Deck 7: Public Opinion

Question 1

At what stage of development do people understand the differences between Republicans and Democrats and begin to align themselves with one party or the other?

A)in elementary school
B)in middle school
C)in high school
D)as young adults
E)as first-time voters

Answer 1

C

Question 2

The textbook discusses several kinds of shortcuts that can help the public arrive at collectively rational opinions about politics and government.Of the following,which is one of them?

A)aggregation
B)partisanship
C)persistence
D)primacy
E)salience

Answer 2

B

Question 3

There are four basic traits of public opinion.What are they?

A)direction,intensity,primacy,and salience
B)intensity,primacy,persistence,and stability
C)relevance,direction,intensity,and stability
D)salience,intensity,direction,and stability
E)stability,persistence,direction,and salience

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Political pollsters have observed that the collective opinion of a group tends to make sense even though the group consists of individuals who are largely ignorant of the issues.What term do they use to describe this phenomenon?

A)the wisdom of relative research
B)the one-drop rule
C)the miracle of aggregation
D)the miracle of mindfulness
E)the miracle of political context

Question 5

If Angela,who is selected to participate in a public opinion poll about gender equality,has a head full of different,sometimes inconsistent ideas about the topic,how is she expected to respond to survey questions?

A)In general,Angela is expected to provide answers that are more sympathetic to the questioner's viewpoint on gender equality.
B)In general,Angela is expected to provide answers that support gender equality.
C)In general,Angela is expected to provide answers that oppose gender equality.
D)In general,Angela is expected to provide answers based on whatever ideas are at the forefront of her mind at the moment.
E)In general,Angela is expected to make up responses to questions "on the fly."

Question 6

A survey sample should represent all elements of a population __________ their population percentages.

A)in exact proportion to
B)in rough proportion to
C)in inverse proportion to
D)in primary proportion to
E)in secondary proportion to

Question 7

What is salience?

A)Salience refers to an issue's importance to a person or to the public in general.
B)Salience is an indication of the tendency for public opinion to favor or reject some candidates.
C)Salience is the strength of a relationship between two variables.
D)Salience is the strength of the direction of public opinion.
E)Salience is a measure of the degree to which public opinion on an issue is likely to change.

Question 8

Hispanics are a demographic group that confuses politicians because they are liberal on some issues and conservative on others.On which of the following issues are Hispanics,as a group,likely to take conservative positions?

A)immigration reform
B)health care reform
C)middle-class tax relief
D)support for same-sex marriage
E)antidumping trade regulations

Question 9

Which of the following are considered demographic variables?

A)age,gender,income,and bias
B)gender,independence,income,and intelligence
C)gender,age,and personality type
D)income,gender,and age
E)intelligence and income

Question 10

What young people learn about politics becomes an important determinant of the values,attitudes,and beliefs that they will hold later in life because of two principles of learning.What are they?

A)motivation and persistence
B)primacy and persistence
C)persistence and socialization
D)socialization and stability
E)stability and theoretical generalizability

Question 11

What is public opinion?

A)core beliefs about equality,government,and the rule of law that Americans share
B)a measure of the minimum requirements needed to sustain the public's interest in the affairs of state
C)a collection of attitudes and beliefs that governments discuss,debate,and potentially act upon
D)research that focuses on explaining the differences in people's voting habits and behaviors
E)the collective political beliefs and attitudes of the public,or groups within the public,on matters of relevance to government

Question 12

Most politicians prefer that their positions __________ public opinion on most issues.

A)change
B)lag
C)lead
D)oppose
E)track

Question 13

How people experience political events affects the way that they understand politics and develop political attitudes in three ways.What are they?

A)family effects,generational effects,and social effects
B)family effects,hierarchical effects,and symbolic effects
C)hierarchical effects,period effects,and symbolic effects
D)period effects,generational effects,social effects
E)period effects,life-cycle effects,and generational effects

Question 14

In the chapter's "Unresolved Debate" box,researcher Chris Achen insists that instability in responses to public opinion surveys is not the result of Americans' incapacity to make good political decisions but something else.What is it?

A)poorly worded survey questions
B)sampling error
C)interviewer bias
D)lack of conviction
E)accumulation of nonattitudes

Question 15

Which of the following is an agent of socialization?

A)history
B)literacy
C)compromise
D)intelligence
E)the educational system

Question 16

Members of which of these groups can be considered opinion leaders?

A)journalists
B)protesters
C)voters
D)poll respondents
E)the segment of the American public that pays very close attention to politics

Question 17

What technique is the key to including people in a survey who are representative of the total population?

A)indexing
B)question format
C)random sampling
D)response rate
E)sample size

Question 18

The chapter's "Unresolved Debate" box highlights the research of University of Michigan scholar Philip Converse.What question did Converse's work address?

A)What is the most important problem facing the country today?
B)Do American citizens have the stable,informed opinions necessary to make good decisions about politics?
C)What is the miracle of aggregation?
D)If public opinion changes,will change be gradual or rapid?
E)Do people believe that their votes affect public policy?

Question 19

In what year did New York legalize same-sex marriage?

A)2007
B)2008
C)2009
D)2010
E)2011

Question 20

How do political scientists define political socialization?

A)as the learning process in which individuals self-select themselves to participate in public opinion polls
B)as the learning process in which individuals acquire status as opinion leaders
C)as the learning process in which individuals seek out new polling technologies
D)as the learning process in which individuals seek out the beliefs and values of their peer groups
E)as the learning process in which individuals absorb information and selectively add it to their knowledge and understanding of politics and government

Question 21

Consider this public opinion survey question: There is much discussion as to the amount of money the government in Washington should spend for national defense and military purposes.How do you feel about this? Do you think we are spending much too little,too little,too much,way too much,or about the right amount? What public opinion trait do you think this question is designed to measure more so than the others?

A)direction
B)intensity
C)salience
D)stability
E)structure

Question 22

What does the life-cycle effect predict will happen to people's political attitudes as they age?

A)that they will become more liberal
B)that they will become more libertarian
C)that they will become more conservative
D)that they will become less partisan
E)that they will become less populist

Question 23

Why do children begin to lose their positive feelings toward authority figures in late childhood?

A)They don't.During the late-childhood period,a child's respect for authority figures actually increases.
B)They don't.A child's respect for authority figures does not begin to decline until they enter high school.
C)During the late-childhood period,a child is more cynical than his or her parents.
D)During the late-childhood period,parental influence ceases.
E)During the late-childhood period,a child transitions toward a more realistic,less heroic view of authority figures.

Question 24

If an opinion poll with a margin of error of 5 percent finds that 51 percent of Americans are likely to vote for candidate A and 49 percent of Americans are likely to vote for candidate B,what should the pollsters conclude?

A)that candidate A will win the election
B)that candidate B will most likely lose the election
C)that the voting is too close to determine a winner
D)that the survey results are invalid
E)that the survey results suffer from nonresponse bias

Question 25

Why is the analogy of ping-pong balls relevant to the textbook's discussion of public opinion formation?

A)because people often do not have one solid opinion about particular issues
B)because the mix of ideas in people's heads is often an all-or-nothing proposition
C)because people have no substantive thoughts on issues
D)because people grow more conservative as they age
E)because people grow more secure in their opinions as they age

Question 26

Why can it be difficult to separate the impact of the education system from other socialization agents on the political socialization of children?

A)because children do not express political opinions
B)because religious institutions by far have the largest impact on the political views of children
C)because children have repeated,short-term relationships with their peers
D)because children from different backgrounds attend the same school
E)because children from similar backgrounds attend the same school

Question 27

After reading about the challenges of conducting accurate surveys in the textbook's "How Do We Know?" box about gauging the opinions of more than 300 million Americans,which of the following questions do you think,more so than the others,is worded to encourage a particular response?

A)Do you approve of helping generation after generation on welfare?
B)Do you approve of helping the poor?
C)Do you approve of helping the disadvantaged?
D)Do you approve of helping the unfortunate?
E)Do you approve of helping those in need?

Question 28

Of these segments of the American public,which is assumed to be the smallest?

A)the public that pays very close attention to politics
B)the public that is generally indifferent to politics except during periods of crisis
C)the public that is generally indifferent to politics but pays attention sporadically
D)the public that pays no attention to politics except during periods of crisis
E)the public that pays no attention to politics at all

Question 29

Of the following political changes,which one are Americans who are only moderately attentive to politics least likely to pick up on?

A)a change from bipartisan cooperation to partisan acrimony
B)a change in House committee leadership from the Democrats to the Republicans
C)a change from a conservative bent in social policy to a liberal one
D)a change from recession to recovery
E)a change from peace to war

Question 30

What do we call the notion that what is learned first is learned best?

A)persistence
B)prima facie evidence
C)primacy
D)primogeniture
E)procognition

Question 31

What does the miracle of aggregation compensate for?

A)the uncertainty of response rates
B)the uncertainty of participation rates
C)low levels of information among politicians
D)low levels of information among the mass public
E)low levels of information among opinion leaders

Question 32

Which of the following terms do political scientists associate with strong beliefs?

A)conviction
B)direction
C)nonresponse bias
D)primacy
E)validity

Question 33

According to the chapter's "Unresolved Debate" box,citizens with strong beliefs about political issues are more likely than citizens without such strong beliefs to __________.

A)change party affiliation
B)abandon political ideologies
C)participate in the political process
D)identify with their parents' political attitudes
E)run for political office

Question 34

Who or what has the largest impact on the political views of children?

A)the media
B)religious traditions
C)parents
D)peers
E)schools

Question 35

After reading about the challenges of conducting accurate surveys in the textbook's "How Do We Know?" box about gauging opinions,you know that some survey questions may be worded to encourage a particular response.What opinion do you think this question is trying to elicit: Given the success of the anti-drinking program in our schools,do you think we should expand the program?

A)The question would not likely elicit informed responses; it is too neutral.
B)The question is worded to elicit responses that oppose teen drinking.
C)The question is worded to elicit responses that favor expanding the anti-drinking program.
D)The question is worded to elicit support for banning the consumption of alcohol.
E)The question is worded to elicit nonattitudes from people who drink alcohol.

Question 36

Public opinion polls will give policy makers meaningful signals that accurately reflect the opinions of the American public that pays close attention to policy debates if what happens?

A)if the random opinions of uninformed members of the public cancel one another out
B)if the uninformed opinions of members of the public are systematically excluded
C)if the opinions of informed members of the public are tracked over time
D)if survey questions are worded in order to generate a low degree of consensus
E)if the opinions of uninformed members of the public are undersampled

Question 37

A self-defined,stable affiliation with a political party __________ political judgments.

A)complicates
B)distorts
C)overrides
D)reverses
E)simplifies

Question 38

Whose views account for the most of the movement in aggregate public opinion?

A)those of moderately attentive scorekeepers
B)those of opinion leaders
C)those of uninformed members of the public
D)those of politically well-connected policy makers
E)those of newspaper editors

Question 39

What is the relationship between sample size and sampling error?

A)The larger the sample,the smaller the sampling error.
B)The larger the sample,the larger the sampling error.
C)The smaller the sample,the smaller the sampling error.
D)The larger the sample,the larger the sampling unit error.
E)The larger the sample,the smaller the sampling frame error.

Question 40

How do most surveys report sampling error?

A)as an inaccuracy rate
B)as a margin of error
C)as a modal response
D)as nonresponse bias
E)as a standard deviation

Question 41

Gerard's beliefs about immigration are predominantly pro-immigration.He believes that the government should act to increase opportunities for people around the world to come to America legally.He is especially sympathetic to immigrants seeking to enter the country so that they can give their families a better chance to live productive lives.He also has a handful of ideas that are supportive of stronger border-control policies.Under normal circumstances,how would he be expected to answer survey questions about immigration policy?

A)He would be expected to answer survey questions about immigration policy by making up responses on the fly,just to accommodate the interviewer.
B)He would be expected to answer survey questions about immigration policy in ways that are inconsistent with his core beliefs.
C)He would be expected to answer survey questions about immigration policy with nonattitudes.
D)He would be expected to answer survey questions about immigration policy in ways that are not sympathetic to immigrants.
E)He would be expected to answer survey questions about immigration policy in ways that are sympathetic to immigrants.

Question 42

How do liberals differ from populists?

A)Liberals generally favor a government that is active in promoting social equality and economic welfare,whereas populists generally oppose an active government role in the economy.
B)Liberals actively promote governmental involvement in social morality,whereas populists do not.
C)Liberals generally oppose an active government role in the economy,whereas populists generally favor a government that is active in promoting social equality and economic welfare.
D)Liberals generally support an active government role in the economy and in matters of social morality,whereas populists generally favor a smaller government that interferes minimally in the economic sphere and that actively promotes social morality.
E)Although liberals and populists generally favor a government that is active in promoting social equality and economic welfare,populists also generally favor a government that actively promotes social morality.

Question 43

How do libertarians differ from conservatives?

A)Libertarians generally favor smaller government that interferes minimally in the economy,whereas conservatives generally support an active government role in the economy.
B)Libertarians actively promote social morality,whereas conservatives do not.
C)Libertarians generally support an active government role in the economy,whereas conservatives generally favor a smaller government that interferes minimally in the economy.
D)Libertarians generally favor a smaller government that interferes minimally in the economy and in matters of social morality,whereas conservatives generally favor a smaller government that interferes minimally in the economic sphere but actively promotes social morality.
E)Libertarians generally support an active government role in the economy and in matters of social morality,whereas conservatives generally favor a smaller government that interferes minimally in the economic sphere but actively promotes social morality.

Question 44

How do we know that the opinions of people who call in to radio talk shows are not typical of most Americans?

A)As a sample,they are unrepresentative of the whole population.
B)As a sample,they are perfectly random.
C)As a sample,they lack intensity.
D)As a sample,their opinions are ill formed.
E)As a sample,their views are subject to frequent shifts.

Question 45

As a veteran,Jillian generally supports congressional appropriations for military expenditures.It pains her to think of American troops in the field without the best military hardware available.However,of late,she thinks that the top priority for the country should be to balance the budget.She favors across-the-board cuts in spending,including military spending.You could definitely say that spending cuts are at the forefront of Jillian's thinking.Under the conditions described in this scenario,how would Jillian likely answer this survey question: Can America afford to cut back on defense spending?

A)She would likely answer this question with a yes.
B)She would likely respond to this question with a nonattitude.
C)She would likely not respond to this question.
D)She would likely answer this question with a no.
E)She would likely try to please the interviewer with her response.

Question 46

The influence of which of the following agents of socialization best explains why a young adult might tend to be distrustful of politicians?

A)families,which characteristically advise their children to seek careers in public service
B)schools,which unintentionally socialize children to be distrustful of authority through explicit lessons in student-run elections
C)politicians,who earn more,on average,than similarly qualified individuals in the private sector
D)colleges,which sharpen students' understanding of the political process
E)movies and other forms of popular entertainment,which often portray politicians as corrupt

Question 47

What happens to polling data when members of Congress begin urgently debating a potential change in policy direction?

A)Polling data are likely to indicate that a majority of the electorate is keenly interested in the congressional debate.
B)Polling data are likely to indicate that at least part of the public is interested in the congressional debate.
C)Polling data are likely to remain unchanged.
D)Polling data are likely to overestimate the extent of the public's interest in the debate.
E)Polling data are not likely to be very accurate until the outcome of the debate is known.

Question 48

What distinguishes generational effects from period effects?

A)Generational effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of the younger generations of a population; period effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of all generations in a population.
B)Generational effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of all generations in a population; period effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of the younger generations of a population.
C)Generational effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of people as they age; period effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of all generations in a population
D)Generational effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of the younger generations of a population; period effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of people as they age.
E)Generational effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of people as they move from life-cycle role to life-cycle role; period effects exert an influence on the attitudes and beliefs of people as they age.

Question 49

The chapter's "Unresolved Debate" box discusses the ways in which citizens with strong beliefs can sway the decisions of government.Why is it harder for government to ignore these citizens than citizens who may not have such strong beliefs?

A)Citizens with strong beliefs are more likely than other citizens to keep a democratic system healthy.
B)Citizens with strong beliefs are less likely than other citizens to influence the issues that float to the top of the political agenda.
C)Citizens with strong beliefs are less likely than other citizens to act with conviction.
D)Citizens with strong beliefs are less likely than other citizens to participate in the political process.
E)Citizens with strong beliefs are more likely than other citizens to participate in the political process.

Question 50

The president,members of Congress,presidential candidates,and the media are all talking about falling test scores and the failures of public education.Not a day goes by that the issue isn't front and center.Urgent debates on the need for reform are ever present.Not surprising,when a polling organization conducted a survey that asked,"What do you think is the most important problem facing the country today?" 35 percent replied "education." What is the best explanation for this polling response?

A)The miracle of aggregation shapes what the public thinks about and what they think about it.
B)Partisanship shapes what the public thinks about and what they think about it.
C)Opinion leaders shape what the public thinks about and what they think about it.
D)Moderately attentive "scorekeepers" shape what the public thinks about and what they think about it.
E)The political sophistication of voters shapes what the public thinks about and what they think about it.

Question 51

Lucinda grows up in a politically active household,where both her parents vote,contribute to campaigns,listen to nightly news broadcasts,and read weekly news magazines.They involve Lucinda in their discussions of the political events of the day,often commenting about the social and economic policies that they favor.In time,Lucinda learns that her parents favor government bailouts of troubled national industries and that it should act to improve public education.As she matures,she adopts the political party affiliation of her parents.What process has Lucinda undergone?

A)political assimilation
B)political definition
C)political identification
D)political reinvention
E)political socialization

Question 52

In your American government class,you are discussing shifts in public opinion.You are asked to imagine that a recent Pew Research Center poll reported a sudden drop of 40 percentage points in the trust level that Americans have for their government.What explanation would you offer to decipher this sudden drop?

A)The poll must be an indication that the public is unhappy because economic conditions are bad.
B)The poll must be a reflection of people's fuzzy thinking,which occasionally turns particularly negative.
C)The poll,obviously,must be exhibiting sampling error.
D)The poll must be an illustration of the paradox often referred to as the miracle of aggregation.
E)The poll must be a reaction to recent events that have so disturbed the public that the opinions of many were pushed in the same direction all at once.

Question 53

According to a Gallup poll,Americans over 55 are much less likely than younger Americans to report that they are politically independent.Instead these older Americans seem to have grown more secure in their identities as Democrats or Republicans.What type of effect likely explains this research finding?

A)a cultural effect
B)a generational effect
C)a life-cycle effect
D)a period effect
E)a seniority effect

Question 54

A pollster is interested in measuring how intensely people feel about an increased tax on hotel rooms to offset the price of the construction of a new sewer system.Which type of survey question would best assess the intensity of voters' opposition to this proposed tax?

A)questions with simple yes-or-no answer options
B)questions with approve-or-disapprove answer options
C)questions with five to seven answer options,ranging from strongly favor to strongly oppose
D)questions with interviewee-bias measures built in to answer options
E)questions with demographic-information measures built in to answer options

Question 55

When conducting surveys,why is the wording of questions a concern?

A)How a question is worded can encourage a particular response.
B)How a question is worded can intentionally,but not unintentionally,skew results.
C)How a question is worded can undermine partisanship.
D)How a question is worded can generate a low degree of consensus.
E)How a question is worded can increase the margin of error.

Question 56

After reading about the challenges of conducting accurate surveys in the textbook's "How Do We Know?" box about gauging opinions,you know that some survey questions are more objective than others.Select the most objectively worded questions from among the following.

A)Do you think the government should increase farm supports because farming is so important to the economy?
B)What is your opinion of underage people consuming alcohol?
C)Would you continue to support the candidate if you knew that she had twice been treated for a major psychiatric illness?
D)Should the government increase funding for education in order to improve our schools?
E)How much better are women than men at teaching children right from wrong?

Question 57

Of the following events,which would political scientists consider least likely to have a generational effect on people's political outlooks?

A)the Great Depression
B)the civil rights movement
C)the 9/11 terrorist attacks
D)the incidence of childhood leukemia
E)the Reagan Revolution

Question 58

The chapter's "Unresolved Debate" box highlights the research of University of Michigan scholar Philip Converse.Given what you know about Converse's research,with which of the following statements would he be likely to agree?

A)Nonattitudes are likely to stem from poorly worded survey questions.
B)Survey responses are not a good reflection of Americans' ability to understand and make good decisions about politics.
C)Most Americans lack the capacity for well-developed,informed political thought and are not interested in political issues.
D)Research should focus on public opinion overall rather than on how individuals form opinions.
E)Nonattitudes are likely to stem from the fact that Americas sample from competing considerations when they are asked to answer survey questions.

Question 59

Michael and Jaycee,a married couple with three children,often avoid discussing politics with each other or with their children because their political views are very different.They are embarrassed by political discussions,knowing that they are likely to disagree on many,many issues.Given this scenario,what kind of influence are Michael and Jaycee likely to have on the political lives of their children?

A)Michael and Jaycee are likely to have a significant influence on their children's opinions and their political worldview.
B)The children of Michael and Jaycee are likely to inherit the political partisanship of their parents.
C)Michael and Jaycee are not likely to convey a specific political worldview to their children.
D)The children of Michael and Jaycee are likely to disagree with their parents on political issues.
E)Michael and Jaycee are likely to increase their children's chances of developing coherent worldviews as they grow older.

Question 60

People's views,in combination with what other factor,influence their responses to survey questions about in-the-news issues like gun control?

A)their representative's ideologies
B)the stories and ideas that they have heard most recently
C)the latest voter-tracking data
D)the signals of policy makers
E)the relative importance of the issue to the public at large

Question 61

Think about Table 7.1.Public opinion on specific policy issues varies among different demographic groups.

Question 62

If a public opinion poll finds that voters in Michigan only slightly favor new gun-control legislation that is currently being debated in the state legislature,it can be correctly assumed that the issue was not salient to any individual voter whose opinion was sampled.

Question 63

Recent events may drive the public's responses to survey questions.

Question 64

Opinion leaders may include political writers and journalists but exclude bloggers or garden-variety "political junkies."

Question 65

__________ refers to a consistent set of ideas about a given set of issues.

Question 66

Partisanship simplifies political judgments.

Question 67

The miracle of aggregation suggests that,if 60 percent of the American public knows knowing about proposed cap-and-trade legislation,in a public opinion survey on the subject half will support the legislation and half will oppose it.

Question 68

Public opinion is the __________ political beliefs and attitudes of the public,or groups within the public,on matters of relevance to government.

Question 69

A sample is drawn to represent the entire population of the United States.The total number of subjects is 1,000.Of these,approximately 80 should be white Americans.

Question 70

Public opinion is a collection of attitudes and beliefs that governments discuss,debate,and potentially act upon.

Question 71

When random opinions of uninformed members of the public cancel one another out,policy makers get a clear,meaningful signal that accurately reflects the wishes of citizens who actually have informed opinions about public policy.

Question 72

Often,as parents pass their religion on to their children,they also pass along political beliefs.

Question 73

People have perfectly formed attitudes that correspond to the specific answers required by survey questions.

Question 74

The chapter's "Unresolved Debate" box highlights the research of University of Michigan scholar Philip Converse.Later political scientists were unable to confirm Converse's 1964 findings about the sophistication of political thinking among the American public.

Question 75

A research study found that college-educated war protesters in the 1960s developed a distinctive political character.Protesters were much stronger __________ partisans than non-protesters.

Question 76

Salience is a measure of change in public opinion.

Question 77

Liberals are often said to fall to the "__________" of the political spectrum.

Question 78

Vietnam,Watergate,the protracted period of stagflation in the 1970s,the Iran-Contra affair in the late 1980s,and the Iraq War in more recent times may all have led to declining __________ in government.

Question 79

Major events,such as the Kennedy assassination,have a tendency to engage people in politics and may change their opinions.

Question 80

The media carries the message of opinion leaders to the people,but rarely do opinion leaders try to shape the public debate in personal conversation.