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Chapter 6

Terms in this set (18)

Public Opinion
The distribution of the population's beliefs about policies and policy issues
Demography
The science of population changes
Public Opinion
The distribution of the population's beliefs about policies and policy issues
Census
The Constitution requires that government conduct an "actual enumeration" of the population every 10 years.
Melting Pot
The mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation.
Minority Majority
The emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a White, generally Anglo-Saxon majority.
Political Culture
An overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Reapportionment
The process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.
Political Socialization
The process through which an individual acquires his [or her] particular political orientation - his [or her] knowledge, feelings and evaluations regarding his [or her] political world.
Sample
A relatively small portion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole.
Random Sampling
The key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operate on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample.
Sampling Error
The level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results.
Random-Digit Dialing
A technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey.
Exit Poll
Public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision.
Political Ideology
A coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies.
Gender Gap
A term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates.
Protest
A form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics.
Civil Disobedience
A form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.
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