Words to Except on the AP Exam

*Political culture- a dsitinctive and patterned way of thinking about how political and economic life ought to be carried out.
*Political ideology- a more or less consistent set of beliefs about what policies government ought to pursue
*Equality of opportunity- giving people an equal chance to suceed
*Equality of results- making certain that people achieve the same result
*Civic duty- a belief that one has an obligation to participate in civic and political affairs
*Progressive culture- a belief that personal freedom and solving social problems are more important than religion
*Orthodox culture- a belief that movality and religion ought to be of decesive importance
*Political efficacy- a belief that you can take part in politics (internal efficacy) or that the government will respond to the citizenry (external efficacy)
*Gender gap- difference in political views between men and women
*Political elites- persons withs disproportionate share of political power
*Random sample- method of selecting from a population in which each person has an equal probability of being selected
*Sampling error- the difference between the results of random samples taken at the same time
*Exit polls- polls based on interviews conducted on Election Day with randomly selected voters
*Literacy test- a requirement that citizens show that they can read before registering to vote
*Poll tax- a requirement that citizens pay a tax in order to register to vote
*Grandfather clause- a clause in registration laws alowing people who do not meet registration requirements to vote their ancestors had voted before 1867
*White primary- the practice of keeping blacks from voting in the southern states' primaries through arbitrary use of registration requirements and intimidation
*Australian ballot- a government-printed ballot of uniform dimensions to be cast in secret that many states adopted around 1890 to reduce voting fraud associated with party-printed ballots cast in public
*Activist- people who tend to participate in all forms of politics
*Middle America- the middle class in the U.S.; regarded as a conservative political force
*Silent majority- an unspecified large majority of people in a country or group who don't express their opinions publicly 
*Social status- relative rank than an individual holds, with attendant rights, duties, and lifestyle, in a social hierarchy based on honour and prestige
*Christian Coalition- a political action and evangelical piety movement based in Washington, D.C., was formed in 1989 by the Rev. Pat Robertson to provide him with a national vechile for public advocacy
*Liberal- favoring proposals for reform, open to new ideas for progress and tolerant of the ideas and behavior of others; broad-minded
*Conservative- favoring traditional views and values; tenidng to oppose change 
*Libertarian- liberal principles or doctrines
*Populist- a supporter of the rights and power of the people
*New Class- a term used to describe the privileged ruling class of bureaucrats and communist party functionaries which typically arises in a Stalinist Communist state
*Libertarian- liberal principles or doctrines
*New Deal Coalition- the alignment of interest groups and voting blocs that supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 1932 until the late 1960s
*Quota sample- sample group of people used for research purposes who have been selected at the discretion of the interviewer
*Focus groups- a small group selected from a wider population and sampled, as by open discussion, for its members' opinions about or emotional response to a particular subject or area, used especially in market research of political analysis
*Instant responsibility polling- when a president or other political figure makes a speech that is nationally televised the cable networks will devote extensive air time to analyze the address and audience reactions, citing a range of polling data
*Push poll- a political campaign technique in which an individual or organization attempts to influence or alter the view of respondents under the guise of conducting a poll
*Bandwagon effect- a psychological phenomenon whereby people do something primarily because other people are doing it, regardless of their own beliefs, which they may ignore or override
*Refusal rate- the percentage of people contacted who decline to participate in the research study
*Tracking poll- an opinion poll in which the same sample, such as a small number of voters, is questioned periodically to measure shifts in opinion
*Skewed question- phrased in such a way that a certain answer is more likely to be given
*Context effect-  the aspect of cognitive psychology that describes the influence of environmental factors on one's perception of a stimulus
*Question framing- statistical surveys are used to collect quantitative information about items in a population*Saliency- the quality of being salint
*Help America Vote Act 2002- goals: replace punchcard and lever-based voting systems, create the Election Assistance Commision to assist in the administration of Federal elections and establish minimum election administration standards
*Motor-Voter Law 1993- required state governments to allow for registration when a qualifying voter applied for or renewed their driver's license or applied for social services
*Fifteenth amendment- prohibits each government in the U.S. from denying a citizen the right to vote based on that citizen's, "race, color, or previous condition of servitude."
*Voting Rights act 1965- outlawed discriminatory voting practices that had been responsible for the widespread disenfranchisement of African Americans in the U.S.
*Nineteenth amendment- prohibits any U.S. citizen to be denied the right to vote based on sex
*Twentysixth amendment- permits citizens in the District of Columbia to vote for Electors for President and Vice President
*Disfranchisement- the revocation of the right of suffrage of a person or group of people
*Demographics- characteristics of human population