Post on 15-Jan-2016
transcript
Today Student Will (TSW):Describe the importance of the roles interest
groups play in influencing the actions and policies of government.
Warm Up:
You are a Northwestern High School student who is unhappy with the late hours of your school.
What might some of your options be as far as influencing the existing person or group in charge of changing those hours according to your preference?
Warm Up
You are a Northwestern High School student who is unhappy with the late hours of your
school.
What might some of your options be as far as influencing the existing person or group
in charge of changing those hours according to your preference?
Interest Groups and Public Opinion
Local, State, and National Government
Interest Groups
An interest group is a group of people who share common goals and organize to
influence government.These groups spend a great deal of money
and put a lot of effort into persuading government officials to support bills or
policies the group feels will be beneficial.(USG, page 503)
Interest Groups are NOT Political Parties ...They do not nominate candidates. …Only concerned with a few specific
issues and do not try to gain members with different opinions.
…Organized on the basis of common values rather than on geographic location.
Why belong to an Interest Group? Economic self-interest Beliefs, values, and
attitudes Social reasons ***Most who join tend
to be from upper income levels.
Types of Interest Groups
Business and Labor (NAM and AFL-CIO)
Agricultural groups represent farmers. (Grange)
Professional Associations
Environmental groups Public Interest groups
Major Special Interest Groups
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People http://www.naacp.org
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization http://www.aflcio.org
American Medical Association
http://www.ama-assn.org/ National Education Association
http://www.nea.org/
National Association for the Advancement of Colored People http://www.naacp.org
American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization http://www.aflcio.org
American Medical Association
http://www.ama-assn.org/ National Education Association
http://www.nea.org/
Purpose and Methods of Interest Groups Provide Americans with additional
Representation Seek to Inform the Public and Officials of
Issues Letter Writing CampaignsMedia Campaigns
Checking for Understanding How are interest groups different from
political parties? What methods do interest groups use to
influence public policy? Why are interest groups more effective in
influencing the government than are individual citizens?
Lobbying/Lobbyist
Lobbying is the process of making direct contact with government leaders in attempt to influence policy.
Lobbyists are the representatives of interest groups who conduct such work.
Political Action Committees(PACs) Another vehicle for interest groups to
influence government is through PACs. Organizations specifically designed to
collect money and provide financial support for a political candidate.
Pros and Cons?
Contributions to PACsGraphs on page 510 What has the general trend been in Total
PAC spending since 1978? By about how many dollars did PAC
spending increased between 1996-1998? By how much did the number of PACs
declined between 1996 and 1998? Which type of PAC spent the most $ in
1997?
Learning Log:
Do interest groups help make representative government truly “government by the people?” EXPLAIN!
Do you have any questions or comments on this topic?
TSW: Examine political ads in order to identify techniques used by politicians and the media to influence public opinion
Warm Up: Take a copy of the handout titled:
“Wanda’s Adventures in Government” Use vocabulary from last class to fill in the
blanks. Write your answers under “warm up” in
your journal.
Mass Media
Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, recordings, movies, and books
AKA—”The Fourth Branch of Government”
Strategic methods in influencing public opinion—the ideas and attitudes a significant number of Americans hold about government and political issues
Media in Political Campaigns Candidates use the
media to creatively persuade people’s opinions of themselves and opponents
Ads costs lots of $ Candidates spend
lots of time raising money to fund the expensive ads
Propaganda Techniques (page 496 in text) Testimonial: Celebrity endorsement
Mudslinging: negative ad
Transfer: using symbols to create negative attitude toward opponent
Card Stacking: use of stats & one-sided info to make opponent look bad
More Propaganda Techniques…
Plain Folks: attempt to appeal as “one of the people”
Glittering Generalities: introduce candidate to people with positive & broad words/phrases
Contrast Ad: Compare positive images of candidate with negative images of opponent in same ad
Your Turn…. In small groups, you will write & record a 30 second
political radio ad for a presidential candidate of your choice that uses at least one of the campaign advertising strategies we learned today.
Guidelines: Your group needs a written script to receive full credit
— the script needs to explain which advertising strategies you use.
Your group needs to practice a few times before recording and Be Creative!!
Learning Log:
How much of an influence do you think the media really has over people’s decisions?
Can you think of any examples from your daily life when the media had an effect on something you did?
Ideology and Public Opinion
Political Ideology effects how an individual approaches issues in public policy.
Liberal—believes gov’t should actively promote health, education, and justice
Conservative—believes in limiting the role of gov’t except in supporting traditional moral values
Moderates—fall somewhere in the middle
Measuring Public Opinion
Political Party membership Participation in Interest Groups Responses to Mass Media Letter Writing Volume Electronic Access ***Scientific Polling***
Conclusion
Why do we care about interest groups and public opinion? Because research shows that the government is indeed responsive
to the desires of the public.
Interest groups, political parties, mass media and the public opinion all weigh heavily on
government officials when designing public policy.