Concepts and Terminologies in Political Science and Public Opinion, Quizzes of Political Science

Download Concepts and Terminologies in Political Science and Public Opinion and more Quizzes Political Science in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 What is an Easy (valence) Issue? DEFINITION 1 A political issue about which voters will usually share a common preference. TERM 2 Scientific Method DEFINITION 2 Observe and categorize some aspect of the universe. Invent a tentative description or explanation that is consistent with what is observed This is called a Theory Generate testable predictions that must be true if your theory is true. Therefore if the prediction is not observed then the theory is false these predictions are called Hypotheses Hypotheses posit a relationship between causal independent variables, and a causally determined dependent variable. Test these hypotheses using survey data, experiments, or other observation of the real world. Confirm, reject, or modify the theory based on the results from the experiment. TERM 3 Requirements for Free and Fair Elections DEFINITION 3 Freedom of citizens to form or join organizations in support of candidates Freedom to express preferences Alternative sources of information Ability of new leaders to enter the system and compete for support Right to vote without administrative barriers or intimidation Votes counted fairly Votes translated into representation fairly Due process and equal protection under the law TERM 4 Suffrage DEFINITION 4 Suffrage, political franchise, or simply franchise, distinct from other rights to vote, is the right to vote gained through the democratic process. TERM 5 Why expand the voting franchise? DEFINITION 5 Moral obligation Expectation that newly enfranchised will support you TERM 6 Administrative restrictions on the right to vote DEFINITION 6 Poll taxes Literacy tests White primaries Intimidation Residency requirements TERM 7 Turnout DEFINITION 7 U = (pB C) + D Where U = utility of voting p = probability vote is decisive B = benefit from your candidate winning C = costs of voting D = duty On the decline, but creeping back up. TERM 8 High v. Low Stimulus Elections DEFINITION 8 Differences in media coverage Significance of office Importance of issues Attractiveness of the candidates Competitiveness Differences in mobilization efforts These are largely structural, or system-level factors. TERM 9 Door-to-Door Canvassing (ch. 3) DEFINITION 9 Door-to-Door Canvassing (ch. 3) Conventional wisdom: If your program is well targeted, going door-to-door is the surest way to win votes. (Green and Gerber 2008, 23) Experiments Say? It works! (with some caveats) The Caveats: Can be difficult to target Varies by type of voter and election Competition from other canvassing hurts TERM 10 Leaflets (ch. 4) DEFINITION 10 Conventional wisdom: Its fast and easy, so worth doing. (Green and Gerber 2008, 46) Experiments Say? Weak effects! But partisan door hangers might be slightly more effective than nonpartisan ones. TERM 21 Decline in Social Capital/Civic Engagement DEFINITION 21 Causes The Changing Role of Women (not proven) Marriage and Family (maybe, but reverse causation possible/likely and has an alibi) Generational Effects (Most Likely) Television TERM 22 Party Identification DEFINITION 22 Definition: A feeling of loyalty to or sympathy for a particular party Learned from familyand very sticky. Its not just voting. Its an overall attitude. Its a filter that colors the way we perceive information Its the best predictor of voting behavior (who will vote, and for whom, in a given election) TERM 23 Partisan Realignment DEFINITION 23 A partisan realignment is a major shift in the political identification of voters.Typically, what gives rise to a partisan realignment is a crisis of some type or major issue which results in people who previously identified with a party deciding to no longer support that party. TERM 24 Public Opinion DEFINITION 24 the collective attitudes of the public, or segments of the public toward the issues of the day (F&Z, p. 135) Think of issues TERM 25 Political Ideology DEFINITION 25 a set of fundamental beliefs or principles about politics and government: what the scope of government should be (F&Z, p. 135) Think liberalism v. conservatism TERM 26 Domestic Affairs DEFINITION 26 Economic Economic considerations often influence positions on other (social, racial, foreign affairs) issues And vice versa Racial Social Often cross party lines And other social groupings TERM 27 Foreign Affairs DEFINITION 27 Homeland Security Terrorism International Affairs TERM 28 What Explains Differences in Turnout by Race/Ethnicity? DEFINITION 28 Socioeconomic Status (SES) Education, income, etc. Psychological Resources Political interest, political efficacy, etc. Social Connectedness Social capital TERM 29 Gender Differences in Political Behavior DEFINITION 29 Little to no difference in turnout Different types of activities Non-political v. political? Different reasons for participating? Material benefits, social gratifications, civic gratifications, collective outcomes Different focus for women and men? Local v. National? Policies? Individual v. Collective? *Upshot: More similarity than difference* TERM 30 Party Identification (PID) DEFINITION 30 Similar to Ideology in terms of direction of PID Strength of PID More extraverted and more agreeable, more likely to identify with Dems or Reps More open, less likely to identify with Dems or Reps TERM 31 The Funnel of Causality DEFINITION 31 Determinants of Vote Choice TERM 32 Short Term Forces DEFINITION 32 Candidate ImageParty ImageIssue Impact TERM 33 Candidate Image DEFINITION 33 Normally, the impact of candidate image on vote choice declines as one goes farther down the ticket to less visible and less well-known offices TERM 34 Party Image DEFINITION 34 Voters use the evaluation of past performance as an indicator of future performance, and they take this retrospective assessment into account when making their vote choices TERM 35 Issue Impact DEFINITION 35 Some individuals are single issue voters Voter must be aware of and care about the issue Candidates must take distinguishable stances on an issue Voters must perceive the candidates stands in relation their own TERM 46 Framing DEFINITION 46 The process through which the media emphasize particular aspects of a news story, thereby influencing the publics perception of the storyEmphasizing aspects of news story TERM 47 News Management DEFINITION 47 The efforts of a politicians staff to control the news about the politician. Techniques: Tight control of information Tight control of access to the politician Elaborate communications bureaucracy Concerted effort to bypass the White House press corps Prepackaging the news in sound bites Leaks TERM 48 Two-step flow of communication DEFINITION 48 Media/Opinion Elites Opinion Leaders Mass Public TERM 49 Media and Political Behavior Converse (1962) and Zaller (1992) DEFINITION 49 Theory Low media attention not affected by media Medium media attention most affected by media High media attention not affected by media Evidence Varies a bit Makes sense But some events/issues affect high interest (and sometimes everyone) TERM 50 Cognitive Dissonance DEFINITION 50 Discomfort when hold two (or more) conflicting views (etc.)We dont like it (ask folks in Psychology, e.g., Festinger 1956) TERM 51 How do we deal with Cognitive Dissonance? DEFINITION 51 Selective exposure Not paying attention to conflicting information Selective perception Misinterpreting such information or rejecting the sources of the information as lacking credibility Compartmentalization Not making the connections between dissonant attitudes Rationalization Developing an unwarranted interpretation of a situation to avoid confronting the real one TERM 52 Does Television Advertising Work? DEFINITION 52 TV ads have strong but short-lived effects Dissipate within a week. TERM 53 Does Email boost voter registration/turnout? DEFINITION 53 Negligible effects (Vote for Students 2002) TERM 54 Does Facebook boost voter registration/turnout? DEFINITION 54 Fowler et al. (2012)Appears to increase turnout TERM 55 Do Election Day Festivals boost voter registration/turnout? DEFINITION 55 Appear to increase turnout Festivals (plus pre-election publicity) increased turnout by about 2 percentage points (Green and Gerber, ch. 8). Cost per vote of approximately $30 TERM 56 Generally speaking, and specifically according to the 2008 American National Election Study, Blacks and Hispanics favor _______ government services (as opposed to cutting spending) more so than non-Hispanic Whites. DEFINITION 56 Increasing TERM 57 Generally speaking, and specifically according to the 2008 American National Election Study, Democrats favor _______ government services while Republicans favor ________ government spending. DEFINITION 57 Increasing; Decreasing TERM 58 What is a dimension of racial hostility scholars have used to explain White support for or opposition to government policies regarding race? DEFINITION 58 Group ConflictRacial ResentmentSocial Dominance TERM 59 According to the 2008 American National Election Study, which group had the highest approval of the governments handling of the war on terrorism? DEFINITION 59 Republicans TERM 60 True or False: According to the 2008 American National Election Study, Democrats and Independents were more supportive of increased spending on the war on terrorism? DEFINITION 60 True TERM 71 Of the entities listed below, which does NOT report their donors to the Federal Election Commission (FEC)? DEFINITION 71 501(c) social welfare organizations TERM 72 which state does NOT have some form of public financing for state candidates? DEFINITION 72 Mississippi TERM 73 The media constantly reporting on rising gas prices in the United States instead of declining unemployment is an example of: DEFINITION 73 Agenda Setting TERM 74 If the news media constantly emphasize crime, and then politicians are evaluated on how they deal with crime, this would be an example of: DEFINITION 74 Priming TERM 75 When a news organization decides to report a story on a tornado by focusing on how many are dead versus how many survive, it engages in: DEFINITION 75 Framing TERM 76 What is NOT a news management technique as discussed in class? DEFINITION 76 Priming TERM 77 According to Green and Gerber (2008), there is a _____________ correlation between television political advertising volume and turnout. DEFINITION 77 Weak, Positive