POLS 100 Homework Assignment/Extra Credit/ Study Guide #2 Fall 2011 Chapter 6: Political interest groups are said

to pursue to basic objectives. What are these objectives? 1. They seek new positive benefits to promote the groups interests. They defend current benefits to protect the groups interests. People join interest groups based on self-interest and in the hopes that they will benefit from their efforts in supporting the group. What are the three main benefits people think of when they join an interest group? Which appeals most to you? 1. Material benefits (tangible rewards) solidary benefits (social friendships) purposive benefits (contributions) Material benefits appeal to me the most because you actually get something physical out of it. The free rider problem is often seen as problematic to collective action. What are some ways to over come the free-rider problem? Government may require membership, peer pressure (works best in small groups), Most common are selective benefits Political scientists suggest several explanations for why interest groups form. List the three dominant explanations, and state which is most persuasive for you. 1. Pluralist theory -states that interest groups are a natural extension of a democratic system that guarantees freedom of expression and association By-product theory and exchange by product- argues that group leaders overcome the free rider problem by either offering selective benefits: material, social, or recreational only to members. OR creating coercive incentives like mandatory membership Niche theory- a political environment has a certain carrying capacity to support the interest groups that compete for its resources. Lobbyists utilize different approaches in their effort to communicate their viewpoints to lawmakers. These approaches are usually designated as direct and indirect lobbying. What is the difference between the two approaches and what are some examples of each approach? With direct lobbying the lobbyists have personal contact with the legislators, with indirect they use other means to get the message across For direct lobbyist could attend committee, personal visits, through friend or relatives of officials. Their constituents.

Indirect may include drawing on the groups members to email, phone, or write about the issues at hand to legislatures informing and ranking voters about the legislators positions and votes and even ranking. Stage a dramatic demonstration What is logrolling? An exchange of support (you support me ill support you) Interest groups often try to influence judicial proceedings. One major way is by filing amicus curiae briefs. What does amicus curiae mean in the original Latin? Friend of the court PAC contributions are divided into two classes. What are they? Raise funds and political contributions What did the Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) hold? The court ruled that corporations and labor unions have a 1st amendment right to spend unlimited amounts of money from their general treasuries to advocate the election or defeat of a political candidates. Chapter 7: The Founding Fathers did not understand political parties as we do today. Instead they defined parties using other terms. Madison used three different terms to describe divisions in society. List these terms and define them. Faction- a number of citizens whether amounting to a majority or minority of the whole who are united and actuated by some common impulse or passion or of interest of the community interest what they want parties- solid groups coming from factions What is a political party? What is the three ways political scientist V.O. Key defined the conceptual breakdown of parties? Political party- an organization that nominates and runs candidates for public office under it own label. The party in the electorate- consists of ordinary citizens who identify with the party's candidates with votes and campaign contributions. The party in government- is the elected and appointed office holders at the national state and local levels who are considered representatives of the government. The party organizations- is made up of party professional who hold official positions within

the party and other people. Active in running and maintaining the partys organizational apparatus. The case can be made that parties have evolved over time in the United States. An early precursor to the modern political party was the political machine. What were these political machines and briefly describe how they operated? Political machine- is a party organization headed by a party bus. Political machines and party buses once maintained their power and control over government offices with such techniques as control over nominations, patronage craft and bribery, vote buying and rigging elections. Sociologists and political scientists often have disagreements when explaining the phenomena of political parties. What are two major differences in their approaches? Role theory- explains that people have a natural inclination to asses a role for themselves withing in society. Political scientists believe it all happens based on the decisions politicians make in order to get elected. Political scientists distinguish three types of electoral situations based on the number of political parties. What are these three types of situations? One party system- representatives of a single political party hold all or almost all of the major offices in government multiparty system- 3 or more parties effectively compete for political offices . No single party can win full control of the government two party system- only two political parties have a realistic chance of winning control over a signification number of major political offices Give two reasons for the national two-party system in the United States. Historical factors- early division of political loyalties into two broad groups. The united states uses a single member district plurality. (SMDP) system a winner take all system which makes it difficult for minor parties to win office people associate with party through family and tradition. What are third parties? Give two effects have they had on American politics. Third parties- are minor political parties. Minor parties have affect on who ends up in the white house

electoral vote totals major parties adopt ideas from minor parties Democratic government relies on the participation of the people. However, political participation often seems time consuming and thus not worth the energy of ordinary Americans. What are three ways that political parties facilitate participation? Aggregating interest- act as intermediaries between citizens and government simplifying alternatives- using 2 party system during nominations candidates are chosen out of many to make it easier. Stimulating interest in government although self serving they raise awareness. What is the responsible party model? Responsible party model is used to describe democracies with/ strong, competitive parties in which one party wins control of the government based on its policy proposals, enacts its proposals once it is in control, and stands or falls in the next election. Based on its performance and delivering on its proposals. Then loyal opposition takes these failed agenda to make one of their own and attempt to win. Party affiliation seems to be trending downward in the United States. What are three indicators that political scientists focus on when making this argument? decline in the percentage of the electorate offering to themselves as strong partisans. And increase in the percentage of the electorate calling themselves independent. a decline in straight ticket voting. What is a direct primary? Direct primary- and election in which rank and file voters choose the partys nominees for various offices. Chapter 8: What is the public sphere? A forum where information on matters important to civic life or be freely accessed and exchanged free market place is good for exchange of ideas The media often times is able to shape not only what people think; but, also, what they think about. How does agenda setting, framing, and priming help toward this end? In the process of answering the question be sure to define each term.

The media tell people what issues to think about by presenting them more often. The more it is presented the more importantly it is ranked. Framing means emphasizing certain aspect of a story to make them more important. This helps shape how we think about issues. By choosing which aspects of a story to emphasize the media also influence the criteria people use to judge political candidates. One basic American freedom is the right to a free press. Often times, throughout the course of history, the press has faced serious restrictions on its ability to disseminate information. Give an example of government control and private control that highlight these restrictions. Example of government control is the New York times v. United States (1971) dealt with pentagon papers which referred to secret government study of us involvement in south east Asia which revealed among other things that the government had deliberately deceived the public about impact and success of military operations in Vietnam. Private control is having six companies with control of all media is dangerous because their main concerns are making money. News stories are being diluted by profit pressure. The media is not always objective. Often times people discern what has been termed media bias. What is media bias? How can one tell the media is reporting in a biased fashion? Media bias is the tendency to present an unbalanced perspective so that information is conveyed in such a way that consistently favors one set of interests over another. Who are the gatekeepers and why are they in decline? Gatekeepers are alternative media that attempt to tell the truth. Reduction of newspaper subscribers, growth of the internet. Chapter 9: Why is the American political system sometimes referred to as a hyper democracy? sometimes politicians become so concerned with public opinion that they become subservient by trying to please everyone What is the difference between the delegate model of representative democracy and the trustee system of democracy? Which of these do most Americans prefer? In a delegate model democracy the job of the politicians is to translate the views of the majority into government action. Trustee system is when the elected is to act independently and make decision as they see fit. Americans prefer the delegate model. What is issue salience? Issue salience- the prominence and visibility of an issue and how important that issue is to

the public. What is elite opinion? How does it compare to an issue public? Elite opinion is the attitudes of people with large measures of political influence or expertise issue public- which is the section of the population with a strong interest in a particular issue. Elite has power within office while public has no power because they are a part of the population What four questions should we ask to determine if a poll is a reliable indicator of public opinion? 1. Did the poll ask the right people What is the margin of error What was the question Which question came first What is a difference and a similarity between a biased sample and a straw poll? Does either represent a random sample? Why or why not? Biased sample use mail and phone, while straw uses man to man, interview, and mail in. The only difference is how the information is received, They are both inaccurate because no one has an equal chance of getting chosen. So no it does not represent a random sample. Briefly explain how political culture and ideology form the basis of public opinion. Shared beliefs on political values and shared values, attitudes and beliefs form public opinion. What are the five major contributors to political socialization? Which is the most influential in shaping individual political attitudes? Political culture contributes include family, school, peers, events and experiences and the mass media. Family being the most influential of them all. Briefly explain the biological model of public opinion. Does it argue for genetic determinism? Public opinions are beliefs and attitudes that are seen as interactions between inherited and complex environment factors. Genes do not determine but simply play a part. What do we call it when public opinion is turned into political action? It is called political participation

Chapter 10: What major party was the first to use a national nominating convention? Andrew Jacksons party was the first

What is the difference between a closed primary and an open primary? Closed primary is only for registered party members. In an open primary members from both parties may vote. What two methods are used to select delegates for the national party conventions?
There is either an caucus or a state presidential primary.

Describe the trend in the number of states using primaries and the percentage of convention delegates chosen in primaries.
The number of states using primaries is overall increasing with a dip in the 1930s. The percentage is about the same.

What are the four phases of presidential nominating campaigns? 1. Invisible primary initial contest mist clearing conventions What are the five major functions of national conventions? 1. They officially nominate the partys candidates for president and vice president, which ratifies and legitimizes the results of the primaries and caucuses 2. They approve a platform for the nominees to run on 3. They provide a mechanism to encourage the losing candidates and disparate party factions to unify in preparation for the general election 4. They showcase the party and its candidates on national television and create a favorable image with the public 5. They adopt rules and regulations to govern the party at eh conventions and in the interim between elections Briefly describe the three proposals to reform the Electoral College. Proportional plan- divide each states electoral vote in proportion to the division of the popular vote. District plan- return to the method some states used early in the nation's history. Direct popular election- would abolish the electorate college and permit voters in the 50 states and D. of Columbia to choose the president directly. What are the four key provisions of the Federal Election Campaign Act? 1. Public financing of presidential campaigns and overall expenditure limits 2. Contribution limits for candidates who accept public financing 3. Public disclosure requirements 4. Creation of the FEC to enforce the law

What three forms of gerrymandering are commonly used? Partisan- benefit the majority party incumbent- benefit current office holders regardless of party racial- benefit citizens of a particular race or deny representation of a race What does one person, one vote mean? What Supreme Court case is this associated with? All legislative districts must contain about equal numbers of people. Wesberry v. Sanders List three factors which provide an incumbency advantage in congressional elections. Districts Challengers Resources Chapter 11: What are the four general categories of political participation? 1. Voting, the widespread and regularized form of participation 2. Campaign activities, such as working for or contributing money to a party or a candidate 3. Citizen-initiated contacts with government officials in which a person acts on a matter of individual concern 4. Local community activities in which citizens act cooperatively to deal with social and political problems What is the most common form of direct political participation? Voting What is the difference between measuring voter turnout by the voting-age population and the voting-eligible population? How many voters of age can vote versus people not affected by voter turnout and can actually vote. What four aspects of the American political system affect voter turnout? 1. Voting laws voter registration two party system election schedules What is the most important determinant of any form of political participation? Socioeconomic status What is political efficacy, and how does it affect voter turnout? Political efficacy- the belief that peoples opinions are important and the government will respect and respond to their view. What three types of resources are important in order to participate in politics?

Free time after work household duties school money civic skills What are the three major models of voting behavior? How do they differ? Which do you think is most persuasive? Sociological- that political candidates could be viewed as products offered by political parties, campaigns used for swaying voter preferences social-psychological- explains vote choice as individual attitudes Rational choice- voting is the product of rational cost-benefit calculation rational choice because people people are self-interested What is the difference between retrospective voting and prospective voting? Retrospective voting is based on how well the candidate has done versus prospective how well the voter thinks he will do. What are the four different kinds of elections? How do they differ from each other? Maintaining election in which the long term partisan orientation of the electorate keeps the status quo, then theres deviation when long term forces give away to short term ones. A reinstating election if the subsequent election returns the traditional majority party to power. Realigning, when the minority party win and not followed by reinstating.