Government 2305 Chapter 6

Values or Beliefs

- constitute a person's basic orientation to politics. - basic principle that shape a person's opinions about political issues and events. - liberty, democracy, and equality of opportunity are basic political values

Liberals believe

- in less government intervention in economic and social realms. - Equality is most important of the core values.

Liberals oppose state involvement

- in religious institutions and state sanction of religious expression. - Support arm control - Aid to poor nations and international organization - oppose the development and testing of nuclear weapons and use of american troops to influence affairs of developing nations. - oppose military wars - Under Obama administration tolerated military interventions in other countries.

Liberals encourage government action

- in such areas as college admissions and business practices to enhance race, class, and gender equality of opportunity. - Support programs and redistribute taxation to promote equality of opportunity.

Characteristic of Contemporary America

- is economic inequality - is increasing by some measures

Socialism argue that more government

- is necessary to promote justice and reduce economic and social inequality. - Liberty is the core value.

Conservatives oppose

- many efforts of the government - Well intentioned to interfere in private life and marketplace.

Political Socialization

The induction of individuals into the political culture; learning the underlying beliefs and values on which the political system is based.

Conservatism opposed

abortion, gay marriage and the use of mandatory school busing to achieve the racial integration of schools.

Most Americans believe that

all individuals should be allowed to seek personal and economic success.

Geographic sorting

also contributes to mass polarization.

Public opinion is easily manipulated

and not encouraging for democracy which relies on citizens to play significant part in the governmental process.

"Linked fate"

are African Americans see their fate as linked to other members of the black community, this linked fate acts as a sort of a filter through which black Americans evaluate information and determine their own opinions and policy preferences.

The ideas in political life

are developed and spread not only by government officials but also by important economic and political groups searching for issues that will advance their cause.

Mixing Ideology both conservatives and liberals

are far from monolithic ideologies and most Americans consider themselves moderates with shades of liberal and conservative values.

Three forces that play important roles

are government, private groups, and the news media.

The power of the media to shape public opinion

are important tool for measuring how the media and government shape political attitudes.

Many Americans believe that governmental solutions to problems

are inherently inferior to solutions offered by the private sector.

Disadvantage groups

are more likely to abstain from giving answers mainly due to lack of political relevant information available.

Although the American political system is open to everyone, some voices

are more likely to be listened to than others, such as those of the wealthy.

Martin Gilens survey results that those with higher incomes

are more likely to have their policy preferences represented by actual policies.

Black Protestants, Hispanic Catholics, Jews, unaffiliated religions

are more on Democratic side.

Zaller concluded that public opinions

are often unstable and unreliable because elite sources provide competing information and they focus on different messages at different times.

Young accepting legalization of marijuana

because young are more likely to use this substance recreationally.

Gender gap a distinctive pattern of voting

behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men.

All governments try to manipulate, influence, or manage their citizen

belief through media these days.

Market place of Ideas the public forum in which

beliefs and ideas are exchanged and complete are the major forces that shape public opinion.

There are many instances in which public policy and public opinion do not coincide

but often the government's actions are consistent with citizens' preferences at least in the most general sense.

Critical citizens are characterized

by high expectations of democracy as an ideal and yet low evaluations of the actual performance of government.

American today most likely to read news

by scanning and skimming multiple headlines online in bits and bytes.

Dennis Chong and Jamie Druckman measure framing effects on public opinion

by testing the effect of competing frames to create more realistic models of real world political debate where citizens are exposed to multiple perspectives on candidates and political issues.

Underlying preferences

called voting correctly

Frames of specific events

can have major impact on popular responses and opinions about these events.

Better informed individuals

can recognize their political interests and act consistently to further those interest.

Low level

cause concern.

Liberatism in the 20th century,

coalesced around the doctrine of "social liberalism" which held that gov't action might be needed to preserve individual liberty.

Socialization Foster differences in political perspectives

include the family and social networks, membership in social groups, party affiliation, education, self-interest, and political environment.

Christians and Catholics are

more conservative than Protestants on moral issues, such as abortion, same sex marriage, marriage, gambling, and etc...

Men are

more likely favor policies to protect the gov't and support the gov't social and health programs.

Higher psychological reactions were

more likely to favor defense spending, capital punishment, patriotism, and the Iraq War.

For political surveys to be accurate representation of the population requirements

need to meet by sampling method, a sufficient sampling size, and avoidance of selection bias.

The Tea Party movement advocates

private sector solutions to the problems that face society.

47% of white respondents thought

racism fairly or very common.

Robert Wolf former chief executive at the UBS bank

raised more than $500,000 for Obama in 2012 and a member of president's council on jobs and competitiveness.

Need a complete list of all people in U.S. and individual are

randomly selected.

Political shortcuts for political evaluation and decision making

rather than engaging in a lengthy process of information gathering.

As Democrats they become supporters of the New Deal and the Post New Deal

social programs that expanded greatly in size and power of the National Government.

1990s shifted become

solid Democratic targeting racial and ethnic minorities endorsed by the Republican Party in the 1990s including immigration, affirmative action, and bilingual education.

Two thirds of Americans favored the 2001 federal cuts

supported by President George W. Bush, even the tax disproportionately benefited the very wealthy and increase economic inequality.

President Obama and Governor Chris Christie

tend to overlap with the ideologies of the majority of Americans and thus often win elections.

Sampling error (or margin of error) polling error

that arises based on the small size of the sample.

Online processing model Milton Lodge suggested

that individual keeps a running tally of information and uses that tally to decide which candidate to vote for or to form an opinion on a policy issue.

John Zaller believes

that opinion formation is based on an individual memory.

A system of rule

that permits citizens to play a significant part in the government process, usually through the election of key public officials.

Political scientist James Druckman, Erik Peterson, and Rune Slothuus found stark evidence

that polarized political environments change how citizens make decisions and form opinions.

Assistance for the poor 2/3 seem to believe

that the government is spending too little. When welfare was substituted half of the respondents indicate that too much is being spent.

Political scientist Larry Bartels conclude

that the public does not seem able to translate a concern for economic self-interest into policy preferences that would benefit average citizens.

The silent scream to highlight

the agony and pain ostensibly felt by the unborn when they were being aborted.

Morris Fiorina refute

the common belief that Americans are deeply divided in their political views, showing that on a broad range issues, ranging from homosexuality, to abortion, most Americans hold moderate opinion.

The Bandwagon Effect a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public opinion polls report as

the front runner.

2102 36% social networking site users say

those sites are important for their political information

12% African Americans

thought it was rare.

86% African Americans

thought racism was common

Richard Lau and David Redlawsk argue that most individuals rely on cues from party elites and media

to aid the attitude formation for examples: friends, relatives, colleagues, and religious leaders.

California Republican Governor in 1970 Ronald Reagan went on in the 1980s

to become the most admired Republican presidents ushering in the tax revolt and deregulating many government policies.

General belief in turn may lead individuals

to form negative views of specific government programs even before they know much about them.

Conservatism particularly oppose efforts

to impose government regulation on business, maintaining that regulation frequently leads to economic efficiency is costly and can ultimately lower the entire nation's standard of living by making US manufactured products more expensive and less competitive.

In 2009, the conservatives joined rising the Tea Party movement

to protest President Obama's efforts to expand the role of the federal government, especially health care.

People who are fearful appear

to support policies that protect the existing social structure from both external and internal threats.

Government use public education

to try to teach all children a common set of civic values.

Benjamin Page and Robert Shapiro studied the relationship between macro-level changes in opinion

towards various political issues and the policy outcomes that most closely correspond to the issues and result shows shift in public opinion on particular issues.

The media are

very much opinion makers in their own right and have enormous impact on popular attitudes

Liberalism who favored individual initiative and

was suspicious o the motives of government and of its ability to manage economic and social affairs.

Slavery and segregation

were defeated in the arena of public opinion because their practices differed so sharply.

Many Americans have little knowledge about government and their opinion about

what government should do ar often shifting and inconsistent.

Proponents to ensure equality of opportunity

whereas opponents believe affirmative action is a form of preferential treatment that violates basic American values.

For 200 years the Americans embraced the principles of equality of opportunity and individual liberty

while denying them in practice to generations of African Americans.

Today's liberal

- are social rather than classical. - Support abortion rights -Rights for gays and lesbians - Concerned about the protecting rights of people accused of crimes

Public Opinion

- citizen's attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events. - refers to the attitudes that people have about issues, events, elected officials, and of course politics and policy. - there is a renewed understanding that opinions about issues and politics have emotional underpinnings as well.

15 years PEW survey indicates as of 2012

, 39% conservatives, 37% moderates, and 23% liberals unchanged since 1990.

Example civil liberties related to privacy and security of personal information

- 2013 court fails to restrain to collect data on antiterrorism policies - The fact that gov't surveillance

1958-2013

- 73% in 1960 trust in government when Eisenhower was president. 19% under Obama.

Shows there is a consensus among Americans on fundamental values.

- 86% believe that society should do what it takes to ensure equality of opportunity - 70% believe Americans shouldn't have to give up freedom in order to protect their security.

Equality of opportunity

- A widely shared American ideal that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential. - Most Americans believe that all individuals should be allowed to seek personal and economic success.

Costs to Democracy

- First, those who lack political information cannot effectively defend their own political interests and can easily become losers in political struggles - Second, lack of knowledge can contribute to growing political and economic inequity.

Liberty

- Freedom from governmental control - Remains important in contemporary politics as it was during the founding era.

Representative Samples

- Is what statisticians call simple random sample or probability sample. - A method used by pollsters to select a representative sample in which every individual in the population has an equal probability of being selected as a respondent.

Self Interest

- Objective Political interest social groups can affect political beliefs. -The interest of the rich and the poor differ significantly.

Political Values

- Share common sets of values - Belief in principles - Actual practice of liberty, equality, and democracy

Race

- Social groups to which individual belong. - National, religious, gender, racial groups - Political parties, labor unions, the military and environmental, educational and occupational groups. - Can give individuals experiences and perspective to shape their view of political and social life.

Social Desirability Effects

- The effect that the results when respondents in a survey report what they expect the interviewer wishes to hear rather than what they believe. - Can be inaccurate when surveys include questions about sensitive issues for which individuals who do not want to share their true preferences. - Fear of social retribution or what might be deemed "political incorrect" opinions.

Political Ideology

- a cohesive set of beliefs that forms a general philosophy about the role of government. - refers to a complex set of beliefs and values that as a whole form a general philosophy about government

Attitudes (or Opinion)

- a specific preference on a particular issue, person, or event. - the attitude or opinion may have emerged from broad belief but the opinion itself may be very specific. - some attitudes may be short lived and can change based on changing circumstances or new information

Factors

- affects individuals interest but also shape their experiences and upbringing do influence Americans beliefs and opinions. - Race, Gender, Income, Age, Religion, and Region

Betsy Sinclair argues that individuals

- are "social citizens" whose political opinions and behavior are significantly shaped by peer influence, including friends and families. - 2013, 51% recognized gay and lesbian marriage, 42% opposed. In 2011 majority oppose same sex-marriage.

Americans believe that every citizens

- should have the opportunity to take part in the nation's governmental and policy-making process - Right to vote on elections

Liberals argue

- that the gov't is wasteful and interferes with free markets and society and so it should be limited to as few spheres of activity as possible.

Today's conservatives espouse

- the views of classical liberalism. - Oppose the expansion of governmental activity - Asserting that solutions to social and economic problems can and should be developed in the private sector. - Opposed to increasing taxes - Preferring to cut government spending instead.

2013

10% republicans, 17% independent, and 28% democrats indicate they trust gov't.

October 2003

85% Republican 39% Democratic vote for war on Iraq.

Libertarianism

A political ideology that emphasizes freedom and voluntary association with small government.

Socialism

A political ideology that emphasizes social ownership and strong government.

Sample

A small group selected by researchers to represent the most important characteristics of an entire population.

Skim and Scan

Affecting political knowledge is the form in which people consume information.

Political Environment

American Southerners were staunch members of the Democratic Party from the civil war through the 1960's.

Liberatism

Called themselves progressives.

Political consciousness

Example, Vietnam war or September 11 can leave an indelible mark on a person

Religion

Important predictor of opinion of a wide range of issues particularly involving morality or family.

Pollster used census data.

List of household, telephone numbers.

Agents of Socialization

Social institutions including families and schools that helps to shape individuals' basic political beliefs and values.

Trust in Government

Most important measures of public opinion in a democracy

Party Affiliation

Political party membership is one of the most important factors affecting political orientation.

Selection Bias

Polling errors arises when the sample is not representative of the population being studied, which creates errors in over representing or underrepresenting some opinions.

Conservatism

Refer to those who generally support the social and economic status quo and are suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulae and economic arrangements, conservatives believe that a large and powerful government poses a threat to citizens' freedom.

Face to face surveys

Remain the most valuable and accurate way to conduct interviews and thus, ANES is an important source of survey data in political science.

Issues on national security,

Republicans become more hawkish, and democratic become more dovish

The fetal "right of life" seek to outlaw abortion and overturn the Supreme Court's 1973

Roe v Wade decision was developed by conservative's politicians by linking both groups of Catholics and Protestant to the Republican Parties for 30 years.

Survey Design and Questioning Wording

The precise words in a question can have an enormous impact on the answers of elicits

Nicolas Carr's book The Shallows:

What the internet is doing to our brain, "Is google making us stupid?" and answer is yes.

Gender

Women tend to oppose military intervention more than men

Mixing Ideology George W. Bush called himself

conservative" to indicate he favored programs that assist the poor and needy.

High levels of political trust

create legitimacy for democratic

Economic opportunity is

defined aa a good job and decent standard of living, is core value in American politics.

80% of African American and minorities

do not get equal treatment under the law and 40% from whites.

Internet access is

emerging as an important form of equality of opportunity by providing online access to job opportunities, news, politics, commerce, and other benefits of digital citizenship.

Public Opinion Polls scientific instruments

for measuring public opinions

Fall 2013 government shutdown

for two weeks over budget.

2013 Pew survey

found 50% of Americans believe that federal courts fail to provide adequate restraint on telephone, email, and internet data the gov't collects as part of the antiterrorism policies.

Liberalism to those who generally support social and political reform,

governmental intervention in the economy and more economic equality, expansion of federal social services, and greater concern for consumers and the environment.

Transformation in the digital era has

had a profound effect on the way the news is reported and how citizen obtain information about politics.

Republican Party

has become increasingly conservative

Democratic Party

has become more liberal.

Conservatism on international affair

has come to mean support for military intervention and the maintenance of American military power.

Partisan realignment in the south and congressional redistricting

have reduced the number of conservative Democrats and all but eliminated Liberal Republicans from the congress.

The consent of the governed demanded in the declaration of independence

is a critical for the functioning of a democracy.

Right-to-life

is for advancing their cause

Frequent church attenders and those who indicate religion and prayers

is important in their lives.

The fact that gov't surveillance

is of increasing concern and the value of liberty matters.

Who has money, standing in the polls, and a candidate who has momentum that

is one who demonstrates lead in the poll?

49% thought

it was rare

Conservatism concern about

law and order

New research shows that

many of our political beliefs may have a genetic basis and thus be "hard-wired".

Public opinion among blacks and whites

may be based on views of the role of race in the criminal justice system.

Political Elites and member of the congress

may be highly polarized, there is general agreement among most Americans.

Adam Berinsky found that certain segments of the population

may lack insufficient knowledge in public policy to give informed opinion.

Polarization between two parties

means that party endorsements.

Walter Lippmann an influential political commentator

of the mid twentieth century argued that public opinion is but an echo of elite position on policy issues and many others studying public opinion agree.

Random digit dialing drawing samples

of the national population of landlines and cell phone numbers.

Mixing Ideology on Public opinion

often trends with the policy preferences of elites

Public opinion does indeed have a significant impact

on public policy, especially foreign policy.

Our genes also shape

our political beliefs and public opinion.

Partisan tend to rely on

party leaders and the media for cues on the appropriate position to take on major political issues.

Conservatism social policy support

school prayer and traditional family arrangement

1960's majority of southern white

shifted to Republicans because of Racial Issues

A widely shared American ideal that all people

should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential.

40 years since the Watergate scandal led by Washington Post

since the publication of the Pentagon Papers by the New York Times, media have relentlessly investigated personal and official wrongdoing on the part of politicians and public officials.

Education is

the most important mechanism obtaining equality of opportunity in that it allows individuals regardless of personal or family wealth, a chance to get ahead.

Success should be

the result of individual effort and ability rather than family connections or other forms of special privilege.

Education is

the third most important source of differences in political perspectives. It may be the great equalizer.

The widespread tendency to base survey responses on

the way questions are worded or "framed" provides a way to measure public opinion through what are called framing experiments.

Mainly in school that Americans acquire

their basic belief in liberty, equality, and democracy.

Americans are becoming more and more disenchanted

with traditional political institutions; public approval of congress reached a low of 10 % in 2014.

Example, an individual who has a negative feeling about gov't intervention in America's economic and society

would probably be predisposed to oppose the development of new social and health care programs.