Political Science
Presenter(s): Jill Kleinkauf
Advisor(s): Dr. John Compton
Despite the Supreme Court existing as a legal and supposedly apolitical institution, landmark case decisions have often led to controversial reactions. This is especially evident when the cases are ruling on matters that have been accompanied by great political contention, such as with Roe v. Wade, a ruling that focused on privacy issues, while many Americans focus on abortion itself as a moral or political issue. As seen with recent studies by Adamany and Grossman on public opinion and the Supreme Court, and Bartels and Johnston on the separation of politics and the law, a gap remains in how controversial issues align with support for the court. It is also questionable whether those surveyed understand how Supreme Court decisions are made or the implications of such decisions. These studies have yet to look into a sense of political knowledge as a confounding factor of Supreme Court approval. I hypothesize that higher levels of support for the legalization of abortion lead to support for the Supreme Court as an institution, as it correlates with the Court’s decision to legalize abortion. I further hypothesize that by controlling for pre-existing knowledge of the Supreme Court that those with higher levels of civic knowledge are more likely to have positive reactions of the Court than those with lower levels of civic knowledge. Using data collected in the 2016 Time Series Study from American National Election Studies and by analyzing the cross tab and the regression of the variables, I will analyze how abortion attitudes impact Supreme Court attitudes. I will then control for knowledge about the Supreme Court in order to test my second hypothesis. By comparing this to the aggregate population, it will indicate if knowledge about the Supreme Court affects attitudes towards the Court as an institution in these matters.
Fear of Illegal Immigration in America: How Media Influences Its Viewers
Presenter(s): Alexandra Leon Oliva
Advisor(s): Dr. John Compton
Illegal immigration has been an ongoing social problem, leading to a great deal of variety in public opinions. Conservative media have propagated fear of illegal immigration and have influenced their viewers' perception. This past year, media coverage has been used to promote ideas on illegal immigration. The different coverages were used to explain their own examples of what they thought about the current immigration issue. Due to this, people were influenced to create their own opinions based on the information broadcasted. The framing theory implies that an individual’s preferred media influences their perception of illegal immigration. Using Chapman's survey of American fears and the American National Election Studies, I analyzed how the fear of illegal immigration is related to media choices. To what extent does media influence the fear of illegal immigration, and if the fear of illegal immigration is formed only through media influence. The analysis of the responses focused on the correlation between fear and media influence. There is a significant relationship between the fear of illegal immigration and conservative media coverage. The analyses revealed that media influence is related to an increased fear of illegal immigration. The findings determined that the person's media preference will shape their public opinion on illegal immigration.