It is not an object of public opinion. Subject and object of public opinion

Public opinion

Public opinion- a form of mass consciousness, in which the attitude (hidden or explicit) of various groups of people to the events and processes of real life that affects their interests and needs is manifested.

Public opinion is expressed publicly and influences the functioning of society and its political system. It is precisely the possibility of a public, public statement of the population on topical issues public life and the influence of this position expressed aloud on the development of socio-political relations reflects the essence of public opinion as a special one. Wherein, public opinion is a collection of many individual opinions on a particular issue affecting a group of people.

At the moment, this point of view is reflected in most scientific works and is considered generally accepted.

Public opinion has existed in all historical epochs, even in the period of Antiquity, however, the term itself, denoting this unique phenomenon of the social life of Mankind, appeared in England in the 12th century.

According to some reports, the emergence of the term "public opinion" is associated with the name of the English statesman and public figure, writer J. Salisbury, who used it in the book "Polycratic" to denote the moral support of parliament from the country's population. Then the term "public opinion" was a literal translation of the combination of two words "Public Opinion".

From England, this expression penetrated into other countries and from the end of the 18th century. became generally accepted. It was then that the French abbot Alcuen uttered the phrase that went down in history: "Vox Populi - Vox Dei" - "The Voice of the People - the Voice of God."

Interpretation of the concept

Such a unique phenomenon as "public opinion" is one of the social phenomena that have attracted the attention of thinkers since ancient times.

In recent years, the ever-increasing level of participation of representatives of the world community in the political sphere is evident. In many respects, this circumstance also explains the ever-increasing attention of researchers from around the world to problems in the context of their consideration through the prism of such a phenomenon as “public opinion”.

Public opinion is one of the phenomena that with great difficulty lend themselves to comprehensive analysis and strict definition. Currently, you can find hundreds of definitions of public opinion.

The concept of "public opinion" in philosophical thought

The origin of ideas about public opinion dates back to the era of Antiquity, however, even in the texts of ancient Chinese philosophy, it was discussed the importance of studying people's public opinion in order to adequately use it in management. In particular, in Taoism it was believed that of the four reasons for the death of the state, one is when the feelings and moods of the people are not used by the rulers in the management.

In the future, other definitions began to spread. R. A. Safarov, agreeing with B. A. Grushin that public opinion is a phenomenon of a mass nature, located in the sphere of public consciousness, at the same time, believed that it should be active. The activity of the subjects of public opinion in the view of R. A. Safarov indicates that this is really “public”, and no other opinion. Therefore, it is expressed not only in judgments, but also in practical actions. Hence - public opinion is a value judgment of social communities that is distinguished by relative prevalence, intensity and stability on issues of interest to them.

In the 1980s, some, however, not very significant adjustments were made to the interpretation of the concept of "public opinion". V. S. Korobeinikov noted that it is plural, that is, it reflects a variety of points of view related to a large number of communities and, in the aggregate, is a kind of "opinion pyramid" .

VN Anikeev gave a historical and philosophical analysis of the concept of "public opinion". He made a conclusion about the relationship between the level of democracy in society and the development of the institution of public opinion.

Also of interest is the work of V. M. Gerasimov, published already in the 1990s, who attempted to develop an interdisciplinary concept of public opinion from the standpoint of political psychology and acmeology. Considering public opinion in a political context, he concludes that there is a close relationship between power and public opinion and it is impossible to neglect it.

It is also important to name a number of works authored by a researcher from St. Petersburg D. P. Gavre, who compared public opinion with the air that is necessary for the breathing of democracy: when it is present, it is not noticed, but its absence can lead to the death of the whole organism. In addition, D. P. Gavra introduced the concept of “modes of interaction between power and public opinion”, which, in particular, means “a generalized description of the measure of the real involvement of public opinion in political decision-making, managing the affairs of the state and society and the opportunities for functioning provided by government institutions.” At the same time, D.P. Gavra, on the basis of the system of criteria developed by him, identifies the following “modes of interaction between the authorities and public opinion”: 1. The mode of suppression of public opinion by the authorities. 2. Mode of ignoring public opinion. 3. Regime of paternalism of power in relation to public opinion. 4. Mode of cooperation (mutual implementation). 5. Mode of pressure of public opinion on the authorities. 6. Regime of the dictatorship of public opinion.

E. Egorova-Gantman and K. Pleshakov, speaking about the subjects of public opinion, suggested using the “three strata” method. In this case we are talking about the three main, in their opinion, carriers of public opinion: firstly, the country's leadership, represented by official leaders, secondly, the elite, and thirdly, the masses.

Marxist-Leninist concept of public opinion

Public opinion from the point of view of Marxism-Leninism reflects, posted in the Third Edition of the Great Soviet Encyclopedia, published by the publishing house " Soviet Encyclopedia» in 1969-1978.

With the exception of certain points that reflect the approaches that existed in Russian science in the Soviet period, in the era of the dominance of the ideology of Marxism-Leninism, the material presented in this article fully reflects the features of the process of formation and functioning of public opinion at the present stage.

Story

Antiquity

The term "public opinion" came into use relatively recently, only a few centuries ago, however, the phenomenon itself was observed in almost all historical eras. This can be evidenced by studies of the mechanisms of formation of public opinion among primitive peoples, which was carried out by the famous anthropologist Margaret Mead. She noted the effectiveness of public opinion in regulating the life of the tribes: "Public opinion is effective if someone acts as a transgressor of the commandments, or in case of conflict, or if it is necessary to decide on future actions."

In one of the written sources dating back to the era of Ancient Egypt, “A conversation with your soul, a person who is tired of living” mentions events that apparently deeply shocked public opinion:

Who will I talk to today?
Everyone is greedy...
Nobility has no more place
People laugh at crimes
There are no honest people
The earth fell into the power of villains

The mass media (media) play an important role in shaping public opinion, in particular: television, radio broadcasting, print publications (press). In recent years, in the context of the development of the information society, the influence of electronic means mass media concentrated in the Global Internet - numerous social networks, blogs, forums, Twitter, Youtube.
Public opinion is influenced by the opinions of people recognized by society as authoritative and competent, and by people's personal experience.

The instruments of influencing public opinion on the part of the state are propaganda and censorship.

Expression of public opinion

IN modern society the usual channels (and forms) for expressing public opinion are: elections of government bodies, participation of the population in legislative and executive activities, the media, meetings, rallies, demonstrations, pickets, etc. Along with this, statements caused by political, economic, social, cultural, and research interest and taking the form of referendums and plebiscites, mass discussions of any problems, meetings of specialists, sample surveys of the population, etc. .d. and so on.

According to the law, in Russian Federation public opinion can be expressed at a deliberative level, for example, at the stage of making decisions about construction various objects. Thus, in 2004 St. Petersburg adopted a law “On the participation of citizens and their associations in the discussion and decision-making in the field of urban planning activities in St. Petersburg”. According to this law, any citizen has the right to express his opinion and, if there is evidence of a violation of the law, to prevent the construction of the facility.

Measurement of public opinion

Opinion polls are conducted to quantify public opinion.

Literature

• Uledov A.K. Public opinion of the Soviet society. - M.: Sotsekgiz, 1963.
• Grushin B. A. Opinion about the world and the world of opinions: Problems of methodology and research of public opinion. - M.: Politizdat, 1967.
• Safarov R. Ya. Public opinion in the system of Soviet democracy. - M.: Knowledge, 1982.
• Korobeinikov V. S. Pyramid of Opinions (Public Opinion: Nature and Functions). - M.: Thought, 1981.
• Taker A. A. Formation and study of public opinion. - M.: Knowledge, 1987.
• Gorshkov M.K. Public opinion. History and modernity. - M.: Politizdat, 1988.
• Anikeev V. I. Public opinion as a historical concept. - Rostov-on-Don, 1982.
• Gerasimov V. M. Public opinion in the mirror of political psychology. - M.: Luch, 1995.
• Gavra D. P. Public opinion as a sociological category and as a social institution. - SPb., 1995.
• Gavra D. P. Public opinion and power: regimes and mechanisms of interaction // Journal of Sociology and Social Anthropology, 1998. Vol. 1. Issue. 4.

Founding works

• Bryce, James. American Republic: At 3 o'clock. Ch. 1-3 / Per. from English. - M.: K. T. Soldatenkov, 1889-1890.
• Tarde, Gabrielle. Personality and crowd: Essays on social psychology / Per. from fr. - M.: Publishing house of t-va type. A. I. Mamontova, 1902.
• Holzendorf, Franz von. Public opinion / Per. with him. - St. Petersburg: Ya. Orovich, 1895.
• Bourdieu P. Public opinion does not exist // Bourdieu P. Sociology of politics: Per. from fr. G. A. Cherednichenko / Comp., total. ed. and foreword. N. A. Shmatko. - M.: Socio-Logos, 1993. - S. 159-177.
• Kara-Murza S. G. Manipulation of consciousness. - M.: Eksmo Publishing House, 2000.
• Yadov V. A. Strategy of sociological research. - M.: OMEGA-L, 2005.

History of the study of public opinion in the XX century

• Doctorov B.Z. Pioneers of the world of opinions: from Gallup to Grushin. - M .: Institute of the Fund "Public Opinion", 2005.
• Doctorov B.Z. Advertising and public opinion polls in the USA: the history of the origin, the fate of the creators. - M .: Center for Social Forecasting, 2008.
• Doctorov B.Z. George Gallup. Biography and fate. - M .: Publishing house of LLC "Polygraph - Inform". 2011
• Doctorov B.Z. Modern Russian Sociology: Historical and Biographical Searches. In 3 volumes. - M .: Center for social. forecasting, 2012.

Mutual influence of foreign policy and public opinion

• American public opinion and politics / Ed. ed. Zamoshkin Yu.A., Auth. coll. Zamoshkin Yu.A., Ivanyan E.A., Petrovskaya M.M. and others - M .: Nauka, 1978.
• War and society in the XX century: In 3 books. / Hand. project and comp. O.A. Rzheshevsky. – M.: Nauka, 2008.
• Zamoshkin Yu.A. Challenges of civilization and US experience: history, psychology, politics. – M.: Nauka, 1991.
• Ivanyan E.A. Public opinion - its role in political life // USA: economics, politics, ideology. - 1974. - No. 8. - P.15-27.
• Kertman G.L. Mass consciousness. "Vietnamese Syndrome" and Its Consequences // Problems of American Studies. - M., 1989. - S.255-271.
• Kosolapov N.A. Foreign policy consciousness: category and reality // Bogaturov A.D., Kosolapov N.A., Khrustalev M.A. Essays on the theory and methodology of political analysis of international relations. - M.: NOFMO, 2002. - S.207-222.
• Kosolapov N.A. Social psychology and international relationships. – M.: Nauka, 1983.
• Kuznetsov DV Arab-Israeli conflict and France: foreign policy and public opinion. - Blagoveshchensk: Publishing house of BSPU, 2005.
• Kuznetsov DV The events of September 11, 2001 and the problem of international terrorism in the mirror of public opinion. - M.: URSS, 2009. .
• Kuznetsov DV The Yugoslav crisis: a look through the prism of public opinion. - M.: URSS, 2009. .
• Kuznetsov DV Problems of the Middle East and public opinion. In 2 parts. Part I. Arab-Israeli conflict. - Blagoveshchensk, BSPU Publishing House, 2009.
• Kuznetsov DV Problems of the Middle East and public opinion. In 2 parts. Part II. Iraqi crisis. - Blagoveshchensk, BSPU Publishing House, 2009
• Kuznetsov DV The problem of WMD non-proliferation and public opinion. nuclear program Iran. - Blagoveshchensk: Publishing house of BSPU, 2009.
• Kuznetsov DV The problem of non-proliferation of weapons of mass destruction and public opinion. North Korea's nuclear program. - Blagoveshchensk: Publishing house of BSPU, 2009.].
• Kuznetsov DV Interaction of foreign policy and public opinion in the USA. Some topical issues. - M.: URSS, 2010. .
• Kuznetsov DV American Public Opinion and the Use of Military Force: The Presidency of William J. Clinton (1993-2001). - M.: URSS, 2011. - .
• Kuznetsov D. V. American public opinion and the use of military force: the period of the presidency of George W. Bush (2001-2009). - M.: URSS, 2011. .
• Kuznetsova T.V. Americans about issues of war and peace // USA: economics, politics, ideology. - 1984. - No. 7. – P.48-56.
• Ledovskikh Yu.M. Problems of participation of the American public in the formation of US foreign policy. Scientific-analytical review. – M.: INION AN USSR, 1987.
• Malashenko I.E. USA in search of "consensus": Foreign policy orientations in the American mass consciousness. – M.: Nauka, 1988.
• Malashenko I.E. Evolution of Foreign Policy Orientations in the American Mass Consciousness // Problems of American Studies. - M., 1987. - S.273-292.
• Nikitin A.I. The Evolution of American Globalism: The Ideological Struggle in the US over America's Role in the World. – M.: Intern. relations, 1987.
• Public consciousness and US foreign policy / Col. author: Zamoshkin Yu.A., Ivanyan E.A., Petrovskaya M.M. and others - M .: Nauka, 1987.
• Petrovskaya M.M. American mass consciousness and militarism // World economy and international relations. - 1989. - No. 1. - P.23-35.
• Petrovskaya M.M. An unprecedented turn in American public opinion // USA: economics, politics, ideology. - 1973. - No. 10. - P.32-35.
• Petrovskaya M.M. In response to the challenge of the century. Changes in the mass consciousness of Americans. – M.: Intern. relations, 1988.
• Petrovskaya M.M. Militarism and mass consciousness in the USA // Problems of American Studies. - M., 1989. - S.235-254.
• Petrovskaya M.M. Moods of Americans in the Mirror of Polls // USA: Economics, Politics, Ideology. - 1981. - No. 3. - P.71-74.
• Petrovskaya M.M. On the mood of Americans // USA: economics, politics, ideology. - 1976. - No. 6. - P.88-91.
• Petrovskaya M.M. US Public Opinion: Polls and Politics. – M.: Intern. relations, 1977.
• Petrovskaya M.M. US Public Opinion and Foreign Policy // Questions of History. - 1981. - No. 1. - P.63-75.
• Petrovskaya M.M. Public Opinion Polls in the USA // Questions of History. - 1976. - No. 2. - P.113-123.
• Petrovskaya M.M. The President and Public Opinion // USA: Economics, Politics, Ideology. - 1991. - No. 10. – P.23-33.
• Petrovskaya M.M. USA: politics through the prism of polls. – M.: Intern. relations, 1982.
• Petrovsky V.F. American foreign policy thought. – M.: Intern. relations, 1976.
• Plekhanov S.M. American Society and US Foreign Policy // USA: Economics, Politics, Ideology. - 1986. - No. 3. - P.3-15.
• Popov N.P. America in the 80s: Public Opinion and Social Issues. – M.: Thought, 1986.
• Rukavishnikov V.O. Cold war, cold world. Public opinion in the US and Europe about the USSR / Russia, the foreign policy and security of the West. – M.: Academic project, 2005.
• Ryabtseva E.E. Foreign policy preferences of the American public (second half of the 20th century). - Astrakhan: Publishing House of AF MOSU (ASI), 2001.
• Ryabtseva E.E., Karabuschenko P.L. Elite and public of the USA: opinions and preferences. - Astrakhan: Publishing House of ASTU, 2002.
• Samuilov S.M. American Society and the Iraq War // The Iraq War: American Institutions and Society. Proceedings of the scientific conference held on December 22, 2005 at ISKRAN. M.: ISKRAN, 2006.
• Modern political consciousness in the USA / Ed. ed. Zamoshkin Yu.A., Batalov E.Ya. – M.: Nauka, 1980.
• USA: Discussion on problems of war and peace / Ed. ed. A.Yu. Melville. – M.: Nauka, 1984.
• Shakleina T.A. Foreign policy USA: consensus between the government and the public? // USA. Canada. Economy, politics, culture. - 2000. - No. 11. - P.54-68.
• Shumilina I.V. Mechanisms and Methods of Forming Public Opinion in the USA after September 11, 2001 // Anti-Terrorism as a System-Forming Factor in the Foreign and Defense Policy of the USA / Ed. A.I. Shumilin. – M.: ISKRAN, 2005. – P.66-73.

This term began to be used relatively recently, and the phenomenon itself was observed in all historical eras. Plato, Aristotle and Democritus talked about it, and G. Hegel described public opinion in detail. In the 20th century, his sociological concept was formed, and today scientists different countries explore its essence, roles and functions.

What is public opinion?

There is no exact definition of this concept. In general terms, it can be called a set of judgments that are developed and shared by a wide range of people. The phenomenon of public opinion was observed even among primitive peoples and helped to regulate the life of the tribes. Discussions about the interpretation of this concept continue, but every year it becomes more and more “democratic”, acting as a reflection of the processes taking place in society. It has become a manifestation of political behavior and a method of influencing politics.

Public opinion in sociology

We are talking about public consciousness, which explicitly or implicitly expresses its attitude to events, incidents and facts of public life, reflecting the position of the entire team on issues of interest to everyone. Public opinion as a social phenomenon has a number of functions:

1. social control. Public opinion can help or hinder the implementation of government decisions.
2. Expressive. By expressing a certain position, public opinion can control public authorities and evaluate their activities.
3. Advisory. As a result of surveys conducted among the population, it is possible to resolve a particular problem, to force representatives of the political elite to make a more informed decision.
4. directive. Expression of the will of the people during referendums.

Public opinion in psychology

Society's opinion, like a litmus test, reflects reality and evaluates it. This is a kind of cut of the spiritual life of people, because by expressing their opinion, they approve or condemn something or someone. The formation of public opinion leads to the development of a single assessment and the corresponding behavior in this particular situation. Society is made up of a wide variety of groups and structures. In families, production teams, sports organizations, an internal opinion is formed, which, in fact, is public.

It is very difficult to resist him, because any person becomes defenseless, surrounded by hostile judgments. As practice shows, 10% of like-minded people are enough for the rest of the mass of people to join them. Public opinion plays a huge role in people's lives: it provides information about the world around them, helps to adapt to the characteristics of a particular society, and influences information flows.

Public opinion and mass consciousness

This social institution develops patterns of behavior, directing people's actions in the usual direction. Often a person who has his own opinion sacrifices it for the sake of the opinion of the majority. The relationship between such concepts as mass behavior and public opinion was described by E. Noel-Neumann, who discovered the so-called “spiral of silence”. According to this concept, people with a position that is contrary to social attitudes “shut up”. They do not express their point of view, fearing to remain in the minority.

This universal regulator is present in all spheres of human life - economic, spiritual, political. It is rather informal than a social institution, since it regulates the behavior of subjects in society through a system informal norms. To quantify public opinion, all kinds of polls, questionnaires, etc. are used. At the moment, this is an invariable attribute of any democratic society.

How is public opinion formed?

Its formation occurs under the influence of a variety of factors - rumors and gossip, opinions, beliefs, judgments, delusions. At the same time, it is very important that the subject of discussion is important for a large number of people and provides for the ambiguity of interpretations and various assessments. Those who wish to know how public opinion is formed should answer that it is equally important to have required level competencies to discuss the problem. It is worth noting the influence of the Internet on public opinion, the state, the media, personal experience of people.

Methods of manipulating public opinion

Such methods are designed to suppress the will of citizens and direct their opinions and motivations in the right direction. public opinion includes:

1. Suggestion.
2. Transfer to common system special case.
3. Operating with rumors, speculation, unverified information.
4. Using the method called "need corpses." This is an emotional zombie using the theme of sex, violence, murder, etc.
5. Manipulation of public opinion involves choosing the lesser of two evils.
6. Silencing one information and promoting another.
7. Fragmentation is the division of information into separate parts.
8. The Goebbels method, in which a lie is passed off as the truth, constantly repeating it.
9. Hoax.
10. Astroturfing. Artificial control of public opinion with the help of specially hired people.

The role of propaganda in shaping public opinion

Politics is impossible without propaganda, because it forms a system political opinions and directs the actions of people, developing in their minds the necessary guidelines. The process of forming public opinion aims to connect the theoretical and ordinary political consciousness and integrate the necessary ideas about politics. As a result, a person makes his choice instinctively, “on the machine”. Such an impact is qualified as negative if it distorts moral criteria and norms, causes psychological tension, and disorientates groups of people.

The influence of the media on public opinion

The main method of media influence on people is stereotyping. It provides for the creation of illusory stereotypes - illusions, myths, standards of behavior that are designed to evoke the desired reaction in a person in the form of sympathy, love, hatred, etc. The media and public opinion are closely interconnected, because the former can create a false picture of the world using manipulative capabilities and teach people to unconditionally accept on faith everything that is said on television, radio, etc. Myths are based on, and any ideology is based on them.

The influence of public opinion on a person

The opinion of the society educates the "morally pure" of its members. Public opinion and rumors form and instill certain norms social relations. A person learns to be responsible for his words and actions before society. Those who ask how public opinion still affects a person should note that it educates and re-educates, forms customs and attitudes, traditions, habits. But at the same time, it also affects people negatively, “pressing” them, forcing them to live with an eye to “what people will say.”

Fear of public opinion

Each person is afraid of the opinion of society, afraid of criticism, which undermines his initiative, suppresses the desire to move forward, develop and grow. The fear of public opinion is very difficult to suppress, because a person cannot live outside of society. Due to the lack of ideas, dreams and aspirations, life becomes gray and dull, and for some individuals the consequences can be fatal, especially if parents lived with an eye on people's opinions and raised a child in the same spirit. Fear of criticism makes a person lack of initiative, weak character, shy and unbalanced.

Dependence on public opinion

There are no people completely free from the opinions of others. Self-sufficient individuals are less affected by it, but people with an abundance of complexes and low self-esteem suffer more than others. Those who are interested in who is most dependent on public opinion can be answered that they are modest, weak-willed, self-centered people. Most likely, in childhood, parents did not praise them at all, but constantly humiliated and belittled their dignity. Fear of public opinion is higher than truth, goals, career, love.

How to stop depending on public opinion?

It is not easy, but everything is possible when there is a desire. Those who are interested in how to get rid of public opinion, you just need to understand that each person is unique and not like anyone else. And most people overestimate the interest in their person too much. In fact, people don't often pay attention to someone. No one wants to look ridiculous, cruel, stupid or unprofessional in the eyes of others, but the one who does nothing is not mistaken.

Society will find something to criticize any person for, but if you turn criticism to good, you can become more free. Criticism helps, provides an opportunity to improve yourself. She teaches to listen and hear, to forgive, to get rid of wrong stereotypes. Each person is imperfect and has the right to make a mistake, you just need to give yourself the opportunity to make a mistake, but do not reproach yourself for it, but use the experience gained to further move towards your goal.

The phrase "public opinion" appeared in England in the second half of the 12th century. It was first used by the English politician and writer John Salisbury. In the 18th century, this concept began to be widely used in other countries. The power of public opinion, its active influence on the activities of the subjects of the historical process have become undeniable.

Public opinion is a specific manifestation of mass consciousness. This is a complex spiritual formation that contains judgments, ideas, ideas, assessments, and a reflective attitude (hidden and explicit) social groups to current events, facts, phenomena and problems of society. Public opinion reflects the interests, moods, feelings of classes and social groups of society in a given historical period of time. In fact, public opinion is an indicator of how social groups and society as a whole reflect and perceive ongoing social processes.

In modern sociological literature (foreign and domestic) one can find many different definitions of public opinion. Public opinion includes a wide range of concepts. First, there are attitudes of the mind that accept statements as true, or reject them. Secondly, it is a point of view, a position, ideas about social reality. Thirdly, public opinion is seen as a value judgment or judgment about some object.

Researchers identify several approaches to determining the nature of this social phenomenon. Briefly they can be described as follows:

1) public opinion does not include all points of view on a particular problem that individual individuals have, but only those that are associated with an assessment of the situation in relation to which a given set of individuals acts as a community;

2) public opinion cannot be abstract, that is, it exists on a specific issue and arises in a specific situation;

3) public opinion is always publicly expressed, brought to the attention of society or any social group; otherwise it will be an individual point of view individuals;

3) public opinion appears when it reflects the attitude to the problems that interest a particular society or a particular community of people;

4) public opinion is formed only if the public has access to information about the problem of interest. It must be remembered that it can arise both on the basis of information that reflects the real state of things, and distort reality;

5) public opinion persists for a certain period of time, quite definitely, which allows us to consider it as a social phenomenon.

We can give the following definition of this phenomenon.

Public opinion is a specific manifestation of public consciousness, a complex spiritual formation, expressed in assessments and characterizing an explicit or hidden attitude towards topical issues reality inherent in individual groups, social communities or society as a whole.

Public opinion always reflects the collective position and arises on issues of public interest.

At its core, public opinion is a combination of theoretical ideas, provisions of "common sense" and even delusions. It manifests itself first in emotions and judgments, and then in actions. In addition, researchers believe that public opinion is the most important mechanism of social interaction between people, since the functioning of any social group is impossible without the development of common ideas, judgments about common affairs, without collective assessments of events, without determining ways to solve pressing problems.

In the structure of public opinion, an object and a subject are distinguished.

The object of public opinion are specific phenomena, topics, problems on which judgments and points of view are expressed, that is, what public opinion is formed about. Thus, all the diversity of social life gives rise to the diversity of human judgments. Public opinion in its content is as complex as the processes taking place in society. The object of public opinion covers material production and political life, the state of ecology and health care, spiritual needs and socio-psychological well-being of people, and much more.

According to the sociologist B.A. Grushin, the object of public opinion must be studied, paying attention, firstly, to the analysis of the general ability of public opinion judgments to reflect reality; secondly, to highlight the criteria by virtue of which the phenomena of life become the object of public opinion

The subject and spokesman of public opinion are people who express judgments or give assessments to a particular problem that arises in society.

The subject of public opinion has a complex structure. The elements of this structure are classes, social communities, strata and groups of society. The inclusion of a particular group in the subject of public opinion depends on the significance of the problem under discussion, its importance for this group.

The diversity of opinions is due to the specifics of the perception of ongoing events, differences in the interests and social experience of people, which often leads to their clash, polarization and harmonization.

When does public opinion appear? What conditions affect its appearance and functioning? The most important condition is the social interests of people. Public opinion appears when a problem that arises in any sphere of public life (economic, political, spiritual, social) has practical value and affect people's interests. Most researchers consider this the first condition for the emergence of public opinion.

The second condition is related to the presence of debatability, that is, the problem or question under discussion must be debatable: social groups must have differences in assessments and judgments.

The third condition is the level of competence of people (they must have the knowledge to discuss a particular issue).

The mechanism of formation of public opinion has not been sufficiently studied by modern sociology. The complexity of this process lies in the fact that a common opinion is developed on the basis of individual judgments that "come into conflict with each other", agree or disagree. A common opinion arises in the assessment and discussion of topical, generally significant problems. Thus, a collective, group judgment is formed, and then an intergroup one.

Researchers say that there are two main sources that generate public opinion. The first source is associated with direct observation and assessment of the surrounding reality. This is the approval or condemnation by the population, social groups of certain actions, decisions of authorities or statements. Such public opinion is formed spontaneously. It is not amenable to targeted regulation.

The second source of public opinion is the mass media (newspapers, radio, television). Using these information channels, the population comprehends the expressed judgments, opinions, and assessments more rationally and logically. The mass media act as powerful levers for the formation and expression of public opinion.

What is the essence and what is the content of public opinion?

Most researchers note the following points:

public opinion is a specific conclusion (collective judgment) on any problem;

public interests and needs contribute to the formation of public opinion;

people's judgments have varying degrees of truth; public opinion that is not based on a scientific foundation can be erroneous; in case of lack of objective information, people use rumors or rely on their intuition;

public opinion becomes the driving force that regulates the behavior of social groups; at the same time, it reflects not only a certain level of knowledge of people on any issue, but also the attitude towards the object of opinion;

Public opinion is the result of the combination and interaction of people's opinions. It must be remembered that one opinion may become general, others will not be taken into account at all; the formed public opinion is integrative in nature;

public opinion exists in the minds of people and is always expressed publicly.

Social scores- the main, but not the only element of the structure of public opinion. Other elements that assessments rely on are theoretical and practical knowledge, as well as feelings and emotions. Social attitudes and will play an important role in shaping public opinion.

Consequently, public opinion is a unity of rational, emotional and volitional aspects. It has qualitative and quantitative characteristics, can have a positive and negative orientation, or be indifferent. For a long time, public opinion remains stable. Moreover, it can be enshrined in norms and values.

Public opinion researchers concluded that public opinion has areas of social and regional distribution. Public opinion is strengthened in the mind individual people, in the minds of groups or classes, i.e. has a social

spreading. It functions within the framework of the region, region, district, country as a whole (regional distribution).

In what areas can public opinion manifest itself?

These are all spheres of public life - economics and politics, morality and culture, science and education, religion and law. Most often, public opinion manifests itself in the sphere of politics: people evaluate the activities of the legislative authorities, the parties and deputies elected by them. Closely related to political assessments are legal assessments of people's actions. Moral assessments measure the behavior of people with generally accepted norms and principles. At the same time, they can act as an element of social control.

Examples of public opinion are the assessments and judgments of various social groups in Russian society about the problems of social and economic development Russian society. These may be the development of the country's housing and communal complex, the adoption of a new law on education, the quality and cost of healthcare services, infill development of cities and the preservation of historical monuments, and much more. As a concrete example, we can cite the results of a public opinion poll conducted by the Institute for Socio-Political Research Russian Academy Sciences in 2009. The task of the study was to determine the phenomena that, in the opinion of the Russians, it is necessary to fight in the first place. The survey involved representatives of the population in various regions of the Russian Federation aged 18 years and older. The data are presented in table 1.

Table 1.

The opinions of Russians about the phenomena of public life, which must be dealt with in the first place, in %

Note: the sum of the answers is more than 100%, since the respondents could mark several positions.

They play the most significant role in shaping public opinion, establishing norms of behavior in modern society, as well as exercising control over world political, cultural, social, economic processes. The media are a kind of "relays", with the help of which the information needs of modern society are satisfied.

It should be noted that the mass media are understood as institutions of various forms, which are created for the transfer and dissemination of information of various contents with the help of technical means and communication channels: printed editions, radio, television, Internet resources, etc. The mass media system directly depends on the society in which it operates. In turn, the media perform the function of regulation social processes and the function of influencing society: its state, speed and vector of development, etc.

With the help of these functions, public opinion is formed, and thus a person is programmed for certain actions. The media have long been important tool dissemination of information with the help of which the impact on public consciousness is carried out. Abraham Mol, a French scientist, philosopher, wrote about the media: “They actually control our entire culture, passing it through their filters, single out individual elements from the general mass of cultural phenomena and give them special weight, increase the value of one idea, devalue another, and thus polarize the entire field of culture. What did not get into the channels of mass communication in our time has almost no effect on the development of society.

In this case, it can be concluded that for modern man the fact of complete protection from the influence of the media on his life as a whole is impossible. This article discusses such a concept as "public opinion" - this is a kind of "configuration" of mass consciousness, with the help of which the attitude of society to certain events is demonstrated, the behavior of individuals is regulated and social institutions beneficial forms of social relations are introduced and established.

In everyday use, this concept most often implies the point of view of society on a particular socially significant issue. It should be noted that the significance of public opinion is determined by the level of development of such indicators as: politics, economics, culture, social rights and freedom, etc. Public opinion is reflected in voting in elections, public opinion polls, in the mass media, etc. Analyzing public opinion as a system, three main components can be distinguished: - rational; - emotional; - volitional. Let's take a closer look at each of them. The rational component is defined as people's knowledge in the field of facts, events that are significant for society.

This component is inextricably linked with the level of awareness, education of the subject. The next component is emotional. These are feelings, moods concerning this or that object of public opinion. If we analyze the ratio of emotional and rational in the composition of public opinion, then we can identify the degree of possibility of manipulating this society: the dominance of the emotional component makes it possible to easily put pressure on public opinion, as well as set it in the right direction.

The third component - volitional - certain actions of the subjects of public opinion. All of these components are inextricably linked, so that public opinion is complete system with its specific properties.

By nature, due to limited opportunities, a person cannot make direct contact with public opinion. He can personally learn and take into account only the opinion of another person, and the opinion of society - from the media.

Further, the collected "mosaic" of public opinion is introduced into the consciousness of the individual, who unconsciously compares himself with the majority, since in the public consciousness it is this majority that is designated as the owner and disseminator of moral truths and principles. A person perceives information that is disseminated by the media through the prism of his worldview, beliefs in a particular issue, psychological and social state. The media consciously form a person's ability to perceive in a certain way various pictures of reality.

At the same time, not only the consciousness of people changes, but also the state of the audience, its properties and characteristics. In this article we will consider the methods of influence of mass media on public consciousness. There are both overt and covert mechanisms of influence. Today, the so-called “subconscious stimulation method” is widely popular. It lies in the fact that the attitude of society to certain problems of the surrounding world is formed through the creation of simplified standardized representations, that is, images and stereotypes.

There are two main methods of forming and changing attitudes in the mass consciousness - suggestion and persuasion. Let's take a closer look at each of them. Persuasion is one of the methods of influencing a person's consciousness by appealing to his own critical judgment. At the core this method lies a careful selection and logical ordering of facts in accordance with the worldview and psychological attitudes of a particular person. The media can select and shape a variety of data that is distributed in society. All this is done for the purpose of persuasion.

In this case, there is a direct relationship: further actions and behavior of people depend on the content of the information they receive. Therefore, the most important task of the media is to select the most objective, meaningful and reliable information. The method of persuasion includes a fairly large number of information dissemination techniques, the purpose of which is to convince a person of the reliability of the data provided.

Let's list them: - fragmentation of presentation, that is, fragmentation of information into fragments;  ritualization - showing easily accessible for the camera official meetings, events;  personalization - the priority is to focus not on the meaning and content of the event, but on the media - politicians, show business stars, etc.;  diverting attention from the most important information.

The next method of influencing public consciousness is suggestion. It, in comparison with persuasion, is more effective, as it has an emotional impact on a person. Suggestion is a special process of influencing the mental state of a person.

This process is associated with a decrease in consciousness and criticality in the perception of information, as well as the lack of a detailed logical assessment of reality. Suggestion is the only possible way conveying any ideas that cannot be proven by logical reasoning.

The power of the word and the visual image is very great when it comes to the emotional impact on a person: these forms of information transfer can override rational arguments and facts.

In the arsenal of the media, a large stock of techniques has been accumulated that can effectively influence the feelings and emotions of people. Let's list them:  acceptance of "certificate";

 “sticking labels” technique;  technique of “radiant generalization”; - reception of "unattractive angle"; - reception "spiral of default";  “creating an image” technique;  “playing the common people” technique (populism); - use of color. So, in this article, the basic concepts of journalism were considered: "mass media", "public opinion", "the main methods of influencing public consciousness". The development and formation of public opinion directly depends on the data that the media carry to society through technical channels for disseminating information.

By virtue of his nature, a person cannot make direct contact with public opinion. Therefore, he perceives important information for him with the help of the media. Based on this, over time, a large number of effective methods impact on public consciousness, the main ones are persuasion and suggestion.

Literature

1. Humanitarian technologies. Information and analytical portal. Public opinion. URL: http://gtmarket.ru/concepts/7106 (date of access: 03/30/2017).

2. Mol A. Sociodynamics of culture / transl. from French, foreword. B.V. Biryukov. Ed. 3rd. M.: LKI Publishing House, 2008. 416 p.

3. National political encyclopedia. Mass media. URL: http://politike.ru/termin/sredstvamassovoi-informacii.html (date of access: 03/30/2017).

4. The influence of the media on the formation of public opinion // Sociology: methodological assistance to students and graduate students. URL: http://smolsoc.ru/index.php/home/2009-12-28-12-53-33/69-2010-12-30-12-24-46/663-2010-12-31-03-05-00 (date of access: 03/30/2017).

The term public is used in many senses. In everyday speech, this concept simply means people, members of a given society. Sociologists use this term in two senses: 1) a set of people scattered in space who have similar interests in relation to some object, for example, the public supporting a political movement or party, supporting the undertakings of the government or the president; 2) a lot of people related to ongoing events or actions, divided among themselves on the basis of their attitude to this event, who are able to evaluate or influence the course of this event and discuss its consequences.

Members of the public may not come together as members of the crowd, but each member of the public may communicate with only a subset of the other members of the public. The public maintains internal connections only through the means of mass communication. For this reason, control over the media most often means power over public opinion.

The structure of the public and its opinion are determined by cultural differences and heterogeneity. In a society with a homogeneous culture (a small number of subcultures) there is a public with similar, indistinguishable interests. The presence of a large number of subcultures gives rise to an extremely heterogeneous public, whose groups represent competing directions in the pursuit of their own interests. For example, one part of the public believes that a significant share of the budget should be allocated to environmental issues, another part believes that the money should be spent on the development of national industry, and the third is sure that the same money should be transferred to the Ministry of Defense to maintain Russia's influence on the world stage. The more complex the structure of society, the more positions that members of the public can take on the solution of a particular issue.

The simple stable culture of a society does not usually provide the public with many alternatives pressing issues because the situation can be managed on the basis of traditions and moral norms. For this reason, the differences in public opinion for various social groups are insignificant and not conflicting. But in a complex, conflicting culture, the points of view of different groups of members of the public on the solution of a problem can be extremely diverse. In other words, it is impossible to manage the emerging situation with the help of a certain set of norms, since these norms are accepted only within certain groups, subcultures of a given society. For example, at present, many members of the public are concerned about the ecological imbalance due to the development of minerals in Siberia, while other groups are interested in developing industry and increasing the extraction of oil and other minerals, believing that any means are acceptable for this. Traditional norms do not allow to resolve this issue, since they can be applied to support both points of view - the preservation of Russia's forests and the increase in its power and influence in the world. Thus, in a complex society, separate segments of public opinion are created, behind which are public groups with their own interests, attitudes and various possibilities influence on the solution of a particular problem. This leads to the need to study and take into account public opinion.