Report in Social Sciences:

Lesson 10 – Public Opinion

and Propaganda
BY: MARC HERJAY D. TUPAZ AND MYRHICKA NADINE CARILLAGA
 Public Opinion
Various interpretations and assumptions about public opinion reflect different interpretations
which show that public opinion is indeed a very complicated study. In political science, the study
of public opinion is focused on the analysis of interaction between citizens and groups, and
between citizens and the state.
Historical Origins. The origin of the term “public opinion” may be traced to ancient times –
during the golden ages of Greece and the Roman Empire. In the Greek city-state of Athens where
ancient democracy was born, the citizens assembled in open sessions to discuss freely the issues
open in that day.
Fast-forward to the Middle Ages where according to Rodee, Anderson, and Christol, some
philosophers popularized the maxim: Vox populi, Vox deii (The voice of the people is the voice of
God). Later, Machiavelli in his Discourses compared the voice of the people to the voice of God.
It was in the 18th century that the phrase “public opinion” in the sense of popular participation
in the formation, execution and criticism of public policy was introduced in Western Europe.
 Public Opinion
Jean-Jacques Rosseau, father of direct democracy, was the first to use the phrase during the
French Revolution.
The Meaning of Public Opinion. As already stated, the meaning of public opinion can be
analyzed in different ways. For instance, psychologist Floyd Allport defined public opinion in
terms of a “multi-individual situation in which individuals are expressing themselves as favoring
or opposing some definite condition, person, or proposal.”
Put in another way, public opinion refers to the collective individual opinions of a designated
public concerning government and politics.
Lawson’s definition is somewhat similar with Rodee et al., in that, public opinion is an agregate
of individual opinions on any issue, but found on examination to be varied and conflicting.
 Public
A public is generally believed to be a part of a society, so that there are many types of public:
a.) a group of people that share common interests like that in a civic club or a class in a
classroom
b.) may also be described in terms of geographical divisions such as the people in a town, city, or
state.
According to sociologists, public is a group of people confronted by an issue and are divided in
opinion by the issues.
In the area of political dynamics, public is a group of people with common interests that makes
itself in some stages of the fomulation and execution of government policies.
*In the view of Rodee, Anderson and Christol, an opinion may be regarded as a belief that must
be expressed in words on an issue or proposition.
 Public
Public opinion, according to William Albig, is the expression of all the members of a group who
are giving attention in any way to a given issue.
For David Truman’s point-of-view, public opinion consists of the opinions of a group of persons
making up the public on the given issue under discussion.
To sum up, the definition of public opinion contains three aspects:
a.) Must have an aggregate of persons rather than a single individuals
b.) Opinons must be expressed or communicated to others.
C.) Develops only when there is an issue
 Methods of Measuring Public Opinion
In the view of James Bryce, democracy should be based on public opinion. Here are some of the
methods to measure it:
1. Through the ballot
*Freedom of suffrage – freedom to vote as one wishes
*Utang na loob principle – voting not according to who is the most deserving, but to who is owed to
by the masses.
2. Pressure Groups – through letters, telegrams and testimonies, people communicate their views to
public officials.
3. Direct Contact to the Citizens
4. Referendum or Plebiscite – in many democratic countries, referendum is an institution of direct
democracy used to ratify constitutional amendments and prevent bad laws from being implemented
5. Opinion Polls – examples like Literary Digest, Farm Journal and the Pathfinder
 Random Sampling
Random sampling – mean the polling of a remarkably small but chosen group of people
reflective on the cross-section of the population which takes into consideration such variables as
place of residence, age, sex, religion, professional interests, etc.
Two primary sampling procedures in random polling:
1.) Area sampling – requires select individuals to be interviewed from carefully chosen areas.
2.) Quota sampling – given number of people are designated to be interviewed in certain strata.
This is also called stratified sampling.
 Techniques for Ascertaining Public
Opinion
1.) Analyze newspaper editorials and magazine commentaries
2.) Determine the opinions of radio commentators, public speakers, television interviewers, etc.
3.) Find results that are more of less influenced by certain forces.
4.) Base your opinions on what is right
Big names in the US that are associated with public opinion polls, these are:
Paul T. Cherrington, Elmo Rope, Archibald M. Crossley, and Dr. George Gallup.
 Public Opinion Polls
Dr. George Gallup, from the viewpoint of political philosophy, defended public opinion polls as
follows:
1.) There are no indications that pollsters will dominate legislators in the role of formulating and
determining public policy
2.) Polls uncover areas of ignorance in the electorate
3.) Polls serve as to check to the power and to influence of pressure groups
4.) Polls assist administrative departments in making decisions
5.) Polls speed up the processes of democracy with reports on public opinion
6.) Polls help define the mandate of the people in national elections.
 Public Opinion Polls
Criticisms defined at public opinion polls are as follows:
1.) Represent an unwise attempt to move towards direct democracy
2.) The public is believed to have no opinion, an polling merely extracts meaningless answers of
“yes”, “no” and “I don’t know”
3.) Reduce the power of legislature in its role in policymaking
4.) Creates a bandwagon effect
5.) Scientific polling does not offer an accurate gauge of the intensity of opinion