AP Government Chapter 3 Vocabulary

Conservative

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

Liberal

people who believe the government should be used to help people and support more government intervention.

political culture

the set of attitudes, beliefs, and sentiments which give order and meaning to a political process and which provide the underlying assumptions and rules that govern behavior in the political system

Individualism

giving priority to one's own goals over group goals and defining one's identity in terms of personal attributes rather than group identifications

free enterprise

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, even those who govern

Limited Government

A principle of constitutional government; a government whose powers are defined and limited by a constitution.

Ideology

a system of ideas and ideals, especially one that forms the basis of economic or political theory and policy.

Saliency

the degree to which an issue is important to a particular individual or group.

Libertarian

One who believes in limited government interference in personal and economic liberties

Populists

a member or adherent of a political party seeking to represent the interests of ordinary people.

Progressives

reformers who worked to stop unfair practices by businesses and improve the way grovernment works

political socialization

the process by which people gain their political attitudes and opinions

life cycle effect

the impact of a person's age and stage in life on his or her political views

Benckmark Poll

first type of poll used in an election before a candidate declared their intention to run used to gather information about people's views and concerns

tracking polls

continuous surveys that enable a campaign or news organization to chart a candidate's daily rise or fall in support

exit poll

a survey taken at polling places of how people voted

approval ratings

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

representative sample

randomly selected sample of subjects from a larger population of subjects

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

margin of error

the range of percentage points in which the sample accurately reflects the population

public opinion

the sum of individual attitudes about government, policies, and issues

scientific poll

a representative poll of randomly selected respondents with a statistically significant sample size, using neutral language