Unit 4 Flashcards

American Beliefs

• Individualist: Values individual independence and self-reliance.
• Equality of Opportunity: Every American should have opportunities for life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
• Free Enterprise: Limited government intervention, allowing supply and demand to govern the marketplace.
• Rule of Law: Every citizen is equal under the law.
• Limited Government: Restrained through the separation of powers and checks and balances.

Liberal

• Pushes for reforms for a more just society.
• Supports a larger government providing an abundance of services.
• Favors more government involvement to achieve equality and free enterprise.

Conservative

• Cherishes established institutions and seeks to preserve them.
• Prefers a smaller government providing fewer services.
• Desires less government involvement.

Bandwagon Effect

• Getting behind a winning candidate.

Social Desirability Bias

• People lie to appear as better members of society.

Non-response Bias

• Certain groups are less inclined to respond to polls.

Non-scientific Polls

• Designed by political parties or partisan news outlets to demonstrate support.

Libertarianism

• Combines aspects of both liberal and conservative ideologies.
• Seeks the smallest, least intrusive government possible.

The Fed & Monetary Policy

• The Federal Reserve manages monetary policy.
• Tools include buying/selling government bonds and setting reserve requirements.
• Inflation is countered by raising interest rates; during economic downturns, the Fed decreases interest rates.

Types of Polls

• Opinion Polls: Assess public sentiment on candidates or policies.
• Benchmark Polls: Taken at the beginning of a campaign to show candidate performance.
• Tracking Polls: Conducted over time to show shifts in opinion.
• Entrance Polls: Conducted before voting.
• Exit Polls: Conducted after voting.

Representative Sample

• A small portion of a larger population.

Random Sample

• Everyone has an equal chance of being chosen.

Sampling Error

• Mistakes made during polling; margin of error decreases as sample size increases.
• (\pm 4\%) is considered a good margin of error.

Focus Groups

• Emphasize qualitative data.

American Generations

• Silent Generation (1928-1945): Generally conservative.
• Millennials (1981-1996): Mostly liberal, ethnically diverse, highly educated.

Life Cycle Effects

• Political beliefs change based on life stage.

Major Events

• Events like the Great Depression can cause people to trust in government.
• Events like the Vietnam War can cause people to lose trust in government.

Political Ideology

• An interlocking set of ideas forming the basis for political decision-making.

Party Platforms

• Democratic: Abortion rights, LGBTQ+ rights, healthcare for the poor.
• Republican: Cutting taxes, "America First" trade policy, anti-regulation.

Keynesian Economics

• Addresses fiscal policy (government taxation and spending).
• When demand is low, the government should increase spending or cut taxes.
• Liberal view.

Supply-Side Economics

• Addresses fiscal policy.
• Emphasizes supply and demand; limited government control.
• Conservative view.

Political Socialization

• Family: High number of children associate with family's ideologies.
• School: Teachers may teach in conservative/liberal worldview.
• Peers: Inclusion has a strong influence.
• Media: Provides a wide range of viewpoints (e.g., 24-hour news cycles).
• Social Environments: Religion, civic institutions (e.g., Boy Scouts).

Globalization

• Increasing interconnectedness of the world often comes with political influence.