Public Opinion Polling
This term refers to the collective attitudes and beliefs of citizens about political issues, and it's crucial in a democracy because it influences elected officials.
What is public opinion?
This process shapes an individual's political beliefs and values through influences like family, school, and media.
What is political socialization?
Individualism, rule of law, free enterprise, and equality of opportunity are these foundational beliefs emphasized in AP Gov.
What are core American political values?
This ideology favors active government to reduce inequality and protect civil liberties on social issues like abortion.
What is liberal?
This type of policy, handled by Congress and the President, involves government spending and taxes to influence the economy.
What is fiscal policy?
These are two strengths of mass surveys as a polling method: they provide broad data and can be statistically representative.
What are strengths of mass surveys? (Accept similar phrasing; focus on broad/representative.)
Family, school, peers, media, events, and religion are the main ones of these that affect political socialization.
What are agents of political socialization?
This core value emphasizes personal freedom and self-reliance, often clashing with government intervention in policy debates.
What is individualism?
Favoring limited government, traditional values, and supply-side economics, this ideology emphasizes personal responsibility.
What is conservative?
The Federal Reserve controls this policy through interest rates and money supply, distinct from fiscal policy.
What is monetary policy?
This polling concept measures how much the results might vary if the poll were repeated, often reported as "+/- 3%."
This effect occurs when attitudes change as people age, such as becoming more conservative with family responsibilities, regardless of their generation.
What is a lifecycle effect?
Unlike equality of outcome, this core value focuses on everyone having a fair chance to succeed, not guaranteed equal results.
What is equality of opportunity?
This ideology seeks maximal individual freedom with minimal government in both economic and personal matters, opposing most regulations.
What is libertarian?
This economic approach, aligned with liberals, calls for government spending during recessions to boost demand.
What is Keynesian economics?
Nonresponse bias and question wording/order (priming) are examples of these, which can make a poll unreliable despite a large sample size.
What are factors affecting poll credibility? (Or sources of bias/error.)
According to this hypothesis, young adults are most open to political change because their views are not yet fully formed.
What is the impressionable age hypothesis?
This value means everyone is subject to the same laws, no one is above them, and it's a key part of American political culture.
What is rule of law?
On gun control, conservatives typically support fewer restrictions under "law-and-order," while liberals favor more regulations to protect public safety.
What is a difference between conservative and liberal views on gun control? (Accept similar.)
Supply-side economics, favored by conservatives, uses these to increase production: tax cuts and deregulation.
What are tax cuts and deregulation?
Candidates use these types of polls, like benchmark and tracking polls, to adjust their messaging during campaigns.
What are ways polls influence campaigns?
Events like 9/11, the Great Recession, or the Civil Rights Movement can create these, where an entire generation's ideology shifts due to shared formative experiences.
What are generational effects?
Henry David Thoreau's "Civil Disobedience" exemplifies this core value through its advocacy for individual resistance to unjust government actions.
What is individualism?
Policies like affirmative action aim for equality of outcome, which aligns with this ideology's view on reducing inequality through government action.
What is liberal?
Shifts in public opinion, echo chambers, and factors like religion, race, education, and generation can lead to this in Congress, reducing bipartisanship.
What is polarization (or gridlock)?