Transcript Family Mass Media - RHS Encore Academy

September 12th
Happy Laughing Day
Public Opinion
 The distribution of the population’s beliefs
about politics and policy issues
Immigration Waves
 1st Wave: Northwestern Europeans
 2nd Wave: Southern and Eastern Europeans
 Most recent wave: Hispanic (Cuba, Central America
and Mexico) and Asians (Vietnam, Korea, the
Phillippines)
 Can shape public opinion and policy!!
Minority Majority
 The situation (likely in the mid-21st century) in which
non-Hispanic whites will represent a minority of the
U.S. population
 Minority groups together will represent a majority
 Page 170 - graph
Reapportionment
 The process of reallocating seats in the House of
Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the
results of the census.
Political Socialization
 The process through which individuals in a society
acquire political attitudes, views, and knowledge,
based on inputs from family, schools, the media and
others
Process of Political Socialization
• Family: potentially genetic, time and emotional
commitment
• The Mass Media: t.v. displaces parents as the chief
source of info as children get older.
– Younger people are NOT watching the news as much
(median age is 61!)
• School: promoting the basic values of America??
– German textbook example: pg. 175
– Better educated citizens = more likely to vote
YOUR Political Socialization
 In your notes or on a piece of scrap paper
 Make a box for each category – fill it in with ideas of
your political socialization. You can be specific.
Family
Mass Media
School
Other??
Specifics…
 Sample
 Small proportion of ppl to represent whole
 Random sampling – needed for accuracy
 Equal probability to be selected
 Sampling Error
 Level of confidence in poll
Polling in the U.S. – Why?
 Help candidates understand public preferences
 Tool for democracy
 Public wants to be heard
What we’ve found out...
 Figure 6.3
 50s and early 60s most trusting the gov’t
 Post Vietnam and Watergate – DECLINE in the trust in
gov’t to do the right thing
 Look at 2010…
 NOW – let’s look at current polls out there.
 http://www.gallup.com/home.aspx