Chapter 6 Textbook Flashcards
What is Public Opinion?
The distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues.
What is Demography?
The science of population changes.
What is a Census?
a valuable tool for understanding demographic changes. (Constitution requires one every 10 years).
What is the Melting Pot?
The mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation. The U.S. with its history of immigration has often been called this.
Define Minority Majority.
The emergence of non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a white, generally Anglo-Saxon majority.
What is Political Culture?
An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Define Reapportionment.
The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the result of the census.
What is Political Socialization?
The process through which an individual acquires their particular political orientations - their knowledge, feelings, and evaluations regarding their political world.
What is a Sample?
A relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole.
What is 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.
Define 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.
What does Random-Digit Dialing mean?
A technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey.
Define Exit Pole.
Public opinion surveys used by minor media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision.
What is Political Ideology?
A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies.
What is Political Participation?
All the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue.
