Chapter 6


Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Action

• The American People• How Americans Learn About Politics: Political

Socialization• Measuring Public Opinion and Political

Information• What Americans Value: Political Ideologies• How Americans Participate in Politics• Understanding Public Opinion and Political

Action• Summary


Chapter Outline and Learning Objectives

• The American People• LO 6.1: Identify demographic trends and

their likely impact on American politics.

• How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization• LO 6.2: Outline how various forms of

socialization shape political opinions.



• Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information• LO 6.3: Explain how polls are conducted

and what can be learned from them about American public opinion.

• What Americans Value: Political Ideologies• LO 6.4: Assess the influence of political

ideology on Americans’ political thinking and behavior.



• How Americans Participate in Politics• LO 6.5: Classify forms of political

participation into two broad types.

• Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action• LO 6.6: Analyze how public opinion about

the scope of government guides political behavior.

The American PeopleLO 6.1: Identify demographic trends and their likely impact on American politics.

• Public Opinion• The distribution of the population’s beliefs

about politics and policy issues.• For American government to work efficiently

and effectively, the diversity of the public and its opinions must be channeled through the political process.

To Learning ObjectivesCopyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman


The American People

• The Immigrant Society• The American Melting Pot• The Regional Shift• The Graying of America

To Learning Objectives

LO 6.1


The American People

• The Immigrant Society• United States is a nation of immigrants.• Three waves of immigration into the United

States are mainly (1) Northwestern Europeans prior to late 19th Century, (2) Southern and eastern Europeans in late 19th and early 20th centuries, and (3) Hispanics and Asians in late 20th century.


LO 6.1


LO 6.1



The American People

• The American Melting Pot• Melting pot – The mixing of cultures,

ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation.

• Minority majority – Emergence of a non-Caucasian majority.

• Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society.


LO 6.1


LO 6.1



The American People

• The Regional Shift• Much of America’s population growth since

World War II has been centered in the West and South.

• Reapportionment is the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.


LO 6.1


The American People

• The Graying of America• Aging population – Implications for Social

Security.• Social Security is a pay as-you-go system,

which means that today’s workers pay the benefits for today’s retirees.

• By 2040, there will be only about two workers per retiree.


LO 6.1


LO 6.1


How Americans Learn About Politics: Political SocializationLO 6.2: Outline how various forms of socialization shape political opinions.

• Political Socialization• The process through which individuals in a

society acquire political attitudes, views, and knowledge, based on inputs from family, schools, the media, and others.



How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization

• The Process of Political Learning• School – Schools socialize the youth into

political culture.• The Family – Parents give their children

political attitudes.


LO 6.2


How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization

• The Process of Political Learning (cont.)• The Mass Media – TV gives people

information about politics.• Aging – Increases political participation

and strength of party attachment.


LO 6.2

Measuring Public Opinion and Political InformationLO 6.3: Explain how polls are conducted and what can be learned from them about American public opinion.

• How Polls Are Conducted• The Role of Polls in American

Democracy• What Polls Reveal About Americans’

Political Information• The Decline of Trust in Government



Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information

• How Polls Are Conducted• Sample – People in survey to be

representative of the whole.• Random Sampling – People should get

equal probability of being selected for the sample.

• Sampling Error – Confidence in public opinion poll findings.


LO 6.3


LO 6.3




• The Role of Polls in American Democracy• Polls help politicians detect public

preferences.• Critics – Politicians think more about

following than leading public; bandwagon effect distort elections; exit polls discourage voting; and wording of questions manipulate answers.


LO 6.3



• What Polls Reveal About Americans’ Political Information• Americans don’t know much about politics.• Americans may know their basic beliefs but

not how that affects policies of the government.


LO 6.3



• The Decline of Trust in Government• Since 1964, trust in government has

declined.• Trust in government has gone up

somewhat since 9/11/2001.


LO 6.3

What Americans Value: Political IdeologiesLO 6.4: Assess the influence of political ideology on Americans’ political thinking and behavior.

• Political Ideology• A coherent set of beliefs about politics,

public policy, and public purpose, which helps give meaning to political events.

• Liberal ideology supports a wide scope for the government.

• Conservative ideology supports a less active scope of government. To Learning Objectives



What Americans Value: Political Ideologies

• Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives?

• Do People Think in Ideological Terms?


LO 6.4


LO 6.4




• Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives?• Americans pick ideological label of

conservative over liberal.• In 2008, 36% were conservatives, 38%

were moderates, and just 26% were liberals.

• Gender gap – Women are more likely to support Democratic candidates.


LO 6.4


LO 6.4




• Do People Think in Ideological Terms?• Ideologues (12%) – Yes they do.• Group Benefits (42%) – Think of groups

they like or dislike.• Nature of the Times (24%) – If times are

good or bad to them.• No issue content (22%) – Vote for party or

personality.To Learning Objectives

LO 6.4


LO 6.4


How Americans Participate in PoliticsLO 6.5: Classify forms of political participation into two broad types.

• Political Participation• All the activities used by citizens to

influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue.

• Most common means of political participation in a democracy is voting; other means include protest and civil disobedience.



How Americans Participate in Politics

• Conventional Participation• Protest as Participation• Class, Inequality, and Participation


LO 6.5



• Conventional Participation• Voting in elections.• Working in campaigns or running for office.• Contacting elected officials.• Ringing doorbells for a petition.• Running for office.


LO 6.5



• Protest as Participation• Protest – Designed to achieve policy

changes through dramatic and unconventional tactics.

• Civil disobedience – Reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.

• Violence – Riots and fighting.


LO 6.5


LO 6.5




• Class, Inequality, and Participation• Class-biased activity – Citizens of higher

socioeconomic status participating more than others.

• Minorities are below average in terms of participation.

• Who gets what in politics depends on who participates.


LO 6.5


LO 6.5


Understanding Public Opinion and Political ActionLO 6.6: Analyze how public opinion about the scope of government guides political behavior.

• Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government

• Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action



Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action

• Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government• Many people have no opinion about scope of

government.• Public opinion is inconsistent, which may lead

to policy gridlock.


LO 6.6


Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action

• Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action• Americans select leaders in democratic elections.• Polls reveal that Americans know little about

candidates’ issues.• People vote more for performance than policy.


LO 6.6


LO 6.1Summary

• The American People• Immigration has accelerated in America in recent

decades.• The size of the minority population has increased

greatly.• By 2050, whites will represent less than 50% of the

population.• The population has also been aging and moving to

Sunbelt states such as California, Texas, and Florida.



Which of the following is the fastest-growing group in the United States?

A. African Americans

B. Asian Americans

C. Hispanics

D. Native Americans


LO 6.1


LO 6.2Summary

• How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization• The principal actors in the socialization

process are the family, the media, and schools.• As people age, the firmness with which they

hold political attitudes, such as party identification, tends to increase.



The main source of political socialization WITHIN the context is government and civics classes.

A. school

B. family

C. mass media

D. all of the above


LO 6.2


LO 6.3Summary

• Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information• Polls are conducted through the technique of random

sampling.• A random sample of 1,000 will yield results within

plus or minus three percentage points of what would be found if everyone were interviewed.

• Polls detect public preferences and how informed we are about issues.



Which of the following ensures that the opinions of several hundred million Americans can be inferred through polling?

A. Random sampling.

B. Sampling error.

C. Population sampling that ensures a sample size of at least 1,000 to 1,500 people.

D. All of the above.


LO 6.3


LO 6.4Summary

• What Americans Value: Political Ideologies• A political ideology is a coherent set of values and

beliefs about public policy.• The two most prominent ideologies in American

politics are conservatism and liberalism.• These ideologies guide people’s thinking on policy

issues.



LO 6.4Summary

• What Americans Value: Political Ideologies (cont.)• 62% of Americans call themselves either

conservatives or liberals.• Americans are conservative (36%) in principle

but liberal (26%) in practice; that is, they are against big government but favor more spending on a wide variety of programs.



Americans are more likely to be .

A. conservative than liberal

B. liberal than conservative

C. moderate than conservative

D. moderate than liberal


LO 6.4


LO 6.5Summary

• How Americans Participate in Politics• Conventional participation includes voting,

writing letters or e-mails to public officials, attending political meetings, signing petitions, and giving money to campaigns and political groups.



LO 6.5Summary

• How Americans Participate in Politics (cont.)• Unconventional participation includes attending

protest demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience.

• Citizens of higher social economic status participate more in American politics.



Which of the following type of political participation is most common in the United States?

A. Protesting a governmental policy.

B. Litigating through the court system.

C. Writing to a member of Congress.

D. Voting in elections.


LO 6.5


LO 6.6Summary

• Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action• Conservatives think the scope of government

has become too wide in recent decades.• Liberals believe the scope of government

should be further increased and support the 2010 Health Insurance Reform Act.



Public opinion polls reveal that Americans

A. are ideological liberals but operational conservatives.

B. oppose the idea of big government in principle but favor it in practice.

C. favor the idea of big government in principle but oppose it in practice.

D. are ideological moderates.


LO 6.6


Text Credits

• Excerpt from “Most Don’t Know What ‘Public Option’ Is,” August 27, 2009, http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/poll-mostdont-know-what-public-option.html. Used with permission.

• US Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/files/nation/summary/np2008-t4.xls.


Photo Credits

• 186: AP Photos• 188: Jason Smith/Getty Images• 191: Bob Daemmrich/The Image Works• 192: Virginie Montot/Getty Images• 196: Sven Hagolani/Getty Images • 200: www.cartoonstock.com• 208: AP Photos

Chapter 6

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