STUDY GUIDE|^157CHARACTERISTICS OF AMERICAN PUBLIC OPINION
E Present fi ndings on what Americans think about major political issues. Pages 139–45
SUMMARY
As a whole, the American electorate is ideologically moder-
ate, with relatively little ideological polarization. Moreover,
there is considerable agreement on the most important
problems in the country, and the potential exists for com-
promise on most policy areas. Paradoxically, while trust
in the government has declined steadily since the 1960s,
people are still generally rather happy with their own repre-
sentatives in Washington, DC.
KEY TERMS
ideological polarization (p. 139)
policy mood (p. 142)
CRITICAL THINKING AND DISCUSSION
How much confl ict is there in American public opinion?
PRACTICE QUIZ QUESTIONS
- In the 1970s the majority of people identifi ed
themselves as ideologically _____; in the 2000s
most people identifi ed as __.
a) moderate; conservative
b) moderate; moderate
c) moderate; liberal
d) conservative; moderate
e) conservative; conservative - Americans generally ____ of the
government; Americans generally __ of
their own representatives.
a) approve; approve
b) approve; disapprove
c) disapprove; approve
d) disapprove; disapprove- What is policy mood?
a) public support for Congress
b) presidential approval rating
c) public demand for government action on domestic
policies
d) public demand for government action on interna-
tional policies
e) public demand for government action on interna-
tional policies - Which policy area is always near the top of Americans’
concerns?
a) economic conditions
b) health care
c) gay rights
d) immigration
e) the environment
S PRACTICE ONLINE
“Critical Thinking ” exercise: Politics Is Confl ictual—
Public Opinion and Health CareTHE NEWS MEDIA
E Describe the major types of news sources and the role they play in American politics. Pages 145–53
SUMMARY
While the term media traditionally only referred to print
sources, technological advances allowed political information
to be spread through radio, TV, and now the Internet. Near-
ly all modern research fi nds that the media has signifi cant
eff ects on public opinion. By determining which stories to
cover, how a story is written, or how many stories to write
on a given topic, media sources infl uence the way that citi-
zens think about politics.
KEY TERMS
mass media (p. 145)
mainstream media (p. 145)
prime time (p. 146)
news cycle (p. 146)
Federal Communications Commission (FCC) (p. 150)
broadcast media (p. 150)
fairness doctrine (p. 150)