AP Gov Chap 12-13

Conservative

A person who believes government power, particularly in the economy, should be limited in order to maximize individual freedom.

liberal

open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.

political culture

The set of attitudes that shape political culture

Individualism

The fundamental worth/importance of each individual

free enterpise

an economic system in which private business operates in competition and largely free of state control.

Rule of Law

principle that the law applies to everyone and prevents the rules and whims of leaders who see themselves above the law

Limited Government

a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution and kept under control by checks and balances and the separation of powers

Laissez-faire

Idea that government should play as small a role as possible in economic affairs.

equality of opportunity

a widely shared American ideal that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential

political socialization

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

Globalization

the process by which businesses or other organizations develop international influence or start operating on an international scale.

Millenials (Generation Y)

born between 1977 and 2000

Generation X (Gen X)

generational cohort of people born between 1965 and 1976

Baby Boomers

people born between 1946 and 1964

Silent Generation

1925-1945

Generational Effects

Significant historical or cultural events that can permanently affect the political attitudes of the people who lived through them.

lifecycle effects

As people become middle-aged, they become more politically conservative, less mobile, and more likely to participate in politics.

Great Depression

the economic crisis beginning with the stock market crash in 1929 and continuing through the 1930s

New Deal Coalition

coalition forged by the Democrats who dominated American politics from the 1930's to the 1960's. its basic elements were the urban working class, ethnic groups, Catholics and Jews, the poor, Southerners, African Americans, and intellectuals.

Iraq Invasion

• Bush Jr invaded Iraq because he believed that they were oppressing its own people, frustrating the weapons inspectors, developing nuclear, chemical, and biological weapons of mass destruction, and supporting terrorist groups

• a liberated Iraq would be a beacon of hope to the Islamic world

• Bush and Britain launched the invasion in 2003

• Saddam was driven from power

Great Recession

severe economic downturn that lasted from late 2007 through mid-2009

public poll opinion

a survey in which individuals are asked to answer questions about a particular issue or person

benchmark poll

an initial poll on a candidate and issues on which campaign strategy is based and against which later polls are compared

approval ratings

The percentage of survey respondents who say that they "approve" or "strongly approve" of the way the president is doing his job.

focus group

A small group of individuals who are led in discussion by a professional consultant in order to gather opinions on and responses to candidates and issues

Sampling Techniques

assure an accurate poll with a random and fair representation of the population

representative sample

A group of people meant to represent the large group in question

universe

the population from which a sample will be drawn

random sample

a sample that fairly represents a population because each member has an equal chance of inclusion

random digit dialing

A technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey.

weighting/stratification

making sure demographic groups are properly represented in a sample

sampling error

the difference between the results of random samples taken at the same time

margin of error

a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll

push polling

a polling technique in which the questions are designed to shape the respondent's opinion

bandwagon effect

When people join a cause because it seems popular or support a candidate who is leading in the polls

Bradley Effect

the difference between a poll result and an election result in which voters gave a socially desirable poll response rather than a true response that might be perceived as racist

non-response bias

bias resulting when individuals selected to be in a survey either cannot be contacted or refuse to answer survey questions.

social desirability bias

A tendency to give socially approved answers to questions about oneself.

Ideology

a comprehensive and mutually consistent set of ideas

valence issues

an issue about which the public is united and rival candidates or political parties adopt similar positions in hopes that each will be thought to best represent those widely shared beliefs

wedge issues

a controversial issue that one party uses to split the voters in the other party

Saliency

intense importance to an individual or a group

moderate

Person whose views are between conservative and liberal and may include some of both ideologies

Libertarian

One who advocates for principles of liberty and free will

Populist

a supporter of the rights and power of the people

progressive

A belief that personal freedom and solving social problems are more important than religion

Majoritarian

A political theory holding that in a democracy, the government ought to do what the majority of the people want.

agenda

a list of things to do to improve society

fiscal policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.

supply-side economics

An economic philosophy that holds the sharply cutting taxes will increase the incentive people have to work, save, and invest. Greater investments will lead to more jobs, a more productive economy, and more tax revenues for the government.