Attitudes:

An individual’s propensity to perceive, interpret, or act toward a particular object in a particular way (pg 195)

Communism:

a belief that the state owns property in common for all people and a single political party that represents the working classes controls the government (pg 206)

Conservativism

a belief in private property rights and free enterprise (pg 204)

General election

election in which voters elect officeholders (pg 213)

Intensity:

a measure of how strongly an individual holds a particular opinion (pg 200)

Liberalism

a belief that government can bring about justice and equality of opportunity (pg 203

Libertarianism:

a belief in limiting government to such vital activities as national defense while fostering individual liberty; unlike conservatives, libertarians oppose all government regulation, even of personal morality (pg 207)

Manifest opinion:

a widely shared and consciously held view, such as support for apportion rights or for homeland security (pg 200)

Margin of error:

the range of percentage points in which the sample accurately reflects the population (pg 199)

Political Ideology:

a constant pattern of ideas or beliefs about political values and the role of government, including how it should work and how it actually does work (pg 202)

Political socialization

The process by which we develop our attitudes, values, and beliefs (pg 194)

Public opinion:

the distribution of individual preferences for or evaluations of a given issue, candidate, or institution within a specific population (pg 198)

Random sample:

a sample (small portion of the population) in which every individual has a known and equal chance of being selected (pg 98)

Selective exposure

individuals choosing to access media with which they agree or avoiding media with which they disagree (pg 196)

Social capital:

the value of social contacts, associations, and networks individuals form which can foster trust, coordination, and cooperation (pg 197)

Social conservative:

focuses less on economics and more on morality and lifestyle (pg 205)

Socialism:

a governmental system where some of the means of production are controlled by the state and where the state provides key human welfare services like healthcare and old age assistance; allows for free markets in other activities (pg 206)

Turnout:

the proportion of the voting-age population that votes, sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote (pg 213)

Universe/population:

the group of people whose preferences we try to measure by taking a sample; also called population (pg 200)

Voter registration:

a system designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents, including proof of residency (pg 211)

Horse race

a close contest, by extension, any contest in which the focus is on who is ahead and by how

much rather than on substantive differences between the candidates (pg 287)

Investigative journalism:

the use of detective-like reporting methods to unearth scandals

Mass media:

means of communication that reach the public, including newspapers and magazines, radio,

television (broadcast, cable, and satellite), films, recordings, books, and electronic

communication (pg 266)

News media:

media that emphasize the news (pg 266)

Policy agenda

the list of subjects or problems to which government officials are paying some serious

attention at any given time

Trial balloons

information leaked to the media to see what the political reaction will be