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Edwards, Wattenberg, and Lineberry

Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy


Fourteenth Edition

Chapter 6

Public Opinion and Political


Action

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Introduction
Public Opinion

The distribution of the populations 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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The American People


The Immigrant Society

United States is a nation of immigrants.


Three waves of immigration:

Northwestern Europeans (prior to late 19th


Century)
Southern and eastern Europeans (late 19th and
early 20th centuries)
Hispanics and Asians (late 20th century)

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

The American People

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

How Americans Learn About


Politics: Political
Socialization
Political Socialization:

the process through which and individual


acquires [their] particular political
orientation
Orientation grows firmer with age

The Process of Political


Socialization

The Family: Political leanings of children


often mirror their parents leanings
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

How Americans Learn About


Politics: Political
Socialization

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

How American Learn About


Politics: Political
Socialization
Political Learning Over a Lifetime

Aging increases political participation and strength


of party attachment.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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

Question wording may affect survey results


Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Measuring Public Opinion


and Political Information
The Role of Polls in American
Democracy

Polls may distort election process


Exit Polls: used by the media to predict
election day winners
May discourage people from voting
2000 presidential election in Florida

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Measuring Public Opinion


and Political Information
What Polls Reveal About Americans
Political Information

Americans dont 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.

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Measuring Public Opinion


and Political Information

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

Measuring Public Opinion


and Political Information

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

What Americans Value:


Political Ideologies

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

What Americans Value:


Political Ideologies
Do People Think in
Ideological Terms?

Ideologues: think in
ideological terms
Group Benefits voters:
view politics through party
or group label
Nature of the Times:
view of politics based on
whether times are good
or bad
No issue content: vote
routinely for party or
personality
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

How Americans
Participate
in
Politics
Class, Inequality, and Participation

Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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.
Copyright 2009 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman.

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