Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy
Thirteenth AP* Edition
Edwards/Wattenberg/Lineberry
Chapter 6
Public Opinion and Political
Action
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Introduction

Public Opinion
– The distribution of the population’s beliefs about
politics and policy issues

Demography
– The science of population changes

Census
– A valuable tool for understanding population changes
– Required every 10 years by the Constitution
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The American People

The Immigrant Society
– United States is a nation of immigrants.
– Three waves of Immigration:
th
 Northwestern Europeans (prior to late 19 Century)
 Southern and eastern Europeans (late 19th and early
20th centuries)
 Hispanics and Asians (late 20th century)
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The American People

The American Melting Pot
– Melting Pot: the mixing of cultures, ideas, and
peoples that has changed the American nation
– Minority Majority: the emergence of a nonCaucasian majority
– Political culture is an overall set of values
widely shared within a society.
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The American People
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The American People

The American Melting Pot (continued)
– African Americans face a legacy of racism.
– Hispanics are the largest minority group faced with the
problem of illegal immigration.

Simpson-Mazzoli Act: requires employers document
citizenship of employee
– Asian immigration has been driven by a new class of
professional workers.
– Native Americans: indigenous and disadvantaged
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The American People

The Regional Shift
– Population shift from
east to west
– Reapportionment: the
process of reallocating
seats in the House of
Representatives every
10 years on the basis of
the results of the
census
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The American People

The Graying of America
– Fastest growing age group is over 65
– Potential drain on Social Security
 Pay as you go system
 In 1942, 42 workers per retiree
 In 2040, 2 workers per retiree
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How Americans Learn About
Politics: Political Socialization

Political Socialization:
– “the process through which and individual
acquires [their] particular political orientation”
– Orientation grow firmer with age

The Process of Political Socialization
– The Family
 Political leanings of children often mirror their
parents’ leanings
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How Americans Learn About
Politics: Political Socialization
Pearson Education, Inc., Longman © 2008
How Americans Learn About
Politics: Political Socialization

The Process of Political Socialization (continued)
– The Mass Media


Chief source of information as children age
Generation gap is viewing television news
– School



Used by government to socialize young into political culture
Better-educated citizens are more likely to vote and are more
knowledgeable about politics and policy.
Political Learning Over a Lifetime
– Aging increases political participation and strength of
party attachment.
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How American Learn About
Politics: Political Socialization
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Measuring Public Opinion and
Political Information

How Polls Are Conducted
– Sample: a small proportion of people who are chosen in
a survey to be representative of the whole
– Random Sampling: the key technique employed by
sophisticated survey researchers which operates on the
principle that everyone should have an equal
probability of being selected for the sample
– Sampling Error: the level of confidence in the findings
of a public opinion poll
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Measuring Public Opinion and
Political Information

The Role of Polls in American Democracy
– Polls help politicians detect public preferences.
– But critics say polls make politicians think
more about following than leading public

Even though politicians do not track opinion to
make policy
– Polls may distort election process
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Measuring Public Opinion and
Political Information

The Role of Polls in American Democracy
(continued)
– Exit Polls: used by the media to predict election
day winners


May discourage people from voting
2000 presidential election in Florida
– Question wording may affect survey results
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Measuring Public Opinion and
Political Information

What Polls Reveal About Americans’ Political
Information
– Americans don’t know much about politics.
– Americans may know their basic beliefs but not how
that affects policies of the government.

The Decline of Trust in Government
– Since 1964, trust in government has declined.
– Trust in government has gone up somewhat since
September 11.
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Measuring Public Opinion and
Political Information

Citizens Show Little Knowledge of Geography
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Measuring Public Opinion and
Political Information
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What Americans Value:
Political Ideologies

Political Ideology:
– A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy,
and public purpose

Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives?
– Predominance of conservative over liberal thinking
– Currently about 38% conservative, 24% liberal, 38%
moderate


Gender gap: women tend to be less conservative than men
Ideological variation by religion too
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What Americans Value: Political
Ideologies
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What Americans Value:
Political Ideologies

Do People Think in Ideological Terms?
– Ideologues: those who think in ideological
terms (12 percent)
– Group Benefits voters: view politics through
party label (42 percent)
– Nature of the Times: view of politics based on
whether times are good or bad (24 percent)
– No issue content: vote routinely for party or
personality (22 percent)
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How Americans Participate in
Politics

Political Participation: all the activities used
by citizens to influence the selection of
political leaders or the policies they pursue
 Conventional Participation
– Voting in elections
– Working in campaigns or running for office
– Contacting elected officials
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How Americans Participate in
Politics

Protest as Participation
– Protest: a form of political participation
designed to achieve policy changes through
dramatic and unconventional tactics
– Civil disobedience: a form of political
participation that reflects a conscious decision
to break a law believed to be immoral and to
suffer the consequences
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How Americans Participate in
Politics

Class, Inequality, and Participation
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Understanding Public Opinion
and Political Action

Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government
– Many people have no opinion about scope of
government.
– Public opinion is inconsistent, which may lead to policy
gridlock.

Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action
– Americans select leaders, but do they do so wisely?
– If people know little about candidates’ issues, how can
they?
– People vote more for performance than policy.
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Summary

American society is ethnically diverse and
changing.
 Knowing public opinion is important to a
democracy, just as polling has costs and
benefits.
 Americans know little about politics.
 Political participation is generally low.
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