Providing an in-depth analysis of public opinion, including its origins in political socialization, its role in the electoral process, and the impact of the media, American Public Opinion goes beyond a simple presentation of data to include a critical analysis of the role of public opinion in American democracy.

1. Public Opinion in Democratic Societies

2 .Polling: The Scientific Assessment of Public Opinion

3. Microlevel Opinion: The Psychology of Opinion-Holding

4. Macrolevel Opinion: The Flow of Political Sentiment

5. Political Socialization and Political Learning

6. Public Opinion and Democratic Stability

7. Group Differences in Political Opinions

8 .The News Media and Political Opinions

9. Elections as Instruments of Popular Control

10. The Public and Its Elected Leaders ]

11. Public Opinion and the Performance of Democracy

Robert S. Erikson is Professor of Political Science at Columbia University. He has written widely on American politics and is the coauthor of the following books: Statehouse Democracy (1994), The Macro Polity (2002), and The Timeline of Presidential Elections (2012). He has written articles on US politics for major political science journals including the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, and Public Opinion Quarterly, among others. He is the past editor of the American Journal of Political Science and of Political Analysis.

Kent L. Tedin is Emeritus Professor of Political Science at the University of Houston. He served as department chair from 1984 to 2002. He has written extensively on political socialization, notably the influence of families and peers on the filial generation. He has also written a number of articles on schools and public opinion, including how charter schools affect the social capital of parents, as well as how race and academic quality attributed to character school affect parent choice. Recently he has written on the effect on public opinion of presidents' "going public." He has published articles in every major political science journal including the American Political Science Review, the American Journal of Political Science, the Journal of Politics, and Public Opinion Quarterly, among others.