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GPOSC 225 Exam
Exam 2
| Question | Answer |
|---|---|
| public opinion | Citizens' views on politics and government actions |
| level of conceptualization | The amount of complexity in an individual's beliefs about government and policy, and the extent to which those beliefs are consistent with each other and remain consistent over time |
| liberal-conservative ideology | A way of describing political beliefs in terms of a position on the spectrum running from liberal to moderate to conservative |
| Latent opinion | An opinion formed on the spot, when it is needed (as distinct from a deeply held opinion that is stable over time) |
| Considerations | The many pieces of information a person uses to form an opinion |
| political socialization | The process by which an individual's political opinions are shaped by other people and the surrounding culture |
| mass survey | a way to measure public opinion by interviewing a large sample of the population |
| population | the group of people that a researcher or pollster wants to study, such as evangelicals, senior citizens, or Americans. |
| sample | within a population, the group of people surveyed in order to gauge the whole population's opinion. Researchers use samples because it would be impossible to interview the entire population |
| issue scale | A survey response format in which respondents select their answers from a range of positions between two extremes |
| Sampling error | A calculation that describes what percentage of the people surveyed may not accurately represent the population being studied. Increasing the number of respondents lowers the sampling error. |
| random sample | A subsection of a population chosen to participate in a survey through a selection process in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen. This kind of sampling improves the accuracy of public opinion data. |
| ideological polarization | the effect on public opinion when many citizens move away from moderate positions and toward either end of the political spectrum, identifying themselves as either liberals or conservatives. |
| policy mood | The level of public support for expanding the government's role in society; whether the public wants government action on a specific issue |
| mass media | Sources that provide information to the average citizen, such as newspapers, television networks, radio stations, and web sites |
| penny press | newspapers sold for one cent in the 1830s, when more efficient printing presses made reduced-price newspapers available to a larger segment of the population |
| wire service | an organization that gathers news and sells it to other media outlets. The invention of the telegraph in the early 1800s made this type of service possible. |
| yellow journalism | a style of newspaper popular in the late 1800s that featured sensationalized stories, bold headlines, and illustrations to increase readership |
| investigative journalists | reporters who dig deeply into a particular topic of public concern, often targeting government failures and inefficiencies |
| Federal Communications Commission (FCC) | A government agency created in 1934 to regulate American radio stations and later expanded to regulate television, wireless communication technologies, and other broadcast media |
| Broadcast media | Communications technologies, such as television and radio, that transmit information over airwaves |
| fairness doctrine | An FCC regulation requiring broadcast media to present several points of view to ensure balanced coverage. It was created in the late 1940s and eliminated in 1987 |
| equal time provision | An FCC regulation requiring broadcast media to provide equal airtime on any non-news programming to all candidates running for an office |
| concentration | The trend toward single-company ownership of several media sources in one area |
| cross-ownership | The trend toward single-company ownership of several kinds of media outlets |
| media conglomerates | Companies that control a large number of media sources across several types of media outlets |
| mainstream media | Media sources that predate the Internet, such as newspapers, magazines, television, and radio |
| prime time | Evening hours when television viewership is at its highest and networks often schedule news programs. |
| news cycle | The time between the release of information and its publication, like the twenty-four hours between issues of a daily newspaper |
| leak | The release of either classified or politically embarrassing information by a government employee to a member of the press |
| press conference | An event at which a politician speaks to journalists and, in most cases, answers their questions afterward |
| On background or off the record | Comments a politician makes to the press on the condition that they can be reported only if they are not attributed to that politician |
| Shield laws | Legislation, which exists in some states but not at the federal level, that gives reporters the right to refuse to name the sources of their information |
| by-product theory | The idea that many Americans acquire political information unintentionally rather than by seeking it out |
| media effects | The influence of media coverage on average citizens' opinions and actions |
| filtering | The influence on public opinion that results from journalists' and editors' decisions about which of many potential news stories to report |
| slant | The imbalance in a story that covers one candidate or policy favorably without providing similar coverage of the other side |
| priming | The influence on the public's general impressions caused by positive or negative coverage of a candidate or issue |
| framing | the influence on public opinion caused by the way a story is presented or covered, including the details, explanations, and context offered in the report |
| hostile media phenomenon | The idea that supporters of a candidate or issue tend to feel that media coverage is biased against their position, regardless of whether coverage is actually unfair |
| attack journalism | A type of increasingly popular media coverage focused on political scandals and controversies, which causes a negative public opinion of political figures |
| horse race | A description of the type of election coverage that focuses more on poll results and speculation about a likely winner than on substantive differences between the candidates |
| soft news | Media coverage that aims to entertain or shock, often through sensationalized reporting or by focusing on a candidate or politician's personality |
| hard news | Media coverage focused on facts and important issues surrounding a campaign |
| nodes | Groups of people who belong to, are candidates of, or work for a political party but do not necessarily work together or hold similar policy preferences |
| party organization | A specific political party's leaders and workers at the national, state, and local levels |
| party in government | The group of officeholders who belong to a specific political party and were elected as candidates of that party |
| party in the electorate | The group of citizens who identify with a specific political party |
| party system | A period in which the names of the major political parties, their supporters, and the issues dividing them remain relatively stable |
| party principle | The idea that a political party exists as an organization distinct from its elected officials or party leaders |
| spoils system | the practice of rewarding party supporters with benefits like federal government positions |
| New Deal Coalition | The assemblage of groups who aligned with and supported the Democratic Party in support of New Deal policies during the fifth party system, including African Americans, Catholics, Jewish people, union members, and white southerners |
| parties in service | The role of the parties in recruiting, training, fundraising, and campaigning for congressional and presidential candidates. This aspect of party organization grew more prominent during the sixth party system. |
| realignment | A change in the size or composition of the party coalitions or in the nature of the issues that divide the parties. Realignments typically occur within an election cycle or two, but they can also occur gradually over the course of a decade or longer |
| crosscutting | Issues that raise disagreements within a party coalition or between political parties about what government should do |
| national committee | An American political party's principal organization, comprised of party representatives from each state |
| Political action committee (PAC) | An interest group or a division that can raise money to contribute to campaigns or to spend on ads in support of candidates. The amount a PAC can receive from each of its donors and the amount it can spend on federal electioneering are strictly limited. |
| 527 organization | A tax-exempt group formed primarily to influence elections through voter mobilization efforts and issue ads that do not directly endorse or oppose a candidate. Unlike PACs ,they are not subject to contribution limits and spending caps. |
| brand names | The use of party names to evoke certain positions or issues. For instance, "Adidas" might immediately call to mind athletics in the same way that "Democrat" might remind you of environmental policies or universal health care |
| Political machine | An unofficial patronage system within a political party that seeks to gain political power and government contracts, jobs, and other benefits for party leaders, workers, and supporters |
| Caucus (congressional) | The organization of Democrats within the House and Senate that meets to discuss and debate the party's positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus and to assign leadership positions |
| conference | The organization of Republicans within the House and Senate that meets to discuss and debate the party's positions on various issues in order to reach a consensus and to assign leadership positions |
| polarized | The alignment of both parties' members with their own party's issues and priorities, with little crossover support for the other party's goals |
| Party identification (party ID) | A citizen's loyalty to a specific political party |
| activists | People who dedicate their time, effort and money to supporting a political party or particular candidates |
| Running tally | A frequently updated mental record that a person uses to incorporate new information, like the information that leads a citizen to identify with a particular political party |
| Dealignment | a decline in the percentage of citizens who identify with one of the major parties, usually over the course of a decade or longer |
| Party coalitions | The groups that identify with a political party, usually described in demographic terms such as African American Democrats or evangelical Republicans |
| Primary | A ballot vote in which citizens select a party's nominee for the general election |
| Caucus (electoral) | A local meeting in which party members select a party's nominee for the general election |
| nominating convention | A meeting held by each party every four years at which states' delegates select the party's presidential and vice-presidential nominees and approve the party platform |
| party platform | A set of objectives outlining the party's issue positions and priorities. Candidates are not required to support their party's platform |
| Conditional party government | The theory that lawmakers from the same party will cooperate to develop policy proposals |
| backbenchers | Legislators who do not hold leadership positions within their party caucus or conference |
| Unified government | A situation in which one party holds a majority of seats in the House and Senate and the president is a member of that same party |
| party in power | Under unified government, the party that controls the House, Senate, and the presidency. Under divided government, the president's party. |
| Divided government | A situation in which the House, Senate, and presidency are not controlled by the same party, such as if Democrats hold the majority of House and Senate seats, and the president is a Republican |
| responsible parties | A system in which each political party's candidates campaign on the party platform, work together in office to implement the platform, and are judged by voters based on whether they achieved the platform's objectives. |
| Duverger's Law | The principle that in a democracy with single-member districts and plurality voting, like the United States, only two parties' candidates will have a realistic chance of winning political office |
| single-member districts | An electoral system in which every elected official represents a geographically defined area, such as a state or congressional district, and each area elects one representative |
| Plurality voting | A voting system in which the candidate who receives the most votes within a geographic area wins the election, regardless of whether that candidate wins a majority (more than half) of the votes. |
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