CH6 political socialization, and public opinion lecture

Public Opinion

The collective preferences and attitudes of citizens concerning government policies and issues.

Political Socialization

The process by which individuals acquire their political beliefs and values through family, education, media, and other factors.

Watergate Scandal

A major political scandal involving a break-in at the Democratic National Committee headquarters and subsequent cover-up by President Nixon's administration.

Consensus

A general agreement among a group or community on a particular issue or policy.

Divided Opinion

A situation in which opinions are evenly split among individuals on an issue.

Opinion Poll

An organized method of asking a group of people what they think about a particular issue, with the aim of measuring and predicting public opinion.

Random Sampling

A method of selecting individuals from a population in such a way that each individual has an equal chance of being chosen.

Margin of Error

A statistical measure that expresses the amount of random sampling error in a survey's results, indicating how far off the poll results may be.

Sampling Error

The difference between the poll result and the true result for the whole universe due to incorrect sampling.

House Effect

A consistent bias observed in the polling results of one organization compared to others.

Agenda Setting

The media's role in identifying societal problems and determining the issues that should be prioritized by the government.

Media Bias

A tendency for the media to present news in a way that favors a particular perspective or viewpoint.

Political Ideology

A set of beliefs about politics and society that helps people make sense of their world.

Democracy

A system of government in which the citizens exercise power directly or elect representatives to form a governing body.