Political Values and Opinion Formation

These flashcards cover key concepts related to political values, public opinion, and the structure of interest groups and political parties.

___ ___ is the process by which individuals acquire their political values and opinions.

Political socialization

___ involves selecting a small, representative group from a larger population to gather data.

Sampling

___ ___ succeed in channeling civic participation by organizing people around shared goals.

Interest groups

The modern-day Democratic Party was formed by supporters of __.

Andrew Jackson

The Republican Party emerged in the 1850s in opposition to the expansion of __.

slavery

___ ___ ___ states that making the decision not to vote is often rational and logical.

Rational Choice Theory

The first party system in the United States was dominated by the Federalists and the __.

Democratic-Republicans

When information is emphasized to shape a person’s perception, this is known as __.

framing

The number of votes each state gets in the Electoral College is determined by its total representation in ___.

Congress

The ability of the media to influence what issues we think are important is known as __.

agenda-setting

The fifth party system began with the election of __.

FDR

Interest groups use __ incentives, which include social benefits like companionship.

solidary

The ___ ___ problem arises when individuals benefit from a shared resource but are reluctant to contribute.

collective action

A __ poll is designed to influence respondents' opinions through biased questions.

push

___ ___ refers to the collective views and preferences of a population.

Public opinion

The process of drawing electoral boundaries to favor a certain voter or party is known as __.

gerrymandering

The ___ ___ emphasizes the importance of party identification in explaining voter behavior.

Michigan Model

___ ___ is experienced when individuals hold conflicting beliefs or behaviors.

Cognitive dissonance