unit 4

Question 1

1) individualism
2) Equality of Opportunity
3) Free Enterprise
4) Rule of Law
5) Limited govt

Answer 1

common american attitudes

Question 2

• cherishing established institutions, seeking to preserve them for the good of society
• want smaller govt
• self-centered individualism, emphasizes the interests of the individual above the interests of society
• believe in the power of meritocracy (everyone can rise in the US with their own blood toil and sweat)
• want govt to stay out of buisnnsess offers and allow the free market to determine what’s best
• law= equality
• want to define strong boundaries of federalism (less govt intervention in people’s lives)

Answer 2

conservative ideology

Question 3

• push for new reforms to make society more just & equitable
• value enlightened individualism, interests of society prioritized over interests of the individual
• agree with idea of meritocracy with tradition but believe that not all groups start that climb in tthe same place
• want the government to intervene with appropriate regulations to ensure safety and equality in the workplace
• law= equality with advantages
• embrace need for government intervention in society (for the greater good)

Answer 3

liberal ideology

Question 4

• born before 1945
• young adults during age of conformity
• generally conservative
• opposed counterculture
• grew up admist cold war
• consistently vote being touch on criminals and terrorists
• highest amount of votes

Answer 4

silent generation

Question 5

• appreciate changes, more liberal but still often vote conservative
• (1945-1960)

Answer 5

Baby Boomers

Question 6

• 1960s-1980s
• lots of divorce, first to internet
• slightly more liberal and more ethnically diverse

Answer 6

Generation X

Question 7

-1981-1996
- more ethnically diverse
- very liberal, BLM
- big on racial discrimination, socialist policy, and immigration
- most liberal (the older you are, the more conservative, the younger, more liberal)

Answer 7

Millenials

Question 8

dependent on stage in your life affects how you vote
ex. 2020 election, new voters and different priorities can change as you progress through life
ex. college tuition, social security, etc

Answer 8

effect of life cycle

Question 9

• any event significant in our political nation
• ex. silent generation –> great depression, new deal program
• millenials –> 9/11 attacks, so people wanted to rebuild bridges instead of aggressive policy
• many opposed policies made on both and the events had lasting effects but this does not ALWAYS shift widespread opinion

Answer 9

the influence of political events on ideology

Question 10

Purpose= measure public opinion
- polls, if created with scientific rigor, then it is the best tool for measuring public opinion (increasing accuracy)
- process: writing equations that are as free from bias as possible, presenting questions to small randomized group of people, then generalize results to a larger opinion

Answer 10

Measuring public opinion

Question 11

• helps get a feel for the public’s opinion on certain topics or discerning people’s ideas on certain candidates or policies

Answer 11

Opinion Poll

Question 12

• taken at the beginning of candidate’s run and gives the campaign a benchmark against which they can compare future polls to see how the candidate is faring

Answer 12

Benchmark Poll

Question 13

• conducted over time, usually with the same group of people, gives information on how the group feels about a given issue

Answer 13

Tracking Poll

Question 14

• conducted at voting sites that ask people how they voted

Answer 14

Entrance/Exit Poll

Question 15

• must be representative (having the same characteristics as the larger population it measures)
• must be random to ensure in a given population there is an equal chance of being included

Answer 15

Sampling Tactics

Question 16

Goal: Increase Accuracy
- always a chance that the sample will not exactly represent the general population
- if a poll has a plus of minus 3 sampling error, it is considered a good representative poll
- neutral questions: neither confusing or leading
- ex. “should vaccines be required?” vs “should the govt violate liberty…”

Answer 16

Sampling errors

Question 17

mass survey - as many people as possible, quantitative data, and are used because public opinions affect elections and the outcomes of policy debate
focus group- small group of people, qualiatative data, is not considered scientific polling because their statistics cannot be applied to opinions of the general public

Question 18

• bandwagon effect: people are more likely to vote for someone with good polling numbers
• the relationship between public opinion polls- election and policy debates can be affected by how people view the reliability of those opinion polls

Question 19

• when people filling out surveys give socially desirable answers even if they do not follow through with it

Answer 19

social desirability bias

Question 20

certain groups are more likely to respond to public opinion polls than others, will only have data from people who say “yes”

Answer 20

non response bias

Question 21

• political ideology- an interlocking set of ideas that form the basis for political decision-making
• conservative: emphasizes traditional social structures, existing structures, and authority, emphasized limited government in public affairs, strong stance on crime and penalty, state rights > federal power
• liberal: emphasizing civil rights for the marginalized and supports social justic movements to ensure everyone has equal access to civil liberties, emphasize government involvement in public affairs , caring for the poor, regulations on buisness, intervention in the economy

Answer 21

Political Parties

Question 22

• GOP closely aligns with conservative ideology
• restore the american dream
• traditional marriage and family is the foundation for a free society
• welfare is a buisness, not entitlement
• tough on crime and penalty

Answer 22

Republican Party

Question 23

set of policy goals published by the party that tells you the kind of legislation they would pursue should their candidate win the election

Answer 23

Party Platform

Question 24

• aligns closely with liberal ideology
• break up corporate concentrations
• end poverty
• lend economic playing field
• protect women, indigenous, lgbtq, etc
• “diversity is our greatest strength”
• protest is among the highest form of patriotism
• achieve universal, affordable, quality health care which requires significant govt intevention)

Answer 24

Democratic Party

Question 25

decisions the govt makes about govt spending and taxation (when to spend and on what) controlled by congress

Answer 25

fiscal policy

Question 26

• !!!decisions the govt makes about how much money should be in the economy!!
• controlled by federal reserve
• buying and selling govt bonds, setting reserve requirements, setting interest rates

Answer 26

monetary policy

Question 27

• majors in fiscal policy
• economy will sort itself out but people are suffering and something needs to be done about it so spend money with work programmas, social security, economic safety nets

Answer 27

keynesian economics

Question 28

-address woes by supporting buisnesses, if more goods are produced, this will boost the economy
- supply & demand, keep regulation from govt to a minimum and lower taxes so people have more to spend

Answer 28

supply side economics

Question 29

conservatives tend to favor using monetary policy to stabilize the economy while liberals tend to believe that monetary policy is too slow to affect real change

Question 30

• want least amount of govt intervention, except to protect personal property rights and free trade
• liberal social policy, conservative economics

Answer 30

libertarian ideology

Question 31

Agree-Disagree v. Forced Choice Questions

Agree-Disagree

The best way to ensure peace is through military strength. (55% agree, 42% disagree)

Forced Choice

The best way to ensure peace is through military strength (33%)

OR

Diplomacy is the best way to ensure peace (55%)

Answer 31

Framing of question

Question 32

A person loses his job and refuses to accept any government assistance to get back on his feet, instead relying on savings and seeking a new job immediately. Which of the following core values would this person most relate to?

Answer 32

individualism (no community)

Question 33

Which of the following is the best example of the democratic ideal of limited government?

Answer 33

The United States Constitution enumerating specific powers to Congress. The United States Constitution’s enumerating specific powers to Congress is a good example of the democratic value of limited government since those enumerated powers are viewed as an attempt to limit the powers of Congress.

Question 34

Just beyond the horizon of current events lie two possible political futures—both bleak, neither democratic. The first is a retribalization of large swaths of humankind by war and bloodshed: a threatened Lebanonization of national states in which culture is pitted against culture, people against people, tribe against tribe—a Jihad in the name of a hundred narrowly conceived faiths against every kind of interdependence, every kind of artificial social cooperation and civic mutuality. The second is being borne in on us by the onrush of economic and ecological forces that demand integration and uniformity and that mesmerize the world with fast music, fast computers, and fast food—with MTV, Macintosh, and McDonald’s, pressing nations into one commercially homogeneous global network: one McWorld tied together by technology, ecology, communications, and commerce. The planet is falling precipitantly apart and coming reluctantly together at the very same moment.

Answer 34

• Free market principles influence American political culture as well as the cultures of other countries.
• The world is becoming more globally united but also more aware of cultural differences, which may lead to conflict.
• ## The United States engages in free trade agreements, which leads to the export of American businesses and influences the culture of foreign countries.

Question 35

Questions that use the agree-disagree format increase the percentage of respondents who agree with the primary statement.
- framing the question
- Using an agree-or-disagree format encourages respondents to agree with the position.
-

Answer 35

high tax rates- liberal thing