AP Gov - Unit 4

Public Opinion Polls

Public Opinion Polls

interviews or surveys that uses a sample of citizens to estimate feelings or beliefs of the whole population

Straw poll

an unofficial election poll with a non-random population

• can be used to show popular opinion

Push poll

a campaigning or marketing technique to manipulate or influence a voter’s views through specific questions

tracking poll

a poll were responses are obtained in consecutive periods (ex: 5 days)

• usually before voting

Exit poll

a poll where voters are taken immediately after exited the polling station

population sample

using a sample that is a subset of a population

• wanting to draw conclusions about an entire group

Random sampling

researcher randomly selects a subset of participants from a population

• allows for unbiased data collection and results

stratified sampling

sampling a group based on specific characteristics

margin of error

a statistic explaining how close a survery result is to the true population value

difficulties of polling

• cell phones (more expensive and not accessible to all)

• declining response rate

• access to the internet

• commitment to surveys (not accurate)

• polls predicting the wrong result

• less accuracy and expensive polling

  • wrong predictions, costing some people money and valuable results

political socialization

the process of how people acquire their beliefs, values, attitudes, etc

Factors that influence political opinion

• Gender

• Race and Ethnicity

• Age

• Religion

• Peers and School

College Liberalizing Effect

people become more liberal after attending college

political ideology

a set of ideas, beliefs, values, and opinion that are a recurring pattern

Conservative

• less government regulation of the economy

• free-market capitalism

• no government interference in the private lives

• belief in the American Dream

• small government

• wary of increased spending on social welfare programs

• school choice

• opposed to government interference in religion

• tax cuts for businesses and high-income earners

• deregulation of businesses

• flat taxes

Social Conservative

traditional values

• traditional family structures, gender roles, sexual relations, etc

• prefers government regulation in social issues

Liberal

• government regulation of the economy

• supports minimum wage, environmental protection, worker protections

• promotes social equality and justice

• opposed to government interference in private lives

• progressive tax

• reduce economic inequality

• social welfare programs

• government should promote the general welfare

• individual rights to privacy

• free public equation to all

• restrictions on religious activity

Moderate

• avoids extreme views

• tax cuts

• free market

• civil liberties and economic liberalism

• equal opportunity

• both liberal and conservative views

Libertarian

• limited government at all levels

• private ownership

• opposes government intervention in the economy and social

Statist

economic and social concerns are handed to the state/government

Democrats

• liberal

• racially and ethically diverse

• highly educated

• white, college

• younger generation

• women

Republicans

• conservative

• lower educated

• white, non-college

• whites

• older generation

• men

Monetary Policy

how the government manages the supply and demand of its currency and value of the dollar

The Fed

• bonds/securities

• regulates money reserves at commercial banks

• selling interest rates

• sets the discount rate

• regulates the reserve requirement

• determines the rates for government bonds

Fiscal Policy

the usage of government spending and taxation to influence the economy

keynesian economics

a form of economics where demand will increase supply and healthy economics spend or invest more than they save.

• governments should increase spending to create jobs and boost consumer buying power (boost economy)

• government policy to manage aggregate demand to prevent or address economic recessions

• government intervention in the economy

supply side economics

increasing supply of goods and services is the engine of economic growth

• lowering taxes (tax cuts)

• decreasing regulation

• free trade

Equality of Opportunity

every person is given the same chance to succeed in life

equality of results

people are equal and government policies are to redistribute wealth and status for economic and social equality

balancing liberty and order

individual freedom is balanced with the necessity for maintaining social order