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Politics and Public Opinion
Political Science 3233
Spring 2009
Jordan Ragusa
330 Anderson Hall
Office Hours: M,W (5:00-6:00) T,R (11:00-12:00)
Email: [email protected]
Class Website: www.clas.ufl.edu/users/jragusa
Course Meetings
M,W,F (4:05-4:55)
2342 Turlington Hall
Course Objective— The American public is perhaps the most studied analytical unit in the world. And by
extension Americans are inundated with information concerning “what they think.” More than simply an
aggregation of stylized facts, information about the public’s preferences have important implications for
democratic societies such as our own. But how well do we understand the sources of public opinion? How are
scholars and pundits able to make such bold claims about what Americans believe? Should we trust the
producers of public opinion? Or as the author of one of your textbooks appropriately put it, “Americans are
major consumers of public opinion research on a wide variety of topics. But are they smart consumers?”
(Herbert Asher 2007, p. 16).
This course is a broad survey of politics and public opinion. Each topic covered could fill a semester. In
the first two sections we will review the foundations of public opinion. The central questions include: What role
does public opinion play in a democracy? Do Americans have what may be meaningfully called “attitudes”?
Where do attitudes come from? The third section covers methodological issues in public opinion research. We
will be especially concerned with sources of error in surveys (sampling, question wording, etc.) and the inherent
tradeoffs of various modes of data collection. The goal is for the student to leave the class a better “consumer”
of public opinion and be able to identify problematic surveys when they encounter them. The final section
provides an overview of some important substantive topics in public opinion research. We will focus on the role
of the media, public opinion and elections, the linkage between elected officials and their constituents, and the
formation of party identification and realignments.
Required Texts (2)—Robert Erikson and Kent L. Tedin, American Public Opinion, 2007 (7th ed.)
Herbert Asher, Polling and the Public, 2007, (7th ed.)
In addition to the two required textbooks, students will be asked to read original research from some leading
scholars. The goals include a rudimentary understanding of the current literature and a sense of what political
scientists and other practitioners actually do. This feature of the course will benefit students considering an
advanced education in any of the social sciences.
ARES— This course rely on the UF ARES system. The primary purpose of ARES is to provide students access to
the additional readings and other course material in the most efficient manner possible. All additional readings
have been digitized and are available from home or campus. An electronic copy of the syllabus, class lecture
notes, and research paper instructions will be available on ARES as well. The ARES system can be accessed at:
http://ares.uflib.ufl.edu. Students will be required to create an account the first time they log on.
Grades—The majority of your grade will be determined by two examinations: a midterm (35%) and a noncomprehensive final (35%). The final exam is scheduled for Wednesday, April 22nd during the normal class
period (same location as well). Exam material will come from the required readings and class lecture. After
Spring Break you will be required to write a short (6-7 pages) research paper (worth 20%). Paper instructions
are forthcoming. The final portion of your grade (10%) will consist of five unannounced class quizzes. These
short quizzes will test your compression of the required readings and serve as a de-facto attendance grade.
There will be no makeup or bonuses quizzes under any circumstances.
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Attendance— There will be no regular attendance taken (but see the section above on unannounced class
quizzes). However, your presence in class is crucial to earning a good grade in this course. You cannot simply
review the required readings to prepare for the exam.
Academic Honesty— As with any course at the University of Florida you are required to do your own work and
abide by the academic honestly guidelines. Cheating of any kind will not be tolerated. For any questions please
consult the Dean of Students Student Guide or the Student Honor Code.
Students with Disabilities— The Disability Resource Center assists students with disabilities. They provide a
number of services including academic advisement and exam assistance. Please feel free to discuss any
concerns with me.
Course Overview
→ denotes the required reading(s) which are to be read prior to that meeting. I will assume you have read,
and understood, the material to be discussed that day. The quizzes are designed to test this assumption…
Part I. Introduction to Public Opinion
Date(s)
Introduction and Course Overview
Jan. 7
NO CLASS (SPSA Conference)
Jan. 9
What is Public Opinion? History of Polls and Polling
→ Erikson and Tedin Ch. 1 (all)
→ Moon, The Early History (p. 6-14)
Jan. 12
Modern Public Opinion
Jan. 14
Democracy and Public Opinion
→ Asher Ch. 9 (all)
→ Verba, The Citizen as Respondent: Sample Surveys and American
Democracy (p. 1-7)
→ Madison, Federalist #10 (p. 129-136)
Jan. 16
Part II. What Are Attitudes and Where Do They Come From?
NO CLASS (MLK Jr. Day)
Jan. 19
The “Problem” of Non-Attitudes
→ Asher Ch. 2 (p. 32-36; 46-54)
Jan. 21
Psychology: Public Opinion at the Individual Level
→ Erikson and Tedin Ch. 3 (p. 58-72)
→ Zaller, Converting Information Into Public Opinion (in The Nature and
Origins of Mass Opinion, Ch. 3 p. 40-52)
Jan. 23 & 26
Sociology: The Transmission of Politics
→ Erikson and Tedin Ch. 5 (all)
Jan. 28 & 30
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Economics: The Rational Voter
→ Popkin, The Reasoning Voter (in The Reasoning Voter, Ch. 1 p. 7-17)
→ Marcus et al., Coming to Rational Choice (in Affective Intelligence and
Political Judgment, Ch. 1 p. 1-11)
Feb. 2 & 4
Part III. The Methodologies of Public Opinion: Measurement
Sampling
→ Asher Ch. 4 (p. 78-91)
Feb. 6
Modes and Mode Effects
Feb. 9
Interviewer and Respondent Effects
→ Asher Ch. 5 (all)
Feb. 11
Question Wording, Design, and Order Effects
→ Asher Ch. 3 (all)
Feb. 13 & 16
Miscellaneous Forms of Survey Bias
→ Krosnick, Response Strategies for Coping with the Cognitive Demands of
Attitude Measures in Surveys
Feb. 18
Pre-Testing Survey Questions / Exam Overview
Feb. 20
MIDTERM EXAM
Feb. 23
Part IV. Substantive Issues in Public Opinion Research
The Media in Politics and Public Opinion
→ Erikson and Tedin Ch. 8 (all)
Feb 25 & 27
Campaigns, Elections, and Voting
→ Asher Ch. 7 (p. 141-158 and 165-171)
→ Erikson and Tedin Ch. 9 (p. 265-279 and 284-294)
Mar. 2, 4 & 6
SPRING BREAK
Mar. 7 - 14
Party Identification and Party Realignments
→ Erikson and Tedin (p. 117-119; 151-158)
→ Campbell et al., The Development of Party Identification (in The
American Voter, Ch. 7 p. 149-160)
→ Sundquist, Party Realignment: What? When? How? (in Dynamics of the
Party System, Ch. 1 p. 1-18)
→ Burnham, Toward A Definition of Critical Realignment (in Critical
Elections and the Mainsprings of American Politics, Ch. 1 p. 1-10)
Mar. 16, 18 & 20
Introduction to Political Data Analysis / Writing a Good Research Paper
→ Asher Ch. 8 (all)
* PAPERS DUE April 10th (bring a hardcopy to class)
Mar. 23, 25
NO CLASS (Bicameralism Conference)
Mar. 27
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Are Lawmakers Responsive to the Public? Parties, Policy, and Lawmakers
→ Erikson and Tedin Ch. 10 (all)
→ Stonecash et al. Chapter 2
Mar. 30, Apr. 1
NO CLASS (MWPSA Conference)
Apr. 3
Opinion Change
→Brooker and Schaefer, Historical Development of Political Issues (in Public
Opinion in the 21st Century, Ch. 7 p. 184-212)
Apr 6 & 8
American Exceptionalism
* PAPERS DUE
Apr 10
Foreign Policy
Apr. 13
Religion in the 2008 Election (Guest Lecture by Ken Wald)
Apr. 15
Social Policy
→ Shiraev and Sobel, Opinions About Domestic Issues (in People and Their
Opinions, Ch. 11 read “Abortion” p. 250-255; “Death Penalty” p. 263-266
→Fiorina, If America is not Polarized, Why do so Many Americans Think it
is? (in Culture War, Ch.2 p. 11-32)
Apr. 17
Final Exam Overview
Apr. 20
FINAL EXAM (in class)
Apr. 22
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