copyright © 2011 pearson education, inc. publishing as longman warmup what do the following words...
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Copyright © 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. Publishing as Longman
Warmup
• What do the following words mean when referring to political beliefs?
• Direction• Intensity• Saliency• Latency
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The American People
• The Immigrant Society• United States is a nation of immigrants.• Three waves of immigration into the United
States are mainly (1) Northwestern Europeans prior to late 19th Century, (2) Southern and eastern Europeans in late 19th and early 20th centuries, and (3) Hispanics and Asians in late 20th century.
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The American People
• The American Melting Pot• Melting pot is the mixing of cultures, ideas,
and peoples that has changed the American nation.
• Minority majority is the emergence of a non-Caucasian majority.
• Political culture is an overall set of values widely shared within a society.
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The American People
• The Regional Shift• Much of America’s population growth since
World War II has been centered in the West and South.
• Reapportionment is the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.
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The American People
• The Graying of America• Aging population – Implications for Social
Security.• Social Security is a pay as-you-go system,
which means that today’s workers pay the benefits for today’s retirees.
• By 2040, there will be only about two workers per retiree.
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How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization
• The Process of Political Socialization• The Family – Parents give their children
political attitudes.• The Mass Media – TV gives people
information about politics.• School – Schools socialize the youth into
political culture.
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How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization
• Political Learning over a Lifetime• Aging increases political participation and
strength of party attachment.
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Measuring Public Opinion and Political InformationLO 6.3: Explain how polls are conducted and what can be learned from them about American public opinion.
• How Polls Are Conducted• The Role of Polls in American
Democracy• What Polls Reveal About Americans’
Political Information• The Decline of Trust in Government
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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information
• How Polls Are Conducted• Sample – People in survey to be
representative of the whole.• Random Sampling – People should get
equal probability of being selected for the sample.
• Sampling Error – Confidence in public opinion poll findings.
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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information
• The Role of Polls in American Democracy• Polls help politicians detect public
preferences.• Critics – Politicians think more about
following than leading public; bandwagon effect distort elections; exit-day polls discourage voting; and wording of questions manipulate answers.
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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information
• What Polls Reveal About Americans’ Political Information• Americans don’t know much about politics.• Americans may know their basic beliefs but
not how that affects policies of the government.
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Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information
• The Decline of Trust in Government• Since 1964, trust in government has
declined.• Trust in government has gone up
somewhat since 9/11/2001.
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What Americans Value: Political Ideologies
• Who Are the Liberals and Conservatives?• Americans pick ideological label of
conservative over liberal.• In 2008, 36% were conservatives, 38% were
moderates, and just 26% were liberals.• Gender gap – Women more likely support
Democratic candidates.
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What Americans Value: Political Ideologies
• Do People Think in Ideological Terms?• Ideologues (12%) – Yes they do.• Group Benefits (42%) – Think of groups
they like or dislike.• Nature of the Times (24%) – If times are
good or bad for them.• No issue content (22%) – Vote for party or
personality.
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How Americans Participate in Politics
• Conventional Participation• Voting in elections.• Working in campaigns or running for office.• Contacting elected officials.• Ringing doorbells for a petition.• Running for office.
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How Americans Participate in Politics
• Protest as Participation• Protest – Designed to achieve policy
changes through dramatic and unconventional tactics.
• Civil disobedience – Reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.
• Violence – Riots and fighting.
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How Americans Participate in Politics
• Class, Inequality, and Participation• Class-biased activity – Citizens of higher
socioeconomic status participating more than others.
• Minorities are below average in terms of participation.
• Who gets what in politics depends on who participates.
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LO 6.5
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Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action
• Public Attitudes Toward the Scope of Government• Many people have no opinion about scope of
government.• Public opinion is inconsistent, which may lead
to policy gridlock.
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What are patterns among Americans with regard to:
• Who votes?• Trust in government?• Ideological identification?• Ethnic makeup?• Political knowledge?• How Americans pick a candidate to vote
for?
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Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action
• Democracy, Public Opinion, and Political Action• Americans select leaders in democratic elections.• Polls reveal that Americans know little about
candidates’ issues.• People vote more for performance than policy.
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LO 6.1Summary
• The American People• Immigration has accelerated in America in recent
decades.• The size of the minority population has increased
greatly.• By 2050, whites will represent less than 50% of the
population.• The population has also been aging and moving to
Sunbelt states such as California, Texas, and Florida.
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Which of the following is the fastest-growing group in the United States?
A. African Americans
B. Asian Americans
C. Hispanics
D. Native Americans
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Which of the following is the fastest-growing group in the United States?
A. African Americans
B. Asian Americans
C. Hispanics
D. Native Americans
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LO 6.2Summary
• How Americans Learn About Politics: Political Socialization• The principal actors in the socialization
process are the family, the media, and schools.• As people age, the firmness with which they
hold political attitudes, such as party identification, tends to increase.
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The main source of political socialization WITHIN the context is government and civics classes.
A. school
B. family
C. mass media
D. all of the above
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The main source of political socialization WITHIN the context is government and civics classes.
A. school
B. family
C. mass media
D. all of the above
LO 6.2
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LO 6.3Summary
• Measuring Public Opinion and Political Information• Polls are conducted through the technique of random
sampling.• A random sample of 1,000 will yield results within
plus or minus three percentage points of what would be found if everyone were interviewed.
• Polls detect public preferences and how informed we are about issues.
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Which of the following ensures that the opinions of several hundred million Americans can be inferred through polling?
A. Random sampling.
B. Sampling error.
C. Population sampling that ensures a sample size of at least 1,000 to 1,500 people.
D. All of the above.
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A. Random sampling.
B. Sampling error.
C. Population sampling that ensures a sample size of at least 1,000 to 1,500 people.
D. All of the above.
Which of the following ensures that the opinions of several hundred million Americans can be inferred through polling? LO 6.3
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LO 6.4Summary
• What Americans Value: Political Ideologies• A political ideology is a coherent set of values and
beliefs about public policy.• The two most prominent ideologies in American
politics are conservatism and liberalism.• These ideologies guide people’s thinking on policy
issues.
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LO 6.4Summary
• What Americans Value: Political Ideologies (cont.)• 62% of Americans call themselves either
conservatives or liberals.• Americans are conservative (36%) in principle
but liberal (26%) in practice; that is, they are against big government but favor more spending on a wide variety of programs.
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Americans are more likely to identify as .
A. conservative than liberal
B. liberal than conservative
C. moderate than conservative
D. moderate than liberal
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Americans are more likely to identify as .
A. conservative than liberal
B. liberal than conservative
C. moderate than conservative
D. moderate than liberal
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LO 6.5Summary
• How Americans Participate in Politics• Conventional participation includes
voting, writing letters or e-mails to public officials, attending political meetings, signing petitions, and giving money to campaigns and political groups.
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LO 6.5Summary
• How Americans Participate in Politics (cont.)• Unconventional participation includes
attending protest demonstrations and acts of civil disobedience.• Citizens of higher social economic status
participate more in American politics.
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Which of the following type of political participation is most common in the United States?
A. Protesting a governmental policy.
B. Litigating through the court system.
C. Writing to a member of Congress.
D. Voting in elections.
LO 6.5
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Which of the following type of political participation is most common in the United States?
A. Protesting a governmental policy.
B. Litigating through the court system.
C. Writing to a member of Congress.
D. Voting in elections.
LO 6.5
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LO 6.6Summary
• Understanding Public Opinion and Political Action• Conservatives think the scope of
government has become too wide in recent decades.• Liberals believe the scope of government
should be further increased and support the 2010 Health Insurance Reform Act.
To Learning Objectives
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Public opinion polls reveal that Americans
A. are ideological liberals but operational conservatives.
B. oppose the idea of big government in principle but favor it in practice.
C. favor the idea of big government in principle but oppose it in practice.
D. are ideological moderates.
LO 6.6
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Public opinion polls reveal that Americans
A. are ideological liberals but operational conservatives.
B. oppose the idea of big government in principle but favor it in practice.
C. favor the idea of big government in principle but oppose it in practice.
D. are ideological moderates.
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Polling Articles
1. Who do Republicans see as the likely nominee?
2. Who is losing ground in the primary elections?
3. Who else has gained during recent months?
4. Describe the situation in the Democratic primary.
5. How confident are pollsters that this poll will be ultimately correct?
6. What are five controls put in place to make this poll as accurate as possible?
7. What is the margin of error for this poll?
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Text Credits
• Excerpt from “Most Don’t Know What ‘Public Option’ Is,” August 27, 2009, http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2009/08/poll-most-dont-know-what-public-option.html. Used with permission.
• US Census Bureau, http://www.census.gov/population/www/projections/files/nation/summary/np2008-t4.xls.
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Photo Credits
• 166: AP Photo• 167TR: Bob Daemmrich/The Image Works• 167TC: Sven Hagolan• 167TB: Getty Images• 167B: AP Photo• 168: Jack Smith/Getty Images• 170: Bob Daemmrich/the Image Works• 172: Virginie Mortet/Getty Images• 177: Sven Hagolan• 180: www.cartoonstock.com• 188: Getty Images• 189: AP Photo• 189T: AP Photo• 189B: John Filo/Getty Images