AP GOV Unit 4

Semester 1, 2026

Public Opinion

the collective views and beliefs of a community or society.

Demography

the science of population changes

Census

an enumeration the Constitution requires the government to do every 10 years.

Melting Pot

mixing of cultures, ideas, and people

Minority Majority

where non-Hispanic whites will be the minority in the US and the minority group will represent a majority

Political Culture

an overall set of values widely shared within a society

Reapportionment

the process of reallocating seats in the House every 10 years on the basis of the results of the Census.

Political Socialization

process through which individuals in a society acquire political attitudes, views, and knowledge, based on input from family, schools, media, and others.

Sample

a relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole

Random Sampling

a key technique that operated on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being for the sample

Sampling Error

the level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll and the more people interviews, the more confident one can be about the results.

Random-Digit Dialing

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

Exit Poll

public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and accuracy

Political Ideology

a coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose, which helps give meaning to political events.

Gender Gap

the pattern in which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates because they tend to be less conservative than men and more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending

Political Participation

all the political activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or policies they pursue, the most common means in a democracy is voting and others are protesting and civil disobedience

Protest

a form of political participation designed to achieve policy change though dramatic and unconventional tactics

Civil Disobedience

a form of political participation based on a conscious decision to break a law believed to be unjust and to suffer the consequences

High-Tech Politics

a politics in which the behavior of citizens and policymakers and the political agenda itself are increasingly shaped by technology

Mass Media

television, radio, newspapers, magazines, the internet, and other means of popular communication

Media Event

events that are purposely staged for the media and that are significant just because the media is there

Press Conferences

meetings of public officials with reporters

Investigative Journalism

the use of in-depth reporting to unearth scandals, scams, and schemes, at times putting reporters in adversarial relationships with political leaders

Print Media

newspapers and magazines, as compared with electronic media

Electronic Media

television, radio, and the Internet, as compared with print media

Net Neutrality

a formal federal regulatory policy saying that Internet providers must provide equal access for all websites to their customers. Democrats favored this and Republicans said it was unnecessary government regulation.

Narrowcasting

media on cable or the internet that is focused on a particular interest and aimed at a particular audience, to contrast to broadcasting

Chains

groups of newspapers published by media conglomerates and today accounting for over four-fifths of the nation's daily newspaper circulation

Beats

specific locations from which news frequently shows, such as Congress or the White House. Most top reporters work in a particular beat, thereby becoming specialists in what goes on at that location

Trial Balloons

policy ideas floated to the media for the purpose of assessing the likely political reaction

Sound Bites

short video clips of approximately 10 seconds, typically shown from a politicians speech on nightly television news

Talking Head

a shot of a person's face talking directly to the camera because they're visually overstimulating so major networks rarely show politicians talking for very long

Policy Agenda

the list of subjects or problems to which government officials and people outside of the government are associated with those officials and are paying serious attention at any given time

Policy Entrepreneur

people who invest their political capital in an issue, someone who could be in or out of the government

Individualism

it places the importance on the independent person rather than the collective

Equality of opportunity

all people should have a fair and equal chance to compete for advantages without discrimination

Benchmark Polls

a survey taken at the very beginning of a political campaign

Tracking Polls

an opinion surveys repeated continuously over time

GOP

old name for the Republican Party

Keynesian Economics

the theory that the total spending in the economy Is the primary driver of economic growth

Monetary Policy

set of actions used by a nation’s central bank to control overall money supply and manage economic growth

Federal Reserve (FED)

central bank in the US

Economic Liberals

government should actively regulate the economy

Economic Conservatives

free-market capitalism

Social Liberals

prioritize individual autonomy

Social Conservatives

emphasizes traditional values

Separation of Powers

divides the government into 3 different branches to spread out the amount of power in the government

Judicial Review

courts can declare laws invalid or void if they break constitutional rules

Federalism

the way of organizing a country so the governmental powers are equally divided between the national and state governments

Margin of Error

a range of a reported percentage showing where the true public opinion falls

Exit Poll

a survey voters take immediately after they leave a polling station

What happened in 1704?

first newspaper

What happened in 1784?

first daily newspaper

What happened in 1920?

first radio news broadcast

What happened in 1940?

first TV news broadcast

What happened in 1980?

first all news cable channel

What happened in the 2000s?

various social media platforms established

Rule of Law

no one is above the law

Free Enterprise

private businesses can operate for profit without a lot of government interference

Congress

responsible for making federal laws, the legislative branch of the federal government

House of Representatives

shares responsibility with the Senate for making a passing laws

Senate

shares responsibility with the House for making and passing federal laws, based on the population of that state

Income Tax

mandatory tax based on annual wages/salaries

Fiscal Policy

use of government spending and taxing to influence the economy

Partisan/Partisanship

a loyalty/dedication to a certain political party or ideology with negative views of the opposing groups

Educational Vouchers

a certificate for the parents to use public tax dollars to pay for their child’s tuition at any non public school

Economic Regulations

rules that control access to the market like licensing requirements

Mandatory Spending

doesn’t need to vote or approval from Congress, authorized by permanent laws

Discretionary Spending

money spent on non essential goods or services that need annual decisions

Governmental Oversight

the review or monitoring of the executive branch by the legislative branch

Reapportionment

redistributing legislative seats based on population