public opinion, govt

defining public opinion

• Public opinion 

  • Citizens’ attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events

    • Attitude: Preferences about particular issues, persons, or events

• Values (beliefs)

  • Basic principles that shape people’s opinions about issues and events

What is..

• Citizens’ attitudes about political issues,
  leaders, institutions, and events

  • Attitude: Preferences about particular issues, persons, or events

public opinion

What is …

• Basic principles that shape people’s opinions about issues and events

values (beliefs)

What are Preferences about particular issues, persons, or events

attitude

Question: Is public opinion static?

No. public opinion can change over time

Peoples opinions can change depending on the situation

Question: Is political ideology a value or an opinion?

Politcal ideology is closer to a value system than to a single opinion

Value: one principle or belied about what is important or desirable

Value system: a broader pattern that combines and prioritizes several values 

What is one principle or belief about what is important or desirable

value

What is a a broader pattern that combines and prioritizes several values 

value system

What is a

Set of beliefs and underlying orientations through which people understand and interpret politics

political ideology

political ideology forms a general philosophy about how…

society should work and how power should be used

Question: what are the two most common political ideologies 

 in the us?

liberal and conservative

What is your political ideology, measure:

• Single item

  • Measures ideological intensity or self placement on a scale

  • The middle generally represents a moderate position

  • Ideological identification is self-reported, and people may use different criteria when describing themselves as liberal, moderate or conservative

• Multi item

  • Measures ideological consistency across multiple issues

  • A score near the middle indicates a mix of liberal and conservating positions 

  • Each issue-bases item requires a choice between two contrasting statements and your actual view may fall between the two choices or may not be fully represented either 

(politcal ideology) Single item measures what …

• Measures ideological intensity or self placement on a scale

• The middle generally represents a moderate position

• Ideological identification is self-reported, and people may use different criteria when describing themselves as liberal, moderate or conservative

(politcal ideology) multi item measures what

• Measures ideological consistency across multiple issues

• A score near the middle indicates a mix of liberal and conservating positions 

• Each issue-bases item requires a choice between two contrasting statements and your actual view may fall between the two choices or may not be fully represented either 

Question:

• Are political ideologies consistent across all issues?

• Not necessarily, people may hold liberal views on some issues and conservative views on others

Contemporary US political ideology:

• Liberalism

  • Govenment supports a more active role for government in the economy and the expansion of social programs such as education, health care, and social welfare, in order to promote equal opportunity and reduce inequality. On social issues, it generally favors infividual choice and the expansion of civil rights

• Conservatism

  • Generally supports a more limited role for government in the economy, lower taxes and domestic spending, and greater reliance on individual responsibility and private markets. On social issues, it generally favors tradtional values and institutions, along with a strong national defesne 

What is liberalism (contemporary us political ideology)

• Govenment supports a more active role for government in the economy and the expansion of social programs such as education, health care, and social welfare, in order to promote equal opportunity and reduce inequality. On social issues, it generally favors infividual choice and the expansion of civil rights

What is conservatism? (contemporary us political ideology)

• Generally supports a more limited role for government in the economy, lower taxes and domestic spending, and greater reliance on individual responsibility and private markets. On social issues, it generally favors tradtional values and institutions, along with a strong national defesne 

Political ideology classic and contemporary

• Classic liberalism:

  • Prioritizes individual liberty, equality, under the law, private property, and free market, with government limited to protecting rights and based on consent of the goverened 

• Classic conservatism:

  • Values inherited institutions, customs, and social order as sources of accumulated wisdom, favors gradual change

• Contemporary liberalism:

  • Keeps the commitment to individual rights and equality, but holds that government should act though regulation, social programs, and civil rights protections to secure opportunity and reduce inequality

• Contemporary conservatives:

  • Combines the traditional emphasis on family, religion, and established norms with free markets, limited government, and strong national defense 

What political ideology is being described here?

• Prioritizes individual liberty, equality, under the law, private property, and free market, with government limited to protecting rights and based on consent of the goverened 

classic liberalism

What political ideology is being described here?

• Values inherited institutions, customs, and social order as sources of accumulated wisdom, favors gradual change

Classic conservatism

What political ideology is being described here?

• Keeps the commitment to individual rights and equality, but holds that government should act though regulation, social programs, and civil rights protections to secure opportunity and reduce inequality

Contemporary liberalism

What political ideology is being described here?

• Combines the traditional emphasis on family, religion, and established norms with free markets, limited government, and strong national defense 

Contemporary conservatives

Changes of political ideology:

• Reactions against absolute monarchy and hereditary privilege

• 17th and 18th century: Classical liberalism 

  • Prioritizes individual liberty, equality under the law, private property, and free markets limited government (social basis: middle/commerical classes)

• Rection against the french revolutions radical break with the past 

• 1780s: Classical consevratism:

  • Values inherited institutions, customs, and social order, favors gradual change (social basis: aristocracy and tradirtional elites

• 1830s socialism

• Industrialization created monopolies, urban poverty, and private power that limited government could not address

  • “Progressives” call for regulation and reform

• 1930s: Contemporary liberalism

  • The great depression and new deal intervention seem necessary for real freedom 

    • Those who kept the classical view adopt “libertatian”

• 1950s-1980s: Contemporary conservatism

  • Opposition to the new deal and communism united traditionalism and free markets 

What change in political ideology took place in the 17th-18th century

• Reactions against absolute monarchy and hereditary privilege

• Classical liberalism 

  • Prioritizes individual liberty, equality under the law, private property, and free markets limited government (social basis: middle/commerical classes)

What change in political ideology took place in the 1780s

• Rection against the french revolutions radical break with the past 

• 1780s: Classical consevratism:

  • Values inherited institutions, customs, and social order, favors gradual change (social basis: aristocracy and tradirtional elites

What change in political ideology took place in 1830s

• 1830s socialism

• Industrialization created monopolies, urban poverty, and private power that limited government could not address

  • “Progressives” call for regulation and reform

What created monopolies, urban poverty, and private power that limited government could not address

• “Progressives” call for regulation and reform

Industrialization

What change in political ideology took place in 1930s

• Contemporary liberalism

  • The great depression and new deal intervention seem necessary for real freedom 

    • Those who kept the classical view adopt “libertatian”

What change took place in political ideology in 1950s-1980s:

Contemporary conservatism

• Opposition to the new deal and communism united traditionalism and free markets 

Role of government in teh economy by political ideology(its a specturm going from who favors max gov role the most to who favors minimum government role):

• Maximum government role

  • Democratic socialism

    • Key parts of the economy should be publicly or worker owned

• Progressisivism 

  • Capitalism needs structural reform to reduce inequality

• Liberalism

  • Markets work but need regulation and a safety net to ensure opportunity

• Conservatism

  • Markets should lead, with lower taxes, less regulation, and a limited safety net

• Minimum government role

  • Liberatianism

    • Government should do  little beyond protecting rights, property, and contracts

What political ideology believes in maximum gov role and Key parts of the economy should be publicly or worker owned

democratic socialism

What political ideology believes Capitalism needs structural reform to reduce inequality

progressivism

What political ideology belives Markets work but need regulation and a safety net to ensure opportunity

liberalism

What political ideology belives Markets should lead, with lower taxes, less regulation, and a limited safety net

conservativism

What political ideology belives in Minimum government role and Government should do  little beyond protecting rights, property, and contracts

libertarianism

question: Are liberalism and conservatism understood the same way in different countries?

No. The meanings of liberalism and conservatism vary across countries because they reflect different political histories, institutions, party systems, and social conflicts.

How public opinion develops:

• Political socialization

  • The learning process by which people develop their political values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors 

    • Family, school(education), religion, peer groups, socieconomic hgroups, events, the media, and elected officials all play a role 

      • They are called agents of socialization

What is the ….

The learning process by which people develop their political values, beliefs, attitudes, and behaviors 

Political socialization

What are agents of socialization

Family, school(education), religion, peer groups, socieconomic hgroups, events, the media, and elected officials all play a role (in political socialization)

Opinion formation and political knowledge:

• “The nature and origins of mass opinion” (zaller, 1992) suggests steps a person goes through between hearing political messages and answering a surver (RAS model)

  • Receive 

    • People first receive political infomation from politicans, news media partisan interest groups, and other sources

    • Their Political knowledge:

      • More likely to encounter and understand political messges 

  • Accept

    • People decide whether to accept or resist the message based partly on their existing political predispostions- such as ideology, party, identification, and values

    • Their political knowledge: Be able to recognize wheter a message is consistent with or contrary to their existing predispostions

  • Sample

    • When someone is asked for an opinion, they “sample” from the considerations that most immediately accessible in memory

• People with low knowledge rarely receive the message, and ppl with high knowlefge recieve it but reist what confliucts with their vies 

• People most open to persuasion are often those with moderate knowledge

What is the RAS model (zaller, 1992)

• recieve

• accept

• sample

RAS model

• People first receive political infomation from politicans, news media partisan interest groups, and other sources

• Their Political knowledge:

  • More likely to encounter and understand political messges 

recieve

RAS model

• People decide whether to accept or resist the message based partly on their existing political predispostions- such as ideology, party, identification, and values

• Their political knowledge: Be able to recognize wheter a message is consistent with or contrary to their existing predispostions

accept

RAS model

When someone is asked for an opinion, they “sample” from the considerations that most immediately accessible in memory

sample

question: Does recently accessed information have a stronger influence on public opinion?

When someone is asked for an opinion, they “sample” from the considerations that are most immediately accessible in memory (sample)

People with low knowledge….

 rarely receive the message

People with high knowledge…

recieve the message but resist what conflicts with their views 

What level of knowledge do people who are most open to persuasion

moderate knowledge

question:Do people need to have detailed political knowledge to make judgements about policies?

People dont have time interest of information needed to evaluate every policy from scratch

Rational ignorance(anothony downs):

• The choice to stay uniformed about a topic when the cost of becoming informed exceeds the expected personal benefit 

  • Then how do they make judgements?

    • informational shortcuts (heuristics)

What is the choice to stay uniformed about a topic when the cost of becoming informed exceeds the expected personal benefit 

rational ignorance (anthony downs)

How do people who are rationally ignormart make judgements

Informational shortcuts (heuristics)

• Simple rules people use to make political judgements with limited information 

  • Rules

    • Cue: a piece of information that activates or guides that rule (shortcut)

What are

• Simple rules people use to make political judgements with limited information 

  • Rules

    • Cue: a piece of information that activates or guides that rule (shortcut)

  • Individuals rely on cues from sources they trust to help them form their attitudes

    • Sources: Family, friends, social networks, relatives, religious leaders, party eliters, interest groups, and media outlets

Informational shortcuts (heuristics)

What is a piece of information that activates or guides that rule (shortcut)

cue

Example of Informational shortcuts (heuristics)

• Heuristic (rule)

  • I usually agree with my political party, so i will prooably sipport its position

  • Cue “my political party supports policy A)

  • Judgement “i support policy A” 

• Endorsement cue: “a group is trust supports this candidate” 

• Ideological cue: “this proposal is described as conservative”

• Expert cue: “most exconomists of scientists support this position

What is an endorsement cue

“a group i trust supports this candidate” 

What is an ideological cue?

“This proposal is described as conservative.”

What is an expert cue

“Most economists or scientists support this position.”

Infromational shortcuts (heuristics)

individuals rely on cues from…..

sources they trust to help them form their attitudes

• sources:

  •  Family, friends, social networks, relatives, religious leaders, party eliters, interest groups, and media outlets

question:Are americans political views mostly moderate, or are they more polarized in recent years?

• Because of political polarization elite and party endorsements of an issue or candidate have a larger impact on public opinion than what they used to 

  • Political polarization:

    • Growing distance between political views and actions, moving away from the center toward ideological extremes

What is the

• Growing distance between political views and actions, moving away from the center toward ideological extremes

Political polarization

public opinion and public policy

Does public opinion matter for government?

• Public opinion —---------> public policy

  • Elected officials may respond to citizens preferences when making policy

    • Policy responsiveness

• Public policy —--> public opinion

  • Once a policy is adopted, it can also reshape citizens attitudes, interes and political participation

    • Policy feedback

• Public opion and public policy can shape each other thorugh contituing feedback process

What is it called when Elected officials may respond to citizens preferences when making policy

policy responsiveness

• Public opinion —---------> public policy

What is it called when Once a policy is adopted, it can also reshape citizens attitudes, interes and political participation

Policy feedback

• Public policy —--> public opinion

Can Public opion and public policy can shape each other thorugh contituing feedback process

true