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Chapter 6: Public Opinion and

Political Action

• The American People

• How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization

• Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• What Americans Value: Political Ideologies

• How Americans Participate in Politics

• Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action

• Summary


Chapter Outline and Learning

Objectives


• LO 6.1: Identify demographic trends and their likely impact on American politics.

• How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization

• LO 6.2: Outline how various forms of socialization shape political opinions.



Objectives

• Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• LO 6.3: Explain how polls are conducted and what can be learned from them about American public opinion.

• What Americans Value: Political Ideologies

• LO 6.4: Assess the influence of political ideology on Americans’ political thinking and behavior.



Objectives


• LO 6.5: Classify forms of political

participation into two broad types.

• Understanding Public Opinion and

Political Action

• LO 6.6: Analyze how public opinion about

the scope of government guides political

behavior.

The American People LO 6.1: Identify demographic trends and

their likely impact on American politics.

• The Immigrant Society

• The American Melting Pot

• The Regional Shift

• The Graying of America

To Learning Objectives Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman


The American People

• The Immigrant Society

• United States is a nation of immigrants.

• Three waves of immigration into the United States are mainly (1) Northwestern Europeans prior to late 19th Century, (2) Southern and eastern Europeans in late 19th and early 20th centuries, and (3) Hispanics and Asians in late 20th century.

LO 6.1

To Learning Objectives


The American People

• The American Melting Pot

• Melting pot is the mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation.

• Minority majority is the emergence of a non-Caucasian majority.

• Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society.

LO 6.1


LO 6.1



The American People

• The Regional Shift

• Much of America’s population growth

since World War II has been centered in

the West and South.

• Reapportionment is the process of

reallocating seats in the House of

Representatives every 10 years on the

basis of the results of the census.

LO 6.1



The American People

• The Graying of America

• Aging population – Implications for Social

Security.

• Social Security is a pay as-you-go system,

which means that today’s workers pay the

benefits for today’s retirees.

• By 2040, there will be only about two

workers per retiree.

LO 6.1


How Americans Learn About

Politics: Political Socialization LO 6.2: Outline how various forms of

socialization shape political opinions.

• The Process of Political Socialization

• Political Learning over a Lifetime




Politics: Political Socialization

• The Process of Political Socialization

• The Family – Parents give their children political attitudes.

• The Mass Media – TV gives people information about politics.

• School – Schools socialize the youth into political culture.

LO 6.2




Politics: Political Socialization

• Political Learning over a Lifetime

• Aging increases political participation and

strength of party attachment.

LO 6.2


LO 6.2


Measuring Public Opinion and

Political Information LO 6.3: Explain how polls are conducted and

what can be learned from them about

American public opinion.

• How Polls Are Conducted

• The Role of Polls in American Democracy

• What Polls Reveal About Americans’ Political Information

• The Decline of Trust in Government




Political Information

• How Polls Are Conducted

• Sample – People in survey to be

representative of the whole.

• Random Sampling – People should get

equal probability of being selected for the

sample.

• Sampling Error – Confidence in public

opinion poll findings.

LO 6.3


LO 6.3





• The Role of Polls in American Democracy

• Polls help politicians detect public preferences.

• Critics – Politicians think more about following than leading public; bandwagon effect distort elections; exit-day polls discourage voting; and wording of questions manipulate answers.

LO 6.3





• What Polls Reveal About Americans’


• Americans don’t know much about politics.

• Americans may know their basic beliefs but

not how that affects policies of the

government.

LO 6.3





• The Decline of Trust in Government

• Since 1964, trust in government has

declined.

• Trust in government has gone up

somewhat since 9/11/2001.

LO 6.3


LO 6.3


What Americans Value: Political

Ideologies LO 6.4: Assess the influence of political

ideology on Americans’ political thinking

and behavior.

• Who Are the Liberals and

Conservatives?

• Do People Think in Ideological

Terms?


LO 6.4




Ideologies

• Who Are the Liberals and

Conservatives?

• Americans pick ideological label of

conservative over liberal.

• In 2008, 36% were conservatives, 38% were

moderates, and just 26% were liberals.

• Gender gap – Women more likely support

Democratic candidates.

LO 6.4




Ideologies

• Do People Think in Ideological Terms?

• Ideologues (12%) – Yes they do.

• Group Benefits (42%) – Think of groups they like or dislike.

• Nature of the Times (24%) – If times are good or bad for them.

• No issue content (22%) – Vote for party or personality.

LO 6.4


How Americans Participate in

Politics LO 6.5: Classify forms of political

participation into two broad types.

• Conventional Participation

• Protest as Participation

• Class, Inequality, and Participation




Politics

• Conventional Participation

• Voting in elections.

• Working in campaigns or running for office.

• Contacting elected officials.

• Ringing doorbells for a petition.

• Running for office.

LO 6.5




Politics

• Protest as Participation

• Protest – Designed to achieve policy

changes through dramatic and

unconventional tactics.

• Civil disobedience – Reflects a conscious

decision to break a law believed to be

immoral and to suffer the consequences.

• Violence – Riots and fighting.

LO 6.5


LO 6.5




Politics

• Class, Inequality, and Participation

• Class-biased activity – Citizens of higher

socioeconomic status participating more

than others.

• Minorities are below average in terms of

participation.

• Who gets what in politics depends on who

participates.

LO 6.5


LO 6.5


Understanding Public Opinion and

Political Action LO 6.6: Analyze how public opinion about

the scope of government guides political

behavior.

• Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of

Government

• Democracy, Public Opinion, and

Political Action




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.

LO 6.6




Political Action

• Democracy, Public Opinion, and

Political Action

• Americans select leaders in democratic

elections.

• Polls reveal that Americans know little

about candidates’ issues.

• People vote more for performance than

policy.

LO 6.6



LO 6.1 Summary


• Immigration has accelerated in America in

recent decades.

• The size of the minority population has

increased greatly.

• By 2050, whites will represent less than 50% of

the population.

• The population has also been aging and

moving to Sunbelt states such as California,

Texas, and Florida. To Learning Objectives


Which of the following is the fastest-

growing group in the United States?

A. African Americans

B. Asian Americans

C. Hispanics

D. Native Americans

LO 6.1



LO 6.2 Summary

• How Americans Learn About Politics:

Political Socialization

• The principal actors in the socialization

process are the family, the media, and schools.

• As people age, the firmness with which they

hold political attitudes, such as party

identification, tends to increase.



The main source of political socialization

WITHIN the context is government

and civics classes.

A. school

B. family

C. mass media

D. all of the above

LO 6.2



LO 6.3 Summary

• Measuring Public Opinion and Political

Information

• Polls are conducted through the technique of

random sampling.

• A random sample of 1,000 will yield results

within plus or minus three percentage points of

what would be found if everyone were

interviewed.

• Polls detect public preferences and how

informed we are about issues. To Learning Objectives


Which of the following ensures that the

opinions of several hundred million

Americans can be inferred through polling?

A. Random sampling.

B. Sampling error.

C. Population sampling that ensures a

sample size of at least 1,000 to

1,500 people.

D. All of the above.

LO 6.3



A. Random sampling.

B. Sampling error.

C. Population sampling that ensures a

sample size of at least 1,000 to

1,500 people.

D. All of the above.

Which of the following ensures that the

opinions of several hundred million

Americans can be inferred through polling?

LO 6.3



LO 6.4 Summary

• What Americans Value: Political

Ideologies

• A political ideology is a coherent set of values

and beliefs about public policy.

• The two most prominent ideologies in

American politics are conservatism and

liberalism.

• These ideologies guide people’s thinking on

policy issues.



LO 6.4 Summary

• What Americans Value: Political

Ideologies (cont.)

• 62% of Americans call themselves either

conservatives or liberals.

• Americans are conservative (36%) in principle

but liberal (26%) in practice; that is, they are

against big government but favor more

spending on a wide variety of programs.



Americans are more likely to be

.

A. conservative than liberal

B. liberal than conservative

C. moderate than conservative

D. moderate than liberal

LO 6.4



LO 6.5 Summary


• Conventional participation includes

voting, writing letters or e-mails to public

officials, attending political meetings,

signing petitions, and giving money to

campaigns and political groups.



LO 6.5 Summary


(cont.)

• Unconventional participation includes

attending protest demonstrations and

acts of civil disobedience.

• Citizens of higher social economic status

participate more in American politics.



Which of the following type of political

participation is most common in the

United States?

A. Protesting a governmental policy.

B. Litigating through the court system.

C. Writing to a member of Congress.

D. Voting in elections.

LO 6.5



LO 6.6 Summary

• Understanding Public Opinion and

Political Action

• Conservatives think the scope of

government has become too wide in

recent decades.

• Liberals believe the scope of government

should be further increased and support

the 2010 Health Insurance Reform Act.



Public opinion polls reveal that Americans

A. are ideological liberals but

operational conservatives.

B. oppose the idea of big government

in principle but favor it in practice.

C. favor the idea of big government in

principle but oppose it in practice.

D. are ideological moderates.

LO 6.6



Text Credits

• Excerpt from “Most Don’t Know What ‘Public Option’ Is,” August 27,

2009, http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/poll-most-dont-know-

what-public-option.html. Used with permission.

• US Census Bureau,

http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/files/nation/sum

mary/np2008-t4.xls.


Photo Credits

• 166: AP Photo

• 167TR: Bob Daemmrich/The Image Works

• 167TC: Sven Hagolan

• 167TB: Getty Images

• 167B: AP Photo

• 168: Jack Smith/Getty Images

• 170: Bob Daemmrich/the Image Works

• 172: Virginie Mortet/Getty Images

• 177: Sven Hagolan

• 180: www.cartoonstock.com

• 188: Getty Images

• 189: AP Photo

• 189T: AP Photo

• 189B: John Filo/Getty Images

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copyright © 2011 pearson education, inc. publishing as …photo credits • 166: ap photo •...

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