Public Opinion Basics
This term refers to the attitudes held by a significant number of people about government and politics.
What is public opinion?
These groups include friends, coworkers, and classmates who influence how people think politically.
What are peer groups?
The best-known method for measuring public opinion using surveys of a small group.
What are public opinion polls?
Forms of communication that reach large audiences such as TV, newspapers, and the internet.
What is the mass media?
The media can influence which political issues people think about by focusing attention on them.
What is the public agenda?
Public opinion must involve issues that concern this larger group rather than just private matters.
What is the public or society as a whole?
People who influence the opinions of others because of knowledge or position are called this.
What are opinion leaders?
The entire group whose opinion a poll aims to measure is called this.
What is the universe or population?
This form of media became the primary source of news for many Americans in the 1960s.
What is television?
This occurs when media coverage reflects or shapes public opinion.
What is media influence?
These two factors are considered the most important influences on how public opinion forms.
What are family and education?
Events such as wars, economic crises, or national tragedies can shape opinions and are called this.
What are historic events?
A sample chosen randomly so every person has an equal chance of selection.
What is a random sample?
The first regularly published newspaper in the American colonies appeared in this city in 1704.
What is Boston?
Politicians use television interviews, speeches, and press conferences to reach this group.
Who are the public or voters?
The range of political views from liberal to conservative is known as this.
What is the political spectrum?
Organizations whose members share common interests and try to influence government policy.
What are interest groups?
Early polls that simply asked anyone willing to respond were called these.
What are straw votes?
The First Amendment protects this important freedom for the media.
What is freedom of the press?
This famous polling organization helped pioneer modern scientific polling techniques.
What is the Gallup Organization?
This term describes the process by which people gain their political beliefs and values.
What is political socialization?
Race, gender, religion, and economic status are examples of these factors that influence opinions.
What are social and economic factors?
One major factor that can affect poll reliability if questions are worded poorly.
What is biased wording or question wording?
Large broadcasting companies that dominate television programming are known as these.
What are major networks?
Even though media is influential, many people treat news as this type of content rather than serious information.
What is entertainment?