GENERAL INFO
What is public opinion?
Public opinion is a term that refers to the ideas and attitudes that most people hold about a particular issue or person
Where does public opinion come from?
Among the factors that influence
public opinion are a person’s background,
the mass media, public officials, and interest
What are the features of public opinion?
Public opinion is often described in terms of three features: direction, intensity
What is the measures of public opinion ?
If public opinion is to affect public policy, then political leaders must be made aware of it. One way to measure public opinion is by looking at election results.
What Do Pollsters Do?
Most presidents, for example, have a specialist—a pollster—whose job is to conduct polls regularly.
What's the role of a public opinion ?
Public opinion helps shape the decisions of every president
What are the factors that influence public opinion?
A person’s background, the mass media, public officials, and interest groups.
What is stability
The stability of public opinion meaning how firmly people hold to their views may differ greatly from issue to issue People’s opinions are less likely to change when they have a firm belief
What is a push poll?
Polls in which the questions are worded so as to influence a person’s responses one way or another are called push polls.
What are the problems with poll
Some claim polling makes our elected officials more concerned with pleasing the public rather than exercising political leadership and making wise decisions
What kind of role does a public opinion play ?
Public opinion plays a key role in a democracy.
What is personal background?
People’s lives and experiences have a major influence on their opinions. Age, gender, income, race, religion, occupation, and place of residence play important roles
What is intensity?
Intensity refers to the strength of an opinion on a given issue
What are random sample?
Pollsters usually question a group of people selected at random from all over the United States.
Why would a voter elect a candidate
If voters elect a candidate, presumably many of them agree with most of the candidate’s ideas.