We the People Chapter 5
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Agents of socialization
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social institutions, including families and schools, that help to shape individuals' basic political beliefs and values. (page 144)
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Attitude (or opinion)
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a specific preference on a particular issue. (page 141)
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Bandwagon effect
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a shift in electoral support to the candidate whom public opinion polls report as the front-runner. (page 160)
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Conservative
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today this term refers to those who generally support the social and economic status quo and are suspicious of efforts to introduce new political formulae and economic arrangements. Conservatives believe that a large and powerful government poses a threat to citizens' freedom. (page 149)
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Democracy
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a system of rule that permits citizens to play a significant part in the governmental process, usually through the election of key public officials. (page 143)
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Equality of opportunity
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a widely shared American ideal that all people should have the freedom to use whatever talents and wealth they have to reach their fullest potential. (page 142)
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Gender gap
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a distinctive pattern of voting behavior reflecting the differences in views between women and men. (page 145)
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Liberal
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today this term refers to those who generally support social and political reform; extensive governmental intervention in the economy; the expansion of federal social services; more vigorous efforts on behalf of the poor, minorities, and women; and greater concern for consumers and the environment. (page 148)
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Libertarianism
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a political ideology that emphasizes freedom and voluntary association with small government. (page 00)
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Liberty
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freedom from government control. (page 142)
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Marketplace of ideas
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the public forum in which beliefs and ideas are exchanged and compete. (page 150)
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Median voter theorem
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a proposition predicting that when policy options can be arrayed along a single dimension, majority rule will pick the policy most preferred by the voter whose ideal policy is to the left of half of the voters and to the right of exactly half of the voters. (page 00)
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Political ideology
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a cohesive set of beliefs that forms a general philosophy about the role of government. (page 147)
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Political socialization
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the induction of individuals into the political culture; learning the underlying beliefs and values on which the political system is based. (page 144)
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Probability sampling
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a method used by pollsters to select a representative sample in which every individual in the population has an equal probability of being selected as a respondent. (page 00)
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Public opinion
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citizens' attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events. (page 141)
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Public-opinion polls
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scientific instruments for measuring public opinion. (page 154)
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Push polling
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a polling technique in which the questions are designed to shape the respondent's opinion. (page 160)
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Random digit dialing
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a polling method in which respondents are selected at random from a list of ten-digit telephone numbers, with every effort made to avoid bias in the construction of the sample. (page 154)
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Sample
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a small group selected by researchers to represent the most important characteristics of an entire population. (page 154)
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Sampling error
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polling error that arises based on the small size of the sample. (page 155)
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Selection bias
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polling error that arises when the sample is not representative of the population being studied, which creates errors in overrepresenting or underrepresenting some opinions. (page 159)
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Social desirability effect
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the effect that results when respondents in a survey report what they expect the interviewer wishes to hear rather than what they believe. (page 157)
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Socialism
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a political ideology that emphasizes social ownership or collective government ownership and strong government. (page 00)
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Values (or beliefs)
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basic principles that shape a person's opinions about political issues and events. (page 141)
