Unit 2: Political Culture, Socialization, Beliefs, Measures and
Behaviors (whew!)
AP Government and Politics
Questions to Consider:
 What distinctive set of beliefs is fundamental to how most Americans, past and present, think about politics
and government?
 What are the sources of American political culture?
 How do these change as we age?
 What is public opinion, and how is it measured?
 What role do the media play in shaping public opinion? What effect do they have on individual political
beliefs and voting behavior?
 What is political ideology, and to what extent are ideological differences reflected in political behavior?
 What are the various ideologies to which people belong?
 Who votes, who doesn’t, and why? (this is a big question, containing much of the chapter)
 How can we improve voter turnout in the United States?
Political culture
Social conservative
“Gender gap”
Political Ideology
4-quadrant spectrum
Conservative
Liberal
Moderate
Statist
Politics
Libertarian
Terms to Know:
Public Opinion
Public opinion polls
Straw poll
Sample
Push polls
Population
Random sampling
Stratified sampling
Tracking polls
Exit polls
Margin of error
Political socialization
Conventional Participation
Unconventional participation
Electorate
Voting-age population
Split-ticket voting
Retrospective judgment
Prospective judgment
Turnout
HAVA