Political Science Chapter 4 Flashcards
The 6 Factors that Shape Public Opinion
The Family
The Schools
The Mass Media
Peer Groups
Opinion Leaders
Historic Events
What does it mean that many publics exist in the United States?
A public is made up of a group of individuals who share the same view on a particular public issue; each group of people with a different point of view is a public
The types of information communicated by the Family that contribute to public opinion:
Fundamental attitudes
Basic Slant
^From parents
The types of information communicated by The Schools that contribute to public opinion:
*The first place besides family where children are exposed to others’ opinions
-Kids learn about citizenship, history
-Gain political knowledge
-Begin to form their own political opinions
The types of information communicated by Mass Media that contribute to public opinion:
*Always present
-News
^Bias on news sources
We tend to absorb the opinions of popular figures or what we see on the internet, without knowing if it is true
The types of information communicated by Peer Groups that contribute to the formation of public opinion:
-Members of peer groups likely share many of the same beliefs; don’t hear others views
-To be liked/fit in with a peer group, you are influenced to think the same way as them
The types of information communicated by Opinion Leaders that contribute to the formation of public opinion:
*People who have a strong influence on others’ opinions and reach a large audience
-Looking up to someone, or thinking that their opinions must be right/important due to their status, or leader figure, influences you to think the same as them
The types of information communicated by Historic Events that contribute to the formation of public opinion:
-Major historical events can change the way people view the role of government in society
-Also, how a particular party supports/views an issue can sway the political orientation of a person
Why are family and school particularly important in shaping people’s political views?
*The family and schools are a person’s “first teachers”
-Pick up fundamental attitudes that affect their opinions for the rest of their life
-Learn about citizenship and gain political knowledge where kids first learn how to form their own opinions (exposed to others’ beliefs)
Politics, public issues, and the making of public policies - those events & issues that concern the people at large
Public affairs
Those attitudes held by a significant number of people on matters of government and politics
Public opinion
A complex collection of the opinions of many different people
Public Opinion
Those means of communication that reach large, widely dispersed audiences simultaneously
Mass Media
Made up of the people with whom one regularly associates with (friends, coworkers, neighbors, classmates)
Peer group
A person who, for any reason, has an unusually strong influence on the views of others
Opinion Leader
Communication outlets or tools used to store and deliver information or data
Media
Components of Mass Media:
*Communications Industry:
-broadcasting
-advertising
-print media
-publishing
-news media
-photography
-cinema
Mass Media 50 years ago v.s. Today:
50 years ago:
-nightly TV news
-radio
-newspapers
-billboards/advertisements
Today:
-24/7 access
-more variety of news sources
-Online/technology
-Social Media
-^Regular people creating news
Technique of persuasion aimed at influencing individual or group behaviors
Propaganda
Goal of propaganda:
To create a particular belief (may be true or false), to influence you to do something
Propaganda is neither ________or ________
Moral (good) or immoral (bad)
*It is not the propaganda itself that is good or bad, but the person who creates it (what their intentions are)
Unaware of or indifferent to questions of right or wrong
Amoral
Propaganda is ________
Amoral
Examples of moral propaganda:
-Churches/Religion
-Encourage Voting
-Advertisements/commercials for nonprofit organizations
Examples of immoral propaganda:
-Fake News
-False advertisements/exaggeration in products (endorsements)
-Promoting Prejudice against a certain group of people
3 Things Propaganda needs to be Successful:
-Simple
-Interesting
-Credible (some element of truth)
A situation in which a difficult choice has to be made between two or more alternatives, especially where all choices are challenging
Dilemma
A region in the San Francisco Bay Area where many technology companies are headquartered, including Google and Apple
Silicon Valley
A set of mathematical instructions followed by a computer to achieve a set outcome
Algorithm
False stories that appear to be news, often spread on the internet to influence political views, discredit a public figure, or as a joke
Fake News
A design technique where content is loaded continuously as the user scrolls down the screen
Infinite Scroll
A method of comparing two versions of a webpage or app against each other to determine which one performs better
A/B Test
A sharp division into opposing factions within a population or group
Polarization
A set or moral principles that govern a person’s behavior or conduct
Ethics
A threat to human existence
Existential Threat/Crisis
What did the documentary identify as an existential threat/crisis?
Social Media
Do social media companies track how long a person looks at each image in their feed?
Yes
As of September 2020, between 1 and 2 billion people use social media at least once a month
True
“Infinite scroll” uses the same principles as Vegas Slot Machines
True
The majority of social media engineers and CEOs do not allow their own children to use the Apps they build
True
Teenagers in Gen Z are more likely to go on dates than previous generations
False
Between the 1960s and today, computer processing power has increased by around 1 billion times
False (much higher)
Teenagers in Gen Z are more likely to be anxious and depressed than previous generations
True
Every Facebook and Instagram user sees a different “feed” based on what the algorithm knows about them
True
Every user sees a different Wikipedia entry based on where they search from and their search history
False
Fake news spreads slower than factual news across social networks
False (the opposite)
