American political Ideologies and Beliefs

Question 1

General Public

Answer 1

Most Americans

Question 2

Issue Public

Answer 2

A group of Americans - smaller than the general public - to which an issue is of importance.

Question 3

Saliency

Answer 3

The degree to which an issue is important to a particular individual or group.

Question 4

Intensity

Answer 4

How strongly people feel about a particular issue. “Hot-button” issues like abortion.

Question 5

Stability

Answer 5

A measure of how stable an issue is - public opinion changes over time

Question 6

Referendum

Answer 6

Process through which voters may vote on new laws; submits to popular vote to accept of reject a measure passed by a legislative body. One of several Progressive Era reforms that increased voters’ power over government.

Question 7

Public opinion polls

Answer 7

Designed to determine public opinion by asking questions of a much smaller group; used frequently and directly to measure public opinion

Question 8

Random sampling

Answer 8

Method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected.
a method that allows them to poll a representative cross section of the public

Question 9

Exit Polls

Answer 9

Polls based interviews conducted on Election Day with randomly selected voters who are leaving the voting place

Question 10

Sampling Error

Answer 10

Margin of error in public opinion poll. Most polls are accurate within a margin of plus or minus 4 percent.

Question 11

Entrance polls

Answer 11

conducted on election day as voters head into the polling station to cast their vote

Question 12

Tragic polls

Answer 12

preformed multiple times with an identical sample in order to track changes in opinion

Question 13

Benchmark polls

Answer 13

conducted by a campaign when a candidate initially announces their intention to run

Question 14

Stratified random sampling

Answer 14

variation of random sampling, in which the population is divided into subgroups and weighed based on demographic characteristics

Question 15

political socialization

Answer 15

the process in which people develop their political values, beliefs, attitudes and ideology

Question 16

family

Answer 16

factor that influences individual political beliefs
Most people eventually affiliate with the same party as their parents
Children’s beliefs are also greatly affected by the moral and ethical values they learn from there parents

Question 17

location

Answer 17

factor that influences individual political beliefs
people born in rural states may develop political views that are more socially conservative than those of city dwellers

Question 18

School

Answer 18

As children grow, other factors influence their political socializations
In school they learn about history and government, and they are exposed to the political perspectives of teachers and peers

Question 19

Religious institutions

Answer 19

As children grow, other factors influence their political socializations
has a similar influence as school for many Americans

Question 20

Mass Media
(television. radio, magazines, and the internet)

Answer 20

As children grow, other factors influence their political socializations
furthers inform their political attitudes

Question 21

Higher education

Answer 21

Those who progress to higher education find themselves questioning their social and political assumptions for the first time.
As a result college can be the first time of radical change in an individuals political beliefs

Question 22

ideology

Answer 22

coherent set of thoughts and beliefs about policies and government

Question 23

Conservative

Answer 23

A political ideology that tends to favor defense spending and school prayer and to disapprove of social programs, abortion, affirmative action, active government. Conservatives are generally affiliated with the republican party

Question 24

Liberal.

Answer 24

Description of an ideology that tends to favour government spending on schools programs. a women’s right to an abortion, and an active government, and to disfavor defense spending an prayer in schools. Liberals are generally affiliated with the Democrat party

Question 25

Moderate (or independent)

Answer 25

The beliefs of moderates do not constitute a coherent ideology. Instead, moderates view themselves as pragmatists who apply common sense rather than philosophical principles to political situations

Question 26

public agenda

Answer 26

the media plays a major role in the perception of government by placing certain policies and news events in the spotlight

Question 27

News media

Answer 27

plays an important role in the development of public opinion