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Unit 2 AP Government Vocabulary Flashcards

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7871836718Public Opinionthe distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues0
7871836719censusA complete enumeration of a population.1
7871836720political cultureAn overall set of values widely shared within a society2
7871836721political socializationThe process by which we develop our political attitudes, values, and beliefs.3
7871836722samplea relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole4
7871836723random samplingthe key technique employed by sophistication survey researchers, which operates on the principle that everyone should have an equal probability of being selected for the sample5
7871836725random-digit dialinga technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey6
7871836726exit pollpublic opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision7
7871836727political ideologya coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political events,personalities, and policies8
7871836728gender gaprefers to the regular pattern by which women are more likely to support Democratic candidates. Women tend to be much less conservative than men and are more likely to support spending on social services and to oppose higher levels of military spending9
7871836729political 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 political participation in a democracy is voting.10
7871836730protesta form of of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics.11
7871836732nominationthe act of officially naming a candidate12
7871836733campaign strategythe master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign13
7871836743Selective PerceptionThe phenomenon that people often pay the most attention to things they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions.14
7871836747political efficacyThe belief that one's political participation really matters - that one's vote can actually make a difference15
7871836748civic dutyThe belief that in order to support democratic government, a citizen should always vote16
7871836749voter registrationa system adopted by the states that requires voters to register well in advance of Election Day. A few states permit election day voting.17
7871836750motor voter actPassed in 1993, this act went into effect for the 1996 election. It requires states to permit people to register to vote at the same time they apply for their driver's license.18
7871836752policy votingelectoral choices that are made on the basis of the voters' policy preferences and on the basis of where the candidates stand on policy issues19
7871836753electoral collegeThe people chosen to cast each state's votes in a presidential election. Each state can cast one electoral vote for each senator and representative it has. The District of Columbia has three electoral votes, even though it cannot elect a representative or Senator.20
7871836754retrospective votingA theory of voting in which voters essentially ask this simple question: "What have you done for me lately?"21
7871836756open primarya primary election in which any registered voter can vote in any party's primary. Voters choose which primary to vote in; they do not have to be members of that party in order to vote.22
7871836757closed primarya type of primary election used to choose candidates who will run in the general election. In a closed primary, only voters registered for the party which is holding the primary may vote.23
7871836758conservativeholding to traditional attitudes and values and cautious about change or innovation, typically in relation to politics or religion.24
7871836759liberalvalue equality and fairness, open to new behavior or opinions and willing to discard traditional values.25

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