Pols Exam #3 (key reading terms)

Question 1

Latent opinion

Answer 1

An opinion formed on the spot, when it is needed (as distinct from a deeply held opinion that is stable over time).

Question 2

Political socialization

Answer 2

The process by which an individual’s political opinions are shaped by other people and the surrounding culture.

Question 3

Sample

Answer 3

Within a population, the group of people surveyed in order to gauge the whole population’s opinion. Researchers use samples because it would be impossible to interview the entire population.

Question 4

Sampling error

Answer 4

The predicted difference between the average opinion expressed by survey respondents and the average opinion in the population, sometimes called the margin of error. Increasing the number of respondents lowers the sampling error.

Question 5

Ideological polarization

Answer 5

Sharp differences in Americans’ overall ideas of the size and scope of government.

Question 6

Policy mood

Answer 6

The level of public support for expanding the government’s role in society; whether the public wants government action on a specific issue.

Question 7

Federal Communications Commission

Answer 7

A government agency created in 1934 to regulate American radio stations and later expanded to regulate television, wireless communications technologies, and other broadcast media.

Question 8

Media conglomerates

Answer 8

Companies that control a large number of media sources across several types of media outlets.

Question 9

Framing

Answer 9

The influence on public opinion caused by the way a story is presented or covered, including the details, explanations, and context offered in the report.

Question 10

Party organization

Answer 10

A specific political party’s leaders and workers at the national, state, and local levels.

Question 11

Party in government

Answer 11

The group of officeholders who belong to a specific political party and were elected as candidates of that party.

Question 12

Party in the electorate

Answer 12

The group of citizens who identify with a specific political party.

Question 13

Party system

Answer 13

Periods in which the names of the major political parties, their supporters, and the issues dividing them have remained relatively stable.

Question 14

Realignment

Answer 14

A change in the size or composition of the party coalitions or in the nature of the issues that divide the parties. Realignments typically occur within an election cycle or two, but they can also occur gradually over the course of a decade or longer.

Question 15

Political action committee (PAC)

Answer 15

An interest group or a division of an interest group that can raise money to contribute to campaigns or to spend on ads in support of candidates. The amount a PAC can receive from each of its donors and the amount it can spend on federal electioneering are strictly limited.

Question 16

Congressional caucus

Answer 16

The organization of Democrats within the House and Senate that meets to discuss and debate the party’s positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus and to assign leadership positions.

Question 17

Unified government

Answer 17

A situation in which one party holds a majority of seats in the House and Senate and the president is a member of that same party.

Question 18

Divided government

Answer 18

A situation in which the House, Senate, and presidency are not controlled by the same party- for example, when Democrats hold the majority of House and Senate seats and the president is a Republican.

Question 19

Party identification

Answer 19

A citizen’s loyalty to a specific political party.

Question 20

Party coalitions

Answer 20

The groups that identify with a political party, usually described in demographic terms such as Black Democrats.

Question 21

Primary election

Answer 21

A ballot vote in which citizens select a party’s nominee for the general election.

Question 22

Caucus (election)

Answer 22

A local meeting in which party members select a party’s nominee for the general election.

Question 23

Incumbent

Answer 23

A politician running for reelection to the office they currently hold.

Question 24

Primary

Answer 24

A ballot vote in which citizens select a party’s nominee for the general election.

Question 25

Open primary

Answer 25

A primary election in which any registered voter can participate in the contest, regardless of party affiliation.

Question 26

Closed primary

Answer 26

A primary election in which only registered members of a particular political party can vote.

Question 27

General election

Answer 27

The election in which voters cast ballots for House members, senators, and (every four years) a president and vice president.

Question 28

Plurality voting

Answer 28

A voting system in which the candidate who receives the most votes within a geographic area wins the election, regardless of whether that candidate wins a majority (more than half) of the votes.

Question 29

Majority voting

Answer 29

A voting system in which a candidate must win more than 50 percent of votes to win the election. If no candidate wins enough votes to take office, a runoff election is held between the top two vote-getters.

Question 30

proportional allocation (representation)

Answer 30

During the presidential primaries, the practice of determining the number of convention delegates allotted to each candidate based on the percentage of the popular vote cast for each candidate. All Democratic primaries and caucuses use this system, as do some states’ Republican primaries and caucuses.

Question 31

Winner-take-all rules

Answer 31

During the presidential primaries, the practice of assigning all of a given state’s delegates to the candidate who receives the most popular votes. Some states’ Republican primaries and caucuses use this system.

Question 32

Popular vote

Answer 32

The voices cast by citizens in an election.

Question 33

Electoral college

Answer 33

The body that votes to select America’s president and vice president based on the popular vote in each state. Each candidate nominates a slate of electors who are selected to attend the meeting of the college if their candidate wins the most votes in a state or district.

Question 34

Electoral votes

Answer 34

Votes cast by members of the Electoral College; after a presidential candidate wins the popular vote in a given state, that candidate’s slate of electors casts electoral votes for the candidate on behalf of that state.

Question 35

Coattails

Answer 35

The ability of a popular president to generate additional support for candidates affiliated with their party. Coattails are weak or non-existent in most American elections.

Question 36

Split ticket

Answer 36

A ballot on which a voter selects candidates from more than one political party.

Question 37

Straight ticket

Answer 37

A ballot on which a voter selects candidates from only one political party.

Question 38

Interest group

Answer 38

An organization of people who share common political interests and aim to influence public policy by electioneering and lobbying.

Question 39

Lobbying

Answer 39

Efforts to influence public policy through contact with public officials on behalf of an interest group.

Question 40

Peak associations

Answer 40

Interest groups whose members are businesses or other organizations rather than individuals.

Question 41

Free riding

Answer 41

Relying on others to contribute to a collective effort while failing to participate on one’s own behalf, yet still benefiting from the group’s successes.

Question 42

Selective incentives

Answer 42

Benefits that can motivate participation in a group effort because they are available only to those who participate, such as member services offered by interest groups.

Question 43

Solidary benefits

Answer 43

Satisfaction derived from the experience of working with like-minded people, even if the group’s efforts do not achieve the desired impact.

Question 44

Purposive benefits

Answer 44

Satisfaction derived from the experience of working toward a desired policy goal, even if the goal is not achieved.

Question 45

Material benefits

Answer 45

Benefits that are provided to individuals for joining a group, such as a coffee mug or a T-shirt, that are distinct from the collective benefits provided by the group.

Question 46

Revolving door

Answer 46

The movement of individuals from government positions to jobs with interest groups or lobbying firms, and vice versa.

Question 47

Inside strategies

Answer 47

The tactics employed within Washington, D.C., by interest groups seeking to achieve their policy goals.

Question 48

Outside strategies

Answer 48

The tactics employed outside Washington, D.C., by interest groups seeking to achieve their policy goals.

Question 49

Direct lobbying

Answer 49

Attempts by interest group staff to influence policy by speaking with elected officials or bureaucrats’.

Question 50

Astroturf lobbying

Answer 50

Any lobbying method initiated by an interest group that is designed to look like the spontaneous, independent participation of many individuals.