Unit 3 Political Beliefs and
Behaviors
Exam Review PowerPoint
Political Culture
• Definition: distinctive and patterned way of
thinking about how political and economic life
ought to be carried out
-Americans generally believe more strongly in
politically equality than economic
• Alexis de Tocqueville analyzed why democracy
could take root in the U.S. – there is lots of
land and job opportunities
American Political Culture
Political Culture
• America has a very different system
compared to other nations

We stress individualism and competition, we tend to
assert our rights, we tend to favor economic freedom
over equality, and we are highly religious
• Civic duty: belief that one has an obligation
to participate in civic and political affairs
• Civic competence: belief that one can affect
government policies
American Political Culture
Culture War
• Cultural classes in America battle over
values
• Different from political disputes because:
1. No money at stake
2. Compromises almost impossible
3. Conflict more profound
Deep differences between people’s beliefs about public
and private morality (standards that ought to govern
individual behavior and social arrangements)
Ideas of American Politics
2 Cultural Camps
• Orthodox: (fundamentalist Protestants)
-morality is as, or more important than self-expression
-morality derives from fixed rules from God
• Progressive: (liberal Protestants or no religious beliefs)
-personal freedom is as, or more important than tradition
-rules change based on circumstances of modern life and
individual preferences
 Culture war occurs both between and within religious
denominations
 Special historical importance:
-more people consider themselves progressive today
-rise of technology (and media) makes it easier to mobilize
Ideas of American Politics
Political Efficacy
• Citizen’s capacity to understand and influence
political events
• Two parts:
Internal efficacy – confidence in one’s ability to
understand and influence events
External efficacy – belief that the system will respond
to citizens
-Not shaped by particular events
-declining since the 1960’s
-feel govt. is becoming to big to respond to individual
preferences
Ideas of American Politics
Public Opinion
• What is public opinion?
– How people think or feel about certain things
– Poll = survey of public opinion
– Business first started systematically measuring public
opinion, and politics followed closely
• People don’t spend a great deal of time
thinking about politics
=high levels of public ignorance
•
Despite this, Americans are pretty good at using cues;
when given basic information the average citizen can use
it fairly effectively
Public Opinion
Polling
• How does polling work?
– Need to ask reasonable, fairly worded questions
– Have to ask people about things for which they have some
basis to form an opinion
– Random sampling necessary
– Have to be aware of sampling error (difference b/t results of
2 surveys)
– For populations over 500,000 pollsters need to make about
15,000 phone call to reach 1065 respondents, ensuring the
poll has a sampling error of only +/- 3%
-increasingly difficult to get (why?)
– Reliability harmed by low response rates
Public Opinion
Political Socialization
• Political socialization influences opinion
-children tend to share parents opinion
-variances associated with race, class, gender,
religion, etc.
-BUT people with similarities do not necessarily
think or vote the same way
• Mass and elite opinions differ
-Elites tend to know more about politics
-tend to be more consistent in their opinions
Public Opinion
Forming Political Opinions
(Political Socialization)
• In trying to pick the important slides from this
PowerPoint, I conclude they are ALL
important!
Forming Political Opinions
Political Ideology
• Definition: more or less consistent set of beliefs
about what policies government ought to pursue.
– Measured by (1) the frequency of people’s use of broad
terms to describe/justify their views and (2)how
consistent these preferences are over time
• Most Americans do not think ideologically and have
little use for terms like “liberal” or “conservative”
• But we still have strong predispositions and share a
common political culture
• Moderates are the largest group of Americans
Political Ideology
“Rule of Thumb”
(which is violated a million times every day)
• Liberal View
– Favors bigger welfare state
– Favors smaller military establishment
– Pro-choice
• Conservative View
– Favors smaller role of government
– Support a strong military
– Favors prayer in school
– Pro-life
Political Ideology
Liberal
• Government should provide
jobs for all, medical care,
education
• Increased taxation of the
rich
• Strict enforcement of civil
rights (affirmative action)
• More tolerant of protests
• Legalize marijuana, gay
marriage, and protect rights
of the accused, stricter gun
laws
Conservative
• Government should provide
people with adequate
personal freedom to
conduct their lives as they
choose
• Lower taxes
• Traditional, family and social
values are stressed
– No gay marriage
– No abortion
• Seen as tougher on crime
• Right to bear arms
Generated from polls dealing with (1) economy (2) civil rights and (3) personal conduct
Political Ideology
Reality
• Liberal and Conservative labels just don’t cut it –
people mix liberal and conservative positions all the
time
• There could actually be as many as nine categories
• But to make things a little easier, theorists have
settled on four (Shown in Nolan Chart)
– Pure liberals (liberal on both economic and personal
conduct issues)
– Pure conservatives (conservative on both economic and
personal conduct issues)
– Libertarians
– Populists (aka Authoritarians)
Political Ideology
Descriptions
• Libertarians- conservative on economic issues,
liberal on social
– Value freedom more than order or equality
– Want minimal government intervention in both economic
and social spheres
• Populists/Authoritarians- liberal on economic
issues, conservative on social
– Value equality and order more than freedom
– Like liberals, think the government should help the
disadvantaged
– Like conservatives, think the government should promote
moral values
Political Ideology
A Close Look at Nonvoting
Alleged problem: low turnout of voters in the U.S.
compared to Europe
1. Data are misleading: tend to compare turnout of voting-age
population; turnout of registered voters reveals problem is not
so severe
2. Real problem is low voter registration rates
a. Proposed solution: get-out-the-voter drives
b. But this will not help those who are not registered
3. Apathy is not the only cause of nonregistration
a. Registration has costs in U.S.: there are no costs in
European countries where registration is automatic
b. Motor-voter law of 1993 took effect in 1995, lowered costs
and increased registration throughout the country. However,
many still did not vote! “…those who register when the process
is costless are
less likely to vote”
Voter Turnout
A Close Look at Nonvoting Continued…
Voting is not the only way of participating – by other
measures, Americans may participate more in politics
than Europeans. Examples include:
Joining Civic Associations
Supporting Social Movements
Writing to legislatures
Fighting City Hall
Important question: how do different kinds of
participation affect the government?
Voter Turnout
The Rise of the American Electorate
From State to Federal Control
1. Initially, states decided who could vote and for which offices
2. This led to wide variation in federal elections
3. Congress has since reduced state prerogatives through law
and constitutional amendment
 1842 law: House members elected by district
 15th Amendment (1870): seemed to give suffrage to
African-Americans but really
1) Opened the door to literacy tests, poll taxes, and
grandfather clauses
2) Voting Rights Act of 1965 finally guaranteed right to
vote to blacks –ended above controversial practices.
Voter Turnout
The Rise of the American Electorate
 Women given right to vote by 19th Amendment (1920);
participation rose immediately, but no major impact on
electoral outcomes
 18-year-olds given suffrage by 26th Amendment (1971);
voter turnout among the newly eligible (18 to 24 year olds)
was low, and has continued to fall
 BUT, this group participates more in other non-voting
ways!
 National standards now govern most aspects of voter
eligibility
 Twenty-third Amendment was ratified in 1961, giving
District of Columbia residents the right to vote in
presidential elections
Voter Turnout
Forms of Political Participation
(Besides Voting)
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Litigation
Protest/public demonstrations
Contacting media or public officials
Campaign work, voter registration
Campaign contributions
Running for/holding political office
Political discussion (Way to go, AP Government!)
Membership in a political organization
Political Participation
Causes of Participation
• Education- more=more
• Religion- involvement develops skills
associated with political participation
• Gender- equal
• Race – Black participation is lower, BUT
controlling for socioeconomic status,
they actually participate at a higher rate
Political Participation
Factors that Decrease Turnout
• Youths, minorities pushing down percentage
of eligible adults who are registered and vote
(Ya darn kids!)
• Parties less effective in mobilization
• Remaining registration impediments have
negative effects
• Voting not compulsory
• Feelings that elections don’t matter
Political Participation