Unit 2: Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Question 1

Political Culture

Answer 1

Set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments

Question 2

Political Idealogy

Answer 2

Collection of beliefs held by an individual, group or society.

Question 3

Political Socialization

Answer 3

A lifelong process by which people form their ideas about politics and acquire political values.

Question 4

Party Identification

Answer 4

The party people identify with.

Republican or Democrat

Question 5

Demography

Answer 5

The composition of a particular human populatio

Question 6

Polling

Answer 6

Record the opinion or vote of.

Question 7

Liberal

Answer 7

Favorable to progress or reform, as in political or religious affairs.

Question 8

Conservative

Answer 8

Disposed to preserve existing conditions, institutions, etc., or to restore traditional ones, and to limit change.

Question 9

Socialism

Answer 9

A theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.

Question 10

Public Opinion

Answer 10

Views prevalent among the public.

Question 11

Random Sample

Answer 11

A subset of individuals (a sample) chosen from a larger set (a population).

Question 12

Margin of Error

Answer 12

An amount (usually small) that is allowed for in case of miscalculation or change of circumstances.

Question 13

Voter Registration

Answer 13

Registering to vote

Question 14

Australian Ballot

Answer 14

The system of voting in which voters mark their choices in privacy on uniform ballots printed and distributed by the government or designate their choices by some other secret means.

Question 15

Primary Election

Answer 15

A preliminary election to appoint delegates to a party conference or to select the candidates for a principal, especially presidential, election.

Question 16

Caucus

Answer 16

(in some US states) a meeting at which local members of a political party register their preference among candidates running for office or select delegates to attend a convention.

Question 17

General Election

Answer 17

A regular election of candidates for office, as opposed to a primary election.

Question 18

Gender Gap

Answer 18

The discrepancy in opportunities, status, attitudes, etc., between men and women.

Question 19

Voting Blocs

Answer 19

Group of voters that are strongly motivated by a specific common concern or group of concerns to the point that such specific concerns tend to dominate their voting patterns, causing them to vote together in elections.

Question 20

Reinforcing Cleavages

Answer 20

Reinforcing Views, Opinion, Ideologies etc.

Question 21

Cross-Cutting Cleavages

Answer 21

Views that are opposing to yours.

Question 22

Selective Perception

Answer 22

Choosing to only perceive specific information.

Question 23

Political Efficacy

Answer 23

Believing that you can influence or change something.

Question 24

Electoral College

Answer 24

(in the US) a body of people representing the states of the US, who formally cast votes for the election of the president and vice president.

Question 25

Census

Answer 25

An official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals.

Question 26

Suffrage

Answer 26

Right to vote

Question 27

Reapportionement

Answer 27

Redistribution of representation in a legislative body, especially the periodic re-allotment of US congressional seats according to changes in the census figures as required by the Constitution.

Question 28

Redisctricting

Answer 28

Redistricting is the process by which new congressional and state legislative district boundaries are drawn.

Question 29

Standard Deviation

Answer 29

A quantity calculated to indicate the extent of deviation for a group as a whole.

Question 30

Standard Error

Answer 30

A measure of the statistical accuracy of an estimate

Question 31

Federal Election Campaign Act (1971)

Answer 31

United States federal law regulating political campaign spending and fundraising. The law originally focused on increased disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns.

Question 32

Buckley vs Valeo (1976)

Answer 32

In the wake of the Watergate affair, Congress attempted to ferret out corruption in political campaigns by restricting financial contributions to candidates. Among other things, the law set limits on the amount of money an individual could contribute to a single campaign and it required reporting of contributions above a certain threshold amount. The Federal Election Commission was created to enforce the statute.

Question 33

Soft Money

Answer 33

To a general party

Question 34

Hard Money

Answer 34

Directly to a canidate

Question 35

Bipartisan Campaign Finance Reform Act

Answer 35

The law was designed to address two key campaign finance issues: soft money and issue advocacy.

Question 36

Citizens United v. FEC (2010)

Answer 36

Citizens United sought an injunction against the Federal Election Commission in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia to prevent the application of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) to its film Hillary: The Movie. The Movie expressed opinions about whether Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton would make a good president.

Question 37

PAC

Answer 37

A political action committee (PAC) is a group created and organized for the purpose of receiving donations and contributing money received directly or indirectly to the campaigns of federal candidates. SSFs, nonconnected committees, and Super PACs are the three types of PACs.

Question 38

Super Pacs

Answer 38

Super PACs may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political candidates. Super PACs must, however, report their donors to the Federal Election Commission on a monthly or quarterly basis – the Super PAC’s choice – as a traditional PAC would. Unlike traditional PACs, Super PACs are prohibited from donating money directly to political candidates(“Super Pacs”).

Question 39

527

Answer 39

interest groups organized under section 527 of the Internal Revenue Code may advertise for or against candidates; if their source of funding is corporations or unions, they have some restrictions on broadcast advertising; were important in recent elections

Question 40

501 c

Answer 40

are nonprofit organizations including civic
leagues or local volunteer fire departments, for example, that in theory are designed to promote,
well, social welfare causes. “501(c)” is just the IRS’s designation in the tax code for nonprofit
groups, and (4) is the subsection of groups we are concerned with here.

Question 41

Independent Expenditures

Answer 41

political campaign communication that expressly advocates for the election or defeat of a clearly identified candidate that is not made in cooperation, consultation or concert with or at the request or suggestion of a candidate, candidate’s authorized …