Q10
EnglishVocabulary: Meaning, Synonyms & Antonyms
Who is a 'psephologist'?
- a.Someone who specializes in statistical studies of voting patterns in elections
- b.Someone who specializes in a certain branch of neuropsychology
- c.Someone who specializes in a certain branch of astrophysics
- d.Someone who practises Freudian psychoanalysis
Answer: (A) Someone who specializes in statistical studies of voting patterns in elections
Psephology is the statistical study of elections, voting patterns and electoral trends; the word comes from the Greek "psephos" (pebble), because the ancient Greeks cast votes with pebbles. It was coined at Oxford in the late 1940s and popularised by election analysts such as David Butler. The other options describe a neuropsychologist, an astrophysicist and a psychoanalyst (psychoanalysis was founded by Sigmund Freud). Related terms: exit poll, opinion poll, swing, anti-incumbency and gerrymandering.