Studies in Public Opinion : Attitudes, Nonattitudes, Measurement Error, and Change / Willem E. Saris, Paul M. Sniderman.

Format:

Book

Contributor:

Saris, Willem E., editor.

Sniderman, Paul M., editor.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Public opinion polls.

Political psychology.

Public opinion.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (ix, 366 p. :) ill. ;

Place of Publication:

Princeton, NJ : Princeton University Press, [2018]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

In democratic societies, opinion polls play a vital role. But it has been demonstrated that many people do not have an opinion about major issues--the "nonattitudes" problem. Also, the framing of questions in different ways can generate very different estimates of public opinion--the "framing" effect. Both dilemmas raise questions about the competence of ordinary citizens to play the role a democratic society ostensibly expects of them. Although the impact of some factors is well established, particularly political information and sophistication, much is yet to be understood. Building on and reaching beyond themes in the work of Philip Converse, one of the pioneers in the study of public opinion, Studies in Public Opinion brings together a group of leading American and European social scientists to explore a number of new factors, with a particular emphasis on the structure of political choices. In twelve chapters that reflect different perspectives on how people form political opinions and how these opinions are manipulated, this book offers an unparalleled view of the state-of-the-art research on these important questions as it has developed on two continents. The contributors include Matthew K. Berent, Jaak Billiet, George Y. Bizer, Paul R. Brewer, John Bullock, Danielle Bütschi, Michael Guge, Hanspeter Kriesi, Jon A. Krosnick, Milton Lodge, Michael F. Meffert, Peter Neijens, Willem E. Saris, Paul M. Sniderman, Marco R. Steenbergen, Marc Swyngedouw, Sean M. Theriault, William van der Veld, Penny S. Visser, Hans Waege, and John Zaller.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

List of Contributors

Introduction / Saris, Willem E. / Sniderman, Paul M.

PART I: A Synoptic Perspective

CHAPTER 1: Different Judgment Models for Policy Questions: Competing or Complementary? / Saris, Willem E.

CHAPTER 2: Separation of Error, Method Effects, Instability, and Attitude Strength / van der Veld, William / Saris, Willem E.

PART II: The Problem of Ambivalence

CHAPTER 3: Good, Bad, and Ambivalent: The Consequences of Multidimensional Political Attitudes / Meffert, Michael F. / Guge, Michael / Lodge, Milton

CHAPTER 4: The Not-So-Ambivalent Public: Policy Attitudes in the Political Culture of Ambivalence / Steenbergen, Marco R. / Brewer, Paul R.

PART III: Politics and Nonattitudes

CHAPTER 5: The Structure of Political Argument and the Logic of Issue Framing / Sniderman, Paul M. / Theriault, Sean M.

CHAPTER 6: Floating Voters in U.S. Presidential Elections, 1948-2000 / Zaller, John

PART IV: Attitude Strength and Attitude Stability

CHAPTER 7: Importance, Knowledge, and Accessibility: Exploring the Dimensionality of Strength-Related Attitude Properties / Bizer, George Y. / Visser, Penny S. / Berent, Matthew K. / Krosnick, Jon A.

CHAPTER 8: Stability and Change of Opinion: The Case of Swiss Policy against Pollution Caused by Cars / Kriesi, Hanspeter

CHAPTER 9: Attitude Strength and Response Stability of a Quasi-Balanced Political Alienation Scale in a Panel Study / Billiet, Jaak / Swyngedouw, Marc / Waege, Hans

PART V: An Alternative to the Standard Opinion Poll

CHAPTER 10: Coping with the Nonattitudes Phenomenon: A Survey Research Approach / Neijens, Peter

CHAPTER 11: The Influence of Information on Considered Opinions: The Example of the Choice Questionnaire / Bütschi, Danielle

PART VI: Looking Forward

CHAPTER 12: A Consistency Theory of Public Opinion and Political Choice: The Hypothesis of Menu Dependence / Sniderman, Paul M. / Bullock, John

Index

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 23. Mai 2019)

ISBN:

9780691188386

0691188386

OCLC:

1132226773