Chapter 6
Public Opinion,Political
Socialization and the Media
Defining Public Opinion
? Public Opinion – the aggregate of
individual attitudes or beliefs shared by
some portion of the adult population
– Consensus opinions – when there is general
agreement among the citizenry on an issue
– Divisive opinions – when public opinion is
polarized between two quite different positions
Figure 6-1,Consensus Opinion
N o Opi ni o n
2%
D i s a ppro v e
10%
A ppro v e
88%
QUESTION,Do you
approve or disapprove
of the way George W,
Bush handled his job as
president in the first few
weeks after the
September 11 terrorist
attacks?
SOURCE,The Gallup Poll,January 23-25,2003
Figure 6-2,Divisive Opinion
N o Opi ni o n
3%
D i s a ppro v e
44%
A ppro v e
53%
QUESTION,Do
you approve or
disapprove of the
way George W,Bush
has handled his job
as president over the
past few weeks?
SOURCE,The Gallup Poll,January 23-25,2003
Aspects of Polling Techniques
? simple random sample – each member of the
population has an equal chance of being selected
for the sample
? quota sample – a less accurate technique wherein
polling organizations predetermine the
characteristics of the needed sample,and then find
respondents with those characteristics to fill the
slots
? sampling error – the difference between a
sample’s results and the result if the entire
population had been interviewed
Political Socialization
? Defined as the process by which individuals
acquire political beliefs and attitudes
? How are Americans socialized?
– Family
– Education
– Peers
– Religion
– Economic Status
– Political Events
– Opinion Leaders
– Media
– Demographics
– Gender Gap
Party Identification from
Parent to Child
Democrat Independent Republican
Both Parents
Democrats 59% 29% 13%
Both Parents
Independents 17% 67% 16%
Both Parents
Republicans 12% 29% 59%
Children generally follow in their parents’ footsteps
when it comes to political party identification,
SOURCE,1992 National Election Study Center for Political Studies,University of Michigan
Table 6-1,Trends in Political Trust
QUESTION,How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in
Washington to do what is right – just about always,most of the time,or only some of
the time?
1968
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2001
2002
%
saying,
Always/
Most of
the time
Some of
the time
61
36
53
45
36
61
33
63
29
67
25
73
32
64
46
51
42
55
44
54
27
73
23
75
20
79
25
71
34
66
40
59
64
35
46
52
SOURCES,New York Times/CBS News Surveys; the University of Michigan Survey Research Center,
National Election Studies; the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press; Council for Excellence in
Government; a Washington Post poll,September 25-27,2001; and a Gallup poll,September 2-4,2002,
Table 6-2,Confidence in Institutions Trend
QUESTION,I am going to read a list of institutions in American society,Would you please
tell me how much confidence you,yourself,have in each one – a great deal,quite a lot,some,
or very little?
Percentage Saying,Great Deal” or,Quite a Lot” 1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2002
2003
Military 57 54 50 53 61 61 63 69 67 64 60 68 66 79 82
Church or organized
religion
65 65 64 62 66 61 52 56 53 57 56 58 60 45 50
Banks and banking na 60 46 51 51 51 42 30 38 43 41 43 44 47 50
U.S,Supreme Court 46 45 46 42 56 52 46 39 43 44 50 49 50 50 47
Public schools 54 53 42 39 48 50 43 35 39 40 40 36 38 38 40
Television na 38 25 25 29 28 na 24 21 33 34 34 34 35 35
Newspapers na 51 35 38 35 31 na 32 31 30 35 33 36 35 33
Congress 40 34 29 28 39 na 32 18 19 21 22 26 26 29 29
Organized labor 39 36 28 26 28 26 na 22 26 26 23 28 26 26 28
Big business 33 32 20 28 31 na na 22 23 21 28 30 28 20 22
na = not asked SOURCE,Gallup poll,June 9-10,2003,
The Media’ Functions in the
United States
? entertainment
? reporting the news
? identifying public problems
? setting the public agenda
? socializing new generations
? providing a political forum
? making profits
The Media and Political
Campaigns
? advertising
? the management of news coverage (spin)
? presidential debates
? the media’s impact on voters
Political Ad Spending on
Broadcast TV,1992-2000
$0
$150
$300
$450
$600
$750
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
Mi
llion
s of
Doll
ars
SOURCE,Television Bureau of Advertising,as presented in Lorraine Woellert and Tom Lowry,“A Political
Nightmare,Not Enough Airtime,” Business Week,November 23,2000,p,111,
Audiences Reached by Leading Media
0
5
10
15
20
M i l l i o n s
N e w s p a p e r s - a v e r a g e d a i l y c i r c u l a t i o n,1 9 9 9
M a g a z i n e s - a v e r a g e w e e k l y c i r c u l a t i o n,1 9 9 9
T e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k s - a v e r a g e n u m b e r o f v i e w e r s o f n e t w o r k e v e n i n g n e w s p r o g r a m s,2 0 0 0
Hot Links to Selected Internet
Resources,
? Book’s Companion Site,
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbrie
f2004
? Wadsworth’s Political Science Site,
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com
? Yale University Library Public Opinion Subject
Guide,http://library.yale.edu/socsci/opinion
? National Election Studies,
http://www.umich.edu/~nes
? The Gallup Organization,http://www.gallup.com
? U-Wire.com,http://www.uwire.com
Public Opinion,Political
Socialization and the Media
Defining Public Opinion
? Public Opinion – the aggregate of
individual attitudes or beliefs shared by
some portion of the adult population
– Consensus opinions – when there is general
agreement among the citizenry on an issue
– Divisive opinions – when public opinion is
polarized between two quite different positions
Figure 6-1,Consensus Opinion
N o Opi ni o n
2%
D i s a ppro v e
10%
A ppro v e
88%
QUESTION,Do you
approve or disapprove
of the way George W,
Bush handled his job as
president in the first few
weeks after the
September 11 terrorist
attacks?
SOURCE,The Gallup Poll,January 23-25,2003
Figure 6-2,Divisive Opinion
N o Opi ni o n
3%
D i s a ppro v e
44%
A ppro v e
53%
QUESTION,Do
you approve or
disapprove of the
way George W,Bush
has handled his job
as president over the
past few weeks?
SOURCE,The Gallup Poll,January 23-25,2003
Aspects of Polling Techniques
? simple random sample – each member of the
population has an equal chance of being selected
for the sample
? quota sample – a less accurate technique wherein
polling organizations predetermine the
characteristics of the needed sample,and then find
respondents with those characteristics to fill the
slots
? sampling error – the difference between a
sample’s results and the result if the entire
population had been interviewed
Political Socialization
? Defined as the process by which individuals
acquire political beliefs and attitudes
? How are Americans socialized?
– Family
– Education
– Peers
– Religion
– Economic Status
– Political Events
– Opinion Leaders
– Media
– Demographics
– Gender Gap
Party Identification from
Parent to Child
Democrat Independent Republican
Both Parents
Democrats 59% 29% 13%
Both Parents
Independents 17% 67% 16%
Both Parents
Republicans 12% 29% 59%
Children generally follow in their parents’ footsteps
when it comes to political party identification,
SOURCE,1992 National Election Study Center for Political Studies,University of Michigan
Table 6-1,Trends in Political Trust
QUESTION,How much of the time do you think you can trust the government in
Washington to do what is right – just about always,most of the time,or only some of
the time?
1968
1972
1974
1976
1978
1980
1982
1984
1986
1988
1990
1992
1994
1996
1998
2000
2001
2002
%
saying,
Always/
Most of
the time
Some of
the time
61
36
53
45
36
61
33
63
29
67
25
73
32
64
46
51
42
55
44
54
27
73
23
75
20
79
25
71
34
66
40
59
64
35
46
52
SOURCES,New York Times/CBS News Surveys; the University of Michigan Survey Research Center,
National Election Studies; the Pew Research Center for the People and the Press; Council for Excellence in
Government; a Washington Post poll,September 25-27,2001; and a Gallup poll,September 2-4,2002,
Table 6-2,Confidence in Institutions Trend
QUESTION,I am going to read a list of institutions in American society,Would you please
tell me how much confidence you,yourself,have in each one – a great deal,quite a lot,some,
or very little?
Percentage Saying,Great Deal” or,Quite a Lot” 1977
1979
1981
1983
1985
1987
1989
1991
1993
1995
1997
1999
2001
2002
2003
Military 57 54 50 53 61 61 63 69 67 64 60 68 66 79 82
Church or organized
religion
65 65 64 62 66 61 52 56 53 57 56 58 60 45 50
Banks and banking na 60 46 51 51 51 42 30 38 43 41 43 44 47 50
U.S,Supreme Court 46 45 46 42 56 52 46 39 43 44 50 49 50 50 47
Public schools 54 53 42 39 48 50 43 35 39 40 40 36 38 38 40
Television na 38 25 25 29 28 na 24 21 33 34 34 34 35 35
Newspapers na 51 35 38 35 31 na 32 31 30 35 33 36 35 33
Congress 40 34 29 28 39 na 32 18 19 21 22 26 26 29 29
Organized labor 39 36 28 26 28 26 na 22 26 26 23 28 26 26 28
Big business 33 32 20 28 31 na na 22 23 21 28 30 28 20 22
na = not asked SOURCE,Gallup poll,June 9-10,2003,
The Media’ Functions in the
United States
? entertainment
? reporting the news
? identifying public problems
? setting the public agenda
? socializing new generations
? providing a political forum
? making profits
The Media and Political
Campaigns
? advertising
? the management of news coverage (spin)
? presidential debates
? the media’s impact on voters
Political Ad Spending on
Broadcast TV,1992-2000
$0
$150
$300
$450
$600
$750
1992 1994 1996 1998 2000
Mi
llion
s of
Doll
ars
SOURCE,Television Bureau of Advertising,as presented in Lorraine Woellert and Tom Lowry,“A Political
Nightmare,Not Enough Airtime,” Business Week,November 23,2000,p,111,
Audiences Reached by Leading Media
0
5
10
15
20
M i l l i o n s
N e w s p a p e r s - a v e r a g e d a i l y c i r c u l a t i o n,1 9 9 9
M a g a z i n e s - a v e r a g e w e e k l y c i r c u l a t i o n,1 9 9 9
T e l e v i s i o n n e t w o r k s - a v e r a g e n u m b e r o f v i e w e r s o f n e t w o r k e v e n i n g n e w s p r o g r a m s,2 0 0 0
Hot Links to Selected Internet
Resources,
? Book’s Companion Site,
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com/schmidtbrie
f2004
? Wadsworth’s Political Science Site,
http://politicalscience.wadsworth.com
? Yale University Library Public Opinion Subject
Guide,http://library.yale.edu/socsci/opinion
? National Election Studies,
http://www.umich.edu/~nes
? The Gallup Organization,http://www.gallup.com
? U-Wire.com,http://www.uwire.com
