Ideology

Conservative

those who believe in following tradition and having reverence for authority.

generational effect

significant cultural or historical events that can permanently affect the lives of the people who lived through them

globalization

process of an ever expanding and increasingly interactive world economy

ideology

comprehensive and mutually consistent set of ideas

individualism

fundemental worth and importance of the individual

liberal

open to allowing the government to flexibly expand beyond established constraints.

libertarian

voters who generally oppose government intervention or regulation. They have a high regard for civil liberties, those rights outlined in the Bill of Rights. They oppose censorship , want lower taxes, and dislike government- imposed morality. They are conservative on economic issues and liberal on social or moral issues.

lifecycle effects

variety of physical, emotional, and psychological changes that people go through as they age

moderate

most Americans are left or right of center and never fall fully into the conservative or liberal camp.

party identificaiton

About 60 percent of adults belief as their parents, including independents. Most who differ from their parents proclaim political independence instead of aligning with the opposite party.

political socialization

the process by which one develops political opinions. The process begins as soon as one is old enough to start forming opinions on public matters, and it never really ends.

wedge issues

sharply divisive and divide the public

bandwagon effect

a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public opinion polls report as the front-runner

benchmark polls

Used to gather general information about people's views and concerns.

exit polls

are conducted outside a polling place on election day to predict the outcome of the election, to gain insight into the thoughts and behaviors of voters, or to analyze demographic voting trends.

focus group

small groups of citizens - 10-40 people - gathered to hold conversations about issues or candidates.

margin of error

every poll has a margin of error. The sample size and the margin of error have an inverse relationship. That is, as the sample gets larger, the margin of error decreases.

random sample

every single member of the universe must have an equal chance of selection for a poll.

represenataive sample

a group of people meant to imitate the large group in question

tracking polls

ask people the same or similar questions over time to chart the path of public opinion.