ap gov chap 6

vocab for chap 6 (public opinion)

public opinion

citizens view on politics and government action

liberal or conservative ideology

**a way of describing political beliefs in terms of a position on the spectrum running from liberal to moderate to conservative**

latent opinion

**an opinion formed on the spot, when it is needed (as distinct from a deeply held opinion that is stable over time)**

political socialization

the process by which an individual ´ s political opinions are shaped by other people and the surrounding culture

mass survey

**a way to measure public opinion by interviewing a large sample of the population**

population

**the group of people whom a researcher or pollster wants to study, such as evangelicals, senior citizens, or Americans**

sample

within a population, the group of people surveyed in order to gauge the whole population´s opinion; researchers use samples because it would be impossible to interview the entire population

random sample

a subsection of a population chosen to participate in a survey through a selection process in which every member of the population has an equal chance of being chosen; this kind of sampling improves the accuracy of public opinion data

ideological polarization

the effect on public opinion when many citizens move away from moderate positions and toward either end of the political spectrum, identifying themselves as either liberals or conservatives

political trust

an individual´s overall evaluation of whether government serves citizen interests; an individual with high political trust believes that most government actions make citizens better off; an individual with low political trust believes that citizens are hurt by most government actions

political efficacy

an individual´s belief as to whether ordinary citizens can influence policy choices made by the government

policy mood

the level of public support for expanding the government´s role in society; whether the public wants government action on a specific issue