Public opinion
the distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues.
Demography
science of population changes.
Census
valuable tool for understanding demographic changes. The constitution requires that the government conduct an "actual enumeration" of the population every 10 years.
Melting pot
the mixing of cultures, ideas, and peoples that has changed the American nation. The United States, with its history of immigration, has often been called a melting pot.
Minority majority
the 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.
Political culture
overall set of values widely shared within a society.
Reapportionment
the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the results of the census.
Political socialization
according 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.
Sample
relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in a survey so as to be representative of the whole.
Random sampling
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.
Random digit dialing
a technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted numbers when conducting a survey.
Exit polls
public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision.
Political ideology
a coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and public purpose. It helps give meaning to political event, personalities, and policies.
Gender gap
a term that refers to the regular patterns 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
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, means of political participation in a democracy is voting.
Protest
a form of political participation designed to achieve policy change through dramatic and unconventional tactics.
Civil disobedience
a form of political participation that reflects a conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and to suffer the consequences.