Political Beliefs and Behaviors
How do we come by our political beliefs?
Through various agents of political socialization: first parents and elementary school, and then through high school, college, and the peers in your community. Also, the media can influence political beliefs by framing issues and your values can change as you grow older and pay attention to your self-interest.
What are the sources of public opinion?
Political knowledge, self-interest, how issues are framed, and the various political socialization agents will determine how the public will think of something.
What is “Political Culture” and is there a unique American political culture?
Political culture is the shared set of values and beliefs that determines how people think government should be and their political behavior.
The American political culture, I think, is unique in that it is an amalgam of virtually every other political culture in the world
Certain Americans may believe one thing while others may believe the complete opposite or anything in between.
It may sound banal, but America is in fact the melting pot.
What is the “political spectrum”?
The political spectrum is the range of political ideas held by different parties.
How do these political beliefs define who we are as citizens?
It determines what we believe a citizen's rights and duties are and therefore gives certain groups unique definitions of what it is to be a citizen;
It can determine what we do to support, or question, our government.
What does it mean to be a citizen?
Some may think a citizen is one who supports the government constantly by being politically active. Others may believe that a citizen has certain rights but has a limited role in politics.
What role is played by party organizations, PACs, and money generally in campaigns?
Party organizations' role in campaigns is mainly to support their candidates by providing them with services and funds
PACs donate large amounts of money to candidates they want to win.
What roles do the groups listed above play in the electoral process?
Party organizations nominate candidates, structure the voting choice so that only candidates likely to win office can be voted for, and provide coherent, alternative platforms for voters to decide on.
PACs can influence whether or not a political candidate gets elected or not by giving them money to run an effective campaign
In general, money can decide close elections.
What role should they play?
Party organizations seem to be playing the correct role in the electoral process.
Both PACs and money should influence elections only to the extent that they make candidates known to the people, which they seem to do.
The only problem is the way in which money is used in campaigns.
Through various agents of political socialization: first parents and elementary school, and then through high school, college, and the peers in your community. Also, the media can influence political beliefs by framing issues and your values can change as you grow older and pay attention to your self-interest.
What are the sources of public opinion?
Political knowledge, self-interest, how issues are framed, and the various political socialization agents will determine how the public will think of something.
What is “Political Culture” and is there a unique American political culture?
Political culture is the shared set of values and beliefs that determines how people think government should be and their political behavior.
The American political culture, I think, is unique in that it is an amalgam of virtually every other political culture in the world
Certain Americans may believe one thing while others may believe the complete opposite or anything in between.
It may sound banal, but America is in fact the melting pot.
What is the “political spectrum”?
The political spectrum is the range of political ideas held by different parties.
How do these political beliefs define who we are as citizens?
It determines what we believe a citizen's rights and duties are and therefore gives certain groups unique definitions of what it is to be a citizen;
It can determine what we do to support, or question, our government.
What does it mean to be a citizen?
Some may think a citizen is one who supports the government constantly by being politically active. Others may believe that a citizen has certain rights but has a limited role in politics.
What role is played by party organizations, PACs, and money generally in campaigns?
Party organizations' role in campaigns is mainly to support their candidates by providing them with services and funds
PACs donate large amounts of money to candidates they want to win.
What roles do the groups listed above play in the electoral process?
Party organizations nominate candidates, structure the voting choice so that only candidates likely to win office can be voted for, and provide coherent, alternative platforms for voters to decide on.
PACs can influence whether or not a political candidate gets elected or not by giving them money to run an effective campaign
In general, money can decide close elections.
What role should they play?
Party organizations seem to be playing the correct role in the electoral process.
Both PACs and money should influence elections only to the extent that they make candidates known to the people, which they seem to do.
The only problem is the way in which money is used in campaigns.