PS 201 Public Opinion.docx - PS 201 – Public Opinion Public...

PS 201 – Public Opinion
Public opinion is the expression of a set of aggregate attitudes held by the members of a community.
Our interest is in public opinion on topics of political significance. Key questions relating to public
opinion:
 What are the components of the attitudes that make up public opinion?
 Are certain attitudes of particular political importance?
 How are attitudes organized?
 How do we measure public opinion?
 What factors drive public opinion?
Components of Attitudes
Beliefs – thoughts about how the world works
Feelings – sense of attachment to/acceptance of or aversion to people, places, behaviours, etc…
A feeling is to e.g. respect small business owners, a belief is that the government wastes the tax
money it collects. Combined together an attitude of low tax rates or cuts on small business taxation
is created.
On some issues, one attitude is quite stable, on others they may vary quite a lot. Consider public
opinions on defensive spending or abortion law.
Ideology
Constellations of attitudes that are organized in an elaborate and sophisticated manner are referred
to as ideologies. They are based on an organizational theme or key premise(s). An ideology might be
built on strong attachment to freedom and a belief that small, limited government works better than