Deck 6: Political Socialization and Public Opinion

Question 1

Which of the following political socialization agents has the overall greatest impact on forming political beliefs?

A) demographic characteristics
B) political leaders
C) groups
D) peers
E) school

Answer 1

E

Question 2

According to the Gallup poll cited in the text, when asked if they considered themselves pro-choice or pro-life,

A) most respondents did not give a preference.
B) a substantial majority of respondents stated they were pro-choice.
C) a substantial majority of respondents stated they were pro-life.
D) the respondents were about evenly split between pro-choice and pro-life.
E) most respondents did not understand the question.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Out of the following groups, which youth cohort is the most politically engaged?

A) whites
B) African Americans
C) Native Americans
D) Latinos
E) Asian Americans

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Studies indicate that children whose parents participate in civic life are ________ to do so themselves.

A) about as likely
B) more likely
C) less likely
D) much less likely
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a way in which the media contributes to political socialization of Americans?

A) The media aid in shaping societal norms.
B) The media help determine the national agenda.
C) The media educate the public about policy issues.
D) The media play a stronger role than any other agent of socialization.
E) The media can skew people's perception of public policy priorities.

Question 6

Which youth cohort, out of the following groups, is LEAST likely to have engaged in political protests?

A) whites
B) African Americans
C) Native Americans
D) Latinos
E) Asian Americans

Question 7

The primary function of peers as socialization agents is to

A) challenge our ingrained perspectives from childhood.
B) prompt us to conform to societal norms.
C) lead us to embrace diversity.
D) encourage us to explore new ways of thinking.
E) reinforce existing beliefs and attitudes.

Question 8

Whites, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans hold ________ political views.

A) identical
B) very similar
C) somewhat similar
D) different
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 9

The process by which individuals acquire their opinions is called

A) popular culture.
B) social communication.
C) socioeconomic change.
D) political socialization.
E) political assimilation.

Question 10

When are children in the United States first exposed to socialization by being encouraged to believe in democracy and express patriotism?

A) preschool
B) kindergarten
C) elementary school
D) middle school
E) high school

Question 11

Out of the following groups, which youth cohort is more likely to be involved in community activities?

A) whites
B) African Americans
C) Native Americans
D) Latinos
E) Asian Americans

Question 12

Among white voters, a large proportion of highly religious people are

A) Republican.
B) Democrat.
C) Independent.
D) inactive in politics.
E) more likely to switch back and forth between parties.

Question 13

Since 1956, the first- through twelfth-grade Weekly Reader student poll has correctly predicted the outcome of every presidential election. What is the best explanation for this?

A) Children mimic that behavior of their parents.
B) The media have a strong influence on children.
C) Stratified sampling is used.
D) It is a highly effective random sample.
E) Children are likely to vote like the majority of their community, therefore making the poll an accurate predictor.

Question 14

White Protestants are MOST likely to vote

A) Independent.
B) Democrat.
C) Republican.
D) Libertarian.
E) None of these answers is correct.

Question 15

No matter how religious they are, ________ are likely to identify themselves as Democrats.

A) white Americans
B) African Americans
C) Asian Americans
D) Hispanic Americans
E) Native Americans

Question 16

Which youth cohort, out of the following groups, is the most likely to have engaged in political protests?

A) whites
B) African Americans
C) Native Americans
D) Latinos
E) Asian Americans

Question 17

The largest proportion of nonreligious Americans are

A) Republican.
B) Democrat.
C) Independent.
D) inactive in politics.
E) more likely to switch back and forth between parties.

Question 18

Which socialization agent has the first major impact on a child?

A) peers
B) church
C) political leaders
D) family
E) community leaders

Question 19

Which factors have social scientists argued exert the strongest influence on political socialization?

A) family and school
B) family and the media
C) school and the media
D) school and civic participation
E) civic participation and the media

Question 20

The increased priority among average Americans for wage equality demonstrates the prominent role that the ________ plays in shaping Americans' views.

A) speaker of the House
B) House majority leader
C) House minority leader
D) president
E) vice president

Question 21

Which regions tend to favor the Democrats?

A) the Northeast and the Midwest
B) the West Coast and the South
C) the South and the West Coast
D) most major cities and the West
E) the Northeast, the West Coast, and most major cities

Question 22

Which region has the largest population of those without a religious affiliation, compared to other regions in the United States?

A) the West
B) the major cities
C) the South
D) the Midwest
E) the Northeast

Question 23

Generational effects tend to be felt most strongly by which group?

A) old people
B) women
C) young people
D) men
E) Latinos

Question 24

Which region is the most Protestant compared to other regions in the United States?

A) the West
B) the West Coast
C) the South
D) the Midwest
E) the Northeast

Question 25

Women are more likely to vote than men in every age group EXCEPT

A) those under 25.
B) those aged 25-34.
C) those aged 35-44.
D) those aged 45-54.
E) those over 55.

Question 26

Which of these events is a strong example of the generational effect on oldest Americans?

A) World War II
B) September 11, 2001
C) the Vietnam War
D) the Civil War
E) the Persian Gulf War

Question 27

Which of the following is the EARLIEST example of American politicians trying to shape public opinion?

A) the publication of The Federalist Papers
B) Lincoln's Gettysburg Address
C) William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech in the 1890s
D) Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats during the Depression
E) Abolitionist newspapers published in the years before the Civil War

Question 28

Among the important regional differences in political outlook in the United States is that between

A) the Northeast and the South.
B) the Northeast and the West.
C) the Midwest and the West.
D) the South and the Midwest.
E) the South and the West.

Question 29

Which of the following statements about public opinion is NOT true?

A) Public opinion is itself a socializing agent.
B) Public opinion is measured in part through the act of voting.
C) Public opinion is used to craft policies to help politicians gain reelection.
D) Public opinion is only recently important to American politics.
E) Public opinion is manifested in many ways.

Question 30

In which of the following years was President Obama's approval rating the highest?

A) 2009
B) 2010
C) 2011
D) 2012
E) 2013

Question 31

Men are about ________ more likely to favor the death penalty than women.

A) 5 percent
B) 10 percent
C) 15 percent
D) 20 percent
E) 25 percent

Question 32

Which region has the largest Catholic and Jewish populations compared to other regions in the United States?

A) the West
B) the West Coast
C) the South
D) the Midwest
E) the Northeast

Question 33

Public opinion and ________ are inextricably linked because the latter is the prism through which people view all political issues.

A) tradition
B) ideology
C) religion
D) family dynamics
E) personal belief

Question 34

Polls measuring approval of the way President Obama handles his job show that

A) men consistently give the president a higher rating than women do.
B) women consistently give the president a higher rating than men do.
C) men and women give the president essentially the same approval rating.
D) men gave the president a higher approval rating than women did until 2011, when the trend switched.
E) women gave the president a higher approval rating than men did until 2011, when the trend switched.

Question 35

As compared to men, women are more likely to be attracted to all of these forms of activism EXCEPT

A) volunteering.
B) running, walking, and biking.
C) charity fund-raising activities.
D) neighborhood and community mediation.
E) persuading others to vote.

Question 36

Which regions tend to favor the Republicans?

A) the West and most major cities
B) the West Coast and the South
C) the South and most major cities
D) the Midwest and the Northeast
E) the South, the West, and the Midwest

Question 37

Which of the following are examples of manifestations of popular opinion?

A) public demonstrations
B) looting and destruction of public property
C) writing letters to the editor in local newspapers
D) writing to congressmen and other federal officials
E) public demonstrations; writing letters to the editor in local newspapers; and writing to congressmen and other federal officials

Question 38

On the issue of _______, men's and women's opinions differ very little.

A) gun ownership
B) abortion
C) government activism
D) gender equality
E) women's rights

Question 39

Which presidential election first revealed the existence of the gender gap?

A) 1968
B) 1976
C) 1980
D) 1984
E) 1992

Question 40

Public polls and voting behavior indicate that men and women have ________ views on many issues.

A) largely identical
B) very similar
C) somewhat similar
D) somewhat different
E) very different

Question 41

Because it is impossible to measure everyone's opinions, pollsters frequently rely on

A) random sampling.
B) quota sampling.
C) stratified sampling.
D) qualitative sampling.
E) quantitative sampling.

Question 42

A poll of which type would be most likely to ask the following question? "If you found out that Representative Jones participated in several unsavory financial transactions, would it affect your vote?"

A) straw poll
B) Gallup poll
C) tracking poll
D) push poll
E) exit poll

Question 43

Currently, pollsters are focused on this as a promising source of public opinion measurement in the future:

A) the landline telephone.
B) face-to-face interviews.
C) Postal Service mail.
D) the Internet.
E) interactive television.

Question 44

Pollsters that structure a sample so that it is representative of the characteristics of a target population are using what type of sampling?

A) random sampling
B) quota sampling
C) stratified sampling
D) qualitative sampling
E) quantitative sampling

Question 45

According to the British Broadcasting Company survey in the text, in which of the following countries is there the MOST support for equal rights for women?

A) Iran
B) Nigeria
C) India
D) Russia
E) Mexico

Question 46

A poll that provides campaigns with information on candidate strengths and weaknesses, and also tries to skew public opinion is a

A) straw poll.
B) Gallup poll.
C) tracking poll.
D) push poll.
E) exit poll.

Question 47

A poll that measures changes in public opinion over time is known as a

A) straw poll.
B) Gallup poll.
C) tracking poll.
D) push poll.
E) exit poll.

Question 48

Which presidential election destroyed the credibility of the Literary Digest poll?

A) 1924 election
B) 1928 election
C) 1932 election
D) 1936 election
E) 1940 election

Question 49

Which of the following BEST describes a straw poll?

A) representative
B) unscientific
C) credible
D) random
E) stratified

Question 50

________ are frequently sponsored by news organizations on election days, who use them to help predict outcomes of presidential or other national races.

A) Straw polls
B) Gallup polls
C) Tracking polls
D) Push polls
E) Exit polls

Question 51

Since 2008, which of the following issues has been identified by respondents as the "most important problem" facing the country?

A) jobs
B) the housing market
C) the economy
D) foreign wars
E) the threat of terrorism

Question 52

What was the main reason why the Literary Digest eventually failed to predict the outcome of a presidential election?

A) poorly worded question
B) small sample size
C) stopping polling too far away from the election
D) unrepresentative sample
E) math error

Question 53

According to the British Broadcasting Company survey in the text, in which of the following countries is there the LEAST support for equal rights for women?

A) United States
B) Argentina
C) China
D) India
E) France

Question 54

Which was the only presidential election in which the Gallup poll erred badly?

A) 1928 Hoover-Smith
B) 1936 Roosevelt-Landon
C) 1948 Truman-Dewey
D) 1964 Johnson-Goldwater
E) 2000 Bush-Gore

Question 55

For the purposes of stratified sampling, how many sampling regions are there in the United States?

A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
E) six

Question 56

What is the first thing someone who is conducting a poll needs to do?

A) construct unbiased questions
B) determine a target population
C) select a sample
D) pick a survey measurement instrument
E) group participants by ideology

Question 57

Who founded the American Institute of Public Opinion in 1935?

A) Alf Landon
B) Herbert Asher
C) Walter Lippmann
D) George Gallup
E) Thomas E. Dewey

Question 58

Most national polling organizations rarely poll more than ________ respondents.

A) 100
B) 150
C) 500
D) 1,000
E) 1,500

Question 59

When polling a state or congressional district, a polling organization will typically use a sample size of

A) 80-100.
B) 150-200.
C) 300-500.
D) 800-1,000.
E) 1,000-1,500.

Question 60

The key to a successful sample is to have a sample that

A) accurately reflects the population.
B) is exactly five percent of the population that is being polled.
C) is under 100 participants.
D) each participant is hand selected according to political views.
E) is polled only when it is ensured that they have enough time to answer the questions.

Question 61

Identify issues associated with Internet sampling techniques.

Question 62

Discuss the ways in which the media act as an agent of political socialization.

Question 63

Outline how Americans have changed their responses to the "most important problem" question in public opinion polls between 2001 and 2014.

Question 64

The recent decline in trust in the institution of the presidency is closely related to

A) anxiety over the direction of America's foreign policy.
B) concerns over whether the executive branch can be a force for positive change.
C) worries over government corruption and waste.
D) public approval of individual presidents.
E) public perceptions of America's economic health.

Question 65

Which branch of the federal government consistently scores higher in levels of public trust than others?

A) federal bureaucracy
B) executive branch
C) judicial branch
D) legislative branch
E) Department of Justice

Question 66

Identify the role geographic region plays in forming public opinion.

Question 67

Identify the types of information that can be derived from tracking polls, and which organizations or individuals employ them.

Question 68

Explain the relationship between peer groups, diversity, and norms and values.

Question 69

Identify the two main influences of political socialization that we experience from early childhood.

Question 70

Define the gender gap and provide examples of its visibility on certain issues.

Question 71

Explain the role of the public opinion poll in American politics.

Question 72

Define quota sampling and explain its uses.