Health Care Protestors May Not Be Having as Grand as Impact, Speech Example

Dear Guests,

As we seek the means to explore the behaviors and motivations which drive societal decisions, opinion polls have already become one of the most effective means of analysis. Thousands of professional organizations actively work to create a realistic picture of the social functioning, but not always are we able to identify the hidden facets and controversial influences on the way we see the world. The problem is the present day society is in that we take the information from the public polls for granted, without even trying to look deeper into the truthfulness and reliability of the available information. However, in reality, the quality and the meaning of the public opinion is influenced by a variety of factors, and a whole set of theories describe and trace the changes in the public visions of different projects, including healthcare.

One of the recent polls indicates the growing healthcare awareness among the American population. 34% of those who participated in the poll express their sympathy with healthcare protestors’ views, while those who do not support protesters account for only 21% of the poll participants. However, the opinion poll findings are at least contradictory. That so many people sympathize with healthcare protestors does not mean that the latter have a real impact on the public opinion about healthcare. Out of the three polls designed to explore the changes in the societal opinion about Barack Obama’s healthcare plan, only one revealed the statistical change in how the public perceives Obama’s healthcare ideas. To some extent, these changes and differences between the polls can be attributed to the fact that no-change polls involved adult populations, while the statistical change poll covered registered voters. As a result, organizations could trace although slight but nevertheless changes in how different population groups view Obama’s ideas. These changes can also be explain by a variety of theories.

You know that very often our opinions and beliefs about different social phenomena are governed by emotions and beliefs. Consistency theory is one of those, which explain cognitions and beliefs as consistent or inconsistent. That also means that what we think about Obama’s plan is heavily influenced by the principles and values which govern our daily lives; these can emerge in the process of interacting with other people or can be imposed by parents and relatives. Although these changes regularly occur throughout our lives, they are more probable and are less predictable in younger populations. Younger people who are already registered as voters but have not yet reached the level of social maturation characteristic of adults can be responsible for the statistical changes traced by the Quinnipiac University.

To some extent, given the wider pool of participants in case with registered voters compared to adult groups, sociological theory could explain the statistical differences between the three polls. In the process of their social maturation, younger people find themselves under the heavy influence of different social and population groups, which are also partially responsible for the formation of their opinions in society. The number and the nature of these social and group factors may vary. Young voters may appear unable to withstand the pressure of different peer groups in colleges and universities, and trying to adjust to particular social trends they will choose to agree or disagree with the majority. Sometimes, different institutional factors may be responsible for the change in public opinion among registered voters. These may include recent changes in healthcare premiums for younger adults (just an example), or the lack of access to quality healthcare among minority voters. The list of these institutional factors is virtually unlimited, but it is obvious that the larger the sample is the more probable the statistical change becomes. From the sociological point of view, the changes in the public opinion are also caused by the social contexts, in which participants are bound to exist – whether these are college environments, family interactions, or simply poor neighborhoods in which they live. The wide reach of poll participants makes it possible to trace and identify these changes, as well as to assume that the younger population which was excluded from the two “no-change” polls is responsible for the statistical changes in the public view of Obama’s healthcare plan.

Can we say that the statistical change in public opinion can be easily explained by the attribution theory? To some extent, it is possible that the younger generation, with a better access to various social resources and wider socialization circles are eager to see the reasons and motives behind the healthcare reform and to change their attitudes based on these reasons and motives. It is very probable that in the process of interacting with their peers, they have better opportunities to discuss the potential causes and effects of healthcare reform and to see it as a potentially effective solution (given that the number of those who approve the reform has increased). However, there is also another significant change in the public opinion, because the number of those who are unsure about the positive or negative effects of healthcare reform has increased, too. That means that voters are more likely to hold conflicting views about healthcare and its potential effects. That also means that congruity theory may have played its role in generating these conflicting views – being more socially active than their adult counterparts, younger voters are more likely to be torn between contradictory (shady) views about healthcare and to have doubts about the need for a profound healthcare change.

As we have seen in this presentation, the statistical changes in public opinion polls may have a number of explanations. Several different theories can readily explain what happens to people whenever they try to express their opinion about the major social reforms. On the one hand, these may happen under the influence of personal beliefs or group influences. On the other hand, individuals in society may have conflicting views or contradictory information about the issue. All these aspects are necessary to understand whenever we try to look deeper into the meaning of public polls and their results. I hope that this presentation has given you the basic idea of how public opinion works and what factors are responsible for its changes.

Thanks for your attention.