Exam 3 Flashcards
General Election
Election in which voters choose their elected officials
Primary Election
Election in which voters select the candidates who will run on the party label for the general election
Incumbency Advantage
The advantage an elected official who already holds a position has
Wesberry V Sanders
Rules that congressional districts should have roughly equal populations if this is feasible (1964)
Karcher V Daggett
(1983) Ruled Gerrymandering was against the constitution even if the populations were similar since it was not in good faith
Shaw V Reno
(1983) Ruled that redistricting on the basis or race alone was not sufficient if done beyond a reasonable amount
Shelby County V Holder
(2013) Ruled that section 4 of the voting rights act was unconstitutional. Ruled that the formulae to determine which districts were subject to pre clearance was wrong. Made it easier to make it harder for minorities to vote
Safe Seat
Seat in congress held reliably by a party
Open Seat
An election for a position in congress without an incumbent running
Negativity
A campaign strategy telling voters why they should not vote for the opponent by highlighting information that raises doubts
Microtargeting
Using detailed info on certain groups in order to specifically target them
Valence Issues
Issues that are widely supported and unlikely to differ among candidates
Position Issues
Political issues that offer specific policy choices and offen differentiate candidates views and plans of action
Wedge Issues
Divisive issues focused on a particular group that candidates use to gain support by taking votes away from their opponents
Reapportionment
Redistribution of sears in House of Reps based in population changes
Redistricting
Redrawing district lines in order to keep populations similar
Gerrymandering
The redrawing of districts for political purposes
Reverion to the Mean
If candidates are becoming polarized the ones who will do best are those who appeal most to the middle
Vanishing Marginals
Trend marking decline of competitive congressional elections
Coattail Effect
A popular president or candidate boosting votes for others in their party
Presidential penalty
President’s party does poor in mid terms because people take out their dissatisfaction
Surge and Decline
The difference in turnout in presidential elections vs congressional or midterm elections
Hillstyle
The way a member represents or gives back to their district from DC
Homestyle
The way a legislator reps their district when they are in it
Strategic Politician Hypothesis
Effect that the strength of econ and pop of pres have on decision to run for congredd
Public Opinion
Aggregate of attitudes about certain issues or officals
Voting Public
The people of the public who vote
Issue Public
Members of the public who focus on one issue
Religiosity
Having strong religious feelings or belief
Religious Saliency
The importance of religion in one’s life
Confidence Interval
A statistical range that takes random error into account
Representative Sample
Method of selection that allows a sample to be a reflection of the entire population
Random Sample
Method of selection that gives everyone who might be selected an equal chance to participate
Self Interest
Concern for one’s own advantage and well being
Rationality
Acting in a way consistent with one’s self interest
Levels of Conceptualization
Measure of how ideologically coherent individuals are in their political evaluations
Political Socialization
Process by which individuals learn and internalize their own political perception
Gender Gap
Difference in attitude between men and women
Socializing Agents
Combo of social groups and institutions that provide the experiences of socialization
Political Trust
Extent people believe the gov acts in their best interests
Tracking Polls
Polls that gauge changes in opinion of the dame sample size over a period of timr
Exit Polls
Polls that sample voters immediately after voting to try and predict election results before all votes are counted
Push Polls
Polls designed to manipulate those being polled
Nonattitudes
A source of error when people give an opinion on something when they don’t have an opinion or are uninformed
Polarization
Condition in which differences between parties or public are so stark that disagreement breaks out
Indoctrination thesis
Teaching someone to accept beliefs without questioning them
Enlightenment Theory
Reason is the primary source of authority and legitimacy
Exposure Thesis
Exposure to new ideas may change your way of thinking
Generational Effect
Major events that change an entire generation’s perceptions about events (9/11)
Life Cycle Effect
The idea that your views change as your progress through different stages in life
Mass Media
News sources such as newspapers, tele, radio and internet. Purpose is to provide a large audience with info
News Media
Subset of mass media that reports the news, gathered and supported by journalists
Watchdog
Role of press in monitoring gov actions
Framing
The ability of the media to influence perception about a certain issue by constructing the discussion a certain way (how it is presented)
Agenda Setting
Ability of media to affect the way people view issues by controlling which stories are shown
Priming
The process where the media influenced the criteria the public uses to make decisions (what is presented)
Media Consolidation
Media being owned by large groups
Ideological Bias
Bias that is influenced by the ideology of the presenters
Selective Perception
Process where partisans perceive the same information differently
Selective Exposure
The choice to only listen to sources they agree with
Minimal Effects Model
View of media impact as minimal as most people seek news to reinforce beliefs
Not so minimal effects model
View of the media’s impact ad substantial
Sound bite
A short audio snippet from a recorded interview
Horse Race Coverage
Focusing on polling data and perception rather than policy, only focuses on differences
Pack Journalism
When reporters from different outlets collab to cover the same story
Hard News
Political news that is more fact based
Soft News
Journalism that blurs line between information and entertainment
Personalization Bias
Tendency to down play social, econ and polit developments to focus on the human trials
Dramatization Bias
News stories that can be easily dramatized into simple stories
Fragmentation Bias
Isolation of stories so that it becomes harder to see the bigger picture
Politics as a Game
Focusing on winners and losers rather than substance
Uncontrolled Media
Media not under control of an organization
Controlled Media
Media controlled by an organization
Selection Bias
When the people included in a study are not an accurate representation of the whole population
Commercial Bias
Information presented in a manner that attempts to sway opinion in favor of a commercial business
