Political Science Opinions Term Paper

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political opinions he or she holds?

What causes an individual to hold the political opinions he or she holds?

Political Attitudes Toward Immigration and Racial Stereotypes

Immigration has been a prominent political issue heighted by legislation introduced over the last few decades. People hold various political opinions of immigrants, especially those in the U.S. illegally, which tends to be divided along racial lines. It is interesting that in a country built by immigrants that many people have negative attitudes toward immigrants that are perpetuated by stereotypes and prejudice against racial groups. Stereotypes are widely used to generalize about the characteristics of groups of people through the assignment of simple labels alleged to represent group traits which are frequently based upon perceived wrongs of one group by another (Burns and Gimpal, 2000). Some of the most prominent stereotypes that have been the subject of psychological investigation involve ethnic identity (Burns and Gimpal, 2000).

Racial and ethnic stereotypes are relevant to opinion formation about public policy, because they influence information processing and decision making (Burns and Gimpal, 2000). Those who believe immigrants to be unintelligent, dirty, unwilling to learn English, or unwilling to work hard are more likely to oppose immigration than those who do not have such beliefs (Burns and Gimpal, 2000). This is also seen in other political opinions in the U.S. And other countries. For example, perceptions of welfare recipients' motivation to work are a universal driver of personal and public support for welfare across different nations and different welfare systems (Peterson et al., 2010). The formation of political opinions about immigration involves the attitudes and beliefs about different racial groups and how they are perceived by individuals and groups.

B. Media Influences in Political Attitudes on Immigration and Stereotypes

The media is a major source of information about ethnic groups, frequently covering criminal conduct where black and Latino faces are often shown in connection with arrests and stories about the use of welfare and social security benefits by immigrants (Burns and Gimpal, 2000).

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People who watch news may be more influenced by the appearance of racial groups in these stories in forming political opinions on immigration. This is consistent with the research done by Ferguson and Hassin, finding that the perception of any stimulus activates an array of associated memories that can then unconsciously influence how the person interprets and responds to his or her world (2007). As immigration issues have increasingly become the subject of heated political debate and news coverage, people form political opinions about the issue based upon their association of negative stereotypes with immigrants. These opinions develop in relation to people's attitudes toward welfare, education, gender, and age which all consistently influence negative stereotyping (Burns and Gimpal, 2000). The association of immigrants with welfare use and the connection between welfare use and negative racial stereotypes explain how immigration can be translated into a racial issue (Burns and Gimpal, 2000).

C. Automation of Political Attitudes

Once a political opinion is formed, people appear unable to break free of their prior sentiments when evaluating arguments on political issues, even when they are motivated to be impartial (Lodge and Tabor, 2005). Political beliefs, feelings, intentions, and actions will, if repeatedly associated, become automatic in everyday thinking, feeling, and acting (Lodge and Tabor, 2005). This is apparent from viewing two studies conducted four years apart measuring peoples political attitudes toward immigration in terms of the personal and national economic outlook and stereotypes.

The study conducted in 1992 showed that those respondents who were pessimistic about the national economy were especially likely to blame blacks and Hispanics….....

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