Public opinion / Vincent Price.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Price, Vincent.

Series:

Communication concepts 1057-7440 ; 4.

Communication concepts, 1057-7440 ; 4

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public opinion.

Physical Description:

viii, 112 pages ; 23 cm.

Place of Publication:

Newbury Park : Sage Publications, [1992]

Summary:

Juxtaposes the work of historians, philosophers, psychologists, political scientists and sociologists in an effort to ponder the knotty conceptual problems that continue to occupy the best minds in the field.--cf. Foreword.

Contents:

2. Problems of Public Opinion 4

Origins of the Idea 5

Anticipations and Approximations 5

Early Conceptions of Opinion 6

Early Conceptions of Public 7

The Birth of Public Opinion 8

Emergence of a Public Sphere 9

Ambiguities in the Meaning of Public Opinion 10

Public Opinion and Majority Rule 12

Public Opinion as an Object of Study 14

Enduring Problems of Public Opinion 15

Lack of Competence 17

Lack of Resources 18

Tyranny of the Majority 19

Susceptibility to Persuasion 20

Domination by Elites 20

3. Conceptualizing the Public 22

Crowd, Public, and Mass 24

Issues and Publics 29

Phases of Development 30

Actors and Spectators 31

Expanding Public Debate 32

After an Issue Is Resolved 33

Observing the Public 33

The General Public 35

The Voting Public 37

The Attentive Public 38

The Active Public 39

Issue Publics 41

4. Conceptualizing Opinions 45

Opinions and Attitudes 46

Opinions as Expressions 47

Opinions as Thoughtful 48

Opinions as Adaptations of Attitudes to Specific Issues 48

Inferring Psychological Bases for Opinions 49

Schemata 52

Values 55

Group Identifications 56

Forming Opinions 57

Observing Opinions 59

What Is It About? 60

What Are the Choices? 61

Is It Well Considered? 63

How Well Organized? 64

How Strongly Held? 65

Will It Lead to Committed Action? 66

How Does It Relate to Other People? 67

5. Conceptualizing Public Opinion Processes 71

Collective and Individual Aspects 72

The Notion of Public Debate 74

Dynamics of Group Decision Making 74

Public Debate in Larger Social Settings 76

Political Actors, Journalists, and the Attentive Public 78

Public as Spectator 79

The Roles Played by Journalists 80

Observing Public Opinion 83

Using Survey Data 84

Using Content Analysis 86

Using Less-Structured Survey Techniques 88

Observing the Process of Public Debate 89

Conclusion: Public Opinion as a Communication Concept 90.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 93-106) and index.

ISBN:

080394022X

9780803940222

0803940238

9780803940239

OCLC:

29550160

Online:

Publisher description