Abstract:
In the first section of the paper a definition of presentation (perception) functions — components of individual's subjective view of the world — are proposed. Using the basic psychophysical law formulated by S. Stevens, and relying on the hypotheses of socialization, rationality, individual choice, complexity of informational influences, dynamics of ideas and perceptions, and accessibility, formal dependence was derived allowing to calculate the function of presentation (perception) for probabilistic indicators (with known distribution function or subjective probability) and of interval type. In the second and third sections parameters of the presentation function according to surveys of the U.S. population related to the war in Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq are estimated.
Keywords:public opinion, representation and perception, social and informational impacts, basic psychophysical law, mathematical model.