Study guide under construction (4/7)

Communication, Campaigning, and the Public (Part 3)

• 3 factors that affect how much voters learn
  
• Impact of attack ads (on voter knowledge & interest)
  
• Why campaign influence varies by voter
  
• How campaigns generate positive/negative interest
  
• Why we can’t measure direct effects of campaigns
  

Lauren's Question

According to Ansolabehere and Iyengar, when the public is exposed to a large amount of negative campaign ads, voter turnout is affected negatively. If this is a case, why do you think candidates spend so much money on these ads? How do you personally feel about these “attack ads” and how are your perceptions of the candidates influenced by the ads?

::Because NDSU canceled two weeks of classes, responses to these DQs will now be due at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7. Students are welcome to post their responses any time before the new deadline.::

Andi’s DQ

This section of the book discusses the ways in which voters learn information about political campaigns. Considering both the reading and the election this past November, where do you think voters obtain the most information about candidates (i.e., newspapers, debates, televised news, or televised ads)? Please provide an example.

The book also mentions the argument that “negative ads attract more attention and whatever issue information is contained in them may be better remembered” (p. 462). Do you find this to be true? What do you think about negative campaigns?

::Because NDSU canceled two weeks of classes, responses to these DQs will now be due at 9 a.m. on Tuesday, April 7. Students are welcome to post their responses any time before the new deadline.::

Revised DQ Schedule

Discussion Questions will be posted by 12 p.m. on the Sunday before the following dates:

Tuesday, April 7
1. Andria Padilla
2. Lauren Halgerson

Tuesday, April 14
1. Amber Jechort
2. Erin Markestad

Thursday, April 16 (DQs posted by 12 p.m. on Wednesday, April 17)
1. Josh Meyer
2. Michael Hoium

Tuesday, April 21
1. Sarah Schmidt
2. Larissa Kunde

Tuesday, April 28
1. Tomi Olayiwala
2. Paul Backowski

Update: No class Tuesday, March 24

Due to the continued need for volunteers, classes are still canceled at NDSU. So we won't be meeting on Tuesday, March 24.

The PPT for the last ten pages of chapter 10 can be downloaded here. On the first three slides you will find current response rates for your public opinion surveys. 

Email me if you are ready to stop collecting responses, or if you have any questions about the project.

There's been an awesome turn-out of volunteers at NDSU:

Keep up the good work!

NDSU classes canceled until further notice

A message from President Chapman:

NDSU will cancel classes effective at 9:00 am today, Monday, March 23 until further notice. University offices will remain open, however, they may be operated at minimal staff levels.

Students, faculty, and staff are needed to help with the flood prevention efforts. Volunteers are needed for sandbagging. It is estimated that 2 million sandbags will be needed. With the current and predicted rain, the Red River is anticipated to crest for the first time on Thursday, March 26.

Please report to the NDSU Flood Protection Volunteer Center on the Main Floor of the Memorial Union (next to the Bison Connection) to check in and sign up for shifts. You may also call 231-7870 or email NDSU.floodsupport@ndsu.edu to sign up for future volunteer shifts.

Transportation from the Union will be provided to the locations where help is needed. It is important to use the bus transportation that is provided.

Thank you for your time and help. Our communities need us.

The deadline for DQ responses will be postponed until classes are back in session (e.g., if we don't meet again until Thursday, I'll look for your response by 9 a.m. on Thursday).

I encourage everyone to volunteer if/when they can.

Study guide under construction (3/12)

Communication, Campaigning, and the Public (Part 2)

• Media power vs. Audience power (434-437)
  
• Uses and gratifications vs. Audience-media transaction (434-435)
  
• Four elements of a communication campaign (440)
  
• Steps of an effective communication campaign (444-448)
  
• Current issues affecting political campaigns (454-460)
  

Study guide under construction (3/10)

Communication, Campaigning, and the Public (Part 1)

• How the mass media fulfill Lasswell’s three functions of communication (406)
  
• How media bias can influence public opinion (409-411)
  
• Four categories of media effects (413-420)
  
• Knowledge gap (420-421)
  
• Influence models: hypodermic needle vs. two-step flow vs. cultivation vs. minimal effects (424-425, 428, 431-434)
  

Today's PowerPoint

A copy of the PowerPoint for today's material (pages 405 - 437) can be downloaded here. Please look it over and write down any questions that remain after reading. We'll cover the next section of the chapter (pages 437 - 460) as planned on Thursday. I'll also prepare some tips for increasing your survey response count.

Remember that all surveys must be posted on Survey Monkey by 5 p.m. this Friday. Let me know if Survey Monkey is giving you any trouble.

Amy Pedersen's DQ week 9

So I was having problems posting under my name, so I am doing it under Katie.

In chapter 10, page 424 the discuss the study on how media can and/or does change people's public opinions. During their studies, researchers found that the media actually didn't have a strong influence on people. Do you believe this research to be accurate? Do you think the media changes people's public opinions? Has it ever changed your personally?

Casey's Discussion Question Week 8

On page 431 of our textbook, the authors begin explaining cultivation perspective. They write, “it proposes far-reaching influences of the medium on virtually all aspects of audience perceptions and attitudes” and that George Gerbner and colleagues have found that “television has become the ‘common storyteller of our age,’ providing our diversified society with consistent and repeated messages and images” (page 432).

The authors continue by saying that Gerbner predicted that heavier television exposure will “cultivate perceptions or beliefs about social reality that are more consistent with the ‘television view’ than with the ‘real-world’ view.”

How might the idea of television as a “storyteller” and the idea of television exposure cultivating perceptions and beliefs about social reality create complications in day-to-day life? Think of a time when you have or someone you know has been exposed to consistent and repeated messages and images and used television as a storyteller to create a social reality. (The example does not have to come from the news media, but can come from pop culture television shows as well.)

Study guide under construction (3/5)

Public Opinion and Democratic Competence (Part 3)

• The Stouffer shift (326)
  
• Strength of relationship between income & economic issues (333)
  
• Public opinion on racial equality vs. P.O. on affirmative action (335)
  
• Public opinion on abortion (339)
  
• Sociotropic voting (333) 

News article

This week, we'll be watching two Gallup videos in class.

The first video (from 2008) can be viewed here:

Americans' Views on Abortion Remain Static

The second video (from 2005) can be viewed here:

Affirmative Action

We will also be covering pages 333 - 346 in the textbook.

Study guide under construction (3/3)

Public Opinion and Democratic Competence (Part 2)

• Rational ignorance (302)
  
• Ideological innocence (304)
  
• The rational public (307)
  
• Heuristics vs. Schema (318-320)
  
• Zaller’s RAS model of public opinion (320-324)
  

Rebecca Owen's Week 7 DQ

Hi everyone, FYI: I am trading weeks with someone who is out of town this week which is why my question is getting posted late.

Chapter 8 discusses understanding American attitudes about race (pp. 335-339). Define race and ethnicity in your own terms. What do you think the idea of race stands for in American society today (i.e. equality, freedom), and why (i.e. through the civil rights movement)? Page 336 states, "Some observers argue that while American whites express abstract support for the proposition that blacks should be equal, they less often support actual policies to promote equality." Such programs include fair treatment in jobs and affirmative action. Do you agree with this statement? Why or why not? Give examples.

Katie Froeber's Week 7 DQ

According to a study described in chapter 8, Page and Shapiro found that "aggregate public opinion is generally stable" when polled over a period of time (pg. 308). This finding contradicted the common idea that public opinion was too "volatile" to play a significant role in democracy. 

The chapter also discussed the theory of "rational ignorance," which states that people don't bother to educate themselves about most issues because they see the benefits of knowledge as not worth the time they would have to spend learning more about the issues.

How might the phenomenon of "rational ignorance" have contributed to Page and Shapiro's finding of stable opinions over time? Using an example from your personal experience, explain how knowledge of an issue can contribute to both opinion change and opinion stability.