion on Policy
Disagreement over how much public opinion affects policy, and how much it should affect policy
Limits on public influence
Inconsistencies in citizens’ policy preferences
Citizens’ lack of understanding of issues
Mastery of issues not necessary for opinion to be of value, but some issues require understanding
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

14. The Influence of Public Opinion on Policy
Public opinion and the boundaries of action
Some policy actions outside boundaries of public acceptability
Greater the level of public involvement, the more likely officials will respond to public sentiment
Even on popular issues, leaders have some discretion
Leaders can influence public opinion through concerted effort
© 2011, The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. All Rights Reserved.