Concurrent government chapter 6

_____ is the organized effort to advance (or block) a proposed public policy change.

issue advocacy

In his path-breaking book, Public Opinion, _____ insisted, "The masses are asses!"

lippmann

President _____ once remarked, "Tell me where a man comes from, how long he went to school, and where he worships on Sundays, and I'll tell you his political opinions."

lyndon johnson

Political _____ are individuals who control significant wealth, status, power, or visibility and consequently have significant influence over public debate.

elites

A margin of sampling _____ is a statistical measure of the accuracy of a poll's results.

error

Polling workers are usually _____ (which is another form of political participation).

unpaid volunteers

Economist John Kenneth Galbraith, coined the phrase _____ to describe America: the upper- middle class and those at the top of the wealth distribution are willing to fight hard to sustain their way of life, while those less well-off are increasingly discouraged from participating in political life.

"culture of contentment"

_____ is one way to explain why people of all ages, income levels, and educational backgrounds do not participate in political life.

1. Alienation 2. Barriers to participation 3. Complacency

One reason voter turnout in the United States is low is that _____.

1. elections are held on Tuesdays when many people work 2. the U.S. holds more frequent elections—national, state, and local 3. registering to vote can be burdensome and complicated

Basic life details, such as _____, are strong agents of socialization that help predict where people stand.

1. race and age 2. gender and ethnicity 3. one's level of education

Thirty-seven states now permit early voting, and more than _____ of the ballots are cast before Election Day.

1/3

In 1964, many counties across the Jim Crow South required African Americans to take a literary test in order to vote. Alabama required black voters earn a score of _____ percent to vote.

100

_____ states and the District of Columbia now permit registration and voting on the same day.

13

According to the text, for public opinion to guide government, _____ conditions must be met; this three-step process reflects the argument for public opinion's vital role in democratic governance.

3

Today, _____ percent of Americans rely on mobile phones rather than landlines.

47

More than _____ percent of high school drop-outs do not vote in presidential elections.

70

_____ optimists point out how easily people can respond or "talk back": ticking the "Like" icon, firing off an irate e-mail, or communicating with a network of like-minded people.

Clicktivism

Just under 50 percent of eligible voters in _____ communities vote.

Latino and Asian-American

_____ do not identify strongly with either political party—half of them call themselves independents.

Millennials

Citizens with _____ are more than twice as likely to vote in presidential elections.

a college degree

According to The Rational Public, a homeowner grasping the importance of interest-rate changes is an example of a/an _____ shortcut.

information

_____ are professional actors involved in political issue campaigns; they are increasingly valuable in winning attention to a cause.

actorvists

_____ Americans voted at a slightly higher rate than _____ Americans in the 2012 presidential election.

african; white

Polls help set the policy _____ (those issues the public considers important).

agenda

When _____ get politically involved, it is usually not through traditional channels but through direct action—intense and even violent protest.

alienated citizens

_____ from public life may be described as a feeling of powerlessness or an inability to control one's own political fate.

alienation

Although anyone can post and blog, not many develop _____.

an audience

A/n _____ rating is the measure of public support for a political figure or institution.

approval

The margin of error is the degree of _____ in any poll.

innacruacy

_____ is a movement for reform that appears to be grassroots but is actually mobilized by political professionals.

astroturf

The _____ effect is demonstrated when people join a cause because it seems popular or they support a candidate who is leading in the polls.

bandwagon

_____ polls are conducted by a campaign as the race begins to provide a basis for comparison.

benchmark

The _____ effect is described as the discrepancy between candidates' high poll ratings and election performance, caused by supporters' assumption that an easy win means they need not turn out.

boomerang

The apparent inclination of some survey respondents to avoid appearing racist or racially motivated is known as the _____ effect.

bradley

_____ polls are internal surveys conducted by a campaign once election season begins.

bushfire

Critics of online political activity decry the sustained power of _____ control by governments or corporations over the Internet and its users.

central

_____ is defined as protesting laws one considers unjust by refusing to obey them—and accepting the punishment.

civil disobedience

Volunteering for a cause or donating money to a local charity are forms of _____.

civil voluntarism

According to The Rational Public, _____ opinion is the key to assessing popular preferences.

collective

Social and historical _____ deeply influence opportunities for political engagement.

context

According to the text, for public opinion to guide government, the _____ must know what they want and guide government decisions.

people

The _____ effect is invoked when a candidate losing in the polls performs better than expected.

underdog

People sharing specific characteristics such as age, ethnicity/race, religion, or country of origin are called a _____.

demographic group

_____ refers to the sheer volume of information and noise generated by online sources.

din

The goal of _____ is generally to call attention to a cause and to foster a movement around it.

direct action

_____ occurs when insider "coded" language is used to rouse constituents or interest group members who care strongly about an issue.

dog whistling

_____ is/are defined as public engagement in the form of voting, running for office, volunteering in a campaign, or otherwise participating in elections.

electoral activities

It is difficult to translate _____ into clear instructions for any policy area.

electoral victory

_____ polls are performed on Election Day by both campaigns and news organizations by intercepting voters as they leave the voting location.

exit

According to journalist James Surowiecki, a random collection of people is actually wiser than a group of _____ when it comes to devising the best solution to a policy dilemma.

experts

Political science studies find that _____ is the most reliable route to political activity.

face-to-face encouragement

A sampling _____ is defined as a designated group of people from whom a set of poll respondents is randomly selected.

frame

In local political races, respondents to surveys typically favor the first candidate named in a list, demonstrating the _____ effect.

framing

_____ effects are the influences on the respondent of how a polling question is worded.

framing

Social networks—_____—exert a major influence in shaping public opinion.

friends and colleagues

Political reform that is sparked "from the ground up" at the local level is referred to as a/an _____ movement.

grassroots

_____ describes the tendency among a small group of decision makers to converge on a shared set of views.

groupthink

_____ does not encourage creative thinking or solutions to policy problems.

groupthink

The greater their _____, the more likely individuals are to get involved in politics.

income

Of the three propositions in The Rational Public, the idea of information shortcuts refers to how _____.

individuals can arrive at reasonably well-established positions on candidates or policy issues despite ignorance of policy specifics or basic government

The _____ generation is the most active in modern U.S. history when it comes to volunteering its time for worthy causes.

millennial

In areas where neighbors are more trusting and civic participation is strong, people are more likely to vote for _____.

national office

Those elected with mandates _____ find it difficult to translate an election into support for any single policy.

often

The most serious charge against the Internet and social media as keys to political participation is the incubation of lies, malice, and falsehood in the hyper-connected, _____ new media.

often anonymous

Age is a strong predictor of political engagement: _____ people vote more often.

older

_____ became the first state to automatically register voters.

oregan

Economist Anthony Downs's _____ suggests that voting is not economically logical.

paradox of voting theory

Receiving a federally guaranteed student loan can boost your political _____ later in life.

participation

According to the text, for public opinion to guide government, _____ must pay attention to public views—and respond.

political leaders

_____ is defined as the effort to encourage people to engage in the public sphere: to vote for a particular candidate (or donate money, work on the campaign, etc.) or to get involved in specific issues.

political mobilization

Traditional _____ is defined as engaging politics through the formal channels of government and society.

political participation

If your poll is to accurately reflect public views, your survey respondents must reflect the _____.

population

A/An _____ poll is usually conducted by a campaign or allied group and features strongly critical or unflattering information about an opponent.

push

The _____ is considered the polling gold standard.

random sample

Public views are _____ concrete enough to offer a guide for policymakers.

rarely

The National Voter Registration Act of 1993 permits citizens to register to vote when they _____.

receive their drivers license

The motor voter law enables prospective voters to register when they _____.

receive their drivers license

If you want to vote, the first thing you must do is _____.

register to vote

Members of Congress are often _____ to legislate in the face of strong popular opposition.

reluctant

To be successful, samples should be _____ of the population.

representative

A _____ bias reflects a respondent's desire to answer a question in a way that is "acceptable."

response

A/An _____ lacking in diversity led to the incorrect prediction from the Literary Digest poll during President Franklin Roosevelt's election.

sample frame

_____ is defined as relations between people that build closer ties of trust and civic engagement, yielding productive benefits for the larger society.

social capital

_____ users are more likely to participate in politics than the general public.

social media

Political _____ is the process by which individuals acquire their political values and outlooks.

socialization

_____ polls are informal polls carried out by local party organizations or news outlets that involve actual nonbinding votes cast by party members.

straw

_____ research is defined as the systematic study of a defined population analyzing a representative sample's views to draw inferences about the larger public's views.

survey

Using careful data analysis, the authors of _____ concluded that most citizens were politically ignorant.

the American voter

_____ states that, taken as a whole, the public can differentiate among alternative policies, in ways that accurately reflect its shared values and beliefs.

the rational public

_____ makes the argument that, taken together, the views of a random collection of people adds up to a rational public.

the wisdom of crowds

Research shows that large membership-based interest groups tend to attract more new members and receive a boost in financial contributions when the group's core issues are _____.

threatened

Calling respondents to a poll on a Friday night demonstrates lack of consideration for the principle of _____ in polling.

timing

On average, Americans exercise their political _____ more often and more openly than citizens of many other advanced democracies.

voice

If you _____, you're more likely to vote, pay attention to political affairs, and otherwise engage in public life.

volunteer

_____ refers to the measure of the proportion of eligible voters that actually cast legitimate ballots in a given election.

voter turnout

_____ is the most important aspect of political participation in the United States.

voting

Recently, alienation levels have soared among _____ who failed to finish high school. a. African-American men

white men

Framing effects relate to the _____ of a question.

wording

Some evidence suggests _____ voters are more likely to try and influence politics through direct action and are far more likely to participate in clicktivism and political expression.

younger