International Journal of Public Opinion Research - recent issues

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

Editorial

Donsbach, W., Neijens, P., Traugott, M. W. — 2009-03-05

A Lost Decade? Laszlo Radvanyi and the Origins of Public Opinion Research in Mexico, 1941-1952

Moreno, A., Sanchez-Castro, M. — 2009-03-05

This article documents public opinion research activities in Mexico in the 1940s and the role played by Hungarian professor László Radványi, who immigrated to that country at the height of World War II. Our research relies on several of Radványi's publications archived in different countries, as well as on interviews with family, acquaintances, and experts on the work of his wife, the German poet Anna Seghers. During his years in Mexico, Radványi founded the Scientific Institute of Mexican Public Opinion, in 1941, and the International Journal of Opinion and Attitude Research, in 1947—a forefather of today's IJPOR. He was also a founding member of WAPOR. His early "sample surveys" raised important methodological issues and recorded opinion results that reflect the vibrant times of war and policy making in a modernizing country. However, Radványi's contribution to the profession has been virtually forgotten. Until now, accounts about how public opinion research began in Mexico either ignored Radványi's works or reduced his ten years of survey research to a single footnote. This article is an attempt to fill this enormous omission and highlight some of Radványi's contributions to these early stages of survey research.

What Underlies the False Consensus Effect? How Personal Opinion and Disagreement Affect Perception of Public Opinion

Wojcieszak, M., Price, V. — 2009-03-05

This study draws on a sample of participants in online groups to analyze the interaction between individual-level and communicative-level factors that affect public opinion perception. We first assess the association between individual views on several issues—the death penalty, gun regulation and teaching morality in public schools—and false consensus, i.e., the tendency to attribute own views to others. We also examine whether the association between individual opinion and false consensus is mitigated by perceived disagreement with offline discussion networks and with participants in online discussion groups. As expected, not only is there a correlation between personal and perceived opinion, but also those who strongly favor the three policies estimate public support to be higher than do those who are unfavorable or moderate. Multivariate models further show that encountering disagreement, online or offline, attenuates the association between the individual opinion and false consensus. Theoretical and practical implications of these findings are discussed.

The Political Consequences of Ambivalence: The Case of Democratic Reform in Hong Kong

Lee, F. L. F., Chan, J. M. — 2009-03-05

Recent research has shown that attitudinal ambivalence has important implications on political attitudes and behavior. The concept holds one of the keys to understanding complicated and seemingly contradictory opinions of the public. This article examines ambivalence in public opinion regarding democratic reform in Hong Kong. Analysis of a representative survey (N = 600) shows that common citizens indeed have a significant degree of ambivalence toward the government's political reform bill proposed in 2005. Regarding consequences, objective ambivalence is shown to have greater predictive power than subjective ambivalence. The former relates negatively to attitude extremity and weakens the attitude–behavior linkage. However, contrary to the usual finding in the literature, objective ambivalence also relates positively to protest participation intention. The theoretical and social implications of the findings are discussed.

Asking for Numbers and Quantities: Visual Design Effects in Paper&Pencil Surveys

Fuchs, M. — 2009-03-05

When reporting frequencies and quantities in self-administered surveys using open-ended questions, respondents make use of estimation strategies in order to provide a reasonable response. Accordingly, respondents do not only report pure numbers using digits, instead they extend their response to alphanumeric information and explicit estimates (e.g. "about 10–20 cigarettes per day"). Such responses are not only of reduced quality, but they also require a lot of editing and cleaning in the post-field phase of a survey. While previous methodological work on frequency questions has focused on question wording, reference periods and other text elements that have traditionally been considered significant for high quality frequency responses, in this article we test the impact of various graphical characteristics of the response field in order to reduce the number of alphanumeric elaborations and explicit estimates. The field-experimental studies reported are based on the assumption that respondents interpret formal characteristics of frequency questions as meaningful information throughout the question answer process. The findings reported will help survey designers reduce the proportion of estimated responses.

Intergroup Attitudes and Policy Support: How Prejudice against Minority Groups Affects Support for Public Policies

David, C. C. — 2009-03-05

Support for Mothers' Employment at Home: Conflict between Work and Family

Kelley, S. M. C., Kelley, C. G. E., Evans, M. D. R., Kelley, J. — 2009-03-05

Mode Differences Between Face-to-Face and Web Surveys: An Experimental Investigation of Data Quality and Social Desirability Effects

Heerwegh, D. — 2009-03-05

Rosalee A. Clawson and Zoe M. Oxley (2008). Public Opinion: Democratic Ideals, Democratic Practice.

Elenbaas, M. — 2009-03-05

Recent Books in the Field of Public Opinion Research

de Boer, C. — 2009-03-05

Recent Articles in the Field of Public Opinion Research

Mortimore, R. — 2009-03-05

WAPOR News

2009-03-05

Editorial

Donsbach, W., Neijens, P., Traugott, M. W. — 2008-11-25

News Coverage and Support for European Integration, 1990-2006

Vliegenthart, R., Schuck, A. R. T., Boomgaarden, H. G., De Vreese, C. H. — 2008-11-25

Citizens depend on information from the mass media when forming their opinion about political issues. Studies have shown that news media coverage of the EU can affect general and policy-specific support for European integration. Extant research has focused on individual-level analyses at specific points in time. The present study considers whether the visibility and the framing of EU news coverage conceptualized as contextual factors influence EU support at an aggregate level. We look at this question in seven EU member states for the period 1990–2006. By utilizing aggregated data of the content analytical indicators and aggregate public support measures in a time-series design, we relate variation in news content to subsequent public opinion dynamics. Our results suggest that both the framing of EU news in terms of benefit and conflict matters for public support. While benefit framing increases public support, conflict framing decreases support. We conclude with a discussion of the use of news content as a contextual variable in explaining the public opinion dynamics and potential benefits of this approach for future media effects research.

Need for Orientation as a Predictor of Agenda-Setting Effects: Causal Evidence from a Two-Wave Panel Study

Matthes, J. — 2008-11-25

The purposes of this article are to test the new need for orientation (NFO) scale by Matthes (2006) in an agenda-setting study, and to explore the role of NFO for the second level of agenda setting. A panel survey on the issue unemployment was combined with an extensive content analysis of TV and newspaper coverage. The results show that NFO leads to an increase in the perceived media salience of the issue, and by doing so, it fosters the (first-level) agenda-setting function of the news media. However, although a second-level agenda-setting effect occurs, NFO has no influence on the perceived media salience of affective issue attributes. It can be concluded that NFO explains the amount of information seeking, but not the affective tone of the information that individuals are looking for.

Media Use, Democratic Citizenship, and Communication Gaps in a Developing Democracy

Nisbet, E. C. — 2008-11-25

In contrast to most previous scholarship that has examined political communication gaps within developed polities, this study examines the role of such gaps in a developing democracy with high levels of social stratification. Employing the 2001 Afrobarometer survey conducted in Mali, this study examined the association between forms of media use (radio, newspaper, and television) and individual political knowledge, participation, and socialization. The analysis demonstrates a pattern of political communication gaps where media use is associated with a widening of gaps in political knowledge and participation favoring socially privileged groups. Conversely, media use is associated with a narrowing of gaps in democratic socialization between social groups. These findings have implications for understanding the institutional and systemic role of the mass media in developing democracies.

What are they Waiting for? Strategic Information for Late Deciding Voters

Irwin, G. A., Van Holsteyn, J. J. M. — 2008-11-25

Nonresponse Bias on Dimensions of Political Activity Amongst Political Elites

Montgomery, J. M., Cooper, A., Reiter, J., Guan, S. — 2008-11-25

Impact of Prepaid Incentives in Face-to-Face Surveys: A Large-Scale Experiment with Postage Stamps

Wetzels, W., Schmeets, H., Brakel, J. v. d., Feskens, R. — 2008-11-25

Alternatives to Prepaid Monetary Incentives in Mail Surveys

Gendall, P., Healey, B. — 2008-11-25

Karolina Karr (2007). Democracy and Lobbying in the European Union.

de Lange, R. — 2008-11-25

Recent Books in the Field of Public Opinion Research

de Boer, C. — 2008-11-25

Recent Articles in the Field of Public Opinion Research

Mortimore, R. — 2008-11-25

Forthcoming WAPOR Conference

2008-11-25

Acknowledgement of Reviewers

2008-11-25