Chapter 10-Public Opinion | POLS 1101 - American Government, Quizzes of Local Government Studies

Download Chapter 10-Public Opinion | POLS 1101 - American Government and more Quizzes Local Government Studies in PDF only on Docsity! TERM 1 Aggregate partisanship DEFINITION 1 The distribution, or percentage, of the electorate that identifies with each of the political parties. TERM 2 Aggregate public opinion DEFINITION 2 In a democracy, the sum of all individual opinions. TERM 3 Ambivalence DEFINITION 3 A state of mind produced when particular issues evoke attitudes and beliefs that pull one in opposite directions. TERM 4 Attitude DEFINITION 4 An organized and consistent manner of thinking and feeling about people, groups, social issues, or more generally, any event in ones environment. TERM 5 Cognitive shortcut DEFINITION 5 A mental device allowing citizens to make complex decisions based on a small amount of information. For example, a candidates party label serves as a shortcut by telling voters much about his or her positions on issues. TERM 6 Conservative DEFINITION 6 In the United States, a proponent of a political ideology that favors small or limited government, an unfettered free market, self-reliance, and traditional social norms. TERM 7 Core Values DEFINITION 7 Moral beliefs held by citizens that underlie their attitudes toward political and other issues. As integral parts of an individuals identity, these beliefs are stable and resistant to change. TERM 8 Framing DEFINITION 8 Providing a context that affects the criteria citizens use to evaluate candidates, campaigns, and political issues. TERM 9 Ideology DEFINITION 9 A comprehensive, integrated set of views about government and politics. TERM 10 Issue publics DEFINITION 10 Groups of citizens who are more attentive to particular areas of public policy than are average citizens because they have some special stake in the issues.