Unit 2 Voacb

Agents of Socialization

The individuals, organizations, and institutions that facilitate the acquisition of political views.

Conservatism

An ideology that emphasizes preserving tradition and relying on community and family as mechanisms of continuity in society.

Exit Polls

Polls conducted at polling places on Election Day to project the winner of an election before the polls close.

Gender Gap

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

Generation Effect

The impact of an important external event in shaping the views of a generation.

Liberalism

An ideology that advocates change in the social, political, and economic realms to better protect the well-being of individuals and to produce equality within society.

Libertarianism

An ideology whose advocates believe that government should take a “hands off” approach in most matters.

Party Identification

The personal sense of loyalty that an individual may feel toward a particular political party.

Political Culture

The characteristic and deep-seated beliefs of a particular people about government and politics.

Socialism

An ideology that advocates economic equality, theoretically achieved by having the government or workers own the means of production (businesses and industry)

Stratified Sampling

A process of random sampling in which the national population is divided into fourths and certain areas within these regions are selected as representative of the national population.

Populism

A philosophy supporting the rights and empowerment of the masses as opposed to elites.

Political Socialization

The learning process by which people acquire their political opinions, beliefs, and values.

Population

In a public opinion poll, the people (for example, the citizens of a nation) whose opinions are being estimated through interviews with a sample of these people.

Public Opinion

The politically relevant opinions held by ordinary citizens that they express openly.

Public Opinion Poll

A device for measuring public opinion whereby a relatively small number of individuals (the sample) are interviewed for the purpose of estimating the opinions of a whole community (the population).

Push Polls

A special type of poll that both attempts to skew public opinion about a candidate and provides information to campaigns about candidate strengths and weaknesses.

Quota Sample

A method by which pollsters structure a sample so that it is representative of the characteristics of the target population.

Random Sampling

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

Sample

In a public opinion poll, the relatively small number of individuals who are interviewed for the purpose of estimating the opinions of an entire population.

Sampling Error

A measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll. The sampling error is mainly a function of sample size and is usually expressed in percentage terms.

Straw Poll

A poll conducted in an unscientific manner, used to predict election outcomes.

Tracking Polls

Polls that measure changes in public opinion over the course of days, weeks, or months by repeatedly asking respondents the same questions and measuring changes in their responses.