AP Gov: Public Opinion Vocab

Basic/Simple Vocab, Not In-Depth

Public Opinion

How people think or feel about particular things

Poll

A survey of public opinion

Random Sampling

Method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected

Sampling Error

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

Exit Polls

Polls based on interviews conducted on election day with randomly selected voters

Question Wording

The way in which survey questions are phrased, which influences how respondents answer them

Political Socialization

Process by which one’s family influences one’s political views

Impressionable Years Hypothesis

Argument that political experiences during the teens and early 20s powerfully shape attitudes for the rest of the life cycle

Gender Gap

Difference in political views between men and women

Partisanship

An individual’s identification with a party; whether they consider themselves a Democrat, Republican, or an Independent

Party Sorting

The alignment of partisanship and issue positions so that Democrats tend to take more liberal positions and Republicans tend to take more conservative ones

Affective Polarization

Tendency of partisans to dislike and distrust those from the other party

Political Ideology

A more or less consistent set of beliefs about what policies the government ought to pursue

Political Elites

Persons with a disproportionate share of political power

Heuristics

Informational shortcuts used by voters to make a decision