Ch. 8 Gov Quiz Review

What are the challenges of evaluating polls?

-On balance, most national and regional polls are fairly reliable. -Potential problems with polls include their inability to measure the intensity, stability, and revelance of the opinions they report. Another potential problem is that polls and pollsters are sometimes said to shape the opinions they are supposed to measure.

What are the limits on the impact of public opinion in a democracy?

-Public Opinion is the major, but by no means the only, influence on public policy in this country. -Much of the American political system is designed to protect minority interests against the excesses of majority views and actions. -Polls are not elections, nor are they substitutes for elections.

What are the five steps in the polling process?

1. Defining the Universe - the whole population that the poll aims to measure 2. Construct a Sample - representative slice of the total universe, mostly random samples, everyone has a mathematically equal chance of being selected (about 1500 people needed to represent the nation) 3. Prepare Valid Questions - the way in which questions are worded is very important, try to aviod questions that are worded in way that will tend to shape the answers that are given to them 4. Interviewing - pollsters communitcate with the sample respondents using various methods, most are taken person-to-person interviews, telephone calls, and mail surveys. Most polls NOW are taken online. 5. Reporting - value comes from the analysis and the report.

1. What are the challenges involved in measuring public opinion?

1. Elections are an indicator of public opinion, they are helpful because we made a decision on it. 2. Interest groups are private organizations whose members share certain views and work to shape public policy. How many people does this really represent? We don't really know, so it's tough to determine the real public opinion. How strongly do people hold the views that an organization says they hold? 3.Media is described as mirrors and molders of public opinion. They are more molders of late and less mirrors because they don't always reflect what always happens. 4.Personal Contacts like the actual voice of the people. A lot of people probably believe it, but aren't going to speak up about it.

3. How do family and education shape public opinion?

Children first see the political world from within the family and through the family's eyes. The strong influence the family has on the development of political opinions is due to the large amount of time children spend with the family. Children acquire political knowledge throughout their time in the classroom.

What is public opinion?

Public Opinion can be described as those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics.

2. Why is public opinion so difficult to define?

The complex collection of the opinions of many different people. Include only views related to public affairs Not many issues capture the attention of all

4. What additional factors shape public opinion?

The mass media includes those means of communication that reach large, widely dispersed audiences simultaneously. Peer groups are made up of the people with whom one regularly associates, including friends, classmates, and what not. An opinion leader is any person who, for any reason, has an unusually strong influence on the views of others. Historic events can have a major impact on public opinion. The Great Depression is one event that shaped the political views and opinions of a generation