APGOPO - Chapter 6 Vocab Flashcards
political socialization
the process by which we develop our political values and opinions throughout our lives
agents of socialization
the individuals, organizations, and institutions that facilitate the acquisition of political views
gender gap
the measurable difference in the way women and men vote for candidates and in the way they view political issues
generational effect
the influence of an important external event in shaping the views of a generation
public opinion
the public’s expressed views about an issue at a specific point in time
public opinion poll
a survey of a given population’s opinion on an issue or a candidate at a particular time
straw poll
a poll conduced in an unscientific manner, used to predict election outcomes
population
in a poll, the group of people whose opinions are of interest and/or about whom information is desired
random sampling
a scientific method of selection in which each member of the population has an equal chance of being included in the sample
quota sample
a method by which pollsters structure a sample so that it is representative of the characteristics of the target population
stratified sampling
a process of random sampling in which the national population is divided into fourths and certain areas within these regions are selected as representative of the national population
sampling error
also called margin of error, a statistical calculation of the difference in results between a randomly drawn sample and a poll of the entire population
tracking polls
polls that measure changes in public opinion over the course of days, weeks, or months by repeatedly asking respondents the same questions and measuring changed in their responses
push polls
a special type of poll that both attempts to skew public opinion about a candidate and provides information to campaigns about the candidate’s strengths and weaknesses.
exit polls
polls conducted at polling places on election day to project the winner of an election before the polls close
