Question | Answer |
Public Opinion | The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by same portion of the majority of the people.
NOT EVERYONE |
Political Socialization | Process by which ppl acquire political beliefs and attitude (public opinion)
Starts with Family: communication and receptivity
Factors:
Wealth, family, race, religion, education, gender, media, age |
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
Women: Care more about environment, social welfare and extending civil rights to gays and lesbians
Men: Abroad issu |
Reasons for Gender Gap | Decline in Marriage
Increase in number of working women
Men richer than women |
History of Opinion Polls | Literary Digest: mailed questionnaires to subscribers
Gallup poll
Roper Poll |
Generational Effect | A long-lasting effect of the events of a particular time on the political opinions of those who came of political age at that time. |
Sampling Techniques | Representative Sampling
Principles of Randomness |
Problems with Polls | Sampling Error: The difference between a sample's results and the true result if the entire population had been interviewed
Push Polls: Questions are misleading
Margin of Error: +/- 3 % makes a poll reliable |
Phone Polling | -Less expensive
-Ppl refuse to respond |
Internet Polling | -Nonpolls
-Harris Poll
-Inaccurate polls
-Not reliable |
How do polls affect policy making? | -Limit govt action through public pressure
-Policy leaders not always guided by opinion polls b/c respondents don't understand costs and consequences |
Interest groups | An organized group of individuals sharing common objectives who actively attempt to influence policy makers |
Lobbyist | -Anyone who spends 20% or more in Congress
-Anyone who attempts to influence legislation and decisions of govt
-Representative |
Social Movements | -Precursors to interest groups
-Represents demands of a large segment of the public for change |
Interest Groups Created to: | -Meet an immediate crisis
-Based on social movement |
Why Do Americans Join Interest Groups? | Latent Interests: Unrecognized
Solidary incentives: Reason/motive that deals with desire to associate with ppl that have same interests
Material incentives: Get economic benefits (discounts, insurance)
Purposive Incentives: Ppl agree with group goals |
Free-rider problem | Difficulty interest groups face in recruiting members when the benefits the achieve can be gained without joining the group |
Why so many interest groups? | -Right to join is protected by 1st Amendment
-Govt allows ppl to form groups ANYWHERE |
Types of Interest Groups: | Most popular: Economic -Business, agricultural, labor unions
-Environmental
-Public Interest
-Single-Interest Groups
-Foreign Govts-deal with trade issues |
What makes Interest groups so powerful? | -Size and resources-more ppl=more money
-Leadership
-Cohesiveness-motivation=key factor
-Most important factor: Who you know |
Direct Techniques | -Lobbyists do it theirselves
-Testify by committee
-Private meetings
-Write the bills for the legislation
-Provide political information
-Campaign assistance
-Build alliances with other groups |
Indirect Techniques | -Groups use general public or third party
-Public pressure
-Demonstrations |
Climate control | -Use of public relations techniques to create a favorable public opinion toward an interest group, industry or corporation |
Political Party | -A group of political activists who organize to win elections, operate govt. and determine public policy |
Difference between Interest Groups and Political Parties | Interest Groups: Do not try to influence govt
-Don't put forth candidates |
Formative years | First political division:
-Federalists
-Anti-Federalists: Democratic Republicans |
Era of Good Feelings | Federalists dissolved
-Democratic Republicans dominated
-James Monroe president |
Whig Party | -National Republicans
-Followers of Adams
-Anti-Jackson
-"Internal Improvements" |
Democratic Party | -Followers of Jackson |
Civil War Split | Whig Party split over slavery
-North Whigs combined w/ antislavery democrats and formed
REPUBLICAN PARTY (Free soilers) |
Two Party System | Only two parties have a reasonable chance of winning |
Three faces of a Party | Party-in-the-electorate: People who vote
Party Organization:Formal leadership
-National, state and local leaders
Party-in-Government: All of the elected officials |
National Convention | Meeting held each 4 years and used to nominate president and vice president candidates |
Party Platform | Outlines policies, positions and principles of candidates |
Realignment
Dealignmenet | Someone switches parties
A decline in party loyalties that reduces long-term party commitment |