Chapter 6 - Public Opinion and Political Action Flashcards
Public Opinion
The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues
Demography
The science of human population changes
Census
A valuable tool for understanding demographic changes. The constitution requires that the government conduct an “actual enumeration” of the population every 10 years.
Melting Pot
The mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has hanged the American nation. The United States, with its history of immigration, has often been called a melting pot.
Minority Majority
The emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a white, generally Anglo-Saxon majority. It is predicted that by about 2060, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans together will outnumber white Americans.
Political Culture
An overall set of values widely shared within a society
Reapportionment
The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.
Politics Socialization
According to Richard Dawson, “the process through which an individual acquires their particular political orientations - their knowledge, feelings, and evaluations regarding their political world
Sample
A relatively small proportion of people who are Holden in a survey to represent the whole
Random Sampling
The key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability 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 Dialinng
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, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies.
Gender Gap
The regular pattern referring to the tendency for women to support Democratic candidates more often than men. May also refer to average salaries discrepancies.
