Where do opinions come from? 207expertise. For example, if you do not know what to think about immigration reform or
gun control, you might seek out someone who appears to know more about the issues
than you do. Insofar as the person’s opinions seem reasonable, you might adopt them
as your own.^23 Of course, people do not search haphazardly for advice; they only take
account of an expert’s opinions when they generally agree with the expert, perhaps
because they are both conservatives or Democrats or because the individual has some
other basis for thinking their preferences are alike. For example, during the 2016
general election, Donald Trump’s claims that the electoral process was rigged against
him reinforced his supporters’ high levels of distrust of government.Politicians on both sides of the debate
tried to influence public opinion about
health care reform. While Democrats
sought to convince Americans
that maintaining Obamacare was
necessary, opponents played up
the possible disadvantages, with
references to costs and bureaucratic
incompetence.Politicians and other political actors also actively work to shape public opinion.
Political scientists Lawrence R. Jacobs and Robert Y. Shapiro argue that politicians
describe proposals through arguments and images designed to tap the public’s strong
opinions, with the goal of winning support for these proposals.^24 That said, because
politicians are generally seen as advocates for a particular point of view, it is relatively
difficult for them to convert people to their point of view. For example, although
President Trump and his supporters in Congress expended much time and effort in 2017
to promote the repeal of Obamacare, giving dozens of public speeches, holding rallies,
and briefing legislators, their efforts had little impact on public opinion. If anything,
support for Obamacare increased during this time, perhaps because Trump’s efforts
made some people consider how they would be affected by repeal of the program.Considerations: The Process of Forming Opinions
When people form opinions on the spot (which is true for most opinions), they are
based on considerations: pieces of relevant information from sources like the ones
we’ve just discussed—such as ideology, party identification, the influence of family
and community members, personal and national events, group identification, or
opinions and actions of politicians—that come to mind when the opinion is requested.^25
The process of forming an opinion usually is not thorough or systematic, since most
people don’t take into account everything they know about the issue in question.^26Full_07_APT_64431_ch06_198-231.indd 207 16/11/18 1:37 PM