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Political Culture, Participation & Institutions Unit Test Study Guide
Political Socialization
Process by which individuals internalize and develop their political values, ideas, attitudes, and perceptions via the agents of socialization.
Forces behind political socialization
Family, School, Media, Religion, Race/Ethnicity, Gender, Age, Location, Recent events.
Family's role in political socialization
Family's political views strongly influenced children's future beliefs.
School's role in political socialization
School teaches 'American values' of democracy.
Media's role in political socialization
Media informs public about issues.
Religion's role in political socialization
Religions that go to church are most likely to vote.
Race's role in political socialization
Race shapes our basic understanding of political events based on historical and modern day experiences.
Gender's role in political socialization
Gender causes different parties for men and women.
Age's role in political socialization
Age has different likability to vote.
Location's role in political socialization
Location has different liberal and conservative levels.
Recent events' role in political socialization
Recent events create positive or negative voter attitudes.
Most effective agent of political socialization
Family.
Influences on political beliefs
Socio-economic, ethnic, gender, race, ethnicity, gender, and media exposure.
Socio-economic voting trend
Wealthier individuals tend to vote conservative, while lower-income individuals may vote liberal.
Ethnic voting trend
African Americans and Latinos tend to vote Democrat, while white voters are more likely to vote Republican.
Gender voting trend
Women tend to vote more for Democrats, while men are more likely to vote Republican.
Political opinion's role in voting
Public opinion can sway elections.
Political Ideology
Whole set of values and beliefs about purpose and scope of government.
Liberal
Supports government action for social and economic equality.
Libertarians
Believes in personal freedom and less government interference.
Conservative
Favor in tradition, smaller government, and a free market.
Socialist
Supports government control over the economy, and free market.
Evangelical community
A Christian group, usually conservative in politics.
Conservative groups
Evangelical Protestants, Latinos.
Liberal groups
Jews, African Americans.
Gender differences in voting
Women more likely to vote than men.
Polling
A way to measure public opinion through surveys.
Importance of polling
It shows what people think and helps predict election results.
George Gallup
Founder of modern polling, he predicted the 1936 election correctly.
Literary Digest polls flaw
Did not give accurate information.
Steps of scientific polling
Phrasing of question, Random sampling, Stratified sampling, contacting respondents.
Push Polls
'Fake' polls, designed to influence opinions with biased questions.
Tracking Polls
Poll being repeated to measure changes of opinion over time.
Exit Polls
Polls conducted as the voter leaves to predict the election winners before officially given.
Problems associated with polling
Margin of error, sampling error, limited respondent options, lack of respondent knowledge.
Political efficacy
The belief that your vote matters.
15th amendment
Racial discrimination banned.
19th amendment
Women granted the right to vote.
24th amendment
Ban poll taxes.
26th amendment
Voting age lowered to 18.
Generational effect
Political views shaped by the era one grows.
Public opinion poll
A survey designed to measure the opinions or views of the general public on specific issues.
Straw poll
An informal vote or survey used to gauge the general sentiment of a group.
Random sampling
A method where every individual in a population has an equal chance of being selected for a survey.
Quota sample
A non-random sample that requires certain numbers or percentages of individuals from different demographic groups.
Stratified sampling
A sampling method where the population is divided into subgroups and random samples are taken from each.
Sampling error
The margin of error that occurs because a survey does not include everyone in the population.
Political ideology
A set of beliefs about the proper order of society and how it can be achieved.
Libertarians
People who advocate for minimal government and maximum individual freedom.
Populist
Someone who champions the right of ordinary people against elites.
Partisan
Strongly supporting a specific political party.
Liberal vs. Libertarian
Liberal: Advocates for social progress and government intervention in economic equality; Libertarian: Favor individual freedom and minimal government.
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