AP Gov't Ch. 6 Flashcards
Public Opinion
The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues.
Demography
The science of population population changes.
Census
An “actual enumeration” of then population, which the Constitution requires that the government conduct every 10 year. The census is a valuable tool for understanding demographic changes.
The Melting Pot
A term often used to characterize the U.S, with its history of immigration and mixing of cultures, ideas, and people
Minority Majority
The situation in which the non-Hispanic whites will represent a majority of the U.S. population and minority groups together will represent the minority.
Political Culture
An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Reapportionment
The process of reallocating seas in the House of Reps. every 10 years in regards of the census.
Political Socialization
The process though which individuals in a society acquire political attitudes, views, and knowledge, based on inputs from schools, the media, and others.
Sample
A small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole.
Random Sampling
The key technique employed by survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal chance of being selected for the sample.
Sampling Error
The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results.
Random-Digit Dialing
A technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey.
Exit Poll
Public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision
Political Ideology
A coherent set of beliefs about politics, policy and public purpose, which helps give meaning to political events.
Gender Gap
The regular pattern in which women are more likely to support Democratic Candidates, in part because they tend to be less conservative than men and more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending.
