Deck 7: Public Opinion and Political Participation

Question 1

The sum total of individual beliefs about political questions is called

A) political ideology.
B) political participation.
C) public opinion.
D) roll-off.
E) selective exposure.

Answer 1

public opinion.

Question 2

Political opinions are typically formed by

A) a combination of experiences, self-interest, and concern for the common good.
B) one's parents.
C) the lessons people learn in school.
D) politicians' campaigns and speeches.
E) self-interest.

Answer 2

a combination of experiences, self-interest, and concern for the common good.

Question 3

The act of voting is a central form of

A) campaigning.
B) public deliberation.
C) desegregation.
D) political opinion.
E) political participation.

Answer 3

political participation.

Question 4

How does political participation, such as speaking at town hall meetings or writing letters to representatives, help advance policy deliberation?

A) Citizens are able to draw attention to certain issues or arguments.
B) It eliminates the need for deliberation in Congress as it has already been conducted by the public.
C) It encourages politicians to leave the deliberation to the public and cast their votes as their constituency demands.
D) It highlights the lack of public knowledge about the issues and reinforces elected officials' sense of duty to deliberate carefully.
E) Political participation motivates politicians to deliberate more quickly on issues to keep the people from interfering.

Question 5

Election results are not effective as opinion polls because they

A) are extremely susceptible to fraud.
B) are not randomly selected.
C) are not usually reflective of the will of the people.
D) reflect a small minority of the population.
E) reveal only the choices of voters, not their motives.

Question 6

A public opinion poll is a device that gauges public opinion by

A) assessing the views of viewers' emails to political pundits.
B) holding public forums.
C) asking people a standard set of questions.
D) analyzing blogs and social media.
E) tracking a candidate's popularity.

Question 7

Pollsters often achieve a random sample by

A) asking their friends.
B) calling the residents of a particular city.
C) selecting numbers from a phone book.
D) stopping people on the street.
E) using random-digit dialing.

Question 8

As many citizens eligible to vote do not cast ballots, pollsters often try to identify and question ___________ voters.

A) older
B) likely
C) reliable
D) swing
E) responsible

Question 9

What factor often causes polls to have surprising or unreliable results?

A) Random-digit dialing
B) Providing a "no opinion" option
C) Complicated questions
D) A random sample of the population
E) Surveying likely voters

Question 10

A tracking poll is best suited to

A) identify likely voters.
B) mislead candidates as to public sentiment.
C) explain election results.
D) reach all eligible voters.
E) follow shifts in opinions during campaigns.

Question 11

Shortcuts such as failing to call back respondents who were not home or using small samples can

A) be beneficial in conducting exit polls.
B) be successful in newspaper polls but not usually in television polls.
C) give politicians a good idea of public sentiment.
D) make little difference.
E) undermine the reliability of tracking polls.

Question 12

Exit polls are helpful in

A) eliminating confusing questions from future polls.
B) explaining election results.
C) increasing voter turnout in midterm elections.
D) creating more standardized and reliable polls.
E) identifying eligible voters in communities with low turn-out.

Question 13

Polls conducted by news organizations that invite everyone to participate by phone, mail, or Internet are practically worthless because they

A) do not consist of a random sample.
B) do not reach enough respondents.
C) largely falsify the results to support the current news story.
D) primarily reach nonvoters.
E) reach only those people who have little knowledge of the issues.

Question 14

Focus groups can be useful when they

A) are suitable substitutes for opinion polls.
B) can help pollsters draft questionnaires.
C) reach the largest possible portion of the electorate.
D) reflect deliberative opinions.
E) show long-term trends in public sentiment.

Question 15

In answering opinion surveys, people often over-report

A) acceptable behaviors and under-report unacceptable behaviors.
B) how little they know or care about issues.
C) the unacceptable behaviors of their neighbors.
D) their expenditures and under-report their income.
E) unacceptable behaviors and under-report acceptable behaviors.

Question 16

Answers that respondents give when they actually have no opinion about an issue are called

A) political opinions.
B) .nonattitudes .
C) selective exposures.
D) drop-offs.
E) roll-offs.

Question 17

Pollsters can partially guard against nonattitudes by

A) checking voting records.
B) consulting focus groups first.
C) selecting respondents who have some knowledge of the issue at hand.
D) supplying a "no opinion" option.
E) wording their questions more carefully.

Question 18

Survey questions about abstract issues most often show different public attitudes than questions about specific policies regarding those issues because

A) analysts have not interpreted the data correctly.
B) people can't make up their minds.
C) people generally do not listen carefully to specific questions about policies.
D) people often fail to think through the consequences of their opinions when answering abstract survey questions.
E) pollsters have failed to formulate good questions.

Question 19

Elected officials often vote in a way contrary to poll results. What does this indicate about the way they use poll information?

A) They believe polls represent an accurate picture of the will of the electorate that they are bound to obey.
B) They believe that polls allow the public to deliberate sufficiently on complex issues.
C) They regard polls as tools of activists used to manipulate information to support their cause.
D) They understand that public opinion has nuances.
E) They view poll information as mostly unreliable.

Question 20

Effective deliberation requires elements of

A) good and evil.
B) extremism.
C) agreement and disagreement.
D) asocialist ideology.
E) elitism.

Question 21

According to a 2011 poll, most Americans tend to consider themselves as

A) conservative.
B) moderate.
C) liberal.
D) socialist.
E) ideological.

Question 22

Until the early 1900s, liberals favored

A) concentrations of economic power.
B) less change.
C) less government regulation.
D) more change.
E) more government regulation.

Question 23

How do liberals and conservatives generally differ on economic issues?

A) Liberals are concerned with too much government power, whereas conservatives seek to reduce inequalities of income.
B) Liberals believe that the principle of equality does not apply to material conditions, whereas conservatives believe that the poor cannot exercise their rights as well as the rich.
C) Liberals prefer a laissez-faire approach to the economy, whereas conservatives take a more active approach to regulations.
D) Liberals prefer policies supporting the private economy, whereas conservatives seek out policies to control economic growth.
E) Liberals want to curb corporate power, whereas conservatives want to limit government power.

Question 24

On social issues, liberals tend to stress

A) fewer gun laws.
B) greater restrictions on abortion.
C) religion-friendly measures.
D) individual choice.
E) traditional standards of behavior.

Question 25

Libertarians generally seek to

A) extendgovernment control of social matters.
B) strengthen government control across the board.
C) limit government across the board.
D) increasegovernment regulation of business.
E) limit state powers in favor of the federal government.

Question 26

Which of the following suggests that events and trends in public policy can shift ideological lines?

A) Few conservatives would do away with the social welfare programs that began in the 1930s.
B) Liberals want to return to the low military levels that existed prior to World War II.
C) Libertarians resist government aid to struggling corporations despite their current economic struggles.
D) Public interest in allowing blacks to vote waned after they served in the Civil War.
E) Public opinion is against government efforts to curb terrorist attacks at airports since the attacks of September 11, 2001.

Question 27

Political socialization is

A) the way in which people share their political opinions.
B) people'swillingness to discuss their political ideology.
C) involvement in campaigns by reaching out to potential voters in the community.
D) the process by which people gain their opinions and knowledge about politics.
E) attendance at political events, such as campaign rallies or fundraisers.

Question 28

Which of the following demonstrates how a family's economic background can shape a person's political opinions?

A) A child who grew up during the Great Depression becomes an activist for improvements to the welfare system.
B) A child whose family attended church services regularly works to secure government funds for religious organizations at public schools.
C) Children who attended public schools advocate the voucher system as adults.
D) Someone whose parents regularly debated the merits of the Vietnam War at the dinner table becomes a journalist who covers the political ramifications of the military activity in Afghanistan.
E) The child of political refugees from Czechoslovakia writes extensively on oppression in the Middle East.

Question 29

Which of the following is true of political socialization?

A) Formal education typically has little impact on the formation of political opinions.
B) It is unusual for people to belong to the same political party as their parents.
C) Major historical events do not usually make a lasting impression on people's political opinions.
D) Many factors from all stages of life affect people's political opinions.
E) People tend to be unaffected by their upbringing.

Question 30

What historical event greatly increased American support for federal aid and social welfare programs?

A) The Civil War
B) The Great Depression
C) World War I
D) The election of Franklin Roosevelt
E) The Vietnam War

Question 31

The most common and effective way politicians try to get otherwise nonpolitical people interested in politics is by

A) giving televised speeches and participating in campaign debates.
B) passing legislation raising taxes on those who fail to vote.
C) passing out political pamphlets.
D) publishing their memoirs.
E) taking part in nonpolitical activities such as parades and county fairs.

Question 32

Selective exposure refers to the tendency of

A) voting for candidates who have appeared locally.
B) targeting voters who may be predisposed to vote for a certain candidate.
C) foregoing random sampling in polls.
D) seeking out information sources that support one's existing belief system .
E) recruiting voters who may be inclined to act as activists for a particular issue.

Question 33

Which term refers to the character of the person making an argument?

A) Ethos
B) Helios
C) Logos
D) Mentos
E) Pathos

Question 34

Martin Luther King, Jr. contributed _________ by building a broad coalition.

A) ethos
B) helios
C) logos
D) mentos
E) pathos

Question 35

Attending a political meeting, contributing time or money to a campaign, and simply talking to others about politics are forms of

A) opinion polls.
B) political participation.
C) political parties.
D) roll-off.
E) selective exposure.

Question 36

Which type of participation most often appeals to younger voters?

A) Attending political meetings
B) Contributing money to a campaign
C) Joining social networking sites
D) Organizing calling chains for a candidate
E) Wearing buttons

Question 37

Which of the following can contribute most directly and effectively to deliberation?

A) Becoming a "friend" of a candidate on a social networking site
B) Circulating form letters to be signed
C) Displaying bumper stickers
D) Signing email petitions
E) Writing personal letters to elected officials

Question 38

By the end of the eighteenth century, voting qualifications were low enough to include most

A) black males.
B) Native Americans.
C) people under age 21.
D) white males.
E) women.

Question 39

Poll taxes and literacy tests were a way to

A) defray the rising cost of elections.
B) get around the Fifteenth Amendment.
C) ensure voters would be able to understand the ballot.
D) reduce election fraud.
E) increase political participation.

Question 40

How do officials help to ensure fairness in voting in areas with high concentrations of language minorities?

A) Employing translators at the polls
B) Going door to door to collect votes
C) Offering ballots printed in English as well as the minority language
D) Offering ballots printed only in the minority language
E) Lowering literacy requirements

Question 41

Which of the following groups was not allowed to vote until the 1960s?

A) Former slaves
B) Immigrants from western Europe
C) Native Americans born in the United States
D) Residents of Washington, D.C.
E) Women

Question 42

Alien suffrage is the right of

A) illegal immigrants to collect welfare.
B) illegal immigrants to vote.
C) noncitizens to have ballots printed in their native language.
D) noncitizens to hold government jobs.
E) noncitizens to vote.

Question 43

Nearly all states currently limit suffrage of

A) citizens of Middle Eastern heritage.
B) felons.
C) new citizens.
D) women.
E) young voters.

Question 44

Voter registration requires citizens to

A) appear before a judge to prove eligibility.
B) enter their names on a government list before voting in elections.
C) pay a poll tax before receiving approval to vote.
D) present valid identification at the polls.
E) publically declare their allegiance to a candidate.

Question 45

Under the Motor Voter law, states must offer

A) motor vehicle registration to voters.
B) rotating polling places.
C) voter registration when people apply for a driver's license.
D) voter registration to anyone who owns a car.
E) mobile polling places for homebound voters.

Question 46

The United States is unusual among democracies because it

A) allows citizens to vote at a young age.
B) allows non-citizens to vote in most elections.
C) maintains a national voter list.
D) places the burden of registration on the voter.
E) requires property ownership to vote.

Question 47

Voter turnout refers to the

A) rate at which people take part in elections.
B) result of an election.
C) number of likely voters in an election.
D) number of registered voters.
E) Percentage of the voting age population who registers.

Question 48

What is one reason voter turnout appears to have dropped since 1960?

A) Although the Twenty-Sixth Amendment increased the voting-age population, it lowered the overall figure because younger people have a lower voter turnout.
B) Federal laws have made it more inconvenient to register, so fewer people are making the effort to participate in elections.
C) Historical events of the latter half of the twentieth century have weakened patriotism, which has in turn lowered interest in government affairs.
D) More people are using absentee ballots that are not counted in the calculations of voter turnout, thereby making it appear that fewer people are participating in elections.
E) People have steadily taken less interest in elections as technology has increased the sense of connection to and involvement in the rest of the world.

Question 49

The tendency for voter turnout to decline in non-presidential elections is called

A) drop-off.
B) nonattitudes.
C) roll-off.
D) selective exposure.
E) suffrage.

Question 50

The decline in the number of votes from high-profile races to low-profile races is called

A) drop-off.
B) nonattitude.
C) roll-off.
D) selective exposure.
E) suffrage.

Question 51

Why do many citizens choose to vote despite the inconvenience or relative insignificance of a single vote?

A) Many cities charge higher taxes to those who do not vote.
B) Their jobs require them to participate in the political process.
C) They are required by law to vote.
D) They have been paid to cast their vote for a particular candidate.
E) They view it as a responsibility of citizenship.

Question 52

Asians and Hispanics make up a smaller portion of the electorate than of the general population because they are

A) more likely to be noncitizens and therefore ineligible to vote.
B) often not provided with ballots printed in their native languages.
C) often turned away at the polls.
D) often unable to pass the literacy tests.
E) unable to pay the poll tax.

Question 53

How does voter turnout generally relate to age?

A) As people get older they are more likely to vote.
B) The elderly are the most likely to vote.
C) The greatest number of votes are cast by people between ages 30 and 40.
D) Voter turnout drops around age 45.
E) Younger voters cast more votes than their parents' generation.

Question 54

The Profile in Courage Award is given to people who

A) demonstrate an understanding that the right course of action may not be the most popular.
B) participate in the political process by serving in the military and then holding an elected office.
C) put the interests of their nation second to the interests of the global community.
D) show heroism on the battlefield.
E) vote in every election for which they are eligible.

Question 55

Representatives can use public opinion to advance the cause of deliberative democracy by

A) following it strictly regardless of the consequences.
B) allowing the people to engage in deliberation and then cast their votes as the public directs.
C) consulting it as a guide for their deliberations in Congress.
D) making a show of consulting it but in reality sticking to their own interests.
E) disregarding it as uninformed.

Question 56

What factors can affect the results of opinion polls? What kind of impact can these factors have on the outcome of the poll? How can pollsters minimize these problems?

Question 57

How might public officials be affected by opinion polls? How can they determine whether the results reflect fleeting opinions or lasting judgments? How do poll results influence political deliberation?

Question 58

What are the major ideologies of American politics? What core beliefs separate them?

Question 59

What forms can political participation take, and how can it contribute to deliberative democracy?

Question 60

How has the voting franchise expanded since the adoption of the Constitution?

Question 61

When deciding whether or not to vote, what costs and benefit factors might voters wish to consider?

Question 62

What factors may account for the differences in voting rates of different groups?

Question 63

How did Abraham Lincoln's presidential approach to slavery demonstrate an understanding of the importance of public sentiment?

Question 64

In what way can survey research be beneficial to deliberation? What is the importance of political participation in a deliberative democracy?