Chapter 1 Concepts Flashcards
A regional focus when studying political science, rather than studying parts of the world where similar variables are clustered
Area studies
A movement within political science during the 1950’s and 1960’s to develop general theories about individual political behavior that could be applied across all countries
Behavior Revolution
cause and effect; when a change in one variable causes a change in another variable
i.e.; colonizer onto colonized is ________
causal relationship
The means by which social scientists make comparisons across cases
Comparative Method
The study and comparison of domestic politics across countries
Comparative Politics
An apparent relationship between two or more variables
Correlation
Research that works from hypothesis that is then tested against data.
Deductive Reasoning
A variable whose value changes based on that of another
Dependent Variable
The issue that cause and effect are not often clear, in that variables may be both cause and effect in relationship to one another
Endogeneity
Institutions usually based on officially sanctioned rules that are relatively clear
Formal institutions
The ability of an individual to act independently, without fear of restriction or punishment by the state or other individuals or groups in society
Freedom
An approach that emphasizes how actors or organizations behave in their goal to influence others; built upon assumptions of rational choice
Game Theory
A variable whose value does not depend on that of another
Independent Variable
Research that works from case studies in order to generate hypotheses
Inductive Reasoning
institutions that have unwritten and unofficial rules
but there are still rules that exist
Informal institutions
An organization or activity that is self - perpetuating and valued for its own sake
Institution
A field in political science that concentrates on relations between countries, such as foreign policy, war, trade and foreign aid.
Also things like informal communications in media can be labelled this if they are between major people in a country.
International relations
A theory asserting that as societies developed, they would take on a set of common characteristics, including democracy and capitalism
This is also where a lot of western bias comes from.
Modernization Theory
When variables are interconnected and interact to produce particular outcomes
Multicausality
The struggle in any group for power that will give one or more persons the ability to make decisions for the larger group
could be found in something as big as war or as simple as a school.
Politics
The ability to influence others or impose one’s will on them
Power
Study through statistical data from many cases
Quantitative Method
Study through an in - depth investigation of a limited number of cases
Qualitative Method
Approach that assumes that individuals weigh the costs and benefits and make choices to maximize their benefits
Rational Choice
A focus on effects rather than causes, which can lead to inaccurate conclusions about correlation or causation
Selection Bias
An integrated set of hypotheses, assumptions and facts.
Theory
