Final Exam Flashcards by Elisha Jahnke

Public opinion

The collective beliefs of individuals on issues

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Why is public opinion important?

Normative we believe the public should influence what government does
empirical people behave as if public opinion does matter

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Elitists

Citizens are too dumb to be trusted with important positions

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Pluralists

Trusts groups of citizens to make decisions but says that they don’t have enough time to be informed

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Participatory

Think people are smart enough and informed enough to make decisions

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Ideal democratic citizen versus apolitical self interested actors

Ideal is concern for the common good

Apolitical unlikely to get involved in political life they only want what’s best for them

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Uniformed citizens versus activists citizens

Uniformed citizens are more tolerant

Activists are intolerant

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

How to Americans look when it comes to tolerance

They agree with freedom of speech and religion and equality but when it comes to applying these beliefs their tolerance drops

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Tolerance and education?

Political tolerance increases with education

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What influences our views on politics

Socialization 
Self interest
Ideology 
Education
Demographics

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

How we get politically socialized

Family
Schools
Groups
Political ad social events

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Spiral of silence

Where the majority opinion becomes exaggerated because minorities do not feel comfortable disagreeing

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Partisan sorting

When citizens align themselves with one of the two parties leaving no one in the middle

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Political generations

Citizens whose political views have been shaped by the common events of their youth

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Marriage gap

The tendency for married people to hold political opinions that differ from those who have never been married

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

What divideds public opinion

Self interest
Ideology
Education
Age
Gender
Race
Religion

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Straw polls

Polls that try and determine who is ahead in a political race

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

How to create a good poll

Getting a good sample

Asking good questions

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

How to ask the right questions

Ask questions people know about
Shouldn’t be ambiguous
Questions that don’t yield a specific answer

How well did you know this?

Not at all

Perfectly

Types of polls

National polls
Campaign polls
Pseudo polls
Survey experiments

Benchmark poll

Baseline information on how well the candidate is known

Tracking polls

Surveys that follow changes in public opinion overtime

Exit polls

Questions asked of voters right after they vote

Psudeo polls

Polls that aren’t random, they provide misleading information

Push polls

Present false information in a hypothetical form and ask respondents to react to it

Survey experiments

Studies conducted to find out how respondents feel towards a specific topic

Rational ignorance

The state of being uninformed about politics because of the cost in time and energy

On line processing

Receiving and evaluating information, but when asked why you chose the way you did you cant remember but you know there is a reason

Two step flow of information

When citizens take their political cues from well informed opinion leaders

Opinion leaders

People who know more about certain topics than we do and whose advice we trust

Plebiscite

Popular vote on a policy

Party in government

Members of the party who have been elected to serve in government

Party in the electorate

Ordinary citizens who identify with a party

Party base

Members of a political party who always vote for that party's candidates

What is the role of parties in a democracy

Political linkage Unification of a fragmented government A voice for the opposition

Responsible party model

``` Party of government when 4 conditions are met: Clear choice of ideologies Candidates implementing ideas Party held accountable Party control of members ```

Party platform

The national party's campaigns promises. A list of policy positions the party pledges to enact as a policy

What is a force drawing parties towards extremism?

Party activists who offer money and support if their wants are supported

What pushes parties toward moderation

The fact that the party that appeals best to the moderate and independent voters usually wins most of the votes

Party machines

Party systems where parties provided services and recourses to voters in exchange for votes

Patronage

System where winning candidates reward supports with jobs or favors

Party eras

Periods of stability where one party controls both the presidency and the congress

Critical election

And election signaling mass change from one party affiliation to another

Realignment

A shift in party affiliation which usually results in change in policy direction

Dealignment

A trend where voters identify themselves as independents rather than members of a major party

Electioneering

The process of getting a person elected to public office

In electioneering what are the steps of getting someone elected to office

Recruiting candidates Nominating candidates Defining policy agenda General elections

Soft money

Unregulated campaign contributions by individuals that promote election activities but do not directly support and individual candidate