Unit 2 Test Flashcards
What’s ideology
A coherent set of beliefs and values concerning public policy
Conservatives tend to structure government in favor of the
“Haves”
Liberals tend to structure government in favor of the
“Have nots”
Group consciousness
Idea that some disadvantage groups participate at a higher rate than their socioeconomic factors generally predict because of a perceived benefit for their group
Who has the strongest group consciousness?
African Americans
Religiosity
Degree religion is impt to a person
Most conservative demographic group in US
Evangelicals (Christian Fundamentalists)
Fastest growing minority group in America based on rate of growth
Asian Americans
Poll taken on Election Day as people leave polls
Exit poll
Who pays for exit polls? Why?
Media
- predict election winners
- examine issues and voter turnout to explain elections
Constitution calls for enumeration of the population (a census) every - years
10
Faster growing age group in America
Over 65
Most accurate poll
Random sample
Least accurate poll
Straw poll
Region of the country that seems to be gaining largest proportion of population
South west
Accurate sample representation of nation for a poll
1000-1500
Larger representation of a poll-accurate the poll tends to be
More
Poll question “do you believe voting is an important duty?” Attempting to measure - efficacy
Internal efficacy
US census is - requirement
Formal or informal
Formal
Largest minority group in US today?
Hispanics
Margin of error of - is usually accepted as standard of accuracy for a random sample poll
(+,-) 3
A poll which you choose to take on a website is an example of
Straw poll
Which demographic trend will impact reapportionment?
Growth of sunbelt
Which agent of socialization has most impact on policy agenda
Media
Which agent of socialization has most impact on person’s political values
Family
Which agent of socialization has most effect on installing values of civic duty and political tolerance
Schools
Exit polls can only take place
On election days
A push poll is
Not a poll at all
One of the most important constitutions of polling to democracy is
Linkage
What’s political culture
A set of widely shared beliefs, values, and norms concerning the ways that political culture and economic life ought to be carried out in society
What are the American core values (7)
Liberty, equality, individualism (rugged individualism), democracy, rule of law, civic duty, political tolerance
What’s rugged individualism?
Individuals are responsible for their own well-being and strength of our system lies in ability of individual to compete (born out of frontier heritage, conservative value)
Individual needs to be as self-sufficient as possible
What’s weakest core value
Political tolerance
2nd weakest core value?
Civic duty
Americans have a higher degree of - than Europeans even though they are less likely to vote
Efficacy
Americans tend to participate more in the form of (3)
Political discussion
Community involvement
Petitions
Vast majority of Americans agree with (in abstract) all - values
1st amendment
Most Americans dislike some groups strongly enough to
Especially true of those on the -
Deny them some rights
Opposite end of the political spectrum (i.e. Ultra conservatives to radical liberals)
Political tolerance has - over recent decades
Grown
Free enterprise
Laissez faire
Americans tend to vote - rather than knowledge
Values
What are exceptions to decline in trust in govt institutions?
Military and Supreme Court
Military-increased
Supreme Court- remained the same
Must have - to have -
Efficacy
Internal , external
Internal efficacy
Understand and take part in political affairs
External efficacy
Belief of individuals that govt will respond to his/her personal needs
Very little decline of - in 50 years
Internal efficacy
Political efficacy
Sense of citizens to underhand and influence political events
Political socialization
Lifelong process through which individual acquires political opinions and attitudes
2 rules of socialization
What is learned first is best
What is learned first structures what is learned later
Most impt agent of socialization
Family
When does family socialization begin?
10-11 years old
More politically active parents-and -the political party
More politically active their children and the stronger the party loyalty
Other informal agent of socialization
Mass media
- displaces parents as chief source of info as children get older
Mass media
Trend: young adults - search out political news
Do not
Average news viewing age:
58
Mass media shapes - more than political attitudes
Shapes policy agenda
What does govt use schools for?
Promote core values (esp civic duty and political tolerance)
More educated a person: (2)
More likely to
Vote
Tolerate opposing views
Weak agent
Peer groups (friends, classmates, coworkers, neighbors) regularly associate
Historical events
Agent of socialization
Like (Great Depression, WWII, etc) have generational effect, long lasting and profound effect
Public opinion
The distribution of the populations beliefs about politics and political issues (at a given moment in time)
Snapshot in time
Straw polls (8)
- 1st type
- Call in/website poll
- For feedback only
- Least accurate
- Unscientific
- Nationwide
- Only callers are those that feel strongly about it
- Ppl can vote more than once
Random sample (scientific polling) (8)
- Scientific
- Representative sample
- Margin of error +-3
- Usual sample : 1000-1500
- Larger sample-greater accuracy
- Base samples of demographic profile
- Relatively accurate
- George Gallup (1930s)
Methods for random sample (scientific polling)
Random digit dialing and door to door
Random digit dialing (7)
- Low cost
- Less accurate
- Lower response rate (problem)
- Most used today
- Sample selected by phone prefix
- Cell phones (problem)
- 1/7- no phone (problem)
Door to door (3)
- Higher cost
- Most accurate
- Won’t admit lack of knowledge (problem)
The majority of economic groups (group consciousness) consistently call for
More govt spending
Group consciousness (many people are)
Conservative on social values
Liberal on economic values
Largest growing ideological group (past and present)
Past: centrists/ moderates
Present: conservatives
Types of voters (4)
Ideologues, group benefit voters, nature of times voters, no issue content voters
Ideologues
Vote mainly based on ideology
Group benefit voters
Vote mainly based on who will benefit group
Group consciousness
Nature of times voters (another name?)
Retrospective voters
Vote based on current situations, good and bad times
Mostly about economic
No issue content voters
Vote solely on candidate personalities
Most voters are -, least voters are-
Group benefit voters, ideologues
Least predictable type of voter
Nature of times, no issue content
No policy difference, - less likely to vote
Ideologues and group benefit
More educated- what rule of voter?
No issue content
What type of voter- unpredictable swing voter?
Nature of times and no issue content
Strict constructionism
Only what const allows, strictly
Democratization.
Open voting to more ppl
Methods of political participation
Conventional
What’s increasing/ decreasing
Voting, running for office, contacting officials, campaign contribution, petitions
Voter turnout decreasing, everything else increasing
Methods of political participation
Unconventional
Protests
- marches
- civil disobedience
- violent acts
- demonstrations
How has democratization been achieved (5)
- Passage of state laws
- Changes in party practices
- Amendments
- Federal laws (voters rights act 1965)
- Federal court rulings
17th amendment
Progressive era, ppl choose senators
Initiative elections
Allow voters to write and approve state laws
Referendum elections
Allow voters to approve laws written by state legislatures, recall elections (ST laws)
Recall elections
Allow voters to remove state officials
Primary elections
(ST laws/ party practices) allow party voters to choose party nominees for offices
24 th amendment
Outlawed poll taxes
Voting rights act of 1965
Outlawed discriminating voter practices such as literacy tests, white primaries, etc
Pre clearance
Forced states with histories of voting discrimination (the south) to submit any changes to voting laws to the US Dept of Justice for approval
- recently determined to be unconstitutional
23 amendment
DC can vote
The Help America Vote Act (HAVA)
Reaction to 2000 Bush Gore fiasco
- Forced states to use provisional ballots in presidential elections to be cast by those whose names may not appear on voter registration rolls (to be counted if found valid)
- Outlawed state practices of removing names from voter registration lists for non-voting
- Gave state grants for the purpose of
- improving registered voter data bases
- purchasing better election equipment
Demographics of voter turnout in order of importance (8)
- Education
- Religiosity
- Age
- Race/ethnicity
- Gender (since 1980)
- Martial status
- Union affiliation
- Region (higher voter turnout in north than south and sunbelt, esp northern Great Plains)
Cross cutting cleavages
Some demographic features control influence of other features
3 elements of voter decisions
- Party identification
- Candidate evaluation
- Policy voting
Recall elections
Elections to remove an elected official
How many electoral votes
538 electoral
How many ppl in house
435
How many years are house and senators elected
House: 6
Sen: 2
What amendment changed electoral system
12
Only states that don’t use winner-take-all system
Maine and Nebraska
If no candidate receives 270 votes, - determines winner
House of Representatives
How many electoral votes are needed?
270
