Unit 4 - American Political Ideologies and Beliefs Flashcards
political culture
the shared set of beliefs, customs, traditions, and values that define the relationship between citizens and government
individualism
the belief that individuals should be responsible for themselves and for the decision they make
affordable care act
expand access to insurance, increase consumer protections, emphasize prevention and wellness, improve quality and system performance
benchmark poll
survey taken at the beginning of a political campaign in order to gauge support for a candidate and determine which issues are important to voters
command-and-control economy
economic policy in which government dictates much of a nation’s economic activity, including the amount of production and prices for goods
conservatism
an ideology favoring more regulation of social behavior and less government interference in the economy
critical election
a major national election that signals a change in the balance of power between the two parties
divided government
a situation that occurs when control of the presidency and one or both chambers of congress is split between the two major parties
economic recession
a period of decline in economic activity, typically defined by two consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth
entrance survey
a poll conducted of people coming to an event
exit poll
a survey conducted outside a polling place in which individuals are asked who or what they just voted for and why
federal reserve system
a board of governors, federal reserve banks, and member banks responsible for monetary policy
fiscal policy
government use of taxes and spending to attempt to lower unemployment, support economic activity, and stabilize the economy
focus group
a small group of individuals assembled for a conversation about specific issues
generational effect
the impact of historical events experienced by a generation upon their political views
globalization
the increasing interconnectedness of people, businesses, and countries throughout the world
gross domestic product
the total value of goods and services produced by an economy
inflation
the rise in the prices of goods and services
laissez-faire economy
economic system in which government intrudes as little as possible in the transactions among citizens and businesses
laissez-faire economy
economic system in which government intrudes as little as possible in the transactions among citizens and businesses
laissez-faire economy / free enterprise
economic system in which government intrudes as little as possible in the transactions among citizens and businesses
liberalism
an ideology favoring less government control over social behavior and greater regulation of the economy
libertarianism
an ideology favoring very little government intervention beyond protecting private property and individual liberty
life cycle effect
an impact of a person’s age and stage in life on his or her political views
mass survey
a survey designed to measure the opinions of the population, usually consisting of 1500 responses
medicaid
a federal program that provides health care for the poor
medicare
a federal program that provides health insurance to seniors and the disabled
mixed economy
economic policy in which many economic decisions are left to individuals and businesses with the federal government regulating economic activities
monetary policy
a set of economic policy tools designed to regulate the amount of money in the economy
outsourcing
when a company moves its business to a place where labor costs are cheaper of productions is more efficient because workers work longer hours
party identification
an individual’s attachment to a political party
party ideology
a party’s philosophy about the proper role of government and its consistent set of positions on major issues
party platform
a set of positions and policy objectives that members of a political party agree to
political socialization
the experiences and factors that shape out political values, attitudes, and behaviors
question order
the sequencing of questions in public opinion polls
question wording
the phrasing of a question in a public opinion poll
random digit dialing
the use of telephone numbers randomly generated by a computer to select potential survey respondents
random selection
a method of choosing all poll respondents in a way that does not over- or underrepresent any group of the population
realignment
when the groups of people who support a political party shift their allegiance to a different political party
representative sample
a sample that reflects the demographics of the population
rights
something fundamental to which all have access
privilege
something subject to political process
rule of law
the principle that no one, including public officials, is above the law
sample
a group of individuals from a larger population used to measure public opinion
sampling error
the margin of error in a poll, which usually is calculated to plus or minus three percentage points
scientific poll
a representative poll of randomly selected respondents with a statistically significant sample size using neutral languagge
split-ticket voting
voting for candidates from different parties in the same election
straight-ticket voting
voting for all of the candidates on the ballot from one political party
third parties
a minor political party in competition with the two major parties
tracking poll
a survey determining the level of support for a candidate or an issue throughout a campaign
unemployment rate
the percentage of people actively looking for work who cannot find jobs
weighting
a procedure in which the survey is adjusted according to the demographics of the larger population
