Public Opinion

Public Opinion Factors That Influence Political Attitudes

Political Attitudes • Many factors—including family, gender, religion, education, social class, race & ethnicity, andregion—all contribute to American political attitudes and behavior

Political Attitudes • No single feature of an individual’s life explains all of that individual’s attitudes

Family • Most important source of political socialization • Plays a major role in shaping political attitudes (especially party identification)

Family • Polls show the majority of young people identify with their parents’ political party • Process begins early in life (by age 10 or 11)

Family • Even though individuals generally become more independent as they grow older, the correlation between adult party id & the parents’ party is still very high

Family • A more recent trend is a tendency for this correlation to be lower than it has in the past • Trend may be related to another trend: growing number of voters who call themselves “independents” rather than Democrats or Republicans

Family • More politically active your family, the more likely you are to hold the same beliefs • Examples—Bush & Kennedy families

Family • Most members of the extended Kennedy family are Democrats, and most Bush family members are Republicans • Relationship is weaker on specific issues (gun control, school prayer, etc) • Strong for overall political views & ids

Gender • A person’s gender influences political views • More women consider sexual harassment in the workplace to be a serious problem than do men • More men than women tend to support military actions & spending in foreign affairs

Gender • Party identification is also affected by gender • This relationship has shifted throughout the years

Gender • In the 1920s when women first began to vote, they were more likely to support the Republican Party than were men • Some experts explain correlation by pointing out that Republicans tended to be more the party of “hearth and home”

Gender • Tendency for women to vote for Republicans continued through the 1930s

Gender • Although most women supported the Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt (FDR), over his Republican opponents, the percentage of women supporters was lower than the percentage of men who supported FDR

Gender • Trend held until the late 1960s (correlation reversed) • Since that time women have been more likely than men to vote for Democrats

Gender • Change explained by the advent of the modern women’s rights movement & the Democrats’ tendency to support points of view women support

Gender • Equal opportunity for women • Abortion right • Welfare programs

Gender • On the other hand, some experts argue that Republicans are more concerned about defense issues, and thus attract more men to their party

Gender • More recent gender-related issue has to do with male v. female support for women political candidates

Gender • Although common sense may tell us that women would be more likely to support women candidates, the research does not show a clear correlation

Gender • One problem is that relatively few women run for political office • Although their numbers have increased in recent elections, more women candidates run as Democrats than as Republicans

Gender • It is difficult to know if the candidates’ gender alone affects voting patterns of women and men

Gender • In the presidential election of 2004, the gender gap appeared to close somewhat

Gender • Pollster John Zogby has pointed out that the gender gap in the 2004 pres election was not nearly so significant as the gap between married & unmarried voters

Gender • He found that on most issues single v. married voters were often 25-30 points different • Single more likely to vote for Democratic candidate (Kerry) • Married voters more likely to support Republicans (Bush)

Religion • An individual’s religion is a factor determining his or her political attitudes • Although the relationships are not as strong as they once were, patterns still hold

Religion • Protestants are more conservative on economic matters (minimum wage, taxes) than Catholics & Jews • Jews tend to be more liberal on both economic and social issues (civil liberties & rights)

Religion • Catholics tend to be more liberal on economic issues than on social issues

Religion • Some research on fundamentalist Christians indicates they: • Tend to support more conservative candidates for public office • More likely to contribute to the Republican Party

Religion • Conservative tendency is stronger for attitudes about social issues (abortion, stem cell research, etc.) than for foreign affairs & economic issues

Education • A person’s level of education also affects political attitudes • Evidence provides conflicting results

Education • In general, the higher the individual’s educational level, the more likely he/she is to hold conservative political points of view

Education • However—many studies show that college education often influences individuals to have more liberal social & economic attitudes than they had before college

Education • Studies show that: the longer students stay in college & the more prestigious the institution they attend, the more liberal they become

Education • Reasons for this correlation are unclear • Some believe liberal attitudes of professors may influence students • Others believe that the differences are based on the characteristics of people who attend college v. those that don’t

Race & Ethnicity • Much research has focused on the relationship between an individual’s race & ethnicity and her/his political attitudes

Race & Ethnicity • Oldest & largest numbers of studies focus on black Americans

Black Americans • Identify with the Democratic Party • Most consistently liberal group within that party

Black Americans • Recent presidential elections, blacks have voted in overwhelming numbers (close to 90%) for the Democratic candidate

Hispanic Americans • Much less research has been conducted with Hispanic Americans • Preliminary results indicate they too tend to be more liberal than the majority

Black Americans • Tendency to affiliate with the Democratic Party • Correlation appears to be weaker than that for black Americans (Mexican, Puerto Ricans, etc.)

Asian Americans • Limited amount of research on Asian Americans & voting patterns • More conservative than blacks or Hispanics

Asian Americans • Attitudes of the various nationalities of Asians fluctuate widely • Korean Americans are more liberal than Japanese Americans

Asian Americans • Overall, more Asian Americans voted in the 2000 presidential election for Al Gore (D) than for George W. Bush (R) • Influence of Asian ethnicity on political attitudes is still not clear

Which regions in the U.S. are the most liberal? Least liberal?

Geographic Region • South is the least liberal of the four regions • Midwest somewhat more liberal • East and West most liberal

Geographic Region • People on either coast tend to be more liberal than those in the middle of the country

Geographic Region • Generalization (problems) • Many Californians & New Englanders are conservative

Geographic Region • Part of the reason for the trend is an urban/rural differentiation • Coastal cities populated by minorities, recent immigrants & members of labor unions

Geographic Region • Cities in the “rust belt” of the Great Lakes region also tend to vote Democratic • Strong labor constituencies (union membership is strong)

Public Opinion

Télécharger la présentation

Plus de contenu associé