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In this highly anticipated revision, editors Barbara Norrander and Clyde Wilcox expose students to the substance and process of public opinion research in an accessible way. Capturing the diversity of this research with 12 essays—10 new to this edition and 2 fully updated—well-respected contributors highlight the many approaches social scientists use to explore public opinion while citing actual research and teasing out the political implications of their findings.

Understanding Public Opinion expands on important ideas that basic textbooks cover only briefly, such as public views of those on trial for terrorist acts, public attitudes in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, and the rise and fall of public support for George W. Bush. Part introductions provide important thematic context, and a statistics primer in the appendix offers students a handy reference. More relevant and thought-provoking than ever, Understanding Public Opinion is the ideal supplement for any public opinion course.

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Part I. The Causes of Public Attitudes

1. The Gender Basis of Public Opinion, Virginia Sapiro and Shauna Shames

2. Latino Public Opinion: Identity Politics and Policy Preferences, John A. Garcia

3. The Ultimate Source of Political Opinions, John A. Hibbing and John R. Alford

Part II. Issue Attitudes

4. Public Opinion and the Iraq War, Adam Berinsky

5. Public Opinion, Civil Liberties, and Security in the Post 9/11 Context, Darren W. Davis

6. Race and the Formation of Attitudes: Responses to Hurricane Katrina, Lonna R. Atkeson and Cherie D. Maestas

7. The Puzzling Case of Abortion Attitudes in the Millennial Generation, Clyde Wilcox and Patrick Carr

Part III. Organization of Attitudes

8. Is a Liberal-Conservative Identification an Ideology?, William G. Jacoby

9. Party Identification, Party Polarization, and “Conflict Extension” in the American Electorate, Geoffrey C. Layman and Thomas M. Carsey

Part IV. Government Connections

10. Trust but Verify: Three Lenses on Americans’ Trust in Government, Paul Gronke, James Hicks, and Timothy E. Cook

11. The Rise and Fall of George W. Bush: Popular Support for the President, Barbara Norrander and Tiffany Harper

12. In the Court of Public Opinion: Prejudging Defendants in Terrorism Trials, Kenneth D. Wald, Adam L. Silverman, Michael J. Scicchitano, and Tracy Johns

“I have used Understanding Public Opinion in my public opinion classes since its first edition. It works beautifully for my class because it allows me to show undergraduates ‘real research’ on public opinion and devise exercises that allow them to replicate the findings. Much better than traditional texts, it teaches undergraduates important public opinion concepts by focusing on contemporary issues and using understandable empirical research. The data analysis in the chapters is appropriately targeted to undergraduates who have not necessarily had a methods or a statistics class, but who need to understand how survey research tests hypotheses. This interesting and understandable research is done by scholars with national reputations in the subfields they write about.”

“Norrander and Wilcox’s Understanding Public Opinion serves as a wonderful supplemental reader for a public opinion class. The contributed chapters drill down into a wide range of current topics that textbooks can devote only limited space to. If you want to add depth to your class, consider using this book.”

Barbara Norrander (Ph.D., The Ohio State University) is associate professor of political science at the University of Arizona. She is the author of Super Tuesday: Regional Politics and Presidential Primaries, as well as contributing author to several edited volumes. Currently an editorial board member of the American Journal of Political Science, Norrander has also written numerous journal articles on public opinion, political behavior, and other subjects.

Clyde Wilcox is a professor of government at Georgetown University. He is the author or coauthor of several books, including Serious Money: Fundraising and Contributing in Presidential Nomination Campaigns (1995), Onward Christian Soldiers: The Christian Right in American Politics (1996), and Interest Groups in American Campaigns: The New Face of Electioneering (1999). His edited books include Women in Elected Office: Past, Present, and Future (1998), The Politics of Gay Rights (2000), and Understanding Public Opinion, 2nd ed. (2002).