American Government unit 2 pretest 2305
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American Government 2305
Unit 2 Exam
1. What role does political knowledge play in the formation of
public opinion?
Individuals learn about politics by converting information from the
news, elected officials, & other sources into opinions. Three stages:
receive, accept, sample
2. How would you describe the term public opinion?
people's attitutdes toward issues, events, elected officials, politics, and policy.
3. Define political ideology.
Refers to the set of beliefs and values that form a general philoshophy about government.
4. Why do pollsters use random digit dialing?
To dray samples of the national population so that every effort is made to avoid bias in the
construction of the sample.
5. Define sample and simple random sample.
To dray samples of the national population so that every effort is made to avoid bias in the
construction of the sample.
6. Discuss some of the factors that lead to measurement errors in
polls.
To dray samples of the national population so that every effort is made to avoid bias in the
construction of the sample.
7. Compare political value and attitude.
Political value
To dray samples of the national population so that every effort is made to avoid bias in the
construction of the sample.
Attitude
a specific preference on a particular issue.
8. Explain what push polls are.
is a technique in which the questions are designed to shape the respondent's opnion. It is not a
scientific poll and are not intendent t yeild accurte information rather, they ask a serious of
questions designed to favor of the candidate.
9. Discuss the impact media monopolies have had.
ultimately, are private corporations whose busness is to sell audience to advertisers, not to
supply news or protect democracy.
10. Define agenda setting, priming, and framing.
Agenda setting
the power of the media to bring public attention to particular issues and problems.
Priming
process of preparing the public to bring specific criteria to mind when evaluating a
politician or issue.
11. Discuss the Federal Communications Commission (FCC).
radio station was requried to provid time for opposing views thus the practice for many years
was the fairness doctrine.
12. What are some of the roles of the media?
13. What types of media sources does the gov’t regulate?
are subject to federal regulation, applies only to the over-the-air broadcast media, but it does
not apply to cable tv, the Internet, or satellite radio.
14. Discuss the 1996 Telecommunication Act.
It opened the way for additional consolidation in the medi industry. Allowing more thn 500 of
the nation's televison stations to be affiliated with on of the four networks.
15. Explain the equal time rule, fairness doctrine and the right to
rebuttal.
Equal time rule
the requirement that broadcasters provide candidates for the same political office equal
opportunities to communicate their message to the public.
Fairness doctrine
under this rule, broadcasters that aired programs on controversial issues were required to
provide time for opposing views.
Right to rebuttal
a Federal Communications Commission regulation giving individuals the right to have the
opportunity to respond to personal attachs made on a radio or television broadcast.
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16. Define ranked-choice voting, divided government,
proportional representation, party activist
17. Explain what is an electoral realignment.
when new issues combine with economic or political crises to mobilize new voters and
persuade large numbers of voters to reexamine their traditional partisan loyalties.
18. What is mean by the term “equal democracy?”
19. Explain the different party systems that have existed in the
nation’s history.
20. Describe the Alien and Sedition Acts.
21. Compare internal versus external mobilization.
Internal mobilization
when political conflicts prompt officials and competing factions within government to mobilize
popular support.
External mobilization
which takes place when a group of politicians outside of government organizes popular support
to win government
power
22. What is a political party and what is its goal?
They regulate the number of people seeking public office, how to mobilie voters, and how to
achieve and maintain the majorities needed to accomplish legislative goals.
23. What did Jeffersonian Republicans believe?
Advocated strong state gov't, Party of the masses, Favored an agrarian economy, and Close ties
to France.
24. What is meant by dealignment?
A movement away from the major political parties; a decline in partisan attachement.
25. Explain the influence of third parties and who they represent.
Are sources of new ideas and party realignment and can affect an election.
26. What issue led to the demise of the Whig Party?
They were more united by opposing the Democrats than by agreeing on programs,
concentrated on the personal qualities of the candidate.
27. Describe the Populist Party.
They appealed to small farmers, western mining, and urban workers. in 1892 presidential
election, they carried four states and elected governors in eight; 1896, it effectively merged with
the Democrats, who nominated William Jennings Bryan, who sympathies with Populist Party.
28. Define plurality, ballot initiative, referendum, & recall.
Referendum
the practice of referring a proposed law passed by a legislature to the vote of the elctorate for
approval or rejection.
Recall
a procedure to allow voters to remove state officials from office before their tems expire by
circulating petitions to call a vote.
Ballot initiative
a proposed or policy change that is place on the ballot by citizens or interst groups for a popular
vote.
29. Whose responsibility is it to conduct public elections?
Whose responsibility is it to conduct public elections?
State and local governments
30. Describe what 527 & 501 (c) (4) committees are.
527 committees?
they are nonprofit independent groups that receive and disburse funds to influence the
nomination, election, or defeat of candidates; names for the sections of the tax code under
which they are organized.
501(c)(4) committees?
they are political active nonprofits; under federal law, these nonprofits can spend unlimmited
amounts on political campaings and not disclose their donors.
31. Compare the technique of cracking and packing.
32. What is meant by if politicians are attempting to “balance
the ticket?”
It's when candidate's party tries to include members of as many important group as possible
either by gender, ethnic, religious, or geopraphic background.
33. Compare prospective versus retrospective voting.
Prospective voting
based on the imagined future performance of a candidate or political party
Retrospective voting
based on the past performance of a candidate or political party.
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34. What are polls and when are they conducted?
are public opinions used by public officials to help with either to run for office, what policies to
support, how to vote on important legislation, and what types of appeals to make in their
campaings
35. Discuss how public interest groups are different from other
interest groups.
Public interest groups (represent the people as citizens- actual people)- claim they serve the
general good rahter than only their own particular interest unlike other interest groups that re
created to gain federal funding for specific groups of people that share similarities.
36. What is a free rider and why do they become a problem?
Public interest groups (represent the people as citizens- actual people)- claim they serve the
general good rahter than only their own particular interest unlike other interest groups that re
created to gain federal funding for specific groups of people that share similarities.
37. Discuss the court case Citizens United v. Federal Election
Commission (2010).
38. Describe what lobbying is.
They are special interest groups that form groups to increase their view will be heard and their
interest treated favorable by the government.
39. Explain the different types of interest groups that exist.
40. Explain why the number of interest groups has increased.
Due to the dramatic expansion of the role of American government over the last four decades;
the emergence of a new set of political forces in the US called "New Politics" movement.
41. Compare an iron triangle versus an issue network
n
Iron Tri
the stable cooperative relationship that often develops among a
congressional committee, and administrative agency, and one or
more supportive interest groups, also is the most typical.
Issue network
a loose network of elected leaders, public officials, activist, and
intererst groups, drawn together by specific policy issue.