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The Illusion of Public Opinion: Fact and Artifact in American
Public Opinion Polls. By George F. Bishop. Lanham, MD: Rowman &
Littlefield Publishers, 2004. 223p. $80.00 cloth, $27.95 paper.With another campaign season behind us, it is not hard to make the
case that opinion polls pervade politics. Even casual observers of
politics are inundated with polling results from media and academic
organizations. But just because surveys are ubiquitous does not mean they
are useful. In his book, George Bishop makes the provocative argument that
just about every bit of evidence that academics, journalists, and
policymakers draw from opinion polls is erroneous. This argument will be
controversial—indeed this book is clearly intended to provoke
controversy—but the force of evidence that Bishop presents demands
to be taken seriously by even the staunchest defenders of opinion
polls.

A number of electoral reforms have been enacted in the United States in the past three decades that are designed to increase turnout by easing restrictions on the casting of ballots. Both proponents and opponents of electoral reforms agree that these reforms should increase the demographic representativeness of the electorate by reducing the direct costs of voting, thereby increasing turnout among less-privileged groups who, presumably, are most sensitive to the costs of coming to the polls. In fact, these reforms have been greatly contested because both major political parties believe that increasing turnout among less-privileged groups will benefit Democratic politicians. I review evidence from numerous studies of electoral reform to demonstrate that reforms designed to make it easier for registered voters to cast their ballots actually increase, rather than reduce, socioeconomicbiases in the composition of the voting public. I conclude with a recommendation that we shift the focus of electoral reform from an emphasis on institutional changes to a concentration on political engagement.

This paper explores how the personality characteristics of individuals affect the answers they give to questions on controversial political topics. In April and May 2000, a random‐digit‐dial survey of 518 Americans was conducted in the continental United States. This survey included question batteries measuring two psychological concepts related to self‐presentation. Respondents were also asked about their opinion on a number of sensitive topics, such as feelings toward blacks and homosexuals and their opinions about spending on popular programs, including schools and the environment. Their responses to these questions varied as a function of their self‐presentation personality characteristics. The results presented here suggest that self‐presentation measures such as those assessed here can improve our understanding of how the social dynamics of the survey interview affect responses to sensitive questions.

I demonstrate that both inequalities in politically relevant resources & the larger political culture surrounding social welfare policy issues disadvantage those groups who are natural supporters of the welfare state. These supporters -- the economically disadvantaged & those who support principles of political equality -- are less easily able to form coherent & consistent opinions on such policies than those well endowed with politically relevant resources. Those predisposed to champion the maintenance & expansion of welfare state programs are, as a result, less likely to articulate opinions on surveys. Thus, public opinion on social welfare policy controversies gives disproportionate weight to respondents opposed to expanding the government's role in the economy. This "exclusion bias" -- a phenomenon to this point ignored in the political science literature -- is a notable source of bias in public opinion: the "voice" of those who abstain from the social welfare policy questions is different from those who respond to such items. This result mirrors the patterns of inequality found in traditional forms of political participation. Opinion polls may therefore reinforce, not correct, the inegalitarian shortcomings of traditional forms of political participation. 5 Tables, 1 Appendix, 24 References. Adapted from the source document.