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CHAPTER 7
Public Opinion
LEARNING OBJECTIVES
WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW
What is “public opinion” and how do we measure it?
What is “political socialization” and how does it work?
What is “political ideology” and how does it matter for what elites and the
mass public believe?
WHO GOVERNS?
1. How does public opinion in America today vary by race, gender, and other
differences?
2. What is political ideology, and how does it affect political behavior and influence
public policy.
TO WHAT ENDS?
1. What role did the Framers of the Constitution think public opinion should play in
American democracy?
2. When, if ever, should public policies mirror majority opinion?
OVERVIEW
It is difficult to speak of “public opinion” in the United States. This is partly because there are many
publics, with many different opinions. It is also partly because opinions on all but relatively simple
topics tend to be uninformed, unstable, and sensitive to different ways of asking poll questions.
The chief sources of political opinion are the family, religion, information media, and schooling. Once,
occupation (or income) was a central determinant of opinion, but with the spread of higher education,
the connection between occupational status (or income) and opinion is no longer quite so close. Today,
greater cleavages in opinion are related to social class (in which schooling is an important component)
and region.
Political ideology guides political opinion, but measuring ideology is often difficult. Typically,
Americans do not use ideological terminology when reporting or discussing their political opinions, and
most survey instruments are incapable of fully measuring the relationship between ideology and
political opinion. Furthermore, survey participants are often reluctant to share their ideological opinions
if they perceive those opinions to be socially or morally unacceptable.
Political elites are much more likely to display a consistent ideology, whether liberal or conservative.
Elites are important because they have a disproportionate influence on public policy. They also
influence mass opinion through the dissemination of information and the evocation of political norms.
CHAPTER OUTLINE
I. Introduction
• Public opinion refers to how people think or feel about particular things.
B. RELIGION
• Most Americans remain somewhat or deeply religious but question the role of
religion in politics.
• Differences between religions are quite complicated, and vary with particular
issues.
o Religious influences on public opinion are pronounced with respect to
social issues, like abortion or gay rights.
o Opinions about politics vary not only across but also within religious
traditions.
A. SOCIAL CLASS
• Social class: Ill defined in United States, though recognized in specific cases
(for example, truck drivers and investment bankers)
o Social class less important in United States than in Europe; extent of
cleavage has declined in both places.
o Class differences on political views and voting patterns narrowed
considerably during the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s.
o Class differences that remain: Unskilled workers are more likely to be
Democrats than affluent white-collar workers.
o Noneconomic issues now define liberal and conservative.
o Moral, symbolic, and foreign-policy issues do not divide the rich and
poor in the same way.
B. RACE AND ETHNICITY
• African Americans
o Overwhelmingly Democratic
o Younger blacks are slightly more likely to identify with Republicans
and to support government school voucher programs.
o Continuing differences between white and black attitudes on policy
questions
o Areas of agreement between whites and blacks on policy issues
• Latinos and Asians
o Scant public opinion information for Latinos and Asian Americans
o Latinos tend to identify as Democrats, though not as strongly as
African Americans.
o Asians are even more identified with the Republican Party than are
whites.
o Asian opinion on issues of order more like Anglo opinion than like
black or Hispanic opinion.
o Latinos are somewhat more liberal than Anglos or Asians, but less
liberal than African Americans.
o Important differences within Asian and Hispanic groups.
o Broad areas of agreement between Latinos and non-Hispanic whites
C. REGION
• White southerners were once more conservative than other regions regarding
aid to minorities, legalizing marijuana, school busing, and rights of the
accused.
• White southerners were similar to other regions regarding economic issues.
• Historically, the South is more accommodating to business interests (and less
accommodating to organized labor) than the North.
• Southerners are now significantly less Democratic than they were for most of
the twentieth century.
• No Democratic presidential candidate has won a majority of white Southern
votes since Lyndon Johnson did so in 1964. In 2008, Barack Obama won with
one-half the white vote nationally while only receiving 30 percent of the white
vote in the South.
• Since 1980 the population has shifted from the North and East to the South and
West. Florida and Texas have gained 12 Congressional seats. The Northeast
has become more Democratic but with shrinking representation in the House.
o In recent elections the impact of the Internet on campaigns has increased the
debate as to how much influence elites have on the political process.
WEB RESOURCES
American National Election Studies: http://www.electionstudies.org
The Gallup Organization: http://www.gallup.com
Public Agenda Online: http://www.publicagenda.org
Roper Center for Public Opinion Research: http://www.ropercenter.uconn.edu
RealClearPolitics—Polls: http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls
IMPORTANT TERMS
elite People who have a disproportionate amount of some valued
resource.
exit polls Polls based on interviews conducted on election day with
randomly selected voters.
gender gap Difference in political views between men and women.
norm A standard of right or proper conduct.
political elites Persons with a disproportionate share of political power.
political ideology A more or less consistent set of beliefs about what policies
government ought to pursue.
political socialization Process by which background traits influence one’s political
views.
poll A survey of public opinion.
public opinion How people think or feel about particular things.
random sample Method of selecting from a population in which each person
has an equal probability of being selected.
sampling error The difference between the results of random samples taken at
the same time.
Robert S. Erikson. American Public Opinion: Its Origin, Contents, and Impact. Boston: Allyn and
Bacon, 2000.
Alec M. Gallup and Frank Newport, eds. The Gallup Poll: Public Opinion 2005. Lanham, MD:
Rowman & Littlefield, 2007.
Peter M. Nardi. Doing Survey Research: A Guide to Quantitative Methods. 2nd ed. Boston:
Pearson/Allyn & Bacon, 2006.
Peter M. Nardi. Interpreting Data: A Guide to Understanding Research. Boston: Pearson/Allyn &
Bacon, 2006.
Dean Robbins and Rob Grabow, eds. What We Think: Young Voters Speak Out. Bothell, WA: Book
Publishers Network, 2004.
SUMMARY
To survey public opinion properly, a poll must meet several conditions. First, a random sample must be
drawn. Second, questions must be comprehensible, because people will make up answers when they do
not understand or actually have no opinion. Third, the questions must be asked fairly, without the use of
loaded language. Fourth, answer categories matter, as a comparison of Gallup and Harris questions on
presidential popularity demonstrates. In comparing polling results, it must also be remembered that
differences in outcomes could be the result of sampling error. In a close call, sampling error could be
quite significant (a three-point sampling-error range would mean a spread of 6 percent).
Ethical concerns are also associated with political polling. In particular, researchers have noted that
polls can interfere with the political process by creating a bandwagon effect. When the public hears that
a particular candidate is ahead, some uncommitted voters may decide to support the winning candidate,
thus solidifying his or her lead. Favorable poll ratings can also help a candidate attract potential donors,
or they can be used to convince competitors to drop out of the race prematurely. Polls that identify a
winner before the election is over could discourage people from voting, thus affecting not only the race
in question but other races reflected on the ballot.
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. Why would a “quick poll,” or “snap poll,” found on a political news Web site not yield accurate
results about public opinion?
2. Why is it important to take the sampling error into consideration when polls reveal a very close
race between two candidates?
3. Identify the potential dangers of allowing the media to use exit polling data to project a winner
before an election is over. Can the government place restrictions on the media to prevent this from
happening? Or must media journalists police themselves? (Note: This question can be used to
review the concept of “prior restraint” covered in Chapter 5.)
4. Discuss the advantages or disadvantages of having elected policymakers who frequently consult
public opinion data. Should lawmakers base their decisions on what the public thinks? Why or
why not?
Michael Bérubé. What’s Liberal About the Liberal Arts? Classroom Politics and Bias in Higher
Education. New York: Norton, 2006.
Timothy Brennan. Wars of Position: The Cultural Politics of Left and Right. New York: Columbia
University Press, 2006.
Bernard L. Brock et al. Making Sense of Political Ideology: The Power of Language in Democracy.
Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2005.
Carol A Horton. Race and the Making of American Liberalism. New York: Oxford University Press,
2005.
George Lakoff. Whose Freedom? The Battle over America’s Most Important Idea. New York: Farrar,
Straus, and Giroux, 2006.
George H. Nash. The Conservative Intellectual Movement in America Since 1945. Wilmington, DE:
Intercollegiate Studies Institute, 2006.
Ben Shapiro. Brainwashed: How Universities Indoctrinate America’s Youth. Nashville: WND Books,
2004.
Anthony Signorelli. Call to Liberty: Bridging the Divide Between Liberals and Conservatives.
Minneapolis: Scarletta Press, 2006.
Lucas Swaine. The Liberal Conscience: Politics and Principle in a World of Religious Pluralism. New
York: Columbia University Press, 2006.
SUMMARY
Cleavages in opinion in the United States are numerous and crosscutting. No single feature of an
individual’s life (such as social class) explains all (or even most) of that individual’s attitudes. Among
the important cleavages are:
1. Social Class. Although Americans do not typically identify each other according to “social class”
designations, the concept is often used to distinguish groups of people on the basis of occupation
or income. Political opinion and voting patterns are less affiliated with social class than in Europe,
but some distinctions can be made between those in the “upper” or “professional” class and those
in the “working class.” During the 1950s, those in the working class were more likely than
professionals to be Democrats and hold more liberal views on the economy and social welfare
legislation. Today, however, the political differences between the two groups have considerably
narrowed. Although differences of opinion still exist over economic policies, the current
distinction between liberals and conservatives has less to do with economic policy and more to do
with moral and cultural issues.
2. Race and Ethnicity. Although racial differences in political attitudes persist, there is some
evidence that those differences may be narrowing between African Americans and whites. An
increasing percentage of young African Americans are identifying themselves as Republicans, for
example. However, only time will tell whether this generational change will persist and
strengthen, or whether it will fade away.
3. Region. The South is the least liberal of the four regions, with the Midwest somewhat more
liberal, and the East and West most liberal. The South became—and long remained—part of the
Democratic coalition, because southerners were fairly liberal on economic issues. However, the
rise of racial and social issues (on which white southerners are quite conservative) ended the
region’s strong attachment to the Democratic Party. This has already changed the region’s
partisan representation in Congress, and it is likely to have significant implications for future
presidential elections.
A political ideology is a coherent and consistent set of beliefs about who ought to rule, what principles
rulers ought to obey, and what policies rulers ought to pursue. Whether people have a political ideology
can be measured in two ways: By seeing how frequently people speak in terms of broad political
categories—liberal or conservative—when they discuss politics, and by measuring the extent to which
we can predict a person’s view on one issue by knowing his or her view on another issue.
Most studies show relatively little ideological thinking among Americans. However, several
qualifications should be kept in mind. Ideological consistency is defined somewhat arbitrarily. It is
assumed, for example, that consistent liberalism involves favoring social welfare policies at home. It is
clear, however, that political activists are much more likely than the average citizen to think in
ideological terms and to take consistent positions on issues. Also, voters may think more ideologically
when one or both presidential candidates take sharply ideological positions (as in 1964, 1972, 1980, and
1984).
DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
1. How is religion related to political attitudes? The text suggests that the theologies of various
religions have an important effect. Can you think of other explanations for the correlation between
religion and political attitudes? For example, does it matter that Catholics historically tended to be
blue-collar workers in northern cities? Or that Jews were disproportionately intellectuals? To what
extent would economic self-interest explain why religious groups differ in the ways they do?
2. In the past, families were largely responsible for transmitting values—political, religious, or
cultural—from one generation to the next. However, because family structure has been weakened
by divorce and out-of-wedlock parenting, many of the traditional responsibilities associated with
child rearing, including political socialization, have fallen to surrogate parents, such as educators
and media broadcasters. How important is it that children are taught political values by parents or
other family members? Can children be properly socialized outside the family structure? Do you
think the lower than normal rate of participation seen among youth today is linked to the
weakened state of the family?
3. Explain the relationship between race and political attitude. To what extent are members of a minority
group free to have alternate opinions? Do you think that individual members are pressured to conform
to a particular political opinion so that the group can better affect change on the political system? What
happens to the power of a minority group if its opinions are divided from within?
4. New issues always have the potential to create new cleavages, though it may take some time
before pollsters and political scientists note the existence of these cleavages. For example, there
may be a substantial difference in opinion about gay marriage between homosexuals and
heterosexuals. Would we, as a nation, be better off to know about these emerging cleavages? Or
should we continue to focus only on the opinions of broad demographic categories of people,
ignoring these differences among them?
CLASS ASSIGNMENT
Divide the class into seven teams, each with four members. Have each team develop a public opinion
poll that relates to their school. Questions could include:
• Rating the quality of the food served at the cafeteria
• Rating campus security
• Rating the quality of parking
• Rating their favorite style of instruction; i.e. lecture, group projects, jigsawing.
The students are to use a standard Likert scale to collect the data.
Officers
Blake, Capt. G. S.
Clegg, Capt. A. V.
Griffiths, Capt. and Q.M. W. H.
Spafford, Capt. and Adjt. A. L.
Griffiths, A.-Capt. J. F. U.
Harvey, Lieut. F. W.
Holden, Lieut. N. V.
Leake, Lieut.
O’Neill, Lieut. S.
Smith, Lieut. J. H.
Aitken, 2nd Lieut. J. F.
Duckworth, 2nd Lieut. E.
Isherwood, 2nd Lieut. N.
Noxon, 2nd Lieut. F. C.
Taylor, 2nd Lieut. T. R.
Thompson, 2nd Lieut. G. C.
Wyatt, 2nd Lieut. J. L.
Other Ranks
Ackroyd, Pte. B.
Acton, Pte. J. W.
Adams, Cpl. G.
Adshead, Pte. L.
Allsopp, Cpl. A.
Anderson, Pte. A.
Appleton, Sgt. H.
Armstrong, Pte. J. W.
Armstrong, Pte. J. W.
Armstrong, Pte. W.
Ashton, Pte. E.
Ashurst, Pte. I.
Ashworth, Pte. F.
Ashworth, Pte. G.
Ashworth, Pte. J.
Ashworth, Pte. N.
Atkinson, Pte. F.
Atkinson, Pte. G.
Bailey, Cpl. W.
Ball, Cpl. F.
Bamford, Pte. W.
Barker, Pte. F. A.
Barlow, Pte. O.
Barnes, Pte. J. T.
Beaman, Pte. P.
Beere, Pte. R. E.
Benbow, Sgt. J. E.
Berry, Pte. F. W.
Birbeck, Pte. J.
Black, Pte. L.
Boardman, Cpl. J.
Boocock, Pte. F.
Boocock, Pte. T.
Boothman, Sgt. W.
Bowker, Pte. A.
Boyes, Pte. J.
Boyes, Pte. J.
Brereton, L.-Sgt. T.
Bridge, Pte. H.
Bridge, Pte. T.
Brierley, Pte. J. W.
Britton, L.-Cpl. F.
Broadbent, Sgt. S.
Brookes, Pte. J.
Brown, Pte. W.
Broxton, Pte. E.
Burgess, Sgt. J.
Burrows, Pte. J.
Butterworth, Pte. F.
Butterworth, Pte. W.
Callow, Pte. J. W.
Carpenter, Pte. W. H.
Carr, Sgt. P.
Chadwick, Pte. C. H.
Chadwick, Pte. H.
Chadwick, Pte. W.
Cheadle, Pte. A. P.
Child, Pte. J. W.
Clark, Pte. H.
Clarke, Pte. E.
Clarke, Pte. W.
Clegg, Pte. A.
Cockerill, Pte. W.
Connolley, Pte. F.
Connolly, Pte. J.
Conoley, Pte. T.
Consterdine, Pte. F.
Cook, Pte. C.
Cook, L.-Sgt. R.
Copeland, Pte. G.
Cotton, Pte. E.
Crossley, A.-Sgt. G.
Crossley, Pte. N.
Crosswell, Pte. H.
Crowther, Pte. H.
Cryer, Pte. E.
Cryer, Cpl. J.
Curran, Pte. P.
Daniels, C.Sgt.-Maj. S.
Davies, Pte. C.
Dawson, Pte. W.
Dean, Pte. A.
Dean, Sgt. J.
Dearden, Pte. E.
Dix, Pte. C. H.
Donegani, Pte. T.
Doswell, Pte. H.
Dougherty, Pte. J.
Drouthwaite, Pte. W.
Emerson, Pte. W.
English, Pte. P.
Entwistle, Pte. H.
Etcalfe, Pte. C.
Evans, Pte. G. E.
Farnworth, Pte. E. A.
Farrar, Pte. J. W.
Farrar, Pte. W.
Fielder, Pte. F.
Firth, Pte. F.
Firth, Pte. F.
Fitton, Pte. A.
Fitton, Pte. J. A.
Fitton, Cpl. W.
Fitton, Sgt. W.
Fores, Pte. A.
Foulds, Pte. W.
Foulger, Pte. H.
Foxall, Pte. J.
Foxhall, Pte. J.
Freestone, Pte. J. W.
Fretwell, Pte. G. H.
Fretwell, Pte. J.
Gallagher, Pte. J. T.
Gannon, Pte. T.
Garlick, Pte. H.
Garlick, Pte. H.
Geldard, A.-Cpl. G.