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The life work of George H. Gallup, Sr., in PO surveys was founded on his belief in the wisdom of the majority & the dangers of organized minority influence. His work in polling, based on this belief, involved major achievements in the development of methodology & organization for polls, & in the formulation of standards for the profession of polling. W. H. Stoddard.

The polling of public opinion has taken firm hold in our political process. It is seductive in its seeming ability to capture elusive and complex public attitudes in a few percentages. Yet, the results of polls can obscure as well as clarify the mood of the populace. Most of the visible polling activity is an extension of journalism. At the same time, however, polling has its intellectual roots in social science. A tension is inherent in the relationship. The press has certain requirements which have conse quences for the kind of polling that is undertaken. Grow ing sophistication, however, is being manifest by the press, which is the best omen for a more felicitous relationship be tween polling and the mass media.

The polling of PO has taken firm hold in our political process. It is seductive in its seeming ability to capture elusive & complex public attitudes in a few percentages. Yet, the results of polls can osbcure, as well as clarify, the mood of the populace. Most of the visible polling activity is an extension of journalism. At the same time, however, polling has its intellectual roots in social science; tension is inherent in the relationship. The press has certain requirements which has consequences for the kind of polling that is undertaken. Growing sophistication, however, is being manifest by the press, which is the best omen for a more felicitous relationship between polling & the mass media. Modified HA.

Res opportunities are seldom granted that afford us a beforeafter glimpse of the process by which public significance is ascribed to a nat'l event, & by which the event itself is perceived. The study reported here is a product of just such a coincidence of circumstances. 2 nation-wide probability sample surveys were conducted in India, bracketing the Chinese invasion of north India in Oct 1962. Both studies were similar in design (sample, ballot, & code), & consisted of 2366 cases & 2014 cases, respectively. The 1st survey was completed in late summer 1962, the 2nd in Nov 1962. The 'Self-Anchoring Striving Scale' was used to elicit from the R just what it is that he is striving for personally & for his country, & just how successful he feels both he & the nation are in terms of these stated aspirations. The method combines open-ended questions with an 11-step 'ladder' on which the R rates his own progress & that of the nation. Comparison of the 2 surveys indicated the remoteness of the severity ~ of the border crisis to the vast bulk of the pop. The fear of Chinese aggression seems only vague & general. The invasion was perceived as Chinese, not Communist, brought the call for a military build-up but did not threaten nat'l independence, & stimulated a marked trend of opinion favorable to the US, but had little bearing on professed Indian neutrality. AA.

Cover -- Half Title -- Title Page -- Copyright Page -- Contents -- Transaction Introduction -- Preface (1966) -- Preface (1940) -- "Incredible as it may seem" -- I. THE BROADCAST -- "It was something terrible" -- II. THE NATURE AND EXTENT OF THE PANIC -- "It didn't sound like a play" -- III. HOW THE STIMULUS WAS EXPERIENCED -- "We'd better do something" -- IV. DESCRIPTION OF REACTIONS -- "I figured" -- V. CRITICAL ABILITY -- "I'm so worried" -- VI. CONDITIONS INHIBITING CRITICAL ABILITY -- "Being in a troublesome world" -- VII. THE HISTORICAL SETTING -- "My background" -- VIII. THE INDIVIDUAL CASE -- "Jitters have come to roost" -- IX. WHY THE PANIC? -- Appendix A. Miscellaneous information -- Appendix B. Interview schedule -- Appendix C. Tables -- Index