Final Exam Flashcards
Public opinion
The collective beliefs of individuals on issues
Why is public opinion important?
Normative we believe the public should influence what government does
empirical people behave as if public opinion does matter
Elitists
Citizens are too dumb to be trusted with important positions
Pluralists
Trusts groups of citizens to make decisions but says that they don’t have enough time to be informed
Participatory
Think people are smart enough and informed enough to make decisions
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
Uniformed citizens versus activists citizens
Uniformed citizens are more tolerant
Activists are intolerant
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
Tolerance and education?
Political tolerance increases with education
What influences our views on politics
Socialization Self interest Ideology Education Demographics
How we get politically socialized
Family
Schools
Groups
Political ad social events
Spiral of silence
Where the majority opinion becomes exaggerated because minorities do not feel comfortable disagreeing
Partisan sorting
When citizens align themselves with one of the two parties leaving no one in the middle
Political generations
Citizens whose political views have been shaped by the common events of their youth
Marriage gap
The tendency for married people to hold political opinions that differ from those who have never been married
What divideds public opinion
Self interest Ideology Education Age Gender Race Religion
Straw polls
Polls that try and determine who is ahead in a political race
How to create a good poll
Getting a good sample
Asking good questions
How to ask the right questions
Ask questions people know about
Shouldn’t be ambiguous
Questions that don’t yield a specific answer
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
