GENERAL INFO
Is public opinion uniform?
No
What has the most influence on people's opinions?
Personal background
What are the 3 features that public opinion is described as?
Direction, intensity, and stability
What is one way to measure public opinion?
Election results
How many people do they have in a sample?
About 1,500
Who does the president need the support of?
Who are the public and Congress?
What are the factors that influence public opinion?
A person's background, the mass media, public officials, and interest groups.
What is an important question when it comes to public opinion?
Whether it is positive or negative
What is another word for public opinion poll?
Survey
What should the citizens ask themselves about the questions?
Whether they are biased or unbiased.
What is the term that refers to people and attitudes that most people hold about a particular issue or person?
What is public opinion?
Why is mass media considered mass?
It is communicated to a mass number of people.
When Americans have strong feelings about something what do they usually do?
Act on them
Broad
What do the pollsters do to find out people's true opinions?
They are careful how they word the questions.
Who said "I cannot go any faster than the people will let me."?
Who is Franklin D. Roosevelt?
What do interest groups do?
They try to persuade people into their point of view.
What is stability?
How strongly people hold to their views.
Why does the media conduct polls constantly during a campaign?
To report who is ahead.
What do people who support polls believe?
That polls allow officials to keep in touch with citizens' changing ideas.
How often do different groups of the public agree?
Never
What does it mean when voters elect someone into office?
They are showing that they trust that official.
How do you know if someone is less likely to change their opinion?
If they have a strong belief.
What do pollsters do?
They measure the presidents popularity
Who are push polls condemned by?
Scientific pollsters