Deck 7: Public Opinion Public Opinion

Question 1

 A public opinion pollster might need to make as many as __________ phone calls to get just about one thousand respondents for a survey. 

A) 2,000 
B) 4,000 
C) 6,000 
D) 10,000 
E) 15,000

Answer 1

E

Question 2

 Exit polls are conducted 

A) just after a voter registers to vote. 
B) during the national conventions. 
C) on election day at polling places. 
D) after each presidential debate. 
E) when voters change their party identification.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

 A 2016 study conducted at the University of Pennsylvania found that roughly __________ of Americans could name the three branches of government. 

A) zero percent 
B) ten percent 
C) a quarter 
D) half 
E) three quarters

Answer 3

C

Question 4

 Public policy 

A) always follows public opinion. 
B) usually, but not always, follows public opinion. 
C) follows public opinion about half the time. 
D) rarely, but not never, follows public opinion. 
E) never follows public opinion.

Question 5

 The difference between the results of two surveys or samples is called 

A) flawed research. 
B) sampling error. 
C) type one error. 
D) type two error. 
E) confidence error.

Question 6

 In his analysis of public opinion concerning school vouchers,Terry M.Moe found that citizens supplied with basic information 

A) can have an in-depth understanding of the issue. 
B) can participate in a very knowledgeable debate regarding the issue. 
C) can adopt their positions for good substantive reasons. 
D) still cannot understand the issue. 
E) will become more trustful of the government.

Question 7

 The first major studies of public opinion and voting,published in the 1940s,found that 

A) most Americans were well informed about politics even though they did not vote regularly. 
B) most Americans voted regularly and were well informed about politics. 
C) a small group of Americans voted but were not well informed about politics. 
D) a small group of Americans were informed, but most Americans were not. 
E) it was difficult to generalize about Americans when it came to politics.

Question 8

 Which best describes the Framers' opinion on the role of public opinion in government? 

A) The Framers thought that public opinion should play only a limited and indirect role in making public policy. 
B) The Framers favored a direct role for the public in policy making. 
C) The Framers felt that Americans' experiences as colonists of Great Britain showed that the public needs to vote on most major issues of government. 
D) The Framers wanted the United States to be a direct democracy. 
E) The Framers felt that the public's role should be nonexistent.

Question 9

 Through a process called __________ sampling,the pollster makes a list of all the geographical units in the country and groups them by the size of their population. 

A) stratified 
B) bifurcated 
C) Monte Carlo 
D) convenience 
E) random

Question 10

 Which of the following factors can influence the results of a poll? 

A) Question wording 
B) Question order 
C) Sampling technique 
D) Sample size 
E) All of these are correct.

Question 11

 U.S.Senators were not popularly elected until 1913 

A) since no one thought to change the Constitution. 
B) to encourage democracy at the state level. 
C) because public opinion only temporarily favored doing so in 1912. 
D) as a defense to the people against their own temporary errors and delusions. 
E) because permanent majorities were not allowed to amend the Constitution.

Question 12

 Although early studies of American public opinion and voting found low information levels,they also found that Americans were pretty good at 

A) working the system to get the policies that they desired. 
B) contacting candidates on a regular basis. 
C) basically nothing. 
D) figuring out which policies and candidates most nearly reflected their values and interests. 
E) explaining the workings of government and major currents in law.

Question 13

 If properly conducted,a survey of public opinion can accurately capture the opinions of 300 million citizens by interviewing as few as __________ respondents. 

A) 300 
B) 500 
C) 1,000 
D) 1,500 
E) 3,000

Question 14

 One reason that public policy often differs from public opinion is that 

A) the U.S. Constitution places many checks on the influence of public opinion. 
B) public opinion polling tends to express the opinions of a political elite. 
C) public opinion is easy to gauge, whereas the effectiveness of public policy is not. 
D) public opinion tends to change much more slowly than public policy. 
E) public opinion is rarely informed at the beginning of the policymaking process.

Question 15

 The Preamble to the U.S.Constitution lists all of the following as goals of government EXCEPT 

A) general welfare. 
B) justice. 
C) liberty. 
D) democracy. 
E) tranquility.

Question 16

 Many surveys have shown that large majorities of Americans favor 

A) expanding government programs while paying less in taxes. 
B) paying more in taxes in order to expand government programs. 
C) shrinking government programs while paying more in taxes. 
D) shrinking government programs in order to pay less in taxes. 
E) None of these are correct.

Question 17

 Since 1952,most major polls have 

A) picked the winner of the presidential election. 
B) sampled fewer people each year. 
C) sampled more people each year. 
D) been administered by mail. 
E) been flawed.

Question 18

 A study conducted at the University of Cincinnati asking residents whether they favored passage of the Monetary Control Bill was notable in that 

A) almost none of the respondents knew the stipulations of the bill. 
B) almost all of the respondents were surprisingly well informed about the bill. 
C) the Monetary Control Bill did not exist. 
D) there was no difference of opinion between Republicans and Democrats. 
E) None of these are correct.

Question 19

 The Framers knew that in a nation as large and diverse as the United States,there would rarely be any such thing as "public opinion;" rather there would be 

A) public delusion. 
B) one determining point of view of most issues. 
C) many "publics" holding many opinions. 
D) one powerful interest group dominating the debate. 
E) chaos of opinion.

Question 20

 If any given voter has an equal chance of being in a survey,the sample is best described as a __________ sample. 

A) random 
B) stratified quota 
C) split 
D) two-stage 
E) bifurcated

Question 21

 Women are more likely than men to support 

A) universal health care. 
B) environmental protection regulations. 
C) activist government. 
D) anti-poverty programs. 
E) All of these are correct.

Question 22

 Over the past half century,polarization among elected Democrats and Republicans has 

A) risen dramatically. 
B) fallen dramatically. 
C) remained constant. 
D) fluctuated with changes in leadership. 
E) fluctuated randomly.

Question 23

 Research conducted on the nature polling has found that  

A) neither the wording of questions nor the order in which they are asked has a measurable impact on the answers pollsters get. 
B) the wording of questions and the order in which they are asked both have a significant impact on the answers pollsters get. 
C) the wording of questions has a significant impact on the answers pollsters get, but the order in which the questions are asked does not. 
D) the order in which questions are asked has a significant impact on the answers pollsters get, but the wording of questions does not. 
E) the wording of questions and the order in which they are asked can either have or not have a significant impact on the answers pollsters get, for reasons researchers still don't understand.

Question 24

 In social science,the term "elite" refers 

A) to people who are better than others. 
B) to people who have more money, education, popularity, or political power than others. 
C) to people born into the "right" families. 
D) to people with royal titles. 
E) only to the people that hold political office.

Question 25

 Today,adults under 30 differ markedly from senior citizens (persons age 65 and older)in their opinions on each of the following issues EXCEPT 

A) abortion. 
B) marijuana legalization. 
C) immigration. 
D) gay marriage. 
E) single parenting.

Question 26

 Very rich people are less likely than everyone else to support  

A) the social safety net. 
B) government-sponsored health insurance. 
C) business regulation. 
D) redistribution of wealth via taxes. 
E) All of these are correct.

Question 27

 The impressionable years hypothesis states that 

A) young people's political attitudes are strongly influenced by what happens in their mid-teens and twenties. 
B) important electoral years in American history strongly influence voting patterns afterwards. 
C) children tend to vote as their parents did. 
D) people's politics change after events that leave an impression on their memories. 
E) people all become politically active at the same time.

Question 28

 Researchers have found that heredity 

A) may account for some of a person's political beliefs. 
B) definitely accounts for some of a person's political beliefs. 
C) may entirely determine a person's political beliefs. 
D) definitely determines all of a person's political beliefs. 
E) most likely cannot ever be shown conclusively to affect or not affect people's political beliefs.

Question 29

 Latino public opinion tends to  

A) look very similar on jobs, education, and foreign policy to other Americans. 
B) look very similar on immigration reform to other Americans. 
C) diverge from the rest of the United States the longer the Latino has lived in the US. 
D) lack a generational gap. 
E) The studies on Latino public opinion are too recent to tell.

Question 30

 While occupational differences are narrower than in the 1950s,there are still substantial differences between 

A) working and upper classes. 
B) businesspeople and artisans. 
C) the very rich and everyone else. 
D) middle and working classes. 
E) managers and laborers.

Question 31

 What trait has been shown to influence one's political opinions? 

A) Age 
B) Gender 
C) Religion 
D) Race 
E) All of these are correct.

Question 32

 Christians who attend church weekly are likely to be __________ conservative than those who do not.  

A) less fiscally 
B) more fiscally 
C) neither more nor less 
D) less 
E) more

Question 33

 The largest gaps between younger and older voters come from their different attitudes toward 

A) racism. 
B) income inequality. 
C) the social safety net. 
D) the government's regulation of appropriate behavior. 
E) sexism.

Question 34

 The gender gap in American policy is LEAST pronounced on 

A) abortion. 
B) helping the poor. 
C) helping the elderly. 
D) foreign policy. 
E) general size of government.

Question 35

 Which statement regarding the voting habits of men/women is correct? 

A) Both male and female voting reflect very similar points of view. 
B) The gender gap that is evident between their points of view is new. 
C) Men are more likely to favor activist policies. 
D) Women are more likely to favor activist policies. 
E) Abortion is the largest source of differences between men and women.

Question 36

 The consensus among social scientists is that social class should be defined by 

A) income. 
B) occupation. 
C) education. 
D) prestige. 
E) None of these are correct.

Question 37

 Today,adults under 30 are markedly similar to senior citizens (persons age 65 and older)in their opinions on 

A) social security. 
B) single-parenting. 
C) immigration. 
D) size of government. 
E) None of these are correct.

Question 38

 Political __________ is the process by which personal and other background traits influence one's views about politics and government. 

A) socialization 
B) identification 
C) memory 
D) positioning 
E) foundation

Question 39

 A little less than __________ of white Americans believe that racism is a serious issue in America today. 

A) ten percent 
B) a quarter 
C) half 
D) three quarters 
E) ninety percent

Question 40

 The partisan anchors of American political ideology are defined by 

A) positions on social issues and economic issues. 
B) geographic region and socioeconomic class. 
C) financial stress and pessimism 
D) gender. 
E) religious beliefs.

Question 41

 A heuristic is a(n)  

A) research program for learning about policy. 
B) rational decision in politics. 
C) voting method used in some states. 
D) special organization that informs voters. 
E) information shortcut for making a decision.

Question 42

 In America,we often refer to political elites as 

A) activists. 
B) special interests. 
C) politicos. 
D) socialites. 
E) the ruling class.

Question 43

 Scholarship on the use of heuristics by the American voting public is  

A) nonexistent. 
B) discredited. 
C) in agreement that heuristics allow voters to make good decisions despite being uninformed. 
D) in agreement that heuristics harm democracy. 
E) conflicted.

Question 44

 The best way to determine most Americans' political ideology is to ask them  

A) to self-identify as "liberal," "conservative," or "moderate." 
B) to self-identify as "Democrat," "Republican," or "Independent." 
C) to self-identify as "left-leaning," "right-learning," or "independent." 
D) multiple questions about morality and personality. 
E) multiple questions about politics and government.

Question 45

 African Americans are more likely than whites to 

A) support affirmative action. 
B) think the criminal justice system is biased against them. 
C) have low confidence in the police. 
D) think the government should guarantee food and shelter. 
E) All of these are correct.

Question 46

 When an individual's views are consistently conservative or consistently liberal,we say that person is ideologically 

A) tuned. 
B) constrained. 
C) aligned. 
D) placed. 
E) sealed.

Question 47

 One reason that political elites are more consistent in their ideological beliefs than average citizens is that they are 

A) less influenced by peers. 
B) less influenced by factors such as religion and family. 
C) smarter. 
D) better informed. 
E) more influenced by religion.

Question 48

 Since the 1950s,class voting in the United States has  

A) risen sharply. 
B) remained relatively steady. 
C) declined sharply. 
D) fluctuated. 
E) increased slightly.

Question 49

 According to the text,African Americans are 

A) somewhat Republican. 
B) largely Republican. 
C) generally Independent. 
D) somewhat Democratic. 
E) overwhelmingly Democratic.

Question 50

 Partisan elected officials tend to have ideologies that  

A) are more consistent than those of other Americans. 
B) are less consistent than those of other Americans. 
C) show the same variation as those of other Americans. 
D) are more consistent for Republicans than for Democrats. 
E) are more consistent for Democrats than for Republicans.

Question 51

 Which of the following statements is incorrect? 

A) Democratic members of Congress tend to be consistently liberal. 
B) Republican members of Congress tend to be consistently conservative. 
C) Democratic members of Congress tend to be more liberal than Democratic voters. 
D) Republican members of Congress tend to be more conservative than Republican voters. 
E) The policy preferences of Democratic and Republican voters are generally the same.

Question 52

 Voter heuristics allow voters to make the decisions they want to make when 

A) relying on the class background of politicians. 
B) the lack of information also affects their political attitudes. 
C) they can identify politically relevant actors to understand and follow. 
D) they are well informed about politics, generally. 
E) None of these are correct.

Question 53

 Policy tends to follow the minority view 

A) when the minority is right. 
B) when the minority is well organized and politically engaged. 
C) when the minority is poorly organized. 
D) never. 
E) always.

Question 54

 When public opinion shifts,policy tends to 

A) remain stable. 
B) move in the opposite direction. 
C) follow public opinion. 
D) follow only the opinion of the political elite. 
E) follow only the opinion of the general public.

Question 55

 V.O.Key's classic research in the 1950s found that differences in public opinion were closely associated with 

A) ethnicity. 
B) race. 
C) gender. 
D) occupation. 
E) religion.

Question 56

 The process whereby voters align their preferences with their party is known as  

A) polarization. 
B) electoral coordination. 
C) political ideology. 
D) party sorting. 
E) partisanship.

Question 57

 Most Americans are __________ in politics. 

A) both ignorant and uninterested  
B) knowledgeable but uninterested 
C) ignorant but interested 
D) both knowledgeable and interested 
E) None of these are correct.

Question 58

 According to the text,Americans' knowledge of politics is 

A) very good. 
B) usually up on current events, but nothing else. 
C) woefully ignorant. 
D) good about the workings of the government, but not current office holders or events. 
E) better at the local level.

Question 59

 Numbering more than 50 million,__________ are today the nation's largest minority group. 

A) African Americans 
B) Latinos 
C) Asian Americans 
D) Native Americans 
E) Arab Americans

Question 60

 Political activism is correlated most closely with 

A) political conservatism. 
B) libertarian politics. 
C) political liberalism. 
D) class differentiation. 
E) ideological consistency.

Question 61

 The gender gap in U.S.public opinion has existed for a long time. 

Question 62

 The only meaningful religious distinction in the United States is between Protestants and Catholics. 

Question 63

 We have recently learned that our genetic background may explain some of our political ideology. 

Question 64

 The gender gap in U.S.public opinion sees women voting more Democratic than men. 

Question 65

 The Founding Fathers believed that most average citizens lacked the time,information,energy,interest,and experience to decide on public policy. 

Question 66

 Younger people are uniformly more liberal than their elders. 

Question 67

 Early academic studies of public opinion found that voters were generally informed about issues and governmental processes. 

Question 68

 One way in which the family forms and transmits political beliefs is by its religious tradition. 

Question 69

 Public policy is invariably consistent with public opinion. 

Question 70

 Demographic information is enough to accurately predict an individual's opinions. 

Question 71

 A person's age tends to not have much effect on his or her political opinions. 

Question 72

 Demographic information about a person offers at best a good guess as to that person's political opinions. 

Question 73

 The more informed a person is about politics,the more likely he or she is to be ideologically consistent in his or her thought. 

Question 74

 Over the past half century,social class has had an increasingly polarizing effect on the average person's political opinions. 

Question 75

 The text suggests that it is becoming increasingly difficult to conduct reliable polling with traditional land line methods. 

Question 76

 When it came to civil liberties and civil rights,Madison and the other Framers were not willing to empower even persistent majorities or subject fundamental freedoms to a popular vote. 

Question 77

 Studies suggest that steadfast conservatives lean toward the Republican Party. 

Question 78

 Based on public opinion research,the American public is highly knowledgeable about government. 

Question 79

 Most Americans do not employ the words "liberal" or "conservative" when explaining their political beliefs and preferences. 

Question 80

 Voters follow their party leaders blindly.