Outcome 4 Flashcards
public opinion
the distribution of the population’s beliefs about politics+policy issues
demography
the science of political changes
census
an ‘actual enumeration’ of the population,which the Constitution requires that the govt conduct every 10 years. Valuable for understanding demographic changes
melting pot
term used to characterize the US, with its history of immigration and mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples
minority majority
the situation in which the non-Hispanic white people will represent a minority o the US population and minority groups together will represent a majority
political culture
overall set of values widely shared within a society
reapportionment
process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years based on census
political socialization
process where individuals in a society acquire political attitudes, views, and knowledge, based on input from family, schools, media, + others
random sampling
key technique employed by survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample
sample
relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole
sampling error
the level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the better the results
random-digit dialing
technique by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed + unlisted numbers when conducting a survery
exit poll
public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict election results w/ speed + precision
political ideology
coherent set of belies about politics, public policy, and public purpose, which helps give meaning to political events
gender gap
a regular pattern where women are more likely to support democratic candidates, in part because they tend to be less conservative than men, and more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending.
political participation
all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of leaders/policies they pursue.
- voting (most common)
- protest
- civil disobedience
civil disobedience
a conscious decision to break a law believed to be unjust and to suffer the consequences
- ex: Letter from a Birmingham Jail
How immigration affects political changes
minority population increases
criticisms of opinion polls
- exit polls discourage people from voting
- pollsters can manipulate results by altering the wording of a question
- polls might weaken democracy by distorting the electoral process by focusing on who’s ahead
liberal views on military spending and use of force
- we should spend less on military
- are less willing to commit American troops to action overseas
conservative views on military spending and use of force
- maintain peace by keeping strong military
- more likely to support military intervention around the world
liberal views on abortion, prayer in school, and affirmative action
- freedom of choice
- against prayer in school
- favor affirmative action
conservative views on abortion, prayer in school, and affirmative action
- right to life
- supportive of prayer in school
- oppose affirmative action
liberal views on scope of government, taxes, and spending
- support regulation of market, if it’s in the public’s interest
- tax the rich more
- more spending on benefits for needy
conservative views on scope of government, taxes, and spending
- favor free market, if regulation isn’t in the public interest
- cut taxes for everyone
- limit spending on poor
liberal views on cutting crime and defendant’s rights
- government should address problems causing crime
- defendant’s rights should be guarded carefully
conservative views on cutting crime and defendant’s rights
- government needs to be tougher with criminals
- guarding defendant’s rights too often leads to criminals off the hook
individualism
ideal of protecting personal freedoms from government interference
(Declaration of Independence focuses on ensuring natural rights (social contract))
Equality of opportunity
all individuals should be able to compete where success is determined by hard work and talent
(Constitution, Civil Rights Act, Americans w/ Disabilities Act)
free enterprise
- economic system, free market capitalism
- mixed economy: citizens differ on how much government regulation is needed
- right to own property w/out government interference (due process clause)
rule of law
- no one is above the law
- everyone is treated the same in the eyes of the court
- federalist 51; rule of law is the ultimate aim of government
limited government
- regulations for governments
- checks + balances
libertarian ideology
- shares beliefs with both sides
- individual liberty is high value, government should only protect private property rights
- believes in no government regulation
populist ideology
- favor social order over freedom
- economic equality over economic freedom
progressive ideology
- challenges government corruption and address rules, laws, and traditions that cause problems
- workers over corporate rights, tax the rich more
liberty v. order
- excessive personal liberties lead to chaos
- excessive social order stifles personal liberty and creativity
- policy outcomes reflect preferences of dominant positions
- changing power in various groups is reflected in policy changes
culture war
division between those who want an idealized cultured based on traditional values vs. those who favor change. Creates policy gridlock
