Political Science Final Study GuidePaolino; 1050Public Opinion- the politically relevant opinions held by ordinary citizens that they express openlyo Ex: mental representations of preference or beliefso Cognitive (thought) or Affective (emotion)Dimensions of Attitudes- What people want or think:o Ex:“do you favor or oppose stricter gun control laws in this country? 54-43% in favorResponding to Survey Questions- Answering a survey question is like answering any other type of questiono Four Steps: Interpret the question Search for relevant info Formulate a response Map the answer onto available optionsSampling- Survey researches measure public opinions by asking a sample of the American populationValues and Ideology- Americans’ attitudes are rooted in their values and ideology.o Reflect beliefs about desirable states of the world-the way things should be- and influence our attitudes toward government’s role in society.o Values involve both political and non-political areas of belief.Participation of Policy- For public officials to make policy that is responsive to the public’s preferences, they need to know what the public wants.o Ex: we saw that public polls are on the public’s preferences. Non-attitudes and measurement error.o Politicians may have incentives to attend to only the preferences of the public that participates politically. And they may be most attentive only to the public who participates in particular ways (voting, giving, money)Political Influence- Pressure: Reward with support people, who are doing what you want them to do (including those who do not need this pressure) or…- Making persuasive arguments about the best policy.- Making others aware of problems and preferences.- Clearly, people will be more influential if they can both apply pressure and provide informationActivities and Influence- Voting: (generally) low information/low pressure.o Referenda is the case where voting provides more policy informationo But even this is limited by choices on the ballot.- Organizing volunteers for a campaign: (possibly) moderate information/variable pressure.- Raising money for a campaign: variable information/variable pressure-how muchare you giving?News Media- The news media are a central linkage institution in American democracyo Media provides a way for political leaders to communicate with the publico Provides opportunities for the public to bring issues to the attention of political leaders and members of the publico The media can be independent and provide the public with infoInterest Groups - Definition and Description - Development and Formation - Groups can influence policy through information and pressurePluralism- View that politics reflects the competition between interest groupso Policy is the resultant of various group influences - Reflects view of society from Federalist = 10Activities That Inform- Lobbying:o Meets with legislators to express preferenceso Draft legislation for politicians to introduce- Testify at meetings and hearings - Grass-roots lobbying - Make statements through the media- Use the courts through filing lawsuits or amicus briefsStrategy and Tactics- Groups’ approach to influence varies by:o Small groups cannot engage in grass-roots lobbying; may lobby or use court actiono Civil rights movement used protests and the courts because electoral pressure was not availableo Public may be able to shape general direction of policy, but smaller groups often get to determine the details EX: financial reformPolitical Parties- Party in government- Party as organization- Party in the electorate - Parties in the USo Republicano Democrat- Parties are “an ongoing coalition of interests joined together in an effort to get its candidates for public office elected under a common label.”Presidential Elections and American democracy- Presidential elections are the primary means through which most Americans express their preferences- Turnout in presidential elections varies between 50 and 60% of the eligible electorate- Function of presidential elections are to:- American presidential elections tend to do a very good job of selecting leaders Elections- Polls- General voting- Electoral votesConsequences for Policy- Electoral systemo Nomination system can focus more on candidates’ ability to raise money or electability than governing skills- Policies chosen for elections, rather than good policyEconomic Policy- Policies directed toward the growth and stability of the economyo Stable priceso High employmento Low interest rates- Can involve trade-offs between equality and efficiencyForeign Policy- Policy goalso National security o Foreign tradeo Normative goals- Tools:o Military spending and allianceso Trade treaties and international organizationso Foreign aid- Actors:o Presidento Congress, interest groups, and the