Political socialization

political socialization

The process where we develop our political values and opinions.

agents of socialization

Family, School, Religion, Peers Groups, Opinion leaders and media

Cross Pressuring

Being part of multiple cleavages in society

gender gap

The measurable difference in the way women and men vote for candidates and in the way they view political issues

generational effect

The influence of a significant external event in shaping the views of a generation

public opinion

The public's expressed views about an issue at a specific point in time.

public opinion poll

A survey of a given population's opinion on an issue at a particular time.

straw poll

A poll conducted in an unscientific manner to predict the outcome of an election

Population

Groups of people whose opinions are of interest and about whom information is desired

Sampling

The process of gathering a small piece of information out of large group.

random sampling

A scientific method of selection in which each member of the population has an equal chance at being included in the sample

sampling error or Margin of Error

a statistical calculation of the difference in results between a poll of a randomly drawn sample and a poll of the entire population.

tracking polls

Measure changes in public opinion over the course of days, weeks, or months by repeatedly asking respondents the same questions and measuring changes in opinion.

push polls

Polls that attempts to skew public opinion about a candidate and provide information to campaigns about candidate strengths and weaknesses.

exit polls

Polling after a person votes to determine how the public voted and, who voted, and what was most important to voters

Voter participation

Accounts for the people who actually voted.

Turn out rate

The proportion of eligible voters to the ones who actually voted

Prospective voting

A method that focuses on what the candidate will do in the future.

Retrospective voting

A method that focus on the decisions and actions the candidate made in the past.

Salient

Being able to reflect and have something in common with the voters.

Incumbancy

The situation of already holding an office or an official position, as we've seen, is also a key factor influencing how people vote.

Efficacy

The belief that government listens to people like them and that their votes actually matter

voter fatigue

The condition in which voters simply grow tired of all candidates by the time Election Day arrives

rational abstention thesis

A theory that states that some individuals decide that the "costs" of voting—in terms of the time, energy, and inconvenience required to register to vote, to become informed about candidates and elections, and actually to vote—are not worth the effort when compared with the expected "benefits," or what the voters could derive from voting.

other agents of socialization

Race, gender, social class, regional background, level of education and experiences/life event

Demographics

Gender, race, income, education, etc.

Any category we can lump people into (Soccer moms)

Cleavage:

Political divisions/splits in society that can be reflected in diverging interests and voting block patterns

Factors that influence Party and Vote Preference

Age, income, gender, race, level of education, living conditions: rural/urban, religion, type of job,

Key Demographics of Democrats

Age: Younger are more likely to vote for democrats

Income: Low Income

Education: Were less educated

Race: Where minorities are more likely to vote Religion: Where Jewish or Christian people are more likely to vote

Gender: Females are more likely to vote

Geography: Where cities/urban areas are likely to vote

Key demographics for Republicans

Age: Where older people are more likely to vote

Education: higher education

Income: People with High Income

Race: White people are more likely to vote

Religion: Where Protestants are more likely to vote

Gender: Men are more likely to vote

Geography: Where rural areas are likely to vote

Political Polarization

The process by public opinion divides and goes to the extremes

How Public Opinion is Measured

Election, Media, personal contacts, Interest Groups, Opinion Polls

The Polling Process

Define the Universe to be surveyed, construct a representative sample, prepare valid questions, select and control the polling process, report the findings

Challenges to Polling the public

Wording the question, timing, Landline v. Cell Phone, Under or over sampling on demographic groups, People lying to pollsters, People just guessing

What's the best indicator of how a person will vote?

How they've voted in the past Party identification (degree of partisanship)

How is voting behavior different between the young and old?

Older is likely to vote, and they're democrats

How is voting behavior different between females and males?

Males are likely to be republicans and females are likely to be democrats

What are the factors to look at to evaluate the accuracy of a public opinion poll?

Determining whether or not it's a random sample