Test 2 Flashcards
what does it mean to be a rational actor
you are able to rank preferences based on satisfaction OR utility
what is bounded rationality
this says people try to act rational but fall short because of not having enough information
what is the system 1 of thinking
the fast unconscious decision maker. often makes mistakes
what is system 2 of thinking
the conscious decision maker. makes complex decisions and can’t be used all the time
what is the loss-aversion theory
where people tend to put more weight on a loss than a win. EX: losing 20 dollars is worse than winning 20 dollars
what is a heuristic
a mental shortcut to help the brain make decisions faster
what is availability heuristic
when people rely on information that quickly comes to mind (also called bias)
what is sacificing
when people make decisions that are “good enough” to reduce energy on making the decision
what is prospect theory
a theory that predicts people will make decisions to maximize utility
what is negativity bias
when people react more to poor performances than good ones. EX: government doing something wrong gets more media attention
what is anchoring bias
when people put too much importance on the first piece of information they receive
what is choice blindeness
failure to remember a choice right after making it
what is motivated reasoning
when people make arguments that promote a certain opinion rather than the actual truth and discredit new information that is against their position
what is confirmation bias
when people go and find information that helps their position. EX: people only look for why trump is bad
what is incremtalism
policy making in small changes at a time
what is parallel processing
when someone deals with several decisions at a time (humans can not do this)
what is serial processing
when someone deals with one decision at a time
how does government achieve parallel processing
by creating subsystems like subcommittees in congress
what is a punctuated equalibrium
when there is a a period of stability and incrementalism followed by rapid change
what causes a punctuated equilibrium to happen
when people pay too little attention to something and it blows up and becomes a problem
what is the garbage can model
when people try to solve a problem from the solution side. they will then try and find problems that fit the solution
what is groupthink
when people strive for the same outcome fail to think of other courses of action
what is overhead democracy
when government agencies are controlled by politicians and the politicians are held accountable by the citizens
why doesn’t overhead democracy work
the average person is not informed or does not care about politics
what is the principal-agent dilemma
when a principal hires an agent to do a task but is unable to have complete oversight on them (allows the agency to “shrink” responsibilities)
what is agency loss
happens when the agency exploits the lack of monitoring for their own personal gain
what is adverse selection
when the principal can’ differentiate between the quality of the people to do the task. EX: buying a car and knowing nothing about cars could have you ending up with a bad car
what is moral hazard
when one party acts overly risky because they will not feel the full force of the penalties (bad teachers in schools will act bad because unions will back them up)
what are downsides to aggressive political control
- impractical to write legislation covering every possible situation
- control leads to unintended consequences
what is the fire-alarm approach
waiting for someone to complain about a problem and then act on it
what is the police patrol approach
the constant oversight trying to stop a problem before it happens
what are some ways the president has limited power in the bureaucracy
- only appoints 1% of executive branch
- merit system makes it hard to fire people
what are the 4 major components of ethics, W/examples
- duties (being accountable)
- virtues (trustworthy)
- principals (act with fairness and treat all equally)
4.benefits to society (focus on problem solving)
what are some threats to ethical behavior
- shame of past mistakes
- political influence
what is an ethical dilemma
a situation where values and codes of conduct are in conflict and there are good arguments for both sides
what is whistleblowing
when an employee discloses unethical or illegal behavior to someone outside of the organization like the media
what is the new public administration
a movement that argued administrators should be active participants in promoting social justice
what is prospect equality of opportunity
when 2 people have the same probability of an outcome
what is means equality of opportunity
when 2 people have the same probability of outcome when they have the same qualitifications
what is administrative burden
the costs that people experience when they interact with government
what are the 3 types of costs put on individuals W/eample
- learning (finding what you need to receive a scholarship)
2.psychological (the stigma from applying for an unpopular program)
3.compliance (the effort to find the information and documentation to go through the regulations)
what is the normative argument for why representation matters
“it is the right thing to do” and it is fair and equitable
what is the instrumental benefits argument for why representation matters
representation can improve organizational performance
what is the legal argument for why representation matters
in some other countries it is by law to have a quota for representation
what is the bottom up political control
where the “street level bureaucrats” have authority and discretion to act. people on the street know more on what the problems are
what is representative bureaucracy theory
a theory that says public sector performance is directly related when the people in the agency are like the people they serve in the community
what are the 3 mechanisms linking diversity to performance
- advocacy (people can advocate for their group)
2.legitimacy ( the agency is considered legitimate if they mirror the community
3.learning ( the more the agency and learn and adapt to challanges)
what is rational basis
the lowest scrutiny held by the supreme court. the burden of proof is on you not government
what is intermediate scrutiny
middle level scrutiny. used for suspect classes like gender. government law must be substantially related to an important objective
what is strict scrutiny
highest level of scrutiny used. applies with race, religion, and national origin. burden of proof is on the government
