American Government "Assessment" (Political Socialization, Participation, and Elections Review Sheet)

What is Political Culture?

Widely shared beliefs and norms about how citizens relate to government/each other.

What is Political Socialization?

How political culture is transmitted through society

Give me the Primary Influences of Political Socialization.

Family, and peer groups

What is the most important/lasting influence of Polticial Socialization?

Media, as well as Gender and Religion

What is the meaning of a Gatekeeper (Media Poltical Roles)

Influences what subjects become political issues, and duration of it.

What is Watchdog?

What is a Scorekeeper?

They help to make political reputations for candidates (can lead to horserace journalism)

Give me the total Electoral Votes for an Electoral College.

538 Electoral Votes

What is the Winning Threshold of Electoral Votes needed?

270 Electoral Votes

What is an Unique Characteristic(s) of the Electoral College?

It’s a indirect election (voters in each state chooses elector), has a “winner-takes-all” discrepancy, awarding all Electoral Votes to the candidates who wins the popular vote in that state. Smaller states have much higher voting influence than bigger states.

What is the Historical Purpose of the Electoral College?

Used for balancing state power (small states > big ones), and those who were slaves used to not be counting in a states population.

What is an Interest Group?

A group of individuals that share a common interest in a policy. Tries to influence government via supporting candidates which favor their ideas.

Name me the types of Interest Groups

Economic (Corporate interest groups, labor unions), Public Interest (Environmental Groups, Auto), and Representative Groups (NRA- firearm safety, AARP)

Give me the factors for determining group power

Information and Expertise, Money, Unity of Purpose, Number of members, etc.

Describe three different ways social media has changed the process of Political socialization for younger generations.

1. Many kids and teenagers recieve political news via bite-sized content such as Tiktok, Instagram, and other short-form content. This political content can be in the form of infographics, some of which can be oversimplified.

2. Social media has created a “digital activism” where kids used to be passive consumers of politics, but now have a say of what’s going on. They often use hashtages for mobilization and to critique policy.

3. On Social Media, particularly those of Facebook and X, the algorithm only gives videos catered to one’s own political viewpoint. This limits exposure to diverse political perspectives, which can deepen political beliefs but have a higher risk for misinformation.