APGOV Unit 3

Political Culture

The widely shared beliefs, values, and norms about how citizens relate to government and to one another

Suffrage

The Right to vote

Majority rule

Governance according to the expressed preferences of the majority

Popular sovereignty

A belief that ultimate power resides in the people

Political ideology

A consistent pattern of beliefs about political values and the role of government

Liberalism

A belief that government can and should achieve justice and equality of opportunity

Conservatism

A belief that limited gov. ensures order, competitive markets, and personal opportunity

Socialism

An economic and gov. system based on public ownership of production and exchange

Libertarianism

An ideology that cherishes individual liberty and insists on minimal gov. promoting a free market economy, a noninterventionist foreign policy, and an absence of regulation in moral, economic, and social life

Political socialization

The process-most notably in families and schools-by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs

Gender gap

A persistent difference between men and women in voting and attitudes in important issues

Socioeconomic status

A division of the population based on occupation, income, and education

Public opinion

The basic attitudes and opinions of the general public

Random sample

In this type of sample, every individual has unknown and random chance of being selected

Selective exposure

The process by which individuals screen out messages that do not conform to their own biases

Attentive public

Those citizens who follow public affairs carefully

Voter registration

System designed to reduce voter fraud by limiting voting to those who have established eligibility to vote by submitting the proper documents

Midterm election

Elections held midway between presidential elections, usually have lower turnout

Turnout

The proportion of the voting-age public that votes, sometimes defined as the number of registered voters that vote

Party identification

Identifying with a political party

Prospective issue voting

Voting based on what a candidate pledges to do in the future about an issue if elected

Retrospective issue voting

Holding incumbents, usually the presidents party, responsible for their records on issues, such as the economy or foreign policy

Civic duty

The responsibilities of a citizen

Progressive

A person advocating or implementing social reform/change often toward new, liberal ideas

Political efficacy

The belief that the government listens to normal people and that participation can make a difference in government

Motor-voter law

A law that enables prospective voters to register to vote when they obtain or renew a driver's license

selective perception

The phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions.

Agenda Setting

The media's ability to determine which issues will be covered, in what detail, and in what context—and also deciding which stories are "not news" and thus not covered

policy agenda

The issues that attract the serious attention of public officials and other people actively involved in politics

Watchdog

The role played by the national media in investigating political personalities and exposing scandals.

Horse race reporting

Term for a style of news reporting that focuses on who is ahead or behind, how much money candidates are spending, and their current standing in the polls.

media conglomeration

the merging of media enterprises which results in a shrinking number of media enterprises