PLCY 101 Flashcard Set

Confirmation Bias

It’s our tendency to favor information that aligns with what we already believe while dismissing or ignoring information that contradicts those beliefs.

Halo Effect

It occurs when our positive impressions of people, brands, or products in one area lead us to have positive feelings in another, often causing us to judge without a clear reason.

Engrossment

Engrossment refers to how deeply people become absorbed in a story—when we’re captivated, we temporarily accept its premises, which can influence what we believe to be true.

Fact

A fact is generally something considered true or real, but what counts as 'true' can depend on context, measurement methods, and subjective interpretation.

Meaningless Words

Some terms (e.g., 'democracy,' 'freedom') become so vague and overused that they lose clear meaning and may be used to manipulate opinions without real understanding.

Active vs. Passive Voice

Active voice assigns clear responsibility (e.g., 'The government reduced taxes'), whereas passive voice can obscure who is responsible (e.g., 'Taxes were reduced'), making statements vaguer or evasive.

Focusing Events

These are sudden, high-impact events that draw attention to particular problems, creating opportunities for policy change—though their effect depends on whether advocacy groups are ready to act.

Public Policy & Framing

Public policy is the set of decisions and actions taken by governments to address issues. Framing is crucial because it shapes how problems are perceived, influencing which aspects are highlighted and what solutions are considered.

Framing for Persuasion vs. Deliberation

Framing for persuasion is aimed at convincing an audience (often using emotional appeals), while framing for deliberation clarifies different perspectives to help citizens make informed decisions.

Honest vs. Dishonest Framing

Honest framing presents views clearly and respectfully—even when persuading—whereas dishonest framing manipulates facts or uses fear tactics, undermining trust in the process.

Incrementalism

Incrementalism is the process of making small, gradual changes to existing policies instead of overhauling them completely, often because time, resources, or political will are limited.

Punctuations

Punctuations are sudden, dramatic shifts in policy triggered by crises, political shifts, or public pressure that interrupt long periods of stability.

Drift

Drift occurs when there’s a gap between the intended goals of a policy and its real-world outcomes, often because policies aren’t updated to reflect changing conditions.

Policy Diffusion

It’s the process by which policies spread from one region or institution to another, often influenced by early adopters and subsequent imitation by others.

Defining Public Policy Problems

They involve complex issues that must be clearly defined to effectively address them—distinguishing what is a public policy issue (involving government action) from everyday personal choices.

Who is a Policymaker?

A policymaker is anyone with the authority to influence, create, or implement public policy—this includes elected officials, bureaucrats, judges, and interest groups.

Structured vs. Unstructured Problems

Structured problems have clear causes and solutions, whereas unstructured or wicked problems are complex, with multiple causes and no single solution, making consensus difficult.

Collective Action Problems

These occur when individuals or groups would benefit from working together but fail to do so because of competing interests, even when cooperation would be advantageous.

Challenges of Evidence-based Policymaking

Although evidence can guide decisions, a strict reliance on scientific data may oversimplify complex policy processes that require input from multiple perspectives and bottom-up collaboration.

Inductive Reasoning & Policy Misperceptions

Relying on limited information to make broader inferences can cause people to fill in gaps with assumptions, leading to misperceptions—especially when information is fragmented.

Fragmented Information Ecosystems

Social media often creates filter bubbles that reinforce existing beliefs by repeatedly exposing users to similar content, which can fragment the overall information ecosystem.

System 1 vs. System 2 Thinking

System 1 is fast, intuitive, and automatic; System 2 is slow, deliberate, and analytical. Their interplay affects how individuals form opinions and make decisions about public policy.

Key Psychological Heuristics

These include confirmation bias, WYSIATI ('what you see is all there is'), the halo effect, and availability cascades, all of which affect how we process information and form judgments.

Role of Stories in Public Policy

Stories help us understand complex issues by engaging emotions and moral values. They provide a narrative framework that makes abstract policy issues relatable and persuasive.

Anecdotal Evidence

Anecdotal evidence uses personal stories to illustrate broader issues, making policy problems more tangible even though it is less rigorous than statistical data.

Types of Facts

Objective facts are indisputable truths; derivative facts are interpretations based on objective data; postmodern facts are accepted as 'true' within a particular context despite lacking absolute objectivity.

Reverse Outlining & Clear Writing

Reverse outlining involves creating an outline from an existing essay to assess its structure. Clear, simple language is vital to ensure arguments are logically and persuasively presented.

Focusing Events & Agenda Setting

Focusing events are sudden, impactful incidents that draw attention to specific issues. They can create opportunities for policy change if advocacy groups mobilize in response.

Informal vs. Formal Agendas

Informal agendas emerge from public discourse and societal trends, while formal agendas are established through institutional processes and official decision-making bodies.

Institutions & Policy Design

Institutions—both formal (laws, constitutions) and informal (social norms)—create the rules of the game, shaping policy choices, influencing path dependence, and often leading to incremental change.

Rational-Actor Model in Elections

It’s the idea that policymakers act in their self-interest by carefully weighing options to maximize benefits (especially regarding re-election), making decisions based on available information.

Veto Points

Veto points are stages in the policy process where proposals can be blocked. More veto points (as seen in systems like the US Senate) make it harder to pass new policies.

Policymaker Motivations

Policymakers may pursue good policy, claim credit for successes, or focus on blame avoidance—each influencing how they approach decision-making.

Perceived vs. Real Costs and Benefits

Perceived costs and benefits are the subjective impressions held by individuals, which can differ from the measurable, material costs and benefits that guide formal cost–benefit analyses.

Waterfalls in Policy Implementation

It describes a linear, one-way process where once a step is completed, it cannot be revisited—unlike a loop-model that allows for iterative adjustments.

Bureaucratic Anxiety & Discretion

The bureaucratic anxiety cycle refers to the stress and uncertainty experienced by officials during implementation, while discretion is the ability of bureaucrats to make judgment calls in applying laws and policies.

Drift & Capture

Drift is when the effects of a policy change over time due to evolving conditions, and capture occurs when regulatory agencies become dominated by the interests they’re meant to regulate.

Policy Feedback

Policy feedback is the idea that policies not only shape society but are also reshaped by it. Successful policies can reinforce themselves, while failures may lead to rapid reversals.

Fog of Enactment

It describes the uncertainty and unforeseen consequences that emerge after a policy is implemented, making it difficult to predict its full impact until it unfolds in practice.

Cross-Sector Collaboration

The public sector consists of government bodies, the private sector includes for-profit businesses, and the nonprofit sector is made up of organizations that operate without profit motives. Each plays a distinct role in forming and implementing policy.

Approaches to Policy Evaluation

Evaluations can be conducted ex ante (predictively) or ex post (retrospectively) using various methodologies—including randomized controlled trials (often considered the 'gold standard')—to assess causation and overall effectiveness.

Postmodern Fact

It is an idea or claim accepted as 'true' within a particular social or cultural context, even if it lacks an absolute, objective basis.

George Orwell’s 'Shooting an Elephant'

Orwell criticizes the use of complex language and passive voice to obscure truth and evade responsibility, arguing that clear, simple language is key to exposing manipulation.

Politics of Blame Avoidance

It describes strategies by which policymakers prioritize avoiding blame for unpopular decisions—often by shifting responsibility or downplaying problems—over pursuing policies solely for public benefit.

What is the Lawmaking Process?

What are Prof. Goldsmith’s Preferred Stages of Policymaking?

Key Stages

Problem Definition

Agenda-Setting

Policy Formulation

Legitimation/Enactment

Implementation

Evaluation (loop back)