CHAPTER 5: PUBLIC OPINION KEY TERMS (C)*
indicates items most likely to appear on the Spring, 2004, Chapter 5 online
exam |
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*Agents of political socialization
|
Family,
school, mass media, religion |
(Census) |
The
Constitution requires the government to conduct an “enumeration” of the
population every 10 years. It is a
valuable tool for understanding demographic
changes. |
*Civil disobedience(see protest, below) |
A
form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a
law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences. Non-violent
an effective technique of the civil rights movements in the American South |
(Demographic group) |
A
segment of the population. |
|
(Gender gap) |
A
term, which refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to
support Democratic candidates. Women
are more likely than men to support spending on social services and to oppose
higher levels of military spending. |
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(Melting pot) |
The
mixing of cultures, ideas, and people that has changed the American nation.
The |
|
(Minority majority) |
The
emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a white Anglo-Saxon
Protestant (WASP) majority. It
is predicted that, by about 2060 Hispanic Americans, African Americans, Asian
Americans and Native Americans together will outnumber white Americans. |
*Political culture |
An group of values widely shared within a society. |
*Political participation |
All
the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political
leaders or the policies they pursue. The
most common, but not the only, form of political participation in a democracy
is voting. Other widely accepted forms include protest and civil
disobedience. |
*Political socialization |
According
to one expert, “the process through which an individual acquires his or her
particular political orientations—his or her knowledge, feelings, and
evaluations regarding his or her political world. |
*Agents of political socialization |
Family,
school, mass media, religion |
|
*Protest (see civil disobedience, above) |
A
form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through
dramatic and unconventional tactics. |
|
*Public opinion |
All
of the beliefs about politics and policy issues shared by a particular
population. |
|
*Public opinion polls |
Taken
to reveal the distribution of a population’s beliefs. The study of American
public opinion is especially complex because of the nation’s racial, ethnic
and cultural diversity. |
(Reapportionment) |
The
process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years
on the basis of the results of the census |
|
*Sample |
A
relatively small number of people who are chosen in a survey to be
representative of a larger group of people (called the “population”) |
|
(Sampling error) |
An
indication of the possible accuracy or inaccuracy of a poll. |
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*SES |
Socio-economic-status
or social class |
|
*WASP |
White
Anglo-Saxon Protestant |