Public Opinion

Vincent Price

• Publisher: SAGE Publications, Inc
• Year: 1992
• Print ISBN: 9780803940239
• eBook ISBN: 9781452246154
• Edition: 1
• Topic: Languages & Linguistics
• Subtopic: Communication Studies
• Index: Languages & Linguistics

What is perhaps most amazing about this little book is its comprehensiveness. In little more than a 100 pages, Price manages to discuss the relevance of ?public opinion? to just about every major mass communication theory. . . . The reference list alone would be a valuable resource for anyone studying public opinion. . . . Price does a stellar job of explaining in easy-to-understand language what most of these references have to say about public opinion. . . . The two greatest contributions of the book are Price?s organization of the vast literature on public opinion, coupled with his distillation of major works, including some truly hefty tomes, into a few simple words. Those who have grappled with the thoughts of Habermas and Blumer, for example, will greatly appreciate Price?s succinct and insightful descriptions of the relevance of these difficult works to the study of public opinion. Another strong point is the book?s currency: while you will find references to works published in the 1920s, you also will find books, articles, and reports published in the 1990s. . . . If you are new to the study of public opinion and communication, this book is the most painless, yet valuable introduction I can recommend. If you think you already know a lot about public opinion, the book may be even more valuable: it may dispel you of the notion that anyone knows a lot about public opinion." --Journalism Quarterly Public opinion--is it a simple aggregation of individual views, or instead some kind of collective-level, emergent product of debate and discussion? What is the role of public opinion in popular government? How do the mass media shape public opinion, or link it to governmental decision-making? Price?s Public Opinion explores such questions by tracing the historical development and application of the concept of public opinion. It examines the concept?s origins in Enlightenment thought and follows its evolution as a tool for social-scientific research. Intended as a map of the sprawling research terrain, Public Opinion introduces the conceptual mechanisms underlying public opinion research and shows how these concepts are used in an attempt to resolve enduring theoretical, normative, and practical questions. Because public opinion is one of the most vital and enduring concepts in the social sciences, this book will enjoy wide application in psychology, sociology, political science, journalism, and communication research in both academic and applied settings.

Table of contents

• Cover
• Contents
• Foreword
• Acknowledgments
• Chapter 1 - Introduction
• Outline of the Volume
• Chapter 2 - Problems of Public Opinion
• Origins of the Idea
• Anticipations and Approximations
• Early Conceptions of Opinion
• Early Conceptions of Public
• The Birth of Public Opinion
• Emergence of a Public Sphere
• Ambiguities in the Meaning of Public Opinion
• Public Opinion and Majority Rule
• Public Opinion as an Object of Study
• Enduring Problems of Public Opinion
• Lack of Competence
• Lack of Resources
• Tyranny of the Majority
• Susceptibility to Persuasion
• Domination by Elites
• Chapter 3 - Conceptualizing the Public
• Crowd, Public, and Mass
• The Crowd
• The Public
• The Mass
• Issues and Publics
• Phases of Development
• Actors and Spectators
• Expanding Public Debate
• After an Issue is Resolved
• Observing the Public
• The General Public
• The Voting Public
• The Attentive Public
• The Active Public
• Issue Publics
• Chapter 4 - Conceptualizing Opinions
• Opinions and Attitudes
• Opinions as Expressions
• Opinions as Thoughtful
• Opinions as Adaptations of Attitudes to Specific Issues
• Inferring Psychological Bases for Opinions
• Schemata
• Values
• Group Identifications
• Forming Opinions
• Observing Opinions
• What is it about?
• What are the Choices?
• Is it Well Considered?
• How Well Organized?
• How Strongly Held?
• Will it Lead to Committed Action?
• How does it Relate to Other People?
• Chapter 5 - Conceptualizing Public Opinion Processes
• Collective and Individual Aspects
• The Notion of Public Debate
• Dynamics of Group Decision Making
• Public Debate in Larger Social Settings
• Political Actors, Journalists, and the Attentive Public
• Public as Spectator
• The Roles Played by Journalists
• Observing Public Opinion
• Using Survey Data
• Using Content Analysis
• Using Less-Structured Survey Techniques
• Observing the Process of Public Debate
• Conclusion: Public Opinion as a Communication Concept
• References
• Author Index
• About the Author