1. GAHS Social Studies Department
Interest Groups
GAHS Social Studies Department

2. The Role of Interest Groups
Interest groups are _______ organizations
whose members:
private
share common views
work together to shape
public policy
Public policies: all the many
_____ a government _______
goals
pursues

3. Political Parties v. Interest Groups
Responsible for the nominating process
Hope to influence the nominations
Want to win elections and control gov’t
Influence policies created by gov’t
Concerned with a wide range of public affairs
Focus on issues their members are concerned about

4. Why Interest Groups Can Be Valuable
They raise ___________ of issues that concern
the people at large
awareness
They provide specialized ___________ to gov’t
agencies and legislators
information

5. participation
They are vehicles of political ____________
They keep ____ on gov’t agencies and officials
tabs

6. Complete the Fill in the Blank activity

7. Criticisms of Interest Groups
Some groups have an influence far out of
proportion to their _____ or ___________
size
importance
how many
It can be difficult to tell who or _________
people are served by a group

8. Groups do not always represent the _______
of the people they claim to speak for
views
In rare cases, groups use tactics such as
______, _______, and so on.
bribery
threats

9. * * Review Questions 1. What is the role of interest groups?
a. Raising the interest rate
b. Organizing party conventions
c. Influencing public policy
d. All of the above *
How do interest groups benefit society?
a. They keep tabs on public agencies
b. They may not represent the views of all of
their members
c. Some use underhanded tactics
d. Some have undue influence *

10. Types of Interest Groups
1. Business—to protect and promote _________ interests
economic
Examples:

11. 2. Labor Unions—press for gov’t policies that will benefit members
(workers who share the same type of _____ or work in the same _________)
job
industries
Examples:

12. Why is
membership
in labor unions
on the decline?

13. 3. Agricultural—serve the economic interests of _______
farmers
Examples:

14. 4. Professional—composed of occupations that require _________ and __________ training
extensive
specialized
Examples:

15. NEA mailed this ad to it’s members in 2014

16. 5. Caused-related—promote a ______ or _____
(e.g., rights, environment, etc.)
cause
idea
Examples:

17. 6. Religious—promote the values of a particular _______
faith
Examples:

18. * * Review Questions What type of an interest group is the National
Bar Association?
a. Religious
b. Professional
c. Agricultural
d. Labor Union *
What type of an interest group is the Wilderness Society?
a. Agricultural
b. Cause-related
c. Professional
d. Public-interest *

19. Complete the Fill in the Blank activity

20. Interest Groups Use Propaganda
a technique of persuasion
—to change __________
behavior
biased
it’s _______—disregards
information that does
not _______ its conclusion
support

21. exaggerated
____________ or false
statements
relies on ____________
or inflammatory labels
name-calling

22. Interest Groups Use Lobbyists
Lobbying—activities by which groups ________ elected officials and _________ the legislative process
pressure
influence
12,000
There are over _______ lobbyists operating in Washington, DC*
*Reuters 2009

23. Lobbyists use several techniques:
officeholders
send information to ____________— reports, articles, etc.
testify
_______ before congressional committees

24. “grass-roots”
rally ___________ pressure— s, letters, or phone calls from the public
contributions
make campaign ____________

25. Did a conservative or liberal interest group create this report card?
rate __________
candidates *
Did a conservative or liberal interest group create this report card?

26. Political Action Committees (PACs)
create
Interest Groups ________ Political Action Committees
raise
PACs ______ and
_________ money
to candidates who
will further their
goals
distribute

27. Should there be a limit on how much corporations can contribute to candidates and elections?

28. The End