ch 10 Flashcards
American National Election Studies (ANES)
Conducted by U of Michigan and Stanford. Funded by Nat. government and focuses on the political attitudes and behavior of the electorate. Surveys are conducted before and after mid-term and presidential elections.
Conservative
A person whose pol. views favor more local, limited govt, less govt regulations, conformity to social norms &values; rough on criminals
Exit Polls
election-related questions asked of voters right after they vote
George Gallup
developed public opinion polling
Liberal
open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.
Was a person who favored personal and economic liberty– that is freedom from the controls and powers of the state. An economic liberal, for example, supported the free market and opposed government regulation of trade. Roosevelt used the term liberal was one who favored an active national government.
Libertarian
These people are conservative on economic matters and liberal on social ones. The common theme is that they want a small weak government–one that has little control over either the economy or the personal lives of citizens. Libertarians are more likely than the average citizen to be young, college-educated, white, to have higher incomes and no religion, and live in the West.
Margin of error
a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll
Moderate
a person who is moderate in opinion or opposed to extreme views or actions
Political Ideology
An ideology is a set of opinions or beliefs of a group or an individual. Very often ideology refers to a set of political beliefs or a set of ideas that characterize a particular culture. Capitalism, communism, socialism, and Marxism are ideologies.
Political Socialization
Political socialization is a lifelong process by which people form their ideas about politics and acquire political values. The family, educational system, peer groups, and the mass media all play a role. While family and school are important early in life, what our peers think and what we read in the newspaper and see on television have more influence on our political attitudes as adults.
Population
all the inhabitants of a particular town, area, or country.
Public opinion
what the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time. Politicians must consider it when taking decisions.
Public opinion polls
interviews or surveys with samples of citizens that are used to estimate the feelings and beliefs of the entire population
Push polls
polls taken for the purpose of providing information on an opponent that would lead respondents to vote against that candidate
Random Sampling
a method of poll selection that gives each person in a group the same chance of being selected
