Study guide under construction (2/26)

Public Opinion and Democratic Competence (Part 1)

• Democratic competence (283-284)
  
• Why choose representative rather than direct democracy (285-287)
  
• Tyranny of the majority (287)
  
• Formal vs. informal role of the public in a democracy (291)
  
• Trends in political knowledge over time (292-294)
  
• Columbia vs. Michigan models of voter behavior (295-301)
  

News article

I will bring in copies of this week's opinion example for us to read in class.

[If you'd like to read it in advance, click here]

You just need to read pages 283 to 302 before class on Thursday.

Perception and Opinion Formation (2/17 & 2/19)

• How "the pictures inside our heads" relate to "the world outside"
  
• Why our perceptions of the world are always limited
  
• Socialization vs. Social comparison
  
• Looking-glass perception
  
• Pluralistic ignorance
  
• Disowning projection
  
• Ideological bias
  
• False consensus
  
• Third-person effect
  

Heather Athey DQ Week 6

In this chapter, the authors talk about perceptions and opinion formation. On page 236 they explain unrealistic optimism as when "individuals see themselves as being somehow different from other in terms of the probability of good or bad things happening to them".

For example, "people tend to think they are invulnerable, and expect others to be victims or misfortune, not themselves".

Explain why you think this happens, and give an example of a time where you have perceived the risk of something happening to you as greater or smaller than of the same thing happening to others.

This week's news articles

This week we will be using the Michael Phelps marijuana incident as a case study in public perception. To prepare for the discussion on Thursday, please read the following news blurbs and think about how they relate to the chapter:

USOC sends letter, seeks meeting with Phelps

Pot backers hit Kellogg's over Phelps

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Exam 1 Study Guide

Can be viewed/downloaded here.

We will use the second half of class on Thursday, February 19 for a review session. Please come prepared with questions.

Let me know if you have any trouble accessing the file.

Lindsey Johannes DQ Week 6

One of the focuses for this week’s reading is forming perceptions. Our text describes perception as “a summary attitude that is based on all of our past and present sensory information.” On page 219, Hinton describes five social factors that influence our perceptions:

1. The information from the actor
2. The influence of the perceiver on this information
3. The relationship between the perceiver and the actor
4. The social context
5. The cultural setting

Describe a situation when you formed some sort of a “perception” and describe how each of these factors influenced your perception.

This week's news article

USA Today Poll: Reactions to Recession Vary

[The additional reading for our Thursday, February 12 class)

Jessica FitzSimmons DQ week 5

The authors of Public Opinion define Attribution Theories as, “how people’s inferences about the reasons behind other people’s behaviors or attitudes affect their own agreement with these behaviors or attitudes,” (p. 168). An example of attribution theories as discussed in Public Opinion is the idea that information obtained from a news story has a higher propensity to be believed than information obtained from an advertisement—even if the information obtained from both sources is the same (p. 169). In other words, how a person thinks of the source of information—of its credibility and underlying motive—will affect whether or not the person perceives the information to be true.

With this in mind, reflect back on the 2008 presidential election.
Visit http://www.livingroomcandidate.org/commercials/2008/filter/party and browse some of the democratic and republican advertisements by clicking on the boxes across the bottom of the screen.

Would you agree or disagree with the book’s argument? Would you perceive information from a news story (i.e. cnn.com, msnbc.com, foxnews.com) as more credible or believable than the advertisements you just viewed? Pick one or two advertisements and reflect on the source of the information and the motive of the advertisement(s) in your argument.

Allison's DQ week 5

It's states in the book "Public Opinion" that the notion of stereotypes usually evokes a negative image in peoples minds. Is this always the case? In Walter Lippmann's classic discussion of stereotypes he argued that, in some sense, stereotyping is a necessary condition for functioning in this world. You can find his notes on page 173-174 of the text. Do you agree with this agruement? Give examples that support your agruement and explain why you agree or disagree.