pols 200 903 final

Values

Deep-seated internal commitments to how things "should" be (e.g., "Equality is a priority").

Beliefs

Your internal perception of the world or "facts," which may or may not be true.

Preferences

What you specifically want the government to do in response to your beliefs and values.

Opinion

The outward, expressed judgment you give to a survey question.

Public Opinion

The sum or mathematical average of individual judgments into a summary.

File Drawer Model (Converse)

The theory that attitudes are fixed, stable, and stored in the brain like a physical file.

Non-Attitudes

Converse's claim that people give random answers to avoid looking uninformed, despite having no real opinion.

Ideological Constraint

The degree to which your views on different topics are consistent and organized (e.g., being "Liberal" on all issues).

Receive-Accept-Sample (RAS)

Zaller’s model where we answer surveys based on information we've recently "received" and "accepted."

Reception Axiom

The idea that the more you follow politics, the more information you are exposed to.

Resistance Axiom

The tendency to reject political messages that disagree with your current beliefs.

Accessibility Axiom

The idea that the more recently you thought about a concept, the faster you can recall it.

Response Axiom

The process of answering surveys by averaging the ideas currently "at the top" of your head.

Population

The large underlying group about which a researcher wants to make an inference.

Sample

The smaller group of people actually used to make an inference about the larger population.

Representative Sample

A sample that accurately resembles important population-level characteristics (age, race, gender).

Random (Probability) Sample

A sample where every individual has an equal chance of being selected; the "Gold Standard."

Weighting

Adjusting survey math so the sample demographics match the real-world population.

Opt-in Polls

Non-random surveys where people volunteer; they are cheaper but generally lower quality.

Berinsky (Reading)

Argues polling is in a crisis because landlines are dead and people no longer answer unknown callers.

Wojtowicz & Hanania (Reading)

Shows Americans hate the "cost" of foreign aid because they vastly overestimate how much is spent.

B=f(p,e)

Lewin’s rule: Behavior is a function of a person’s individual attributes (P) and their environment (E).

Openness

Big 5 Trait: A tendency toward curiosity, imagination, and interest in new ideas.

Conscientiousness

Big 5 Trait: The degree of organization, responsibility, and self-discipline.

Extraversion

Big 5 Trait: An orientation toward social interaction and external stimulation.

Agreeableness

Big 5 Trait: A tendency toward compassion, cooperation, and social harmony.

Neuroticism

Big 5 Trait: A tendency to experience negative emotions and emotional instability.

Machiavellianism

Dark Triad Trait: Strategic manipulation and a focus on self-interest and long-term gain.

Narcissism

Dark Triad Trait: An inflated sense of self-importance and a constant need for admiration.

Psychopathy

Dark Triad Trait: A lack of empathy and remorse, combined with impulsivity and thrill-seeking.

Conflict Avoidance

Hating disagreement; leads people to "select out" of politics, leaving it to the loudest voices.

Right-Wing Authoritarianism (RWA)

A preference for maintaining collective security, stability, tradition, and following authority.

Social Dominance Orientation (SDO)

A person’s preference for hierarchy and inequality among social groups.

System 1

Thinking that is fast, automatic, unconscious, and driven by emotional responses.

System 2

Thinking that is slow, effortful, and logical; used for complicated situations.

Anger (Political Emotion)

Makes people rely on simple shortcuts and stereotypes while seeing more division.

Disgust (Political Emotion)

Often used to lower support for certain groups (like the homeless) or policies.

Fear (Political Emotion)

Changes support for many things and can increase support for political violence.

Moralization

When an opinion becomes a matter of absolute "Right vs. Wrong" rather than just a policy preference.

Implicit Attitudes

Automatic, unconscious feelings measured by the Implicit Association Test (IAT).

Motivated Reasoning

Emotionally biased thinking to reach a desired conclusion rather than the most accurate one.

Prior Attitude Effect

The tendency to perceive arguments supporting your side as stronger than they actually are.

Disconfirmation Bias

Exerting effort to argue vigorously against information that challenges your beliefs.

Confirmation Bias

The selective exposure and attention only to information that you already agree with.

Ryan (Reading)

Finds that moralized people refuse to compromise and will pay money just to "punish" the other side.

Groenendyk et al. (Reading)

Argues people avoid politics because they expect it to be socially and emotionally painful.

Social Identity

The level of association in an individual’s mind between a group and their own self-concept.

Michigan/Funnel Model

The theory that party ID is formed early from parents and acts as a lifelong "lens."

Symbolic Ideology (Mason)

Identifying as a "Liberal" or "Conservative" as a social label without knowing any policies.

Egalitarianism

The value that society should do whatever is necessary to ensure everyone has an equal opportunity.

Moral Traditionalism

The value that the country would have fewer problems if there were more emphasis on traditional family ties.

Intergroup Bias

Automatically favoring your "in-group" and having negative contrast with the "out-group."

Out-group Homogeneity

The exaggerated perception that everyone on the "other side" is exactly the same.

Subtle Dehumanization

Thinking the other side lacks "human" traits like warmth, depth, or complex emotions.

Blatant Dehumanization

Consciously rating members of the opposing party as "less evolved" on a physical scale.

Mason (Reading)

Argues that our political "teams" (identities) now matter more than our actual policy opinions.

Barber & Davis (Reading)

Found that people are more willing to sacrifice an "out-party" member in a trolley problem than a dog.

Resource Model (Brady/Verba/Schlozman)

Participation requires three things: Time, Money, and Civic Skills.

Calculus of Voting

The rational choice formula: $V = PB

P Term

The (usually zero) probability that your individual vote will be the tie-breaker in an election.

B Term

The benefit you receive from your preferred candidate winning the election.

C Term

The cost of voting, including time, effort, and opportunity costs.

D Term

Civic Duty; the psychological benefit of feeling like a "good citizen" by voting.

Rational Ignorance

Staying uninformed because the "cost" of learning is higher than the "benefit" of your single vote.

Heuristics

Mental shortcuts (like a party label) used to make quick political decisions without all the facts.

Media Fragmentation

The ultra-proliferation of media choices that allows people to completely avoid political news.

Descriptive Representation

When a politician shares the same background, race, or identity as their constituents.

Substantive Representation

When a politician actually passes laws that reflect the interests and needs of their constituents.

Delegates

Politicians who act as a direct conduit for the district, voting exactly on district opinion.

Trustees

Politicians who use their own independent judgment to do what they believe is "best."

Gilens & Page (Reading)

Evidence that economic elites have massive power, while the average person has almost none.

Bergan Reading

Found that politicians use "motivated reasoning" to ignore emails from constituents who disagree with them.

Fenno’s Paradox

The phenomenon where voters hate Congress as a whole but like their own representative.

Duverger’s Law

The rule that "Winner-Take-All" election systems naturally force a two-party system.

Sovereignty

A state’s supreme and absolute authority to govern its own territory.

Anarchy

The absence of a central world government or "Global Cop" to enforce rules.

Hegemony

A situation where one state (the hegemon) has overwhelming power over the rest of the world.

Soft Power

The ability to influence others through attraction (culture, values) rather than force or money.

Realism

IR theory: States are self-interested actors focused entirely on power and national security.

Liberalism

IR theory: Cooperation is possible through international institutions, trade, and democracy.

Constructivism

IR theory: International relations are shaped by ideas, identities, and social norms.

IMF (International Monetary Fund)

Provides short-term loans to countries facing currency or debt crises.

World Bank

Provides long-term loans for infrastructure and economic development projects.

WTO (World Trade Organization)

The global forum for negotiating trade agreements and settling trade disputes.

Mercantilism

An economic theory where the state manages the economy to maximize trade surpluses and national power.

Democratic Peace Theory

The observation that mature democracies almost never go to war with each other.

Human Security

A focus on protecting the individual (food, health, rights) rather than just the state's borders.

R2P (Responsibility to Protect)

The norm that the world has a duty to intervene if a state fails to protect its own citizens.

Tragedy of the Commons

When individuals acting in self-interest ruin a shared resource (like the environment).

Status Quo Bias

The institutional preference for keeping things as they are because change creates "uncertainty."

Veil of Ignorance (Huang Reading)

A mental exercise where you design a society without knowing your own status; leads to fairness.

Think Tanks (Cleveland-Stout Reading)

Powerful private groups that write policy; they are the "least transparent" part of the system.

Race to the Bottom

When countries lower environmental or labor standards to attract multinational corporations.

Comparative Advantage

The idea that countries should specialize in what they make most efficiently and trade for the rest.

Washington Consensus

The push for privatization, deregulation, and austerity in developing nations.

New Wars

Modern conflicts involving non-state actors, guerrillas, and civilians rather than just armies.

Security Dilemma

When one state's attempt to defend itself makes others feel unsafe, leading to an accidental war.

Pivotal Politics

The idea that policy change only happens when the "key" person in the middle (the swing voter) agrees.

Heuristic Engagement

The danger of voters relying only on shortcuts rather than ever learning the facts about policy.