POS – Exam 2 – Chapter 6 – Flashcards
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Public opinion
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the values and attitudes that people have about issues, events, and personalities.
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Values (or beliefs)
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a person's basic orientations to politics.
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Political ideology
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a cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about government.
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Attitude (or opinion)
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specific view about a particular issue, personality or even
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Liberty
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freedom from governmental control.
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Equality of opportunity
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people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential.
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Democracy
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a system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the election of key public officials.
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Ideology
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set of underlying orientations, ideas, beliefs. Associated but not synonymous with partisanship. (One may be conservative or liberal no matter what parties happen to exist in a given country or point in time.)
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Liberalism
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those who generally support governmental intervention in the economy and more economic equality; expansion of federal social services; and greater concern for consumers and the environment.
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Conservatism
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those who generally support the social and economic status quo and believe that a large and powerful government poses a threat to citizens' freedom
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Libertarian Domestic issues (3)
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- Government involvement in economy to protect workers, expand social services - Advocate for poor minorities, women, consumers, and the environment - Separation of church and state
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Libertarian Foreign affairs (2)
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- Oppose sending American troops to influence the domestic affairs in other countries - Support for international organizations
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Conservative Domestic issues (2)
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- Oppose social and economic engineering, such as wealth redistribution and affirmative action - Favor light business and industry regulation, low taxes for higher earners, traditional family structures, and school prayer
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Conservative Foreign affairs (2)
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- Support stronger military power and spending - Less supportive of international organizational efforts and entanglements
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Libertarianism
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a political ideology that emphasizes freedom and voluntary association with small government.
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Socialism
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a political ideology that emphasizes social ownership and strong government.
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Most citizens are especially ideological.
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True
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Political socialization
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the process through which underlying political beliefs and values are formed.
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There are "agents of socialization"
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social institutions, including families and schools, that help to shape individuals' basic political beliefs and values.
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Influence on political value: Family
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stories we hear growing up are highly influential when narratives are coherent and consistent.
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Influence on political value: Social groups
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people with similar traits or backgrounds have similar life experiences that shape their understanding of the political world.
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Influence on political value: Religion
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Religion can be powerful if it repeats stories, ceremonies, and rituals that tell its members about who they are and how they should see the world.
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Political knowledge (2)
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- Most Americans have limited political knowledge. - Political knowledge is associated with levels of efficacy and trust in government.
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Those with limited political knowledge (3)
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- May rely on sound bites as facts - Information intimidation: complicated topics - Time cost: do not want to or have time to study issues or contests
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Three very powerful sources of influence over public opinion (3)
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- Political leaders - Private groups - The media
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Shaping Public Opinion: Government (4)
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- Stress certain issues and not others - Influence how departments depict issues - Use the "bully pulpit" (Rally around the flag effect) - The media, and the public, will turn attention to issues that the administration advances
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Shaping Public Opinion: Private groups
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- Interest groups, churches, community organizations - Very deep and wide reach into society - Deploy specific knowledge effectively - Through press releases, blogs, and other efforts can communicate their messages broadly to reach like-minded individuals easily
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Shaping Public Opinion: Media
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- Are very effective at telling Americans what issues are important - Can, at times, frame what it means for a politician to be successful - Can sometimes also shape how people understand the meaning of a conflict
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Random Sample
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a method used by pollsters to select a representative sample in which every individual in the population has an equal probability of being selected as a respondent.
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Random digit dialing
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generates a random sample by selecting respondents at random from a list of 10-digit telephone numbers.
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Sample Size
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A sample must be large enough to provide an accurate representation of the population.
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All samples have sampling error (or a margin of error)
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polling error that arises based on the small size of the sample.
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Question wording
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can generate measurement error. (Survey questions must be worded precisely or this can jeopardize the reliability of the survey results.)
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Social desirability effects
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the effect that results when respondents in a survey report what they expect the interviewer wishes to hear rather than what they believe.
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Selection bias
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polling error that arises when the sample is not representative of the population being studied, which creates errors in over-representing or under-representing some opinions.
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Push polling
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a polling technique in which the questions are designed to shape the respondent's opinion.
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Bandwagon effect
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a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public opinion polls report as the front-runner
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________ is the most important core value of liberalism.
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Equality
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The concept of a marketplace of ideas refers to
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the competition between varying opinions and ideas that are aired in public forums.
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What did the framers identify as the greatest source of political conflict for the United States?
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differences between the rich and poor
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A liberal would most likely support
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an expansion in governmental social services.
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Opposition to legalized abortion is a position most likely supported by ________ while support for legalized abortion is a position most likely supported by ________.
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conservatives; liberals
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The term gender gap refers to
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differences in political opinions between men and women.
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The complex set of beliefs and values that, as a whole, form a general philosophy about the government is called ________.
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political ideology
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The process by which underlying political values are formed is known as
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political socialization.
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The social desirability effect refers to
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the fact that respondents report what they expect the interviewer wishes to hear or whatever they think is socially acceptable rather than what they actually believe or know to be true.
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If a person supports a candidate because she or he is the front-runner in a poll, this is an example of ________.
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the bandwagon effect
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Which of the following statements is true?
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a) The Tea Party movement is more popular in New England than in the South. b) The Democratic Party is becoming more popular in the South. c) California is a solid Republican state today. d) *Latino voters may shift the balance of political power in Texas in the next decade.* e) Political elites are not very polarized today.
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In recent years, partisan realignment in the South and congressional redistricting have
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reduced the number of conservative Democrats and all but eliminated liberal Republicans from the Congress.
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The small group selected by pollsters to represent the entire population is called the ________.
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sample
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In 1936, pollsters at the Literary Digest were guilty of ________ when they mistakenly predicted a presidential victory for Alf Landon over Franklin Roosevelt by polling people whose names came from the telephone book and automobile registration records.
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selection bias
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In 1948, election night polls showed that ________ would win the presidential election.
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Thomas Dewey
