Unit II: Political Beliefs And Behaviors Flashcards
Attentive Public
The segment of the public that pays attention to news about an issue and cares about what happens with that issue
Political Culture
The set of attitudes, beliefs and sentiments that give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system
Individualism
The segment of the public that pays attention to news about an issue and cares about what happens with that issue
Egalitarianism
Of, relating to, or believing in the principle that all people are equal and deserve equal rights and opportunities
Equal Opportunity
The policy of treating employees and others without discrimination, especially on the basis of their sex, race, or age
Equal Outcome
A political concept which is central to some political ideologies and is used regularly in political discourse, often in contrast to the term equality of opportunity
Liberty
The segment of the public that pays attention to news about an issue and cares about what happens with that issue
Culture War
The segment of the public that pays attention to news about an issue and cares about what happens with that issue
Ideology
A system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy
Political Spectrum
A system of classifying different political positions upon one or more geometric axes that symbolize independent political dimensions
Liberal
One who favors maximum individual liberty in political and social reform
Conservative
A person who is averse to change and holds to traditional values and attitudes
Libertarian
A person who advocates civil liberty
A person who believes in the doctrine of free will
Moderate
A person who holds moderate views
Radical
A person who advocates thorough or complete political or social reform
Reactionary
Someone who opposes political or social liberalization or reform
Progressive
A person advocating or implementing social reform or new, liberal ideas
Populist
A member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people
Gender Gap
The discrepancy in opportunities, status, attitudes, etc., between men and women
Political Socialization
A lifelong process by which people form their ideas about politics and acquire political values
Selective Perception
The process by which individuals perceive what they want in media passages while ignoring opposing viewpoints
Crosscutting Cleavages
When groups on one cleavage overlap among groups on another cleavage
Political Efficacy
The citizens’ faith and trust in government and their belief that they can understand and influence political affairs
Activist
A person who campaigns for some kind of social change
Civil Disobedience
The refusal to comply with certain laws or to pay taxes and fines, as a peaceful form of political protest
Protest
A statement or action expressing disapproval of or objection to something
Suffrage/Franchise
The right to vote
Position Issue
An issue dividing the electorate on which rival parties adopt different policy positions to attract voters
Valence Issue
An issue on which voters distinguish rival parties by the degree they associate each party or candidate with goals or conditions that the electorate usually agrees/disagrees on
Retrospective Voting
Voting for or against a candidate or party in office because one likes or dislikes how things have gone in the recent past
Prospective Voting
Voting for a candidate because one favors his or her ideas for addressing issues after the election
15th Amendment
Prohibits the federal and state governments from denying a citizen the right to vote based in that citizen’s “race, color, or previous condition of servitude”
17th Amendment
Established the popular election of United States Senators by the people of the states
19th Amendment
Prohibits any United States citizen from being denied the right to vote in the basis of sex
23rd Amendment
Extends the right to vote in the presidential election to citizens residing in the District of Columbia by granting the District electors in the Electoral College, as if it were a state
24th Amendment
Abolished the poll tax for all federal elections
26th Amendment
Prohibits the states and the federal government from using age as a reason for denying the right to vote to citizens of the United States who are at least 18 years old
Voter Registration
The requirement of citizens to become registered in order to vote
Motor Voter Law
National Voter Registration Act of 1993: Designed to reverse declining voter registration by allowing voters to register at motor vehicle departments
The Electorate
All the people in a country or area who are entitled to vote in an election
Voting Rights Act (1965)
Aimed to overcome legal barriers at the state and local levels that prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote under the 15th Amendment
Voting Accessibility for the Elderly and Handicapped Act (1984)
Improved access for handicapped and elderly individuals to registration facilities and polling places for Federal elections
Help America Vote Act (2002)
Federal law that makes the voting process more inclusive and accessible so that more Americans will become registered and participate in elections
Demography
The study of statistics such as births, deaths, income, or the incidence of disease, which illustrate the changing structure of human populations
The Census
An official count or survey of a population, typically recording various details of individuals
Melting Pot
A place where different peoples, styles,theories, etc., are mixed together
Minority-Majority
A term used to refer to a jurisdiction which one or more racial and/or ethnicity
Aging Popultion
A phenomenon that curs when the median age of a country or region increase due to to rising life expectancy and/or declining fertility rates
Reinforcing Cleavages
Opposite of Crosscutting cleavages
Poll
The process of voting in an election
Public Opinion
Views prevalent among the general public
Sample
A small part or quantity intended to show that the whole is like
Random Sampling
A method of selecting for a statistical population in such a way that every possible sample that could be selected has a predetermined probability of being selecting
Sampling error
Error Ina statistical analysis arising from the unrepresentativeness of the sample taken
Random-Digit Dialing
A method for selecting people for involvement in tepelephone statistical surveys by generating
Exit Poll
A poll of people leaving a polling place, asking how they voted
Gallup Polll
An assessment of public opinion by questioning of a statistically representative sample
Saliency
The state or quality by which it stands out relative to its neighbors
Intensity
The quality of being intense
Stability
The state of being stable
