Unit Test 2 Flashcards
Consensus
General agreement among the citizenry on an issue
Divisive opinion
Public opinion that is polarized between two different opinions
Gender gap
The difference between the percentage of women who vote for a particular candidate and the percentage of men who vote for the candidate
Generational affect
A long lasting effect of the events of a particular time in the on the political opinions of those who came of political age at that time
Life cycle effect
Concept that people change as they grow older because of age specific experiences and thus are likely to hold age specific experiences and thus are likely to hold age specific attitudes
Managed news
Information generated and distributed by the government in such a way as to give government interests priority
Media
Channels of mass communication
No opinion
Lack of opinion on issue among the majority
Opinion leader
People who are able to influence the opinions of others because of the position expertise or personality
Opinion poll
A method of systematically questioning a small selected sample of respondents who are deemed representatives of the total population
Peer group
Socialization groups of similar interests
Political socialization
The process in which people acquire political beliefs and attitudes
Political trust
The degree to which individuals express trust in the government and political institutions usually measured through a specific series of survey questions
Public opinion
The aggregate of individual attitudes or the beliefs shared by some portion of the adult population
Sampling error
The difference between a samples results and the true result if the entire population had been interviewed
Socioeconomic status
The value assigned to a person due to occupation or income. An upper class person has high socioeconomic status
Agenda setting
Determining which public policy questions will be debated or considered
- Boycott
Ignoring something in protest
Climate control
The use of public relations techniques to create favorable public opinion toward an interest group
Direct technique
An interest group activity that involves interaction with government officials to further the groups goals
Free rider problem
The difficulty interest groups face in recruiting members when the benefits they achieve can be gained without joining the group
Incentive
A reason or motive to do something or support a group
Indirect strategy
A strategy employed by interest groups that uses third parties to influence government officials
Interest groups
An organized group of individuals sharing common objectives who actively attempt to influence policy makers
Labor movement
Generally the economic and political expression of working class interests. Politically the organization of working class interests
Latent interests
Public policy interests that are not recognized or addressed by a group at a particular time
Lobbyist
An organization or individual who attempts to influence legislation and the administrative decisions of government
Material incentive
A reason or motive for supporting or participating in the activities of a group based on economic benefits or opportunities
Public interest
The best interests of the overall community; the national good, rather than the narrow interests of a particular group
Purposive insentive
The reason for supporting or participating in the activities of a group based on the agreement with the goals of the group. For example someone with a strong interest in human rights might have a purposive incentive to join amnesty international.