GOV - Unit 2: Political Ideologies & Beliefs

political culture

beliefs and attitudes about government that all or most citizens share

egalatarianism

the belief that all people are inherently equal; emphasizing the need for equal rights and equal opportunity

individiualism

the belief in the centrality and dignity of individual people; emphasizing personal freedom and self-reliance

American Exceptionalism

the belief that the United States is unique and generally superior to other nations of the world, particularly in regard to their political and economic systems

political tolerance

the willingness to respect the rights and beliefs of others, even those with whom we disagree

political ideology

a set of opinions about what policies government ought to pursue

political efficacy

the degree to which one believes they can effectively influence government or affect change in politics

political socialization

the process by which we develop our beliefs, attitudes, and opinions about government

political spectrum

a system of classifying different ideologies about government policy on an axis, so they can be described in relation to each other

conservative

in American politics, a political ideology defined by an emphasis on liberty and individual responsibility; generally advocates for limiting government

liberal

in American politics, a political ideology defined by an emphasis on equality and collective action; generally advocates for empowering government

moderate

in American politics, a political ideology defined by being a balanced middle view between conservative and liberal

reactionary

an extremely conservative political ideology

radical

an extremely liberal political ideology

Republican Party

the major conservative political party in the United States

GOP

a commonly used nickname for the US Republican Party, literally stands for "Grand Old Party"

Democratic Party

the major liberal political party in the United States

Libertarian Party

a minor political party in the United States with a reactionary ideology

Green Party

a minor political party in the United States with a radical ideology

coalition

an alliance of varied individuals or factions, working together for a common purpose

partisan

characterized by dedication to or bias toward a particular political party

bipartisan

characterized by cooperation or coordination between both major parties

independent

characterized by lack of identification with or attachment to a political party

polarization

the presence of increasingly conflicting and divided viewpoints between the two major parties

public opinion

how the people think or feel about particular things

majority

more than half; in public opinion or voting it refers to the choice selected by most people

plurality

more than the rest; in public opinion or voting it refers to the choice selected by a "relative majority" - more than any of the other choices, but not necessarily more than half

straw poll

an unscientific survey of public opinion

biased sample

a sample that is not representative of the population from which it is drawn

representative sample

a sample that accurately reflects the population from which it is drawn

random sampling

method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected, ensuring a representative sample

margin of error

a measure of how closely one can expect a poll's results to match reality, usually expressed as a range of percentage points; determined largely by the size of the sample

wording effects

in polling, the tendency for the way the question is phrased to impact how people respond to the question and thus impact the results of the poll