412 Notes
97. "U.S. Seen as Less Important, China as More Powerful," Pew Research Center for the People and the Press, Washington, D.C., December 3, 2009, http://people-press.org/2009/12/03/ us-seen-as-less-important-china-as-more-powerful/ (accessed July 25, 2011).
98. E. E. Schattschneider, The Semi-Sovereign People: A Realist's View of Democracy in America (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, i960); Page, "Semi-Sovereign Public."
Chapter 13
1. Dennis Chong and James N. Druckman, "Framing Theory," Annual Review of Political Science 10 (2007), 120.
Glossary
Acceptance. Stage in the political persuasion process during which people decide they agree with the content of a persuasive argument. (Chapter 4)
Accessibility model. Model of opinion formation that says that easily accessible concepts (due, fot example, to media coverage) influence people's political judgments. (Chapter 3)
Accuracy. A news norm that calls for journalists to provide correct information, often achieved by relying on official sources. (Chapter 3)
Activated mass opinion. Beliefs that are salient to citizens and lead them to be politically active. (Chapter 6)
Activation effect. Effect that occurs when political communication encourages citizens to support presidential candidates who share their preexisting values and predispositions. (Chapter 3)
Adolescent socialization. Development of political attitudes during the teenage years. (Chaptet 2)
Adult socialization. Development of political attitudes during adulthood. (Chapter 2)
Advocacy journalism. A form of journalism that is committed to only some of the news norms because it is also concerned with providing news from a particular perspective. (Chaptet 3)
Affect misattribution procedure. Research technique used to determine whether people mistakenly apply their affective reactions to one object (such as a black or white face) to a different object; an assessment of implicit prejudice. (Chapter 10)
Agenda-setting effects. Effects that occur when the media influence which issues citizens view as important. (Chapter 3)
Aggregate studies. Examinations of more than one political event or topic, such as analyzing policymaking in many issue domains across multiple years. (Chapter 12)
Atheists. People who oppose churches or formal religion. (Chapter 9)
Attention to politics. The degree to which citizens follow politics and political events. (Chapter 8)
Attitude. Positive or negative evaluation of an object (such as a person or issue). (Chapter 1)
414 Glossary
Attitude change. Degree to which political opinions fluctuate over time. (Chapter 4)
Attitude constraint. Situation that exists when political opinions are related to one another; degree to which researchers can predict a person's opinion toward a political object when knowing his or her opinions toward other objects. (Chapter 5)
Attitude crystallization. Development of more concrete and stable political opinions. (Chapter 2)
Attitude importance. Degree to which a specific attitude is personally meaningful or relevant. (Chapter 1)
Attitude instability. Degree to which political opinions change over time. (Chapter 4)
Attitude stability. Degree to which political opinions remain the same over time. (Chapters 2, 4, 5)
Attitudes toward affirmative action. Opinions regarding a variety of policies that ensure equal treatment of minorities and whites in education and employment. (Chapter 10)
Attitudes toward gay and lesbian rights. Opinions regarding rights (such as employment policies and intimate relationships) for gays and lesbians. (Chapter 10)
Attitudes toward gay marriage. Opinions regarding same-sex marriage. (Chapter 10)
Attitudes toward groups. Opinions toward important social and political groups that shape political attitudes. (Chapter 7)
Attitudes toward institutional members. Attitudes toward members of Congress, the president, and Supreme Court justices. (Chapter 11)
Attitudes toward reparations. Opinions regarding remedial policies that would address the harmful effects of slavery on Americans living today. (Chapter 10)
Attitudes toward school integration. Opinions regarding black and white students attending the same schools. (Chapter 10)
Attitudes toward the institutions of government. Attitudes toward the Congress, presidency, and Supreme Court. (Chapter 11)
Attrition. Drop-off in the number of respondents in a panel study. (Appendix)
Authoritarians. People who have a predisposition to value sameness and conformity to group norms; people who prefer order and rely on authorities to provide that order. (Chapter 6)
Balanced question. Survey question that provides two points of view (such as support and opposition). (Appendix)
Belief system. Set of related, coherent political attitudes; attitudes are related because they derive from overarching worldview (such as political ideology). (Chapter 5)
Beliefs. Thoughts or information regarding an attitude object, often concerning what a person thinks is true about the object. (Chapter 1)
Benevolent leader imagery. Viewing political leaders in very positive terms, believing that leaders do good deeds. (Chapter 2)
Glossary 415
Big Five. The core personality traits of openness to experience, conscientiousness, agreeableness, extraversion, and emotional stability. (Chapter 6)
Bill of Rights. The first ten amendments to the U.S. Constitution. (Chapter 9)
Black political ideology. Political belief system present among African Americans; specific views often include group-based perspectives, such as beliefs regarding the status of blacks in society. (Chapter 5)
Black utility heuristic. Among black citizens, use of racial group interests as a cue to determine an individual's own issue opinions and party preferences. (Chapter 7)
Bradley effect. Tendency in the past for black candidates to receive more support in preelection polls than on Election Day; named for Tom Bradley, black candidate for California's governor in 1982. (Chapter 10)
Case study. An in-depth analysis of a specific political event or arena, such as the passage of a piece of legislation or policymaking surrounding one issue. (Chapter 12)
Central route to persuasion. Process by which attitudes can change when a person is motivated and able to carefully consider persuasive communication; any resulting attitude change is likely to endure. (Chapter 4)
Changes in public expectations of government. Changes in what people think the government should do when new problems that the government is ill equipped to handle are forced onto the government's agenda. (Chapter 11)
Chapter-based civic associations. Community-based organizations whose members meet regularly, such as parent-teacher associations, the American Legion, and the Jaycees. (Chapter 11)
Childhood socialization. Development of political attitudes that happens before adolescence. (Chapter 2)
Citizen apathy. Lack of interest or involvement in political matters. (Chapter 1)
Civic education. Education about government and politics in schools. (Chapter 8)
Civic engagement. Actions by individuals and collectives to identify and address public issues. (Chapter 11)
Civil liberties. Rights granted to citizens that are protected from government suppression, such as freedom of speech or freedom of religion. (Chapter 9)
Civil rights. Government guarantees of political equality for people. (Chapter 10)
Classical models of democracy. Theories based on ancient Athenian democracy; key characteristics include active citizen participation in political debates and decisions. (Chapter 1)
Closed-ended questions. Survey questions with a limited set of response options. (Appendix)
Cognitive dissonance theory. Approach to understanding attitudes that posits that people prefer to maintain consistency across their beliefs, attitudes, and attitude-relevant behaviors and that, when inconsistencies arise, people will work to regain consistency. (Chapter 4)
Collective public opinion. Political attitudes of an aggregation of people, such as all citizens of a nation. (Chapter 4)
4i6 Glossary
Communists. People who favor communism as a system of government, particularly wanting a society without the evils of capitalism so that people can fully benefit from their own labor. (Chapter 9)
Compassion issues. Social welfare policies that help others, such as programs that aid children, the elderly, or the poor. (Chapter 7)
Concentrated. The quality of the U.S. mass media that a few large companies own the majority of the media. (Chapter 3)
Confidence in Congress. Faith in the people running Congress. (Chapter 11)
Confidence in the executive branch. Faith in the people running the executive branch of the federal government. (Chapter 11)
Confidence in the Supreme Court. Faith in the people running the Supreme Court. (Chapter 11)
Conglomerate. The quality of the U.S. mass media that large corporations own several media companies as well as nonmedia companies. (Chapter 3)
Consensual politics. Context during which disagreements between the major political parries are relatively minor and the political environment is not dominated by discussion of conflictual issues. (Chapter 5)
Conservatives. People whose political ideology emphasizes order, tradition, individual responsibility, and minimal government intervention in economic matters. (Chapter 5)
Considerations. Pieces of information or reasons held by individuals that cause them to support or oppose a political issue. (Chapter 4)
Constitutional framework. Formal system of government, as enshrined in the Constitution. (Chapter 9)
Content analysis. Research technique used to examine the content of communication. (Appendix)
Context. Broader environment, potentially including the features of a persons community or nation, or events occurring in other nations. (Chapter 9)
Convenience sample. A sample whose respondents are selected in a way that is easy for the researcher, such as by asking for volunteers. (Appendix)
Conversion effect. Effect that occurs when political communication leads citizens to change from one candidate to another. (Chapter 3)
Corporate. The quality of the U.S. mass media that most media outlets have the primary goal of making money. (Chapter 3)
Counterterrorism policies. Government actions that ate intended to combat terrorism. (Chapter 9)
Crafted talk. Rhetoric and messages that officials communicate to the citizenry in an attempt to influence public opinion. (Chapter 12)
Cross-sectional study. Method for assessing political opinions by examining a sample of individuals at one time. (Chapter 4)
Cynicism. A lack of trust in government that stems from the belief that government is not functioning well. (Chapter 11)
Glossary 417
Democratic elitists. Democratic theorists who view competitive elections as the primary mechanism by which citizen preferences are expressed and who also believe that governmental decisions are better made by political elites than the public. (Chapter 1)
Democratic responsiveness. Result that occurs when political leaders enact public policy that coincides with the genuine opinions of the public. (Chapter 12)
Democratic theory. Field of study that focuses on defining the proper characteristics, often normative, of a democracy. (Chapter 1)
Diffuse support. Public opinions about the political system, such as contentment with the form of government and attachment to the norms and structure of the regime. (Chapter 11)
Direct democracy. Governmental system whereby citizens meet, discuss, and decide on the content of the laws. (Chapter 1)
Economic inequalities. Differences in economic status among groups of citizens, such as those earning high versus low incomes. (Chapter 12)
Efficacy. Belief that citizens can influence the decisions of government officials and that officials are responsive to the public. (Chapter 2)
Egalitarianism. Belief that people are equal and should be treated the same regardless of their personal characteristics. (Chapters 6, 7)
Ego defense function. Theory that people have specific attitudes because the attitudes protect their egos or images of themselves from outside threats. (Chapter 4)
Elaboration likelihood model. Approach for understanding persuasion that focuses on the degree to which people generate cognitive responses to persuasive communication. (Chapter 4)
Elite discourse. Discussion of political topics (such as issues or candidates) by leaders that is communicated to the public. (Chapter 4)
Emotions. Feelings about or affect regarding an attitude object. (Chapter 1)
Empirical analyses. Examinations that focus on accurately describing and/or explaining real-life phenomena. (Chapter 1)
Enemy combatants. Government designation used to classify those people suspected of threatening national security or waging war against the nation. (Chapter 9)
Ethnographic research. Method for assessing political attitudes and behaviors in which researchers immerse themselves in a setting or community, observing individuals, asking them questions, and more generally interacting with them. (Chapter 5)
Experiment. A type of research design that has two key characteristics: (1) the
experimenter manipulates a feature of the study, and (2) subjects are randomly
assigned to experimental conditions. (Appendix)
Explicit prejudice. Consciously expressed prejudice. (Chapter 10)
Exposure to diversity. Degree to which individuals are in contact with people
who are different, particularly people who hold different political views from their
own. (Chapter 9)
418 Glossary
External validity. The characteristic of a study that the findings can be generalized beyond the sample and context used in that study. (Appendix)
Extremity. Degree to which support or opposition toward an attitude object is strong or slight. (Chapter 1)
Factions. Groups of citizens who pursue their self-interest rather than advocating for the common good of the community or nation. (Chapter 1)
Family politicization. Degree to which parents participate in politics and family members discuss politics with each other. (Chapter 2)
Financial costs of war. Monetary expenses of engaging in a war. (Chapter 4)
Focus groups. A type of research method for assessing political attitudes in which citizens are brought together in a group and asked what they think about political topics using open-ended questions. (Appendix, Chapter 8)
Formal education. Years of educational attainment in an institution (such as a school or university). (Chapter 9)
Forum for diverse views. Place where a range of political opinions is provided. (Chapter 3)
Framing effects. Effects that occur when media frames influence public opinion on an issue. (Chapter 3)
Functional theories. Approach for understanding the development of attitudes by focusing on the motivations people have for holding specific attitudes; examples of these motivations include knowledge and ego defense. (Chapter 4)
Gender gap in party identification. Differences between men and women in party identification; studies show there is a tendency for women to be more likely than men to identify with the Democratic Party. (Chapter 7)
Gender gap in political knowledge. Differences between men and women in knowledge of politics; studies commonly show that men are more knowledgeable about politics than women. (Chapter 8)
Gender stereotypes. Beliefs about males as a group and females as a group that citizens apply to individual men or individual women. (Chapter 10)
Generalist. Someone who is knowledgeable about all political topics. (Chapter 8)
Generational effect. Changes in political attitudes to an entire age cohort, caused by events or features of the political context. (Chapter 2)
Genetic inheritance. Transmission of traits, opinions, and so forth from parents to offspring via genes. (Chapter 2)
Geneva Conventions. An international treaty that governs, among other matters, the treatment of prisoners of war and the rights of foreign nationals who are accused of committing criminal acts. (Chapter 9)
Group consciousness. An awareness of how membership in a particular group shapes the life chances of individuals. (Chapter 7)
Group membership. Using personal characteristics to assign a person to a social or demographic group, such as one based on gender or race. (Chapter 7)
Glossary
419
Hard news. News regarding political leaders, important issues, and significant events. (Chapter 3)
Heuristics. Mental shortcuts used for processing and understanding information; for example, a person relying on the ideology of the sponsor of a new policy to determine his or her own opinion toward the policy. (Chapters 5, 8)
Historical events. Important political events that shape public opinion. (Chapter 6)
Homosexuals. Individuals who have intimate relationships with people of their same sex. (Chapter 9)
Honeymoon period. Time early in a president's term when public approval tends to be higher. (Chapter 4)
Horse race. Discussing political campaigns in terms of which candidates are leading, gaining momentum, or falling behind. (Chapter 3)
Hypodermic model. Perspective that views the media as quite persuasive and citizens as unable to resist media messages. (Chapter 3)
Ideologically contentious. Quality of politics characterized by salient political actors (such as members of political parties) disagreeing over the key issues of the day, particularly when the disagreements fall along ideological lines. (Chapter 5)
Ideology. Overarching set of beliefs regarding the proper role of government in society, in regulating the economy, and in individuals' lives. (Chapters 2, 5)
Implementation. Translating abstract policies into practice. (Chapter 10)
Implicit prejudice. Unintentional, nonconscious prejudice. (Chapter 10)
Importance model. Model of opinion formation that says that important concepts are weighted more heavily in citizens' minds (for example, due to media coverage) and then influence people's political judgments. (Chapter 3)
Impressionable years model. Perspective that views political attitudes as changing during late adolescence and early adulthood and then remaining more stable throughout the rest of the life span. (Chapter 2)
In-depth interviewing. A type of research method for assessing political attitudes by asking respondents open-ended questions and allowing respondents to answer however they wish and in as much detail as they want to provide. (Appendix, Chapter 5)
Individualism. Belief that people should get ahead on the basis of their own efforts. (Chapter 6)
Informal social interaction. Casual interaction among neighbors or friends. (Chapter 11)
Information environment. The amount of information about politics that is present in the media. (Chapter 8)
Informed. Quality of citizens who hold accurate factual beliefs about politics. (Chapter 8)
Interest groups. Organizations or collections of individuals who attempt to influence governmental decision makers regarding specific issues. (Chapter 1)
420 Glossary
Interest in politics. Degree to which people find politics appealing or are curious about politics. (Chapter 8)
Intermediary. Link between citizens and political elites. (Chapter 3)
Internal validity. A characteristic of a study that allows a researcher to conclude that one factor causes another. (Appendix)
Interpersonal communication. Discussion of political matters among individuals. (Chapter 2)
Interpersonal trust. The degree to which people think others can be trusted, are fair, and are helpful. (Chapter 11)
Issue salience. Level of public concern for a political issue. (Chapter 12)
Knowledge function. Theory that people have specific attitudes because the attitudes help them to understand the world around them. (Chapter 4)
Leaners. Individuals who describe themselves as partisan independents but who do feel close to one of the political parties. (Chapter 1)
Learning theory. Approach for understanding the development of attitudes whose basic premise is that attitudes are obtained much like habits; that is, people grow to like or dislike attitude objects after repeated exposure to the object. (Chapter 4)
Least liked group. Group whose political views or behaviors a person loathes the most; survey research method for assessing public tolerance of those holding unpopular political views. (Chapter 9)
Liberals. People whose political ideology favors government intervention in the economy when necessary to combat features of the free market (such as discrimination and low wages); also, individuals who value equality and openness to dissenting views. (Chapter 5)
Libertarians. People who have a predisposition to value diversity and individual freedom. (Chapter 6)
Life cycle effects. Effects that occur when people's political attitudes are strongly influenced by their age rather than, for example, developing only when they are young. (Chapter 2)
Likert question. Type of item appearing on an opinion poll whereby a statement is presented to respondents who are asked whether they agree or disagree with the statement. (Chapter 5)
Limited information processors. Description of people that emphasizes that humans do not have the cognitive abilities to systematically process complex political information and thus use heuristics. (Chapter 8)
Linked fate. Belief that a persons life chances are tied to the fate of demographic group(s) to which he or she belongs. (Chapter 7)
Longitudinal survey. See Panel or longitudinal study/survey.
Low-information rationality. The result of citizens using heuristics, such as party identification or cues from trusted groups, to figure out their own political stances. (Chapter 8)
Glossary 421
Mainstream effect. The effect that, when political elites agree on an issue, the more politically aware a person is, the more likely he or she will hold the same opinion as the elites. (Chapter 4)
Malevolent leader imagery. Viewing political leaders quite negatively; believing that leaders are not good people. (Chapter 2)
Manipulation. The act of researchers varying access to information, events, or whatever is the focus of the research among the experimental participants. (Appendix)
Marketplace of ideas. Many different political views being available in the public arena. (Chapter 9)
Measurement error. Difference between the assessment of a political attitude and what the real content of the attitude actually is. (Chapter 5)
Militarists. People who believe that military leaders rather than elected officials should rule a nation. (Chapter 9)
Minimal effects model. Perspective that views citizens as resistant to media messages because they filter media content through their preexisting attitudes. (Chapter 3)
Misinformed. Quality of citizens who hold inaccurate factual beliefs about politics. (Chapter 8)
Moral issues. Issues that address matters related to the family or morality, such as pornography, gay marriage, and school prayer. (Chapter 7)
Moral traditionalism. Belief that traditional family and societal organization is best. (Chapter 6)
Multilateralism. Foreign policy goals that emphasize working with other nations and international bodies such as the United Nations. (Chapter 12)
Multiple choice questions. Questions that provide several possible answers from which a respondent can select. (Chapter 8)
Muslim extremists. Members of the Muslim faith who hold extreme political views, such as advocating terrorism. (Chapter 9)
National mass membership organizations. Organizations that are not community based; individuals participate by paying dues but rarely by working with other citizens to solve problems. (Chapter 11)
National probability sample. Subset of people who have been chosen randomly to accurately represent a larger population; generally used for selecting individuals for opinion polls. (Chapter 2)
Neutrality. A news norm that calls for journalists to not inject their personal opinions into news coverage. (Chapter 3)
News grazers. People who follow the news on television but who quickly flip to another channel when they lose interest. (Chapter 8)
News norms. Standards and customs that shape the behavior of journalists. (Chapter 3)
Newsbeats. A news norm that calls for journalists to be assigned to cover specific institutions or topic areas, called beats. (Chapter 3)
422 Glossary
Newsworthiness. A news norm that calls for journalists to cover conflict. (Chapter 3)
Nonattitudes. Political opinions that are fleeting, not well considered, or lacking meaning for people who hold them. (Chapter 4)
Normatíve. Conclusions or statements that focus on how the world should operate; in the realm of democratic theory, views regarding how government and society ought to be structured, including what ought to be the role of the citizenry. (Chapter 1)
Normative threats. Situations in which core values are called into question. (Chapter 6)
Objective measures of economic well-being. Statistics such as the inflation rate or the unemployment rate that indicate the state of the economy. (Chapter 4)
Objectivity. A news norm that calls for journalists to provide both sides of an issue. (Chapter 3)
Official sources. News sources that primarily include government officials but also other powerful people in society. (Chapter 3)
Old-fashioned racism. A set of beliefs about the innate inferiority of black Americans. (Chapter 7)
Open-ended questions. Survey items that allow respondents to answer however they see fit; these items do not present respondents with predetermined response options. (Appendix, Chapter 5)
Opinion. Expression of a preference toward an object; verbal or written expression of an attitude. (Chapter 1)
Opinion leadership. Act of political elites educating or shaping the attitudes of the citizenry, such as by describing policy proposals and reasons for supporting them. (Chapter 12)
Opinion-policy congruence. Degree to which citizen preferences and governmental decisions are the same. (Chapter 12)
Opinion trends. General direction of aggregate public preferences, such as liberal or conservative swings. (Chapter 12)
Pack journalism. When journalists assigned to the same newsbeats all cover the same stories (and don't cover other stories). (Chapter 3)
Pan-ethnic identity. Identification with a broad ethnic group (such as Latino) regardless of one's country of origin or descent (for example, Mexico or Cuba). (Chapter 7)
Panel or longitudinal study/survey. Assessing the political opinions of the same people at two or more times. (Appendix, Chapter 2)
Participatory democracy. Theory of democracy that emphasizes the importance of political participation by the public and believes the public to be capable of meaningful participation. (Chapter 1)
Partisan independence. Viewing oneself as not identifying with a political party. (Chapter 1)
Glossary 423
Partisans. People who identify with a political party. (Chapter 1)
Party identification. Allegiance with or attachment to a political party (typically the Democratic Party or the Republican Party); a self-classification rather than a description of a person's behavior. (Chapters 1,2,7)
People and players. A type of political knowledge; knowledge about key people and groups. (Chapter 8)
Perceptions of the state of the economy. Public assessments about economic conditions. (Chapter 4)
Period effects. Changes in the political attitudes of many people, regardless of their ages, caused by events or features of the political context. (Chapter 2)
Peripheral route to persuasion. Process by which attitudes can change when a person is not motivated or able to carefully consider persuasive communication; any resulting attitude change is likely to be only temporary. (Chapter 4)
Personality traits. Stable personal characteristics (such as dogmatism, conscientiousness, and empathy). (Chapters 6, 9)
Pluralistic intolerance. The result when the public does not support the free expression rights of many different political groups. (Chapter 9)
Pluralistic roots. Perspective that public opinion is shaped by several factors, not just ideology. (Chapter 6)
Pluralists. Democratic theorists who believe that groups perform an essential role as intermediaries between the public and political elites. (Chapter 1)
Pocketbook issues. Issues that affect people's personal economic circumstances. (Chapter 6)
Polarization effect. The effect that occurs when political elites disagree on an issue; the attitudes of more politically aware citizens will coincide with their existing predispositions, especially when the elite disagreement falls along party or ideological lines. (Chapter 4)
Policy mood. Broad measure of aggregate public opinion; generally captures whether the public feels that the government is too active or not active enough. (Chapter 12)
Policy sentiment. Broad measure of aggregate public opinion; synonym of policy mood. (Chapter 12)
Political awareness. Degree to which people follow political matters closely. (Chapter 4)
Political expertise. Degree to which people are knowledgeable about and interested in political matters. (Chapter 9)
Political knowledge. Facts about politics stored in citizens' long-term memories. (Chapter 8)
Political opinionation. Degree to which people have attitudes on political matters. (Chapter 2)
Political predispositions. People's existing political orientations, including core values and enduring beliefs. (Chapter 4)
424 Glossary
Political reality explanation/model. Perspective that political attitudes are based on real political phenomena; for example, lower levels of trust among blacks are due to the fact that they have less political power than whites. (Chapters 2, 11)
Political socialization. Process by which people learn about politics and develop political opinions. (Chapter 2)
Political structure. Institutional features of a political system. (Chaptet 8)
Political times. Features of the broader environment during a particular era that can shape public opinion toward specific issues or people. (Chapter 9)
Political tolerance. Public support for civil liberties, particularly support for the rights of individuals or groups whose views people oppose. (Chapter 9)
Popular sovereignty. Principle that the power in a democratic society ultimately rests with the citizenry. (Chapters 1,12)
Population. All the elements of interest. (Appendix)
Prejudice. Negative affect that is felt toward a specific societal group. (Chapter 1)
Presidential approval. Public's level of approval or disapproval of the presidents job performance. (Chapter 4)
Priming effects. Effects that occur when the media cover particular issues or personal characteristics and then citizens rely on those issues or characteristics as they evaluate political leaders. (Chapter 3)
Principles of equality. Abstract beliefs that blacks and whites should be treated equally. (Chaptet 10)
Private polls. Opinion surveys that are conducted for political leaders (most notably the ptesident) to assess public opinion. (Chapter 12)
Public attentiveness. Following politics and political news closely. (Chapter 12)
Public judgment. Opinions that result once people have thoroughly considered a political issue and the consequences of their views. (Chapter 1)
Public opinion. The preferences of people toward governmental and policy matters; generally considered as the aggregation of individuals' views. (Chapter 1)
Public opinion poll. A type of research method for assessing political attitudes in which a large sample of citizens (typically randomly selected from the population) are each asked the same list of questions. (Chapter 1, Appendix)
Question order effects. Effects that occur when the order of survey questions influences respondents' answets to those questions. (Appendix)
Question wording. Content of items on an opinion poll as well as the content of response options that are provided to respondents. (Chapter 5)
Question wording effects. Effects that occur when the wording of survey questions influences respondents' answets to those questions. (Appendix)
Race-coded policies. Policies that ate race-neutral yet have become linked with racial minorities in the minds of white citizens. (Chapter 7)
Race-neutral policies. Policies that affect citizens regardless of race. (Chapter 7)
1
Glossary 425
Race-targeted policies. Policies designed to specifically aid racial minorities, such as affirmative action and the government taking steps to ensute fair treatment in employment. (Chapter 7)
Racial gap in political knowledge. Differences between whites and racial minorities in political knowledge; in general, studies find that whites are more knowledgeable about politics than facial minorities but that the gap disappears for knowledge of issues particularly important to minorities. (Chapter 8)
Racial identity. Belief that a person's fate is tied to the fate of his 01 her racial group. (Chaptet 7)
Racial profiling. Selecting someone fot questioning or extra scrutiny on the basis of race or ethnicity. (Chaptet 9)
Racial resentment. A form of prejudice that focuses on the moral character of blacks and contends that blacks do not wotk hard enough and that they take what they have not earned (similat to symbolic tacism). (Chapter 7)
Racialization of poverty. Tendency to overrepresent racial minorities, particu-latly blacks, in images of poor people. (Chapter 7)
Racists. People who believe members of their own race are superior to members of othet racial groups. (Chapter 9)
Rally round the flag. Heightened support for the president during time of national crisis. (Chaptet 4)
Random assignment. Process of assigning subjects to experimental conditions such that chance alone determines which subject gets which condition. (Appendix)
Random sample. A sample in which chance alone determines which elements of the population make it into the sample. (Appendix)
Receive-accept-sample model. Framework for understanding political persuasion; whether attitude change results will depend on exposure to and agreement with persuasive communication as well as what considerations are at the top of a petson's head at a given point in time. (Chapter 4)
Reception. Stage in the political persuasion process during which people are exposed to, attend to, and understand persuasive communication. (Chapter 4)
Reinforcement effect. Effect that occurs when political communication reinforces people's existing political preferences. (Chaptet 3)
Representative democracy. Governmental system whereby citizens elect officials to represent theit views and make decisions. (Chapter 1)
Resistance. Processes by which people ensure that persuasive communication does not change their attitudes; also, motivations people hold to withstand attitude change. (Chaptet 4)
Response order effects. Effects that occur when the otder of response options to a survey question influences respondents' answers to those questions. (Appendix)
Rules of the game. A type of political knowledge; knowledge about the institutions and ptocesses of politics. (Chapter 8)
426 Glossary
Sample. A subset of the elements of interest (that is, a subset of the population). (Appendix)
Self-interest. A person's narrow, economic interests. (Chapter 6) Self-perception theory. Approach to understanding attitude formation and
change; key premise is that people infer their attitudes from their own behaviors.
(Chapter 4)
Shared environment. Experiences and upbringing that are the same between individuals; particularly relevant when examining twins. (Chapter 2)
Short answer questions. Open-ended questions that require respondents to answer without providing any answer options. (Chapter 8)
Simulated responsiveness. When public policy corresponds with the opinions of the public but only after citizen views have been cultivated by leaders to reflect the policy goals of the leaders; in other words, public policy does not necessarily reflect the genuine wishes of the public. (Chapter 12)
Social adjustment. Theory that people have specific attitudes because the attitudes conform to those of peers in their social network. (Chapter 4)
Social capital. Degree to which people connect with and trust other citizens and engage in civic activities in their communities. (Chapter 11)
Social desirability. Pressure to not express true attitudes that might be perceived as politically incorrect, especially when asked survey questions on sensitive topics, such as race or religion. (Chapter 10)
Social media. Communication technologies and devices that allow for virtual social interaction. (Chapter 11)
Social movements. Citizens organizing and working together to influence politics. (Chapter 6)
Social network. The collection of individuals with whom a person discusses politics regularly. (Chapter 4)
Socialists. People who favor socialism or, more specifically, government or communal ownership of the means of production. (Chapter 9)
Socialization agents. Sources of political learning or political opinions; individuals or institutions that foster learning or development of opinions. (Chapter 2)
Socialization gains. Acquisition or further development of political opinions. (Chapter 2)
Sociotropic concerns. General concerns about society. (Chapter 6) Soft news. News that has nothing to do with public policy. (Chapter 3) Soft news media. Media outlets that cover politics in a primarily entertainment-oriented format. (Chapter 3)
Specialist. Someone who has knowledge on some topics but not others. (Chapter 8)
Specific support. Attitudes toward the performance of political leaders and governmental outputs, such as public policies. (Chapter 11)
Glossary 427
Split-half survey. An experiment embedded in a survey whereby one-half of the respondents are randomly assigned to one condition and the other half are randomly assigned to another condition. (Appendix)
Status quo bias. The likelihood that public policy will remain the same when the public does not desire a policy change is higher than the likelihood that policy will change when the public desires change. (Chapter 12)
Stereotypes. Beliefs about the characteristics of members of social groups; the beliefs can be positive or negative. (Chapter 1)
Substance of politics. A type of political knowledge about political issues. (Chapter 8)
Subtle effects model. Perspective that views the media as having influence over citizens via agenda setting, priming, and framing. (Chapter 3)
Support for democratic norms. Support for key principles of democratic governance, such as majority rule. (Chapter 9)
Survey. A type of research method for assessing political attitudes in which a large sample of citizens (typically randomly selected from the population) are each asked the same list of questions. (Appendix)
Survey-based experiment. An experiment embedded in a survey whereby subjects are randomly assigned to experimental conditions. (Appendix)
Symbolic racism. The belief that blacks do not work hard enough and that black disadvantage cannot be explained by discrimination (similar to racial resentment). (Chapter 7)
Tabloid journalism. A form of journalism that is much less committed, if at all, to news norms. (Chapter 3)
Tea Party movement. Movement that emerged in 2009; loosely connected local groups whose members possess conservative political views and low trust in government. (Chapter 11)
Threat perceptions. Beliefs that a person or a group endangers an individual's personal security, his or her way of life, or the security of the nation. (Chapter 9)
Timebound. Characteristic of a study whereby it only applies to a limited time period. (Chapter 8)
Tolerance curriculum. Educational lessons and activities designed to increase public support for civil liberties, particularly for groups holding unpopular political views. (Chapter 9)
Tracking polls. Survey questions that are asked every day, using a different sample of respondents each day, and for which the results are averaged across a set number of days (usually three). (Chapter 4)
Traditional journalism. A form of journalism that exhibits a strong commitment to news norms. (Chapter 3)
Transfer of affect. Application of emotions held toward one attitude object to a related object, thus influencing attitudes toward the second object. (Chapter 4)
428 Glossary
Trust. Degree to which people agree that political leaders are honest and act in the public's interests. (Chapter 2)
Trust in government. A positive evaluation of the government in Washington; particularly having faith in the performance of government and in political leaders. (Chapter 11)
Trust in government scale. Four survey questions used by the American National Election Studies to measure the public's trust in government. (Chapter 11)
Two-step flow of communication. Flow of political information first from the media to attentive citizens, called opinion leaders, and then from these attentive citizens to their friends and family who are not as engaged in politics. (Chapter 3)
Unilateral foreign policies. Governmental actions that feature one nation "going it alone" rather than working together with other nations or international organizations. (Chapter 12)
Uninformed. Quality of citizens who do not hold factual beliefs about politics. (Chapter 8)
Unshared environment. Experiences and upbringing that differ between individuals; particularly relevant when examining twins. (Chapter 2)
USA Patriot Act. National legislation granting certain powers to government officials with the goal of fighting terrorism. (Chapter 9)
Use-of-force issues. Issues that deal with military force or violent acts (such as the death penalty and the use of handguns). (Chapter 7)
Utilitarian function. Theory that people have specific attitudes toward an object because of the benefits provided by or the punishment inflicted by the attitude object. (Chapter 4)
Value-expressive function. Theory that people have specific attitudes because these attitudes allow them to express their core beliefs and values. (Chapter 4)
Value of free expression. Importance of people discussing and debating a wide range of political views in public. (Chapter 9)
Values. Abstract enduring beliefs regarding how the world should work. (Chapters 1, 6)
War casualties. Number of soldiers killed during wartime. (Chapter 4) Watchdog. The role of the media in scrutinizing and investigating the actions of
public officials. (Chapter 3)
Women's issues. Issues that are presumed to be of particular interest to women,
such as abortion and the role of women in the workforce. (Chapter 7)
1
Index
A
ABC, 69-70, 71 (table), 74, 91, 218,
218 (figure) Abdulmutallab, Umar Farouk, 262-263 Aborisade, O., 61 Abrajano, M. A., 207 Acceptance stage, 118-120, 119 (figure) Accessibility model, 93-94 Accuracy, 81 Accuracy in Media, 100 ACORN (Association of Community
Organizations for Reform Now), 83 Activated mass opinion, 180-181 Activation effects, 86-87 Active communication, 58 Adams, Noah, 43 Adolescent political socialization generational effects, 58-59 parental transmission, 50-54, 51 (table),
53 (figure), 65 period effects, 59 political campaigns, 57—58 Adorno.T. W., 163, 183 Adult political socialization, 50-52, 54-57,
55 (figure) Advocacy journalism, 82 Affect misattribution procedure, 281 Affirmative action, 69-70, 71 (table), 286-287,
287 (figure), 381n2 African Americans
affirmative action support, 286-287,
287 (figure) black Marxism, 389n42 Black Panthers, 250, 251 (table) black political ideologies, 150-153,
152 (table), 153 (box), 191-200 black presidential candidates, 278—282,
279 (figure), 280 (table), 373 black press, 79 black utility heuristic, 200
black-white differences, 191-200,
192 (figure), 193 (figure), 393nl2 civic engagement, 331—332 civil rights, 274, 284 (figure), 284-291,
285 (figure), 287 (figure), 288 (table),
289 (table), 298 reparations support, 287-291, 288 (table),
289 (table) school busing support, 285 (figure) school integration support, 284 (figure),
284-286 stereotypes, 18—19
trust in government, 314-316, 315 (figure)
see also Race Age differences, 229, 230 (table) Agenda-setting effects, 88 Aggregate opinion, 107-109, 108 (table) Aggregate studies, 342
Agreeableness, 170-171, 171 (table), 172 (table) Ajzen, I., 129
Alford, J„ 61-63, 63 (figure), 64 Almond, G.A., 61
al-Qaeda, 101, 217, 223, 244, 262, 339 Altemeyer, B., 183 Alvarez, R. M., 207 Alwin, D. E, 67
American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR), 26
American Association of Retired Persons (AARP), 328-329
American Association of University Women (AAUW), 328, 328 (figure)
American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU), 241-242, 271-272
American National Election Study (ANES) surveys, 102, 135, 137, 144 (table), 148 (figure), 154 (figure), 187 (figure), 204 (figure), 235 (figure), 281, 287, 287 (figure), 306 (table), 306-307, 308 (figure), 316