Overview

Examining the nature of public opinion in democratic societies, this Handbook succinctly illustrates the importance of public opinion as an instrument of popular control and democratic accountability. Expert contributors in the field provide a thorough review of a variety of theoretical and methodological approaches to the study of this timely topic. The concise but comprehensive chapters investigate the theoretical value of biological, contextual, psychological, sociological and economic perspectives when exploring public opinion. The Handbook also demonstrates useful insights that can be generated from quantitative or qualitative research designs from both an observational and experimental perspective. Furthermore, its informative assessment of the origins and structure of how public opinion is formed allows for a greater understanding of how policies are developed as a result. Providing a state-of-the-art review, this Handbook will be an excellent study resource for scholars of public opinion in political science, sociology and psychology. Political practitioners, particularly government officials, political operatives and pollsters will also find this informative and illuminating.

Full Product Details

Author:   Thomas J. Rudolph
Publisher:   Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Imprint:   Edward Elgar Publishing Ltd
Dimensions:   Width: 16.90cm , Height: 1.50cm , Length: 24.40cm
Weight:   0.666kg
ISBN:  

9781800379602

ISBN 10:   1800379609
Pages:   480
Publication Date:   19 August 2022
Audience:   Professional and scholarly ,  Professional & Vocational
Format:   Hardback
Publisher's Status:   Active
Availability:   In Print  
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Table of Contents

Contents: 1 Public opinion and democracy 1 Thomas J. Rudolph PART I THE MEANING AND MEASUREMENT OF PUBLIC OPINION 2 Diagnosing survey response quality 10 D. Sunshine Hillygus and Tina LaChapelle 3 The quantitative assessment of public opinion 26 Allyson L. Holbrook and Joanne M. Miller 4 The qualitative study of public opinion 41 Katherine J. Cramer 5 Implicit attitudes and mass political opinion 54 Efren O. Perez and Bianca V. Vicuna PART II THE ORIGINS OF PUBLIC OPINION 6 Genopolitics 71 Gergo Zavecz and Levente Littvay 7 Personality, public opinion, and politics 83 Megan L. Remmel and Jeffery J. Mondak 8 Political socialization 99 Marc Hooghe PART III THE STRUCTURE OF PUBLIC OPINION 9 The conditional nature of ideology in mass publics 112 Nathan P. Kalmoe 10 Core values 128 Paul Goren 11 Ambivalence in mass politics 141 Marco Steenbergen 12 Partisanship and public opinion 168 Ianne S. Wang and Samara Klar 13 Race and public opinion: American dilemma, American divide 178 Davin L. Phoenix and Francisco Jasso 14 Public opinion and gender 193 Mary-Kate Lizotte 15 The religious politics of threat in religion and politics research 208 Paul A. Djupe PART IV ENVIRONMENTAL INFLUENCES ON PUBLIC OPINION 16 Electoral geography, political behavior and public opinion 224 James G. Gimpel and Andrew Reeves 17 Media effects and news exposure: new forms of data to address old questions 241 Susan Banducci, Laszlo Horvath, Ekaterina Kolpinskaya and Daniel Stevens 18 Affective polarization in the American public 257 James N. Druckman and Jeremy Levy PART V THE PSYCHOLOGY OF PUBLIC OPINION 19 Heuristics and cues 272 Cheryl Boudreau 20 Emotions in politics: The relevance of groups 283 Bethany Albertson and Benjamin T. White 21 Motivated reasoning in politics 298 Eric Groenendyk PART VI PUBLIC OPINION AND DEMOCRATIC CITIZENSHIP 22 Political knowledge 313 Jennifer Wolak 23 Political tolerance in an age of liberal democratic backsliding 328 Mark Peffley and Robert Rohrschneider 24 New thrusts and new opportunities in the study of citizen performance in democratic societies 341 James H. Kuklinski and Benjamin Miller PART VII PUBLIC OPINION AND GOVERNMENT 25 The nature of political trust in mass publics 355 Marc J. Hetherington and Thomas J. Rudolph 26 On collective representation 369 Ross Buchanan, Megan Dias, and Christopher Wlezien 27 Courts and public opinion: a critical review 382 Brandon L. Bartels PART VIII PUBLIC OPINION AND PUBLIC POLICY 28 Economic opinion 399 Spencer Goidel and Paul M. Kellstedt 29 Economic self-interest in public opinion about immigration 411 Morris Levy and Matthew Wright 30 Public opinion and foreign policy: beyond the electoral connection 428 Peter Gries and Tao Wang Index

Reviews

'In the face of widespread polarisation, democracies in retreat, and crises of global proportions, a need has arisen to explore the individual and societal causes, interactions, and implications of these profound developments. This impressively comprehensive Handbook addresses this challenging task by focusing on the central role of public opinion, leaving hardly any question unanswered.' -- Sonja Zmerli, Sciences Po Grenoble, France 'Two things make this volume entirely irresistible. The first is the line-up of quite prominent, well-versed, and insightful scholars contributing chapters, and the second is the breadth and depth of public opinion topics covered. I started reading this book by ticking off in the table of contents the chapters I wanted to read closely. I was then amazed to find that I had selected nearly all the chapters. This Handbook will prove invaluable for students of public opinion, including undergraduates, graduate students, and the professoriate.' -- James Gibson, Washington University in St. Louis, US

Author Information

Edited by Thomas J. Rudolph, Lincoln Distinguished Professorial Scholar and Professor of Political Science, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, US

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