American Government Ch. 6

Front 1

Approval Ratings

Back 1

job performance evaluation for the president, Congress, or other public official or institution that is generated by public opinion polls and is typically reported as a percentage

Front 2

Public Opinion

Back 2

aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs about certain issues or officials

Front 3

Efficacy

Back 3

Extent to which people believe their actions can affect public affairs and the actions of government

Front 4

Political Trust

Back 4

Extent to which people believe the government acts in their best interest

Front 5

Random Sample

Back 5

Method of selection that gives everyone who might be selected to participate in a poll an equal chance to be included

Front 6

Tracking Polls

Back 6

Polls that seek to gauge changes of opinion of the same sample size over a period of time, common common during the closing months of presidential elections

Front 7

Exit Polls

Back 7

Polls that survey a sample of voters immediately after exiting the voting booth to predict the outcome of the election before the ballots are officially counted

Front 8

Push Polls

Back 8

Polls that are designed to manipulate the opinions of those being polled

Front 9

Confidence Interval

Back 9

Statistical range, with a given probability, that takes random error into account

Front 10

Nonattitudes

Back 10

Sources of error in public opinion polls in which individuals feel obliged to give opinions when they are unaware of the issue or have no opinions about it

Front 11

Socialization

Back 11

Impact and influence of one's social environment on the views and attitudes one carries in life, a primary source of political attitudes

Front 12

Independents

Back 12

Individuals who do not affiliate with either of the major political parties

Front 13

Millenials

Back 13

Gneration born between 1982 and 2003

Front 14

Self Interest

Back 14

concern for one's own advantage and well-being

Front 15

Rationality

Back 15

Acting in a way that is consistent with one's self interest

Front 16

Party Identification

Back 16

Psychological attachment to a political party; partisanship

Front 17

Political Ideology

Back 17

Set of coherent beliefs that offers a philosophy for thinking about the scope of government

Front 18

Liberals

Back 18

Individuals who have faith in government to improve people's lives, believing that private efforts are insufficient. In the social sphere, they usually support diverse lifestyles and tend to oppse any government action that seeks to shape personal choices.

Front 19

Conservatives

Back 19

Individuals who distrust government; believing that private efforts are more likely to improve people's lives. In the social sphere, they usually support traditional lifestyles and tend to believe that government can play a valuable role in shaping personal choices.

Front 20

Moderates

Back 20

Individuals who are in the middle of the ideological spectrum and do not hold consistently strong views about whether government should be involved in people's lives.

Front 21

Levels of Conceptualization

Back 21

measure of how ideologically coherent individuals are in their political evaluations

Front 22

Polarization

Back 22

condition in which differences between parties and/or the public are so stark that disagreement breaks out, fueling attacks and controversary

Front 23

Gender Gap

Back 23

Differences in the political attitutes and behavior of men and women

Front 24

Rally Around the Flag Effect

Back 24

surge of public support for the president in times of international crisis