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Public Opinion and Political Action
Chapter 6 of Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry
18
Civics
12th Grade
10/03/2012

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Term
public opinion
Definition
the distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues
Term
demography
Definition
the science of population changes
Term
census
Definition
  • a valuable tool for understanding demographic changes
  • the U. S. Constitution requires that the government conduct an "actual enumeration" of the population every 10 years
Term
melting pot
Definition
the mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation
Term
minority majority
Definition
the emrgance of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a White, generally Anglo-Saxon majority
Term
political culture
Definition
an overall set of values widely shared within a society
Term
reapportionment
Definition
the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census
Term
political socialization
Definition
the process through which a young person acquires political orientations as they grow up, based on inputs from parents, teachers, the media, and friends
Term
sample
Definition
a relatively small proportion of the people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole
Term
random sampling
Definition
the key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample
Term
sampling error
Definition
  • 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
Term
random-digit dialing
Definition
a technique used by pollsters to place telphone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey
Term
exit poll
Definition
public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision
Term
political ideology
Definition
  • a coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose
  • helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies
Term
gender gap
Definition
  • a term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates
  • women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social servise and to oppose higher levels of military spending
Term
political participation
Definition
  • all the activites used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue
  • voting, protest, civil disobedience, etc.
Term
protest
Definition
a form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics
Term
civil disobedience
Definition
a form of political participation rhat reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences
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