Public opinion summary

Chapter 6

Public Opinion and Political Socialization

Chapter Summary

Public opinion clearly plays an important role in our political system. President George W. Bush clearly demonstrates this. While he has enjoyed widespread support for his war on terrorism, the public has expressed deep skepticism about his war in Iraq. Public opinion also derailed Bush’s plan to overhaul Social Security. Two other presidents embody just how powerful public opinion can be. Opposition to the war in Vietnam was a factor in 1968 when President Lyndon Johnson declined to run for reelection. Public opinion on the scandal surrounding the 1972 Watergate break-in gave Congress strong support to initiate impeachment proceeding against President Nixon.

Defining Public Opinion

Public opinion is defined as the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of adults. Public opinion is made known in a democracy by voting and responding to polls, as well as participating in protests and lobbying by interest groups. There are very few issues on which most Americans agree. When a large proportion of the public does appear to hold the same view on an issue, a consensus exists. If opinion is polarized between two quite different positions, divisive opinion exists. See Figure 6-1 and 6-2 for examples of these concepts.

How Public Opinion Is Formed: Political Socialization

The process by which individuals acquire political beliefs and opinions is called political socialization. The most important influence in this process is the family. Children have a strong need for parental approval and are very receptive to the parent’s opinions. The clearest family influence is political party identification. Schools are also an important influence. Education seems to influence the level of activity in the political process. The more education a person receives the higher the level of political activity. Friendships and associations in peer groups can influence political attitudes. At a point at which the media permeates almost every aspect of American life, it is hardly surprising that the media has a major influence on public opinion. When events produce a long-term political impact, it is said that a generational effect results. For example, voters who grew up in the 1930s during the Great Depression were likely to become Democrats. It will be interesting to see whether 9/11 produces a generational effect. Some individuals, known as opinion leaders, have the ability to influence others because of position, expertise, or personality. Finally, the election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 produced a period of economic prosperity, which led many young people to identify with the Republican Party.

Political Preferences and Voting Behavior

The factors that influence voting decisions include socioeconomic and demographic factors such as education, income and socioeconomic status, religion, ethnic background, gender, age, and geographic region. Those with only a high school education are likely to identify with Republicans, those with college degrees may go either Democratic or Republican, while those with postgraduate education are likely to identify themselves as Democrats. Those with low incomes are likely to support a governmental role in the economy while those with high incomes tend to favor a more limited governmental role. At the same time, lower income Americans tend to be more culturally conservative while those with high incomes are likely to endorse cultural liberalism. While the conventional wisdom holds that those with low incomes vote Democratic and those with higher incomes vote Republican, there is evidence that professionals and the extremely wealthy are leaning toward the Democratic Party.

Religion is a complex factor to define as an influence. However, it can be said that those who define themselves as fundamentalists or evangelicals and those who attend church services frequently are likely to vote Republican. African Americans tend to support Democratic candidates. The Hispanic community tends to be somewhat divided, with many supporting the Democrats but Cuban-Americans supporting Republicans. The election of Ronald Reagan in 1980 evidenced a gender gap, in which women were more likely to vote for Democrats for president. This gap continues into the 2000s. Geography also plays a role. Those in the South, the Great Plains and the Rocky Mountains tend to favor Republicans while those on the West Coast and the Northeast favor Democrats. Election-specific factors include party identification, the image or perception of the candidate, and issues, particularly economic issues.

Measuring Public Opinion

One of the most common means of gathering and measuring public opinion is through the use of opinion polls. In the 1800s, newspapers and magazines used face-to-face straw polls to attract readers. In the twentieth century, the Literary Digest developed modern techniques by mailing questionnaires to subscribers. In 1936 the magazine’s poll predicted that Alfred Landon would defeat Franklin Roosevelt for President. Landon won only two states, demonstrating with force that polls are only as effective as the population that is surveyed. The most important principle in poll taking is randomness. If drawn from a truly random sample of opinions, a poll should be relatively accurate. Gallup and Roper polls interview about 1,500 individuals to get within a margin of error of 3%. See Table 6-1 for the margins of error since 1936. Public opinion polls are snapshots of opinions at a specific time on a specific question. The timing of the poll, a sampling error of interviewing too few people, and the wording of the question can produce an inaccurate prediction of a political outcome.

Technology and Opinion Polls

During the 1970’s, telephone polling began to dominate over in-person polling. However the ubiquitous and intrusive nature of the telemarketing industry prompted many people to use call-screening technology, or to simply stop answering their phones, thus undermining the ability of telephone pollsters to reach their audience. The Internet has replaced the telephone as the latest polling technology, although many of these polls are unscientific and unreliable.

Public Opinion and the Political Process

Although Americans are divided into numerous ethnic, religious, and political groups, the American political culture binds us together with the core values of (1) liberty, equality, and property; (2) support for religion; and (3) community service and personal achievement. Another important aspect of public opinion is the trust that individuals express in the government and political institutions. Unfortunately, trust in political institutions reached an all time low in 1992. See Table 6-4. Public opinion about the confidence in various institutions in our society declined throughout the 1990s. The military and the church are the institutions that have the public’s highest levels of confidence. See Table 6-5. While the public may have little confidence in some government institutions, they still turn to government to solve major problems. See Table 6-6. While the exact influence of public opinion on government policy cannot be measured, it appears that politicians who ignore public opinion run a great risk of defeat in the next election.

Key Terms

agenda-setting
consensus
divisive opinion
gender gap
generational effect
media
opinion leader
opinion poll
peer group
political socialization
political trust
public opinion
sampling error
socioeconomic status

Other Resources

A number of valuable supplements are available to students using the Schmidt, Shelley, and Bardes text. The full list of the supplements is in the preface to this study guide. Ask your instructor how to obtain these resources. One supplement is highlighted here, the INFOTRAC Online Library.

INFOTRAC EXERCISES

Log on to http://www.infotrac-college.com.
Enter your Pass code.
You can access the article by typing the exact phrase below.

“Public opinion and campaign finance: reformers reality.”
The premise of this article is that while political elites might favor reform of campaign financing, the general public is not interested in that reform.

Study Questions
What is the role of public opinion in a representative democracy?
What evidence is given in the article that the public is not interested in campaign reform?
Do you agree with the article?

Practice Exam
[Answers appear at the end of this chapter.]

Fill-in-the-Blank Supply the missing word(s) or term(s) to complete the sentence.

The aggregate of individual attitudes and beliefs is ________________ ____________________.
When he encountered a public that had grown suspicious and unsupportive of his policies in Vietnam, President ________ chose not to run for reelection.
________________ _________________ is polarized between two quite different positions.
When a large proportion of the American public expresses the same view on an issue, we say that a __________________ exists.
The ________________ is the most important influence in political socialization.
The _________________ ______________________ is the term that describes the differences in issue orientation and voting behavior between men and women.
One of the most common ways of gathering public opinion is the_____________ __________.
Roper, Gallup, and Crossley developed modern polling techniques to predict the total voting population by using _____________ _____________ with small samples of selected voters.
The most important principle in sampling public opinion is __________________.

10. Political trust of government reached a three decade ____________ point in 2001.

True/False Circle the appropriate letter to indicate if the statement is true or false.
T             F              1.     Adverse public opinion undermined George W. Bush’s plan to reform Social Security.
T             F              2.     Children accept their parents’ political attitudes because of communication and receptivity.
T             F              3.     Peer groups play an important role in political socialization.
T             F              4.     Generational effects can result in long-lasting attachments to political parties.
T             F             5.     Quota sampling is a more accurate technique for public opinion than random sampling.
T             F              6.     During the 1960s and 1970s, political trust declined steeply.
T             F              7.     The government institution the public has the most confidence in today is the military.
T             F              8.     Election research suggests that policymakers are responsive to public opinion.
T             F              9.     Government decisions cannot be made by simply adding up individual desires.
T             F             10. Well-defined public opinion tends to restrain government officials from taking intolerable actions.

Multiple-Choice Circle the correct response.

The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of adults is referred to as

political opinion.
propaganda.
public opinion.
an ideology.
a special interest.

General agreement among the citizenry on an issue is called

propaganda.
public opinion.
consensus.
political rhetoric.
tactical agreement.

When public opinion is polarized between two quite different positions it is said to be

consensus.
divisive.
private.
in error.
converse.

The most important influence on political socialization is

peer group.
family.
political events.
education.
political leaders.

5. According to studies, which group is mostly likely to use media to form basic political attitudes?

the elderly
college graduates
high school students
women
middle-aged men

6. Political events like the Vietnam War tend to produce what are called

peer group influence.
social and economic influence.
opinion leader influence.
generational effects.
demographic influences.

Fundamentalist or evangelical Christians tend to support

Democrats.
Republicans.
Independents.
devout candidates.
no political parties at all.

8. The gender gap refers to the tendency of women to vote for

Ronald Reagan.
woman candidates.
Republican presidential candidates.
Democrat presidential candidates.
Independent candidates.

9. The Literary Digest polling activities was an example of

modern polling techniques.
the use of exit interviews.
a non-representative sample.
telephone interviews.
quota samples.

The most important principle in sampling is

a large sample.
picking an issue where consensus can be found.
randomness.
asking the right questions.
use of a computer.

Sampling error is the difference between the sample result and the

eligible voters.
likely voters.
true result.
biased result.
best result.

Push polls are

the most accurate opinion polls.
used by candidates to influence voters.
used by television reporters.
like quota sampling.
telephone polls.

The most important values in the American political system include

federalism, unity, and freedom.
support for the president, Congress, and the courts.
liberty, equality, and property.
the two-party system and respect for the Constitution.
truth and justice.

Political trust in the United States has

increased since the low point during the Vietnam War.
slowly increased during the 1990s.
slowly decreased to a low point in 2003.
remained very steady over the last 30 years.
dramatically increased after 9/11.

According to polls, the most trusted institution in the United States is

the church.
banks.
the U.S. Supreme Court.
television.
the military.

The Gallup Report of 2003 listed which of the following as the most important problems?

morals, family decline
economy, education
terrorism, economy
crime, violence
budget deficit

According to political scientists Page and Shapiro, the government responds to public opinion about

10 percent of the time.
30 percent of the time.
43 percent of the time.
two-thirds of the time.
75 percent of the time.

Although people do not have much confidence in government institutions, polls show that they

expect government to solve major problems.
expect nonprofits to solve major problems.
expect individuals to solve major problems by dropping out of society.
avoid thinking about problems.
expect state and local government to solve problems.

Which of the following statements about public opinion polls is correct?

Public opinion polls lead to direct policy change.
Public opinion polls do not identify issues important to the public.
Public opinion polls are not very important in the political process today.
Public opinion polls do identify issues important to the public.
Public opinion polls provide leaders with clear-cut policy decisions.

Which of the following statements about the effect of public opinion on the political process is correct?

Public opinion is almost the same as elections.
Public opinion may influence the President but not Congress.
Public opinion doesn’t really affect political campaigns.
Public opinion polls are rarely paid for by politicians.
Public opinion is most important in preventing totally objectionable policies.

Short Essay Questions Briefly address the major concepts raised by the following questions.

Define the qualities of public opinion.
Describe the key factors in conducting opinion polls.
Explain the most important influences in political socialization.
Discuss the most important values of the American political system and the trends of political trust in the last three decades.

Answers to the Practice Exam

Fill-in-the-Blank

public opinion
Johnson
Divisive opinion
consensus
family
gender gap
opinion poll
personal interviews
randomness

10. high

True/False

1. T 3. T 5. F 7. T 9. T
2. T 4. T 6. T 8. T 10. T

Multiple Choice

1.     c                              6.     d                              11. c                              16. c
2.     c                              7.     b                              12. b                              17. c
3.     b                            8.     d                              13. c                              18. a
4.     b                              9.     c                              14. e                              19. d
5.     c                              10. c                              15. e                              20. e

Short Essay Answers

An adequate short answer consists of several paragraphs that discuss the concepts addressed by the question. Always demonstrate your knowledge of the ideas by giving examples. The following represent major ideas that should be included in these short essays.

Define public opinion.
The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the adult population.
Consensus opinion is general agreement among the citizenry on an issue.
Divisive opinion is public opinion that is polarized between two quite different positions.
Explain the most important influences in political socialization.
Political socialization is the process by which individuals acquire political beliefs and attitudes.
The demographic factors of age, gender, location, and region of residence have an influence on the process we call political socialization.
The family is the most important influence and largely responsible for political party choice.
Schools are most likely to influence the understanding of issues and political activity.
Peer groups most strongly influence direct involvement in political activity.
Religion has some impact on political activity, but its influence is not clear.
Wealth and social-class influence a tolerance for differences and more voting activity.
Generational events, such as the great Depression, can influence opinion for decades.
Charismatic opinion leaders using the power of media can have a tremendous impact on opinion.
3. Describe the key factors in conducting opinion polls.
There are three key factors in conducting accurate public opinion polls.
Randomness is the most important factor. The sample to be interviewed must be representative of the whole population. One technique is to choose a random sample of telephone numbers. A quota sampling, which is not as accurate, is to select people who represent certain types of people. The major polls can interview about 1,500 people and predict elections within a margin of three percent, plus or minus.
Timing is a second factor. Polls continue to be conducted until the election day because a shift in opinion at the last minute can produce an unexpected outcome. The polls in the presidential election of 1980 between Carter and Reagan showed a very close contest. Reagan won easily, because of a shift in the undecided vote in the last week of the election.
The types of questions asked on the survey have a major impact on the results of the poll. If poorly worded or leading questions are asked, the result will be distorted.
4. Discuss the most important values of the American political system and the trend in political trust over the last three decades.
The core elements of the American political system include:
Liberty, equality, and property.
Support for religion.
Community service and personal achievement.
These generally-supported values provide an environment of support for the political system,

which helps the system survive a crisis such as scandal. The levels of political trust that citizens have in the system declined tremendously in the 1960s and 1970s and reached an all-time low in 1992. The events of 9/11 inspired a grater level of political trust. The military and the Supreme Court are the most trusted parts of the political system today.

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Author of the text: not indicated on the source document of the above text

Chapter 6
Public Opinion and Political Socialization: Shaping the People’s Voice

Chapter Outline

I.       Political Socialization: The Origins of Americans’ Opinions
A. Primary Socializing Agents: Family, School, and Church
B. Secondary Socializing Agents: Peers, Media, and Leaders
II.     Frames of Reference: How Americans Think Politically
A. Party Identification
B. Political Ideology
C. Group Orientations
1.   Religion
2.   Economic Class
3.   Region
4.   Race and Ethnicity
5.   Gender
6.   Generations and Age
7.   Crosscutting Groups
III.    The Measurement of Public Opinion
A. Public Opinion Polls
B. Problems with Polls
IV.    The Influence of Public Opinion on Policy
A. Limits on the Public’s Influence
B. Public Opinion and the Boundaries of Action
C. Leaders and Public Opinion

Learning Objectives

Having read the chapter, you should be able to do each of the following:

Describe the process of socialization and the types of agents that contribute to the political socialization of Americans.
Describe the frames of reference that influence how Americans think politically, and their relative contribution to political opinion.
Explain how partisan thinking influences opinions about issues and candidates.
In terms of group thinking, detail some of the major types of groups that can contribute to group thinking, and discuss how those groups can influence an individual’s political views.
Describe the different methods used to measure public opinion and discuss why some are more accurate than others.
Assess the degree to which American policymakers are responsive to public opinion, and comment on how this question relates to the issue of representation in American politics.

Chapter Summary

The process by which individuals acquire their political opinions is called political socialization. During childhood, the family, schools, and church are important sources of basic political attitudes, such as beliefs about the parties and the nature of the U.S. political and economic systems. Many of the basic orientations that Americans acquire during childhood remain with them in adulthood, but socialization is a continuing process. Adults’ opinions are affected mostly by peers, the new media, and political leaders. Events themselves also have a significant short-term influence on opinions.

The frames of reference that guide Americans’ opinions include political ideology, although most citizens do not have a strong and consistent ideological attachment. In addition, individuals develop opinions as a result of group orientations—notably, religion, economic class, occupation, region, race and ethnicity, gender, and age. Partisanship is a major source of political opinions; Republicans and Democrats differ in their voting behavior and views on many policy issues

Public opinion can be defined as those opinions held by ordinary citizens that they openly express. Public officials have many ways of assessing public opinion, such as the outcomes of elections, but they have increasingly come to rely on public opinion polls. There are many possible sources of error in polls, and surveys sometimes present a misleading portrayal of the public’s views. However, a properly conducted poll can be an accurate indication of what the public is thinking.

Public opinion has a significant influence on government but seldom determines exactly what government will do in a particular instance. Public opinion serves to constrain the policy choices of officials but also is subject to their efforts to mold and channel what the public is thinking. Evidence indicates that officials are particularly attentive to public opinion on highly visible and controversial issues of public policy.

Focus and Main Points

The focus of this chapter is on public opinion and its influences on the American political system. A major theme of the chapter is that public opinion is a powerful yet inexact force. The policies of the U.S. government cannot be understood apart from public opinion; at the same time, public opinion is not a precise determinant of public policies. The main points made in this chapter are these:

Public opinion consists of those views held by ordinary citizens that are openly expressed. Public officials have various means of gauging public opinion but increasingly use public opinion polls for this purpose.

The process by which individuals acquire their political opinions is called political socialization. This process begins during childhood, when, through family and school, Americans acquire many of their basic political values and beliefs. Socialization continues into adulthood, during which peers, political leaders, and the news media are among the major influences.

Americans’ political opinions are shaped by several frames of reference, including ideology, group attachments, and partisanship.

Public opinion has an important influence on government but ordinarily does not directly determine exactly what officials will do.

Major Concepts

public opinion
The politically relevant opinions held by ordinary citizens that they express openly.

political socialization
The learning process by which people acquire their political opinions, beliefs, and values.

agents of socialization
Those agents, such as the family and the media, that have a significant impact on citizens’ political socialization.

political culture
The characteristic and deep-seated beliefs of a particular people about government and politics.

party identification
The personal sense of loyalty that an individual may feel toward a particular political party.

ideology
A consistent pattern of opinion on particular issues that stems from a core belief or set of beliefs.

economic liberals
Those who believe government should do more to assist people who have difficulty meeting their economic needs on their own.

economic conservatives
Those who believe government tries to do too many things that should be left to private interests and economic markets.

cultural (social) liberals
Those who believe it is not government’s role to buttress traditional values at the expense of unconventional or new values.

cultural (social) conservatives
Those who believe government power should be used to uphold traditional values.

libertarians
Those who believe government tries to do too many things that should be left to firms and markets, and who oppose government as an instrument for upholding traditional values.

populists
Those who believe government should do more to assist people who have difficulty meeting their economic needs and who look to government to uphold traditional values.

public opinion poll
A device for measuring public opinion whereby a relatively small number of individuals (the sample) are interviewed for the purpose of estimating the opinions of a whole community (the population).

sample
In a public opinion poll, the relatively small number of individuals who are interviewed for the purpose of estimating the opinions of an entire population.

population
In a public opinion poll, the people (for example, the citizens of a nation) whose opinions are being estimated through interviews with a sample of these people.

sampling error
A measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll. The sampling error is mainly a function of sample size and is usually expressed in percentage terms.

Practice Exam
(Answers appear at the end of this chapter.)

Multiple Choice

1. Which of the following groups are most likely to oppose legalized abortion?
a.   Roman Catholics and mainline Protestants
b.   mainline Protestants and Jews
c.   fundamentalist Protestants and Jews
d.   Roman Catholics and Jews
e.   fundamentalist Protestants and Roman Catholics

2. “Crosscutting groups” refers to
a.   the tendency of polled individuals to respond against their true beliefs because of fear of being judged negatively.
b.   the section of a polling sample that must be disregarded because of “non-opinions.”
c.   the tendency of much of the young adult population to change partisan loyalties in response to major social or economic events.
d.   the tendency of independents to vote for members of both major parties.
e.   the condition in a pluralistic society in which each group includes individuals who also belong to other groups.

3. The accuracy of a poll is expressed in terms of ________, the degree to which the sample estimates might differ from what the population actually thinks.
a.   opinion error
b.   sampling error
c.   population error
d.   age cohort error
e.   probability error

4. The Gallup Organization has erred badly only once in predicting the outcomes of presidential elections, and that was in the ________ election.
a.   1936
b.   1940
c.   1948
d.   1972
e.   1984

5. What might be the chief problem with an opinion poll conducted on a downtown street at the noon hour?
a.   Polled individuals will feel a time pressure that will affect their responses.
b.   People polled in person tend to give less honest answers than when polled over the phone.
c.   Logistical difficulties will prevent the collection of a large-enough sample size.
d.   It will include a disproportionate number of business employees on their lunch break.
e.   It will include a disproportionate number of women and older adults.

6. ________ oppose governmental activism in both the economic and social realms.
a.   Populists
b.   Libertarians
c.   Conservatives
d.   Liberals
e.   None of these answers is correct.

7. In which of the following states would one expect to find the highest concentration of individuals that identify as Republicans?
a.   Massachusetts
b.   California
c.   Maine
d.   Michigan
e.   Louisiana

8. Which of the following statements is true?
a.   Republicans were more likely to oppose an increase of troops in Afghanistan.
b.   Republicans are more likely to oppose reductions on taxes than are Democrats.
c.   Democrats are more likely to oppose government redistribution of national income than are Republicans.
d.   Democrats are more likely to support pro-business initiatives than are Republicans.
e.   Republicans are more likely to oppose social welfare programs than are Democrats.

9. Fewer than ________ percent of Americans participate each year in a mass demonstration or write a letter to the editor.
a.   5
b.   10
c.   15
d.   25
e.   38

10. Which of the following is a practice that is almost uniquely American?
a.   the redistribution of national income by the government
b.   open support for the national military
c.   the flying of the national flag on private buildings and homes
d.   the strict separation of church and state
e.   the measuring of public opinion by national organizations

11. Which of the following is most likely to oppose major increases in health care spending by government and to support government-required prayer in the public schools?
a.   liberal
b.   populist
c.   libertarian
d.   conservative
e.   None of these answers is correct.

12. Which of the following statements is true?
a.   Economic class has more influence on public opinion in the United States than in Europe.
b.   Economic class has little to no effect on public opinion in Europe or in the United States.
c.   Racial progress has increased the regional divide in the United States.
d.   Region has intensified as a basis of political opinions in the United States.
e.   Economic class has less influence on public opinion in the United States than in Europe, and region has declined as a basis of political opinion in the U.S.

13. To assess public opinion, political observers today rely primarily on
a.   election returns.
b.   newspaper editorials.
c.   interest group activities.
d.   voter registration drives.
e.   polls.

14. Increasing refusal rates have raised questions about the future of
a.   street polling.
b.   the ability of public opinion polls to predict national election results.
c.   telephone polling.
d.   Internet polling.
e.   exit polling.

15. Most self-described independents
a.   tend to favor more government intervention in economic issues, but not social issues.
b.   tend to favor more government intervention in social issues, but not in economic issues.
c.   tend not to lean toward any major party.
d.   tend to vote for different parties in successive elections.
e.   have a partisan tendency.

16. Which of the following is NOT an agent of socialization?
a.   family
b.   interest groups
c.   school
d.   media
e.   All of these are agents of socialization.

17. Which of the following is a device for gauging public opinion?
a.   telephone polls
b.   public demonstrations
c.   letters to the editor
d.   election results
e.   All these answers are correct.

18. If a scientific poll with a 3 percent margin of error found two candidates separated by 1 percentage point,
a.   it would indicate that the sample size was taken incorrectly.
b.   it would be mathematically incorrect to claim that one of them is “leading.”
c.   it would indicate that the sample was not collected randomly.
d.   the candidate ahead by 1 percentage point could be labeled as “leading.”
e.   it would indicate that the poll’s margin of error was 5 percent.

19. Pollsters use ________ to randomly pick telephone numbers.
a.   telephone books
b.   computers
c.   satellites
d.   cellular phones
e.   None of these answers is correct.

20. Research indicates that many individuals tend to withhold opinions that are at odds with what secondary socializing agent?
a.   media
b.   leaders
c.   events
d.   peers
e.   None of these answers is correct.

True/False

1.   Rather than having one stable, uniform public opinion that public policymakers can tap for reinforcement, America is described as a nation of many publics.
a.   True
b.   False

2.   The larger the sample, the smaller the sampling error.
a.   True
b.   False

3.   Political socialization refers only to the learning that takes place during childhood years.
a.   True
b.   False

4.   More women favor affirmative action than men.
a.   True
b.   False

5.   “Party identification” refers to a person’s vote, Republican or Democrat, in the most recent election.
a.   True
b.   False

6.   Some scholars argue that most Americans do not have a true ideology.
a.   True
b.   False

7.   In a democracy, elections are the only reliable indicator of public opinion on issues.
a.   True
b.   False

8.   A person who professes beliefs in traditional social values and little government intervention in the economy is known as a conservative.
a.   True
b.   False

9.   Party loyalties can be altered by changes in social and economic conditions.
a.   True
b.   False

10. Public opinion in America tends to constrain rather than direct the policy choices of officials.
a. True
b. False

Essay

What are some of the problems with public opinion polling?
What are the characteristics of political socialization?
Explain how families affect political socialization.
Explain the ideological differences between contemporary liberals and conservatives.
What are crosscutting groups in public opinion?

Answers to the Practice Exam

Multiple Choice Answers

e 11. d
e 12. e
b 13. e
c 14. c
d 15. e
b 16. b
e 17. e
e 18. b
a 19. b
c 20. d

Multiple Choice Explanations

Fundamentalist Protestants and Roman Catholics are more likely to oppose legalized abortion than are so-called mainline Protestants and Jews, a split that partly reflects differing religious beliefs about whether human life begins at conception or later in the development of the fetus. Therefore, (e) is the correct answer.
In a pluralistic society such as the United States, groups tend to be “crosscutting”—that is, each group includes individuals who also belong to other groups, where they can encounter different people and opinions. Crosscutting groups encourage individuals to appreciate and understand political differences, which fosters political moderation. Thus, the answer is (e).
The correct answer is (b), and the larger the sample, the smaller the error.
The Gallup Organization has polled voters in every presidential election since 1936 (nineteen elections in all) and has erred badly only once: it stopped polling several weeks before the 1948 election and missed a late voter shift that carried Harry Truman to victory. Thus, the correct answer is (c).
Interviews conducted on a downtown street at the noon hour would include a disproportionate number of business employees on their lunch break, leaving other groups underrepresented. Thus, the answer is (d).
Populists favor activist government in both the economic and social realms. Conservatives oppose activist government in the economic realm, but support it in the social realm. Liberals endorse activist government in the economic realm, but oppose it in the social realm. Libertarians (b) oppose government intervention in both areas.
The “red states” (Republican bastions) are clustered in the South, Great Plains, and Rocky Mountains. The “blue states” (Democratic bastions) are found mostly in the Northeast, the northern Midwest, and the West Coast. Thus, because it is the only answer option in a Republican area, Louisiana (e) is the correct answer.
Republicans and Democrats differ significantly in their opinions on many policy issues. While Democrats generally favor social welfare and little government intervention in peoples’ private lives, Republicans tend to support pro-business, low-tax platforms, and the use of government for the preservation of traditional values. Republicans were also much more likely than Democrats to support the increase in troops for Afghanistan. Thus, the correct answer is (e).
A small percentage of Americans (less than five percent) (a) participate each year in a mass demonstration or write a letter to the editor of a newspaper or organization.
The flying of the national flag on private buildings and homes is a uniquely American institution; in other countries the flag is generally hung only on public buildings. Thus (c) is the correct answer.
Conservatives (d) generally do not favor more government intervention in the economy, but do favor an active government in preserving traditional moral values.
With regard to region, racial progress has diminished the regional divide, as has the relocation to the South of millions of Americans from the Northeast and Midwest. Economic class has less influence on political opinion in the United States than in Europe. Thus (e) is the correct response.
Although each of the options is a useful tool for gauging public opinion, public opinion polls (e) are the most reliable.
Some Americans do not have phones, and many of those who are called refuse to participate. Such factors reduce the accuracy of telephone polling. Indeed, pollsters are concerned about the future of telephone polling. The refusal rate has increased sharply in recent decades; thus the correct answer is (c).
Of the one-third who prefer the label “Independent,” most say they lean toward one party or the other and usually vote for that party’s candidates. In short, most self-described independents have a partisan tendency, so (e) is the correct answer.
Interest groups (b) are not considered a traditional agent of socialization.
Though not all scientific methods, all these devices or actions (e) are ways in which to assess public opinion.
If the poll had found the candidates separated by 1 percentage point, it would be mathematically incorrect to claim that one of them is “leading.” The 1-point difference is smaller than the poll’s 3-point sampling error; the correct answer is (b).
Pollsters use computer-assisted telephone interviewing (b).
In The Spiral of Silence, Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann shows that individuals tend to withhold opinions that are at odds with those of the people around them. If nearly everyone in a group favors legalizing same-sex marriage, for example, a person who believes otherwise is likely to remain silent. Thus, the correct answer is (d).

True/False Answers

1.   a          6.   a
2.   a          7.   b
3.   b          8.   a
4.   a          9.   a
5.   b          10. a

Essay Answers
Mathematical estimations of poll accuracy require a probability sample. This is a sample in which each individual in the population has a known probability of being selected at random for inclusion. Pollsters can only approximate this ideal; they may use computers to randomly pick telephone numbers, which are then dialed by interviewers to reach respondents. Pollsters then are challenged once they do reach respondents—they often get a high refusal rate. Polls are also affected by the wording of the questions and whether they ask about unfamiliar topics. Yet despite these sources of error, public opinion polls are the most relied-upon method of measuring public opinion.
The process of political socialization has two major characteristics. First, most people’s political outlook is substantially influenced by their early childhood learning, even though socialization is a lifelong process. Second, political socialization is cumulative in nature. Earlier learning experiences affect later learning. This does not mean that people’s beliefs are completely fixed, for changes in perspectives are possible. Yet widespread political change is rare. When it does happen, it is usually the result of large social or economic changes, and tends to be concentrated in younger adults.
The family is a very powerful agent of socialization because it has a near-monopoly, particularly during childhood. Children will absorb many of the values and beliefs of their parents. Political party affiliation is significantly influenced by parents, i.e. many adults identify with the Democrats or Republicans because their parents did as well. This party loyalty is established during childhood; the substantive reasons for the loyalty are developed later in life. The family also contributes to basic orientations that, while not directly political, have political significance. American children, for example, often have a voice in family decisions, contributing to a sense that people should be treated equally.
Contemporary American liberalism and conservatism both demonstrate the complicated nature of political ideology in the United States. Many liberals and conservatives do not maintain a consistent stand on the question of how active the government should be in private and community affairs. Social conservatives, for instance, believe that the government should actively uphold traditional mores, while social liberals are suspicious of, or hostile toward, such activities. On the other hand, economic conservatives prefer a limited role for government in economic affairs, while economic liberals favor government intervention in the form of welfare programs. Libertarians tend to oppose government intervention in either sphere, while populists prefer government intervention in both people’s economic lives and their private social lives.
Because America is a pluralistic society, groups tend to be “crosscutting.” This means that each group includes individuals who also belong to many other groups. Crosscutting groups tend to produce moderate opinions. When people are confronted with conflicting perspectives, many will seek a balanced opinion. In America, by way of example, Catholics and Protestants coexist peacefully, largely because each group includes people of varying income, education, region, and a host of other variables. In other societies (e.g., Northern Ireland), group loyalties are reinforcing rather than crosscutting, so opinions can be intensified by group identifications, and this can result in a significant amount of conflict.

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Public opinion summary

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Public opinion summary

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