| interest groups | organizations that seek to achieve some of their goals by influencing government decision making
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| social capital | the many ways in which our lives are improved by social connections
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| pluralist theory | a theory that holds that policy making is a competition among diverse interest groups that ensure the representation of individual interests
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| elite theory | a theory that holds that a group of wealthy, educated individuals wields most political power
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| solidary incentives | motivation to join an interest group based on the companionship and the satisfaction derived from socializing with others that it offers
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| purposive incentives | motivation to join an interest group based on the belief in the group's cause from an ideological or a moral standpoint
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| economic incentives | motivation to join an interest group because the group works for policies that will provide members with material benefits
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| political action committee (PAC) | a group that raises and spends money to influence the outcome of an election
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| umbrella organizations | interest groups that represent collective groups of industries or corporations
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| collective goods | outcomes shared by the general public; also called public goods
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| free rider problem | the phenomenon of someone deriving benefit from others' actions
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| rational choice theory | the idea that from an economic perspective it is not rational for people to participate in collective action when they can secure the collective good without participating
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| lobby | to communicate directly with policy makers on an interest group's behalf
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| issue network | the fluid web of connections among those concerned about a policy and those who create and administer the policy
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| iron triangle | the interaction of mutual interests among members of Congress, executive agencies, and organized interests during policy making
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| climate control | the practice of using public outreach to build favorable public opinion of an organization
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| electioneering | working to influence the elections of candidates who support the organization's issues
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