Public Opinion and Mass Media Research

The research starts from the general hypothesis that the formation of public opinion is partly based on relatively stable psychological predispositions, while the other part is situationally determined and therefore subject to changes under the influence of the relevant situational context. In this regard, the research is, on the one hand, focused on the study of some psychosocial determinants of public opinion (value orientations of citizens, social identity, social and political attitudes, etc.), and on the other hand, on the analysis of the social context (primarily mass media) of the relevant for its design and possible changes. The project includes several units: (a) longitudinal research of the public’s attitude towards relevant social and political issues and their connection with the covered psychosocial characteristics of the respondents; (b) cognitive and methodological complementary research on the characteristics of mass media as important determinants in shaping and changing public opinion; (c) checking and perfecting the methodology of public opinion research and survey social research in general and their adaptation to our specific social circumstances. In the implementation of the research, a statistically representative survey and a quantitative analysis of the content will be used, and it is also possible to apply individual and group interviews and some other methods and techniques. If properly understood and applied, the results of the conducted research could serve as one of the elements for the establishment of better communication between social (political, media) actors and the Croatian public, and as a further contribution to the development of research methodology and sensitive social issues.