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Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors Exam Review PowerPoint

Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

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Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors . Exam Review PowerPoint . Political Culture . Definition: distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out -Americans generally believe more strongly in politically equality than economic - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Page 1: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Exam Review PowerPoint

Page 2: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Political Culture

• Definition: distinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out-Americans generally believe more strongly in politically equality than economic

• Alexis de Tocqueville analyzed why democracy could take root in the U.S. – there is lots of land and job opportunities

American Political Culture

Page 3: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Political Culture

• America has a very different system compared to other nations

We stress individualism and competition, we tend to assert our rights, we tend to favor economic freedom over equality, and we are highly religious

• Civic duty: belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs

• Civic competence: belief that one can affect government policies

American Political Culture

Page 4: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Culture War

• Cultural classes in America battle over values• Different from political disputes because:

1. No money at stake2. Compromises almost impossible3. Conflict more profound

Deep differences between people’s beliefs about public and private morality (standards that ought to govern individual behavior and social arrangements)

Ideas of American Politics

Page 5: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

2 Cultural Camps• Orthodox: (fundamentalist Protestants)

-morality is as, or more important than self-expression-morality derives from fixed rules from God

• Progressive: (liberal Protestants or no religious beliefs)

-personal freedom is as, or more important than tradition-rules change based on circumstances of modern life and individual preferences

Culture war occurs both between and within religious denominations Special historical importance:

-more people consider themselves progressive today-rise of technology (and media) makes it easier to mobilize

Ideas of American Politics

Page 6: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Political Efficacy• Citizen’s capacity to understand and influence

political events • Two parts:

Internal efficacy – confidence in one’s ability to understand and influence events

External efficacy – belief that the system will respond to citizens -Not shaped by particular events-declining since the 1960’s-feel govt. is becoming to big to respond to individual preferences

Ideas of American Politics

Page 7: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Public Opinion

• What is public opinion?– How people think or feel about certain things– Poll = survey of public opinion – Business first started systematically measuring public

opinion, and politics followed closely

• People don’t spend a great deal of time thinking about politics=high levels of public ignorance

• Despite this, Americans are pretty good at using cues; when given basic information the average citizen can use it fairly effectively

Public Opinion

Page 8: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Polling

• How does polling work?– Need to ask reasonable, fairly worded questions – Have to ask people about things for which they have some

basis to form an opinion – Random sampling necessary– Have to be aware of sampling error (difference b/t results of

2 surveys)– For populations over 500,000 pollsters need to make about

15,000 phone call to reach 1065 respondents, ensuring the poll has a sampling error of only +/- 3%-increasingly difficult to get (why?)

– Reliability harmed by low response rates

Public Opinion

Page 9: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Political Socialization• Political socialization influences opinion

-children tend to share parents opinion-variances associated with race, class, gender, religion, etc.-BUT people with similarities do not necessarily think or vote the same way

• Mass and elite opinions differ-Elites tend to know more about politics-tend to be more consistent in their opinions

Public Opinion

Page 10: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Forming Political Opinions(Political Socialization)

• In trying to pick the important slides from this PowerPoint, I conclude they are ALL important!

Forming Political Opinions

Page 11: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Political Ideology• Definition: more or less consistent set of beliefs

about what policies government ought to pursue.– Measured by (1) the frequency of people’s use of broad

terms to describe/justify their views and (2)how consistent these preferences are over time

• Most Americans do not think ideologically and have little use for terms like “liberal” or “conservative”

• But we still have strong predispositions and share a common political culture

• Moderates are the largest group of Americans

Political Ideology

Page 12: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

“Rule of Thumb” (which is violated a million times every day)

• Liberal View– Favors bigger welfare state– Favors smaller military establishment– Pro-choice

• Conservative View– Favors smaller role of government– Support a strong military– Favors prayer in school– Pro-life

Political Ideology

Page 13: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Liberal

• Government should provide jobs for all, medical care, education

• Increased taxation of the rich

• Strict enforcement of civil rights (affirmative action)

• More tolerant of protests• Legalize marijuana, gay

marriage, and protect rights of the accused, stricter gun laws

Conservative

• Government should provide people with adequate personal freedom to conduct their lives as they choose

• Lower taxes• Traditional, family and social

values are stressed– No gay marriage– No abortion

• Seen as tougher on crime• Right to bear arms

Generated from polls dealing with (1) economy (2) civil rights and (3) personal conduct

Political Ideology

Page 14: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Reality

• Liberal and Conservative labels just don’t cut it – people mix liberal and conservative positions all the time

• There could actually be as many as nine categories • But to make things a little easier, theorists have settled

on four (Shown in Nolan Chart) – Pure liberals (liberal on both economic and personal conduct

issues)– Pure conservatives (conservative on both economic and

personal conduct issues)– Libertarians– Populists (aka Authoritarians)

Political Ideology

Page 15: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Descriptions

• Libertarians- conservative on economic issues, liberal on social– Value freedom more than order or equality– Want minimal government intervention in both economic and

social spheres• Populists/Authoritarians- liberal on economic issues,

conservative on social– Value equality and order more than freedom– Like liberals, think the government should help the

disadvantaged– Like conservatives, think the government should promote moral

values Political Ideology

Page 16: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

A Close Look at Nonvoting Alleged problem: low turnout of voters in the U.S.

compared to Europe 1. Data are misleading: tend to compare turnout of voting-age

population; turnout of registered voters reveals problem is not so severe

2. Real problem is low voter registration rates a. Proposed solution: get-out-the-voter drives b. But this will not help those who are not registered

3. Apathy is not the only cause of nonregistrationa. Registration has costs in U.S.: there are no costs in European countries where registration is automatic b. Motor-voter law of 1993 took effect in 1995, lowered costs and increased registration throughout the country. However, many still did not vote! “…those who register when the process is costless are less likely to vote” Voter Turnout

Page 17: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

A Close Look at Nonvoting Continued…

Voting is not the only way of participating – by other measures, Americans may participate more in politics than Europeans. Examples include:

Joining Civic AssociationsSupporting Social MovementsWriting to legislaturesFighting City Hall

Important question: how do different kinds of participation affect the government?

Voter Turnout

Page 18: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

The Rise of the American Electorate

From State to Federal Control 1. Initially, states decided who could vote and for which offices 2. This led to wide variation in federal elections 3. Congress has since reduced state prerogatives through law and constitutional amendment

1842 law: House members elected by district 15th Amendment (1870): seemed to give suffrage to African-

Americans but really1) Opened the door to literacy tests, poll taxes, and grandfather clauses 2) Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally guaranteed right to vote to blacks –ended above controversial practices.

Voter Turnout

Page 19: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

The Rise of the American Electorate Women given right to vote by 19th Amendment (1920);

participation rose immediately, but no major impact on electoral outcomes

18-year-olds given suffrage by 26th Amendment (1971); voter turnout among the newly eligible (18 to 24 year olds) was low, and has continued to fall

BUT, this group participates more in other non-voting ways! National standards now govern most aspects of voter

eligibility Twenty-third Amendment was ratified in 1961, giving

District of Columbia residents the right to vote in presidential elections

Voter Turnout

Page 20: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Forms of Political Participation (Besides Voting)

• Litigation• Protest/public demonstrations• Contacting media or public officials• Campaign work, voter registration• Campaign contributions• Running for/holding political office • Political discussion (Way to go, AP Government!)

• Membership in a political organization

Political Participation

Page 21: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Causes of Participation

• Education- more=more• Religion- involvement develops skills

associated with political participation • Gender- equal• Race – Black participation is lower, BUT

controlling for socioeconomic status, they actually participate at a higher rate

Political Participation

Page 22: Unit 3 Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Factors that Decrease Turnout

• Youths, minorities pushing down percentage of eligible adults who are registered and vote

(Ya darn kids!)

• Parties less effective in mobilization • Remaining registration impediments have

negative effects• Voting not compulsory• Feelings that elections don’t matter

Political Participation