POLS EXAM 3

Make sure to understand the six guidelines for being a responsible consumer of polls

Consider the Reputation and Possible Motives of the Organization Conducting the Poll: Use good common sense. Examine Question Wording: Find how a question is worded, and look for the kinds of question-wording mistakes. Check the Target Population and Sampling Method: Is the sample appropriate for the target population? Assess the Sample Size and Margin of Error: If a margin of error is reported, consider the max and min estimates based on it. Compare Across Polls and Look at Poll Aggregators: Poll aggregators gather and average the result of multiple polls. Be Realistic in Your Expectations.

What are some potential solutions provided by the textbook to reduce the costs of voting related to election timing and location?

Convenience voting, making Election Day a national holiday, moving state and local elections to coincide with federal elections.

Make sure to know if the following tend to be liberal or conservative: Journalists

Liberal. Owners of (and shareholders) of major media organizations - Conservative

Major party and minor party

Major party: its members frequently win elections and it typically wins either a majority or sizable minority of seats in a legislature. Minor party: its members rarely if ever win elections and the party never wins more than a small minority of seats in a legislature

Minority party and majority party

Majority party: a party that controls over half the seats in a legislative body at any given time. Minority party: a party with less than half the seats in a legislative body at any given time

How does the textbook define media?

Means of mass communication such as newspapers, magazines, radio, television and the Internet. Journalists, editors, news organizations, etc. who use these channels of communication to inform the general public.

What resource does the textbook recommend for checking your voter registration status in Georgia and for registering to vote?

My Voter Page

What is "My Voter Page"? What kind of information can you get there? What voting-related tasks can you perform there?

My Voter Page is a website where you can register to vote, check your registration status, update your registration information, request an absentee ballot, check the status of your absentee ballot, find out where and when to vote, and look at all the issues and candidates that will be on your ballot prior to voting in person.

Net neutrality has been an important issue in the past decade. What is net neutrality? What is the debate around it? How did the Obama and the Trump administration each approach the issue?

Net neutrality is the idea that ISPs must treat all web traffic equally and may not be allowed to charge different rates or discriminate against different websites. It has been the default rule of the Internet. The Obama administration attempted to fortify net neutrality rules in 2015. The Trump administration ended net neutrality.

Be sure to know which of these media are regulated by either the courts, the Federal Communications Commission (FCC), or both

Newspapers: Courts. Television: FCC. Radio: FCC. Cable: FCC. Satellite: FCC

What is happening to local newspapers today and what impact is this having on the watchdog role of the media at the local level of government?

Newsroom employment declined by 50% between 2008 and 2019. There are half as many journalists and editors focused on local events today than there was less than 15 years ago.

What is the main difference between a strike and a boycott?

People refuse to work during strikes and people refuse to purchase goods or services when boycotting.

Do wealthier Americans and poorer Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does one economic group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?

People with higher income levels vote at higher rates than those with lower income levels.

What is meant by "poll aggregators"?

Poll aggregators gather and average the result of multiple polls.

What is the main difference between primary and general elections?

Primary elections are held to determine parties' nominees. General elections are where the parties' nominees run against each other to determine who serves in office.

Be sure to know the chronological development of news media sources from oldest type to newest

Print journalism; Radio coverage; network television; cable television; Internet

What, according to the textbook, are the "two vital functions a free press and independent media play in democracy"?

Promoting a free flow of information. Facilitating public commentary and debate over the public interest.

Are election laws mostly the same from state to state or do they tend to vary markedly across states? Why?

Amendments and federal laws establish general standards but states have wide discretion to run elections as they see fit. For this reason, election laws vary greatly from state to state.

Do highly educated Americans and less-educated Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does one education-level group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?

Americans who have never attended college vote at much lower rates than those who attended or graduated from college.

How, according to the textbook, can social media provide a third democratic function?

Social media helps coordinate collective political action. It helps like-minded people find one another, notify each other of political events and participation opportunities, and encourage each other to take action and contribute.

In modern America, soft news sources serve an important purpose in informing people. What is that purpose, according to the textbook?

Soft news presents news in an entertaining and approachable manner, painlessly introducing a variety of topics.

What are the main characteristics of thematic and episodic framing? Be sure to be able compare each type of frame

An episodic framing portrays an event as a stand-alone occurrence. A thematic frame seeks to put the event in broader context and compare it to longer-term trends.

Make sure to know and understand the three conditions that must be met for accurately measuring public opinion.

Ask questions in a way that accurately measures the opinions of a sample. Take a sample that is representative of the population from which it is drawn. Make sure the sample size is sufficiently large to yield an acceptable margin of error.

Which ideological group (liberals or conservatives) more often claims the mainstream media to be ideologically biased against them?

Conservatives and Republicans are adamant that the mainstream media has a liberal/Democratic Party bias.

Competitive market pressures lead news organizations to seek to both reduce the cost of producing news stories and (in order to raise advertising revenue) produce news stories that attract a large audience. How do these two factors explain why news organizations often fall short of the aspiration of providing relevant and useful information that helps citizens make wise and just decisions?

The claim that the news media is afflicted by market bias is a claim that the media too-often falls short of this standard due to the need to contend with competitive market pressures.

The first step in the voting process is to register to vote. How many days prior to Election Day must you register to vote in Georgia to be eligible to vote in that election?

The deadline is 30 days prior to Election Day.

How many weeks prior to Election Day does the early voting period last in Georgia? Do any states have longer early voting periods than this?

The early voting period lasts three weeks before Election Day.

What are the two primary forms of convenience voting?

The two primary forms of convenience voting are voting by mail, and absentee voting.

According to the textbook, is there evidence to suggest that governments tend to systematically serve the interests of those who vote and deserve those who do not vote?

There are elected officials who actually do check to see if the ones who reach out to them are registered active voters. They usually only pay attention if you are an active registered voter.

According to critics of voter ID laws, what impact do voter ID requirements have on the cost of voting for the young, the poor, and racial minorities?

They intentionally or unintentionally increase the cost of voting.

Over the past decade, have African American citizens tended to vote at higher, lower, or approximately the same rate as white Americans (i.e., non-Hispanic whites)?

White and African American citizens tend to vote at a relatively high and essentially same rate.

Memorize this phone number (the letters are fine): 1-866-OUR-VOTE. What are some things people can help you with if you call that number?

You can seek immediate, free assistance.

What is meant by "ideological bias"?

A form of bias in media

What is market bias?

A pervasive phenomenon influencing the content produced by the news media.

What is meant by "the bandwagon effect"?

A phenomenon when individuals decide to support a cause or candidate simply because polls demonstrate the popularity of the cause or candidate.

What is meant by "sample"? How does it relate to the population? How big is a typical sample in opinion polls conducted today?

A sample is a small subset of individuals drawn from a population. The scientific study of public opinion involves making estimates about the opinions of large populations based on polls conducted on small samples from those populations. Recent sample sizes are no more than 1,500 individuals.

Be sure to know and understand each of the following types of media effects (and how they differ from each other)

Agenda setting: The power of the media to influence what the public thinks about through its decisions to cover some events and issues more than others. Priming: The media influences how we think about an issue by leading us to unconsciously bring certain considerations to the top of our head when we evaluate the issue. Framing: The media influences how we think about an issue by highlighting particular considerations or aspects of the issue.

What, according to the textbook, is the most influential agent of socialization on children?

Family is the first and most influential socialization influence.

What is meant by "compulsory voting"? What impact has it been shown to have on voter turnout?

Compulsory voting is when citizens are legally required to vote and can expect to pay a fine or suffer some other punishment if they do not.

Do men and women currently vote at approximately the same rate, or does one sex tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?

Before 1980, men voted at higher rates than women. Since then, women have voted at a higher rate than men.

Be sure to know and understand the following terms

Civic Salad: Factually reliable, ideologically diverse, but not ideologically extreme. Civic Poison: Factually unreliable opinion, misinformation, and/or propaganda. Left/Right Wing Dessert: Factually reliable information, but extremely ideological content that should be consumed, if at all, in moderation.

What is civil disobedience? Be sure to know and understand some examples of civil disobedience.

Civil disobedience refers to the intentional breaking of the law to make a political point. Trespassing on government or corporate property; Minor Crimes against public order; Refusal to pay taxes, perform military service; Interference with public officials' performance of official duties.

Be able to define the delegate and trustee models of representation. What are they? How do they differ with respect to how they think public opinion should influence the government?

Delegate model of representation: the first duty of representatives is to follow the opinions of their constituents. The people who vote for representatives are the ones who should exercise judgement over questions of public policy and if representatives do not follow their lead, they deserve to be voted out of office in the next election. Trustee model of representation: representatives should not be strictly bound by the opinions of their constituents. Instead, the role of their representative is to act according to their own best judgement of what is just or what will promote the public good even if it is unpopular and leads to their being voted out of office in the next election.

Be able to associate the following concepts / labels with the correct corresponding major political party: color blue, color red, Grand Old Party (GOP), elephant, donkey, conservative, liberal, right, left

Democratic Party: Left, Liberal, Blue, Donkey. Republican Party: Grand Old Party(GOP), Right, Conservative, Red, Elephant.

What is meant by unmediated communication?

Direct communication with the public without going through the media's filter.

In Georgia, are elections administered by a single centralized agency, or are they administered by each county in the state?

Elections are administered by each of the 158 counties in the state.

What is epistocracy? Why, according to Jason Brennan, would it be better than a democratic system in which those who currently vote at low levels start voting at higher levels?

Epistocracy is when the government restricts voting to the highly informed. Brennan argues that citizens have a moral duty to abstain from voting if they are not highly informed about public affairs.

According to the textbook, there are two main dimensions used to assess media sources. Be sure to know and understand these dimensions.

Factual reliability and ideological bias.

According to the textbook, on what basis have six million American citizens over the age of 18 been disenfranchised?

Felony convictions/disenfranchisement

According to the textbook, when does ideological bias become a problem?

First, if one is exposed to biased content from only one ideological viewpoint. Second, if it leads toward false or misleading reporting.

In what kind of election—a general election or primary election—can the party identification of candidates potentially be a helpful heuristic for deciding how to vote?

General Elections

When (in even-numbered years or odd-numbered years) do elections occur for the following offices?

Georgia Senate: Every even-numbered years; Georgia House of Representatives: Every even-numbered years; U.S. House of Representatives: Every even-numbered years; U.S. President: Every fourth year; Major Georgia executive branch offices, such as Governor and Lieutenant Governor: Midterm election years; Atlanta Mayor: Every four years during odd-numbered years; Atlanta City Council: Every four years during odd-numbered years.

How does Georgia compare to other states in the extent to which it provides voters with convenience voting options (below average, average, or above average)?

Georgia is above average.

What is meant by the term "heuristics"? How does it apply to individuals that are not informed about politics?

Heuristics are information shortcuts used for making decisions. It implies that they do not have time to conduct research prior to answering questions on opinion polls.

At the same time, have Hispanic (Latino / Latina) citizens tended to vote at higher, lower, or approximately the same rate as African Americans?

Hispanic citizens tend to vote at lower rates as compared to African Americans.

What, according to your textbook, does Article X of the Georgia Constitution require for an amendment to the Georgia Constitution to be ratified (i.e., does it need to be a general or primary election, even or odd year, referendum or other)?

It can be ratified only after being placed on a ballot as a referendum item in a general election in an even-numbered year.

What is Section 230? Why is it controversial in today's social media environment?

It establishes that online platforms may not be sued for content posted by users on their sites even if the platforms act like publishers by, for example, moderating posts, establishing community standards, and distributing commercial advertisements.

How do those two concepts relate to the two vital democratic functions of the free press mentioned previously?

It helps the government to better serve the people and helps the citizens monitor the government and hold it accountable.

What is convenience voting?

It is when states allow flexible opportunities to vote besides traditional in-person voting at the polls on Election Day.

How does it create the "paradox of voting"?

It is when the puzzle of why anyone incurs to vote even though the probability of casting the deciding vote in an election is typically near zero.

What does it mean to say, "if you are not at the table, you are on the menu"? What implication does this have for the argument that it would be good to increase voter turnout among those who currently vote at disproportionately low rates?

It means that if you do not convey your views to elected officials through voting, your views will likely be ignored.

What does it mean that public opinion is focused on a target population?

It means the group whose aggregate opinion a researcher seeks to know.

What is meant by "citizen journalism"?

It occurs when citizens use their personal recording devices and cell phones to capture events and post them on the Internet.

Where does the term "the press" come from? HINT: It has to do with Johannes Gutenberg

It originates from Johannes Gutenburg's movable type printing press.

What is the "marketplace" of ideas?

It refers to the belief that the test of the truth or acceptance of ideas depends on their competition with one another.

What does "freedom of the press" typically mean today?

It refers to the freedom of journalists and news media organizations to report information without fear of censorship, financial penalty, imprisonment, physical abuse, or intimidation by the government.

When expressed as a formula, what does the D-Term variable represent?

It represents all the direct benefits from voting that are independent from whether one's vote is the decisive factor in the election.

What is the "Fairness Doctrine"? Is it still in use today?

It required licensed stations to cover controversial issues in a balanced manner by providing listeners with information about all perspectives on any controversial issue. It ended in the 1980s

What is the "equal time rule"? What is the consequence for television and radio stations that break this rule?

It states that registered candidates running for office must be given equal opportunities for airtime and advertisements at non-cable TV and radio stations beginning 45 days before a primary election and 60 days before a general election.

What is meant by the "funnel of causality"? How does it relate to socialization?

Over the course of a lifetime, the factors that influence us become fewer in number and more limited in impact.

What is no-excuse absentee voting? Does Georgia have this?

No-excuse absentee voting is when you do not need an excuse to vote absentee. Georgia is included in the 34 states that have this method.

Be sure to know and understand nonresponse bias and how it can lead to an unrepresentative sample.

Nonresponse bias: when individuals with certain characteristics are less likely to respond to surveys than others thus resulting in a sample that under-represents those who are less likely to respond.

Do younger Americans and older Americans tend to vote at approximately the same rate, or does one age group tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than the other (and if so, which one)?

Older Americans tend to vote at a significantly higher rate than younger Americans.

What is meant by "political predispositions"?

One's pre-existing attitudes, values, beliefs, and social identities that condition how one formulates opinions about public affairs.

Be able to recognize the following kinds of question-wording problems

Ordering effects: the order in which questions are asked on a poll can influence responses. Double barreled questions: question wording error in which survey researchers ask respondents a question about two or more issues but only allow them to give one answer. Leading questions: question wording error in which a question is worded in a way it sways the respondent toward one side of an argument.

How does the textbook define public opinion?

Public Opinion is when an aggregate measure of the beliefs, attitudes, judgements, and/or preferences of a population over matters of public concern.

Be able to describe, in terms of rational ignorance, why Americans tend to have low levels of political knowledge. Why, according to the concept of rational ignorance, do these two factors influence levels of knowledge: interest in politics and party identification?

Rational ignorance: related concept used by political scientists to explain American's low levels of political knowledge. According to this theory, the typical citizen knows little about politics and public affairs because they have little to gain personally by putting in the time and effort necessary to become informed about politics and public affairs. Due to the logic of rational ignorance, Americans generally do not become informed about politics unless they are predisposed toward being highly interested in politics and/oor to strongly identify with one of the two major political parties.

What is a referendum and how is it different from a citizen ballot initiative?

Referendum is a proposed law placed on a ballot by a legislative authority.

How does the textbook define a representative sample? Be sure to know and understand what it means to say a sample is demographically representative.

Representative sample: proportionately reflects the relevant diversity of opinions in the population. Demographically representative: proportionally reflects he racial, ethinic, religious, gender, and class diversity of the population.

What impact has same-day registration been shown to have on voter turnout? How does the rational choice model of voting explain this?

Same-day registration is estimated to increase voter turnout by an average of 5% and by as much as 7%.

To which level of government (local, state, national) does the U.S. Constitution give primary responsibility for regulating and administering elections for federal office?

States have the primary responsibility for regulating and administering elections.

What are strikes and boycotts?

Strikes are when a collective decision by a large number of people refuse to work in order to dramatize a situation or force those who are adversely affected to make concessions. Boycotts are when a collective refuses to purchase a particular good or service.

What is meant by "indecency regulations"? When (and why), according to textbooks, do current FCC regulations allow broadcasters to show indecent programming or air profane language?

The FCC maintains indecency regulations which keep the public airwaves free of obscene material. Broadcasters can show indecent programming or air profane language between the hours of 10pm and 6 am.

Which amendment of the U.S. Constitution and which section of the Georgia Constitution provide protections for the freedom of the press?

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. Section 1 of the Constitution of the State of Georgia

Why do pollsters generally not use samples sizes as large as 4,500?

The M.E. is significantly higher than samples sizes as small as 500.

What is the margin of error(M.E.)?

The amount of that measured sample value can be expected to deviate from the true population value.

Be sure to know how the Supreme Court has interpreted the freedom of the press. Has it passed judgments to limit the freedom of press at all?

The freedom of expression is forbidding most, but not all, content based restrictions on political expression.

The textbook claims the media can potentially mislead the public either when it is free from government control or when it is controlled by the government. Make sure to understand these two different ways the media can mislead the public

The government can avoid accountability for its actions and use various techniques to confuse, deceive, and thereby tighten its control over the people. The media's own biases and/or errors could lead it to mislead the public.

The rise of the Information Revolution accompanied by the proliferation of cable news has helped create a political knowledge gap in the United States and elsewhere. How does the textbook describe this process?

The information revolution opened up more options for media consumers but as a result, created a knowledge gap. Those with little to no interest in politics have been able to avoid political news more easily than before, and know very little about politics while those with a high interest in politics consume political news and are more knowledgeable than ever.

According to the textbook, the mediating role of the media has always been of concern. Make sure to understand what is meant by "mediating role" and the two general reasons it is of concern

The media mediates powerful authorities and the people. It is of concern because of its potential to either enlighten or mislead the public.

What is meant by "political socialization"? How does it relate to political predispositions?

The process by which our social environment leads us to develop attitudes that shape our orientation toward government and politics.

What is meant by "social desirability bias"? How does it impact the accuracy of opinion polls? And what is the easiest way to overcome it in terms of survey administration?

The propensity to answer questions inaccurately to put oneself in the best light possible is called social desirability bias. This may lead to inaccurate poll results. The easiest way to overcome it is anonymously over computers.

What is the resource model of voting and how does it relate to the rational choice model?

The resource model of voting emphasizes the importance of inequality in resources in creating inequalities in costs of voting.

Does the U.S. have a two-party system or multi party system?

Two Party System

Make sure to know and understand the "upside" and "downside" of unmediated communication according to the textbook

Upside: Politicians can escape unfair negative portrayals of themselves created by biases in the media. Downside: They can escape scrutiny from journalists who hold them accountable for corrupt activity, incompetent governance, and/or making false or misleading statements.

How does the voter turnout rate in U.S. presidential elections compare with the rate in major national elections in other OECD countries (i.e., is the U.S. rate above average or below average among those countries)?

Voter turnout in American presidential elections are low compared to turnout in other countries' major national elections.

Is voter turnout generally higher or lower in Presidential election years or in midterm election years? Is it generally higher in federal elections or in local elections? How about in even-numbered years versus odd-numbered years?

Voter turnout tends to be much higher in presidential election years than midterm election years. It tends to be even lower in local elections and odd-numbered years.

What does sample size have to do with the margin of error?

When the M.E. is higher, public opinion estimates based on samples are less precise.

How does the state of the economy influence how people feel about the government and politicians?

When the economy slows down and/or unemployment goes up, the public on average expresses lower approval for the president, Congress, and the political party of the president.

What is the "watchdog role" of the press?

When the press investigates and alerts the public about government wrongdoings.