Deck 10: Political Socialization and Public Opinion

Question 1

Where do the words "of the people, by the people, and for the people" come from?

A) the Bill of Rights
B) the Declaration of Independence
C) the Gettysburg Address
D) the preamble to the Constitution

Answer 1

the Gettysburg Address

Question 2

The more commonly held view of the founders regarding public opinion is based on which theory?

A) elitism
B) essentialism
C) pluralism
D) positivism

Answer 2

elitism

Question 3

The more commonly held view of contemporary political leaders and political scientists regarding public opinion is based on which theory?

A) elitism
B) essentialism
C) pluralism
D) positivism

Answer 3

pluralism

Question 4

Which ancient Greek philosopher believed that collective judgments were more likely to be wise and sound than the judgments of a few.

A) Aristotle
B) Cicero
C) Horace
D) Seneca

Question 5

What is considered the opposite of elitism?

A) communism
B) pluralism
C) relativism
D) socialism

Question 6

Three fundamental American values were discussed in the textbook. What were they?

A) equality, individualism, and pluralism
B) equality, individualism, and personal liberty
C) individualism, personal liberty, and elitism
D) individualism, republicanism, and pluralism

Question 7

The textbook argues that controversy over affirmative action is based on what?

A) disagreement over equality of opportunity
B) disagreement over equality of outcome
C) disagreement over pluralism
D) disagreement over public opinion

Question 8

Patricia is making a presentation to your American government class about the role of public opinion in determining public policy. She advises that American policy is strongest when no one group is dominant, that power should be divided among the many, that competition among opinions ensures that the soundest opinions emerge in a debate, and that consensus is a fundamental good. From what viewpoint is Patricia arguing?

A) an elitist viewpoint
B) an interactionist viewpoint
C) a pluralist viewpoint
D) a socialist viewpoint

Question 9

Some of Henry's friends think his views are extreme. Henry favors ending all entitlement programs and thinks government regulation of any kind is, more often than not, a really bad idea. He wants to be able to control for himself how to save and invest for retirement and does not think he should be required to obtain a license just to drive his own automobile. On what fundamental value is Henry likely basing his opinions?

A) equality of opportunity
B) individualism
C) role assertion
D) self-defense

Question 10

Which of the following statements about public opinion would the Founders be more likely to agree with?

A) It is better for leaders to minimize the impact of public opinion and to allow citizens to influence policymakers through elections.
B) It is better for leaders to allow citizens to influence policymakers than to maximize the impact of public opinion.
C) Too little trust in the preferences of the people diminishes the effectiveness of government.
D) Government should respond to public opinion, not shape it.

Question 11

How do elitists differ from pluralists?

A) Elitists believe that leaders should maximize the impact of public opinion, and pluralists believe that leaders should minimize the impact of public opinion.
B) Elitists believe that leaders should maximize the impact of public opinion, and pluralists believe that citizens should influence policymakers primarily through elections.
C) Elitists argue that complex decisions need to be made free from public pressure to ensure the health and vitality of the political system, and pluralists believe that citizens should participate in democratic decision making.
D) Elitists believe that citizens should participate in democratic decision making, and pluralists argue that complex decisions need to be made free from public pressure.

Question 12

Passed in 1993, the __________, which mandated waiting periods when purchasing handguns, was the first major federal gun control law since 1968.

A) War on Drugs
B) USA PATRIOT Act
C) Act Against Bullying (AAB)
D) Brady Bill

Question 13

Socialism values __________ over individual wants.

A) individual rights
B) government mandates
C) community needs
D) property ownership

Question 14

The fact that today's Americans are not well informed about politics is consistent with the viewpoint of _________, who argued in Federalist No. 68 for the indirect election of the president by a council of wise men.

A) Alexander Hamilton
B) George Washington
C) James Madison
D) Thomas Jefferson

Question 15

The antislavery movement that began in the North during the early 1800s did not get onto the mainstream agenda until after the publication of which novel?

A) The Birth of a Nation, by Thomas Dixon
B) Uncle Tom's Cabin, by Harriet Beecher Stowe
C) A Ride for Liberty, by Eastman Johnson
D) A Strange Island, by Louisa May Alcott

Question 16

According to the timeline on bullying in the United States presented in the textbook, which Supreme Court Case ruled that Internet speech merits First Amendment protection?

A) Dukes v. Wal-Mart Stores
B) Hazelwood School District v. Kuhlmeier
C) Reno v. ACLU
D) Sniderman v. Facebook

Question 17

What percentage of doctoral degrees in the United States are awarded to women?

A) less than 28 percent
B) less than 36 percent
C) 42 percent
D) more than 52 percent

Question 18

What is the estimated rate at which cohort replacement occurs among the electorate?

A) Twenty percent of the electorate is replaced every 20 years.
B) Twenty percent of the electorate is replaced every 50 years.
C) Fifty percent of the electorate is replaced every 20 years.
D) Fifty percent of the electorate is replaced every 50 years.

Question 19

What does the catalyst-for-change theory assert?

A) that popular culture promotes change and shapes the independent attitudes and beliefs of the public
B) that the media reflects popular culture
C) that popular culture fundamentally limits the power of individuals to make free choices
D) that popular culture both changes and reflects social values and beliefs

Question 20

When we consider how public opinion has changed regarding the status of women in our society over the past 100 years, which theory most logically applies to the change?

A) barometer of public attitudes theory
B) catalyst-for-change theory
C) interactive theory
D) political socialization theory

Question 21

Which of the following facts regarding the status of women is at variance with how public opinion about women's status has changed in our society over the past 100 years?

A) Proportionately more women than men earn associate's and bachelor's degrees.
B) Nearly half of incoming business graduate students are women.
C) Women are significantly underrepresented in government.
D) More than half of law students are women.

Question 22

One example of __________ theory occurred in 1947 when Jackie Robinson became the first Black player in Major League Baseball.

A) barometer of public attitudes
B) catalyst-for-change
C) interactive
D) political socialization

Question 23

What term is defined as a consistent set of beliefs that forms a person's general philosophy regarding the proper goals, purposes, functions, and size of government?

A) political culture
B) political ideology
C) political socialization
D) political theory

Question 24

People who identified with a populist ideology historically included which group?

A) farmers
B) married women
C) college-educated men
D) African Americans

Question 25

A person with which of the following ideologies is likelier to oppose major increases in government spending for health care and to favor government funding of faith-based social service agencies that help the poor?

A) a person with a liberal ideology
B) a person with a populist ideology
C) a person with a libertarian ideology
D) a person with a conservative ideology

Question 26

Which of the following characteristics is more likely found to be in the profile of a person who is ideologically conservative rather than liberal?

A) supports affirmative action in college admissions
B) supports limitations on abortion
C) supports regulations on greenhouse gases
D) supports prohibition of the death penalty

Question 27

Which of the following characteristics is more likely found to be in the profile of a person who is ideologically libertarian rather than a liberal?

A) supports laissez-faire capitalism
B) supports limitations on abortion
C) supports regulations on greenhouse gases
D) supports government-run homeless shelters

Question 28

Researchers have shown that parents are especially influential in transmitting attitudes to their children about two social classifications. What are they?

A) gender role and race
B) norms and peer identity
C) race and the self
D) stereotypes and status

Question 29

What percentage of American households today consist of a married couple with children?

A) less than 20 percent
B) 30 percent
C) more than 40 percent
D) 50 percent

Question 30

How many hours per week do American children between the ages of 8 and 18 spend using entertainment media?

A) less than 25 hours
B) between 30 and 40 hours
C) a little more than 40 hours
D) more than 50 hours

Question 31

Sami 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 Sami in their discussions of the political events of the day, often commenting about the social and economic policies that they favor. In time, Sami 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 Sami undergone?

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

Question 32

Twins Tamara and Theo grew up in a conservative-leaning household, where both their parents, nonetheless, were registered Democrats. As they aged, neither adopted the party identification of their parents. How are they likely to define themselves?

A) as Republicans
B) as independents
C) as neither Republican nor independent
D) as Republican primarily and as independent secondarily

Question 33

Considering what is known about the effectiveness of schools as agents of political socialization, which of these things is a child least likely to acquire at school?

A) a sense of patriotism
B) a sense of nationalism
C) a desire to run for public office
D) knowledge of the names of the three branches of government

Question 34

Which of the following is the most plausible explanation for why people are more likely to vote if an election is closely contested?

A) If people believe that their vote counts, as is the case when an election is closely contested, they are more likely to turn out to vote.
B) The influence of peers on the voting behavior of homogeneous communities tends to be stronger than that of school and family when an election is closely contested.
C) The influence of peers on the voting behavior of heterogeneous communities tends to be weaker than that of school and family when an election is closely contested.
D) Communities with high voter turnout are less likely to respond to stimuli, such as a closely contested election, than other communities, whether homogeneous or heterogeneous.

Question 35

In response to the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, the United States embarked upon two, initially popular though increasingly contentious, wars. They were in __________.

A) Afghanistan and Pakistan
B) Iraq and Iran
C) Afghanistan and Iraq
D) Iran and Pakistan

Question 36

Family, school, peers and community, religion, the media, and events are all __________.

A) political definitions
B) agents of political socialization
C) political stabilizers
D) bipartisan agents

Question 37

Imagine that Isaac, who is 23, has parents that are strongly conservative Republicans. If you know nothing else about Isaac, you should assume that he is a member of the __________ Party.

A) Democratic
B) Independent
C) Libertarian
D) Republican

Question 38

When did African Americans, who had been aligned with the Republican Party since the Civil War, partly in loyalty to Abraham Lincoln, begin to abandon it for the Democrats?

A) in the 1870s
B) in the 1920s
C) in the 1930s
D) in the 1960s

Question 39

As a person's education level increases, what happens to his or her views of social and cultural issues?

A) They grow more conservative.
B) They grow more liberal.
C) They grow less predictable.
D) They remain essentially unchanged.

Question 40

What percentage of Americans say they belong to an organized religion?

A) between 50 and 60 percent
B) between 60 and 70 percent
C) between 70 and 80 percent
D) over 90 percent

Question 41

The textbook analyzes how membership in five different types of social groups affects people's opinions and values. On which demographic factors are these social groupings based?

A) family, church, peer group, school, and income
B) income, education, religion, race or ethnicity, and gender
C) age, occupation, party identification, media preference, and intelligence
D) gender, geographic location, race, emotion, and intelligence

Question 42

Democratic voters are most likely to be found where?

A) among Black Protestants and White evangelical Protestants
B) among Black Protestants and Jews
C) among White Protestants (especially evangelicals)
D) among White Protestants and observant Catholics

Question 43

The shared religious values of Catholics often unite them in voting for socially conservative candidates; however, in a recent public opinion survey, researchers noted that Catholics with blue-collar occupations (e.g., service technicians or maintenance workers) tended to support candidates who also favored the death penalty, whereas white-collar Catholics (e.g., lawyers or accountants) tended to oppose the death penalty. What explains this division?

A) cohort replacement
B) crosscutting cleavages
C) elitism versus pluralism
D) interactive theory

Question 44

The characterization of the __________ as the "party of the people" became more pronounced in the 1930s, when President Franklin D. Roosevelt launched his New Deal programs in the midst of the Great Depression.

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

Question 45

__________ separates American men and women in their patterns of voting behavior, party identification, ways of evaluating presidents, and attitudes toward various public policies.

A) An issue of elitism
B) A catalyst-for-change theory
C) A political enigma
D) A gender gap

Question 46

The tendency for individuals to agree with the majority opinion on issues that polls indicate have the greatest level of support among the public is known as what?

A) the bandwagon effect
B) the salience hypothesis
C) the marginal attitude myth
D) the popularity factor

Question 47

What two techniques are the keys to achieving a good representative sample?

A) correct indexing technique and appropriate question format
B) appropriate question format and correct sampling technique
C) correct sampling technique and appropriate sample size
D) appropriate response rate and appropriate sample size

Question 48

Of the following, which has the textbook identified as a problem for the future of administering public opinion surveys by telephone?

A) declining utility rates
B) rising rates of survey completion
C) rising reliance on cell phones to the exclusion of land lines
D) rising tendency of people to hold extreme positions

Question 49

What is an exit poll?

A) a sample using a target population that is split into subgroups
B) a poll conducted on election day to try to predict election outcomes before all votes are counted
C) a nonprobability sample in which the researcher randomly invites respondents to participate in the survey
D) an unscientific mechanism to gauge public opinion

Question 50

Why did television networks agree, in 1980, not to predict the winner of a state's electoral votes for president until all polls in that state had closed?

A) Prematurely publicizing a presidential winner could affect congressional, state, and local elections.
B) Prematurely publicizing a presidential winner could introduce sampling errors.
C) Prematurely publicizing a presidential winner could cause exit poll respondents to shade the truth about their voting choices in close elections.
D) Incessant reporting of polling data drives viewership rates down.

Question 51

A poll with a margin of error of plus or minus 3 percentage points and a confidence level of 95 percent asked 1,000 voters in Maine whether they considered themselves Republican, Democrat, or independent. If 48 percent of respondents indicated that they considered themselves independent, what is the percentage of independents among voters in Maine?

A) between 45 and 51 percent, 95 percent of the time
B) either 45 or 51 percent, 95 percent of time
C) 48 percent, between 92 and 98 percent of the time
D) 45, 48, or 51 percent, 95 percent of the time

Question 52

After reading about the challenges of conducting accurate surveys in your textbook, you know that some survey questions may unintentionally lead a respondent to answer questions in a particular way. What "opinion" do you think this question would lead respondents to give: What is your opinion of people who lack the good sense to participate in curbside recycling programs?

A) The question as worded is too neutral to generate objective opinions.
B) The question as worded would generate opinions against curbside recycling.
C) The question as worded would generate opinions that favor curbside recycling.
D) The question as worded would generate nonattitudes.

Question 53

Which of the following questions is least likely to be asked during "horse race" coverage of an election?

A) How much thought have you given to the positions of Candidate Y in the upcoming election: quite a lot or only a little?
B) In a head-to-head race between Candidate X and Candidate Y, whom would you vote for?
C) Which candidate, Candidate X or Candidate Y, is showing the most momentum right now among women voters?
D) Do you believe that Candidate X is in the best position to win this election?

Question 54

When should pollsters be concerned about a "spiral of silence"?

A) when officials interpret polling results without regard to sampling error
B) when respondents appear to have opinions on an issue but in fact do not
C) when respondents feel pressure to accept the viewpoint of the majority
D) when officials commission their own polls rather than rely on independent polling organizations

Question 55

Why are polls that exhibit clear majority opinions on the issues sometimes problematic?

A) because they may call the virtues of polling into question
B) because they may weaken the influence of true public opinion
C) because they may strengthen the influence of true public opinion
D) because they may silence members of the public who hold minority views

Question 56

A telephone pollster decides to minimize costs by excluding cell phone numbers from a sample of the population being surveyed about changes in the tax law. Which group is likely to be underrepresented in this pollster's sample?

A) the elderly
B) college students
C) African Americans
D) women