American Government and Politics

Today Essentials 2013

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 CHAPTER 6

Public Opinion and

Political Socialization

 LEARNING OUTCOMES
The six learning outcomes below are designed to help improve your understanding of this
chapter. After reading this chapter, you should be able to:
❑ Learning Outcome 1: Define public opinion, consensus, and divided opinion.
❑ Learning Outcome 2: Discuss major sources of political socialization, including the
family, schools, the media, and political events.
❑ Learning Outcome 3: Identify the effects of various influences on voting behavior,
including party identification, education, income, religion, race, and geography.
❑ Learning Outcome 4: Describe the characteristics of a scientific opinion poll, and list
some of the problems pollsters face in obtaining accurate results.
❑ Learning Outcome 5: Evaluate the impact of new technologies on opinion polling.
❑ Learning Outcome 6: Consider the effect that public opinion may have on the
political process.

 SUMMARY OVERVIEW
1. Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion
of the adult population. A consensus exists when a large proportion of the public appears
to express the same view on an issue. Divided opinion exists when the public holds
widely different attitudes on an issue. Sometimes, a poll shows a distribution of opinion
indicating that most people either have no information about an issue or are not interested
enough in the issue to form a position on it.
2. People’s opinions are formed through the political socialization process. Important
factors in this process are the family, educational experiences, peer groups, opinion
leaders, the media, and political events. The influence of the media as a socialization
factor may be growing relative to the influence of the family. Party identification is one
of the most important indicators of voting behavior. Voting behavior is also influenced by

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68 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

demographic factors, such as education, economic status, religion, race and ethnicity,
gender, and geographic region. Finally, voting behavior is influenced by election-specific
factors, such as perception of the candidates and issue preferences.
3. Most descriptions of public opinion are based on the results of opinion polls. The
accuracy of polls depends on sampling techniques. An accurate poll includes a
representative sample of the population being polled and ensures randomness in the
selection of respondents.
4. Problems with polls include sampling error, the difficulty in obtaining a truly
representative sample, the issue of whether responses are influenced by the phrasing and
order of questions asked, the use of a yes/no format for answers to the questions, and the
interviewer’s techniques. Many people are concerned about the use of push polls (in
which the questions “push” the respondent toward a particular candidate). “Polls” that
rely on self-selected respondents are inherently inaccurate and should be discounted.
5. Advances in technology have changed polling techniques over the years. During the
1970s, telephone polling became widely used. Today, largely because of extensive
telemarketing, people often refuse to answer calls, and nonresponse rates in telephone
polling have skyrocketed. Many poll takers also fail to include cell phone users. Due to
the difficulty of obtaining a random sample in the online environment, Internet polls
are often “nonpolls.” Whether Internet polling can overcome this problem remains to
be seen.
6. Public opinion affects the political process in many ways. The political culture provides a
general environment of support for the political system, allowing the nation to weather
periods of crisis. The political culture also helps Americans to evaluate their
government’s performance. At times, the level of trust in government has been relatively
high. At other times, the level of trust has declined steeply. Similarly, Americans’
confidence in government institutions varies over time, depending on a number of
circumstances. Generally, though, Americans turn to government to solve what they
perceive to be the major problems facing the country. In 2012, Americans ranked the
economy and unemployment as the two most significant problems facing the nation.
7. Public opinion also plays an important role in policymaking. Although polling data show
that a majority of Americans would like policy leaders to be influenced to a great extent
by public opinion, politicians cannot always be guided by opinion polls. This is because
the respondents often do not understand the costs and consequences of policy decisions
or the trade-offs involved in making such decisions. How issues are framed has an
important influence on popular attitudes.

 CHAPTER OUTLINE
In the United States and other democracies, people possess a variety of ways by which they can
communicate their opinions to government officials and others. In turn, officials recognize the
importance of public opinion, and often change policy (or have their positions bolstered) based on
public opinion. Although in some cases public opinion is clear and decisive, oftentimes it is
murky. In addition, the very policymakers who must also respond to it can shape public opinion;
i.e., government officials do play a role in political socialization and often shape public opinion
on a variety of issues.

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 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization 69

 What If … SCIENTIFIC OPINION POLLING HAD NEVER BEEN

INVENTED?
Today, opinion polls use representative random sampling in an effort to make
accurate predictions. Before the development of scientific polling, newspapers
carried predictions based on the latest betting odds. Researchers at the University
of Iowa created the Iowa Electronic Markets in an effort to compare the
outcomes of legalized betting to scientific polling. It turns out that the Iowa
electronic markets are a good predictor of election outcomes.
I. Defining Public Opinion
Public opinion is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion
of adults. Private opinion becomes public opinion when an individual takes some type of
action to express an opinion to others publicly. We can look to the distribution of public
opinion to determine how divided the public is on any given issue. When there is general
agreement on an issue, there is said to be a consensus. When opinions are polarized
between two quite different positions, there is divided opinion.
II. How Public Opinion Is Formed: Political Socialization
Political socialization is the process by which individuals acquire political beliefs
and values.
A. Models of Political Socialization
The interactions an individual has with others have a major impact on the
formation of individual opinion.
B. The Family and the Social Environment
The importance of the family is paramount in the development of individual
opinion. Political attitudes begin to develop in children and the major influence
on these early values is the family.
 Politics and Social Media: ONE BILLION PEOPLE CAN’T BE WRONG
Facebook, My Space, You Tube and so many others have created a digital
generation with the Internet serving as a gateway to online and offline political
and civic commitment. Social media plays a major role in election campaigns
and raising awareness about political and social issues. Can Twitter predict who
is going to win an election? Some political scientists think so.
1. Education as a Source of Political Socialization. Educational influence
on political opinions is also important. Education introduces individuals
to ideas outside of the home and outside of the local community. These
new ideas may influence the individual to accept opinions that are
different from those of the parents.
2. Peers and Peer Group Influence. These also have an impact on opinion
formation. As people interact with others in school, or at work, or in
social activities, various values come into play. These values can
influence how opinions are formed.
3. Opinion Leaders’ Influence. Leaders, both formal and informal, also
tend to shape the opinions of the public. Formal leaders include political
leaders like the president, governors, and members of Congress. Formal
leaders make a conscious effort to shape the opinions of the public.
Informal leaders may not necessarily attempt to shape the political
opinions of the public, but they still exert an influence on opinion

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70 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

formation. Examples of informal leaders are teachers, religious leaders,

and civic leaders.
C. The Impact of the Media
The media also play a significant role in the political socialization. The media
present information on important political topics. How topics are presented and
which topics are presented have a major impact on opinion formation.
1. Popularity of the Media. The influence of media has grown equal to
that of family. This trend may influence the public debate in the future.
2. The Impact of the New Media. To a certain extent, new forms of media
have supplanted newspapers and broadcast networks. It appears that talk
radio, cable news, and blogs strengthen the beliefs of their viewers rather
than change them. Social networking sites are organized around peer
groups rather than around political viewpoint and may have a moderating
influence on their participants.
D. The Influence of Political Events
Political events can produce a long-lasting impact on opinion formation. An
important example was the impact of the Great Depression on people who came
of age in that period. We call such an impact a generational effect. While it is
likely that the events of September 11, 2001 will play an important role in the
political socialization of young Americans, it is still unclear what this impact
will be.
1. Historical Events. These events cause voters to form lifelong
attachments to a party such as the Great Depression and the support for
Franklin Roosevelt or the Watergate break-in and the cynicism
toward government.
2. The Political Mood. There is a proposition that the public mood swings
in a more liberal direction when the federal government is successful and
in a conservative direction when there are perceived government failures.
The public appears to drift toward the left during a period of conservative
policies and to the right when more liberal policies are introduced.
III. Political Preferences and Voting Behavior
The candidates and political parties that individuals decide to support are influenced in
part by party identification and certain demographic and socioeconomic factors. Because
of the relationship between various groups and voting behavior, campaign managers
often target particular groups when creating campaign advertising.
A. Party Identification and Demographic Influences
Demographic traits exert a major influence over the development of
one’s opinion.
• Party Identification. With the possible exception of race, party ID has
been the most important determinant of voting behavior in national
elections. Family, peers, generational effects, the media, and assessments
of candidates and issues influence it. In the mid to late 1960s party
affiliation began to weaken and the percentage of the electorates who
identify as independents increased to about thirty percent of all voters.
1. Educational Achievement. The voting behavior of people with only a
high school education is quite close today to the electorate as a whole. In

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 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization 71

the past, this group tended to favor the Democrats. For years, higher
education levels appeared to correlate with voting for Republican
candidates. Since 1992, however, voters with higher levels of education
have been voting increasingly Democratic, so that in the 2000 election,
these voters were nearly evenly divided between Al Gore and George W.
Bush. The reason seems to be that professionals (such as lawyers,
physicians, professors, etc.) are trending Democratic. Therefore, persons
with postgraduate degrees (necessary for many professionals) now often
vote Democratic. Businesspeople have remained strongly Republican,
however. Businesspeople are less likely to have postgraduate degrees,
which is why the population with only bachelors degrees continues to
appear to favor the Republicans.
2. Economic Status. Economic status and occupation appear to influence
political views. On issues of economic policy, individuals who have less
income tend to favor liberal policies, while individuals of the upper–
middle class favor conservative policies. On cultural issues the reverse
tends to be true. Those with less income are more conservative and those
with higher incomes are more liberal. Although there is no hard-and-fast
rule, normally the higher a person’s income, the more likely the person
will be to vote Republican. Manual laborers, factory workers, and
especially union members are more likely to vote Democratic.
3. Religious Denomination. Religious influence appears to have a
significant impact on the development of political opinions. For example,
the Jewish community is highly likely to vote for Democratic candidates.
Irreligious voters tend to be liberal on cultural issues, but to have
mixed stands on economic ones. A century ago, Catholics were often
Democrats and Protestants were often Republican, but little remains
of that tradition.
 Politics and Social Class: THE GROWING GAP
There may be a growing gap between socioeconomic classes in the United States.
Is there a growing class divide, fewer work opportunities, and the elite staying
within its own elite class? Is this creating a two-caste society?
4. Religious Commitment and Beliefs. The degree of religious
commitment, as measured by such actions as regular church attendance
is a major predictor of political attitudes among the Christian
denominations. Voters, who are devout, regardless of their church
affiliation, tend to vote Republican, while voters who are less devout are
more often Democrats. African Americans, who have been strongly
Democratic, are an exception to this trend. Evangelicals tend to be
cultural conservatives, but not necessarily economic conservatives.
5. Race and Ethnicity. In general, members of minority groups favor the
Democrats. African Americans do so by overwhelming margins.
Hispanics are voting Democratic by about two to one, though the Cuban-
American vote is strongly Republican. Asian Americans tend to support
the Democrats but often by narrow margins. However, Vietnamese
Americans are strongly Republican. Their anticommunist conservatism
originated with the communist victory in the Vietnam War. American
Muslims of Middle Eastern descent gave George Bush majority support

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72 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

in 2000 based on shared cultural conservatism, but went heavily for John
Kerry in 2004 on the basis of civil liberties concerns.
6. The Hispanic Vote. In general, Hispanics favor Democratic candidates
over Republican candidates by 73 percent to 26 percent.
7. The Gender Gap. Key concept: gender gap, or the difference between
the percentage of women who vote for a particular candidate and the
percentage of men who vote for that candidate. Since 1980, women have
tended to give somewhat more support to Democratic candidates for
president, and men have given somewhat more support to the
Republicans. Women are more likely to oppose capital punishment and
the use of force abroad. They are also concerned about risks to the
environment and supportive of social welfare.
8. Geographic Region. The former solid Democratic South has crumbled
in national elections. Democrats tend to get support from the Northeast
and the West Coast. Republicans do well in the South, the Great Plains,
and the Rocky Mountains. Perhaps more important is residence—urban,
suburban, and rural. People in cities are typically liberal and Democratic,
while those who live in smaller communities tend to be conservative
and Republican.
B. Election-Specific Factors
1. Perception of the Candidates. The candidate who is more successful in
projecting an image that the public wants has a better chance of
winning the election. Typically, these traits have to do with character
(such as trustworthiness).
2. Issue Preferences. Although not as important as personality or image,
where a candidate stands on a given issue does have an impact on voters.
Economic issues are often the most important. Some voters may cast
votes based on their own economic interests, while others will vote based
on what is happening to the nation’s economy as a whole. In the last
several years, the Iraq war has emerged as a dominant issue, while
health care and immigration reform may also overshadow concerns
about the economy.
3. Perception of the 2012 Presidential Candidates.
IV. Measuring Public Opinion
A. The History of Opinion Polls
As early as the 1800s, the press conducted “straw polls.” Such polls are not an
accurate reflection of public opinion. The Literary Digest conducted the most
infamous of these in 1936. Franklin Roosevelt was elected in a landslide after the
poll conducted by the Digest had projected his defeat. The Digest’s sample was
not representative. In the 1930s, however, modern, relatively accurate polling
techniques were developed by George Gallup, Elmo Roper, and others. Survey
research centers were set up at several universities after World War II.
B. Sampling Techniques
1. The Principle of Randomness. A purely random sample will be
representative within the stated margin of error. For a poll to be random,
every person in the defined population has to have an equal chance of

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 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization 73

being selected—the larger the sample of the population, the smaller the
margin of error. If a random sample, with a margin of error of plus or
minus 3 percent, reveals that 63 percent of the population favors a
reduction in spending for space exploration, then the actual number of
people favoring such a reduction is between 60 percent to 66 percent.
Making sure that your sample is random is a major task.
2. The Statistical Nature of Polling. Opinion poll numbers are reported as
specific numbers. Such precise figures can be misleading. It makes more
sense to consider the results of a particular question as a range of
numbers, not a single integer.
3. Sampling Error. Polling firms report the margin of error associated
with their results. Variations are called sampling errors. They follow
from the fact that the poll taker is examining a sample and not the
entire population.
Key concept: sampling error, or the difference between a sample’s
results and the true result if the entire population had been interviewed. It
can be dangerous if the sample is too small or if the polltakers do not
know how to correct for common biases in samples.
C. The Difficulty of Obtaining Accurate Results
Survey organizations usually interview about 1500 individuals to measure
national sentiment among roughly 200 million American adults. Their results
have a high probability of being correct—within a margin of three percentage
points—and they have had some notable successes in accurately predicting
election results.
1. Weighting the Sample. Polling firms correct for differences between the
sample and the public by adding extra “weight” to the responses of
underrepresented groups.
2. House Effects. A consistent difference in polling results between firms
is known as a house effect and is measured by comparing a firm’s results
with the average results of other poll takers. Some polling organizations
have ties to one of the major political parties and have house effects that
favor their parties.
3. How Accurate Are the Results? The major polling organizations have a
good record in predicting the outcome of presidential contests. It is more
difficult to conduct an accurate poll at the state level.
D. Additional Problems with Polls
1. Poll Questions. How a question is posed can affect the result. Yes/no
answers are a problem if the issue admits to shades of gray. Often,
people will attempt to please the interviewer.
2. Unscientific and Fraudulent Polls. Magazine or Web sites often solicit
responses from readers to unscientific polls. Other media outlets then
publicize the survey as if it were a scientific poll taken by reliable
pollsters such as Gallup or the New York Times. Consumers should
beware of these so-called polls. In some cases, they are designed to
deliberately mislead the public.
 2012 Elections: POLLING ACCURACY IN THE 2012 ELECTIONS

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74 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

3. Push Polls. Push polls are not polls at all, but are attempts to spread
negative statements about a candidate by posing as a pollster and using
long questions containing information about the opposition. Both
candidates and advocacy groups use push polls.
V. Technology and Opinion Polls
A. The Advent of Telephone Polling
Telephone polling is far easier and less expensive than door-to-door polling, and
has become standard. (Years ago telephone polling could not be accurate because
many poor voters did not have phones.)
1. Telephone Polling Problems. In part because of its success, telephone
polling has now become problematic because so many entities conduct
“polls” and “market research.”
2. The Cell Phone Problem. Cell phone numbers are not included in
random-digit dialing programs.
B. Enter Internet Polling
1. How Representative Is the Internet? Harris, a widely respected polling
organization, has attempted to design Internet polls that assign weights to
respondents to achieve the equivalent of a random-sampled poll. Public
opinion experts argue that the Harris procedure violates the mathematical
basis of random sampling, but the Internet population is looking more
like the rest of America.
2. “Nonpolls” on the Internet. There are many unscientific straw polls on
the Internet. These nonpolls undercut the efforts of legitimate pollsters to
use the Internet scientifically.
VI. Public Opinion and the Political Process
A. Political Culture and Popular Opinion
Political culture can be described as a set of attitudes and ideas about the nation
and government. Certain shared beliefs about important values are considered the
core of American political culture. They bind the nation together despite its
highly diverse population. These values include liberty, equality, and property;
support for religion; and community service and personal achievement.
1. Political Culture and Support for Our Political System. General
popular belief that the presidential election of 2000 would be settled
fairly is an example of how a general sense of support for our political
system allows the nation to get through a crisis.
2. Political Trust. General levels of trust in government have gone up and
down. In the 1960s and 1970s, during the Vietnam War and Watergate
scandal, the level of trust in government declined steeply. Levels were
high right after 9/11 but have steadily declined since 2001.

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 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization 75

B. Public Opinion About Government

It is clear that there is considerable ambivalence on the part of the public
regarding government and other national institutions. Recent data suggest that
trust in government peaked after 9/11 but fell back thereafter.
1. Confidence in Other Institutions. Confidence in the Supreme Court
also scores highly, while the media, Congress, labor unions, and business
come off more poorly.
2. The Most Important Problem. For a list of the nation’s most important
problems since 1983, see Table 6–2 of your textbook.
C. Public Opinion and Policymaking
If public opinion is important for democracy, then policymakers should be
responsive to public opinion. A groundbreaking study in the early 1990s suggests
that the national government is very responsive to the public’s demands. Policy
often changes in a direction consistent with public opinion; and when public
opinion changes dramatically, government policy is much more likely to follow
public attitudes.
1. Setting Limits on Government Action. Public opinion may be at its
strongest in preventing politicians from embracing highly unpopular
policies. To what degree should public opinion influence policymaking?
The general public believe that leaders should pay attention to popular
opinion, while policymakers themselves are less likely to believe this.
2. The Public versus the Policymakers. Polls indicate that whereas a
majority of the public feels that public opinion should have a great
deal of influence on policy, a majority of policy leaders hold the
opposite positions.
3. The Limits of Polling. There are differences of opinion between the
public and policymakers on this issue. Part of the difference stems from
one of the flaws of polling: poll questions largely ignore the context
within which most policy decisions take place; i.e., people are likely to
express opinions on many kinds of policies without being required to
consider the costs.
D. A Policy Example: Contraception Insurance
The Obama administration ruled that religious bodies such as churches that
opposed birth control in principle did not need to pay for health insurance plans
that covered contraception. Institutions such as hospitals and schools that
were owned or controlled by churches, however, would be required to
provide coverage.
1. The Controversy. Religious bodies, including the Catholic Church,
denounced the Obama decision. Defenders argued that exempting
religiously owned hospitals and schools from the mandate would
mean that employers could force their own religious principles on
their employees.
2. Public Opinion and the Controversy. It was unclear whether the
question posed was on religious freedom or whether the question was
about the right of women to adequate health care.

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76 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

 Which Side Are You On? DO WE REALLY NEED TO SPEND MORE

MONEY ON SCHOOLS?
Is spending on schools already high enough or have school systems already
suffered too many cuts?
 Why Should You Care About … POLLS AND PUBLIC OPINION?
Successful political participation depends on knowing what fellow citizens are
thinking, and polls can give insight into this. Poll results flood news reports at
critical political times (such as elections), but not all polls are equally reliable. It
is important to consider the source and techniques of a poll before giving
credence to its results. The veracity of many polls has to be taken with a grain of
salt. For example, in many polls the samples are far from random and the
margins of error are much greater than published. How a question is phrased
can change the outcome dramatically, such as with “loaded questions.” False
precision represented by incredibly detailed results can also make
predictions difficult.
 E-mocracy: ONLINE POLLING AND POLL DATA
This feature provides information on polling organizations and links to
polling data.

 LECTURE LAUNCHERS
1. Ask students (who wish to volunteer) to analyze how they have been socialized
politically. Compare and contrast the socialization of students with different
backgrounds. What differences and similarities are there between these individuals?
2. A major concern for many Americans appears to be a lack of confidence in political
leaders and a decline in trust of government. An example of how big this problem has
become is the lack of participation in elections. Typically, only about half of the adult
population participates in presidential elections and even less in non-presidential
elections. However, we saw a change during the 2008 presidential election. The influence
of the media and media stars and the impact of the Internet, blogs, and YouTube created a
greater interest in politics and a larger voter turnout.
3. Voter turnout significantly increased in the 2008 presidential election, particularly among
the young. Ask students why they believe this election inspired the young people’s vote
and then to examine whether it continued in the 2012 presidential election. Why or
why not?
4. Ask students to identify in class their preconceived notions about opinion polling in
detail. Their beliefs, (correct and incorrect) about the nature of the process are the key to
explaining the actual science of measuring public opinion. Some students will say they do
not believe the polls. Others will say they do follow them but in class will not be able to
demonstrate that they understand the difference between reputable polls and mechanisms
that masquerade as polls. Once the mechanics of quality opinion polls have been
demonstrated and the myths debunked, ask students to discuss why accurate polling of
public opinion is important.

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 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization 77

5. Ask students to devise a way to measure public opinion on their campus with a topic like,
“Should the legal age to purchase alcoholic beverages be raised to twenty-five”? Would a
quota poll be accurate? How could a random sample be used?
6. In the text, we discovered the political preferences and voting behavior of the various
demographic groups in America. Based on recent shifts in the demographic profile of the
country as a whole, ask students to combine this information with what they now
understand about the voting behavior of groups and predict election outcomes for the
major parties based on party identification in 2012, 2022, and 2032. One suggestion for
task design is to assign students into small groups and have them chart the various
demographic groups. Students can then make predictions as to which groups will grow
and which will shrink in order to gather data to make their election predictions.

 IN-CLASS ACTIVITIES
1. In a roundtable discussion with students, ask what role the social media played for each
of them in the 2012 election. How influential was Facebook or Twitter or YouTube?
2. Have students gather data from the 2012 election and analyze the results in class in terms
of gender, education, economics, race, and other demographic factors.
3. Break students into groups of four or five. Assign each group a news channel to watch re
“one specific story.” Have groups report back to class on what they learned about the
story in order to analyze how our media may or may not put its own “spin” on a story.

 KEY TERMS
agenda setting Determining which public-policy questions will be debated or considered.
consensus General agreement among the citizenry on an issue.
divided opinion Public opinion that is polarized between two quite different positions.
Fairness Doctrine A Federal Communications Commission rule enforced between 1949 and
1987 that required radio and television to present controversial issues in a manner that
was (in the commission’s view) honest, equitable, and balanced.
framing Establishing the context of a polling question or a media report. Framing can mean
fitting events into a familiar story or activating preconceived beliefs.
gender gap The difference between the percentage of women who vote for a particular candidate
and the percentage of men who vote for the candidate.
generational effect The long-lasting effect of the events of a particular time on the political
opinions of those who came of political age at that time.
house effect In public opinion polling, an effect in which one polling organization’s results
consistently differ from those reported by other poll takers.
media The channels of mass communication.
opinion leader One who is able to influence the opinions of others because of position,
expertise, or personality.

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78 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

opinion poll A method of systematically questioning a small, selected sample of respondents

who are deemed representative of the total population.
peer group A group whose members share common social characteristics. These groups play an
important part in the socialization process, helping to shape attitudes and beliefs.
political socialization The process by which people acquire political beliefs and values.
political trust The degree to which individuals express trust in the government and political
institutions, usually measured through a specific series of survey questions.
public opinion The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the
adult population.
sampling error The difference between a sample’s results and the true result if the entire
population had been interviewed.
socioeconomic status The value assigned to a person due to occupation or income. An upper-
class person, for example, has high socioeconomic status.
Watergate break-in The 1972 illegal entry into the Democratic National Committee offices by
participants in President Richard Nixon’s reelection campaign.

 WEB LINKS
One of the most well-known of the many polling organizations: (http://www.gallup.com/)
A self-described nonpartisan fact tank that provides information on the issues, attitudes and
trends: (http://pewresearch.org/
An independent, nonpartisan resource on trends in American public opinion:
(http://www.pollingreport.com/)
A daily tracking poll of public opinion on a variety of issues:
(http://www.rasmussenreports.com/)
A summary of 2012 primary election polling results:
(http://www.realclearpolitics.com/epolls/latest_polls/elections/)

 INSTRUCTOR RESOURCES
Bishop, Bill. The Big Sort: Why the Clustering of Like-Minded America Is Tearing Us Apart.
New York: Houghton Mifflin, 2008. PRINT. Jam-packed with polling data, Bishop’s book argues
that we have clustered into like-minded communities as never before. Results include political
polarization and an inability to understand Americans of different backgrounds or beliefs.
Fiorina, Morris P., with Samuel J. Adams and Jeremy C. Pope. Culture War? The Myth of a
Polarized America, 3rd ed. New York: Longman, 2010. PRINT. Fiorina and his colleagues use
polling data to argue that most Americans are politically moderate, even though our political
leaders are highly polarized. Topics include abortion, same-sex marriage, school prayer, and gun
control. A new chapter in this edition analyzes the 2008 elections.
Lakoff, George. The Political Mind: A Cognitive Scientist’s Guide to Your Brain and Its Politics.
New York: Penguin, 2009. PRINT. Lakoff is one of the nation’s leading experts on framing and

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 Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Socialization 79

other political thought processes. Lakoff’s liberal politics may annoy conservative readers, but his
theories are not dependent on his ideology.
Sniderman, Paul M., and Edward H. Stiglitz. The Reputational Premium: A Theory of Party
Identification and Policy Reasoning. Princeton, N.J.: Princeton UP, 2012. PRINT. Two political
scientists argue that the policy positions of the major political parties are more important in
making up voters’ minds than are the policies of individual candidates.

MEDIA RESOURCES
Purple State of Mind—A 2009 film, in which two old friends, college roommates, take different
political roads—one left, the other right. They meet again and explore their differences.
Wag the Dog—A 1997 film that provides a very cynical look at the importance of public opinion.
The film, which features Dustin Hoffman and Robert De Niro, follows the efforts of a
presidential political consultant who stages a foreign policy crisis to divert public opinion from a
sex scandal in the White House.

Copyright © Cengage Learning. All rights reserved.

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 Transcriber’s Notes

pg 17 Changed: “You don” think it could

to: “You don’t think it could
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