ap gov flash cards

Unit 2 Outline: Political Participation by Groups

Unit Chapters

• Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Action

• Chapter 7: The Mass Media and the Political Agenda

• Chapter 8: Political Parties

• Chapter 10: Interest Groups

Unit Essential Questions

1. Why do you believe what you believe, and what shaped those beliefs?

2. How do citizens and policymakers communicate ideas?

3. How do organized groups affect the democratic process?

4. How do government officials know what the public thinks about certain issues?

5. Do the media inform or distract the public?

6. How does money play a role in policymaking?

Chapter 6: Public Opinion and Political Action

Key Terms

• Public Opinion

  • The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues.

  • Study of public opinion aims to understand the distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues

• Bandwagon Effect

  • When people see others supporting a certain candidate, they may be more likely to support that candidate too, just because they're popular

• Gender Gap

  • Women tend to support spending on things like social services more than men do, and they usually don't support as much military spending as men. The gap between men’s and women’s support in left leaning parties vs right leaning parties (democrats vs republicans) is called gender gap

• Census

  • An “actual enumeration” of the population, which the Constitution requires that the government conduct every 10 years. The census is a valuable tool for understanding demographic changes.

• Exit Poll

  • Public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision. 

  • For this type of poll, voting places are randomly selected around the country. Workers are then sent to these places and told to ask every tenth person how he or she voted. The results are accumulated toward the end of the day, enabling the television network to project outcomes.

• Ideologues

  • Some researchers a long time ago studied how much people rely on political ideas to make decisions. 

  • Ideologues - 12% of people who really thought about political ideas

  • Group benefits voters - 42% of people based their political decisions on what would benefit groups they liked or didn't like. 

  • Nature of the times voters - 24% of people didn't really think about political ideas but just thought about whether things were good or bad and linked that to the political party in power.

  • No issue content group - 22% of people didn't really think about political ideas at all and just voted for the same party every time or judged candidates based on their personalities.

• Political Socialization

  • The process through which individuals in a society acquire political attitudes, views, and knowledge, based on inputs from family, schools, the media, and others. 

• Political Ideology

  • A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose, which helps give meaning to political events

• Political Participation

  • All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. The most common means of political participation in a democracy is voting; other means include protest and civil disobedience. 

  • Aging increases political participation, Political participation rises steadily with age until old age make it harder to participate

• Random Sampling

  • The key technique employed by survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample.

• Conventional Participation

  • Conventional participation is doing things that most people agree are acceptable ways to influence the government, like voting, trying to convince others to support your ideas, collecting signatures for a petition, or running for office.

  • Unconventional participation is doing things that are more unusual or dramatic, like protesting, breaking rules on purpose, or sometimes even using violence.

• Sampling Error

  • The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results.

• Conservative vs Liberal

  • Liberals generally:

    • Support less military spending and prefer peaceful solutions.

    • Favor the right to choose regarding abortion.

    • Oppose prayer in schools.

    • Support affirmative action.

    • View government as a regulator for public interest.

    • Support higher taxes for the rich and more spending on social programs.

    • Believe in addressing the root causes of crime.

  • Conservatives generally:

    • Support strong military spending and intervention.

    • Oppose abortion and favor the right to life.

    • Support prayer in schools.

    • Oppose affirmative action.

    • Favor free-market solutions over government regulation.

    • Want lower taxes and less government spending.

    • Support stricter measures against criminals and a tougher criminal justice system.

  • Over the years, surveys have shown that more Americans identify as conservatives than liberals, impacting the scope of government activities compared to European nations.

  • Younger people tend to be more liberal, while politically influential groups tend to be more conservative.

  • Groups who have experienced political exclusion may lean more liberal, such as African Americans and Hispanics, seeking government action to address inequalities.

• Protest Participation

  • A form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics

  • Civil Disobedience - A form of political participationbased on a conscious decision to break a law believed to be unjust and to suffer the consequences. 

Focus Questions

1. Explain what regional shifts have occurred in the U.S. over the past 60 or so years. How has this affected reapportionment in the House?

   1. Significant regional shifts in the U.S. population have occurred, particularly with migration towards the South and West, notably to states like Texas, Florida, and Arizona.

      1. Increases in congressional representation for these states declines in representations in the Northeast, such as New York

   2. Directly tied to reapportionment every decade following the census.

   3. The aging population also plays a role, ex: Florida attracts retirees, which also shifts policy focus, especially regarding Social Security and healthcare

2. How does the family affect political socialization? The mass media? Your schooling?

   1. Family plays a major role in shaping political opinions and values, through discussions, shared experiences, and modeling behaviors.

   2. Mass media, including news coverage, social media, and entertainment, influences individuals' perceptions and understanding of political issues.

   3. The media’s framing of political topics can shape public opinion and inform citizens about political participation.

   4. Schools contribute to political socialization by providing formal education about political systems, civic responsibility, and democratic values.

   5. Civics classes promote understanding of government structure, participation, and civic duty, shaping students' political engagement in adulthood.

3. How do political ideologies change with age?

   1. Political ideologies can change with age due to life experiences, social contexts, and generational influences.

   2. Young people often lean liberal, supporting progressive issues like social justice, environmentalism, and government intervention in the economy.

   3. Factors contributing to youth liberalism include idealism, diverse viewpoints, and a desire for change.

   4. Older adults may develop more conservative views, driven by increased life responsibilities, financial concerns, and a desire for stability.

   5. Economic factors such as homeownership and retirement planning can lead to fiscal conservatism, prioritizing lower taxes and reduced government spending.

   6. Socialization impacts ideological shifts; individuals may become more entrenched in their beliefs due to social circles, community values, and family traditions.

   7. Major life events and economic fluctuations can affect political priorities and lead to ideological changes.

4. Explain what benefits politicians receive from polling from the American public.

   1. Polling enables politicians to understand public opinion and priorities, helping them tailor messages and policies accordingly.

   2. By addressing voter concerns, politicians can increase engagement and support from the electorate.

   3. Polling helps politicians identify emerging trends and shifts in public sentiment, allowing them to adapt their strategies.

   4. Measuring changes in public opinion over time allows politicians to gauge the effectiveness of their initiatives and policies.

   5. Polling data can strengthen politicians' arguments when advocating for policies or funding, persuading undecided voters or legislators.

5. What was the problem with exit polls in the 2000 presidential election (and can still be a problem?

   1. Networks projected Al Gore as the winner in Florida before polls had closed, which led to confusion and potential voter apathy among those who had not yet voted.

   2. Sampling Errors – The exit polls overrepresented certain demographics, leading to misleading projections.

   3. Nonresponse Bias – Some voter groups were less likely to participate in exit polls, skewing results.

   4. Time Zone Differences – Early projections may have influenced voter turnout in states where polls were still open.

Chapter 7: The Mass Media and the Political Agenda

Key Terms

• Mass Media

• "Feeding Frenzy"

• News Leak (Trial Balloon)

• Media Event

• Print Media

• Sound Bite

• 7 Principles of Reagan’s News Management

• Broadcast Media

• Media Bias

• Spin (define beyond text)

• Narrowcasting

Focus Questions

1. How does the mass media serve as a linkage institution in politics?

2. Which constitutional amendment (specific clause) secures the right of the media’s role to serve a linkage institution in American politics?

3. Explain briefly how Vietnam and the Watergate scandal changed press coverage of the government to this day.

4. Why has investigative journalism contributed to public cynicism about American politics? What do Thomas Patterson and James Fallows say about this?

5. How does narrowcasting contribute to political ignorance of the public?

6. Why is the symbiotic relationship between reporters and their sources so important to the maintenance of good government?

7. If sound bites allow more news moments to be presented in a given program, why is there such criticism of them? More news is better, right?

8. What is the predominant bias in news coverage, according to the text?

9. How does mass media fulfill an agenda-setting role in politics? Include policy entrepreneurs in your answer.

Chapter 8: Political Parties

Key Terms

• Political Party

  • According to Anthony Downs, a “team of men [and women] seeking to control the governing apparatus by gaining office in a duly constituted election”

• Closed Primary vs Open Primary

  • Closed Primary: Elections to select party nominees in which only people who have registered in advance with the party can vote for that party’s candidates, thus encouraging greater party loyalty. 

  • Open Primary: Elections to select party nominees in which voters can decide on Election Day whether they want to participate in the Democratic or Republican contests.

• New Deal Coalition

  • President Hoover didn't handle the Depression well for the Republican Party. He thought the government couldn't fix it, but Americans disagreed. They voted for President Roosevelt, who promised to help with his New Deal. In his first 100 days, President Roosevelt passed many laws to fight the Depression. New voters liked what he did, so they joined the Democratic Party.

  • President Roosevelt made these groups happy and part of the Democratic Party:

    • People in big cities

    • Workers in labor unions

    • Catholics and Jews

    • Poor people

    • People in the South

    • African Americans

• Rational Choice Theory

  • idea used in politics to understand why people, including voters and politicians, do the things they do. It says that people make choices based on what they think will be best for them. They look at the good and bad parts of each choice before deciding.

• Divided Government

• Party Identification

• Blanket Primary

• Party Dealignment

• Party in the Electorate

• National Convention

• Third Party

• Party Organization

• Critical Election

• Party in Government

• Party Platform

• Party Machine

• Party Realignment

Focus Questions

1. Explain the five basic functions of political parties.

2. How do political parties serve as linkage institutions in American politics?

3. How did party machines organize (or perhaps coerce) the vote in local (city) elections historically? What factors led to the rise of machines? Why is it no longer a factor in party organization today?

4. Why are party platforms good predictors of policy implementation?

5. The Constitution makes no mention of political parties. When and how did they first develop? Would the founding fathers be pleased or upset at the creation of political parties?

6. We can look at the New Deal Coalition as the most significant party realignment of the 20th Century. How did it develop and who composed its ranks? 

7. Why do you think party dealignment makes it harder for one party to gain control of the government?

8. Describe how a strong third party might play a “spoiler role” in an election by “sending a message” to the two major parties?

9. Which constitutional amendment (specific clause) protects political parties’ role as a linkage institution between citizens and the government?

Chapter 10: Interest Groups

Key Terms

• Interest Group

  • An organization of people with shared policy goals entering the policy process at several points to try to achieve those goals. Interest groups pursue their goals in many arenas.

• Lobbying/Lobbyist

  • According to Lester Milbrath, a “communication, by someone other than a citizen acting on his or her own behalf, directed to a governmental decision maker with the hope of influencing his or her decision.”

• "Big Business"

• Iron Triangles

  • Subgovernments are composed of interest group leaders interested in a particular policy, the government agency in charge of administering that policy, and the members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling that policy; they exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas.

• Electioneering

• "The Environmentalists"

• Free-Rider Problem

• Political Action Committee (PAC)

• Public Interest Lobby

• Olsen’s Law of Large Groups

• Litigation

• Single-Issue Groups

• "Big Labor"

Focus Questions

1. Pluralist theorists argue positively for a group theory of politics. Explain what this means.

2. How do elite theorists debunk the pluralist theory of competing interests in government? 

3. A corollary of hyperpluralism is the formation and function of subgovernments within the national government. Describe how this system works in detail. Why is this a bad thing according to the hyperpluralists? (3 main problems)

4. Explain why organized small interest groups tend to be more successful than large groups by contrasting their strengths with the weaknesses of large groups. Make at least two distinctions. 

5. “Intensity” is another way of talking about how the “vocal minority” gets more political attention than the “silent majority.” Explain why. Can you think of anything in your own life that proves this? 

6. Lobbyists get a “bad rap.” Nevertheless, what positive benefits do politicians receive from lobbyists’ efforts? Can the public benefit from lobbyists?

7. Why do interest groups use the federal courts (litigation) to achieve their goals? What groups have been particularly skilled at using the courts to their advantage?