Unit 1 Vocab

Question 1

Public Opinion

Answer 1

What the public thinks about a particular issue or set of issues at any point in time

Question 2

Public Opinion Polls

Answer 2

Interviews or surveys with samples of citizens that are used to estimate the feeling and beliefs of the population

Question 3

George Gallop

Answer 3

Considered founder of modern day polling
“speed up the process of democracy”
Leaders must constantly take public opinion into account

Question 4

Straw Poll

Answer 4

Unscientific survey used to guage public opinion on a variety of issues and policies

Question 5

Sample

Answer 5

A subset of the whole population selected to be questioned for the purposes of prediction or gauging opinion

Question 6

Push Polls

Answer 6

aims to “push” voters away from certain candidates. May contain exaggerated or untruthful information

Question 7

Population

Answer 7

The entire group of people that a researcher wants to measure

Question 8

Random Sampling

Answer 8

A method of pull selection that gives each person in a group the same chance of being selected

Question 9

Tracking Poll

Answer 9

Contineous surveys that enable a campeign or news organization to chart a condidates daily or weekly rise or fall in support

Question 10

Exit Polls

Answer 10

Polls conducted as voters leave polling places on election day

Question 11

Margin of Error

Answer 11

A measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll within statistical parameters

Question 12

Sampling Error

Answer 12

Errors resulting from the size or quality of a survey sample

Question 13

Political Ideology

Answer 13

Set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government

Question 14

Conservative

Answer 14

One who favors limited government interavention, especially in economic

Question 15

Social Conservative

Answer 15

One who believes taht the government should support and further tradition moral teachings

Question 16

Liberal

Answer 16

One who favors greater government intervention, especially in economics

Question 17

Moderate

Answer 17

A person who takes a relatively centrist view on most political issues

Question 18

Gender Gap

Answer 18

Consistent differences between voting patterns for men and women

Question 19

Libertarian

Answer 19

One who believes in limited government control in personal and economic liberties

Question 20

Political Socialization

Answer 20

The process through which individuals acquire their political beliefs and values

Question 21

Party Identification

Answer 21

A citizens attachment to a political party based on issues, ideology, past experience, or upbringing, which serves to be a reliable indicator of likely voting choices.

Question 22

Example of Public Opinion

Answer 22

Climate change: some express concern about environmental impact, supporting policies for sustainability, while others may be skeptical or deny human influence

Question 23

Importance of Public Opinion Polls

Answer 23

Politicians can use the information from the polls to represent the interests of the public and make informed decisions

Question 24

Importance of George Gallop

Answer 24

Gallop’s polling techniques influenced journalisms, making public opinion polls an integral part of news reporting.