| A | B |
|---|
| elite | People with a disproportionate amount of some valued resource. |
| exit polls | Polls based on interviews conducted on Election Day with randomly selected voters. |
| gender gap | Difference in political views between men and women. |
| norm | A standard of right and proper conduct. |
| political elites | Persons with a disproportionate share of political power. |
| political ideology | A more or less consistent set of beliefs about what policies government ought to pursue. |
| political socialization | Process by which background traits influence one’s political views. |
| poll | A survey of public opinion. |
| public opinion | How people think or feel about particular things. |
| random sample | A method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal chance of being selected. |
| sampling error | The difference between the results from two different samples of the same population. |
| opinion saliency | how important an issue is to a person's life |
| opinion stability | does a person's opinion on an issue change depending on other variables or does it remain consistent |
| opinion policy congruency | how closely does the government's policy on an issue mirror the public's opinion on the issue. |
| demography | the study of statistical data about a population people and particular groups within it. |
| census | a counting of the population of a state or nation. In the United States it is consitutionally required every ten years. |
| melting pot | the idea that the people of the United States come from many different countries, allowing for a unique mixing of cultures, ideas, and people. |
| minority majority | the idea that the majority of people come from different races/cultures. At some point in the mid-21st century it is likely non-Hispanic whites will become a minority in the US and minority groups will be the majority. |
| political culture | a set of overarching values which are widely shared within a society. |
| reapportionment | every ten years all legislative districts, which are based on population in the US, must be redrawn so they have an equal number of people. |
| sample | a portion of the population chosen in a survey to represent the entire population. |
| random-digit dailing | a technique which allows pollsters to randomly call both listed and unlisted phone numbers to participate in a survey. |
| gender gap | the differences between men and women in their political views. |
| political participation | all the various ways citizens can influence the actions of their government. |
| protest | a form of political participation calling for action through dramatic, unconventional methods. |
| civil disobedience | a form of political participation in which people break laws and suffer the consequences in order to shows the injustice of the law. |
