Public opinion facts for kids
Public opinion is what most people think or feel about a certain topic or issue. It's like the "voice of the people" on things that affect their lives. This idea first came from France in the 1600s. But people had thought about how important public opinion was even before then.
Before the internet and TV, people shared their thoughts in places like coffee houses. These places were important for spreading ideas and opinions. Today, many believe that news and social media greatly influence what people think. Politicians often try to shape public opinion using ads or speeches. One big challenge is when misinformation (wrong information) tries to influence what people believe.
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What Does "Public Opinion" Mean?
The words "public opinion" come from the French phrase opinion publique. A writer named Michel de Montaigne first used it in 1588. Another French writer, Jean-Jacques Rousseau, also used it later.
In English, similar ideas appeared earlier. For example, William Temple wrote about "general opinion" in 1672. John Locke talked about the "law of opinion" in 1689.
How Public Opinion Became Important
Public opinion started to become a big deal in politics in the late 1600s. But people knew its importance much earlier. In the Middle Ages, "public fame" or "common voice" had a lot of legal and social power. Later, William Shakespeare called public opinion the "mistress of success." Blaise Pascal even said it was "the queen of the world."
John Locke believed people followed three main laws: God's law, civil law, and the "law of opinion" or reputation. He thought this last one was most important. This is because people often change their behavior to fit social norms, fearing what others might think. However, Locke didn't think public opinion should guide governments.
In 1672, William Temple wrote that governments exist because of public opinion. He said that people give up their lives and money to a ruler because of "custom, or opinion." He disagreed that government was based on a social contract. Instead, he thought it was allowed to exist because people favored it.
For public opinion to grow, more people needed to read. The Reformation encouraged people to read the Bible themselves. Printing presses also grew quickly. In the 1700s, religious books were replaced by novels and pamphlets. Reading clubs and societies also became popular. The first public libraries opened, making books available to everyone.
Coffee Houses: Places for Ideas
Coffee houses were very important for public opinion to grow. They became common across Europe in the mid-1600s. Even though King Charles II tried to close them, people loved them. He thought they were places where "disaffected" people spread bad rumors about him.
Coffee houses were open to all men, no matter their social class. This made them places of equality. They became spots for business, sharing news, and reading government announcements. Lloyd's of London, a famous insurance company, started in a coffeehouse. By 1739, London had over 500 coffeehouses. Each attracted different groups, like politicians, writers, or merchants.
Gentleman's Clubs
Gentlemen's clubs also grew popular in the 1700s, especially in London. They took over some of the roles of coffee houses. These clubs were most influential in the late 1800s. Some famous ones, like White's and Brooks's, still exist today.
These social changes meant that more people could read and get involved in politics. Governments started to see how important it was to manage public opinion. For example, George Canning changed his political career. He went from being an aristocrat to seeking popular support. He won a seat in Liverpool by appealing to the growing middle class.
Jeremy Bentham strongly believed public opinion was key to good government. He thought all government actions should be open to public view. He said public opinion was the "only check" against bad government power. He believed it could make sure rulers worked for the good of most people.
How We Understand Public Opinion
A German thinker named Ferdinand Tönnies said that public opinion works like religion does in communities. It helps societies function.
Another German thinker, Jürgen Habermas, talked about the "public sphere." This is a place where public opinion can be formed. Habermas believed the public sphere should be open to everyone. It should allow for fair debates and ignore social rank. However, he thought these ideal conditions no longer exist in many democracies. He felt that public opinion could be easily controlled by powerful people.
The American sociologist Herbert Blumer had a different idea. He saw public opinion as a type of "collective behavior." It's made up of people discussing a public issue. So, there are many "publics," and each one forms when an issue comes up. It disappears when the issue is solved. Blumer believed that opinion polls can't truly measure the public.
Public opinion is very important in politics. Studies often look at how people vote. They examine how special interest groups affect elections. They also study how government messages and policies influence people.
Today, we study public opinion in four main ways:
- Measuring how opinions are spread out.
- Looking at how individual opinions connect on an issue.
- Describing the role public opinion plays in society.
- Studying how media spreads ideas and how people try to influence opinions.
Measuring public opinion has become very common. We can get accurate results using survey sampling. Both private companies and governments use surveys. They use them to help make public policies and for public relations.
How Opinions Are Formed
Many ideas explain how people's opinions are formed and change. Much of this comes from studying how people develop their attitudes. In communication and political studies, mass media is often seen as a big influence on public opinion. Also, how people learn about politics and even their genes can play a role.
How Mass Media Influences Us
The way public opinion forms often starts with "agenda setting" by major news outlets. This means the media decides what is newsworthy. They also decide how and when to report it. Many things influence what stories the media chooses to cover.
Another key part of forming public opinion is "framing." This is when a news story is presented in a certain way. It's meant to make people feel a certain way about it. For example, if a politician once voted to raise taxes, a headline might say, "Candidate X Doesn't Care About the Middle Class." This makes the politician look bad to the reader.
"Social desirability" also helps form public opinion. This is the idea that people often form opinions based on what they think their social group believes. News and social media often repeat certain opinions. This can create a false idea of what is true. When people don't know much about a topic, they might give "pseudo-opinions." These are opinions they think will please the person asking.
Public opinion can be shaped by public relations and political media. Also, mass media uses many advertising tricks to spread messages. Since the 1950s, television has been the main way to shape public opinion. Since the late 2000s, the internet has become very important. Surveys show that more people get news from social media and news websites than from newspapers. Social media makes it easier for many different groups to form public opinion.
The Role of Influencers
Studies have looked at whether "influentials" affect public opinion. These are people who have a big impact on what the public thinks. Many early studies suggested a "two-step" process. First, mass media influences these "influencers." Then, these influencers affect the general public.
More recent studies suggest that regular people can also influence opinions. This happens if the general public is made up of people who are easily influenced. This idea is called the "Influential Hypothesis." It means that influence flows in more complex ways. It's not just from media to influencers to the public. It also flows between influencers and the public.
Public Opinion and Government Rules
How public opinion affects government rules is a big topic. Some believe that powerful leaders make decisions. Others think that many different groups influence decisions. These groups interact with government leaders.
Social scientists study how public opinion shapes public policy. They find many ways opinion affects policy. They also see that policy can affect opinion. Public opinion tells politicians what people want and how they might vote. This is especially true in democracies. It's also very important for social policies. This is because people care about the services they get from the government.
On the other hand, social policies also shape public opinion. The services people get create expectations that influence what they think. Social policy also takes up a large part of government spending. This makes it a very active political area. These ideas suggest that opinion and policy are part of a "feedback loop." They constantly influence each other.
Public Opinion and Foreign Policy
Public opinion also has a close link with foreign policy (how a country deals with other countries). There's a lot of debate about this relationship. Early ideas, like the Almond–Lippmann consensus, said that public opinion on foreign policy was messy and changed a lot. They argued it shouldn't influence foreign policy.
However, newer studies disagree. They show that people's opinions are usually stable. Even if individuals aren't fully informed, they still make smart and logical choices.
People often use "Heuristics" to make judgments. These are mental shortcuts that help make quick decisions. For example, a "deductive heuristic" relies on a person's core values and social groups. "Delegative heuristics" are influenced by trusted figures like the media or the president.
Another idea is Jon Hurwitz and Mark Peffley's "hierarchical attitudes model." They say that opinions on foreign policy are structured. Basic values lead to certain viewpoints, which then shape a person's final opinion. We measure public opinion on foreign policy using polls and surveys. Researchers then use scientific methods to draw conclusions.
Public Opinion and the U.S. President
According to Robert Shapiro, public opinion and policy-making are key to a democracy. This is linked to "electoral accountability." It means that elected leaders should not stray far from what voters want. One challenge is deciding which issues are "important" when collecting data on public opinion. It's hard to know if some issues are ignored.
Another concern is how powerful people influence public opinion. They use persuasion and speeches to shape policy. These are complex things to study. Other factors include how many people share an opinion, election timing, and the type of issue. For example, public opinion on local issues might be more important than on complex foreign affairs.
Presidents can influence their political plans. This makes it easier for them to respond to public opinion. Since they are not a large institution like Congress, they can also change how the public judges them. They might focus on their image and personality instead of just policies.
A study by James N. Druckman and Lawrence R. Jacobs looked at how presidents gather information. They found that presidents collect data on public preferences for big issues like crime and the economy. This shows a type of democracy where the government respects people's views. However, government leaders sometimes believe the public doesn't fully understand complex issues. So, they make decisions on their own.
Baum and Kernell noted a challenge for modern presidents. With so many types of media, it's hard to get people's attention. Presidents now use new media to reach younger generations. They can also target smaller groups of people.
Misinformation
Misinformation is wrong information that people first think is true. But then it is later corrected. According to the Social Science Research Council, we are in a "perfect storm of misinformation." This means wrong information can be very dangerous.
A political scientist named Jennifer Hochschild talks about two types of misinformation:
- Inactive informed: When someone knows the right information but chooses to ignore it.
- Active misinformed: When someone believes wrong information and uses it.
People can move from being "active misinformed" to "active informed." This happens when they are given correct information in a powerful way.
Public Health Misinformation
Misinformation has become a big problem in Public health. The United States National Library of Medicine says, "Misinformation can have negative effects in the real world." For example, it can make people doubt vaccines. It can also spread fake cancer treatments.
Medical misinformation has changed public opinion in cases like the HIV/AIDS epidemic. At first, a myth spread that AIDS could be caught by touching infected people. This wrong idea led to support for strict rules against people with HIV.
Vaccines have also faced health misinformation. For example, some people believed that household disinfectants, like hydroxychloroquine, could treat COVID-19. The CDC found that many adults tried unsafe things to treat COVID-19 because of misinformation.
See also
In Spanish: Opinión pública para niños
- CIA influence on public opinion
- Court of public opinion
- Opinion polls
- Public sphere
- Political socialization
- Public figure
- Truth
- American Association for Public Opinion Research
- European Society for Opinion and Marketing Research
- Roper Center for Public Opinion Research
- World Association for Public Opinion Research
