Unit 3by Marvin Paz and Mikayla Woolhouse

1) what factors shape public opinion? the factors that shape it are social class, education, region, age, gender, ethnic group

2) What is political socialization and how do individual’s beliefs evolve? Political socialization is how people are immersed in the political culture of their nation. These factors often contribute to someone either joining a political party which shares their ideas or staying an independent.

3) What are linkage institutions, and why are these important? ta linkage institution is a structure within a society that connects the people to the government or centralized authority. these institutions include: elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media.without linkage institutions a democracy would be very difficult to maintain.

4) How does public opinion influence the the political process? Public opinion determines who will be elected to office. Whoever is elected tend to have the same ideas as the ones who elected him. 5) Examine the influence of demographic factors on political participation and ideology. Political people tend to go to places with the some of the biggest populations instead of small towns because they want to get more votes. Also they go to do more wealthy places rather than places with poverty because it is proven people with a good and higher education are more likely to vote.

6) Assess the various means by which individuals participate in American politics? Write to their representative or Senator. Work for a candidate or political party (like Kendall). Vote for candidates at the local(mayor), state(governor) and federal level (president). Contributing money to an interest group. 7) How do political parties impact the political process? Political parties are essentially the largest interest group in the U.S. They educate people on public policy; what is right with their system and wrong with the opposing system. They pick the presidential candidates in the national convention. 8) What has led to calls for party reform? With the population growing and trends in policy changing, political parties are also growing to become very powerful entities. The U.S public has led to calls for change in the way political parties work. People feel unrepresented in the political. and cannot identify themselves to either political party.

9) How do interests groups affect the political process, and what advantages do they garner for represented sectors? They are an organized coalition of people with a specific goal in mind to influence politics 10) What are the ideological stances of the major parties? Ex. Budget and economy-Democrats-Create an economy built to last & built from the middle out. (Sep 2012)OpEd: Republicans want to cut benefits to kids. (Jan 2012)Restore the budget discipline of the 1990s. (Nov 2006)Cut the deficit in half over the next four years. (Jul 2004)Democrats reversed economic stagnation of previous years. (Aug 2000)Democrats must continue to lead Americans to prosperity. (Aug 2000)G.O.P. creates debt, Dems create surpluses. (Aug 2000)Democrats will eliminate publicly held debt by 2012. (Aug 2000)Policy should encourage home ownership & affordable housing. (Aug 2000)Republican-Inflation is a hidden regressive tax. (Aug 2012)Audit the Federal Reserve; bring more transparency. (Aug 2012)Balanced Budget Amendment & super-majority for tax increase. (Aug 2012)Shrink the FHA, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. (Aug 2012)OpEd: If spending is a problem, identify & eliminate waste. (Apr 2012)OpEd: Democrats are addicted to spending. (Jan 2012)

● Political Socialization- Is a lifelong process by which people form their opinion about politics and form political values. The family, educational system, peer groups and mass media play a role.

● Political Culture- A set of attitudes and practices held by people that shapes their political behavior

● Public opinion- The collective opinion of people on some issue, problem, etc. Used in the sense that it guides them in action or decision

● Political Ideology- The set of doctrines and beliefs shared by a group that sets the political basis political/economic system.

● Political Efficacy- The citizens faith and trust in the government and their belief they can understand and influence political affairs.

● Ticket Splitting- A vote for different candidates of different political parties on the same ballot. Ex. republican candidate for President but Democratic candidate for Senator.

● Political Party- An organised group of people with similar political aims and opinions, they seek to influence public policy by getting their candidate elected into public office.

● Party Era- Historical period in which majority of the voters tend to cling to the party in power. Which in turn makes them win the majority of elections

● Party realignment- Displacement of the majority party by the minority party● Party Dealignment- A gradual disengagement of people and politicians from a

certain party, as seen when party identification goes down. ● Interest groups- A formally organized association that seeks to influence public

policy ex. National Education Association.

● Political Action Committee- An organization that raises money privately to influence elections or legislations, especially at the federal level.

● Free-rider problem- refers to a situation where an individual either consumes more than their fair share of a common resource or pays less than their fair cost of a common resource.

● Lobbying- Act of attempting to influence decision made by government officials, most often legislators.

● Minority Majority- Area in a states where the people in its jurisdiction is less than 50% non hispanic white.

● Minority- majority: area in the United States whose population is composed of less than 50% non- hispanic whites.

● Reapportionment: the act of redistributing ● Random Sampling: A subset of a statistical population in which each

member of the subset has an equal probability of being chosen, meant to be an unbiased representation of the group.

● Sampling Error: error in statistical analysis arising from the unrepresentativeness of the sample taken.

● Exit Polls: a Poll of people leaving a polling place, asking how they voted● Rational- choice Theory: an economic preinciple that assumes that

individuals always make logical decisions that provide them with the greatest benefit

● Party identification: Refers to political party with which an individual identifies.

● Coalition: An alliance for combined action, especially a temporary alliance of political parties forming a government or of states.

● Party Neutrality: A term used to describe the fact that many Americans are indifferent toward the two major political parties.

● Winner- Take- All System: The candidate who wins the most votes all of the delegates at stake.

● Proportional Representation: An electoral system in which parties gain seats in proportion to the number of votes cast for them.

● Responsible party model: According to the model, parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates.

● Subgovernments: A network of groups within the American political system which exercise a great deal of control over specific policy areas. also knows as iron triangles.

● single- issue groups: Devoted to one public issue only.● amicus curiae briefs: statement of particular views on the subject matter of

the lawsuit.● Class action suits: The procedure of filing a class action is to file suit with

one or several named plaintiffs on behalf of a proposed class.● Public interest lobbies: A political organization whose goals will principally

benefit non members. ● PACS: Political Action Committee is a popular term for a political

committee organized for the purpose of raising and spending money to elect and defeat candidates.