Formation of Public Opinion - Research Paper Example

 Formation of Public Opinion Abstract Public opinion is form by a combination of means. Using two of several definitions of public opinion is helpful: 3. The clash of interest groups (i.e., public opinion is not so much a function of what individuals think, but a reflection of how their opinions are cultivated, crystallized, and eventually communicated by interest groups). 4. Public opinion is media and elite opinions. (i.e., public opinion is the creation of elite and social leaders, the projection of what journalists, politicians, pollsters, and other “elites” believe). Additionally, it is worth exploring how early focus, flawed polls, and a forgiving and forgetful public play a role. Formation of Public Opinion I believe public opinion is mainly form in two ways. Public opinion is a synthesis of these two definitions: 3. The clash of interest groups (i.e., public opinion is not so much a function of what individuals think, but a reflection of how their opinions are cultivated, crystallized, and eventually communicated by interest groups). 4. Public opinion is media and elite opinions. (i.e., public opinion is the creation of elite and social leaders, the projection of what journalists, politicians, pollsters, and other “elites” believe). Although the term propaganda may seem harsh, its description seems to reflect modern methods of forming public opinion. Propaganda is the systematic manipulation of public opinion, generally by the use of symbols such as flags, monuments, oratory, and publications. Modern propaganda is distinguished from other forms of communication in that it is consciously and deliberately used to influence group attitudes; all other functions are secondary. Almost any attempt to sway public opinion, including lobbying, commercial advertising, and missionary work, can be broadly construed as propaganda. Generally, however, the term is restricted to the manipulation of political beliefs. Although allusions to propaganda can be found in ancient writings (e.g., Aristotle's Rhetoric), the organized use of propaganda did not develop until after the Industrial Revolution, when modern instruments of communication first enabled propagandists to easily reach mass audiences. The printing press, for example, made it possible for Thomas Paine's Common Sense to reach a large number of American colonists. Later, during the 20th cent., the advent of radio and television enabled propagandists to reach even greater numbers of people. In addition to the development of modern media, the rise of total warfare and of political movements has also contributed to the growing importance of propaganda in the 20th century. In What Is To Be Done? (1902) V. I. Lenin emphasized the use of "agitprop," a combination of political agitation and propaganda designed to win the support of intellectuals and workers for the Communist revolution. Adolf Hitler and Benito Mussolini also used propaganda, especially in oratory, to develop and maintain the support of the masses. During World War II, all the warring nations employed propaganda, often called psychological warfare, to boost civilian and military morale as well as to demoralize the enemy. The U.S. agency charged with disseminating wartime propaganda was the Office of War Information. In the postwar era propaganda, activities continue to play a major role in world affairs. The United States Information Agency (USIA) was established in 1953 to facilitate the international dissemination of information about the United States. Radio Moscow, Radio Havana, and The Voice of America are just three of the large radio stations that provide information and propaganda throughout the world. In addition, certain refinements of the propaganda technique have developed, most notably brainwashing, the intensive indoctrination of political opponents against their will. Additionally, public opinion can result from early focus on an issue, flawed polls, and a forgiving public. Early focus on an issue sways the opinion on an issue for the remainder. For example, sugar substitutes earned an early reputation for being unsafe despite many scientific studies that have proven other wise. A national manufacturer of a popular artificial sweetener developed a consumer education program designed to reassure the public about the product's safety. Elements of the campaign included print advertising, a radio promotion, a celebrity media tour and personal appearance, a contest and product giveaways at a shopping mall, and a cause-related donation to charity. A test market was selected, and a wave of telephone polling was conducted to assess consumers' perceptions of the product. The program was executed and the test market was saturated with positive messages about the sweetener. Fifteen stories related to the campaign were carried in seven different print and broadcast media over a three-week period. The radio promotion aired in drive time every weekday of the three weeks. Post-campaign telephone polling was conducted. The program succeeded in making consumers who were already favorably disposed toward the product feel even better about it. However, the prime target audience -- consumers who thought the sweetener was unsafe -- was unaffected. The campaign was discarded. Total cost: $250,000. That real life scenario underscores the importance of an early focus on the issues as a means of shaping public opinion. What the artificial sweetener was struggling to overcome were entrenched associations in the minds of consumers with the well-publicized dangers of saccharin. Numerous official inquires into the sweetener's safety resulted in study after study, all of which deemed the product safe. However, such findings did not serve to sway that core segment of the public already convinced that the produce posed a health hazard just like saccharin. When Eastern Airline pilots went on strike trying to bring attention to Eastern’s unsafe practices, the public already formed an early opinion that pilots were overpaid whiners. So, any legitimate safety concern was ignored. Organizations can use this phenomenon to their advantage. Oklahoma oil producers knew they would have to deal with obstacles from environmental activists. They went to these groups up front to solicit their opinions on how to implement the plan. This preempted any trouble. In addition to preconceived opinions, flawed polls weigh heavily on the formation of public opinion. George Bishop studied this issue in The Illusion of Public Opinion: Fact and Artifact in American Public Opinion Polls. It has become commonplace to speak of "public opinion" as if it were a concrete concept. There also is a tendency to speak about the mass public as if it has a clearly discernible opinion on any given issue. Even in regard to familiar poll measures, the author lays out a convincing case about why "artifacts" of opinion polls should be either dismissed entirely or read with a great deal of skepticism. In the first three chapters, Bishop discusses the "illusion" of public opinion and how it is created. Despite "the problem of public ignorance" (pp. 8-13), pollsters tend to design questions to discourage respondents from not responding because they do not have an answer to the question. This becomes particularly problematic given the long tradition of research -- dating back to Gallup, Converse, and others--that makes it clear that respondents will readily offer opinions on subjects they know little or nothing about (including fictitious issues). Bishop examines several examples from polls about public-policy issues to show how respondents come up with an "imputed meaning" (p. 26) for survey questions, producing misleading results. Many readers will find chapter 4 to be particularly interesting because of the way that Bishop revisits an old controversy in the political behavioral field. Norman Nie and others in the mid-1970s contended that there was a "changing American voter," revising the earlier work of Converse and others who had suggested there was a distinction between a relatively well-informed elite opinion and a more poorly informed mass opinion. Although Bishop argues that Converse's work was flawed, he takes particular aim at Nie's work. Nie suggestion that the American voter had become more ideologically consistent after 1964 has always had its detractors. However, Bishop takes the criticism a step further by citing an unpublished conference paper and an unpublished master's thesis of one of Nie's students that indicate that Nie and his colleagues knew that the questions they were comparing at two points in time were not comparable. Bishop asserts that the "conspicuous absence" of one particularly problematic survey question from Nie's study "remains a mystery to say the least" (p. 76). In addition to flawed polls, public opinion is influenced by a forgiving and forgetful public. “Disgrace ain't what it used to be” goes the popular saying. These days, a fall from grace can earn you book deals and movie rights as you navigate the talk show circuit on your way to a lucrative career. There are many examples mostly dealing with sexual scandals. Presidential adviser Dick Morris was caught with a $200 and hour prostitute. He admitted it on the spot and the story was over that week. There was no press on the impact adultery had on his family, however. Instead, this affair catapulted him into a lucrative consulting career. The public seemed to say, “Lying about it would be bad but the actual adultery with a prostitute is not bad.” Former Washington, DC mayor Marion Barry denied his sexual missteps, which seemed to drag the story on. After several drug raids and a prison term, he won his reelection by a landslide. His supporters were upset that anyone would try to railroad this fine upstanding citizen. Fallen televangelist Jim Bakker wrote a book after being paroled from prison. The public forgave and forgot Woody Allen when he had sex with his adoptive daughter and then married her. Children’s television star Pee-wee Herman is now back in the business after getting caught masturbating in a porno theater. Admitting to human frailty immediately is the rule for hopping on the comeback trail. This worked for Duchess of York, Sarah Ferguson after having had her toes sucked on a public beach. She immediately admitted wrongdoing and now has a successful contract with Weight Watchers. "Everyone says that was a huge mistake, and it was, but I actually feel when I look back . . . that I learned so much. You pay the price, you do your mistakes, and then you go forward." The duchess has just completed a book tour and is courting offers for a TV talk show. Banished ice skater Tonya Harding is trying this method. She hopes to be reinstated by the U.S. Figure Skating Association, which bounced her from competition because of her role in the assault on rival Nancy Kerrigan. Debonair actor Hugh Grant, who was dating a supermodel at the time, was caught with a prostitute. He immediately admitted it and his career did not falter, but rather, took off. Is there anything Americans won’t forgive and forget? O.J. Simpson. Despite hi acquittal, most Americans believe he murdered his wife. Jerry Lee Lewis never recovered from marrying his 13-year old cousin. Director Roman Polanski fled the U.S. after being accused of child molestation never to return. Both the redeemed and unredeemed were made by media perception at the time. Public opinion is formed by a fascinating array of factors mainly resulting from the media and interest groups. From these main sources, phenomena such as early focus, flawed polls, and a forgiving and forgetful public solidify the effect in forming public opinion. Read More