week7

Agents of socialization - Those agents, such as the family and the media, that have significant impact on citizens’ political socialization.

Cultural (social) conservatives - Those who believe government power should be used to uphold traditional values.

Cultural (social) liberals - Those who believe it is not government’s role to buttress traditional values at the expense of unconventional or new values.

Delegate - An elected representative whose obligation is to act in accordance with the expressed wishes of the people they represent.

Direction (of an opinion) - An opinion dimension that refers to whether people have a pro or con opinion on an issue.

Economic conservatives - Those who believe government tries to do too many things that should be left to private interests and economic markets.

Economic liberals - Those who believe government should do more to assist people who have difficulty meeting their economic needs on their own.

Framing - The process by which certain aspects of a situation are highlighted while other aspects are downplayed or ignored.

Identity politics - A situation in which people base their concerns on a group identity (such as race or religion) and align themselves politically with those who share that identity and against those who don’t.

Ideology - A general belief about the role and purpose of government.

Intensity - An opinion dimension that refers to how strongly people feel about an issue.

Party identification - The personal sense of loyalty that an individual may feel toward a particular political party.

Political socialization - The learning process by which people acquire their political opinions, beliefs, and values.

Population - In a public opinion poll, the people (e.g., the citizens of a nation) whose opinions are being estimated through interviews with a sample of these people.

Public opinion - The politically relevant opinions held by ordinary citizens that they express openly.

Public opinion poll - A device for measuring public opinion whereby a relatively small number of individuals (the sample) is interviewed for the purpose of estimating the opinions of a whole community (the population).

Salience - An opinion dimension that refers to how highly people rank an issue relative to other issues.

Sample - In a public opinion poll, the relatively small number of individuals who are interviewed for the purpose of estimating the opinions of an entire population.

Sampling error - A measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll, mainly a function of sample size and usually expressed in percentage terms.

Trustee - An elected representative whose obligation is to act in accordance with their own conscience as to what policies are in the best interests of the public.