The object of The Federalist was to persuade opinion leaders to favor the Constitution. Newspapers have generally sought to be impartial reporters of fact throughout the nation s history. Most people have informed, organized, and internally consistent political attitudes. Small changes in the wording of survey questions significantly affect the answers given. The process that determines which of several conflicting attitudes has the most influence in forming someone s opinion is known as framing.
Most people form political opinions by taking cues from other people.
People who say they believe in freedom of speech generally want to extend that right to unpopular political minorities. Americans tend to take very liberal views on social issues. Between World War II and the late 1980s, foreign policy issues were dominated by the cold war frame. On most issues, the sexes have sharp differences of opinion. Regardless of religious affiliation, the more active people are in religious life, the more socially liberal they are likely to be.