Term
|
Definition
| Status held by someone entitled to all the rights and privileges of a full-fledged member of a political community - being born in the U.s. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Collection of beliefs and values about the justification and operation of a country's government |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The idea that ethnic and cultural groups should maintain their identity within the larger society and respect one another's differences. Lots of groups live together and maintain their own identity |
|
|
Term
| Liberalism - Also Classic Liberalism |
|
Definition
| A philosophy that elevates and empowers the individual as opposed to religious, hereditary, governmental or other forms of authority - needs of individual paramount to needs of society. Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean-Jacques Rosseau - theorists who wrote the "Social Contract" - life, liberty and the pursuit of property. Individuals are equal - no distinction on heredity or religion |
|
|
Term
Civic Republicanism - Classic Republican
|
|
Definition
A political philosophy that emphasizeds the obligation of citizens to act virtously in pursuit of the common good. Needs of the society outweigh the needs of the individual. Gordon Wood - communitarian
Republican philosopy - man is defined by the society in which he lives. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The notion that individuals should have an equal chance to advance economically through their talent and hard work - ie: everyone has a chance to go to college - American Dream |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The notion that all individuals have a right to a more or less equal part of the material goods that society produces - no matter how hard you work - same outcome |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The set of psychological and sociological processes by which families, schools, religious organizations, communities, and other societal units inculcate beliefs and values in their members. The way that groups give you your values and create the person you are. The process by which families, schools, communities and religious organizations transmit values to their members. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Opinions are attitudes not ideology
The aggregation of people's views about issues, situations, and public figures. Public opinion varies because many people have insufficient or inaccurate information about issues. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The end result of all the processes by which social groups give individuals their beliefs and values |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Faith and trust in the government The belief that the citizen can make a difference in politics by expressing an opinion or acting politically.
|
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The chance variation that arises in public opinion surveys as a result of using a representative, but small, sample to estimate the characteristics of a larger population. all surveys will have sampling errors. In the workbook - sampling error, the discrepancy between sample and population, is mainy a function of sample size (the size of the population, when large, does not matter much in the calculation of the sampling error) |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| This concept refers to how for polling results are likely to vary from the actual distribution of public opinion. plus or minus 3% |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The distortion caused when a sampling method systematically includes or excludes people with certain attitudes from the sample |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Small groups of people brought together to talk about issues or candidates at length and in depth. Political consultants increasingly rely on focus groups because they are useful for testing the appeal of ads, slogans, terms, etc. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The error that arises from attempting to measure something as subjective as opinion. Someone is trying to create a poll where the answers are based on opinions or other subjective data, the results are usually faulty due to measurement error. The wording of survey questions can be the most important source of measurement error. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The time and mental effort required to absorb and store information, whether from conversations, personal experiences, or the media |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A group of people particularly affected by, or concernced with a specific issue |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A system of beliefs in which one or more organiziaing principles connect the individuals views on a wide range of particular issues |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Activists and officeholders who have well-structured ideologies that bind together their positions on different policy issues. Deeply involved in politics. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Ordinary people for whom politics is a peripheral concern |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Another term for the right to vote |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The efforts of parties, groups, and activists to encourage thier supporters to turn out for elections - get people to the polls |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Those legally eligible to vote who have registered in accordance with the requirements prevailing in their state and locality |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The degree to which individuals are integrated into society--examples(extended families, neighborhoods, religious organizations, and other social units) Relationships people have with others and the benefits these relationships can bring to the individuals as well as society |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A shift in the behavior of a group that results from a change in the group's composition, rather than a change in the behavior of individuals already in the group. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
People have preferences
act to maximize those preferences/utility
Constrained by:
resources
information
what other people do |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Ballots that indicate no choice for an office (ex for president in 2000) whether because the voter's intention could not be determined - left it blank - hanging chads |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Ballots that have more than one choice for office whether because the voter cast a ballot for more than one candidate or wrote in a name as well as making a mark - made more than one choice |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| All people in the US over the age of 18, including who may not be legally eligible to vote |
|
|
Term
| Voter-eligible population |
|
Definition
| Voting population with groups such as felons and noncitizens subtracted |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Issues such as flag burning, gun control, abortion, obscenity, prayer in school, capital punishments, gay rights, and evolution that reflect personal values more than economic interests. Non-economic issues |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Organization or association of people with common interests that engages in politics on behalf of its members |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An interest group narrowly focused to influence policy on a single issue |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Problems that arises when people can enjoy the benefits of a group activity without bearing any of the costs. Ex - seasame street on PBS |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Broad-based demand for government action on some problem or issue, such as civil rights for blacks, equal rights for women, or environmental protection |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Goods enjoyed simultaneously by a group, as opposed to a private good that must be divided up to be shared |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Specific private goods that an organization provides only to its contributing members - AARP |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| People will to assume the costs of forming and maintain an organization even when others may fre-ride on them |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Interest-group activates intended to influence directly the decisions that public officials make |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| One who engages in lobbying, especially as his or her primary job |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Attempts by groups and associations to influence elected official indiretly through their constituents - super effective |
|
|
Term
| Political Action Committee(PAC) |
|
Definition
| Specialized organization for raising and spending campaign funds; often affiliated with an interest group or association - they are not affliated with a particular candidate |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Advertising campaigns that attempt to influence public opinion in regard to a specific policy proposal |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Compter-generated letters, faxes, and other communications by interest groups to people who might be sympathetic to an appeal for money or support |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Everything from peaceful sit-ins and demonstration to riots and even rebellion - physicall involved |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Alliance of a congressional committee, an executive agency, and a small number of allied interest groups that combine to dominate policy making in some specified policy area |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A loose collection of interest groups, politicians, bureaucrats, and policy experts who have a particular interest in or responsibility for a policy area. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A school of thougt holding that politics is the clash of groups that represent all important interests in society and that check and balance each other |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Groups of like-minded people who band together in an attempt to take control of government. Parties represent the primary connection between ordinary citizens and the public officials they elect |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
Government in which one party holds the presidence but does not control both the house and congress. EX: President Obama - Democrat
House of Representatives - Republican
Senate - Democrat |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Shift occuring when the pattern of group support from the political parties changes in a significant and lasting way |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Election that marks the emergence of a new, lasting alignment of partisan support within the electorate |
|
|
Term
| National Nominating Convention |
|
Definition
| Quadrennial gathering of party officials and delegates that selects presidential and vice presidential nominees and adopts party platforms |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A highly organized party under the control of a boss and based on patronage and control of government activities. Machines were common in many cities in the late nineteenth centuries |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Loose aggregation of politicians, political activates, and intellectuals of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries who promoted political reforms in an effort to clean up elections and government - helped women get the right to vote |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A method of choosing party candidates that allows voters instead of party leaders to choose nominees for office; it weakened party control of nominations and the influence that parties could exercise over officeholders. This method of nominating candidates is virtually unknown outside the US - meaning exclusive to the US |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A statment of a party's positions on the major issues of the day |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Voter selection of candidates from different parties at the same election - for example, a republican presidential candidate but a democratic candidate for the house of representatives. Example: John voted for republican george w bush for president and barack obama for senate |
|
|
Term
| Premise of Duverger's law |
|
Definition
In democracies that use majority plus one voting, third parties are not competitve, while in democracies that use proportional representation voting, third parties do better
Election systems that rely on single member districts and plurality (first past the post) voting systems favor a two party system
Election systems with multi-member districts and proportional representation allow for multiple parties to thrive |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| System in which only two significant parties compete for office. Such systems are in the minority among world democracies |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The way in which a country's constitutions or laws translate popular votes into control of public offices |
|
|
Term
| Single-member, simple-plurality (SMSP) system |
|
Definition
| Electoral system in which the country is divided into geographic districts, and the candidates who win the most votes within their districts are elected - the US |
|
|
Term
| Proportional representation (PR) |
|
Definition
Electoral system in which parties receive a share of seats in parliament that is proportional to the popular vote they receive
Election systems with multi-member districts and proportional representation allow for multiple parties to thrive |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Means of communication that are widely affordable and technologically capable of reaching a broad audience - ie billboards |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Licensing condition promulgated by the FCC requiring any station that gave or sold time to a legally qualified candidate for public office to make equal time available to all such candidates on equal terms |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Purported ability of TV to raise a foreign tragedy to national prominence by broadcasting vivid pictures |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| FCC regulation, enforced between 1949 and 1987, that required stations to air contrasting viewpoints on matters of public importance and to give public figures who have been criticized on any of the station's progrmas a free opportunity to reply |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Cable and satellite TV, fax, email, and the Internet -- the media that have grown out of the technological advances of the past few decades |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| The media affect the issues and problems people think about even if the media do not determine what positions people adopt. Emotional - leading story- tons of color |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| "Cognitive Miser" The media affect the standards people use to evaluate political figures or the severity of a problem. Making a story or issue more important - won't change your opinion. Imagine that media outlets begin running many stories about the economy and as a result, people's evaluation of candidates changes, putting more emphasis on their perceptions of how the candidates perform on the issue of the economy. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
What is the "frame" of a story?
The way in which opinions about an issue can be altered by emphasizing or de-emphasizing particular facets of that issue - Framing one segment. Frames generated by: Elites, Culture, Media. Example of: equity in college admissions, the decision whether to characterize a policy of affirmative action or racial preference would be an example of framing |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Guidline according to which stores with certain characteristics are chosen over stories without those characteristics. It is the set of preferred criteria the media use to decide which stories they will cover. |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| A piece of film or video that shows a candidate speaking in his or her own words |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| not only measure opinion but also affect it |
|
|
Term
| Unit non-responses are defined as those selected respondents who |
|
Definition
| decline to answer the survey, fail to complete it or are never reached by the interviewer |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| measures more informed attitudes |
|
|
Term
| Gains in reliability are minimal after a certain sample size, typically about |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Pollsters use random-digit dialing to |
|
Definition
| approximate a random sample of a large, ever-changing population like the American people |
|
|
Term
| Scholars believe opinions of a more informed electorate would be |
|
Definition
| more socially progressive |
|
|
Term
| Strategic voting takes place when a person |
|
Definition
| votes for a candidate other than her first choice in order to prevent a less preferred candidate from winning the election |
|
|
Term
| According to the "bandwagon effect" polls showing a candidate to be in the lead |
|
Definition
| may bring more voters to that persons support |
|
|
Term
| Opinion polls, despite the fact that they sometimes lack clarity |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Elected officials follow public opinion closely but |
|
Definition
| they are not always responsive to it |
|
|
Term
| the opinions collected in polls are generally not representative of |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Many of the opinions voiced in polls are not meaningful because |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Public opinion polls suffer from measurement error in that they do not always |
|
Definition
| measure what they are supposed to be measuring |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| consists of selecting people from the population of interest where each and every person has an equal chance of being selected |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the discrepancy between sample and population, is mainly a function of sample size (the size of the populations, when large, does not matter much in the calculation of the sampling error). |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| a computer randomly selects area codes and phone numbers that interviewers then call |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| are the unreachables, the refusals, and the incompletes and affect negatively the quality of a sample |
|
|
Term
| those expressing more non-opinion responses tend to be |
|
Definition
| less knowledgeable, less education, poorer, and younger. Non-opinion responses, therefore, also introduce substanial representative distortions into the sample |
|
|
Term
| In 1957, a scholar named Anthony Downs wrote a book entitled "An Economic Theory of Democracy." Downs applied the idea of rational choice theory to the decision to vote. He hypothesized that people will vote if the benefits of doing so outweigh the costs. What is the equation? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What does the (p) mean in the equation of (p*B) - C>0 |
|
Definition
| P is for probablity that your vote will cause that candidate to win. |
|
|
Term
| What does the B mean in the equation (p*B) - C>0 |
|
Definition
| B is the benefit of having your preferred candidate win |
|
|
Term
| What does C mean in the equation (p*B) - C>0 |
|
Definition
| minus C is lost wages, lost leisure time, gas money, babysitting money, effort of becoming informed, etc - associated with voting |
|
|
Term
| The number people participating in the election affects: |
|
Definition
| P in the equation (P*B) -C>0 |
|
|
Term
| Polling projections about how the election will be affects |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The similarity between the two candidates affects |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Ho similar you own views are to those of your preferred candidate affects |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Working the swing shift affects |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Having small children affects |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Political participation includes much more than voting such as |
|
Definition
| donating money to or working on political campaigns, writing or e-mailing your representative, engaging in political protests, and even putting a political bumper sticker on your car |
|
|
Term
| Sidney Verba, Kay Lehman Scholzman, and Henry E. Brady provide one such rich description in their |
|
Definition
civic volunatrism model of political participation. Three factors:
psychological engagement in politics - political efficacy
resources: money, time and civic skills
mobilization - asking people to participate (example: churches, the rotary club, the junior league)
|
|
|
Term
| Anthony Down's An Economic Theory of Democracy describes a __________ model of voting |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Rational choice theories of human behavior assume |
|
Definition
| people act to achieve the best possible outcome given constraints on their information and resources |
|
|
Term
| Political efficacy is the belief that |
|
Definition
| an indiviual can influence what government does |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| the value we dervie from membership in social groups or social networks |
|
|
Term
| According to the Anthony Downs's An Economoc Theory of Democracy, people vote when (p*B) -C>0. In this equation what is "b" |
|
Definition
| the benefit that they expect from having their preferred candidate win |
|
|
Term
| According to the civic voluntarism model (verba, brady and schlozman) participation in politics is a function of |
|
Definition
| resources, management and mobilization |
|
|
Term
| If we vote because it makes us feel good about ourselves or because we deruve enjoyment from the very act of voicing our opinion, voting is a __________act |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| If we vote because we believe it will cause our favorite candidate to win and thus improve our own situations, voting is a _____________ act |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| What is a political party? |
|
Definition
| An organizations that run candidates for office under a common banner, in order to control government institutions |
|
|
Term
| A document expressing the beliefs and policy agenda of a political party is called |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| The Pendleton Act of 1883 was enacted to |
|
Definition
| create a merit based civil service system |
|
|
Term
| The first political parties in Congress were the |
|
Definition
| Federalists and the Democratic Republicans |
|
|
Term
| The first mass-based party system was called |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| A _______ is a meeting of delegates that selects a party's nominee for elective office |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| Why were the party machines so effective |
|
Definition
| They rewarded loyalty with patronage and other services |
|
|
Term
| As a result of the McGovern-Fraser Commission, many states instituted binding primary elections |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| A ballot issued by the government that includes all candidates for office is called |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| Providing a goverment job to someone in exchange for their political support |
|
|
Term
| The following placed limits on the amount of money party organizations could donate to election campaigns |
|
Definition
| Federal Election Campain Act of 1971 |
|
|
Term
| Under the Articles of Confederation |
|
Definition
| candidates nominated themselves for office |
|
|
Term
| In a non-binding primary, delegates |
|
Definition
| can vote for whomever they want |
|
|
Term
| According to Mancur Olson's Logic of Collective Action, small groups are better able to achieve common goals because |
|
Definition
| they are better able to organize the group around the interest |
|
|
Term
| A fundamental assumption of "public choice theory" is that |
|
Definition
| decision-makers are rational actors who seek to get the greatest benefit at the lowest cost |
|
|
Term
| The role of interest groups has been a topic of discussion since the founding of the nation. In the Federalist #10, Madison |
|
Definition
| warned against the potential impact of interest groups in American society |
|
|
Term
|
Definition
| An array of activities designed to gain favorable outcomes for a lobby's constituency |
|
|
Term
| Of all the interest represented by lobbyists, which kind is the most common and is represented by the largest number of groups? |
|
Definition
|
|
Term
| How was Abramoff able to make campaign contributions and provide other benefits to members of Congress and their staff? |
|
Definition
| Throught a tangled web of connections and diffrerent donation strategies he was able to mask the extent of his campaign contributions and gifts so that money could not be directly traced to him |
|
|
Term
| Prior to the Abramoff scandal, House ethics rules required that |
|
Definition
| members disclose all sources of gifts and travel funding for vacations from any source was prohibited |
|
|
Term
| Abramoff's scandal involved clients in the Northern Mariana Islands who were trying to |
|
Definition
| prevent legislation that would increase enforcement against sex shops and sweatshops |
|
|
Term
| In regards to interest group lobbyist participation in American politics, the Abramoff scandal illustrates that |
|
Definition
| special interest lobby groups can undermine representative democracy |
|
|
Term
| the following is an argument in favor of interest groups |
|
Definition
| groups provide information and expertise to members of Congress who may not otherwise be aware about certain issues areas |
|
|
Term
| the following is an argument against interest groups |
|
Definition
| groups may undermine democratic goals because they seek to represent only a smaller minority of interest in the general population |
|
|
Term
| What to third parties do? |
|
Definition
win local and state office
force the major parties to move to capture the lost votes
get issues on the agenda through media coverage and public awareness |
|
|
