Unit 4 Vocabulary Terms: Political Beliefs/Political Behaviors

This set of flashcards covers essential vocabulary terms related to political beliefs and behaviors, providing definitions for key concepts relevant to the study of political science.

Attentive Public

Those who follow politics and public affairs carefully.

Benchmark/tracking poll

Several responses obtained over a period of time.

Entrance/Exit poll

Measurement of voter opinion right before or after they enter the voting booth.

Demographic

Characteristic of a population, like race, gender, or income.

Gender Gap

Difference in voting patterns for men and women, particularly in the greater tendency of women to vote for Democratic presidential candidates.

Ideology

Set of beliefs about political values and the role of government.

Independent

One who is not registered with a political party, with independent leaners voting for one party while pure independents have no consistent party voting pattern.

Issue Advocacy Ads

Ads that focus on issues and do not explicitly encourage citizens to vote for a certain candidate.

Opinion Poll

Measurement of beliefs about an issue or candidate.

Party Identification

A sense of affiliation that a person has with a particular political party.

Party Platform

A list of positions and programs that the party adopts at the national convention, with each position called a plank.

Political Culture

The widely shared beliefs, values, and norms that citizens share about their government.

Political Efficacy

Capacity to understand and influence political events.

Political Socialization

Process in which one acquires his/her political beliefs.

Realigning (“Critical”) elections

An election in which there is a long-term change in party alignment, e.g., 1932.

Random sampling

Best way to select respondents for a poll.

Safe Seat

An office that is extremely likely to be won by a particular candidate or political party.

Sampling Error

The margin of how incorrect a poll could be.