public opinion Archives - Society Today

Journalism

How the Media Shapes Public Perception: The Power of Agenda-Setting

News coverage can both increase and decrease related discussions on social media, highlighting its powerful role in setting public agendas. Liberal and conservative media significantly influence social media discussions on…

Education

ASA Launches The Value of Sociology Initiative

Randy Lynn, Ph.D.0 Comments

Last week, in response to conservative attacks on the discipline, the American Sociological Association launched The Value of Sociology Initiative to better demonstrate to voters and policymakers the value of…

Fundamentals, Journalism

How to Read the Polls: A Society Today Ultimate Guide

Randy Lynn, Ph.D.0 Comments

Public opinion polls are now highly technical exercises in modeling rather than direct measurements of the population. As a result, what they mean can be difficult to parse--and the horse-race-obsessed…

Politics

Egocentrism in Politics: How Unelected Officials Misinterpret Public Desires

Randy Lynn, Ph.D.0 Comments

Unelected elites do not correctly perceive public opinion: their beliefs about where the public stands on policy are off by an average of 14 percentage points. However, unlike elected elites,…