POLS 1101 Final Exam Bankert |71 Questions and
Answers
public opinion - -citizens' attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, & events
-3 concepts of public opinion - -values (or beliefs), political ideology, & attitude (or
opinion)
-values - -basic principles that shape a person's opinions about political issues & events
-political ideology - -a cohesive set of beliefs that forms a general philosophy about the
role of government
-attitude - -a specific preference on a particular issue
-2 main ideologies in America - -liberal & conservative
-liberal - -people who generally support social & political reform, governmental
intervention in economy, more economic equality, expansion of federal social services, &
greater concern for consumers & the environment
-conservative - -people who generally support the social & economic status quo & are
suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulae & economic arrangements; believe
that a large & powerful government poses a threat to citizens' freedom
-4 polling effects - -social desirability bias, selection bias, push polling, & bandwagon effect
-social desirability bias - -the effect that results when respondents in a survey report what
they expect the interviewer wishes to hear rather than what they believe
-selection bias - -polling error that arises when the sample is not representative of the
population being studied, which creates errors in over representing or under representing
some opinions
-push polling - -a polling technique in which the questions are designed to shape the
respondent's opinion
-bandwagon effect - -a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public-opinion
polls report as the front-runner
-media ownership - -concentrated; 75% of newspapers owned by 6 main companies;
media monopolies
, -how media influences public opinion - -framing (episodic vs. thematic), agenda-setting &
selection bias, & priming
-framing - -the power of the media to influence how events & issues are interpreted
-agenda-setting - -the power of the media to bring public attention to particular issues &
problems
-priming - -process of preparing the public to take a particular view of an event or political
actor
-2 ways political parties form - -internal or external mobilization
-internal mobilization - -when political conflicts prompt officials & competing factions
within government to mobilize popular support
-external mobilization - -when a group of politicians outside government organizes
popular support to win governmental power
-winner-take-all vs. proportional representation - -the person who gets the majority vote
wins vs. a multiple-member district system allows each party representation in proportion
to its percentage of the total vote
-function of third parties - -add their own interests to the publicized agendas of the major
parties; are absorbed
-party identification - -an individual voter's psychological ties to one party or another
-party polarization - -the ideals of the congressmen in office have been increasingly more
liberal or more conservative with few to no moderates; esp. conservative movement
-3 reasons why people vote - -SES (edu., income, age), political environment, state
electoral laws
-4 types of elections in America - -primary (closed & open), general, ballot initiative, &
referendum
-primary election - -elections within a political party to select the party's candidate for the
general election; closed, voters can only vote for a party they belong to, during a specific
time period; open, voter can wait until day of primary to choose the party to vote for
-general election - -a regularly scheduled election involving most districts in the nation or
state, in which voters decide who wins office; in the U.S., held on the first Tuesday &
following first Monday of November on even-numbered years
Answers
public opinion - -citizens' attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, & events
-3 concepts of public opinion - -values (or beliefs), political ideology, & attitude (or
opinion)
-values - -basic principles that shape a person's opinions about political issues & events
-political ideology - -a cohesive set of beliefs that forms a general philosophy about the
role of government
-attitude - -a specific preference on a particular issue
-2 main ideologies in America - -liberal & conservative
-liberal - -people who generally support social & political reform, governmental
intervention in economy, more economic equality, expansion of federal social services, &
greater concern for consumers & the environment
-conservative - -people who generally support the social & economic status quo & are
suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulae & economic arrangements; believe
that a large & powerful government poses a threat to citizens' freedom
-4 polling effects - -social desirability bias, selection bias, push polling, & bandwagon effect
-social desirability bias - -the effect that results when respondents in a survey report what
they expect the interviewer wishes to hear rather than what they believe
-selection bias - -polling error that arises when the sample is not representative of the
population being studied, which creates errors in over representing or under representing
some opinions
-push polling - -a polling technique in which the questions are designed to shape the
respondent's opinion
-bandwagon effect - -a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public-opinion
polls report as the front-runner
-media ownership - -concentrated; 75% of newspapers owned by 6 main companies;
media monopolies
, -how media influences public opinion - -framing (episodic vs. thematic), agenda-setting &
selection bias, & priming
-framing - -the power of the media to influence how events & issues are interpreted
-agenda-setting - -the power of the media to bring public attention to particular issues &
problems
-priming - -process of preparing the public to take a particular view of an event or political
actor
-2 ways political parties form - -internal or external mobilization
-internal mobilization - -when political conflicts prompt officials & competing factions
within government to mobilize popular support
-external mobilization - -when a group of politicians outside government organizes
popular support to win governmental power
-winner-take-all vs. proportional representation - -the person who gets the majority vote
wins vs. a multiple-member district system allows each party representation in proportion
to its percentage of the total vote
-function of third parties - -add their own interests to the publicized agendas of the major
parties; are absorbed
-party identification - -an individual voter's psychological ties to one party or another
-party polarization - -the ideals of the congressmen in office have been increasingly more
liberal or more conservative with few to no moderates; esp. conservative movement
-3 reasons why people vote - -SES (edu., income, age), political environment, state
electoral laws
-4 types of elections in America - -primary (closed & open), general, ballot initiative, &
referendum
-primary election - -elections within a political party to select the party's candidate for the
general election; closed, voters can only vote for a party they belong to, during a specific
time period; open, voter can wait until day of primary to choose the party to vote for
-general election - -a regularly scheduled election involving most districts in the nation or
state, in which voters decide who wins office; in the U.S., held on the first Tuesday &
following first Monday of November on even-numbered years
