Toward Wiser Public Judgment

by Daniel Yankelovich (Editor), Will Friedman (Editor)

Overview

This work revisits and expands upon Yankelovich¹s seminal 1991 book, Coming to Public Judgment, which argued that people advance through several distinct stages to form politically meaningful judgments about public issues. In particular, citizens must "work through" the temptation to opt for easy answers or engage in wishful thinking, reconcile conflicting values, and come to terms with tough tradeoffs, before they can truly support a new course of action. The present work examines these themes in light of changing societal conditions, from the advent of the Internet and the weakening of traditional media to the proliferation of urgent and complex problems that cannot be put off without courting disaster.

In his lead chapter, Dan Yankelovich urges us to move away from a "misleading model of public opinion" that "dominates the expert culture of our society, including journalists, scientists, business leaders, scholars, professional experts, and political leaders." He and the other contributors (Will Friedman, Keith Melville, Robert Kingston, Alison Kadlec, Steven A. Rosell, and Heidi Gantwerk) describe methods used by organizations like Public Agenda, National Issues Forums, and Viewpoint Learning, Inc., to advance the public's learning curve through various forms of civic engagement, education, dialogue and deliberation.

They provide case studies of education reform in Bridgeport, Connecticut, and math and science initiatives in the Kansas City area, and examples of programs that have focused on issues ranging from energy and health care to US-Muslim relations. One chapter is a dialogue between Yankelovich and Friedman.

While our political culture resonates to the public's desire for a stronger voice, it fails to ensure that this voice reflects anything more than the spin, spectacle, and excessive partisanship that dominate today's public discourse. Toward Wiser Public Judgment offers insights and strategies to counteract these troubling trends.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780826517395
Publisher:	Vanderbilt University Press
Publication date:	02/25/2011
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 8.90(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Dan Yankelovich, Chairman and Co-Founder of Public Agenda, is the initiator of the New York Times/Yankelovich Poll and the author of twelve books. A founding president of the Society for the Advancement of Socio-Economics, he is also chairman emeritus of the Educational Testing Service. Yankelovich was Research Professor of Psychology at New York University and Professor of Psychology on the Graduate Faculty at the New School for Social Research.

Will Friedman is President of Public Agenda, where he founded its public engagement department in 1997 and its Center for Advances in Public Engagement in 2007. The author of numerous articles on the theory and practice of public engagement, he was previously COO at Public Agenda and senior vice president for policy studies at the Work in America Institute.

Table of Contents

Foreword Sterling Speirn vii

Acknowledgments xi

Introduction: How Americans Make Up Their Minds: The Dynamics of the Public's Learning Curve and Its Meaning for American Public Life Daniel Yankelovich Will Friedman 1

Part I The Concept of Public Judgment

1 How to Achieve Sounder Public Judgment Daniel Yankelovich 11

2 Further Reflections: A Dialogue between Dan Yankelovich Will Friedman 33

Part II Applications

3 The Experience of the National Issues Forums Keith Melville Robert J. Kingston 51

4 Thirty-Five Years of Working on Public Judgment at Public Agenda Alison Kadlec Will Friedman 73

5 Moving Beyond Polls and Focus Groups Steven A. Rosell Heidi Gantwerk 110

Part III Exploring Next Steps

6 Coming to Public Judgment: Strengthening Impacts, Exploring National Possibilities Will Friedman 131

Notes 157

Contributors 167

Index 169

Editorial Reviews

"Those interested in engaging in public life, and helping to create and sustain spaces in which community members might listen to, talk to, and learn from one another, have a great deal to learn from the stories collected within this volume."
—Journal of Higher Education Outreach and Engagement

From the Publisher