I. The Media

- Do the media influence citizens' behavior and attitudes? Why or why not? What types of factors may limit the media's ability to influence our political beliefs?

- What are the three principal roles the national press plays when it comes to reporting political information? Describe the differences between them.

- What are the 4 factors journalists use for selecting news stories?

- What was the impact of Near v. Minnesota (1931) and NY Times v. Sullivan (1971) on the relationship between government and the media?

- What does it mean to say that the media plays an agenda setting role?

II. Public Opinion and Political Participation

- What are some of the shortcomings when trying to assess public opinion?

- What are the four key dimensions to public opinion? Explain each.

- What are some of the major influences on your political beliefs? Be able to provide some specific examples to show why and how these influences affect your views about politics and our political system.

- What is meant by the term, "political socialization"? What is political culture? What are some of the key components of our political culture?

- What are some of the factors that tend to suppress voter turnout in the U.S. elections?

- Why do some Americans choose to vote and others do not? What factors explain voter turnout?

III. Political Parties

- What are political parties and how do they differ from interest groups?

- How do political parties in the U.S. compare to those in many Western European democracies?

- What is a party realignment? What are some indicators that a realignment has occurred?

- What are the differences between a realignment, split-level realignment, and de-alignment?

- Describe the factors that help to explain why the U.S. has a two-party system.

- Explain the difference between a single member district system and a proportional representation system.

- If you are running as a candidate for a third party, what are your chances of winning? Which third party candidates have historically won the most votes?

- Explain the difference between "strong party" versus "weak party" systems. What are the various indicators that suggest the U.S. has a weak party system.

IV. Campaigns and Elections

- People who vote in primaries tend to be party activists. What might this imply for a candidate during the time of the general election?

- What is a Political Action Committee? Why do PAC's tend to spend more money on incumbents rather than challengers?

- What is the Federal Election Campaign Act (FECA) of 1971? What kinds of limits do the FECA impose on individual and PAC contributions?

- What were some of the basic provisions of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act of 2002? How has that changed in light of the most recent Supreme Court ruling,Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010)?

- What are some of the most serious problems about current campaign finance laws?

- Why do incumbents tend to have an advantage over challengers?

- What was the significance of the Supreme Court case, Buckley v. Valeo?

- Name and describe the different types of primaries.

- What is a caucus? How does it work?

- Explain how the Electoral College works. Should it be replaced by the direct election of the President?

V. Interest Groups

- What are the principal types (categories) of interest groups? Give examples of each.

- Why are there so many interest groups?

- What gives interest groups their power? In other words, what are their most important resources they possess that enable them to exercise influence? What kinds of activities do they engage in?

- Are interest groups good or bad for democracy? Why?

- Explain the concept of Iron Triangles. How do these differ from Issue Networks?

1. Explain how the concept of "selective exposure" relates to the ability of the media to influence our political beliefs.

2. Why do women and African Americans tend to support the democratic party more than the republican party?

3. How would you describe the nature of political parties in the U.S. in terms of their strength, number, and overall ideology?

4. What are the purposes of primaries? What is the difference between an open and closed primary? Why do states tend to use closed primaries?

5. Many interest groups in America are quite powerful.Why is this the case?