POLS 1101 UGA Glas Exam 3 Study Guide |135
Questions and Answers
Basic constitutional guarantees in the United States allows citizens to express their views
freely and compel government leaders to take the public's opinions into account if they
want to keep their jobs. The constitutional guarantees make it possible and essential for
political leaders and policy advocates to try to shape and mobilize public opinion on behalf
of their causes. Public opinion is so multi-dimensional because of the multitude of
expressions by people. - -How is public opinion multi-dimensional?
-The media is the primary source of information about the government for the public. The
media often pulls the 'fire alarm' to alert the public and keep them informed about what is
happening in the government. - -Explain the relationship between the media, the public,
and the government
-Political parties influence government by coordinating the group activities necessary to
translate public preferences into public policy. They recruit and train leaders, foster
political participation, teach new citizens democratic habits and practices, and knit citizens
and leaders together in electoral and policy coalitions and allow citizens to hold their
elected agents collectively responsible for what the government does. - -Identify and
define what a political party is and how they influence government
-Lobbyists are professionals who work to influence public policy in favor of their clients'
interests. Lobbying is activities through which individuals, interest groups, and other
institutions seek to influence public policy by persuading government officials to support
their groups' position. - -What exactly is a lobbyist and what is lobbying?
-Political participation is activities of citizens that attempt to influence the structure of
government, the selection of government officials, or the policies of the government. There
are two kinds: conventional (voting, volunteering on campaigns, giving money to
candidates) and unconventional (protesting, striking, demonstrations). - -Define political
participation and give examples of different ways in which people can participate in the
democratic process
-Political socialization, political cognition, and political knowledge influence what people
believe is the most important in the aspect of public opinion. - -How do people weigh
different dimensions of public opinion differently, based on their own values?
-Democratic and Republican - -Which parties are dominant in the US?
-Voting, volunteering, and giving money are the most common forms of political
participation because they are the easiest and don't pose a high cost (opportunity or
monetary) on participants. Most people participate in these ways also because not many
,are particularly mobilized by any candidate/party to participate any further. - -What kinds
of political participation are the most common and why?
-A political party is a group with common beliefs/goals that organize to win elections,
operate the government, and make public policy. An interest group is a group of people
who share common policy interests who interact with governing branches to persuade
government actors to find legislation in their favor - -What is/are the primary differences
between political parties and interest groups?
-News media links the public and the government. They report on the events happening in
government and can easily influence what viewers think about what's happening in
government, encouraging them to hold elected officeholders accountable. - -Explain the
role that media plays in informing the public about politics and government
-Political participation allows voters to hold those in office accountable for their actions.
Voters influence decisions impacting the public by deciding who stays in office and who
leaves office. By voting, citizens maintain democratic accountability and can elect their
preferred candidate - -Why does political participation matter? Identify the key role that
individuals play in the government.
-The Democratic party is the oldest political party in the US, drawing its roots back to
Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans, formed to oppose the Federalists. The Democratic
party was solidified by Andrew Jackson's era as president. The Republican party emerged
in 1854 as an antislavery coalition, drawing members and leaders from different failing
parties. Strangely, the Republican party was triumphant in challenging the two-party
system, electing their first president, Abraham Lincoln. - -What are the origins of our
current parties?
-In the digital age, consumers expect a nonstop (24-hour) news cycle, forcing news outlets
to want to be the first to report on breaking news. However, this speed often ends up
causing them to run headlines that have incorrect facts or are entirely wrong. Editors
package the news in more sensational ways with bigger, bolder, and more salacious
headlines. Political bias comes out in the selection of which news is reported on and how it
is reported on. - -How do market forces shape the frequency, tone, and reliability of news
in the digital age?
-Inattentive publics often free ride off the efforts of interest groups, benefitting from the
policy that the groups push to produce without having contributing to any of it (monetary
or time-wise). There is a strong incentive to free ride and rely on the groups to provide
benefits, because if there's a policy change, it applies to everyone, even if only a certain few
spent their time/money/resources to make the change. - -Explain the free rider problem
interest groups face?
-With contributions from members, interest groups can advocate for the members' best
interests through policy that protects them or proliferates their interests. For example,
people in certain industries pay dues for union workers to advocate for better wages,
, benefits, and regulations for their members. Private interest groups are mostly unions that
represent workers and laborers. - -What kinds of incentives to interest groups provide
supporters, and prospective supporters, for their contribution to the group or participation
in its efforts?
-Those that: have higher levels of education and income, have the ability to take time out of
their day, are older, have higher internal efficacy, and have stronger partisan views and
electoral preferences are most likely to vote. People participate when they believe all the
costs involved in the process are worth the potential benefit of seeing their candidate of
choice elected to office. Voting is rational for the individuals who derive personal
satisfaction from going to the polls. Expressing themselves through voting outweighs the
typically modest cost of voting. - -When are people most likely to vote or participate in
politics? Why?
-The Founding Fathers believed that there should be as many parties as there are interests
in the United States. Realignment occurs frequently, but it's not predictable. Slavery was
the main defining factor of political parties, and the parties fed the American people that
issue, until the 1890s when it was abolished and they had to think of something else to
supply American people with political issues. During the Progressive Era, people start
identifying with a party based on ethnicity, race, religion, and other personal factors.
Certain parties attracted certain types of groups (Republicans were pro-immigration,
white-collar, big business people while Democrats were anti-immigration, blue-collar,
working-class people). Social groups became the basis of party alignment. During the Great
Depression, African Americans (who previously supported Republicans, the party of
Lincoln) began to support FDR and the Democratic - -How and why have parties in the US
changed over time?
-People often let their political identities (attitudes, perceptions, and viewpoints about
government and politics) cloud their ability to think logically. Other things that affect public
opinion include: political culture and socialization, limited political education, and how
views are shaped by the government, and mass media - -What factors influence public
opinion? How does partisanship cloud people's ability to process political information
logically?
-Mass communication is easier and cheaper because of the Internet. As more people read
newspapers on the internet, the need for physical newspapers has declined steadily. The
Internet has promoted a nonstop, 24-hour news cycle. On the Internet, stories are
packaged in a way to appear more sensationalized to grab readers' attention.
Legacy media is "old media"--print, radio broadcasting, and television. Digital-only media is
digitized content that can be transmitted over the internet or computer networks. Social
media is networks that link people and allow the exchange of personal/professional
information and common interests. - -How has the internet changed the production of
news? What is the difference between legacy media, digital-only media, and social media?
-Political socialization, the transmission of values, social networks, and environmental
factors. Experience also shapes political values. - -How are political values shaped?
Questions and Answers
Basic constitutional guarantees in the United States allows citizens to express their views
freely and compel government leaders to take the public's opinions into account if they
want to keep their jobs. The constitutional guarantees make it possible and essential for
political leaders and policy advocates to try to shape and mobilize public opinion on behalf
of their causes. Public opinion is so multi-dimensional because of the multitude of
expressions by people. - -How is public opinion multi-dimensional?
-The media is the primary source of information about the government for the public. The
media often pulls the 'fire alarm' to alert the public and keep them informed about what is
happening in the government. - -Explain the relationship between the media, the public,
and the government
-Political parties influence government by coordinating the group activities necessary to
translate public preferences into public policy. They recruit and train leaders, foster
political participation, teach new citizens democratic habits and practices, and knit citizens
and leaders together in electoral and policy coalitions and allow citizens to hold their
elected agents collectively responsible for what the government does. - -Identify and
define what a political party is and how they influence government
-Lobbyists are professionals who work to influence public policy in favor of their clients'
interests. Lobbying is activities through which individuals, interest groups, and other
institutions seek to influence public policy by persuading government officials to support
their groups' position. - -What exactly is a lobbyist and what is lobbying?
-Political participation is activities of citizens that attempt to influence the structure of
government, the selection of government officials, or the policies of the government. There
are two kinds: conventional (voting, volunteering on campaigns, giving money to
candidates) and unconventional (protesting, striking, demonstrations). - -Define political
participation and give examples of different ways in which people can participate in the
democratic process
-Political socialization, political cognition, and political knowledge influence what people
believe is the most important in the aspect of public opinion. - -How do people weigh
different dimensions of public opinion differently, based on their own values?
-Democratic and Republican - -Which parties are dominant in the US?
-Voting, volunteering, and giving money are the most common forms of political
participation because they are the easiest and don't pose a high cost (opportunity or
monetary) on participants. Most people participate in these ways also because not many
,are particularly mobilized by any candidate/party to participate any further. - -What kinds
of political participation are the most common and why?
-A political party is a group with common beliefs/goals that organize to win elections,
operate the government, and make public policy. An interest group is a group of people
who share common policy interests who interact with governing branches to persuade
government actors to find legislation in their favor - -What is/are the primary differences
between political parties and interest groups?
-News media links the public and the government. They report on the events happening in
government and can easily influence what viewers think about what's happening in
government, encouraging them to hold elected officeholders accountable. - -Explain the
role that media plays in informing the public about politics and government
-Political participation allows voters to hold those in office accountable for their actions.
Voters influence decisions impacting the public by deciding who stays in office and who
leaves office. By voting, citizens maintain democratic accountability and can elect their
preferred candidate - -Why does political participation matter? Identify the key role that
individuals play in the government.
-The Democratic party is the oldest political party in the US, drawing its roots back to
Jefferson's Democratic-Republicans, formed to oppose the Federalists. The Democratic
party was solidified by Andrew Jackson's era as president. The Republican party emerged
in 1854 as an antislavery coalition, drawing members and leaders from different failing
parties. Strangely, the Republican party was triumphant in challenging the two-party
system, electing their first president, Abraham Lincoln. - -What are the origins of our
current parties?
-In the digital age, consumers expect a nonstop (24-hour) news cycle, forcing news outlets
to want to be the first to report on breaking news. However, this speed often ends up
causing them to run headlines that have incorrect facts or are entirely wrong. Editors
package the news in more sensational ways with bigger, bolder, and more salacious
headlines. Political bias comes out in the selection of which news is reported on and how it
is reported on. - -How do market forces shape the frequency, tone, and reliability of news
in the digital age?
-Inattentive publics often free ride off the efforts of interest groups, benefitting from the
policy that the groups push to produce without having contributing to any of it (monetary
or time-wise). There is a strong incentive to free ride and rely on the groups to provide
benefits, because if there's a policy change, it applies to everyone, even if only a certain few
spent their time/money/resources to make the change. - -Explain the free rider problem
interest groups face?
-With contributions from members, interest groups can advocate for the members' best
interests through policy that protects them or proliferates their interests. For example,
people in certain industries pay dues for union workers to advocate for better wages,
, benefits, and regulations for their members. Private interest groups are mostly unions that
represent workers and laborers. - -What kinds of incentives to interest groups provide
supporters, and prospective supporters, for their contribution to the group or participation
in its efforts?
-Those that: have higher levels of education and income, have the ability to take time out of
their day, are older, have higher internal efficacy, and have stronger partisan views and
electoral preferences are most likely to vote. People participate when they believe all the
costs involved in the process are worth the potential benefit of seeing their candidate of
choice elected to office. Voting is rational for the individuals who derive personal
satisfaction from going to the polls. Expressing themselves through voting outweighs the
typically modest cost of voting. - -When are people most likely to vote or participate in
politics? Why?
-The Founding Fathers believed that there should be as many parties as there are interests
in the United States. Realignment occurs frequently, but it's not predictable. Slavery was
the main defining factor of political parties, and the parties fed the American people that
issue, until the 1890s when it was abolished and they had to think of something else to
supply American people with political issues. During the Progressive Era, people start
identifying with a party based on ethnicity, race, religion, and other personal factors.
Certain parties attracted certain types of groups (Republicans were pro-immigration,
white-collar, big business people while Democrats were anti-immigration, blue-collar,
working-class people). Social groups became the basis of party alignment. During the Great
Depression, African Americans (who previously supported Republicans, the party of
Lincoln) began to support FDR and the Democratic - -How and why have parties in the US
changed over time?
-People often let their political identities (attitudes, perceptions, and viewpoints about
government and politics) cloud their ability to think logically. Other things that affect public
opinion include: political culture and socialization, limited political education, and how
views are shaped by the government, and mass media - -What factors influence public
opinion? How does partisanship cloud people's ability to process political information
logically?
-Mass communication is easier and cheaper because of the Internet. As more people read
newspapers on the internet, the need for physical newspapers has declined steadily. The
Internet has promoted a nonstop, 24-hour news cycle. On the Internet, stories are
packaged in a way to appear more sensationalized to grab readers' attention.
Legacy media is "old media"--print, radio broadcasting, and television. Digital-only media is
digitized content that can be transmitted over the internet or computer networks. Social
media is networks that link people and allow the exchange of personal/professional
information and common interests. - -How has the internet changed the production of
news? What is the difference between legacy media, digital-only media, and social media?
-Political socialization, the transmission of values, social networks, and environmental
factors. Experience also shapes political values. - -How are political values shaped?
