Deck 6: Public Opinion and Political Action

Question 1

According to Ronald Reagan,what was the cause of society's problems?

A) urban decay
B) tax evasion
C) government
D) scofflaws and miscreants

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Which of the following statements about political news consumption is accurate?

A) Working-class people consume more political news than do wealthier people.
B) Older people consume more political news than do younger people.
C) Men consume considerably more political news than do women.
D) West Coast residents consume more political news than do East Coast residents.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What is demography?

A) the science of human populations
B) an "actual enumeration" of the population
C) the distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues
D) an accounting of who the American people are and what they believe

Answer 3

A

Question 4

What was Henry David Thoreau protesting in the 1840s when he refused to pay his taxes?

A) high tariffs
B) compulsory education
C) economic inequality
D) the Mexican War

Question 5

How does the textbook define political participation?

A) all the activities used by citizens to socialize their children to the political process
B) all the activities used by citizens to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue
C) a measure of the minimum requirements needed to vote
D) the capacity of individuals (or groups) to exert their own political will

Question 6

Why does the United States have a relatively restrained scope of government compared to most European nations?

A) the predominance of conservatives in the United States
B) the predominance of liberals in the United States
C) the absence of moderates in the United States
D) the absence of pluralist thinking in the United States

Question 7

What were the first immigration restrictions adopted by the United States?

A) no poor immigrants
B) no uneducated immigrants
C) no Chinese immigrants
D) no criminals or prostitutes

Question 8

Why is participation in the census so important?

A) participation indicates the legitimacy of government and of laws passed by Congress
B) changes in the U.S. population affect membership in political parties
C) information the census collects helps to determine how more than $400 billion in federal funding is spent each year
D) information from the census determines tax rates

Question 9

What is a principal provision of the 1986 Simpson-Mazzoli Act?

A) Employers must document the citizenship of their employees.
B) State and local police must perform roadside immigration checks.
C) The president must apprehend and deport legal and illegal immigrants if their home country is at war with the United States.
D) A diversity admissions category was created for legal permanent residents.

Question 10

How does Knowledge Networks ensure participation in its Web-based surveys?

A) Respondents are paid a small sum every time they participate.
B) Respondents are selected from the cell-phone-only segment of the population.
C) Respondents are randomly sampled.
D) Respondents must own their own computer.

Question 11

What three socializing agents are discussed in the textbook?

A) the family, the media, and political parties
B) the family, the schools, and the political parties
C) the media, the schools, and the family
D) the schools, the family, and politicians

Question 12

Which group makes up the smallest percentage of the minority population in the United States?

A) white, non-Hispanic
B) Hispanic
C) Native American
D) African American

Question 13

What is the effect of aging on political participation?

A) Aging decreases political participation until the need for government services among the very old causes an uptick in participation.
B) Aging decreases political participation among women, but not men.
C) Aging increases political participation until the infirmities of old age make it harder to participate.
D) Aging has no discernible effect on political participation.

Question 14

"Letter from a Birmingham Jail," penned by Martin Luther King,Jr.,in 1963,is a classic defense of __________.

A) consciously breaking an unjust law
B) conscientious objection
C) boycotting
D) tax resistance

Question 15

How does lower voter turnout among young citizens affect the composition of those who show up at the polls?

A) Conservatives are overrepresented at the polls.
B) Young citizens are overrepresented at the polls.
C) Democrats are overrepresented at the polls.
D) Liberals are overrepresented at the polls.

Question 16

What technique is the key to the accuracy of public opinion polls?

A) indexing
B) font selection
C) random sampling
D) in-person interviews

Question 17

Approximately what percentage of adult citizens voted in the 2014 midterm elections?

A) less than 50 percent
B) 60 percent
C) 70 percent
D) more than 80 percent

Question 18

Of the following,which form of participation are Americans most likely to engage in?

A) volunteering with a campaign
B) protesting
C) writing letters to the editor
D) contacting government officials

Question 19

According to decades of survey data,which ideological label are Americans most likely to choose for themselves?

A) libertarian
B) liberal
C) left-of-center
D) conservative

Question 20

The role of religion in influencing political ideology is most closely related to __________.

A) religiosity
B) baptism
C) denomination
D) creed

Question 21

How do liberals differ from conservatives?

A) Liberals are more likely than conservatives to envision a wide scope for the central government, often involving policies that aim to promote military intervention.
B) Liberals are more likely than conservatives to envision a wide scope for the central government, often involving policies that aim to promote equality.
C) Among people over the age of 30, slightly more are liberal than conservative.
D) Conservatives are more likely than liberals to want to tax our way out of debt and deficit problems.

Question 22

Which of the following generally increase with age?

A) liberalism and political tolerance
B) candidate loyalty and authoritarianism
C) political participation and suspicion of out-groups
D) political participation and strength of party attachment

Question 23

According to Russell Neuman,the "paradox of mass politics" is that the American political system works as well as it does despite __________.

A) the public's lack of knowledge about politics
B) the public's lack of consensus on matters of public policy
C) the growing polarization of public opinion
D) politicians' overreliance on public opinion polls

Question 24

Assume that Howard and Javier used proper sampling techniques to draw two samples of Hispanic Floridians. Each sample will be interviewed about proposed immigration policy reform and its impact on Hispanics living in the state. The samples were selected identically,but one includes 1,000 respondents and the other consists of 2,000 respondents. Given the information presented in this scenario,which of the following statements is true?

A) Howard and Javier will likely underestimate the impact of immigration reform on Florida's Hispanic population, given the size of their samples.
B) Howard and Javier will likely overestimate the impact of immigration reform on Florida's Hispanic population, given the size of their samples.
C) Howard and Javier can correctly assume that the sampling error for both surveyed samples will be the same.
D) Howard and Javier can be more confident of the results of the 2,000-person sample.

Question 25

James is embarrassed to admit that he does not know the names of his state's senators nor which party the governor of his state belongs to. He could not find the country of Afghanistan on a map if his life depended on it and rarely reads the news. He has voted only once and knows little about politics or government. James knows that he is not the only American so ill informed. Yet,despite James's surprising lack of knowledge,he is generally pleased with how well democracy seems to work in America. In this scenario,what does James embody?

A) the "paradox of mass politics"
B) the "bandwagon effect"
C) the "feeling thermometer"
D) "public opinion shorthand"

Question 26

You agree with Darrell M. West,who argues that the United States needs to reorient its immigration policy toward enhancing economic development. Which of the following potential immigrants do you think is most deserving of an immigrant visa?

A) a Turkish national with a promising new manufacturing process
B) the parents of neurobiologist L. S. Chung, a permanent legal resident from South Korea
C) a former Syrian army officer, now a refugee
D) a student-athlete from New Zealand who plays basketball and hopes to coach professionally in the future

Question 27

The textbook classifies political participation into two broad types. What are they?

A) elitist and pluralist
B) productive and unproductive
C) conventional and unconventional
D) casual and formal

Question 28

Which of the following viewpoints is more likely to be held by a political liberal than by a political conservative?

A) The United States should stop letting criminals hide behind the law.
B) Prayer belongs in school.
C) Taxes and spending should be kept low.
D) Government should regulate the economy in the public interest.

Question 29

What is the typical aim of protests in the United States?

A) making the government listen to specific demands
B) overthrowing the government
C) influencing voting behavior
D) informing the public about the candidates

Question 30

According to research by Jacobs and Shapiro,politicians use public opinion polls to __________.

A) tell them how to vote on legislation
B) determine what policies to pursue
C) identify centrist approaches to public policy
D) shape their messages to the public

Question 31

Which of the following is unconventional political participation?

A) running for an unopposed office
B) signing a petition in a school parking lot
C) gathering signatures for a proposed ballot measure
D) staging a sit-in

Question 32

Which of the following statements about American attitudes toward the scope of government is true?

A) A majority of Americans favor having unlimited government.
B) A majority of Americans think that the government should do more rather than do less.
C) A majority of Americans think the federal government should be streamlined.
D) A majority of Americans never think about the scope of government.

Question 33

Why do seats in the House of Representatives need to be reapportioned?

A) The number of seats each state has in the House is based on a state's population, which changes over time.
B) The majority party in the House of Representatives is determined by each state's proportion of party-affiliated voters.
C) The Constitution requires that each state's taxes be proportional to the size of its population.
D) Each congressional district must be redrawn to reflect changes in the state's population.

Question 34

Political protests are __________.

A) conventional and illegal
B) dramatic and unconventional
C) subtle and effective
D) casual and violent

Question 35

What was the effect of the 1924 immigration law that established official quotas for immigrants based on national origin?

A) The flow of immigrant families with children decreased.
B) The flow of low-income immigrant families from Mexico increased.
C) Most new immigrants were being reunited with family in the United States.
D) Most new immigrants were from northwestern Europe.

Question 36

According to the textbook,what is the most common form of political participation?

A) public opinion polls
B) civil disobedience
C) voting
D) protesting

Question 37

Which of the following is considered conventional political participation?

A) running for office as a third-party candidate
B) burning the American flag
C) blocking the entrance to a military installation
D) staging a sit-in on campus

Question 38

Alice will be 85 years old when the next presidential election arrives. Will she be likely to vote?

A) Alice will be likely to vote in 2014 because political participation rises steadily with age.
B) Alice will be unlikely to vote in 2014 because political participation falls steadily with age.
C) Alice will be likely to vote in 2014, unless the infirmities of old age make it too hard for her to cast a ballot.
D) Alice will be unlikely to vote in 2014 because interest in politics declines after retirement.

Question 39

Which of the following statements about the 1936 Literary Digest poll that predicted Roosevelt's reelection defeat is true?

A) The poll oversampled those with higher income.
B) The poll oversampled groups heavily Democratic in orientation.
C) The poll excluded owners of automobiles.
D) The poll undersampled middle-class voters who owned telephones.

Question 40

To determine if families with children would use school vouchers to send their children to charter schools,from which of the following populations should you select a sample?

A) women with children
B) citizens in the school district
C) parents
D) parents of children under age 18

Question 41

Citizens with above-average levels of political knowledge are more likely to have stable and consistent opinions on policy issues and to vote.

Question 42

Most polling is done on the telephone with samples selected through random-digit dialing.

Question 43

Conservatives generally favor the __________ sector.

A) service
B) government
C) private
D) public

Question 44

Many of the commercials that air during the nightly news broadcasts of ABC,CBS,and NBC seem to be for various prescription drugs. What is the most plausible explanation for this fact?

A) Today's generation of young adults is significantly less likely to read newspapers than their elders.
B) Political socialization is more important to governments than to individuals.
C) The median age of viewers of nightly news broadcasts is 63.
D) Children who develop positive feelings toward political authorities grow into adults who are not easily disenchanted with politics.

Question 45

In a random sample of 1,000 high school students,29 percent indicated that they had read the Declaration of Independence at least once,with a sampling error of 4 percent. Which of the following statements is true?

A) It is likely that more than 33 percent of the population have read the Declaration of Independence.
B) It is likely that fewer than 25 percent of the population have read the Declaration of Independence.
C) It is likely that between 25 and 33 percent of the population have read the Declaration of Independence.
D) It is likely that 29 percent of the population have read the Declaration of Independence between zero and five times.

Question 46

Opposing your state's redistricting plans by writing letters to all state-level representatives is an unconventional form of political participation.

Question 47

Better-educated citizens are more likely to vote,more knowledgeable about politics,and more tolerant of opposing opinions.

Question 48

Average grade-school youngsters spend more time each week watching television than they spend at school.

Question 49

If the poor participated at higher levels in the political process,what might happen?

A) government workers would likely unionize
B) government-run services would likely be privatized
C) government programs to help individuals invest their Social Security income would likely be higher on the political agenda
D) government programs to alleviate economic inequality would likely be higher on the political agenda

Question 50

Which of the following is a disadvantage of conducting a public opinion survey over the phone?

A) Unlisted numbers cannot be reached by telephone polls.
B) Federal law prohibits the use of automated random-digit-dialing programs to unlisted numbers.
C) People are substantially less willing to participate in polls over the telephone than in person.
D) Independents are less willing to participate in polls over the telephone than are partisans.

Question 51

Of the following,which is a form of political participation?

A) donating money to a charity for homeless veterans
B) working as a caseworker in a social services agency
C) compiling a statistical analysis on the demographic factors of students enrolled at a local community college
D) calling your representative to express your opinion about upcoming legislation

Question 52

Americans have a long history of favoring limited government.

Question 53

Women are more likely than men to cast their ballots for which type of candidate?

A) Democratic candidates who support higher levels of spending on the military as opposed to spending on social services
B) Republican candidates who support higher levels of spending on the military as opposed to spending on social services
C) Democratic candidates who support higher levels of spending on social services as opposed to spending on the military
D) Republican candidates who support higher levels of spending on social services as opposed to spending on the military

Question 54

Generally,the United States has a culture that values political participation.

Question 55

Politicians who believe that America's competitiveness in the globalized economy would be best served by allocating a substantial percentage of immigrant visas to people with special talents would be more likely than other politicians to repeal the __________.

A) Hart-Celler Immigration and Nationality Act
B) Civil Rights Act
C) Affordable Care Act
D) Simpson-Mazzoli Act

Question 56

Which of the following statements about immigration in the United States is true?

A) Federal law allows for the legal admission of about 1 million new immigrants every year.
B) In recent years, illegal immigrants have outnumbered legal immigrants.
C) The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that 5 percent of the nation's immigrants have become American citizens.
D) The U.S. Census Bureau estimates that immigrants represent 30 percent of the nation's population.

Question 57

Americans are generally more likely to participate in protests than are citizens of other democracies.

Question 58

When do blacks participate more in politics than whites?

A) when their levels of education are equal to those of whites
B) when their levels of income are less than those of whites
C) when they are heads of households
D) when they live in the South

Question 59

How does civil disobedience differ from a protest?

A) Civil disobedience involves violence; a protest is peaceful.
B) Civil disobedience is involuntary; a protest is voluntary.
C) Civil disobedience involves intentionally breaking a law; a protest involves getting attention from the media.
D) Civil disobedience involves unintentionally breaking a law; a protest involves intentionally breaking a law.

Question 60

Politicians tend to ignore __________.

A) those who participate
B) the wealthy
C) nonvoters
D) business interests

Question 61

Demographic changes in the U.S. population impact American culture and our political system.

Question 62

The family,the media,and the schools all serve as important agents of __________.

Question 63

Sampling error depends on the __________ of the sample.

Question 64

The strategy used by the Reverend Martin Luther King,Jr.,and others in the civil rights movement was influenced by India's __________.

Question 65

Public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and precision are called __________.

Question 66

The most common means of political participation in a democracy is __________.

Question 67

__________ encompasses the many activities in which citizens engage to influence the selection of political leaders or the policies they pursue.

Question 68

Perhaps surprisingly,no __________ gap is evident on the issue of abortion.

Question 69

A conservative Republican is more likely to benefit from the gender gap than is a moderate Democrat.

Question 70

Nonviolent __________ was one of the most effective techniques of the civil rights movement in the American South.

Question 71

What is the relationship between political protests and the media?

Question 72

Officeholders are likely to ignore the preferences of citizens who do not participate in politics.

Question 73

The __________ process occurs once a decade,after each census,when the 435 seats in the House of Representatives are reallocated to reflect each state's proportion of the population.

Question 74

What did John F. Kennedy mean when he said that America is "not merely a nation but a nation of nations"? Does Kennedy's conception of America still hold true?

Question 75

If "big government" solutions to social problems are deemed wasteful and impractical,public support for them declines.

Question 76

Many Americans are ideological liberals but operational conservatives,meaning that they favor big government in principle but oppose it in practice.

Question 77

The __________ is the constitutionally mandated "actual enumeration" of the population that occurs every 10 years.

Question 78

Americans who think that overall the government is too big but who want light rail systems installed in key traffic corridors illustrate the concept of ideological liberalism but operational conservatism.

Question 79

A sample is said to represent the entire population of registered voters in the United States. The total number of subjects in the sample is 1,000. Of these,approximately 180 should be white Americans.

Question 80

Aging increases strength of party attachment and political participation (until the infirmities of old age make it harder to participate).