Determinant Factors in Receiving Going Concern Audit Opinions
Chapter 4 Section 1. Public Opinion – the collection of individual opinions toward issues or...
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Transcript of Chapter 4 Section 1. Public Opinion – the collection of individual opinions toward issues or...
Measuring and Forming Public Opinion
Chapter 4 Section 1
Nature of Public Opinion
Public Opinion – the collection of individual opinions toward issues or objects of general interests, that is, those that concern a significant number of people
Formation of Public Opinion
Political Socialization – learning about politics by exposure to new information supplied or filtered through parents, peers, schools, the media, political leaders, and the community.
Agents of Political Socialization, I
The Family:• Parents share their opinions and children
imitate them;• Children reflect what they learn in the
home;• Children inherit their social and economic
positions from their parents;• Agreement with parents declines when
young adults leave the home
Agents of Political Socialization, II
School:• Schools promote patriotic rituals;• Textbooks foster commitment to
government and the status quo;• Reading habits and language skills help
build democratic citizenship;• College broadens students’ perspectives
and leads to greater understanding of the world
Agents of Political Socialization, III
Peers:• Have the most influence when the peer group is attractive to the individual and when the individual spends time with the group.
Agents of Political Socialization, IV
Adult Socialization:• Political opinions are affected by such factors as marriage, divorce, unemployment, new jobs, or moves to new locations.
Measuring Public Opinion, I
Early polling efforts:• Straw polls – unscientific polls run by newspapers or other media sources that attempt to forecast election outcomes
Measuring Public Opinion, II
Emergence of Scientific Polling:• Beginning after WWII and based on marketing research;
• Applies mathematical principles of probability;
• Gallup among the first to use the technique
Measuring Public Opinion, III
Polls and Politics:• Polling catches on with politicians in the 1960s;• Presidents often follow polls on a weekly basis and
shape their messages based on these polls;• “Crafted talk” is allows politicians to move away
from the center and cater to the more extremist views of their base while appearing to be mainstream;
• Push polls – polls that try to determine if certain information can “push” voters in a particular direction
Knowledge and Information
Many Americans do not know much about government beyond the Constitution;
Most Americans do not keep up with what goes on in Washington, DC;
Lack of knowledge prevents Americans from holding government accountable;
Failure to stay informed means politicians can ignore what the public wants