Assignment

Submi t
tedby:MomnaKhal i
d
Submi t
tedto:Mam I
f f
at
Roll
no: 05
Topic:Poli
ti
calOpi
nion
Department:BSIR&Pol i
ti
calSci
ence
TheWomanUni ver
sityMult
an

Defi
nit
ion:
Publi
copini
on consi
stsoft
hedesir
es,wantsandthinki
ngofthemajor
it
yofthepeopl
e.I
tis
thecoll
ect
iveopini
onofthepeopl
eofasocietyorst
ateonanissueorpr
oblem.

This concept  cameaboutt hrought hepr ocessof  

urbani zation  andot herpoli
ticalandsocial
forces.Fort hef i
rstt ime,i tbecamei mpor tantwhatpeopl et houghtasf or
msofpol i
ti
cal
cont entionchanged.Democr acyr equi respubl icopi nionbecausei tderivesauthorit
yfr
om the
publ i
c.
Impor tance:
I
mpor tanceofpubl i
copi nionPubl i
copi nioni sav erymuchi mpor t
ant
concepti nIndiaaswel l asinot hercount r
iestaki ngt heopi ni onoft he
publ i
cisv erydi f
ficultandi nademocr acywi t
houtt hisnodeci sionI D
possi bl
e.Publ icopi nioni samaj orsour ceofl aw: t
hel awspassedbyt he
gov ernmentar ebasedonpubl i
copi nionandt hei rdemands.Publ i
c
opinioni saguar dianofr i
ghtsandf reedom: r i
ght sandf reedom ofpubl i
c
alway sneedpr otect i
onsopeopl eactasaguar dian. Publicopi nioni st
he
basisofst atepol i
cies.Al lpubl i
cpol ici
esar ebasedonpubl icopi nion.
Thegov ernmenti ssupposedt odoev er yt
hingwhi cht hepubl icopi nion
demands.Publ icOpi nionser v esast heFoundat ionsofDemocr acy,
Sov ereigntyoft hepeopl e,whi chi st hev erybasi sofdemocr acy .In
ever ydemocr acy,thegov ernmentandi tspoliciesar econt inuousl ybased
onpubl i
copi nion.Thegov ernmentr emai nsinpowersol ongasi tis
backedbypubl icopi nionPubl i
copi nioni st heagentofsoci al change:
Nol awai medatsoci al change, nopol icyai medatsoci alref ormsandno
actionai medatdev elopmentcanber eallysuccessf ul unlessi ti sbacked
byst rongpubl i
copi nion.Desi redobj ect ivesofsoci al changecanbe
secur edonl ybysecur ingapubl i
copi niondi stinctlyfav orabl eto
proposedr eformsandchanges.Assuchi never ysoci ety,publ icsuchi n
ever ysociety,publ i
copi nioni satt hebackofev er yact i
vityoft he
gov ernment .
Char acteristi
csofPubl icOpi nion:

I
tisqui
tediff
icul
ttodefi
nePubli
cOpi ni
onbecausedif
fer
entschol
arsdef
ineitdi
fferent
ly.
Somedefi
neitast heopi
nionofal
lthepeoplesomeotherssayiti
sanopini
onofl eaders,
whi
lest
il
lot
hersdescri
bei
tasamaj or
it
yopini
on.Butt
heseviewsdonotr
epr
esenttr
uth.

Aggregat
eofv i
ewswhichmenholdregar
dingmatter
sthataff
ectt
hecommunit
y.”However
,
suchasaggregatemusthavef
orit
sbasisthewel
fareofthecommuni
tyandonl
yt hencani
t
berecogni
sedandrespect
edaspubl
icopi
nion.

I
nthewordsofDr.BeniPrasad,“
Opi
nionmayberegardedast
rul
ypubl
i
copi
nionwheni
tis
moti
vat
edbyregar
dforthewelfar
eoft
hewholeofsoci
ety.
”

Accor
dingt
oCar
ol,
“Ini
tscommonusePubl
i
cOpi
nionr
efer
stot
hecomposi
ter
eact
ionoft
he
gener
alpubl
i
c.”

Lowelldefi
nesPubli
cOpinion,
:“I
norderthatopi
nionmaybepubli
c,major
it
yisnotenough
andunanimityi
snotrequi
red,butt
heopini
onmustbesuchthatwhil
etheminor
it
iesmaynot
shar
ei tbutt
heyfeel
boundbyconv i
cti
onandnotbyfeart
oaccepti
t.
”

Insimplewor dswecansayt hatpubli

copini
oni sneit
hert heopini
onofal lnoritist he
majori
tyopini
on.Iti
sanopinionwhichisgenerall
yhel
dbyal landit
spurposei stohi
ghlight
thewelfar
eofall.I
tisaconsensusopini
onwhichenjoysthesupportofav erylar
gemaj orit
y
ofpeople.I
tisevennotopposedbyt heminori
tiesasi
trefl
ect saconcer
nf orthewelf
areof
all
.

Publ
i
cOpi
nioni
sal
way
schar
act
eri
sedbyt
hef
oll
owi
ngf
eat
ures:

1.
 Gener
alAgr
eement
:

I
tisanopi
nionbehi
ndwhi
cht
her
eisagener
alagr
eementoraconsensus.

2.
 Rat
ional
/Logi
cal
:

I
deal
ly
,publi
copini
onshoul
dber
ati
onalandl
ogi
cal
.It
sval
i
dit
yshoul
dbedemonst
rabl
eby
l
ogi
correason.

3.
 Gener
alWel
far
e:

Publ
i
copi
nioni
sgov
ernedbyt
hei
deaofpr
omot
ionofgener
alpubl
i
cwel
far
e.

4.
 Rel
atedt
oal
lAspect
sofLi
fe:

Publ
i
copi
nioncanconcer
nanyandev
erymat
ter
—pol
i
tical
,soci
al,
economi
c,orcul
tur
al.

5.
 Uphol
dsMor
ali
ty:

Publ
i
copi
nional
way
suphol
dst
hemor
alv
aluesofsoci
ety
.Itshoul
dn’
tgoagai
nstmor
ali
ty.

6.
 NotanI
mposedOpi
nion:

Publ
icopini
oni
snotani
mposedopi
nion.I
tshoul
drepr
esentt
hegener
all
yhel
dconsensus
opi
nion.

7.
 Nei
therDest
ruct
ivenorNegat
ive:

Publi
copini
onisnei
therdest
ruct
ivenornegat
ive.I
deal
l
y,i
tisposi
ti
vei
ncont
entasi
t
repr
esent
spubl
i
cwelf
are.

8.
 BasedonRi
ghtt
oFr
eedom ofSpeechandEx
pressi
on:

Theri
ghttofreedom ofspeechandexpr
essi
oni
sthemostessent
ialcondi
ti
onf
ort
hebi
rt
hof
publ
i
copinion.

9.
 Basi
sofDemocr
acy
:

Publi
cOpi ni
on pl
aysa deter
mi ni
sti
cr ol
ein a democracy.Al
lpol
i
ciesofa democr at
ic
governmentrestupon publ
ic opi
nion.The governmentcan r
emai
ni n powerand work
successf
ull
yonlywheni
tisbackedbypublicopi
nion.

10.
 Real
Sanct
ionBehi
ndLawsoft
heSt
ate:
Publi
copinion i
st her ealsancti
onbehi
nd al
llawsand poli
ciesofademocrat
icstat
e.
Supremacyofpublicopinionref
lectst
hesov
erei
gntyofpeopl
e,whichi
sthev
erybasi
sofa
democracy.
FormingPol
iti
calValues

Peopl
ef or
m poli
ti
calvaluesthr
oughoutt
heirli
fecycl
ethr
oughdi
ff
erentagent
sofpol
i
tical
soci
ali
zati
on,
incl
udingfamil
y,medi
a,andeducati
on.

Pol
i
tical
Soci
ali
zat
ion

Poli
ticalsocial
izati
oni saconceptconcer ni
ngt he“st
udyoft hedevel
opment alprocessesby
whichchi l
drenofal lages(12t o30)andadol escentsacquir
epoli
ti
calcogniti
on,att
itudes,
and
behav ior
s”.I
treferst oalearningpr ocessbywhi chnormsandbehav ioracceptabletoawel l
runningpol i
ti
calsy stem aret r
ansmi tt
edf r
om onegener ationt
oanot her.Itisthrought he
performanceoft hisfuncti
ont hatindivi
dualsareinductedintot
hepol i
ti
calcult
ureandt heir
ori
ent ati
onstowar dspoli
ti
cal object
sar efor
med.

Agent
sofSoci
ali
zat
ion

Thefoll
owingagent
sofSoci
ali
zat
ioni
nfl
uencet
odi
ff
erentdegr
eesani
ndi
vi
dual
’
spol
i
tical
opi
nions:

Fami
l
y

Medi
a

Peer
s

Educat
ion

Rel
i
gion

Fai
th

Race

Gender

Age

Geogr
aphy

Thesefact
orsandmanyot her
sthatpeopleareint
roducedt oastheygr
owupwil
laf
fectt
heir
pol
iti
calvi
ewsthroughouttherestoftheirli
ves.Poli
ticalbel
ief
sareoft
enfor
meddur i
ng
chi
ldhood,
asparent
spassdownt hei
rideologi
estotheirchi
ldr
enandsoon.

Fact
ors:

Theagentsachildsur
roundshi
m/ hersel
fwi
thdur
ingchil
dhoodarecr
uci
alt
othechi
l
d’s
dev
elopmentoff
utur
evoti
ngbehavi
ors.Someoft
heseagent
sincl
ude:

Family:Glass(1986)r
ecognizesfamil
yasapr imaryinfl
uenceinthedevel
opmentofachild’
s
poli
ti
cal ori
ent
ati
on,mainl
yduet oconstantrel
ati
onshipbetweenparent
sandchi
ld,det
ail
edin
thetableFamilyasaPrimaryInfl
uencebelow.

School
s:Mosti
nfl
uent
ialofal
lagent
s,af
tert
hef
ami
l
y,duet
othechi
l
d’sext
endedexposur
e
t
oav ar
iet
yofpol i
ticalbel
ief
s,suchasf ri
endsandt eachers,bothr
espect
edsour cesof
i
nfor
mationforstudents.MassMedia:Becker(1975)arguet hatthemedi
af unct
ionsasa
medi
um ofpoli
ti
calinformat
iontoadol
escentsandyoungchildren.

Reli
gion:Reli
gioust r
adi
ti
oncanhav
east rong eff
ectonsomeone’
spoli
ticalvi
ews.For
example,Protestant
stendtobemor
econservat
ive(i
ncount
ri
eswher
eProtestant
sarenot
greatmajor
ity
) .

Poli
ti
calPar
ti
es:Schol
arssuchasCampbell(1960)notethatpol
i
ticalpart
ieshavever
ylit
tl
e
di
recti
nfl
uenceonachil
dduet oacont
rastofsoci
alfact
orssuchasage, cont
ext,
power,et
c.

Agent
sofPol
i
tical
Soci
ali
zat
ion

Famil
y–Mosti mport
antshaperofbasi
cat
ti
tudesTeachesbasi
cpol
i
ticalv
alues&l
oyal
tyt
o
par
ti
cularpol
i
ticalpar
ty

School
s– Teachpat
ri
oti
sm andAmer
icanmy
thol
ogyEar
lygr
adesbui
l
donandr
einf
orce
posi
ti
velear
ning

Peers– Limit
edinef
fectbecauseofsel
f-
sel
ect
ionPeergr
oupi
nyout
haf
fect
smost
ly
“l
i
festy
lei
ssues”

Mass Media – Effectdiff

icul
tto measur
e butsubstanti
alPromot
es cyni
cism about
gover
nmentAgendaSet t
ing–Telli
nguswhattot
hinkaboutFr
aming–Tell
suswhattothink
aboutwhati
spresented

Pol
i
tical
leader
sandi
nst
it
uti
ons

Chur chesandRel i
gionRel igiousr ightandr eligiousl eft
Measur ementofpubl i
copi nion:
Publ icopi ni oni sbestmeasur edbypubl i
copi nionpol l
s,basedon
scient ifi
cpol lingt echniques.Whatar est r
awv otes,andwhyar et
hey
unr eliable?St r awv otesar epol l
sthatseekt or eadt hepubl ic'
smind
simpl ybyaski ngt hesamequest ionofal argenumberofpeopl e.
Opi nionpol ls
Opi nionpol lsar eusual lydesi gnedt or epresentt heopi ni
onsofa
popul ati
onbyconduct i
ngaser i
esofquest i
onsandt henex tr
apol
ati
ng
gener ali
tiesi nr at i
oorwi thinconf idencei nter vals.
Infor mal way s:
ELECTI ONS: -
Candi datewhowi nst heel ect ionar esai dtohav eamandat e,ora
commandf r om t heel ect orate, t
ocar ryoutcampai gnpr omises,i
n
reality,howev er, electi
onr esul taresel dom anaccur atemeasur eof
publ icopi nion. INTERESTGROUPS: -
Inter estgr oupsar epr iv
at eor gani zationswhosemember sshare
cert ainv i
ewsandwor kt oshapepubl icpol i
cy .Inter
estgr oupsare
thechi efmeansbywhi chpubl icopinioni smadeknown.
1.THEMEDI A: -
Themedi aar ef r
equent lydescr i
besas‘ ’
mirror ’
’aswel las
‘
’mol ders’’ofopi nion.
2.PERSONALCONTACTS: -
Publ icof ficial relyonf r
equentandwi de-rangi ngcont actswi t
h
theirconst ituent ssuchasr eadingt heirmai ls, answer i
ngcal l
s,
meet ingpeopl ei npubl ic.
FORMALWAYS: -SAMPLESURVEYS: -
Themostcommonmet hodbyf ar, f
orl earningaboutpubl ic
opini oni st hesamesur vey .Inasampl esur v ey,resear chesaska
fewhundr edoraf ewt housandpeopl et hei ropi nionsaboutt he
i
ssuedbei ngconsi der ed.
TYPESOFSURVEY: -
THEREAREBASI CALLYTHREEWAYSTOSURVEY
PEOPLE:
1.FACETOFACEI NTERVEW: -
Inf acet of acei nter vi
ew, interv i
ewer st alkwi th
respondent sper son, usual lyint heirhomes.Twomaj or
ex pect ations, wher ef acet of acei nterv iewst i
llused, are
Nat ional El ectionSt udi esandt heGener al Soci al Survey .
Ther ear et woser iousdr awbackst of acet of acesur vey .
Thef irstonei st hatt her espondent sar eunl ikelyt ogi v
e
embar rassingorsoci allyunaccept ableanswer sbecause
theydonotwantt hei nt erviewert ot hi nki ’l
l ofthem.
Anot herpr obl em i st hatt heyt akeal ongt imet ocompl ete.
Itcoul dt akeov eramont ht ocompl eteasi mpl esur veyof400.
2;TELEPHONEI NTERVI EWERSr espondent s.
Ani ntervieweri schar gedwi thper suadi ngr espondent st opar t
ici
patei
n
at elephonesur vey ,readi ngt hequest ionswi thouter rorandr ecordi
ng
responsesaccur atel y.
3.INTERNETSURVEYS: -
Thenumberofsur v ey sbei ngconduct edov ert hei nternethas
i
ncr easeddr amat icallyi nt hel ast10y ear s,dr iv
enbya
dramat i
cr isei nint ernetpenet rati
onandt her elativel
yl ow
costofconduct ingwebsur vey sincompar isonwi t
hot her
met hods.Websur v eyshav eanumberofadv antagesov er
othermodesofi nter view.Theyar econv enientf or
respondent stot akeont heirownt i
meandatt heirownpace.
Thel ackofani nterv i
ewermeanswebsur vey ssuf ferfrom
l
esssoci al desi rabilit
ybi ast hani nter viewer -admi nistered
modes.Andwebsur vey sal soal lowr esear cher st ouseahost
ofmul ti
medi ael ement s,suchashav ingr espondent sv iew
videosorl istent oaudi ocl i
ps, whi char enotav ai l
ablet oot her
sur veymodes.