Download - David A Hughes, Ph D
Public Opinion
David A. Hughes, Ph.D.
Auburn University at Montgomery
April 13, 2021
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Introduction
By the end of today’s meeting, students should recall thefollowing:
• The interplay between public opinions and public policy,
• The origins of public opinion and political attitudes, and
• The methods of gauging public opinion.
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Why does public opinion matter in government?
• Principles of “popularsovereignty,”“legitimacy.”
• Accountability
• Public opinion is acrucial “input” forpolicy-making
• Public opinion may affectthe type ofrepresentation peoplereceive
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What is public opinion?
• An amalgamation of individualpreferences or evaluations
• Could relate to policies orpoliticians
• Distinct from predispositions orideologies
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How do we measure public opinion?
• Random sampling
• Sample size
• Comes with a margin of error
• Can be biased by: Questionwording, sampling procedure,sample size, etc.
• Types of polling: Benchmark,tracking, push, focus groups,exit
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Sample size and margin of error
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Example Polling from AL’s Presidential Election
Source: fivethirtyeight.com
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Where do Political Attitudes Come from?
• Socialization• Upbringing• Religion• Group Attachment• Income/Occupation• Education, etc.
• Party ID
• Elites
• Ideology
• Sociobiology?Edward O. Wilson
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