Chapter 6

a long lasting effect of the events of a particular time on the political opinions of those who came of political age at that time

the phenonmenon of certain attitudes occurring at certain chronological ages

one who is able to influence the opinions of others because of position, expertise, or personality

the process by which people acquire political beliefs and attitudes

education, the influence of economic status, economic status and voting behavior, religious influence, race and ethnicity, the gender gap, geographic region

method of systematically questioning a small, selected sample of respondents who are deemed representative of the total population

when a large proportion of the american public expresses the same view on an issue

sampling errors: difference between the sample result and the true reult if the entire population had been interviewed

respondents are given misleading information in the questions asked to persuade them to vote against a candidate.

the aggregate of individual attitudes and beliefs, how much people will express their opinions determines when private opinion becomes public.

polarized between two quite different positions

determines which public-policy questions will be discussed

the value assigned to a person due to occupation or income. an upperclass person has high socioeconomic status

the degree to which individuals express trust in the government and political institutions, usually measured through a specific series of survey questions