Public opinion and its social and psychological characteristics
The article is devoted to the study of mechanisms of influence of public opinion on social processes associated with an increase in the importance of public opinion as a subject of social management in the context of globalization of information space and the development of informal channels of communication. At the same time the social and psychological impact of public opinion can lead to support and strengthen the system of individual attitudes and behaviors through the introduction of a new category. Public opinion is presented as a collective response in the form of judgments on the social situation, you want to express or discover publicly understood as the unity of the social and psychological assessment and social will. As expressed, objectified, public opinion acts as a social force, which plays the role of an instrument of self-organization of society, ensuring its stability and dynamic development. Detailed analysis of the numerous approaches to this problem, the author shows that the strength and power of public opinion as an important tool for civil society stem from its social and psychological characteristics.