Public Opinion and the Primary Group

Interaction in primary groups performs an essential function in the formation of public opinion. Research on small groups shows their significance for the generation and maintenance of opinions. Panel studies of elections show the importance of personal influence in opinion change. Opinion leadership in the community can be distinguished from opinion initiation in primary relations. In a public, as distinct from a mass, there is a disjunction between personal interests and group expectations. Types of adaptation to these two determinants of public opinion are pro, con, ambivalent, undecided, and uninformed. The typical history of a public passes through stages characterized by mass behavior, public controversy between organized factions, and institutionalized decision-making. In each stage primary groups perform generative and relay functions within larger structures. The consequence of continued interaction is sharpening, crystallizing, and polarizing of opinions. Persons who are ambivalent, undecided, and uninformed change in the direction of conformance to primary group expectations. Interests are redefined to accord with expectations

Group (periodic table · Political science · Politics · Primary (astronomy · Public opinion · Law · Opinion Dynamics and Social Influence · Psychology · Social Media and Politics · Social Psychology

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