Opinions

The book "Public Opinion" is a critical assessment of functional democratic government, especially of the irrational and often self-serving social perceptions that influence individual behavior and prevent optimal societal cohesion. The detailed descriptions of the cognitive limitations people face in comprehending their socio-political and cultural environments leading them to apply an evolving catalogue of general stereotypes to a complex reality, rendered Public Opinion a seminal text in the fields of media studies, political science, and social psychology. Walter Lippmann was an American writer, reporter, and political commentator famous for being among the first to introduce the concept of Cold War, coining the term "stereotype" in the modern psychological meaning, and critiquing media and democracy in his newspaper column and several books.

Utilizing both a critical thinking approach and a comparative perspective throughout the text, Sobel and Shiraev provide comprehensive coverage of public opinion while also teaching students the basic skills necessary for measurement, understanding, and interpreting. Written in an accessible and engaging manner, this text provides a unique and practical introduction to the field of public opinion. The book begins by “schooling” the reader in how to think critically and then helps students apply those techniques as they encounter the concepts of public opinion. The text also employs a comparative perspective, demonstrating the effect and nature of public opinion in other countries while also placing American public opinion in context.

Notable advances resulting from new research findings, measurement approaches, widespread uses of the Internet, and increasingly sophisticated approaches to sampling and polling, have stimulated a new generation of attitude scholars. This extensively revised edition captures this excitement, while remaining grounded in scholarly research. Attitudes and Opinions, 3/e maintains one of the main goals of the original edition--breadth of coverage. The book thoroughly reviews both implicit and explicit measures of attitudes, the structure and function of attitudes, the nature of public opinion and polling, attitude formation, communication of attitudes and opinions, and the relationship between attitudes and behaviors, as well as theories and research on attitude change. Over 2,000 references support the book's scientific integrity. The authors' second goal is to demonstrate the relevance of the topic to people's lives. Subsequently, the second part of the book examines many of the topics and research findings that are salient in the world today--political and international attitudes (including terrorism), voting behavior, racism and prejudice, sexism and gender roles, and environmental attitudes. This thoroughly revised new edition features: *an entirely new chapter on implicit measures attitudes; *a new chapter on environmental attitudes; *updated opinion poll data throughout the book; *additional material on time trends in attitudes about many issues; and *expanded, updated sections on international attitudes reflecting the events of 9/11 and the subsequent invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq. Attitudes and Opinions' broad and interdisciplinary perspective makes this an ideal text in courses on attitudes, public opinion, survey research, or persuasion, taught in a variety of departments including psychology, communication, marketing, sociology, and political science.

A hilarious, timely conversation about the differences between facts and opinions, by the creator of the #1 New York Times bestseller Goodnight Goon Do you know the difference between a fact and an opinion? It can be a hard thing to understand. Some things are facts--like the number of robots in this book. Other things are opinions--like which robot would make the best friend, or which robot dances best. And sometimes to tell the difference between a fact and an opinion, you need to wait to get more information--that's because facts can be proven true or false, and opinions are things you feel and believe--but that you can't prove. Mike Rex introduces young readers to the very important distinction between facts and opinions, and he reminds us that it is nice to listen to one another's opinions, and to stand up for the facts!

This 1992 book explains how people acquire political information from elites and the mass media and convert it into political preferences.

A survey of Einstein's scientific achievements follows excerpts from letters, speeches, and interviews that reveal his thoughts on religious, political, cultural, social, and economic issues.

In this collection of interviews, articles, and editorials, Nabokov ranges over his life, art, education, politics, literature, movies, and modern times, among other subjects. Strong Opinions offers his trenchant, witty, and always engaging views on everything from the Russian Revolution to the correct pronunciation of Lolita.