Skip to main content

“Know-nothings” revisited again

Political Behavior volume 18, pages 219–233 (1996)Cite this article

Abstract

Analyses of the same NORC poll relied on by Hyman and Sheatsley and a 1994 poll for theTimes Mirror Center for The People & The Press show that sizable portions of the U.S. public were “know-nothings” on both occasions. OLS regressions on both polls show that, although there are slight differences, essentially the same factors affect knowledge of international politics in 1946 and 1994. At bottom, Americans tend to be uninformed about foreign affairs because they are inattentive to events abroad. If it is true, as some students of U.S. foreign policy claim, that public opinion has an important and growing impact on national security policy, widespread public ignorance recalls Lippmann's concern about the “democratic malady.”

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution.

Access options

Buy single article

Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Price includes VAT (Canada)

References

  • Allen, Mary J., and Yen, Wendy M. (1979).Introduction to Measurement Theory. Monterey, CA: Brooks/Cole Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Almond, Gabriel A. (1960).The American People and Foreign Policy, rev. ed. New York: Frederick A. Praeger.

    Google Scholar 

  • Althaus, Scott L. (1995). The practical limits of information shortcuts: Public opinion, political equality and the social distribution of knowledge. Paper delivered at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, August 31–September 3.

  • Bennett, Stephen E. (1986).Apathy in America, 1960–1984. Dobbs Ferry, NY: Transnational Publishers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, Stephen E. (1988). “Know-nothings” revisited: The implications of political ignorance today.Social Science Quarterly 69: 476–490.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, Stephen E. (1995a). Americans' knowledge of ideology, 1980–1994.American Politics Quarterly 23: 259–278.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bennett, Stephen E. (1995b). On the similarities and differences between claimed and actual knowledge of current events. Unpublished manuscript. University of Cincinati. Department of Political Science.

  • Bennett, Stephen E., Flickinger, Richard S., Baker, John R., Rhine, Staci, and Bennett, Linda L. M. (1996). The impact of personal characteristics and mass media exposure on citizens' knowledge of foreign affairs: A five nation study.Harvard International Journal of Press/Politics 1,2 (Spring): 10–21.

    Google Scholar 

  • Bishop, George F., Oldendick, Robert W., Tuchfarber, Alfred J., and Bennett, Stephen E. (1980). Pseudo-opinions on public affairs.Public Opinion Quarterly 44: 198–209.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cantril, Hadley (1944),Gauging Public Opinion. Princeton, NJ: Princeton University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Converse, Philip E. (1975). Public opinion and voting behavior. In Fred I. Greenstein and Nelson W. Polsby (eds.),Handbook of Political Science, vol. 4, pp. 75–169. Reading, MA: Addison-Wesley Publishing Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Converse, Philip E. (1990). Popular representation and the distribution of information. In John A. Ferejohn and James H. Kuklinski (eds.),Information and Democratic Processes, pp. 369–388. Urbana, IL: University of Illinois Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Converse, Philip E., with Niemi, Richard G. (1971). Non-voting among young adults in the United States. In William J. Crotty, Donald S. Freeman, and Douglas S. Gatlin (eds.),Political Parties and Political Behavior, 2nd ed., pp. 443–466. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

    Google Scholar 

  • Cottrell, Leonard S., Jr., and Eberhart, Sylvia (1969).American Opinion on World Affairs in the Atomic Age. Reprint. New York: Greenwood Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Keeter, Scott (1991). Stability and change in the U.S. public's knowledge of politics.Public Opinion Quarterly 55: 583–612.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Keeter, Scott (1993). Measuring political knowledge: Putting first things first.American Journal of Political Science 37: 1179–1206.

    Google Scholar 

  • Delli Carpini, Michael X., and Keeter, Scott (1995). Political knowledge and enlightened group interests. Paper delivered at the 1995 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, August 31–September 3.

  • Dimock, Michael A., and Popkin, Samuel L. (1995a). Who knows? Political knowledge in comparative perspective. Paper delivered at the 1995 annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association, Chicago, April 6–8.

  • Dimock, Michael A., and Popkin, Samuel L. (1995b). Knowledge, trust, and international attitudes. Paper delivered at the 1995 annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, August 31–September 3.

  • Erskine, Hazel Gaudet (1962). The polls: The informed public.Public Opinion Quarterly 26: 669–677.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erskine, Hazel Gaudet (1963a). The polls: Textbook knowledge.Public Opinion Quarterly 27: 133–141.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erskine, Hazel Gaudet (1963b). The polls: Exposure to domestic information.Public Opinion Quarterly 27: 491–500.

    Google Scholar 

  • Erskine, Hazel Gaudet (1963c). The polls: Exposure to international information.Public Opinion Quarterly 27: 658–662.

    Google Scholar 

  • Glenn, Norval D. (1975). Trend studies with survey data: Opportunities and pitfalls. InSurvey Data for Trend Analysis: An Index to Repeated Questions in U.S. National Surveys Held by the Roper Public Opinion Research Center, pp. 16–150. Williamstown, MA: Roper Public Opinion Research Center, in cooperation with the Social Science Research Council.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graber, Doris A. (1993).Mass Media and American Politics, 4th ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Graham, Thomas W. (1988). The pattern and importance of public knowledge in the nuclear age.Journal of Conflict Resolution 32: 319–334.

    Google Scholar 

  • Highton, Benjamin (1995). The causes and consequences of voter information in Senate elections. Paper delivered at the annual meeting of the American Political Science Association, Chicago, August 31–September 3.

  • Hinckley, Ronald H. (1992).People, Polls and Policy-Makers: American Public Opinion and National Security. New York: Lexington Books.

    Google Scholar 

  • Holsti, Ole (1992). Public opinion and foreign policy: Challenges to the Almond-Lippmann consensus.International Studies Quarterly 36: 439–466.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hurwitz, Jon, and Peffley, Mark (1987). How are foreign policy attitudes structured? A hierarchical model.American Political Science Review 81: 1099–1120.

    Google Scholar 

  • Hyman, Herbert H., and Sheatsley, Paul B. (1947). Some reasons why information campaigns fail.Public Opinion Quarterly 11: 412–423.

    Google Scholar 

  • Kriesberg, Martin (1949). Dark areas of ignorance. In Lester Markel (ed.),Public Opinion and Foreign Policy, pp. 49–64. New York: Harper & Brothers.

    Google Scholar 

  • Lippmann, Walter (1955).Essays in the Public Philosophy. Boston: Little, Brown & Co.

    Google Scholar 

  • Luskin, Robert C. (1990). Explaining political sophistication.Political Behavior 12: 331–361.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neuman, W. Russell (1976). Patterns of recall among television news viewers.Public Opinion Quarterly 40: 115–123.

    Google Scholar 

  • Neuman, W. Russell (1986).The Paradox of Mass Politics: Knowledge and Opinion in the American Electorate. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Page, Benjamin I., and Shapiro, Robert Y. (1992).The Rational Public: Fifty Years of Trends in Americans' Policy Preferences. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Popkin, Samuel L. (1994).The Reasoning Voter: Communication and Persuasion in Presidential Campaigns, 2nd ed. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Price, Vincent, and Zaller, John (1993). Who gets the news? Alternative measures of news reception and their implications for research.Public Opinion Quarterly 57: 133–164.

    Google Scholar 

  • Robinson, John P., and Levy, Mark R. (1986).The Main Source: Learning from Television News. Beverly Hills, CA: Sage Publications.

    Google Scholar 

  • Russett, Bruce (1990).Controlling the Sword: The democratic Governance of National Security. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, Don D. (1970). “Dark areas of ignorance” revisited: Current knowledge about Asian affairs.Social Science Quarterly 51: 668–673.

    Google Scholar 

  • Smith, Tom W. (1985). The polls: America's most important problem, Part I: National and international.Public Opinion Quarterly 49: 264–274

    Google Scholar 

  • Stanley, Harold W., and Niemi, Richard G. (1994).Vital Statistics on American Politics, 4th ed. Washington, DC: CQ Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Stimson, James A. (1991).Public Opinion in America: Moods, Cycles, and Swings. Boulder, CO: Westview Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Times Mirror (1993).Times Mirror News Interest Index, January 1993. Washington, DC:Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press (January 13, 1993).

  • Times Mirror (1994).America's Place in the World: An Investigation of the Attitudes of American Opinion Leaders and the American Public About International Affairs. Washington, DC:Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press (November 1994).

  • Times Mirror (1995).Times Mirror News Interest Index, March 1995. Washington, DC:Times Mirror Center for The People & The Press (March 30, 1995).

  • U.S. Bureau of the Census (1987).Statistical Abstract of the United States, 1988, 108th ed. Washington, DC: U.S. Government Printing Office.

    Google Scholar 

  • Wittkopf, Eugene R. (1990).Faces of Internationalism. Public Opinion and American Foreign Policy. Durham, NC: Duke University Press.

    Google Scholar 

  • Yankelovich, Daniel, and Immerwahr, John (1994). The rules of public engagement. In Daniel Yankelovich and I. M. Destler (eds.),Beyond the Beltway: Engaging the Public in U.S. Foreign Policy, pp. 43–77. New York: W. W. Norton & Co.

    Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Professor and Head, Department of Political Science, University of Cincinnati, 3875 Westwind Drive, 45440-3466, Dayton, OH

    Stephen Earl Bennett

Authors
  1. Stephen Earl Bennett
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Rights and permissions

Reprints and Permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Bennett, S.E. “Know-nothings” revisited again. Polit Behav 18, 219–233 (1996). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01498600

Download citation

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01498600

Keywords

  • Public Opinion
  • Foreign Policy
  • National Security
  • Security Policy
  • Sizable Portion