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

populism

means "appealing to the people"; Populist party was conservative on social issues and liberal on economic issues

polarization

Shift in attitudes by parties toward more extreme positions, making it more difficult to compromise

political socialization

the process by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs

factors of political socialization

family, age, school, class, income, occupation, religion, gender, ethnicity, group influence, mass media, party preferences, etc.

public opinion

a belief or sentiment shared by most people

measures of public opinion

polls, focus groups, town hall

scientific poll

poll that employs random sampling

random sample

everyone (the population) has an equal chance of being selected

straw poll

no random sample (essentially every poll that is not scientific)

sampling error

a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll

margin of error

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

liberal

a person who favors a political philosophy of progress and reform and the protection of civil liberties

conservative

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

political ideology

the set of values and beliefs about the purpose and scope of government held by groups and individuals

political spectrum

the range of political views

libertarian

liberal on social issues, conservative on economic issues

party identification

a citizen's self-proclaimed preference for one party or the other

party affiliation

an individual's choice of a party when registering to vote

equality of opportunity

giving people an equal chance to succeed

equality of outcome

The concept that society must ensure that people are equal, and governments must design policies to redistribute wealth and status so that economic and social equality is actually achieved.

Globalism

a philosophy which regards the entire world as one giant community that should be unified politically and economically

generational effect

a long-lasting effect of the events of a particular time on the political opinions of those who came of political age at that time

life cycle effect

Concept that people change as they grow older because of age-specific experiences and thus are likely to hold age-specific attitudes and political beliefs.

Period effects

-consequences of historical change
-broad, society-wide events that impact all ages at a point in time

Opinion poll

an assessment of public opinion obtained by questioning a representative sample.

Benchmark poll

initial poll on a candidate and issues on which campaign strategy is based and against which later polls are compared

Tracking polls

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

Entrance Poll

A poll that is taken before voters have cast their votes at the polling stations

Exit polls

Polls conducted as voters leave selected polling places on Election Day.

focus group

A small group of individuals who are led in discussion by a professional consultant in order to gather opinions on and responses to candidates and issues.

Keynesian economics

Theory based on the principles of John Maynard Keynes, stating that government spending should increase during business slumps and be curbed during booms.

supply-side economics

An economic philosophy that holds the sharply cutting taxes will increase the incentive people have to work, save, and invest. Greater investments will lead to more jobs, a more productive economy, and more tax revenues for the government.

Monetary policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling the money supply and thus interest rates.

fiscal policy

Government policy that attempts to manage the economy by controlling taxing and spending.