ABSTRACT
This chapter examines how well the American political system achieves the difficult balancing act by looking at what public opinion is, how it is measured, where it comes from, and the central role it plays in the American political system. This analysis provides a context for an examination of how political participation translates individual opinions, attitudes, and beliefs into action to influence public policy. Public opinion has four elements: direction, stability, intensity, and salience. Public opinion is a complex product of numerous forces. These complex forces can be classified into three broad categories: political culture, ideology, and political socialization. Traditionally, political scientists have organized the major agents of political socialization into five general categories: family, schools, peers, events and experiences, and the media. Public opinion polls are not the only way the people can make their will known to the government. Political participation sends a direct message by translating personal preference into voluntary action.
