Unit 1 Test Review - (Civics fall 2026) Government and Politics

Vocabulary review flashcards created from Unit 1 test lecture notes covering political ideologies, spectrum, voting behaviors, redistricting terms, and media bias.

Political Socialization

Factors that contribute to an individual's political attitudes & values (e.g., family, school, media, peers, etc.), with family being the largest factor.

Political spectrum

Tool used to visually compare different political positions & ideologies on one or more axis (ranging from Radical on the left, to Moderate in the center, to Reactionary on the right).

Political parties

Groups of people who share political opinions or institutions that connect citizens with the government (e.g., Democrats & Republicans).

Electorate

Group of people in the US who are able to vote in elections (aged 18+).

Radical

A political ideology on the far left side favoring rapid change in the basic structure of the political, social, or economic system.

Liberal

A political ideology favoring gradual change, where government is actively involved in the promotion of social welfare of a nation's citizen.

Moderate

Position in the middle of the political spectrum where people don't hold extreme views, are tolerant of other people's views, and share viewpoints with liberals & radicals.

Conservative

A political ideology that favors keeping things the way they are, with the belief that the less government there is, the better.

Reactionaries

People on the far right side who want to go back to the way things used to be (good old days) and are willing to use extreme methods to achieve their goals.

Roles of Political Parties

1. Recruit, nominate, & support candidates for political office. 2. Provide labels that voters can use as shortcuts while trying to figure out candidates closer to their own political ideologies. 3. Either run things (if they have the power) or fight against the people running things.

Rational Choice

Voting based on what is in the citizen's best interest.

Retrospective voting

Voting based on a candidate's past.

Prospective voting

Voting based on a candidate's future performance.

Party-Line voting

Supporting a party by voting for all members of the political party. It is the strongest driver of young choice, while independents are not likely to follow this.

Factors influencing voter choice

Party identification, candidate characteristics, race, religion, gender, etc., and political issues.

Generational effects

Experiences shared by people of the same age (generation) that lead to changes in ideology.

Lifecycle effects

Individual experiences & factors that shape an individual's ideologies & political attitude over time.

Period effects

Changes in ideology due to major events or broad social changes that shape the experiences of society as a whole (e.g., Covid 19).

Political Realignment

Occurs when a political party undergoes a major change in their political agenda.

Reapportionment

The process of redistributing seats in Congress among states after each census (every 10 years).

Redistricting

Process occurring after reapportionment where states must redraw district boundaries.

Gerrymandering

When district lines are drawn to give one political group an unfair advantage.

Requirements for a Valid Map

When new congressional districts are drawn, they must have equal population and all districts have to be connected.

Media Bias

Ways a journalist, outlet, or source shows one point of view in a certain way to get the viewer to come to a particular conclusion.

Partisan Bias

Favoring one political team over another & only showing their side.

Propaganda

Biased info. used to promote a particular political point of view.

Yellow Journalism

Journalism that is based upon sensationalism and crude exaggeration.

Perspective

A particular attitude toward or way of regarding something.