PoliSci Final Exam !!!!!!
Rational Voting
economic model of voting wherein citizens weigh the benefits of voting against the costs in order to take the most personally beneficial course of action
The average American
exhibits little knowledge of political institutions, processes, leaders, or policy debates.
Proportional representation:
exists when groups of citizens: - Finds an issue to be important - Commands basic knowledge of the issue - Attentive to new information on the issue - Political behavior informed by the issue
The solidary benefits of interest groups include
friendship and consciousness-raising
The number of independent learners has grown in recent years. In presidential elections, do these leaners behave more like independents or partisans?
90% Partisans, 10% Independent
Single-member district:
A form of elections in single-member district systems, in which the candidate in each district who receives more votes than any other (a plurality of votes) is declared the winner
How has the aggregate distribution of party identification changed over time?
In the beginning, more people identified with Republicans, but over time, people started identifying with the Democratic party. In today's times, people are also starting to identify as an Independent
If journalists publish political news stories that involve dogs, why might this be good for democracy?
Increases political awareness as people are more likely to consume media involving a dog Dog stories get more than twice the coverage as non-dog stories
Primary elections were introduced by
Progressive reformers at the start of the 1900s
The Sierra Club is a(n) ________ group.`
Public interest
From the end of the Civil War to the 1890s, the ________ Party was the party of the North, while the ________ Party was the party of the South.
Republican; Democratic
During the 2016 campaign, Hillary Clinton received
half the amount of media coverage as Donald Trump.
Which of the following statements about primary elections is MOST accurate?
he United States is one of the few nations in the world to hold primary elections.`
"Me too" Republicanism refers to
he tendency of Republican politicians during the New Deal to support popular programs such as Social Security rather than advocate alternative policies.
"Selective benefits" are
incentives that interest groups make available only to those people who are members of their organizations.
It is likely that eliminating state-level voter registration laws would ________ voter turnout among ________.
increase; younger people
The best description of the ideal of pluralism is that
interest groups should be free to compete for governmental influence
.The increased number and importance of interest groups
is a response to an increase in the size and activity of government.
Irrational Voting
If you're self-interest
What do journalists take into account when choosing to report on an event? Event importance, audience interest, or both?
Importance and Interests
.A criticism of interest group pluralism is
its class bias in favor of those with greater financial resources.
How did NBA members increase political knowledge about police accountability issues?
They wore a shirt advocating for Eric Garner movement, "I Can't Breathe" Campaign which also advocated for the black lives matter movement.
When do celebrities influence political behavior?
To get public attention, bring in votes, or curiosity to policy issues.
How has increased competition changed the quality of news content?
When competition was minimal there could be high quality news coverage. Since there is now so much competition the quality of news has decreased.
Which of the following statements best characterizes the traditional news media's relationship to objectivity?
While completely objective reporting is unattainable because people inevitably have biases that shape their understanding of events, journalists attempt to be objective by reporting both sides of a story.
Which of the following statements about age and political participation is true?
Young people are far less likely to participate in politics than older people.
Plurality rule
a person with the most votes wins (In the election)
Paradox of Not Voting
a single vote never decides a mass election
Multiple-member district:
a system that allows each political party representation in proportion to its percentage of the total vote.
Privately owned media companies in the United States earn most of their revenue from
advertising.
Lobbying is
an attempt by an individual or group to influence the passage of legislation by exerting direct pressure on members of Congress or a state legislature
Which of the following stories would an American news outlet that relies primarily on advertising revenue be LEAST likely to cover?
an economics professor providing testimony to a congressional committee on the effect of tariffs
Which of the following news sources reaches the MOST Americans?
television
. The free-rider problem occurs because.
the benefits of a group's actions are broadly available and cannot be denied to nonmembers
It is difficult for political scientists to categorize unrepresented interests because
there are no organizations that can present their identities and demands.
Pollsters use random digit dialing to gather national samples for surveys because
there is not a complete list of all Americans that can be used to identify the population.
During his two terms in the White House, President Ronald Reagan presided over a growing economy. In poll after poll, why did a majority of Democrats incorrectly state that the economy was getting worse?
party Identification affects opinions about political issues. ignoring inconsistent information
Political scientists call voters' choices that focus on future behavior ________ voting, while those based on past performances are called ________ voting.
prospective; retrospective
Political parties hold primary elections or caucuses in order to
select a single candidate to represent the party in the general election.
The fact that survey respondents overreport voting in elections and the frequency of their church attendance is an example of the ________ effect.
social desirability
Do journalists and consumers want different types of news products?
yes, Journalist - wants high quality product Consumer - wants entertainment Journalist norms conflict with audience demands.
The practice of lobbying is protected by
1st amendment
Labor groups represent ________ percent of the total number of interest groups registered to lobby in Washington
2
An individual who leans closer to the democratic party is as just as likely to vote for their parties candidate as someone who is
A weak partisan (*) Explicitly a democrat
Duverger's Law:
An electoral system requires 2 basic decision
Why do we have a two-party system?
At the district level, plurality rule plus single-member districts lead to two parties. Proportional representation and multiple-member districts favor multi-party.
Why might a celebrity encourage citizens to look up a political issue online? Why might a celebrity find it difficult to get the public to look an issue up online?
Celebrities may encourage citizens to look up a political issues online because the internet makes it easy to access new information and become engaged with new issues. Celebrities may find it difficult to get the public to look up an issue online because only the politically aware engage with political information online.
In the 1990s, the Democratic and Republican parties took distinct positions on abortion. Which Democrat and Republican identifiers switched parties because of their views on abortion?
Democrats were more pro-life than republicans, in the 1990's they changed to Pro-Choice
Which of the following statements about the political opinions of Democrats and Republicans in the public is the most accurate?
Differences between the political opinions of Democrats and Republicans are greater today than during any other period in the last 40 years.
Where does the choice of a party identification come from?
Family Social groups Early political experiences
When an oil company is invited to participate in negotiations with the Environmental Protection Agency over a proposed rule on offshore drilling, it illustrates that
Federal agencies almost always attempt to consult relevant stakeholders before implementing a new rule.
________ states currently allow voters to register and cast a ballot on the same day.
Fifteen
A person who enjoys the benefits of a group's collective efforts but does not contribute to those efforts is called a
Free-rider
In order to overcome the________, interest groups often provide ________ to their members.
Free-rider problem; selective benefits
Why might policy entrepreneurs benefit from partnering with celebrities?
Help legislators raise their public profiles. Make political news easier to present, since there is an entertainment value.
Party identification
Helps explain how people vote, what policy attitude they have, how they interpret new political information, and how they evaluate political leaders
Identify reasons why Republicans are able to win presidential elections despite a registration disadvantage.
Loyalty Turnout
What is the MOST important and beneficial resource that lobbyists provide government officials?
Information
issue public
Issue publics exist when a group of citizens: Find an issue to be important. Command basic knowledge of the issue. Are attentive to new information on the issue. Act on political behavior informed by the issue.
What makes a news story interesting to the rationally ignorant citizen?
Journalists prioritizing 1. Sex 2.Conflict 3. Cutness
Oprah's endorsement of Barack Obama is the biggest endorsement effect ever estimated. What impact did she have? And why was Oprah so effective in delivering votes to Barack Obama?
Obama beat clinton by less than 1000 votes, Oprah was a pivotal endorsement for him and without her endorsement, Obama might've not won the election. Oprah is one of the most successful celebrities in the industry. Oprah is intelligent and issued her endorsement the night before a state voted.
What did it take to change party identification?
People who are aware of party differences Women who went to church frequently also changed sides
The "poor" and the homeless are two examples of
Potential interest groups
Select the # of representative for each district
Single-member district Multiple member districts
________ is the power the media have to shape what issues Americans think about and ________ is the power the media have to influence how Americans think about those issues.
a. Agenda-setting; framing
Which statement best characterizes the influence average citizens and party elites have over the nomination process in the United States?
a. Although average citizens have some influence in the nominations process, party elites play an outsized role in selecting the candidates who will compete in the general election.
The percentage of Americans who indicate they trust the government "just about always or most of the time" has
a. fallen from over 70 percent in 1960 to just 15 percent in 2017.
The fairness doctrine required that
b. broadcasters who aired controversial issues provide time for opposing viewpoints.
Journalists exhibit selection biases in favor of news stories they view as
b. having a great deal of dramatic or entertainment value.
Political party leaders are
b. not willing to provide financial backing to candidates who are unable to raise substantial funds on their own.
Priming refers to the
b. process of preparing the public to bring specific criteria to mind when evaluating a politician or issue.`
When Richard Nixon employed his "southern strategy," he
c. appealed to disaffected white voters in the South.
What is the MOST important factor in predicting whether an individual votes?
c. education level
A(n) ________ occurs when a voter must be registered with a party prior to voting in that party's election
closed primary
A benefit that is sought by an interest group and that once achieved cannot be denied to nonmembers is called a?
collective good
Which of the following is a theoretical assumption of pluralism?
competition among interests will produce balance, with all interests moderating each other.
in order for a survey accurately generalize to the entire population, the survey must
d. select respondents randomly and everyone in the target population must have an equal chance of being selected.
Declining levels of trust in government are important because declining trust has been linked to
declines in political participation and voting.
the free-rider phenomenon is
more problematic in very large groups.
What is the social desirability effect?`
the fact that respondents report what they think the interviewer wishes to hear or whatever they think is socially acceptable, rather than what they actually believe
Members of interest groups in the United States are typically people
with higher incomes, more education, and management or professional occupations.
