ABSTRACT
POLITICAL communication research has had as much trouble as other social science fields in developing appropriate concepts at the social system level. The concept of “ public opinion” serves as a case in point. Public opinion has been treated conceptually as if it were some kind of “superorganic” being that expresses its view upon various issues as they arise. Despite this mysterious collective-system-level conceptual definition, operational definitions of public opinion have been restricted to statements about what percentage of individuals interviewed hold what views — e.g., 60 percent of U.S. adults think the president is doing a good job.
