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This noted philosopher believed that the public opinion arose from a social arena known as the public sphere
Jurgen Habermas
Compare Aristotle and Plato
Aristotle had a more favorable view of public opinion than Plato
In his writing on public opinion, Alexis de Tocqueville argued that
Public opinion becomes more important in societies with more equality
Who is the historical figure who is known as a conflict theorist and who viewed public opinion as a political force that could potentially harm the prince in charge of the nation?
Niccolo Machiavelli
This philosopher believed that nations should be guided by a form of public opinion known as the general will
Jean Jacques Rousseau
True or False:
Public opinion has become more and more associated with national public opinion instead of local public opinion
True
In survey research, if we want to be able to generalize from a sample to a larger population, then we need to use a sampling method known as
Probability sampling
There are many different methods for conducting surveys that are discussed in chapter 3. Which method tends to be the most expensive?
In-person interviews
What research method breaks subjects into a control group and a treatment group?
Experimental research
What research method for studying public opinion involves having a group of subjects engage in open discussion?
Focus group research
If I was interested in how news stories on legalizing marijuana had changed and I collected a sample of news stories and then coded those stories (as “favorable” or “unfavorable” to legalizing marijuana) I would be utilizing a research method known as
Content analysis research
A survey that interviews the same group of people over time is known as
A panel survey
Walter Lippmann’s view of public opinion reflects which common definition of public opinion?
Public opinion comes through media and elite influence
According to Walter Lippmann, the “pictures in our heads” about public matters primarily come from
News from the media
Jean Jacques Rousseau favored a form of public opinion known as
The general will
James Bryce was particularly interested in the role that _________ played in the public opinion process.
Newspapers
Alexis de Tocqueville believed that American democracy was primarily controlled by
Majority opinion
True or False: Alexis de Tocqueville believed that America was a country with many great authors
False
Who was the first populist President of the United States?
Andrew Jackson
What makes the survey research g-ds unhappy?
Non-probability sample
What is the most commonly used method of survey data collection?
Telephone interviews
What definition of public opinion dominates our thinking in American Democracy?
Public opinion is an aggregation of individual opinions
If someone gives a dishonest survey answer because they want to create a good impression with the researcher, then that answer suffers from
Social desirability effect
This influential philosopher believed that public opinion merely reflects the opinions of the ruling class.
Karl Marx
Walter Lippmann argued that the pictures in our heads are generally (2 things)
Partial and biased representations of reality
What is the most individualistic country in the world?
The United States
True or False: In general, groups make better decisions than individuals.
True
Groups that function well experience a form of conflict known as
Substantive conflict
Who takes longer to reach a good quality decision? (Virtual or Face-to Face)
Virtual groups
A new national poll shows that 75% of Americans hate squirrels. The poll has a +/- 2% margin of error. This means that
73-77% of Americans hate squirrels
Survey researchers can limit sampling error by
Increasing the size of the sample
When people are together on a street and they share an emotional experience and start to riot, they are acting as
The crowd
What are the three historical trends in public opinion?
assessing public opinion has become more orderly and routinized
expressing public opinion has become more private and anonymous
public opinion has moved from a local to a national level
True or False: Walter Lippmann believed that democracy worked better in a small town than in a large nation state.
True
When we compare face-to-face groups with virtual groups, we find that virtual groups engage in less ___________ discourse.
Social-emotional
Interactivity during a group presentation tends to
Increase audience elaboration and that’s a good thing
True or False: Alexis de Tocqueville believed that American public opinion tended to be unstable.
True
A survey that ends in simple descriptive statistics is known as
A poll
Rather than survey an entire population with a low response rate, it would be better to
Use a probability sample with a high response rate
If we assess public opinion through focus groups, then we are thinking of public opinion as
A reflection of majority beliefs
The five definitions of public opinion
an aggregation of individual opinions
a reflection of majority beliefs
found in the clash of group interests
reflects media and elite influence
public opinion is a fiction
Definition of the crowd
A group defined by its unity of emotional experience; it develops in response to shared emotions
Definition of the mass
A group defined by their interpersonal isolation; it is composed of anonymous individuals who engage in very little interaction or communication; they are bound together by a common focus of interest or attention
Definition of the public
A group of people who are confronted by an issue, divided in the ideas as to how to meet the issue, and who engage in discussion over the issue, it is sustained through discourse over a controversy
when the public ceases to be critical, it dissolves or is transformed into a crowd
Direction of public opinion refers to
where people stand on an issue; what they favor, oppose, or are uncertain about
Intensity of public opinion refers to
how strongly people feel about an issue
Stability of public opinion refers to
the consistency of people’s opinions over time
Lippmann speaks constantly about the “pictures in our heads.” What does he mean by these “pictures in our heads”?
our take on reality; the way we see the world/certain events
Are the pictures in our heads accurate or inaccurate?
A little bit of both. They are biased and partial representations, but they are still somewhat true
What is the alternative to the pictures in our heads?
Direct lived experience
How are the pictures in our heads related to political partisanship?
They are colored by our preconceptions and skewed by political bias
How are pictures in our heads related to public opinion?
Once the pictures in our heads (our opinions) are vocalized, they become public opinions
Walter Lippmann focused on which definition of public opinion? Why?
Media and elite influence
He fought in WWI in the French trenches and saw how the media reported skewed stories of reality
What is the top incentive for the media
Money
Does democracy work better in a small town or a large nation state? Why?
Democracy works better on a small scale because there is more lived experience
Why do groups generally make better decisions than individuals?
More information, ability to remedy errors, intragroup persuasion
Pseudo-environments
Not a real environment, but a recreation of it
A group presentation is NOT…
A collection of individual presentations
Diffusion of responsibility
Individuals take less responsibility for their actions in a group (assume someone else will do it)
The planning fallacy
We systematically underestimate the time needed to complete tasks
Substantive conflict
When group members disagree about something relevant to the group task (this usually leads to better decisions in the end)
What is the benefit of interactivity in a group presentation?
Higher audience elaboration (pay better attention)
Jurgen Habermas
Public opinion is always shifting, depending on the social norms at the time. It is an ever-evolving nature since public life is always changing.
Plato
He acknowledged that public opinion is a central force in political affairs, but he doubted that people could recognize their own best interest or create a morally sound state.
Aristotle (vs. Plato)
He argued for the voice of the public, where Plato argued against it. Aristotle did not see public opinion as the sentiments people held towards particular issues of the day, although he saw those attitudes as important and worth articulating. He believed institutions take raw opinions from communities, organize it, eliminate irrationalities, and then make it coherent.
Machiavelli
He believed that humans are so obsessed with their immediate desires and comforts that they cannot rule themselves, thus leading to his political theory that the people must be governed by a benevolent dictator. Public opinion was volatile, irrational, and potentially explosive. Leaders must be vigilant to ensure that their people continue to hold them in high regard.
Jean-Jacques Rousseau
He thought it was necessary to place considerable power in the hands of the public. Public opinion is an aggregation of individual opinions, and a more organic force rooted in shared values and attitudes. Citizens think about themselves and their needs but are also capable of thinking about the general good of society.
Karl Marx
He believed that democracy was subject to corruption by the forces of capitalism. Marx tended to think of freedom as consumer choice: the right to choose among a variety of products and lifestyles. He argued strongly that organic grassroots public opinion is rare. He says common citizens tend to mimic the opinion of those in the ruling class.
James Bryce
He believed the mass media was astonishingly powerful in America and should hold a place among our other institutions (congress, courts, etc.) as a molder of public opinion. Newspapers both reflect and direct public opinion. He said that newspapers also contained other forms of public opinion – not just stories and editorials, but also letter from the citizens.
Gabriel Tarde
He had more to say on Bryce’s thoughts about the relationship between newspapers and interpersonal discussion. He believed it to be more linear in that media led to conversation which creates opinion and thus action.
How did coffeehouses and salons serve as public opinion technologies
They were both common meeting places in which people could openly discuss politics and form public opinions. Coffeehouses especially brought a variety of people from different statuses, crafts, and backgrounds which allowed the opinions expressed to be diverse.
How strong does de Tocqueville think majority opinion is in American democracy?
Very very very strong
What does de Tocqueville mean by the “moral dominion of the majority” in American democracy?
The more people that form an opinion, the more enlightened it is considered to be. People assume the majority opinion is the morally superior opinion because it is perceived to be the greatest good for the greatest number
What are the problems that arise in American democracy due to majority opinion according to de Tocqueville?
Public opinion is unstable and therefore the laws are too; policy making is constantly changing because the public opinion is shifting
What is the tyranny of the majority according to de Tocqueville?
“majority rules” - the minority is silenced and disowned forcing them to convert to majority opinion
How did Asch conduct his famous experiment on conformity?
People were asked to identify the length of a line; the group gave similar but incorrect answers and the individual was not let in on the secret
What were the results of the Asch study?
Roughly 33% of the individuals changed their answer to match the group/majority
Independent subjects (Asch)
The individuals who maintained their opinion despite the majority because they were either confident in their answer, desired individuality (withdrawn), or they considered changing their answer but ultimately did not
Yielding subjects (Asch)
The individuals who conformed to the wrong answer due a distortion of judgement (began believing they were wrong), a distortion of action (the need to not appear different), or the distortion of perception under stress (they came to perceive the majority as correct)
Majority effect (Asch)
When individuals conform to an opinion because it is the majority opinion
Public sphere
Jurgen Habermas’s belief that public opinion shifts in each era and this meaning is always tied to the nature of the broader political and social area (this social arena is called the public sphere)
General will
Rousseau believed that the state was based on what citizens want when they think about the whole of the community (the greatest good for the greatest number)
Survey
Asking individuals questions (polls)
Population
The group of people we are interested in
Sample
A particular subset of the population that is used to generalize the population
Polls
A method for recording opinions (in a survey) – simple descriptive statistics
Cross-sectional surveys
Surveys completed at one point in time to provide a snapshot of public views at that particular time
Panel surveys
Surveys that reinterview the same people over time to get a better picture of how opinions may change over months/years
Probability sample
Everyone in the population has an equal chance of being in the sample (scientific)
Nonprobability sample
Not everyone in the population has an equal chance of being in the sample (non-scientific)
Margin of error & how to reduce it
The variability above and below the reported value which is possible
Reduced by decreasing the confidence level or increasing the sample size
Sampling error
The difference between the sample’s results and the true population’s results
Confidence level
The number of times out of 100 that a sample of the same size will yield results within the margin of error
Response rate
The percentage of respondents that complete the survey
Nonresponse bias
Meaningful difference between respondents and nonrespondents
Social desirability effect
Respondents’ reluctance to give answers that might make a bad impression on the interviewers
Priming effects
When the content prior to a particular question influences the way in which the respondent answers
Question order effects
When the order in which questions are asked influences the responses
Push polls
When pollsters ask questions in a biased or distorted way, or use inappropriate samples, to get the results they want
Focus group
A research method that brings together a small group of people to discuss and answer questions in a moderated setting
Note
Flashcard