Chapter 6: Vocabulary Flashcards
public opinion
distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics and policy issues
demography
science of population changes
census
valuable tool for understanding demographic changes.
melting pot
mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation.
minority majority
emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a White, generally Anglo-Saxon majority.
political culture
overall set of values widely shared within a society.
reapportionment
process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every ten years on the basis of the results of the census.
political socialization
process through which an individual acquires his/her political orientations.
sample
representative of the whole
random sampling
technique where each person has equal opportunity of being selected on the sample without bias.
sampling error
level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll.
random-digit dialing
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
coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose.
gender gap
term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates.
