Public Opinion Notes

Sampling error

+ or - 3%

Family

-60% of children follow parents -Most important factor

Schooling

-College has a liberalizing effect -Conservative movements have sprouted on many campuses

Occupation

-Higher income Americans are liberal for social goals and conservative fiscally -Lower income Americans are conservative except when concerning social welfare

Religion

-Jews are liberal -Catholics are conservative

Father of modern day polling

-Walter Lippman Alfred M Landon George -George Gallup

Gender

-Women are liberal -Men are conservative

Gender Gap

-difference in political views between men and women -at first women voted for whatever their husbands did

Factors that affect political attitudes

-family -religion -gender -schooling -occupation

Liberals

-favor equality and more federal government control -hands on economically, hands off socially -(equality, freedom, order)

Conservatives

-favor order and more state control -hands off economically, hands on socially -(order, freedom, equality)

What makes a good poll?

-random sampling -large sample size -front loaded questions -stratified quota sample

Weaknesses in polls

-they can be inaccurate -cause people to skip voting if they feel like they aren't needed

Which of the following best describes an exit poll?

A poll that asks voters at randomly selected voting places whom they voted for so that election results can be predicted more quickly

Which of the following public policies is best supported by the notion of free enterprise?

After a review, the Federal Trade Commission approving a corporate merger of cable providers

John Jay said

Americans are more similar than different

Which of the following best describes how the generations view themselves in regards to the idealistic trait?

Baby-Boomer respondents are more likely to consider themselves idealistic than Generation X respondents.

Which of the following is NOT a core value of United States political culture?

Economic equality

Intensity

How strongly people feel about an issue

A person loses his job and refuses to accept any government assistance to get back on his feet, instead relying on savings and seeking a new job immediately. Which of the following core values would this person most relate to?

Individualism

On November 2, 2014, a Gallup poll reported that 51 percent of Americans support legalizing marijuana, while 47 percent oppose legalization. The reported margin of sampling error was +/- 4 percent. Which of the following inferences can be made from the poll?

It is unclear whether more people support marijuana legalization than oppose it.

In May of 2015, a federal appeals court ruled that the National Security Agency's collection of Americans' phone records was in violation of the USA PATRIOT Act. Which of the following core values are involved in the national debate regarding the surveillance program referred to in this scenario?

Liberty versus stability and order

Problem with exit polls

People may be discouraged from voting if their candidate is a promised win/loss

Which of the following most likely explains the difference in result of the two polls?

Question Format

Based on the outcome of the polls, which of the following is likely true about questions that use the agree-disagree format?

Questions that use the agree-disagree format increase the percentage of respondents who agree with the primary statement.

Which of the following is most important for getting an accurate measure of public opinion in a survey?

Selecting a random sample

Most americans get their news from

TV or the internet

Which of the following is the best example of the core value of limited government?`

The United States Constitution delegating specific powers to Congress

In a public opinion poll, a polling company used an online survey tool to randomly contact respondents who did not have telephone lines in addition to contacting people over the phone. Which of the following best explains this decision?

The company wanted to ensure that the sample of the population was truly random.

Agree-Disagree v. Forced Choice Questions The best way to ensure peace is through military strength. (55% agree, 42% disagree)Forced ChoiceThe best way to ensure peace is through military strength (33%)ORDiplomacy is the best way to ensure peace (55%)Which of the following is the best conclusion a polling group might draw from the results of the two polls?

Using an agree-or-disagree format encourages respondents to agree with the position.

Stability

Volatility of public opinion (ex. presidential approval rating)

Self-Selection

a form of sampling bias that occurs when a sample contains only people who volunteer to participate

Which of the following scenarios best reflects the process of political socialization?

an individual takes a civics course in school and develops opinions about politics

Candidates for political office use public opinion polls for all of the following purposes EXCEPT to

bring the opposition's opinions into alignment with those of the candidate

Ideology

coherent and consistent set of political beliefs about the purpose and scope of government

Most Cubans are

conservative (because of abortion)

People are more liberal on the

east and west coasts

All of the following are traditional political values held by most Americans EXCEPT

equality of outcome

Party identification in the United States is most successfully transmitted by which of the following?

family

Saliency

how important an issue is

An important change in political culture since 1950 is that United States citizens have become

less trusting of governmental institutions and leaders

Blacks and Hispanics are more

liberal

College professors are more

liberal

Libertarians

liberal (hands off) socially, conservative (hands off) economically

Populist

liberal (hands on) economically, conservative (hands on) socially

Children are most likely to adopt the party identification

of their parents

High efficacy directly relates to

participation

Political socialization is the process by which

political values are passed to the next generation

People are more conservative in the

south and midwest

Of the following, the most important role in the political socialization of children is played by`

the family

Political socialization

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions