Deck 8: Public Opinion

Question 1

If the majority of citizens are opposed to a given policy or action why might the government go ahead with that policy or action?

A)Politicians tend to be arrogant and believe what they think is right.
B)In order to rouse the people to action, even if it is action against a government policy.
C)Citizen preference does not always reflect what is best for the nation, in general.
D)The government rarely has a way of knowing what the people think.

Answer 1

C

Question 2

How were veterans' experiences in Vietnam related to their position on the U.S.war in Iraq? They __________ of/in the U.S.war in Iraq.

A)were instinctively critical
B)tended to be uninterested
C)were adamantly in favor
D)tended to want to take part

Answer 2

A

Question 3

In the 1980s, as represented by the gender gap, women liked federal programs for home and family and disliked the Republican emphasis on __________ and disdain for women's rights.

A)corruption
B)regionalism
C)economics
D)war

Answer 3

D

Question 4

__________ can lead or tamper with public opinion.

A)Protests
B)Elections
C)Interest groups
D)The church

Question 5

How was American support of the policy of Bush senior on Lithuania, as indicated by a solid majority in a1991 poll, indicative of the concept that public opinion shows widespread ignorance?

A)None knew how long Bush had been in office.
B)Most were more concerned with Latvia.
C)Most had a negative view of Lithuania.
D)None knew where Lithuania was located.

Question 6

The two ways social class tends to be measured is __________.

A)objective and subjective
B)rational and irrational
C)republican and democratic
D)militaristic and diplomatic

Question 7

Which is a possible explanation for the failure of scientific sampling method in the 1948 U.S.election when Dewey was solidly predicted to defeat Truman?

A)The error was in assuming that respondents who said they were decided would wind up voting in the same ratio as those who had already undecided.
B)The error was in assuming that respondents who said they were undecided would wind up voting in the same ratio as those who had already decided.
C)The error was in assuming that non-respondents would wind up voting in the same ratio as those who had already decided.
D)The error was in assuming that Democrats who said they were undecided would wind up voting in the same ratio as those Republicans who had already decided.

Question 8

When summarized statistically in curves that show the distribution of opinions on a range from one extreme position to the other, when there is a matter on which there are few doubters, opinions are shown to be __________to one side, in the shape of a __________.

A)skewed; J-curve
B)unimodal; single hump
C)polarizing; flat-line
D)bimodal; U-curve

Question 9

Describe the relationship between the mass public and complicated political decisions?

A)Though they rarely react after decisions have been made, the mass public does not comprehend a great deal about complex issues.
B)Though they can react after decisions have been made, the mass public does in fact comprehend a great deal about complex issues.
C)Though they can react after decisions have been made, the mass public does not comprehend a great deal about complex issues.
D)Though they almost never react after decisions have been made, the mass public does take action on decisions before and/or during the evolution of those decisions.

Question 10

How was Catholic John F.Kerry's stance on abortion a factor in his 2004 run for President?

A)Catholics tend not to vote.
B)It lost Kerry many Catholic votes.
C)It won Kerry many Catholic votes.
D)It had little to no impact via Catholic voters, who tend to vote as actively as other sectors of the public.

Question 11

__________ people have been shown by survey results to be tolerant, favor civil rights, and understand different viewpoints.

A)Religious
B)Wealthy
C)College-educated
D)Rural

Question 12

How was the event of 1971, in which President Nixon announced that he would be the first president to visit China, a positive example of governments creating the public opinion they desire?

A)Americans actively protested.
B)Americans supported the decision.
C)Americans supported the decision until trip became an embarrassment.
D)Americans supported the President, but not the trip.

Question 13

Though a man's opinion of his neighbor's religion would not be part of public opinion, that
Man's feeling on __________ would be.

A)the best brand of camera
B)the quality of artwork on offer at the local art museum
C)the state of his local church
D)prayer in public schools

Question 14

What must good public opinion studies do, especially those dealing with complex or specialized queries?

A)Distinguish between elite and mass opinions
B)Attempt to complicate the respondents' responses, in order to get at their real opinions
C)Pose the simplest questions possible
D)Separate conservative from liberal opinions

Question 15

Women, in most recent elections, were several percentage points more likely to vote __________ for president than were men.

A)Republican
B)Democrat
C)Green Party
D)Libertarian

Question 16

A __________ government cannot be one led through sheer violence and coercion.

A)fundamentalist
B)long-lasting
C)malevolent
D)military

Question 17

Widespread sympathy can be generated by bringing grievances to national attention, especially __________.

A)when scholars monitor those grievances
B)when only small town politicians are involved
C)when the media watch
D)if the church becomes involved

Question 18

Elections may point to what voters generally think of a candidate overall but __________.

A)rarely focus on specific issues
B)are usually unreliable
C)rarely actually focus on general issues
D)tend to be poorly administered

Question 19

Public opinion is important in a __________, but it is often ignorant, fickle, and
Untrustworthy.

A)fascist state
B)democracy
C)totalitarian state
D)plutocracy

Question 20

What is the main idea of a country's outlying regions' relationship with the capital? Those outlying regions usually __________.

A)attempt to align themselves with the capital's policies
B)find themselves inundated with city-dwellers looking for work
C)fail entirely to communicate with the capital
D)harbor resentment against the capital

Question 21

What relatively new obstacle has arisen in regards to accurate telephone surveys?

A)Americans tend to simply decline or hang up.
B)Widespread technical issues
C)Many people provide misleading answer during phone surveys.
D)Very few respondents vote.

Question 22

How did a new breed of "precision pollsters" in 2012 markedly alter the way established firms conducted polling?

A)By focusing on trends of only a few groups, especially in the swing states, to accurately predict an Obama win in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.
B)By focusing on trends in various groups, especially in the non-swing states, to accurately predict an Obama win in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.
C)By focusing on trends in various groups, especially in the swing states, to accurately predict an Obama win in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.
D)By focusing on trends in Democratic groups, especially in the swing states, to accurately predict an Obama win in both the popular vote and the Electoral College.

Question 23

Why is it difficult to include a proportionally representative cross section of society in the process of polling?

A)It is extremely difficult to separate society into groups.
B)If they query too many or too few of various groups, they lose proportionality.
C)So few people want to take part in polls.
D)Proportionality is little valued by those sponsoring the polls.

Question 24

Particularly in__________, published surveys are quite carefully watched.

A)wartime
B)Africa
C)election years
D)the south

Question 25

How was the following 1965 exchange between a Johnson aid and Lyndon Johnson-who was both escalating the war in Vietnam and a close watcher of the polls-illustrative of the volatility of public opinion: The aid told Johnson: "we have overwhelming public opinion on our side." Johnson replied, "Yes, but for a very underwhelming period of time."

A)Two-thirds support for the war in 1965 turned into two-thirds opposition in 1968
B)Two-thirds opposition for the war in 1965 turned into two-thirds support in 1968
C)Two-thirds support for the war in 1965 remained two-thirds support in 1968
D)Two-thirds opposition for the war in 1965 remained two-thirds opposition in 1968

Question 26

A survey sampling aimed at being both random and highly representative must involve selecting which of the following?

A)Geographic districts to sample, their religious characteristics, and random selection of which people to question from various categories
B)Republican districts to sample, their population characteristics, and random selection of which people to question from various categories
C)Geographic districts to sample, their population characteristics, and random selection of which people to question from a very narrow range of categories
D)Geographic districts to sample, their population characteristics, and random selection of which people to question from various categories

Question 27

A debate that has arisen over some of the side effects of published surveys is whether __________.

A)people are educated enough to answer surveys appropriately
B)by treating polls as authoritative verdicts, journalists create self-fulfilling prophecies
C)men answer as honestly as women
D)polls are too conservative to determine policy

Question 28

Why might wealthy people consider themselves to be middle class?

A)They perceive their class status to be in danger of imminent decline.
B)Their ancestors were working class.
C)They hope to set themselves apart from their fellow elites.
D)They have working class origins.

Question 29

Describe how tone of voice and facial expressions play a role in the delivery of the polling questions.

A)In order to avoid discouraging one response over another and the skewing of results, pollsters must utilize sympathetic looks.
B)In order to avoid encouraging one response over another and the skewing of results, pollsters must avoid dressing to conservatively and sympathetic looks.
C)In order to avoid encouraging one response over another and the skewing of results, pollsters must avoid certain tones of voice and using foreign accents.
D)In order to avoid encouraging one response over another and the skewing of results, pollsters must avoid certain tones of voice and sympathetic looks.

Question 30

Why did some fear the hollowing out of the American middle class, while Americans simultaneously lost some of their belief that coming generations would always rise?

A)American social mobility fell behind that of West Europe's and Canada's.
B)American social mobility fell behind that of North Africa's and Eastern Europe's.
C)The social mobility of the poorest Americans fell behind that of those in West Europe and Canada.
D)The social mobility of only the American middle-class rose while the other classes saw a decline in social mobility.

Question 31

When you hypothesize that decreases in a nation's per capita GDP lead it away from Democracy, what kind of variable are you demonstrating?

A)Dependent
B)Unifying
C)Independent
D)Opaque

Question 32

Describe the relationship Americans have with gun control.

A)Most favor some form of gun control, but most also own guns.
B)Though they are primarily uninformed about the issue, most favor some form of gun control.
C)In addition being quite energized about the issue, most also favor form of gun control.
D)Though they are primarily lukewarm about the issue, most favor some form of gun control.

Question 33

What impact does a bad economy have for presidential popularity?

A)A decline in popularity
B)A rise in popularity, as an effort at encouragement
C)Little to no impact
D)Researchers find it nearly impossible to generalize about the relationship between a bad economy and presidential popularity

Question 34

Describe the kind of difficult events which a president faces and which rallies the American people to that president.

A)Breaking ground for a new government building
B)An unsuccessful hunt for an international criminal
C)International hostage crisis
D)Personal infidelity

Question 35

What is an example of American manual workers going against the expected habits of their class.

A)African American laborers motivated by noneconomic issues, such as race, gun control, etc. moving toward support of the Republican party
B)White working-class Americans motivated by noneconomic issues, such as race, gun control, etc. moving toward support of the Republican party
C)Working-class Hispanics motivated by noneconomic issues, such as race, gun control, etc. moving toward support of the Green party
D)White working-class Americans motivated by economic issues

Question 36

Presidents traditionally start with __________ support and then support__________.

A)low; rises
B)high; remains high
C)high; declines
D)erratic; stabilizes

Question 37

What impact does a bad economy have for presidential popularity?

A)A decline in popularity
B)A rise in popularity, as an effort at encouragement
C)Little to no impact
D)Researchers find it nearly impossible to generalize about the relationship between a bad economy and presidential popularity

Question 38

According to Almond's "three publics," the elite might play to the "attentive public" because they __________.

A)tend to pass on views that mobilize the general public
B)tend to pass on views that mobilize other elites
C)rarely pass on negative views that might upset the general public
D)rarely pass on views that simply repeat those of the elite

Question 39

Groups are invested in a variety of questions, thus public opinion is __________.

A)predictable
B)fragmented
C)easily quantifiable
D)unitary

Question 40

The least expensive approaches to polling-a generally expensive activity-tend to be __________.

A)generally as effective as more expensive approaches
B)the most accurate
C)the least accurate
D)entirely inaccurate

Question 41

The U.S.bailouts that were a response to the 2008 financial meltdown were a result of elite consensus and contrary to the will of the majority-thus indicating a frequent gap between
elites and mass public opinion.

Question 42

"Conservative" and "liberal" can have varying meanings for voters, particularly when considering economic versus noneconomic issues.

Question 43

How is the influence of exit polls related to the U.S.presidential vote, in comparison to the House or state legislatures?

A)Immense evidence has been found that exit polls influence the U.S. presidential vote, as well as influencing other contests for the House, Senate, or state legislatures.
B)No evidence has been found that exit polls influence the U.S. presidential vote, and they are though not to influence other contests for the House, Senate, or state legislatures either.
C)No evidence has been found that exit polls influence the U.S. presidential vote, but they might influence other contests for the House, Senate, or state legislatures.
D)Some evidence has been found that exit polls influence the U.S. presidential vote, but have been proven not to influence other contests for the House, Senate, or state legislatures.

Question 44

American presidents experience their highest public opinion ratings during their honeymoon period and after "rally events" such as the Iran hostage crisis.

Question 45

Some nations, like France, bar publishing polls for two days before and during election day.

Question 46

The weak relationship between education and social class contributes to polarization.

Question 47

Why is it that despite Jews only making up less than 2 percent of the U.S.population most elected officials take a pro-Israel stance?

A)A great deal of elected officials are themselves Jewish.
B)Most elected officials are ignorant of the politics of Israel, and so simply go along with the wishes of American Jews.
C)Most elected officials are predisposed to supporting Israel regardless of pressure from citizens.
D)Among American Jews are extremely avid supporters of Israel.

Question 48

Only democracies are vulnerable to public opinion.

Question 49

What is the impact of the perception of political elites that most Americans do not know enough to form sound opinions on vital issues of the day?

A)Political elites, aware of the ignorance and low interest of the general public, may convince themselves not to give all of their attention to foreign policy.
B)Political elites, aware of the high level of political knowledge and high interest of the general public, may convince themselves to pay too much attention to public opinion.
C)Political elites, aware of the ignorance and low interest of the general public, may convince themselves not to pay much attention to public opinion.
D)Political elites, aware of the ignorance and low interest of the general public, may convince themselves to spend most of their time trying to spur public interest in politics.

Question 50

Not only can polls keep track of public opinion, they can also __________.

A)alienate politicians
B)encourage people to run for office
C)cancel out public opinion
D)craft public opinion

Question 51

How is the failure of the 1961 Bay of Pigs invasion an example of the impact dramatic foreign policy events often have on public support of the president?

A)Support for the president remained unmoved.
B)Even as a failure, the event spurred public support for President Kennedy.
C)The event spurred public disdain for President Kennedy.
D)The failure led to a decline in military support for Kennedy which only then led to a decline in public support.

Question 52

Even in the long-term, presidents who shrug off public opinion remain vilified.

Question 53

There is no __________ to control(ling) the broadcasting of polls.

A)constitutionally legal way, to date
B)desire among citizens
C)way, at all
D)benefit

Question 54

Beginning with the work of Karl Marx, scholars have treated social class as an important factor in public opinion.

Question 55

All public opinion polls pose questions to a group of randomly selected individuals without reference to their age, gender, or location.

Question 56

Some urge __________ in an effort not to impact elections that are in progress.

A)a delay in publication of the results of exit polls
B)a delay in broadcasting the results of exit polls
C)quicker release of entrance poll results
D)avoiding the use of exit polls altogether

Question 57

Wallonia in Belgium and Basque country in Spain are examples of center-periphery tensions.

Question 58

Why might leading early in the polls be crucial to a politician running for office?

A)Those who trail in the early polls statistically get more contributions, more news coverage, and thus more supporters over the course of the campaign.
B)Those who lead in the early polls get fewer contributions, but they receive more news coverage, and thus more supporters.
C)Those who trail in the early polls get more contributions, but less news coverage, and a middle-range number of supporters.
D)Those who lead in the early polls get more contributions, more news coverage, and thus more supporters.

Question 59

Why might retired people support economic liberal programs like Social Security and Medicare despite calling themselves conservative?

A)Americans are not particularly clear about what they mean by "liberal" or "conservative."
B)Americans do not particularly care about labels like "liberal" or "conservative."
C)Retired people tend to have quite unpredictable political positions.
D)Social Security and Medicare were once considered conservative economic programs.

Question 60

Poor poll showings, especially early in the campaign __________.

A)are very rarely a self-fulfilling prophecy of defeat some candidates
B)discourage the media from covering the data they accrue
C)are a self-fulfilling prophecy of defeat some candidates
D)often encourage voters to turnout to ensure their candidate pulls out the win

Question 61

The killing of Osama bin Laden in 2011 caused President Obama's public support ratings to ________, but only briefly.

Question 62

Any survey that records only those who __________ is invalid.

Question 63

What is the relationship between public opinion and ignorance/knowledge?

Question 64

__________ opinion curves are the basis of democracy.

Question 65

In 2012, __________, an approach honed by statistician Nate Silver, made polling more accurate.

Question 66

What is public opinion? What is not public opinion? Why are policymakers concerned with public opinion? What are the consequences of politicians paying attention to public opinion? Provide examples in your response.

Question 67

What factors affect public opinion? Which factors appear to be most important? Which are least important? Are some factors closely related to others? Explain and provide examples of each factor.

Question 68

How does the way different regimes treat both the attentive public and its intellectuals compare?

Question 69

What are the three aspects of Almond's "three publics," and why are they of significance?

Question 70

How does the manner or way of asking questions impact polling?

Question 71

Does the early prediction in the East persuade westerners not to bother to vote?

Question 72

Because they have ideas and __________, the attentive public, although relatively few in number, has great impact on politics.

Question 73

What are public opinion polls? To whom are they useful? How are public opinion polls conducted? Are they reliable? Why or why not?

Question 74

__________ decisions tend to guide public opinion.

Question 75

What factors and/or events drive presidential ratings? Why are there particular periods during a presidency that are more predictable in relation to his popularity? Use examples from at least two presidents to further explore your initial discussion.What are the impacts of presidential approval based on one situation for other areas of presidential activity?

Question 76

A "God gap" was brought into U.S.politics by the rise of the __________.

Question 77

Because Republicans criticized the anti-semitic repression of Jews in __________, nineteenth-century American Jews tended to self-describe as Republicans.

Question 78

Because surveys work best when focused on specific details, public opinion can be seen as a backup and detailing for inputting __________ into politics.

Question 79

Are polls an alternative form of direct democracy? Should policy decisions be made based on polls? Why or why not? In your answer, address the benefits and disadvantages of public opinion polls.Provide ₑₓₐmplₑs.

Question 80

100 to 200 regular interviewers in different areas around the country who each interview 15 to 20 persons in a designated locality offer the most __________ method of sampling.