AP GOV (crying)

Rule of Law

the principle that everyone, including the government, is accountable under the law, which must be fairly applied and enforced

limited government

a principle where governmental power is restricted by law to protect the rights of the people

equality of opportunity

 the belief that every individual has the same chance to succeed in life, regardless of their background

individualism

a political philosophy emphasizing the importance of the individual's moral worth, freedom, and self-reliance over collective or state interests

free enterprise

an economic system where private individuals and businesses operate with minimal government intervention, driven by competition and consumer choice

opinion polling

Opinion polling is when a small, representative group of people are asked questions to gauge the attitudes or intentions of the larger public

scientific polls

method of measuring public opinion using a random sample of the population, a sufficient sample size, and unbiased questions, to get results that are as accurate as possible and represent the entire population.

interest groups

an organized association of people with shared policy goals that tries to influence government decisions and public policy

political socialization

the process through which individuals learn and internalize their political beliefs and values from agents like family, education, media, and peers

demographic effects on voting

The impact of population characteristics (like age, race, income, religion, and education) on political participation and voting patterns.

polling errors

the inaccuracies that can occur when public opinion polls are conducted, with the main types being sampling error (due to a poll's sample not perfectly representing the population) and non-sampling error (caused by issues like question wording, respondent bias, and a lack of candidness). 

question order bias

when the sequence of questions in a poll or survey influences a respondent's answer to a later question

question wording and bias

when how a survey question is phrased unfairly influences the answer a respondent gives.

shy voters

voters who hold a particular political preference but are reluctant to express it to public opinion pollsters, typically due to social desirability bias. 

saliency

the importance or prominence of an issue in the public's mind, meaning how much attention it gets

political participation

any action taken by citizens to influence or support government policies and leaders

role of representative

an elected official who acts on behalf of their constituents by representing their views and concerns in the government

delegate

a person chosen to represent others

trustee

an elected official who makes decisions based on their own judgment and conscience, acting in what they believe to be the best interest of their constituents and the nation, rather than strictly following popular opinion

politico

website with politics mr. noble is obsessed with

partisan

strong loyalty and adherence to a political party or ideology, often accompanied by a negative view of opposing parties

exit polls

survey conducted by interviewing voters as they leave polling places to get their responses on their vote and demographics to help predict election outcomes and understand voter behavior

entrance polls

survey taken before voters cast their ballots at a polling station to gauge who they plan to vote for

survey polls

method of asking a sample of people questions to gauge the opinions, beliefs, and voting intentions of a larger population

tracking polls

a survey taken repeatedly with the same group of people to measure changes in opinion over a short period, often used in political campaigns to gauge public reaction to events or a candidate's performance

sample size

the number of people surveyed to measure public opinion or conduct a study about a larger population

representative sample

a smaller group of individuals that accurately mirrors the characteristics of a larger population, used to make inferences about that population

reliability and validity

reliability is the consistency of a measurement, while validity is its accuracy. A reliable survey will produce similar results if repeated under the same conditions, while a valid survey will accurately measure what it is intended to measure, such as public opinion

margin of error

range of uncertainty in a poll's results, showing the maximum difference between the poll's findings and the true population's opinion