Deck 6: Public Opinion

Question 1

Which of the following statements is an expression of a low level of internal political efficacy?

A)Public officials don't care what I think.
B)Government is too complicated for me to understand.
C)Many of the people holding public office are dishonest.
D)I believe that government is on the wrong track.
E)I believe that people like me should not be allowed to vote.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Political scientists believe that college attendance has which of the following socializing effects on young people?

A)College attendance makes people less likely to share their family's political views.
B)College attendance makes young people more conservative.
C)College attendance decreases interest in politics and government.
D)College attendance has no effect on political knowledge,attitudes,and beliefs.
E)College attendance makes young people more liberal.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

According to the box "What Didn't America Know" on page 115,what are Americans least likely to know?

A)The name of the current vice president
B)The number of senators from each state
C)The names of the three branches of the U.S.government
D)The author of "Letter from Birmingham Jail"
E)The current U.S.Supreme Court justices

Answer 3

E

Question 4

On September 1,a national survey found that 61 percent of Americans favored handgun control.Two months later,a survey showed that 58 percent of Americans favored handgun control.The margin of error for both surveys was plus or minus four percentage points.Which of the following statements is the most accurate evaluation of the two polls?

A)Support for gun control fell by three percentage points over the period.
B)Support for gun control fell,but it is impossible to tell how much it fell because of the margin of error.
C)There is no statistical difference between the two surveys because of margin of error.
D)Most Americans oppose handgun control.
E)Most Americans favor handgun control.

Question 5

A national newsmagazine publishes an article on efforts to restrict smoking in public places.Subsequently,the magazine receives 1,500 letters commenting on the article,with nearly two-thirds of the letters favoring tougher restrictions on smoking in public.Would this be an accurate reflection of public opinion on this issue?

A)Yes,because the magazine has a national circulation and the sample size is sufficiently large
B)Not likely,because the sample is not random and probably not an accurate reflection of public opinion on the issue
C)Not likely,because the sample size is too small
D)Not likely,because a poll is only a snapshot of what people think at the time a poll is taken
E)Not likely,because the sample size is too large

Question 6

When does the process of political socialization end for most people?

A)By the age of six
B)By the time people graduate from high school
C)By the time people reach middle age
D)By the age of 50
E)It is a lifelong process.

Question 7

Which of the following is the best description of the relationship between the media and the policy agenda?

A)The media influence the policy agenda because news stories influence Americans' priorities.
B)The media have no effect on the policy agenda because few Americans follow the news.
C)The media have no effect on the policy agenda because most Americans believe the media are biased.
D)Although the media set the policy agenda,political leaders often set the agenda for the media.
E)The media play no role in setting the policy agenda.

Question 8

The Literary Digest poll of 1936 failed because of which of the following problems?

A)The sample was too small.
B)The sample was too large.
C)The sample was unrepresentative.
D)The questions were poorly worded.
E)The sample was too representative.

Question 9

According to the graph on page 117,when did trust in the U.S.government peak?

A)During the period of civil rights protests in the early 1960s
B)Just before September 11,2001
C)In the 1980s
D)In the decade after World War II
E)In the economic boom of the 1990s

Question 10

Which of the following is a phantom opinion?

A)An opinion expressed by someone with extremely strong views
B)Falsely recorded opinions
C)Forged survey results that appear to mirror public opinion
D)An opinion given despite ignorance of the subject
E)Opinions dictated by party affiliation

Question 11

The process whereby individuals acquire political knowledge,attitudes,and beliefs is known as which of the following?

A)Public opinion
B)Political efficacy
C)Political socialization
D)Survey research
E)Indoctrination

Question 12

Which of the following is likely to be most accurate?

A)A phone poll using randomly selected phone numbers
B)A call-in poll in response to a radio show
C)A poll of magazine subscribers
D)Internet polls on political issues
E)A poll of retired persons

Question 13

The combined opinions of adults toward politics,government,and political or social issues is a definition for

A)public opinion.
B)political socialization.
C)agents of political socialization.
D)political efficacy.
E)mass socialization.

Question 14

What is the response rate for national opinion polls?

A)70-80 percent
B)60-70 percent
C)50-60 percent
D)40-50 percent
E)30-40 percent

Question 15

In the latest polls cited in the textbook,when asked whether their political philosophy is liberal,conservative,or moderate,the largest proportion of Americans described themselves as which of the following?

A)Liberal
B)Moderate
C)Conservative
D)Communitarian
E)The percentages are evenly split among the three alternatives.

Question 16

Which of the following describes the proper role of the government in the conservative perspective?

A)Promoting its citizens' welfare
B)Helping to achieve cultural diversity
C)Doing less so citizens can do more
D)Protecting individuals against the tyranny of the majority
E)Social programs to help the poor

Question 17

As an agent of political socialization,the media

A)is of little importance.
B)only influences older people.
C)helps to set the policy agenda.
D)tries to influence what people think.
E)does not cover politics but concentrates only on social issues.

Question 18

Which of the following statements is the most accurate account of what political scientists believe today about individuals' acquisition of political party identification?

A)Individuals do not identify with a political party until they reach voting age.
B)Individuals identify with a political party during adolescence when they begin learning about government and politics in high school.
C)Children identify with the political party of their parents and maintain that party identification throughout their lives.
D)Although children identify with the party of their parents,young adults often change their party identification.
E)Individuals never change party identification once they reach ten years of age.

Question 19

Which of the following is

A)The least informed vote more.
B)The well-informed vote less.
C)Well-informed voters vote for candidates with ideas that coincide with theirs.
D)Poorly informed voters vote for candidates with ideas similar to their own.
E)A majority of Americans are well-informed and vote frequently.

Question 20

Political efficacy refers to which of the following?

A)The extent to which people believe that public officials are honest
B)The extent to which people are knowledgeable about the political system
C)The extent to which people believe they can influence the policymaking process
D)The extent to which people influence political policies
E)The extent to which people believe the stock market will grow rapidly in the near future

Question 21

Americans have become more tolerant of minority political viewpoints than they were in the 1950s.

Question 22

Discuss the difference between the terms conservative and liberal.

Question 23

On which of the following issues would you expect lower-income people to express more liberal views than middle-income people?

A)The death penalty
B)Government spending for healthcare
C)Women's rights
D)Gay rights
E)Civil rights for African Americans

Question 24

Using yourself,is your political affiliation what is typical,considering your age,gender,race,religion,and income level? What other factors may be more important,in the case of any discrepancy?

Question 25

Research shows that most children usually have a different party identification than their parents.

Question 26

Explain the difference between internal and external political efficacy.

Question 27

What is political legitimacy,and what role does it play in a democratic society?

Question 28

The U.S.Congress is an agent of political socialization.

Question 29

A random sample of 1,000 people will produce results that are accurate 100 percent of the time.

Question 30

Political elites are likely to exhibit stronger support for democratic principles than are average Americans.

Question 31

In general,why has the religious right become more influential in American politics than the religious left?

A)Conservative churches associated with the religious right have been growing,while most mainline Protestant churches associated with the religious left have been losing members.
B)Americans have grown more conservative in recent years.
C)More Americans attend church now than ever before in the nation's history.
D)Religious leaders rarely talk about politics and those who do are more liberal.
E)There is no sizable religious left to speak of in the United States.

Question 32

Suppose a group of political scientists designs a research project to measure the political attitudes of residents of the state of California.What would be the universe for their study,and how would they go about selecting a random sample?

Question 33

On which of the following issues has public opinion grown more conservative in recent years?

A)Law and order issues
B)Gay and lesbian rights
C)Civil rights for African Americans
D)Civil rights for Hispanic Americans
E)Women's rights

Question 34

The sample questions on page 112 illustrate the importance of question sequencing in polls.

Question 35

The 10 million ballots collected in the 1936 Literary Digest poll concerning that year's election assured its randomness.

Question 36

In general,studies have found that people from which two areas of the country tend to express more liberal views than people from other areas?

A)The South and the Midwest
B)The East Coast and the Midwest
C)The South and the Rocky Mountain area
D)The East Coast and the Deep South
E)The East and West Coasts

Question 37

Survey research has found major differences between men and women on a number of issues,particularly those concerning war and peace.

Question 38

Suppose you visited a local elementary school to talk with first-graders about government.If you asked the children to tell you what they know about government,who or what would you anticipate they would mention? Would you expect their impressions to be positive or negative? If we asked the children about which political party they favored,how would you expect them to respond?

Question 39

In survey terms,a sample is a representative subset of its universe.

Question 40

People who are more active in religious organizations are also more likely to be politically active.

Question 41

Using the sample survey questions on page 112,consider what makes a good survey question.Develop a set of criteria that you think would help formulate good questions,with examples for each.

Question 42

Write an essay describing your own political socialization.Include the following: a definition of political socialization;a discussion of the role of at least two agents of political socialization;an examination of the development of your attitudes toward participation;and an examination of the development of your party identification.

Question 43

Does public opinion affect public policy? Write an essay in which you use the concept of zone of acquiescence to explain the role public opinion plays in the policymaking process.Use specific policy examples to support your points.

Question 44

The mass media are important agents of political socialization.Write an essay on the socializing role of the media in which you discuss the following: a)the relationship between media usage and participation;b)the role of the media in setting the policy agenda;c)the role of the media in highlighting the importance of issues;d)the role of the media in framing the context of certain issues for public evaluation;and e)an evaluation of the importance of the media as agents of socialization.

Question 45

Your cousin Brenda is a high school student in another state.Knowing that you are studying government this semester,she writes to ask your advice on a project she is doing for her social studies course.She wants to survey the residents of the city in which she lives about gun control.She plans to write some questions and then go door to door,interviewing people living in a large apartment complex near her home.Write Brenda a letter giving her the best advice you can on her project.

Question 46

What does the term gender gap mean in the political sphere? On what issues is a gender gap most apparent?

Question 47

What is a constituency? What is the difference between a constituent and a voter?