Psci Final

Front 1

Political Parties

Back 1

A group of like-minded people with a common goal: winning elections.

Front 2

Duverger's Law

Back 2

asserts that plurality rule elections structured within single-member districts that tend to favor a 2-party system.

Front 3

Australian Ballot

Back 3

a ballot prepared and distributed by government officials that places the names of all candidates on a single list and is filled out by voters in private

Front 4

Patronage

Back 4

the practice of awarding jobs, grants, licenses, or other special favors in exchange for political support

Front 5

Proportional representation

Back 5

An electoral system in which legislative seats are awarded to candidates or parties in proportion to the percentage of votes received.

Front 6

Two-party system

Back 6

A political system in which only 2 major parties compete for all of the elective offices. (republican and democrat)

Front 7

Interest groups

Back 7

Organized groups of people seeking to influence public policy

Front 8

Public Interest lobby

Back 8

a group that promotes some conception of the public interest rather than the narrowly defined economic or other special interest of its members

Front 9

Selective Incentives

Back 9

Private goods or benefits that induce rational actors to participate in a collective effort to provide a collective good

Front 10

Yellow Journalism

Back 10

Style of journalism born of intense competition and characterized by screaming headlines and sensational stories.

Front 11

Muckracking

Back 11

Journalistic investigation and exposure of scandals, corruption, and injustices

Front 12

Shield laws

Back 12

laws that protect journalists from having to testify about their sources in court

Front 13

Unit cost

Back 13

the cost of transmitting a news product to a consumer

Front 14

Earmarks

Back 14

money set aside by Congress in the federal budget to pay for projects in the home district of a member of congress

Front 15

Party identifications

Back 15

an individual's ending affective or instrumental attachment to 1 of the political parties

Front 16

Party machines

Back 16

state or local organizations based on patronage that work to elect candidates to public offices that control government jibs and contracts which in turn are used by party leaders to reward the subleaders and activists who mobilize voters for the party on Election Day

Front 17

Line-item veto

Back 17

Permits a president to cancel amounts of new discretionary appropriations, as well as new items of direct spending and certain limited tax benefits, unless congress disapproves by law within a specified period of time

Front 18

Soft money

Back 18

money used by political parties for voter registration, public education, and voter mobilization

Front 19

ideology

Back 19

a comprehensive, integrated set of views about government and politics

Front 20

Opinion leader

Back 20

a citizen who is highly attentive to and involved in politics or some related area and to whom other citizens turn for political info and cues

Front 21

Cognitive shortcut

Back 21

a mental device allowing citizens to make complex decisions based on a small amount of info

Front 22

Inside Lobbying

Back 22

direct contact with policymakers (meetings, petitions, etc)

Front 23

Outside Lobbying

Back 23

indirect contact with policymakers (rallies, marches etc)

Front 24

Motor Voter Law

Back 24

law that enables prospective voters to register when they obtain or renew a driver's license

Front 25

Rational ignorance

Back 25

choice of a person not to acquire a certain kind of info because of its cost in terms and effort that yields little or no effort

Front 26

Aggregate opinion

Back 26

sum of individuals opinions

Front 27

Why do we have political parties?

Back 27

Created democracy, recruit and train leaders, political participation, constrains political conflicts, and organize activities of government

Front 28

Why do we have only a Two-Party System?

Back 28

Competitors reduced parties to two because people would vote strategically

Front 29

What are the consequences of having only a 2-party system?

Back 29

Groups interests might not all align; must house many diverse interests, voters may not feel strong allegiance to big-tent party, plurality election needed to win

Front 30

What do interest groups do?

Back 30

They influence public policy or supply essential resources (bills)

Front 31

How are interest groups similar to public parties?

Back 31

They influence policy, and affect election results to influence that policy

Front 32

How are interest groups different from public parties?

Back 32

They focus on much more than elections, candidates don't run under the "label," and their are many more than two

Front 33

Was James Madison's ideal of faction control achieved through interest group pluralism? Why or why not?

Back 33

Yes, because groups were free to organize and participate in an open political system, the political process balanced competing interests

Front 34

News Media

Back 34

organizations that gather, package, and transmit the news through some communications in technology

Front 35

What is the role of the News Media in democracy?

Back 35

The influence of profit seeking, especially in the introduction of mass circulation and advertising

Front 36

What is the role of News Media in reality?

Back 36

To give information to the public about our democracy