American Public Opinion : Its Origins, Content, and Impact
ISBN: 9780205745432 | 0205745431
Edition: 8thFormat: Paperback
Publisher: Pearson
Pub. Date: 6/28/2010
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Updated in a new 8 th edition, this book goes beyond a simple presentation of data to include a critical analysis of the role of public opinion in American democracy. It provides an in-depth analysis of public opinion, beginning with its origins in political socialization, the impact of the media, the extent and breadth of democratic values, to the role of public opinion in the electoral process. Using the most current survey data from the 2008 elections and the latest literature on the subject, Erikson and Tedin analyze public opinion and its ... MORE
| List of Figures and Tables | p. xi |
| Credits for Figures and Tables | p. xv |
| Preface | p. xix |
| Public Opinion in Democratic Societies | p. 1 |
| Public Opinion and Government | p. 1 |
| Public Opinion Defined | p. 7 |
| The Evolution of the Public Opinion Poll | p. 9 |
| The Modern Public Opinion Poll and Its Political Consequences | p. 13 |
| Sources of Information on Pub... MORE | p. 16 |
| Linkage Models Between Public Opinion and Public Policies | p. 19 |
| Plan of This Book | p. 22 |
| Polling: The Scientific Assessment of Public Opinion | p. 25 |
| The Value of Polls | p. 25 |
| Sampling | p. 28 |
| Question Wording | p. 40 |
| Polls and Predicting Elections | p. 47 |
| Conclusion | p. 53 |
| Microlevel Opinion: The Psychology of Opinion-Holding | p. 57 |
| Political Attention and Opinion-Holding | p. 59 |
| Liberal-Conservative Ideology and the Organization of Opinions | p. 72 |
| Party Identification and the Organization of Political Opinions | p. 83 |
| Macrolevel Opinion: The Flow of Political Sentiment | p. 92 |
| The Micro Foundations of Macro Opinion | p. 93 |
| Trends in Policy Opinions | p. 95 |
| General Ideological Movement | p. 113 |
| General Partisan Movement | p. 115 |
| Presidential Approval | p. 118 |
| Conclusion: What Moves Public Opinion? | p. 122 |
| Political Socialization and Political Learning | p. 125 |
| The Preadult Years: Socialization to Citizenship | p. 125 |
| The Agents of Preadult Socialization | p. 129 |
| College: Higher Education and Its Impact | p. 138 |
| Personal Predispositions and Political Attitudes | p. 143 |
| Socialization during Adulthood | p. 146 |
| The Persistence of Political Orientations | p. 154 |
| Conclusion | p. 157 |
| Public Opinion and Democratic Stability | p. 161 |
| Support for Democratic Values | p. 162 |
| Political Consensus | p. 174 |
| Political Support: Trust and Efficacy | p. 176 |
| Personality and Democratic Citizenship | p. 183 |
| Conclusion | p. 188 |
| Group Differences in Political Opinions | p. 190 |
| Socioeconomic Class and Political Opinions | p. 190 |
| Race and Political Opinions | p. 199 |
| Age and Political Opinions | p. 204 |
| Religion and Political Opinions | p. 207 |
| Geography and Political Opinions | p. 213 |
| Gender and Political Opinions | p. 218 |
| Conclusion | p. 223 |
| The News Media and Political Opinions | p. 226 |
| The Evolution of the American Media | p. 226 |
| Bias and Negativity in the News | p. 232 |
| Models of Media Effects | p. 241 |
| Media Content and Political Opinions | p. 246 |
| Media Change and the Quality of Electoral Decision-Making | p. 251 |
| Political Advertising | p. 255 |
| Conclusion | p. 258 |
| Elections as Instruments of Popular Control | p. 260 |
| Political Campaigns and the Voter | p. 261 |
| Policy Issues and Voters | p. 267 |
| Explaining Election Outcomes | p. 280 |
| Conclusion | p. 288 |
| The Public and Its Elected Leaders | p. 292 |
| Opinion Sharing Between Policymakers and the Public | p. 292 |
| Political Parties and Representation | p. 296 |
| Leadership Responsiveness to Public Opinion | p. 305 |
| Do Elected Officials Need to Follow Public Opinion? | p. 312 |
| Interest Groups and Democratic Representation | p. 316 |
| Conclusion | p. 319 |
| Public Opinion and the Performance of Democracy | p. 322 |
| Assessing the Impact of Public Opinion on Policy | p. 322 |
| Interpreting the Public's Role in Democracy | p. 330 |
| The Expansion of Political Participation | p. 332 |
| Appendix The American National Election Study and the General Social Survey Questions | p. 335 |
| Questions from the American National Election Studies | p. 336 |
| Questions from the General Social Survey | p. 340 |
| References | p. 341 |
| Index | p. 375 |
| Table of Contents provided by Ingram. All Rights Reserved. |
