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Government in America: Chapter 6 (Public Opinion and Political Action) Key Terms

Chapter 6 Key Terms for the 12th edition of Government in America: People, Politics, and Policy by George C. Edwards III, Martin P. Wattenberg, and Robert L. Lineberry.

Terms : Hide Images
34546093public opinionThe distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues.
34546094demographyThe science of population changes.
34546095censusA valuable tool for understanding demographic changes. The Constitution requires that the government conduct and "actual enumeration" of the population every ten years.
34546096melting potThe mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation. The United States, with its history of immigration, has often been called this.
34546097minority majorityThe emergence of a non-Caucasian majority, as compared with a White, generally Anglo-Saxon majority. It is predicted that by about 2060, Hispanic Americans, African Americans, and Asian Americans together will outnumber White Americans.
34546098political cultureAn overall set of values widely shared within a society.
34546099reapportionmentThe process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every ten years on the basis of the results of the census.
34546100political socializationAccording to Richard Dawson, "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."
34546101sampleA relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole.
34546102random samplingThe key technique employed by sophisticated survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample.
34546103sampling errorThe level of confidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. The more people interviewed, the more confident one can be of the results.
34546104random-digit dialingA technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted members when conducting a survey.
34546105exit pollPublic opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision.
34546106political ideologyA coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events, personalities, and policies.
34546107gender gapA term that refers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates. Women tend to be significantly less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending.
34546108political participationAll the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue. The most common but not the only means of this is voting. Other means include protest and civil disobedience.
34546109protestA form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics.
34546110civil disobedienceA form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.

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