AP Gov.
Chapter 6
Public Opinion and Political Action
Census-every 10 years-Const.Reapportionment
 Minority Majority
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Hisp 15%
African Amer. 13%
Asian Amer. 5%
Native Amer. 1%
(cont.)
Political Culture-overall set of values
 Political Ideology-beliefs about politics,
public policy and public purpose
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◦ Americans are thinking less ideological
(decline of parties more split ticket voting)
Changes
Regional shifts
 Greying of America
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Political Socialization
Family
 Religion
 Mass Media
 School (mostly nuts and bolts, though)
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*Participation rises with age
Public Opinion-how people feel
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Polling
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Sample
Random Sample
Sampling Error
Random Digit Dialing
Exit Poll
Types of Opinion
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Saliency
◦ Care more about certain issues (Union
Workers)
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Stability
◦ Steadiness of issue (abortion steady/Pres.
Approval not steady)
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Policy Congruence
◦ Level of connect between Gov. action and
public opinion (Congress 1, Pres. 2 and SC 3)
Liberals and Conservatives
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Liberals
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Young
People of Less Clout
Women
Minorities (blacks more than hispanics-religion)
Less Religious
Conservatives
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Old
More Clout
Men
White (Asian minority exception)
Religious
*Gender gap reflects differences on size of Gov., guns, reproductive rights,
gay rights and social programs
**College tends to have liberalizing effect
Political Participation

Conventional
◦ Voting/volunteering/running for office
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Unconventional
◦ Protest or civil disobedience/violence
*Race and economics plays a part
**Social class less important in the U.S. (rags
to riches)
***Political Elite-disproportionate amount of
valued resource
Political Efficacy
Efficacy-knowledge
 Political Efficacy-knowledge of politics
 Internal Efficacy-belief in one’s own ability
to take part in politics
 External Efficacy-belief that the political
system will respond to citizens (going
down especially at Fed. Level)
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