Cornell Notes
Topic(s): Chapter 10- Citizen Beliefs and Public Opinion Polls
Big ideas, questions, main Notes, answers, details, answers, examples, sentences, pg.
ideas, vocab numbers
American Political Culture In a diverse and shifting society, leaders have to try to make
public policy based on general consensus while considering a
large spectrum of potential viewpoints. Even despite some
differences, people come together to form common beliefs
which can actually gain a standing. Cornerstones are
individualism, equal opportunity, free enterprise, rule of law.
Individualism Founding principle (inalienable rights) but is often at odds with
other ideas such as common good. Enlightened self-interest is
the thought that each person is best served when common
good is.
Equal Opportunity Founding principle (all men are created equal) which has been
bolstered by 14th amdt and civil rights acts. Has been constant
struggle. Some argue it’s all about willpower, others point out
govt may need to support the disadvantaged.
Free enterprise (The Wealth of Nations) Laissez-faire approach to economics
wherein govt is not involved, lets nature take its course. Argues
against taxing and regulation but may support ideas like
minimum wage.
Themes in the information:
Representative Government, Patriotism, Political Freedom
Other questions or inquiries:
What steps can pollsters take to combat the nonresponse bias and the social desirability bias?
3 things learned:
1. Social-desirability bias
2. Lifecycle Effects and Generational Effects
3. Contrasting impacts of the above
Relate one thing learned to your life:
In seeing how much better Trump did in both of his elections than he was expected to, I now
understand how certain biases suppressed his supporters’ voices.
Notes Continued
Rule of Law (II.1.8 of constitution, “republic to be a government of laws not
men”) Bedrock idea from enlightenment, supports that nobody
can be above the law, officials in violation of law are checked by
press, legislatures, and law enforcement. Some interpretation is
always allowed.
Limited govt Key idea which has been related to both parties, questions at
hand involve how much government should be involved with
the individual, suffering of people at govts hands.
Ideologies Ideology- comprehensive and mutually consistent set of ideas.
Valance Issues- issues viewed the same by varied ideologies.
Wedge issues- issues dividing the public or sub-sections.
Liberals and Conservatives Liberal initially meant a government which spent less and did
less. It changed to mean being more open to government
actions. Conservative is a respect for the old way of things and
their respect for authorities, often could mean fiscally. These
can be tough to define now as parties have shifted more: ex.
Conservatives now are more likely to support abortion
restrictions and censoring offensive material, but this is more
regulation not less.
“off the line” Some people stray from these two ideologies into more varied
beliefs. Libertarians are those who value individual librities and
may align conservatively on economic issues but liberally on
social ones (anti-tax, pro-choice). Populists value Christian ideas
and supporting one another. Progressives criticize traditional
political establishments and support workers and other groups.
Political Socialization Process of forming political beliefs through social interaction
Factors of the above Family is a huge influence as many young people learn to see
the world in the way their parents teach them to. Teachers
often impact student views in classroom discussions. Race and
ethnicity. Social media allows people to see new ideas and align
themselves more actively with an ideology. Religions tend to
impact thinking as people find values to vote for. Civic
institutions can either reinforce a belief or force one to see and
accept diversity.
Influence of events People will be influenced by the events they witness such as
assassinations, recessions, protests, impeachments,
insurrections, and pandemics.
Influence of globalization U.S. is a massive economy which changes cultures worldwide.
Exporting and importing of ideas and cultures fosters new
schools of thought and new practices. Sense of identity with
other members of the world helps broaden point of view.
Generational Impacts In line with the events influence, people are impacted by what
they see and when they see it, so there are generational
divides. Younger folks are more diverse and tend to be more
accepting of LGBTQ individuals, justice reform, etc. and are
impacted by conflicts like war in the middle east and the great
recession resulting in liberal social policies and (generally)
conservative economic ones. Silent Generation was highly
supportive of govt in Vietnam war efforts and is much more
likely to use religious beliefs in vote.
Lifecycle Effects As people move through the lifecycle, their perspective will shift
and bring priorities with them. College students have different
concerns from homeowners and retirees, but they’ll get there
someday.
Polling: intro The tool used to track public opinion which was first developed
in the 1930’s, now has sophisticated techniques. Can include
benchmark polling (general information on views and
consensus) – Tracking polls (track the movement in public
opinion, campaigning) – Entrance and exit polls (on election
day) – focus groups (10-40 people to get specific ideas) –
Approval ratings (rating individual performance)
Methedology Specific science which requires careful question orders and
wordings which are even-handed and impartial. Ordering and
framing change results. Sampling must be RANDOM and needs
at least 1,500 people to respond. Margins of error (found by
comparing two different results) tend to decrease with
increased sample sizes, less than 4% is acceptable.
Polling Problems Challenges mainly come from uniformed citizens and natural
biases. People will usually be influenced by the pollster’s
qualities, and many people don’t actually understand or have
opinions on the issues in question. Other issues come from
push polling and fundraisers which have cheapened the
reputation of polls.
Influence on elections Bandwagon effect means that many people will end up aligning
themselves with “winning” candidates or policies based on
how they are doing in polls. This can inversely suppress a vote
either for the one in the lead (going to win anyway) or the one
behind (going to lose anyway.) Also impacts what candidates
can participate in some discussions and who receives financial
support.
Influence on policy Presidents can be moved by opinion or move it through the
bully pulpit, Senators are largely unswayed but may consider it,
Reps are highly dependent on these with their more frequent
terms, and judges tend to rule with the nation’s “mood”
More polling problems Many interviewees tell the pollsters what they might want to
hear such as support for a candidate of color or opposition to
trump. This is social-desirability bias. Non-response bias is
certain interviewees who turn them away given distrust of
institutions. Biased pollsters can select their respondants more
specifically and bait certain responses in how they word
questions.
