American National Government Review Sheet Test 2 POLS 206 This is a list of general topics you will need to know in order to do well on the second test This test covers chapters 6 through 10 and includes the topics of public opinion political parties interest groups mass media campaigns and voting behavior 1 What is public opinion The distribution of the population s beliefs about politics and policy issues 2 What is reapportionment The process of reallocating seats in the House of Rep every 10 years based on the results of the census 3 What is political ideology A coherent set of beliefs about politics public policy and public purpose U S ideology our nation is unified compared to others 4 What is political socialization The process through which an individual acquires their particular political organization Political orientation grows firmer with age 5 What is political culture Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society 6 What influences the results of public opinion polls The wording of the questions poll or whether the sample is a random representative sample or not 7 Know the trends of party identification Party identification a citizen s self proclaimed preference for one party or the other Since the 1970 s there has been a rise in independent voters and a decrease in democrats Democrat Republican Independent figure 8 2 8 What is the three headed political giant 1 Party in the electorate a Largest part of the political giant 2 Party as an organization people working for the organization a Keeping it running to WIN elections 3 Party in government politicians who are active in government a Consists of elected officials that are party of the party b E g President or Congress c People that are carrying the flag into the political arena d They don t always get along agree Interest groups ENDORSE candidates political parties RUN candidates 9 What is the family s role in the process of political socialization The political leanings of children often mirror their parents leaning family has a monopoly on your time and emotional commitment 10 What does rational choice theory say about political parties It says that the political parties that select policies that are widely favored with succeed in the election verses the other parties Assumes the individuals act in their own best interest weighing the costs and benefits of possible alternatives 11 What is an interest group An organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at several points to try to achieve those goals they pursue their goals in many arenas 12 How are interest groups different from political parties Political parties fight election battles are policy generalists Interest groups do not field candidates for office but choose sides pursue goals in many arenas and are policy specialists 13 What is the free rider problem For a group the problem of people not joining because they can benefit from the group s activities without joining 14 What is a collective good Something of value that cannot be withheld from a group member whether you re in a potential or actual group E g clean air 15 What are the advantages of single issue groups Intensity because they re generally more emotional and can bring more intensity to the group 16 What are the strategies of interest groups 1 Lobbying a Are a source of information b Help politicians plan political strategies for legislation c Help politicians plan political strategies for reelection campaigns d Are a source of ideas and innovations 2 Electioneering a Direct involvement in the election process i Groups can help fund campaigns provide testimony and get members to work for candidates some form of PACs b PAC political funding vehicles created in 1974 campaign finance reforms PACs are used by interest groups to donate money to candidates i Use to channel money to political candidates ii PACs help pay the bill for increasing campaign costs iii Most PAC money goes to incumbents 3 Litigation a b If an interest group fails in one arena the courts may be able to provide a remedy Interest groups can file amicus curiae briefs to influence a court s decision briefs submitted by a friend of the court to raise additional points of view and present information not contained in the briefs of the formal parties c Class Action lawsuits permit a small number of people to sue on behalf of all other people similar situated if you or a loved one 4 Going Public a Because public opinion makes its way to policymakers groups try to i Cultivate a good public image to build a reservoir of goodwill ii Use marketing strategies to influence public opinion of the group with the public and its issues iii Advertise to motivate and inform the public about an issue 17 What is a media event Events purposely staged for the media that nonetheless look spontaneous They can be staged by almost anybody we like negative stories ex car chases Tiger Woods scandal 18 What effect does television have on politics Television brought government and politics into peoples homes In the Kennedy v Nixon debate Kennedy showed visual power on the television and ended up winning th election 19 What is a political party A team of men and women seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election 20 What stories do journalists cover They cover stories that will entertain the viewer It tends to be bias towards the stories that will keep the interest of the people so you ll continue to watch and they can sell more advertisements 21 How do the media affect individual vote choice The media affects individual vote by covering certain stories more than others They ll tell you what to think about when it comes to voting and tell you what is important by how much coverage it gets 22 What are open and closed primaries Open voters decide on Election Day whether they want to vote in the Democrat or Republican primary Closed only people who have registered with the party in advance can vote for that party s candidates want to make sure you re a registered party voter before you can vote Generally favored by the party organizations themselves because they encourage voters to officially declare a partisan preference when they register to vote 23 What is the policy agenda The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics at the time 24 What is a party realignment The displacement of the
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