| Term | Definition |
|---|
| public opinion | citizens' attitudes about political issues, personalities, institutions, and events |
| values/beliefs | basic principles that shape a person's opinions about political issues and events |
| political ideology | a cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about the role of government |
| attitude/opinion | a specific preference on a particular issue |
| equality of opportunity | a universally shared American ideal that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential |
| political socialization | the induction of individuals into the political culture; learning the underlying beliefs and values upon which the political system is based |
| agencies of socialization | social institutions, including families and schools, that help to shape individuals' basic political beliefs and values |
| gender gap | a distintive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men |
| liberal | generally supports political and social reform; extensive governmental intervention in the economy; the expansion of federal social services; more vigorous efforts on behalf of the poor, minorities, and women; and greater concern for consumers and the environment |
| conservative | generally supports the social and economic status quo and is suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulae and economic arrangements; believe that a large and powerful government powers a threat to citizens' freedom |
| equal time rule | the requirements that broadcasters provide candidates for the same political office an equal opportunity to communicate their messages to the public |
| right of rebuttal | an FFC regulation giving individuals the right to have the opportunity to respond to personal attacks made on a radio or TV broadcast |
| fairness doctrine | an FCC requirement that broadcasters who air programs on controversial issues provide time for opposing views |
| prior restraint | an effort by a government agency to block the publication of material it deems libelous or harmful in some othe way; censorship |
| agenda setting | the power of the media to bring public attention to particular issues and problems |
| priming | when media coverage affects public perception and evaluation of political leaders and candidates |
| framing | the power of the media to influence how events and issues are interpreted |
| public opinion polls | scientific instruments for measuring public opinion |
| sample | a small group selected by researchers to represent the most important characteristics of an entire population |
| probability sampling | a method used by pollsters to select a representative sample in which every individual in the population has an equal probability of being selected as a respondent |
| random digit dialing | polls in which respondents are selected at random from a list of ten-digit telephone numbers, with every effort made to avoid bias in the construction of the sample |
| selection bias | polling error that arises when the sample is not representative of the population being studied, which creates errors in overrepresenting or underrepresenting some opinions |
| sampling error | a polling error that arises on account of the small size of the sample |
| measurement error | failure to identify the true distribution of opinion within a population because of errors such as ambiguous or poorly worded questions |
| push polling | a polling technique in which the questions are designed to shape the respondent's opinion |
| salient interests | attitudes and views that are especially important to the individual holding them |
| illusion of salience | impression conveyed by polls that something is important to the public when actually it is not |
| bandwagon effect | a situation wherein reports of voter or delegate opinion can influence the actual outcome of an election or a nominating convention |
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