International Journal of Public Opinion Research - current issue

Editorial

Donsbach, W., Neijens, P., Traugott, M. W. — 2009-06-17

Perceptual Phenomena in the Agenda Setting Process

Huck, I., Quiring, O., Brosius, H.-B. — 2009-06-17

The integration of formerly isolated theoretical concepts is probably one of the most challenging tasks in the development of media effects theory. While agenda setting has already been linked to priming and framing via the concept of second level agenda-setting, this article takes a closer look into perceptual phenomena within the agenda-setting process, thus linking micro-level psychological theories with macro-level theories of political communication. Starting with third-person perceptions, we argue that part of the agenda-setting function of the mass media is to inform recipients what other people believe to be important. Along these lines of thought, a theoretical model of agenda-setting effects is outlined in which perceptual components play an important role in the conceived process of media influence.

Stratification and Global Elite Theory: A Cross-Cultural and Longitudinal Analysis of Public Opinion

Davidson, R., Poor, N., Williams, A. — 2009-06-17

Many scholars have argued that globalization involves the emergence of a global elite, who are attached more to supra-national identities than others, who remain more local. Two variants of the global elite can be found in the literature: cosmopolitan and capitalist. This literature suggests more broadly that cross-nationally stratification has a consistent influence on attitudes pertinent to globalization such as support for global economic institutions. Using a social stratification approach, we examined nine developed societies from the World Values Survey to test whether stratification is related to attitudes towards globalization, and find only modest support for the contention that the upper strata become more cosmopolitan and more capitalist, or in a word, more global. The evidence suggests that the attitudinal globalization of the upper strata in developed economies is temporary and does not occur simultaneously in all countries, and that it does not increase consistently over time.

The Reflective Cue: Prompting Citizens for Greater Consideration of Reasons

Manosevitch, E. — 2009-06-17

This research explores means by which news media may help promote public awareness and consideration of reasons for supporting differing perspectives on public issues. The study draws on the concept argument repertoire (Cappella et al., 2002) and recent work on citizens’ exposure to diverse issue positions and rationales (Mutz, 2006). Merging scholarship in political psychology and information processing, the study introduces the reflective cue—a contextual cue designed to fit news media formats and induce more systematic processing of news. A controlled experiment (n = 265) documents support for the study's predictions that the exposure to the reflective cue in news would have positive effects on information-processing behavior and cognitive orientations related to the role of informed citizenry and media in democracy. Interestingly, exposure to the cue did not enhance subjects’ expression of issue-position reasons. I discuss possible explanations and implications of the findings, and offer directions for future.

Frame Flow between Government and the News Media and its Effects on the Public: Framing of North Korea

Lim, J., Seo, H. — 2009-06-17

Public opinion is likely to be susceptible to the way a government and the news media frame foreign countries, because unlike domestic issues, foreign news is typically beyond a person's direct experience. How does the American public respond to foreign news when its government and the news media promote competing frames and change their prominence according to the relations between the U.S. and that foreign country? The present study shows this frame building and frame effects by using a public opinion poll and content analysis of U.S. policy statements and media coverage. North Korea was chosen because its visibility to the American public has increased since President George W. Bush designated it as one of the countries in the "axis of evil". The results show that during a four-month period, the U.S. government and the newspaper produced three competing frames, and that the magnitude of the frames shifted as U.S.–North Korean relationships shifted. These shifts in turn made the American public choose economic sanctions over military solutions toward the country.

An Application of the Estimated Dependent Variable Approach: Trade Union Members' Support for Active Labor Market Policies and Insider-Outsider Politics

Nelson, M. — 2009-06-17

The Effect of Phrasing Scale Items in Low-Brow or High-Brow Language on Responses

Blasius, J., Friedrichs, J. — 2009-06-17

The wording of questions is a crucial problem in questionnaire construction. We posit that the semantic meanings of single words or short statements may differ among respondents, their interpretations and, accordingly, the responses may vary among respondents. This assumption is tested in a representative survey among residents in a deprived area in Cologne, Germany, using a scale on "Perceived Neighbourhood Disorder" introduced by Ross and Mirowski (1999). In the translated German version of the scale, we used a split-half design, varying the phrasing of eight of the eleven items by using (a) low-brow (or everyday) or (b) high-brow (or elaborated) language. Besides testing the assumption that phrasing has an effect, we wished to explore the kind of effect it has on respondents of different socio-economic characteristics such as age and education, and also attitudinal variables. The results support our assumptions: phrasing has an effect, since answers and scale means differ significantly. Results of multivariate analyses suggest that the low-brow language version is the more appropriate way for item wording.

Ralph Negrine (2008). The Transformation of Political Communication. Continuities and Changes in media and politics.

Louw, E. — 2009-06-17

Beverley A. Searle (2008). Well-being: In Search of a Good Life?

Breznau, N. — 2009-06-17

Recent Books in the Field of Public Opinion Research

de Boer, C. — 2009-06-17

Recent Articles in the Field of Public Opinion Research

Mortimore, R. — 2009-06-17

WAPOR News

2009-06-17