Unit 3 Vocab Flashcards
Demography
The study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which illustrate the changing structure of human populations
Census
An official count or survey of a population
Melting pot
Metaphor for a heterogenous society becoming more homogenous
Minority majority
A subdivision in which one or more racial and/or ethnic minorities make up a majority of the local population
Political culture
How culture impacts politics
Reapportionment
Redistribution of seats in the US House of Representatives based on the changing of population
Political socialization
The process by which individuals learn and frequently internalize a political lens framing their perceptions of how power is arranged and how the world around them is organized
Sample
A small part of quantity intended to show what the whole is like
Random sampling
A part of the sampling technique in which each sample has an equal probability of being chosen
Sampling error
An error in a statistical analysis arising from the unrepresentativeness of the sample taken
Random-digit dialing
A method for selecting people for involvement in telephone statistical surveys by generating telephone numbers at random
Exit poll
A poll of people leaving a polling place, asking how they voted
Political ideology
A certain set of ethical ideals, principles, doctrines, myths or symbols of a social movement, institution, class or large group that explains how society should work and offers some political and cultural blueprint for a certain social order
Gender gap
The discrepancy in opportunities, status, attitudes, etc., between men and women
Political participation
Citizens’ activities affecting politics
Conventional participation
Includes voting, volunteering for a political campaign, making a campaign donation, belonging to activist groups, and serving in public office
Unconventional participation
Activities that are legal but often considered inappropriate
Protest
A statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something
Civil disobedience
The refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest
Suffrage
The right to vote in political elections
15th amendment
Prohibits the federal government and each state from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”
Poll taxes
A tax levied on every adult, without reference to income or resources
White primary
Primary elections held in the southern US in which only white voters were permitted to participate
Voting rights act of 1965
Prohibits racial discrimination in voting
19th Amendment
The right of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any State on account of sex.
Political Efficiency
the citizens’ faith and trust in government and their belief that they can understand and influence political affairs
Civic Duty
a responsibility expected from all members of a society
Voter Registration
is the requirement that a person otherwise eligible to vote must register (or enroll) on an electoral roll
Motor voter act
Passed in 1993, this act went into effect for the 1996 election. It requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for their driver’s license.
Mandate theory of elections
The idea that the winning candidate has a mandate from the people to carry out his or her platforms and politics. Politicians like the theory better than political scientists do
Policy Voting
Electoral choices that are made on basis of the voters’ policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues.
Interest group
a group of people that seeks to influence public policy on the basis of a particular common interest or concern.
Pluralism
a theory of government and politics emphasizing that many groups compete and counterbalance one another in the political marketplace
Elitism
a theory of government and politics contending that an upper-class elite will hold most of the power and thus in effect run the government
Hyperpluralism
a theory of government and politics contending that groups are so strong that the government is weakened by them
Iron triangles
subgovernments are composed of interest group leaders interested in a particular policy, the government agency in charge of administering the policy, and the members of congressional committees and subcommittees handling that policy; they exercise a great deal of control over specific policies
Potential groups
all the people who might be interest group members because they share some common interest
Actual groups
the people in the potential group who actually join
Collective good
something of value that cannot be withheld from a potential group member
Free-rider problem
for a group, the problem of people not joining because they can benefit from the group’s activities without doing so
Selective benefits
goods that a group can restrict to those who actually join
Single-issue groups
groups that have a narrow interest, tend to dislike compromise, and often draw membership from people new to politics
Lobbying
a communication by someone other than a citizen acting on his or her own behalf, directed to a governmental decision maker with the hope of influencing his or her decisions
Electioneering
direct group involvement in the electoral process, for example, by helping to fund campaigns, getting members to work for candidates, and forming political action committees
Political action committees(PAC)
funding vehicles created by the 1974 campaign finance reforms. An interest group can create a PAC and register it with the FEC which will monitor the PACs expenditures
Union shop
a provision found in some collective bargaining agreements requiring all employees of a business to join the union within a short period and to remain as a condition of employment
Right-to-work laws
a state law forbidding requirements that workers must join a union to hold their jobs. Specifically permitted by the Taft-Hartley Act of 1947
Public Interest groups
organizations that seek a collective good, the achievement of which will not selectively and materially benefit the membership or activists of the organization
