Studies in Public Opinion: Attitudes, Nonattitudes, Measurement Error, and ChangeWillem E. Saris, Paul M. Sniderman 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
Different Judgment Models for Policy Questions Competing or Complementary? | 17 |
Separation of Error Method Effects Instability and Attitude Strength | 37 |
Good Bad and Ambivalent The Consequences of Multidimensional Political Attitudes | 63 |
The NotSoAmbivalent Public Policy Attitudes in the Political Culture of Ambivalence | 93 |
The Structure of Political Argument and the Logic of Issue Framing | 133 |
Floating Voters in US Presidential Elections 19482000 | 166 |
Importance Knowledge and Accessibility Exploring the Dimensionality of StrengthRelated Attitude Properties | 215 |
Stability and Change of Opinion The Case of Swiss Policy against Pollution Caused by Cars | 242 |
Attitude Strength and Response Stability of a QuasiBalanced Political Alienation Scale in a Panel Study | 268 |
Coping with the Nonattitudes Phenomenon A Survey Research Approach | 295 |
The Influence of Information on Considered Opinions The Example of the Choice Questionnaire | 314 |
A Consistency Theory of Public Opinion and Political Choice The Hypothesis of Menu Dependence | 337 |
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