POLS 1101 Exam 3 Study Guide |142 Q’s and A’s
*What is a good definition of public opinion and why is public opinion so important in our
system of government?* - -- Public Opinion: can be thought of as the opinions of
individuals important enough for government officials to pay attention to
- important because if in a Democratic system that is based on supporting individual
candidates rather than parties if politicians are out of step with voters on top tier issues
Abortion, Gun Rights, Civil Rights they are unlikely to stay in office regardless of their
campaign resources or the quality of their opponents
- Non-elected officials can also find themselves removed if it is reveled that they are wildly
out of step with the public on top tier issues
-*What factors influence public opinion? How does partisanship cloud people's ability to
think logically?* - -- Public opinion can be influenced by public relations and the political
media. Additionally, mass media utilizes a wide variety of advertising techniques to get
their message out and change the minds of people. Since the 1950s, television has been the
main medium for molding public opinion.
- Partisanship can cloud people's ability to think logically because they might just follow a
party blindly. If you're in one party and another party puts out a policy that you would
normally agree with, you might disagree just because it came from the other party.
-*television media* - -- leading source of news in the US
- televised speeches and news conferences give the President the ability to communicate
directly with the public
- televised candidate debates are important, especially in the presidential race
-*radio media* - -- led to immediate reporting of news and allowed the president to speak
directly to the public
- FDR used this to influence public opinion in "fireside chats"
- continues to be an important news outlet
-*print media* - -- newspapers date back to the colonial times and reached their peak in
the early 20th century but have been declining since the 1950s
- magazines devoted to public affairs began in the mid 19th century and attracted mass
readership in the 20th century but is now also declining
-*new media* - -new technologies, such as the internet, that promote means of mass
communication
-*infotainment* - -increasingly popular, nontraditional source of political information that
combines news and entertainment (i.e. talk shows, political comedy programs)
-*selective exposure* - -individuals' tendency to favor information which reinforces their
pre-existing views while avoiding contradictory information
, -*market-driven journalism* - -- journalism designed to reach the largest audiences
possible
- also designed to turn a profit
-*How would you describe the state of studying public opinion? What are some of the
famous failures?* - -- The great failures of public opinion and polling remind us of the
importance of getting a truly representative sample when gauging public opinion
- 1936 Literary Digest fiasco?
- 1948 Dewey Defeats Truman fiasco?
- Nixon v Kennedy Debate
- Bradley Effect
- 2016 Presidential election
-*Discuss trends in media viewer and readership (who watches what, if anything.)* - -
Newspapers are on the decline. Most people get their news through their TVs or apps.
Fewer people are reading from traditional print media outlets today.
-*Discuss the business model of the media and how it affects what is consumed by the
public.* - -Five major corporations rule the media. They control the media and therefore
determine what the public sees through their channels. This helps shape their views.
-*How did news papers during most of the 1800s differ from news papers today?* - -- in
the late 1800s they stressed profit and featuring human interest stories, crime news, etc.
- today most are online but press biases
-*What exactly is a straw poll?* - -Straw polls are polls that are not trying to be scientific
merely aimed at doing something like a News Paper or Magazine trying to see how their
particular readers feel about something.
-*polling* - -- While the polling industry suffered greatly after 2016 with very few
predicting President Trumps victory when done well public-opinion polling can be
revealing
- 2016 issues the national polls weren't that far off with Clinton's popular vote win being
not that much lower than predicted but state level polling proved quite flawed in the key
states that gave President Trump his victory in the Electoral College
- If the 2018 midterms are any indication a number of states remain difficult to accurately
poll
-*measuring public opinion* - -- Issues include most people aren't political experts
- Framing/ how you ask questions can skew results ex programs to help the poor poll
better than "welfare programs"
- Opinions can constantly change based on news cycle and new information ex the Clintons
have been all over the place in terms of public approval
- Sometimes people have complex views that are hard to capture in simple binary polling
, -*When can polls be trusted?* - -Usually they cannot be trusted because the media outlets
showing the results are skewed.
-*why is polling so hard?* - -- A good sample size requires 1,000 to 2,000 people
- The sample must be random
- But also roughly reflect the demographics of the nation/state/district in question
- Poorly worded question may skew results
- Including to many non or only occasional voters may also skew things
-*what does a poll need to be accurate?* - -- In order to be accurate polling samples must
be random and include a representative sample of the relevant population
- For example a poll in a diverse state like Georgia will be highly flowed if African
Americans are underrepresented
- Lists of registered voters are also generally used for political surveys because results may
be flawed if too many nonvoters are included
-*When discussing polling what does the Bradley Effect refer to?* - -- For decades
minority candidates particularly African American ones dramatically underperformed
compared to their polling Mayor Tom Bradley lost his race for Governor of California
despite a solid lead in the polls
- Doug Wilder of Virginia barely won his governors race despite a strong polling lead and
Democrats having been on a long winning streak in the state.
- This led to the consensus that potential voters would lie to pollsters when races featured
minority candidates in order to come off as more progressive
- This is in part why Barrack Obama's landslide victory in 2008 was such a surprise even
though in hindsight John McCain's campaign had been rocky from the start.
- you also occasionally see this play out in reverse when colorful or controversial
candidates are on the ballot some percentage of people will not admit to supporting them
to pollsters due to social stigma but vote for them in the privacy of the ballot box
- Wrestler Jessie Ventura's election to Governor of Minnesota
- Klansmen David Duke of Louisiana also regularly outperformed his polling to be elected
to the state house and nearly becoming Senator and then Governor in the 1990s
-*socioeconomic status* - -the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often
measured as a combination of education, income and occupation
-*What are the dominant political ideologies in the United States?* - -- Liberalism: prior to
the last 100 years or so the term liberal was mostly used to describe those who favored
individual rights and liberties and was suspicious of governments ability to manage social
and economic affairs.
- This is why in some European nations the "Liberal Parties" may not seem much like the
American Democrats
- This is also why you may hear moderates, socially liberal Republicans, or libertarians who
mostly vote Democrat describe themselves as "classical liberals"
- Conservatism: meanwhile to those who believe that aside from protecting a nations
borders and policing the streets one should be skeptical of government attempts to address
*What is a good definition of public opinion and why is public opinion so important in our
system of government?* - -- Public Opinion: can be thought of as the opinions of
individuals important enough for government officials to pay attention to
- important because if in a Democratic system that is based on supporting individual
candidates rather than parties if politicians are out of step with voters on top tier issues
Abortion, Gun Rights, Civil Rights they are unlikely to stay in office regardless of their
campaign resources or the quality of their opponents
- Non-elected officials can also find themselves removed if it is reveled that they are wildly
out of step with the public on top tier issues
-*What factors influence public opinion? How does partisanship cloud people's ability to
think logically?* - -- Public opinion can be influenced by public relations and the political
media. Additionally, mass media utilizes a wide variety of advertising techniques to get
their message out and change the minds of people. Since the 1950s, television has been the
main medium for molding public opinion.
- Partisanship can cloud people's ability to think logically because they might just follow a
party blindly. If you're in one party and another party puts out a policy that you would
normally agree with, you might disagree just because it came from the other party.
-*television media* - -- leading source of news in the US
- televised speeches and news conferences give the President the ability to communicate
directly with the public
- televised candidate debates are important, especially in the presidential race
-*radio media* - -- led to immediate reporting of news and allowed the president to speak
directly to the public
- FDR used this to influence public opinion in "fireside chats"
- continues to be an important news outlet
-*print media* - -- newspapers date back to the colonial times and reached their peak in
the early 20th century but have been declining since the 1950s
- magazines devoted to public affairs began in the mid 19th century and attracted mass
readership in the 20th century but is now also declining
-*new media* - -new technologies, such as the internet, that promote means of mass
communication
-*infotainment* - -increasingly popular, nontraditional source of political information that
combines news and entertainment (i.e. talk shows, political comedy programs)
-*selective exposure* - -individuals' tendency to favor information which reinforces their
pre-existing views while avoiding contradictory information
, -*market-driven journalism* - -- journalism designed to reach the largest audiences
possible
- also designed to turn a profit
-*How would you describe the state of studying public opinion? What are some of the
famous failures?* - -- The great failures of public opinion and polling remind us of the
importance of getting a truly representative sample when gauging public opinion
- 1936 Literary Digest fiasco?
- 1948 Dewey Defeats Truman fiasco?
- Nixon v Kennedy Debate
- Bradley Effect
- 2016 Presidential election
-*Discuss trends in media viewer and readership (who watches what, if anything.)* - -
Newspapers are on the decline. Most people get their news through their TVs or apps.
Fewer people are reading from traditional print media outlets today.
-*Discuss the business model of the media and how it affects what is consumed by the
public.* - -Five major corporations rule the media. They control the media and therefore
determine what the public sees through their channels. This helps shape their views.
-*How did news papers during most of the 1800s differ from news papers today?* - -- in
the late 1800s they stressed profit and featuring human interest stories, crime news, etc.
- today most are online but press biases
-*What exactly is a straw poll?* - -Straw polls are polls that are not trying to be scientific
merely aimed at doing something like a News Paper or Magazine trying to see how their
particular readers feel about something.
-*polling* - -- While the polling industry suffered greatly after 2016 with very few
predicting President Trumps victory when done well public-opinion polling can be
revealing
- 2016 issues the national polls weren't that far off with Clinton's popular vote win being
not that much lower than predicted but state level polling proved quite flawed in the key
states that gave President Trump his victory in the Electoral College
- If the 2018 midterms are any indication a number of states remain difficult to accurately
poll
-*measuring public opinion* - -- Issues include most people aren't political experts
- Framing/ how you ask questions can skew results ex programs to help the poor poll
better than "welfare programs"
- Opinions can constantly change based on news cycle and new information ex the Clintons
have been all over the place in terms of public approval
- Sometimes people have complex views that are hard to capture in simple binary polling
, -*When can polls be trusted?* - -Usually they cannot be trusted because the media outlets
showing the results are skewed.
-*why is polling so hard?* - -- A good sample size requires 1,000 to 2,000 people
- The sample must be random
- But also roughly reflect the demographics of the nation/state/district in question
- Poorly worded question may skew results
- Including to many non or only occasional voters may also skew things
-*what does a poll need to be accurate?* - -- In order to be accurate polling samples must
be random and include a representative sample of the relevant population
- For example a poll in a diverse state like Georgia will be highly flowed if African
Americans are underrepresented
- Lists of registered voters are also generally used for political surveys because results may
be flawed if too many nonvoters are included
-*When discussing polling what does the Bradley Effect refer to?* - -- For decades
minority candidates particularly African American ones dramatically underperformed
compared to their polling Mayor Tom Bradley lost his race for Governor of California
despite a solid lead in the polls
- Doug Wilder of Virginia barely won his governors race despite a strong polling lead and
Democrats having been on a long winning streak in the state.
- This led to the consensus that potential voters would lie to pollsters when races featured
minority candidates in order to come off as more progressive
- This is in part why Barrack Obama's landslide victory in 2008 was such a surprise even
though in hindsight John McCain's campaign had been rocky from the start.
- you also occasionally see this play out in reverse when colorful or controversial
candidates are on the ballot some percentage of people will not admit to supporting them
to pollsters due to social stigma but vote for them in the privacy of the ballot box
- Wrestler Jessie Ventura's election to Governor of Minnesota
- Klansmen David Duke of Louisiana also regularly outperformed his polling to be elected
to the state house and nearly becoming Senator and then Governor in the 1990s
-*socioeconomic status* - -the social standing or class of an individual or group. It is often
measured as a combination of education, income and occupation
-*What are the dominant political ideologies in the United States?* - -- Liberalism: prior to
the last 100 years or so the term liberal was mostly used to describe those who favored
individual rights and liberties and was suspicious of governments ability to manage social
and economic affairs.
- This is why in some European nations the "Liberal Parties" may not seem much like the
American Democrats
- This is also why you may hear moderates, socially liberal Republicans, or libertarians who
mostly vote Democrat describe themselves as "classical liberals"
- Conservatism: meanwhile to those who believe that aside from protecting a nations
borders and policing the streets one should be skeptical of government attempts to address
