Unit 4:

1. Benchmark poll: the first poll taken in a campaign, shows the public's first impression of a candidate

2. Blue states: The label given to states where the Democratic Party wins the electoral votes

3. Conservative: believe in tradition and a small, limited government, generally support order over freedom, and the Republican Party

4. Dealignment: The trend for fewer citizens to claim the loyal support of the major parties

5. Equality of opportunity: the belief that individuals are protected equally under the law and have equal opportunity to achieve their goals regardless of their social backgrounds

6. Entitlement programs: government programs that provide benefits to all qualified Americans, regardless of need (Social Security, Medicare)

7. Exit poll: is taken immediately after the voters have exited the polling stations, used to determine how an election has turned out

8. Fiscal Policy: Government use of taxing, spending, and the budget to influence the economy

9. Free enterprise: the belief that the government should interfere with the economic activity of the nation as little as possible

10. Gender gap: a trend in US voting where women have given a slight majority edge to Democrats and men to Republicans

11. Generational effect: a collective experience shared by a segment of the population that influences their political viewpoints in a similar way

12. Impressionable age hypothesis: political scientists think that most individuals form their core political views between the ages of 14 and 24, and major events and influence that take place during those years are critical to socialization

13. Individualism: the belief that Americans have a high degree of individual liberty and choice over decisions in their lives. Rugged Individualism - the importance of character traits such as self-reliance and hard work

14. Keynesian Economic Theory: the theory that states that federal taxation and spending levels can influence the economy, the government should improve the economy by increasing government spending

15. Liberal: Believe in change and a large responsive government, generally support freedom over order, and the Democratic Party

16. Libertarian: Political ideology growing in popularity in the United States. Very conservative - want to reduce the size of the government in all aspects - more private control and individual liberties

17. Margin of error: A positive or negative percentage is attached to all polls to determine their levels of accuracy

18. Means-Tested Program: Government program that provides benefits only to people with specific needs (Medicaid, EITC, Food Stamps, TANF).

19. Monetary Policy: Conducted by the Federal Reserve, government control of the money supply to stimulate economic growth.

20. Platform: A list of issues that each state party group and the national parties draw up, outlining all the issues they would like to address if voted into office.

21. Polarization: The recent trend of the American public and American politicians moving away from the political center.

22. Political Culture: Overall set of values widely shared within American society, common political beliefs.

23. Political events: External events that shape someone's party identification or views on the government, such as elections, terrorist attacks, pandemics, wars, recessions, and social movements.

24. Political Ideology: Coherent set of values and beliefs about what policies the government ought to pursue.

25. Political Socialization: The process through which an individual acquires his/her political orientations, influenced by family, education, peer groups, and the mass media.

26. Poll: A sampling of opinions, political affiliations, or voting patterns used to predict outcomes or trends.

27. Public Opinion: How the population feels about specific policies, issues, and situations in government, measured mainly through polling.

28. Random sampling: Based on the idea that a small sample of the population selected randomly can represent the whole population.

29. Red states: Label given to states where the republican party generally wins.

30. Representative Sample: To be accurate, a poll must represent the overall population (represent political parties, regions, ethnic or racial groups, and gender fairly), avoiding selection bias.

31. Rule of law: The belief that the law applies to each individual equally and that everyone, including elected leaders, can be held accountable for their actions.

32. Sample: The group of people asked questions in a public opinion poll.

33. Split-Ticket Voting: The practice of voting for people from both parties for different elected positions in the same election.

34. Supply-side economics: The belief that the government can stimulate economic growth by reducing taxes and regulations.

35. Tracking poll: A poll repeated at regular intervals, such as a weekly tracking poll that uses data obtained over a one-week period.