American Public Opinion

Abstract

List of Figures and Tables Preface Credits for Figures and Tables CHAPTER 1 Public Opinion in Democratic Societies 1-1 Public Opinion and Government 1-2 Public Opinion Defined 1-3 The Evolution of the Public Opinion Poll 1-4 The Modern Public Opinion Poll and Its Political Consequences 1-5 Sources of Information on Public Opinion 1-6 Linkage Models Between Public Opinion and Public Policies 1-7 Plan of This Book CHAPTER 2 Polling: The Scientific Assessment of Public Opinion 2-1 Sampling 2-2 Question Wording 2-3 The Misuse of Surveys 2-4 Interpreting Scientific Surveys 2-5 Conclusion CHAPTER 3 Microlevel Opinion: The Psychology of Opinion-Holding 3-1 Political Attention and Opinion-Holding 3-2 Liberal-Conservative Ideology and the Organization of Opinions 3-3 Party Identification and the Organization of Political Opinions CHAPTER 4 Macrolevel Opinion: The Flow of Political Sentiment 4-1 Trends in Policy Opinions 4-2 General Ideological Movement 4-3 General Partisan Movement 4-4 Presidential Approval 4-5 Conclusion: What Moves Public Opinion? CHAPTER 5 Political Socialization and Political Learning 5-1 The Preadult Years: Socialization to Citizenship 5-2 The Agents of Preadult Socialization 5-3 Political Generations 5-4 The Persistence of Political Orientations 5-5 Conclusion CHAPTER 6 Public Opinion and Democratic Stability 6-1 Support for Democratic Values 6-2 Political Consensus 6-3 Political Support: Trust and Efficacy 6-4 Personality and Public Opinion 6-5 Conclusion CHAPTER 7 Group Differences in Political Opinions 7-1 Socioeconomic Class and Political Opinions 7-2 Race and Political Opinions 7-3 Age and Political Opinions 7-4 Religion and Political Opinions 7-5 Geography and Political Opinions 7-6 Gender and Political Opinions 7-7 Conclusion CHAPTER 8 The Print and Broadcast Media and Political Opinions 8-1 The Mass Media and Their Political Content 8-2 Mass Media Influence on Public Opinion 8-3 Television and Election Campaigns 8-4 Conclusion CHAPTER 9 Elections as Instruments of Popular Control 9-1 Political Campaigns and the Voter 9-2 Policy Issues and Voters 9-3 Explaining Election Outcomes 9-4 Conclusion CHAPTER 10 The Public and Its Elected Representatives 10-1 Opinion Sharing Between Policymakers and the Public 10-2 Leadership Responsiveness to Public Opinion 10-3 How Elected Officials Learn Public Opinion 10-4 Do Elected Officials Need to Follow Public Opinion? 10-5 Conclusion CHAPTER 11 Parties and Interest Groups: Mediating Institutions and Representation 11-1 Political Parties and Representation 11-2 Interest Groups and Representation CHAPTER 12 Public Opinion and the Performance of Democracy 12-1 Assessing the Impact of Public Opinion on Policy 12-2 Interpreting the Public's Role in Democracy 12-3 The Expansion of Political Participation Appendix References Index