exam 2 study guide

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Chapter 6 Public opinion- Citizens' attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events. Values (or beliefs)- Basic principles that shape a person's opinions about political issues and events. Political ideology- A cohesive set of beliefs that forms a general philosophy about the role of government. Attitude (or opinion)- A specific preference on a particular issue. Liberty- freedom from governmental control. Equality of opportunity- American ideal that all people have the freedom to use their talents, wealth to reach their fullest potential. Democracy- A system of rule in which citizens elect key public officials. Political socialization- The induction of individuals into the political culture; learning beliefs and values the political system is based on. Agents of socialization- Social institutions, including families and schools, which shape individuals' political values and beliefs. Gender gap- Voting behavior which differs between men and women. Libertarianism- Political ideology emphasizing freedom and voluntary association with small government. Socialism- A political ideology that emphasizes social ownership or collective government ownership and strong government. Liberal- Those who generally support social and political reform; extensive governmental intervention in the economy; the expansion of federal social services; more vigorous efforts on behalf of the poor, minorities, and women; and greater concern for consumers and the environment. Conservative- Those who generally support the social and economic status quo and are suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulae and economic arrangements, and less government rule. Marketplace of ideas- The public forum where beliefs and ideas are exchanged and compete. Public-opinion polls- Scientific instruments measuring public opinion. Sample- A small group representing important characteristics of an entire population, selected by researchers. Probability sampling- A method used by pollsters to select a representative sample, individuals have equal probability of being selected. Random digit dialing- A polling method in which respondents selected at random from a list of ten-digit telephone numbers, avoiding bias. Sampling error (or margin of error)- Polling error arising small size of the sample.

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Chapter 6Public opinion- Citizens' attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events.Values (or beliefs)- Basic principles that shape a person's opinions about political issues and events.Political ideology- A cohesive set of beliefs that forms a general philosophy about the role of government.Attitude (or opinion)- A specific preference on a particular issue.Liberty- freedom from governmental control.Equality of opportunity- American ideal that all people have the freedom to use their talents, wealth to reach their fullest potential.Democracy- A system of rule in which citizens elect key public officials.Political socialization- The induction of individuals into the political culture; learning beliefs and values the political system is based on.Agents of socialization- Social institutions, including families and schools, which shape individuals' political values and beliefs.Gender gap- Voting behavior which differs between men and women.Libertarianism- Political ideology emphasizing freedom and voluntary association with small government.Socialism- A political ideology that emphasizes social ownership or collective government ownership and strong government.Liberal- Those who generally support social and political reform; extensive governmental intervention in the economy; the expansion of federal social services; more vigorous efforts on behalf of the poor, minorities, and women; and greater concern for consumers and the environment.Conservative- Those who generally support the social and economic status quo and are suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulae and economic arrangements, and less government rule.Marketplace of ideas- The public forum where beliefs and ideas are exchanged and compete.Public-opinion polls- Scientific instruments measuring public opinion.Sample- A small group representing important characteristics of an entire population, selected by researchers.Probability sampling- A method used by pollsters to select a representative sample, individuals have equal probability of being selected.Random digit dialing- A polling method in which respondents selected at random from a list of ten-digit telephone numbers, avoiding bias.Sampling error (or margin of error)- Polling error arising small size of the sample.Social desirability effect- The effect when respondents in a survey report what they expect the interviewer wishes to hear rather than what they believe.Selection bias (surveys)- Polling error when the sample is not representative of the population being studied, which creates errors in overrepresenting or underrespresenting some opinions.Push polling- A polling technique in which questions designed are to shape the respondent's opinion.Bandwagon effect- Shift in electoral support to the candidate public opinion polls report as the front-runner.

Chapter 7Broadcast media- Television, radio, or other media that transmit audio/video to public.Penny press- Cheap, tabloidstyle newspaper made in the nineteenth century, when mass production of inexpensive newspapers first became possible due to the steam-powered printing press; a penny press cost one cent compared to other papers that cost five cents.News aggregator- An application or feed that collects news headlines, blogs, podcasts, online videos, and more in one location for easy viewing.Digital citizen- A daily internet user with high-speed home internet access and the technology/literacy skills to go online for employment, news, politics, entertainment, commerce, and other activities.Niche journalism- News reporting to a targeted portion (subset) of journalism market sector or a portion of readers/viewers based on content or ideological presentation.Citizen journalism- News reported/distributed by citizens, rather than professional journalists/profit news organizations.Social media- Web-based and mobile-based technologies used to turn communication into interactive dialogue between organizations, communities, and individuals; social media include, Wikis, podcasts, pictures, video, Facebook, Twitter, and more.Media monopoly- The ownership and control of the media by few large corporations.Agenda setting- The power of media to bring public attention to particular issues and problems.Selection bias (news)- The tendency to focus news coverage on only on aspect of an event of issue.Framing- The power of media influence over how events and issues are interpreted.Priming- Process of preparing the public to take a particular view of an event or political actor.Leak- Confidential information disclosed to news media.Equal time rule- Requirement of candidates in same political office to have equal communication time.Right of rebuttal- A Federal Communications Commission regulation in which individuals have the opportunity to respond to personal attacks made on a radio or television broadcast.Fairness doctrine- A Federal Communications Commission requirement for broadcasters who aid programs on controversial issues to provide time for opposing views; the FCC ceased enforcing this doctrine in 1985.

Chapter 8Traditional political participation- Activities designed to influence government including voting and face-to-face activities (protesting/volunteering) for a campaign.Protest- Assembling crowds to confront a government or other official organization.Online political participation- Influence of government using the Internet by visiting a candidate's website, organizing events online, or signing an online petition.Suffrage- The right to vote.Turnout- The percentage of eligible voters.Socioeconomic status- Status based on level of education, income, and occupational prestige.Mobilization- The process by which large numbers of people are organized for a political activity.Election-Day registration- The option in some states to register on the day of the election, at the polling place.Permanent absentee ballots- The option in some states to have a ballot sent automatically to your home for each election.Early voting- The option in some states to cast a vote at a polling place/mail before the election.Gender gap- Pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men.

Chapter 9Political parties- Organized groups that try to influence government by electing members to important government offices.Two-party system- A political system where two parties have a real opportunity to compete effectively for control.Electoral realignment- The point in history when a new party supplants the ruling party, becoming in turn the dominant political force; in the United States, this has tended to occur roughly every 30 years.Divided government- The condition where the presidency is controlled by one party and the opposing party controls one or both houses of Congress. Party polarization- The division between the two major parties on most policy issues.Third parties- Parties that organize to compete against the two major American political parties.Party organization- The formal structure of a political party, leadership, election committees, active members, and paid staff.Caucus (political)- A closed meeting of a political or legislative group to select candidates, plan strategy, or make decisions regarding legislative matters.National convention- A national party political institution nominating presidential and vice presidential candidates, establishes party rules, and writes and ratifies the party's platform.Platform- A party document, written at a national convention, containing party philosophy, principles, and positions on issues.Soft money- Money contributed directly to political parties and other organizations for political activities not regulated by federal campaign spending laws; in 2002 federal law prohibited unregulated donations to national party committees.527 committees- Nonprofit independent groups that receive and disburse funds to influence nomination, election, or defeat of candidates. Named after Section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code, which defines and grants tax-exempt status to nonprofit advocacy groups.Machines- Strong party organizations in late-nineteenth/early-twentieth-century American cities. These machines were led by "bosses" controlling party nominations and patronage.Patronage- Resources available to higher officials, usually opportunities to make partisan appointments to offices and to confer grants, licenses, or special favors to supporters.Party identification- Individual voter's psychological ties to one party or another.Party activists- Partisans who contribute time, energy, and effort to support their party and candidates.Gender gap- Distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men.Nomination- Process of selection of candidates for election to public office.Policy entrepreneur- Individual who identifies a problem as a political issue and brings a policy proposal into the political agenda.Majority party- Party that holds the majority of legislative seats in either House/Senate.Minority party- Party that holds a minority of legislative seats in either House/Senate.

Difference in political opinion results from income, education. occupation, race, gender, ethnicity, age, religion, region, and upbringing. Also political socialization can result from family, coworkers, neighbors, social networks, social groups (involuntary- national, religious, gender, and racial groups) or (voluntary- political parties, labor unions, military, environmental, educational and occupational groups), party affiliation, self-interest, public opinion, and political environment.Benefits of online news: Convenience, currency, depth, diversity,Democratic party: Believe in responsibility of government to care for individuals, even if it means giving up some individual rights, regulation of government in business, higher taxes for community spending, scale down military, education should be left for unions to define, open borders, non-emergency assistance/legal forms of identification to foreign nationals.Republican party: Believe that each person is responsible for his/her own place in society, government should enable individual's ability to secure benefits of society for themselves, families, and those unable to care for themselves. Also, free enterprise, cutting government spending, people should authorize any tax increases, strong national defense, all students should become proficient in reading/math, immigration policies should be followed, securing borders is vital for safety. Libertarian party: Believe in a world in which all individuals are sovereign over their own lives, no one is forced to sacrifice his/her values for benefit of others, personal liberty, self-ownership, expression and communication, privacy, identity should have no impact on government's treatment of individuals, abortion left to the people, government exists to protect the rights of every individual, self-defense, economic liberty, property and contract, clean environment, oppose government control of energy and resources, no taxation among businesses, free-market banking, free markets, education best provided by the free market, free health care, retirement planning left to the individual, sufficient military, adequate intelligence to detect/counter threats, peace with the world, free trade, embraces concept that all people are born with certain inherent rights, support election systems that are more representative of the electorate at the federal, state, and local levels, right of the people to abolish any form of government that becomes destructive of individual liberty.Green party: Grassroots democracy, social justice and equal opportunity, ecological wisdom, non-violence, decentralization, community-based economics and economic justice, feminism and gender equity, respect for diversity, personal and global responsibility, future focus and sustainability. Constitution party: Stop gun control, stop common core, stop Obama care, stop amnesty and illegal immigration, stop agenda 21.Does online participation lead to offline participation? Activities such as reading online news, commenting on blogs, or sending or receiving political e-mails increase the likelihood that someone will not only vote but also contribute to political campaigns and candidates by attending campaign meetings, volunteer for campaigns, engaging in community activities, and even contacting elected officials. Online news may "accidentally" engage individuals in politics. Digital media has unique characteristics enhancing participation and democratic accountability. Online sources are more diverse than traditional media which may influence participation through effects on political knowledge and interest. Online politics lowers barriers for entry, which makes it easier for involvement with less effort. The internet enables new forms of political expression through blogs, videos, social media, and websites.Liberalism- Supporting political and social reform, see government as a foe of freedom, government intervention in the economy, expansion of federal social services/health care, more efforts on behalf of poor/minorities, greater concern for consumers and environment, support abortion rights and gay rights, concerned with protecting rights of accused people of crimes, oppose state involvement in religious institutions, state sanction of religious expression, support arms control, aid to poor nations, international organizations such as United Nations and European Union, oppose development/testing of nuclear weapons, use of troops to influence affairs of developing nations, oppose war.Conservatism- Believe that a large/powerful government poses a threat to freedom, today's conservatives have the views of classic liberalism, premodern conservatives were defenders of monarchy/aristocracy, now conservatives oppose the expansion of governmental activity, solutions to social/economic problems developed in private sector, oppose government regulation on business, support of school prayer/traditional family arrangements, concerned about law/order, oppose abortion, same-sex marriage, use of mandatory school bus for racial integration, support of military intervention, maintenance of military power.Each party forms House and Senate campaign committees to raise funds for House and Senate election campaigns.Each party has a central committee in each state, county committees. In larger cities there are citywide party committees and local assembly district "ward" committees, and congressional districts have party committees, cities may have precinct committees.