Polling the Attentive Public

Public opinion as reported by polls can be misleading when it concerns issues about which the general public knows or cares little. On such issues the views of those most interested or involved deserve special attention. Survey data show that those who follow the news about a particular issue or issue area very closely—the “attentive public”—differ in personal characteristics and often in their opinions from both the general public and from the best-educated. Further, opinions of the attentive public are often better informed and more predictive of policy trends than are the views of the general public. By reporting attentive public opinion separately, pollsters can encourage policy makers to pay greater attention to it.