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 population changes.
Census
A valuable tool for understanding demographic changes. The U.S. Constitution requires that the government conduct an “actual enumeration” of the population every ten years.
Melting Pot
The mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation. The U.S. 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 2045, 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 ten years on the basis of the results of the census.
Political Socialization
The process through which a young person acquires political orientations as they grow up, based on inputs from parents, teachers, the media, and friends.
Sample
A relatively 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 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.
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, public policy, and public purpose.
Gender Gap
A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates. Women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending.
