Unit 5: Political Beliefs and Behaviors

• know important facts, concepts, and theories pertaining to U.S. government and politics

• understand typical patterns of political processes and behavior and their consequences (including the components of political behavior, the principles used to explain or justify various government structures and procedures, and the political effects of these structures and procedures)

Political Beliefs and Behaviors

Individual citizens hold a variety of beliefs about their government, its leaders, and the U.S. political system in general; taken together, these beliefs form the foundation of U.S. political culture. It is important for students to understand how these beliefs are formed, how they evolve, and the processes by which they are transmitted. Students should know why U.S. citizens hold certain beliefs about politics, and how families, schools, and the media act to perpetuate or change these beliefs. Understanding the ways in which political culture affects and informs political participation is also critical. For example, students should know that individuals often engage in multiple forms of political participation, including voting, protest, and mass movements.

Students should understand why individuals engage in various forms of political participation and how that participation may affect the political system. Finally, it is essential that students understand what leads citizens to differ from one another in their political beliefs and behaviors and the political consequences of these differences. To understand these differences, students should focus on the demographic features of the American population and the different views that people hold of the political process. They should be aware of group differences in political beliefs and behavior. Students should also understand how changes in political participation affect the political system.

American Political Culture

Civic competence-

Civic duty-

Class consciousness-

Culture war

Demography-

External efficacy-

Internal efficacy-

Opinion schema

Orthodox-

Political cleavages

Political culture-

Political efficacy-

Political subculture

Progressive-

Self-interest principle-

Socioeconomic status-

Public Opinion

Bimodal distribution-

Census-

Civil disobedience-

Elite-

Exit polls-

Gender gap-

Normal distribution-

Political socialization-

Poll-

Public opinion-

Push polls-

Random sample-

Sampling error/margin of error-

Skewed distribution-

Stable distribution-

Stratified sampling-

Straw polls-

Tracking polls-

Political Participation

15^th amendment-

19^th amendment-

26^th amendment-

Activists-

Australian ballot-

Conventional participation-

Direct action-

Franchise-

Grandfather clause-

Influencing behavior-

Literacy test-

Motor-voter law

Poll tax-

Prospective judgment-

Registered voters-

Retrospective judgment-

Suffrage-

Supportive behavior-

Turnout-

Unconventional participation-

Voting rights act of 1965-

Voting-age population-

White primary-

Wilson Ch. 4, 7, 8, 9,10, 11, 12
 Charts: Voter turnout
Voter turnout by groups
Chart: Generational gaps on the issues and gender gap (Wilson Pages 159 and 161 Wilson)