How People Think, Reason, and Feel about Rights and Liberties

and enduring. Nevertheless, this does not compromise my intent in this to study the process by which people arrive at their opinions on these controversial matters. This content downloaded from 157.55.39.235 on Fri, 07 Oct 2016 06:27:54 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms RIGHTS AND LIBERTIES 869 angles, and it is the perspective chosen by the respondent that affects the tenor of his or her opinions. 2. People typically choose their frames of reference hastily or off the tops of their heads. They might react to an especially prominent cue in the question or relate the issue to a personal experience. They often respond to the question by saying what immediately comes to mind. Not surprisingly, respondents have difficulty framing answers to vague, open-ended essay questions that offer few explicit cues. On more structured questions, their answers often take into account only the most obvious considerations on the topic. For many individuals, the choice of one side or the other on a given issue depended on which considerations were jogged by the question. If the question brought to mind considerations of free speech, the right to a trial, or some other civil libertarian norm, then the respondent was more likely to take a tolerant position on the matter. On the other hand, if the question prompted thoughts about the potential costs of upholding individual rights, opinions tended to be less tolerant. 3. Since respondents tend to answer questions off the tops of their heads, it is easy to see how survey results can be biased by altering the wording, format, or context of the survey questions. By making certain cues in the question more prominent than others, we can affect which frames of reference respondents will use to base their opinions. For example, respondents were regularly swayed during these interviews by the intimation or mention of honorific principles such as free speech, majority rule, or minority rights. 4. It is apparent that the notion of a constitutional right holds a particularly strong influence on people when they are evaluating questions about individual rights and freedoms. People often try to relate the issue being discussed to their understanding of the legal norm on the subject in a conscious effort to make their opinions consistent with court rulings. Indeed, some subjects have difficulty separating their understanding of what the law is from their opinion of what the law should be. Many of the subjects were willing to defend what they believed to be a constitutional right even if they did not fully understand either the scope or justification of that right. Evidently, some people learn to endorse democratic principles by rote. They not only say what they understand to be socially desirable, but they believe it for the same reason. 5. While people may respond to a question based on a single consideration, most issues are sufficiently complex that they bring forth multiple considerations if respondents are given enough time to reflect on them. Many examples will be provided that show that people revise and often reverse their original answers in light of new considerations that were This content downloaded from 157.55.39.235 on Fri, 07 Oct 2016 06:27:54 UTC All use subject to http://about.jstor.org/terms