Deck 5: Opinion and Participation: Thinking and Acting in Politics

Question 1

Nathan recently participated in a public opinion poll.Now he is thinking back on some of the questions he was asked and how he responded.Nathan thinks he recognizes evidence of a halo effect in one of his replies.Which of the following yes-or-no questions is most likely to have produced it?

A)Should people be allowed to educate their children at home?
B)Should groups have the right to contribute money to opposition candidates in closely contested election campaigns?
C)Should members of military families be allowed to use Skype to stay in touch with their relatives during military deployments?
D)Should sexually explicit magazines be excluded from check-out lanes,where children could otherwise view them?

Answer 1

D

Question 2

Children who abandon the political party of their parents tend to become __________.

A)conservatives
B)liberals
C)nonvoters
D)independents

Answer 2

D

Question 3

When the networks agreed not to use exit polls to call elections in a state until the polls in that state closed,they were responding to the criticism that early calls __________.

A)overstate voter turnout
B)reduce voter turnout
C)"create" public opinion
D)translate into unpopular policy change

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to the data depicted in Figure 5.1 (Cause for Concern?: What Americans [Don't] Know About Politics),what percentage of Americans can name the chief justice of the U.S.Supreme Court?

A)about 10 percent
B)about 20 percent
C)about 25 percent
D)about 30 percent

Question 5

More than two-thirds of Americans report that they receive "all or most" of their political information from which source?

A)the Internet
B)newspapers
C)television
D)radio

Question 6

A salient issue is one that __________.

A)has little impact on people's daily lives
B)people think about most
C)voters are uninformed about
D)causes voters to stay home on election day

Question 7

Your American government class is discussing political socialization.The professor asks you to reflect on your earliest memory of an experience that demonstrates diffuse support for the American political system.What might your answer be?

A)registering to vote
B)captaining a sports team
C)learning the Pledge of Allegiance
D)voting in a mock presidential election during a high school assembly

Question 8

Which of the following groups of people has the least influence on elected officials when those officials are considering specific changes to government policies?

A)commentators
B)reporters
C)interest groups
D)the public

Question 9

Of the following,who is MOST likely to hold the most liberal political views?

A)Alexander,a high school freshman
B)Brittany,a high school senior
C)Matthias,a college freshman
D)Cara,a college senior

Question 10

How do political scientists define political socialization?

A)learning to self-select oneself to participate in public opinion polls
B)acquiring status as an opinion leader
C)learning to adapt to new electoral technologies
D)learning political values,beliefs,and opinions

Question 11

When white voters who participate in public opinion polls understate their opposition to minority candidates,what is said to occur?

A)the Bradley effect
B)the Burton effect
C)the halo effect
D)the immunity effect

Question 12

Which of these things is obscured by the halo effect?

A)inconsistencies in opinion
B)sampling errors
C)socially objectionable opinions
D)voter registration rates

Question 13

After reading about the challenges of conducting accurate surveys in the feature entitled "The Game,the Rules,the Players," which of the following questions do you think is intentionally worded to skew survey results?

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?

Question 14

The term diffuse support refers to the __________.

A)aggregate of preferences and opinions of individuals on significant issues
B)goodwill toward governmental authority that people learn early in their lives
C)tendency of survey respondents to provide socially acceptable answers to questions
D)lukewarm opinions expressed by unknowledgeable respondents in a survey

Question 15

What research method involves gathering data about public opinion by questioning a representative sample of the population?

A)evaluation research
B)longitudinal research
C)experimental research
D)survey research

Question 16

What is the principal effect of television on public opinion?

A)persuading people to take one side of an issue or another
B)telling people what to think
C)setting the agenda for thinking and talking about politics
D)establishing new,dominant modes of political thinking

Question 17

Public opinion has the least impact on the decisions of members of Congress regarding which of the following policy or legislative issues?

A)a bill that would trigger tax increases on middle-class homeowners in the following year
B)a bill that would provide an exception to the annual privacy notice requirement in the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act
C)a proposal to cut unemployment insurance for American families
D)a proposal aimed at improving educational choice and competition

Question 18

Of the following,which does the textbook identify as the first agent of socialization?

A)family
B)school
C)religion
D)friends

Question 19

The wording of questions in surveys is a central concern because how a question is worded can __________.

A)damage random-selection procedures
B)skew survey results
C)generate a low degree of consensus
D)increase the halo effect

Question 20

Many public opinion researchers have a background in __________.

A)theology
B)biology
C)marketing
D)engineering

Question 21

Of the following ways that citizens may participate in politics,which should be classified as active?

A)reading about a candidate's views on immigration reform
B)learning about the voter registration process in your state
C)attending a fundraising event for a mayoral candidate
D)expressing your viewpoint about tax policy to a friend

Question 22

The influence of which of the following agents of socialization best explains why a young adult might have opinions about a 30-percent minimum tax on wealthy Americans?

A)families,which characteristically advise their children to seek careers in accounting
B)schools,which unintentionally socialize children to be distrustful of the rich
C)older Americans,who,as an age group,earn more than similarly socialized individuals in the general population
D)television,which determines matters of public concern

Question 23

By which means were African Americans "legally" disenfranchised from participating in the electoral process in the American South by the Democratic Party?

A)the middle way
B)redlining
C)suffrage
D)the white primary

Question 24

on political participation rates,which form of political participation do members of the voting-age population engage in more often than the others?

A)making a campaign contribution
B)voting in a presidential election
C)belonging to an organization
D)talking politics

Question 25

What is the essential link between opinion and policy?

A)party affiliation
B)personal persistence
C)political knowledge
D)political participation

Question 26

on political participation rates,which form of political participation do members of the voting-age population engage in less often than the others?

A)wearing a campaign button
B)participating in a protest
C)belonging to an organization
E)calling an official

Question 27

Which of the following statements about government leaders and public opinion is true,based on the information presented in the "What Do You Think" box on this subject?

A)Political experts agree,without exception,that the country would be much better off if politicians paid more attention to public opinion.
B)Many politicians boast of their own courage and independence and of their willingness to ignore public opinion polls on major issues.
C)Polls show that the American public believes that the country would be less well off if politicians paid more attention to public opinion.
D)Members of Congress rarely use public opinion for their own tactical reasons.

Question 28

Which of the following is most likely to identify as a conservative?

A)Asher,a Reform Jew
B)Martha,a fundamentalist Christian
C)Peter,an atheist
D)Jessica,an agnostic

Question 29

According to the BBC survey data depicted in the textbook's "Compared to What?" feature box,which country has the highest rating for being a positive influence on world affairs?

A)North Korea
B)Germany
C)Brazil
D)the United States

Question 30

on political participation rates,what percentage of Americans of voting age votes in presidential elections?

A)less than 50 percent
B)a little more than 50 percent
C)between 60 and 70 percent
D)about 75 percent

Question 31

In the United States,women are more likely than men to oppose __________.

A)restrictions on firearms
B)affirmative action
C)U.S.military intervention
D)restrictions on abortion

Question 32

The political views of Hispanic Americans tend to be consistent with the __________ religious tradition in the United States.

A)mainline Protestant
B)Roman Catholic
C)Southern Baptist
D)Unitarian

Question 33

If you agree that political participation is the essential link between opinion and policy,which group of people is likely to have the least influence on public policy?

A)people who call or write their elected representatives
B)people who attend meetings,rallies,and demonstrations
C)people who have unformed opinions on a wide variety of public issues
D)people who join organizations

Question 34

Generally,the Founders believed the only group with a sufficient stake in society to exercise their vote responsibly were __________.

A)white and African American shopkeepers
B)white men and women
C)property-owning white men
D)married white and African American men

Question 35

How do African American perceptions of the criminal justice system compare with those of whites?

A)Most whites and African Americans believe the criminal justice system is fundamentally unfair.
B)When the victim is black,whites and African Americas attribute police brutality to individual malfeasance by officers,not as racism.
C)Whites see the disproportionate percentages of African Americans in prison as discrimination,whereas African Americans see it as a product of greater criminality among African Americans.
D)Most whites believe the criminal justice system is fundamentally fair; most African Americans do not.

Question 36

Although African Americans generally support a more positive role for government in reducing inequality in society,about __________ of African Americans identify themselves as conservative.

A)one-tenth
B)one-fourth
C)one-third
E)one-half

Question 37

Women are more likely than men to identify themselves as members of which political party?

A)Democratic Party
B)Republican Party
C)Libertarian Party
D)Reform Party

Question 38

Breanna is an academic superstar and very competitive about grades.When she learns that 50 percent of her grade in her introductory political science class will be based on a special assignment that requires students to engage in some form of political participation and to blog about their experiences,she is determined to choose a form of participation that the fewest Americans ever experience.Which form of political participation should Breanna get involved in,given her desire to do the most unusual thing?

A)run for office
B)participate in a protest
C)write to the Speaker of the House of Representatives
D)slap campaign bumper stickers on all her possessions

Question 39

Of the following ways that citizens may participate in politics,which does the textbook classify as a passive means of participation?

A)making financial contributions to political candidates
B)acquiring political knowledge
C)attending a political rally
D)running for political office

Question 40

During the late 19th century and into the 20th century,the most common form of disfranchisement of African Americans was __________.

A)literacy tests
B)poll taxes
C)white primaries
D)property requirements

Question 41

Why would Democrats be more likely to favor voter registration at welfare offices?

A)They care more about the democratic process than Republicans.
B)They know that lower-income Americans are more likely to identify as Democrats.
C)They want to ensure that all voters are American citizens.
D)They want to minimize the voter fraud that is rampant among welfare recipients.

Question 42

Which constitutional amendment guaranteed women the right to vote in all elections?

A)15th Amendment
B)19th Amendment
C)24th Amendment
D)26th Amendment

Question 43

Although deciding upon voting times,places,equipment,and ballots is the responsibility of state governments,most states pass on this responsibility to which political entity?

A)county governments
B)municipal governments
C)local party operators
D)precinct captains

Question 44

Which political party do nonvoters typically support?

A)the Democratic Party
B)the Republican Party
C)the Libertarian Party
D)the Constitution Party

Question 45

In which of the following countries is voter turnout in national elections the lowest?

A)the United States
B)Australia
C)Sweden
D)Italy

Question 46

In the United States,what percentage of the voting age population fails to vote,even in presidential elections?

A)about 30 percent
B)about 40 percent
C)about 50 percent
D)about 60 percent

Question 47

Which constitutional amendment gave 18-year-olds the right to vote?

A)23rd Amendment
B)24th Amendment
C)25th Amendment
D)26th Amendment

Question 48

When did women's right to vote become constitutionally guaranteed in the United States?

A)1900
B)1920
B)1941
D)1954

Question 49

When did Congress outlaw literacy tests altogether as a prerequisite to voter registration?

A)1870
B)1954
C)1970
D)1990

Question 50

Voter turnout is best defined as the number of __________.

A)people who cast a ballot in any given election
B)people registered to vote in relation to the number of actual voters
C)people eligible to register and vote in relation to the number of actual voters
D)actual voters in relation to the number of people eligible to register and vote

Question 51

Which of the following is credited with bringing an end to property qualifications for voting?

A)the support of the nation's leading newspapers
B)the spread of Jeffersonian and Jacksonian principles of democracy
C)the spread of public schools and increased rates of literacy
D)the growing hostility between North and South in the years preceding the Civil War

Question 52

Which of the following made it easier for overseas citizens and military personnel to use absentee voting in federal elections?

A)the "Motor Voter Act"
B)the MOVE Act
C)the National Voter Registration Act
D)the Helping America Vote Act

Question 53

The requirement that prospective voters establish their identity and place of residence prior to an election in order to be eligible to vote is called __________.

A)registration
B)suffrage
C)disfranchisement
D)socialization

Question 54

What happens to paper and punch-card ballots when voters "overvote," marking or punching votes for more than one candidate for the same office?

A)The ballots are rejected and new ballots are recast.
B)Votes for all candidates are counted,regardless of overvoting.
C)The ballots are uncounted.
D)The ballots are counted but subject to third-party review.

Question 55

What was the principle purpose of the National Voter Registration Act (1993)?

A)to make registering to vote easier
B)to end literacy restrictions on voting
C)to require voters to declare a party preference
D)to extend the right to vote to 18-year-olds

Question 56

Of the following,which is an intrinsic reward of voting?

A)time taken away from work and family
B)knowing one's vote will likely have only a small impact
C)benefits gained from having one's candidate win
D)fulfilling one's sense of duty

Question 57

Approximately 85 percent of registered voters turn out for a presidential election,but this figure represents only about 50 percent of the voting-age population.What does this discrepancy suggest?

A)that voters prefer to look at the voting returns on television later in the evening
B)that the "rational" model does not explain voter turnout
C)that people exercise their right to vote out of a sense of duty
D)that registration is a significant barrier to participation

Question 58

What was the aim of the 15th Amendment?

A)to make it unlawful for registrars to apply unequal standards in voter registration procedures
B)to make it unlawful for registrars to reject applications because of immaterial errors
C)to extend the vote to former African American slaves without property
D)to extend the vote to former African American slaves and prohibit voter discrimination on the basis of race

Question 59

Which of the key events in the history of voting in America occurred first?

A)the passage of the "Motor Voter Act"
B)the demonstration against local registrars in Selma,Alabama,led by Martin Luther King,Jr.
C)the elimination of the poll tax for voting in national elections
D)the extension of the vote to 18-year-olds

Question 60

In the 2012 presidential election,about what percentage of votes were cast by nonwhites?

A)about 10 percent
B)more than 25 percent
C)nearly 40 percent
D)over half

Question 61

Deron is a 19-year-old part-time student who works evenings at a convenience store.He is not registered to vote and rarely notices campaign signs or takes an interest in the world that flies by him during his commutes between school,work,and home.He could not name the governor of his state if his life depended on it,nor does he care.What is Deron experiencing?

A)political affirmation
B)political alienation
C)political realignment
D)political disfranchisement

Question 62

Which of the following forms of public protest is more likely than the others to be classified as civil disobedience?

A)blocking access to abortion clinics
B)siding with the minority on a ballot initiative against redistricting
C)writing letters of protest to the editors of newspapers
D)politically motivated assassination

Question 63

Brian makes financial contributions to political campaigns,votes regularly,often contacts his representatives in Congress,and has joined several political organizations in his hometown.Which of the following demographic factors is consistent with this profile of Brian's level of participation in politics?

A)Brian is more highly educated than political nonparticipants.
B)Brian's income is on par with the incomes of political nonparticipants.
C)Brian is under 30 years of age,younger than many typical political nonparticipants.
D)Brian supports a family of four on his $31,000 salary.

Question 64

Major shifts in public opinion in the United States generally do not translate into policy change.

Question 65

Select the best description of an act of protest or civil disobedience that is protected under the 1st Amendment.

A)a demonstration on private property where litter is used to deface a place of business
B)a demonstration on public property where litter is used to deface a public monument
C)a silent vigil at an intersection where an African American teenager was killed by gunfire
D)smashing the windows of a store alleged to practice discriminatory hiring

Question 66

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

Question 67

Which of the following groups is more typically a nonvoting group?

A)better-educated Americans
B)less-educated Americans
C)middle-income Americans
D)upper-income Americans

Question 68

Martin is a college-educated African American.He is a certified financial planner with an advanced degree whose salary and commissions put his pretax income above $150,000.His neighbor William,also African American,owns a recording studio.Although his business is thriving,he has yet to match Martin's earnings and is still attending night school to finish an associate's degree.Based on these profiles,which of the following statements is true?

A)Martin is more likely to vote than William.
B)William is more likely to vote than Martin.
C)William and Martin are equally likely to vote.
D)Neither William nor Martin is more likely to vote than any other African American,regardless of career,income,or level of education.

Question 69

Under which of the following conditions is a protest least likely to be effective?

A)when the protest is directed at a specific law
B)when the goal of the protest is to place to an issue on the agenda of decision makers
C)when the goal of the protest is to get a law changed
D)when the protest is targeted toward public officials who are capable of granting the desired concession

Question 70

You have been appointed to a committee tasked with making recommendations that will increase the likelihood that people will vote.A fellow committee member has made a recommendation that you think will have a negative,not a positive,effect on turnout.Which of the following recommendations have you identified as a problem?

A)To increase voter turnout,same-day registration should be permitted.
B)To increase voter turnout,early voting should be permitted.
C)To increase voter turnout,better voter education programs are needed.
D)To increase voter turnout,and reduce voter fraud at the same time,new voters should be required to prove their citizenship to register.

Question 71

How might the model of the rational voter explain that only 50 percent of the voting-age population is registered to vote?

A)respect for the right to vote outweighs any tangible benefit
B)tangible benefits outweigh respect for the right to vote
C)allegiance to democracy is a burden not overcome by registration
D)the cost of registering is more than the expected value of having a preferred candidate win

Question 72

If a public opinion poll finds that voters in New Jersey 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 73

Why is coverage by the news media,especially television,vital to the success of protest activity?

A)The media are at best unconcerned with protests groups,unless they provide "good visuals."
B)The media generate attention and support for protests that social media have screened out.
C)The media carry protesters' messages to the mass public and inform public officials about what is taking place.
D)The media impede the coverage of unpopular political protests,guaranteeing that protests with wide public support have preferred access to public officials.

Question 74

Surveys regularly report higher percentages of people saying they voted in an election than the actual number of ballots cast.

Question 75

Which right is granted in the 1st Amendment?

A)the right to keep and bear arms
B)the right to peaceably assemble,and to petition the government for a redress of grievances
C)the right against unreasonable searches and seizures
D)the right to a speedy and public trial

Question 76

College freshman Daniel objects to the use of genetically modified foods in the dining facilities at his university.He decides to register his opposition by recruiting fellow students to parade across campus,carrying posters and handing out leaflets.If Daniel's actions were impeded by campus police,which of the following documents could he point to as the guarantor of his right to stage this parade?

A)the Declaration of Independence
B)the Articles of Confederation
C)the U.S.Constitution
D)the Gettysburg Address

Question 77

Higher education is also associated with greater political participation,including voting.

Question 78

Frank decides he's had enough with bank fees that seem to regularly take a bite out of his savings.He decides to head to City Hall and hand out leaflets against fee-rich banking practices to people heading in and out of the building.Which amendment protects his right to stage this act?

A)the 1st Amendment
B)the 2nd Amendment
C)the 4th Amendment
D)the 6th Amendment

Question 79

Rioting is a form of __________.

A)civil disobedience
B)civil liberty
C)civil rights
D)political violence

Question 80

Why would potential candidates for elective office be advised to learn the demographics of their districts?

A)Demographic factors influence voter turnout.
B)Demographic factors influence "rational" voters.
C)Demographic factors ease the process of registering to vote.
D)Demographic factors ease the perceived costs of voting.