Public Opinion
What is public opinion?
The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs about certain issues or officials.
The Not-so-Minimal Effects/Agenda Setting Model of media's key takeaway
The media does not tell us what to think, only what to think about
The goal of the two major parties is
To win elections
What is voter turnout?
The number of eligible voters who actually decide to vote
This type of election decides the nominee from each party (congressional or presidential)
Primary
What term describes the process by which we come to hold political beliefs?
Political socialization
Term that refers to sensationalist reporting in the late 1800s
Yellow journalism
The president's party typically... during midterms
loses seats in Congress
Who is in charge of facilitating elections?
The states
A heuristic is
A mental shortcut that makes decision-making easier
What is the difference between a random sample and representative sample?
Random: Every member of a pop. has the same chance of being polled. Rep.: the sample pop. accurately represents the total pop.
Negativity bias is...
The cognitive bias to pay more attention and give more weight to negative information
How do third parties play into our political system?
They cannot win, but they can influence
Strongest demographic predictor for if someone will turn out to vote
Educational attainment
SCOTUS case that allowed for the formation of Super PACs
Citizens United v. FEC (2010)
News media outlets are notorious for what kind of polling bias?
Selection bias
This FCC rule encouraged unbiased reporting on public issues
Fairness Doctrine
What is microtargeting?
The process of using granular digital data to only expose very specific groups of people to campaign advertisements
Economic Theory of Turnout
Rational choice model of turnout. Someone will turn out to vote if the benefits outweigh the costs
Downs concludes it is __________ to vote
never rational
This kind of polling technique is not a real poll.
Push poll
Three effects of partisan polarization
Othering of the political out-group; increased tolerance for political violence; erosion of institutional trust
A single-member plurality vote system is...
A system where one rep. is elected for a geographically defined area, and the winner is determined by who captures the most votes
Riker and Ordeshook's update to Downs' economic theory of turnout
Civic duty
Three "issue types" candidates strategically employ during election cycles
Wedge, valence, and position