Deck 5: Interest Groups and Social Movements

Question 1

According to the text, business interests make up ______________ of all active interest groups in the United States.

A) 1 percent
B) 20 percent
C) more than half
D) more than 75 percent
E) 99 percent

Answer 1

C

Question 2

As the number of interest groups has increased since the 1970s, interest groups have become more

A) professional.
B) participatory.
C) inclusive.
D) decentralized.
E) voluntary.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Social movements differ from interest groups in that social movements

A) are more bureaucratic.
B) are a more demanding form of political participation.
C) are more hierarchical.
D) are more formally organized.
E) rarely try to influence public policy.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

______________ are organizations that political actors form to influence public policy.

A) Social movements
B) Interest groups
C) Political parties
D) Governments
E) Bureaucracies

Question 5

According to the text, the most influential interest groups are those that represent

A) labor unions.
B) corporate interests.
C) people of color.
D) environmental activists.
E) senior citizens.

Question 6

The three participants in an iron triangle are

A) a social movement, a political party, and a congressional subcommittee.
B) an interest group, a political party, and a federal agency.
C) an interest group, a social movement, and a federal agency.
D) an interest group, a congressional subcommittee, and a federal agency.
E) a social movement, a political party, and a federal agency.

Question 7

Interest groups differ from political parties because, unlike political parties, interest groups

A) raise money.
B) mobilize voters.
C) campaign for candidates.
D) do not nominate candidates to run for public office.
E) express policy preferences of constituents.

Question 8

The situation that occurs when people take advantage of some public good or common resource without paying their fair share of it is called

A) externality.
B) human nature.
C) the free-rider problem.
D) the path of least resistance problem.
E) the tragedy of the commons problem.

Question 9

The following are all examples of interest groups except

A) the Republican Party.
B) Mothers Against Drunk Driving.
C) the National Rifle Association.
D) the Sierra Club.
E) the Business Roundtable.

Question 10

Of the following, which is the best example of the free-rider problem?

A) the difficulty many interest groups have in gaining access to members of Congress
B) the difficulty many interest groups have in developing their mission statement
C) the problems facing members of Congress trying to raise money from interest groups
D) the difficulty municipal transportation systems have in getting riders to pay their fares
E) the difficulty faced by leaders of interest groups in getting citizens to contribute to the groups

Question 11

According to the text, the rise in the number of interest groups can be attributed to all of the following except

A) institutional changes in Congress, making interest group participation more accessible.
B) success of social movements in developing expertise on special issues.
C) social movements shifting from protest activity to lobbying.
D) the increased influence of "iron triangle" formations in the post-1960s era.
E) civil rights, women's rights, consumer rights, and environmental groups developing more permanent organizational structures.

Question 12

According to the text, the primary check on the interest group advantages of business interests is

A) the power of labor groups to outspend business groups.
B) environmental groups employing more lobbyists.
C) stronger lobbying capacity of groups representing low-income people.
D) the spotlight of sustained public attention-the power of democracy.
E) the commitment of one individual whistleblower.

Question 13

According to the text, opponents of the Iraq War were less likely than opponents of the Vietnam War to engage in mass demonstrations because

A) there was less opposition to the Iraq War than to the Vietnam War.
B) there were more students enrolled in college during the Vietnam War.
C) there were more electoral opportunities available to opponents of the Iraq War.
D) the government lied more about the Vietnam War.
E) the government lied more about the Iraq War.

Question 14

All of the following statements about interest groups are true except

A) they nominate candidates to run for office.
B) they are organizations formed by citizens to influence policymakers.
C) they raise money.
D) they mobilize voters.
E) they campaign for candidates.

Question 15

As voter turnout declined in the last half of the twentieth century, interest group activity

A) plummeted sharply.
B) decreased slightly.
C) remained about the same.
D) increased.
E) none of the above. It's so difficult to measure interest group activity that it's impossible to compare it with changes in voter turnout.

Question 16

Efforts by interest groups to influence not only policymakers but the wider public are called

A) campaigning.
B) propaganda.
C) grassroots politics.
D) targeted lobbying.
E) all-directional lobbying.

Question 17

Occupy Wall Street is an example of a(n)

A) interest group.
B) illegal organization.
C) social movement.
D) political party.
E) public disturbance.

Question 18

Voting, interest group activity, and social movements are all forms of

A) enfranchisement.
B) protest politics.
C) party membership.
D) political participation.
E) campaign contributions.

Question 19

Social movements differ from interest groups because social movements tend to

A) entail greater risks for movement participants.
B) be more bureaucratic.
C) be more formally organized.
D) be more hierarchical.
E) be a less demanding form of political participation.

Question 20

Occupy protesters organized around all of the following issues except the

A) increase in historically unprecedented levels of income and wealth inequality.
B) decline of American values resulting from an increase of immigration.
C) inordinate influence of corporations and financial firms on the political system.
D) lack of decent jobs.
E) mortgage foreclosure crisis.

Question 21

When union membership was at its peak, unionized workers comprised ______________ percent of the work force.

A) 15
B) 25
C) 35
D) 45
E) 55

Question 22

Professional advocacy groups

A) have decreased in number in recent years.
B) have resulted in a sharp drop in the number of new voices in the political arena.
C) rely heavily on dues-paying members.
D) could not exert any influence without strong local chapters.
E) have increased class-based inequalities in the interest group system.

Question 23

According to the text, all of the following are true about U.S. social movements except

A) they arise in response to changes in the political environment that create new political opportunities.
B) they develop a sense of moral legitimacy and empowerment among participants.
C) they create "free spaces" to develop alternatives to the mainstream culture.
D) they continually narrow the scope of political conflict so as to restrict the range and number of social movement participants.
E) they begin with narrow demands that escalate and radicalize members.

Question 24

In support of its claim that "there is still movement in the labor movement," the text points to all of the following except

A) unions' use of "corporate campaigns" to publicize unsavory conduct by companies such as Wal-Mart.
B) unions are now more willing to appeal to community groups.
C) union households continue to be a dependable voting bloc.
D) unions now realize that strikes are more effective weapons than ever before.
E) over half of workers report they would like to join a union.

Question 25

According to the text, examples of a conservative think tank include all of the following except

A) the Koch Brothers.
B) the Heritage Foundation.
C) the Manhattan Institute.
D) the Cato Institute.
E) the Republican Party.

Question 26

______________ is the type of bargaining that occurs when unions negotiate on behalf of workers with employers over wages, hours, benefits such as health insurance, and working conditions.

A) Individual bargaining
B) Independent bargaining
C) Collective bargaining
D) Corporate bargaining
E) Managerial bargaining

Question 27

The Taft-Hartley Act

A) made it easier for unions to organize.
B) made collective bargaining illegal.
C) was passed in the 1930s.
D) was passed by a Congress in which Democrats controlled both houses.
E) was passed by a Congress in which Republicans controlled both houses.

Question 28

In efforts to address the free-rider problem, interest groups

A) use material incentives, but never purposive incentives.
B) use material incentives and purposive incentives.
C) use purposive incentives but not material incentives.
D) use neither purposive incentives nor material incentives.
E) none of the above. None of the previous choices makes sense because there is no difference between a material incentive and a purposive incentive.

Question 29

An example of a purposive incentive is a

A) wage or salary increase.
B) travel voucher.
C) health or dental benefit.
D) opportunity to work from home.
E) opportunity to express common values and realize common goals.

Question 30

In support of their efforts to gain union recognition, workers in the 1930s

A) voted but did not engage in any other activities.
B) voted and contacted government officials but did not engage in any other activities.
C) picketed but did not engage in any other activities.
D) picketed and went on strike, but did not engage in any other activities.
E) picketed, went on strike, and occupied factories.

Question 31

John L. Lewis was

A) the leader of the Montgomery bus boycott.
B) a union leader who spearheaded formation of the CIO.
C) a union leader who opposed the formation of the CIO.
D) the only U.S. senator to vote against the National Labor Relations Act.
E) the only U.S. senator to vote against the Taft-Hartley Act.

Question 32

According to the text, all of the following happened in the 1950s and 1960s except that

A) the American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the CIO grew further apart, extinguishing hopes that they would ever merge.
B) many managers reluctantly accepted unions as legitimate bargaining agents.
C) as a result of unions, workers' security, living standards, and political influence all increased.
D) labor's gains were attained through strikes whose rate of incidence was higher than in any other Western democracy.
E) contracts in one industry became the basis for contracts in other industries.

Question 33

According to the text, all of the following contributed to the decline of labor unions except

A) the growth of occupations (such as the service sector) in which labor unions were weak.
B) the growth of regions (such as the South) in which labor unions were weak.
C) increased automation that made it easier for companies to break strikes.
D) changes in labor laws that made it harder for unions to organize.
E) increased competition led companies to raise wages in an effort to persuade workers they didn't need unions.

Question 34

The Montgomery bus boycott took place in

A) 1935.
B) 1945.
C) 1955.
D) 1965.
E) 1975.

Question 35

According to the text, the Montgomery bus boycott illustrates the claim that

A) individual acts of defiance rarely succeed.
B) it is morally wrong for social movements to use violence.
C) it is foolish for social movements to expect the courts to support the movements' demands.
D) social movements rarely begin with radical demands.
E) the civil rights movement learned many of its tactics from the environmental movement.

Question 36

Private, not-for-profit organizations that investigate public policy issues are called

A) political parties.
B) think tanks.
C) interest groups.
D) political action committees.
E) lobbying companies.

Question 37

The text cites MoveOn.org primarily to illustrate

A) the growing strength of conservative interest groups.
B) why social movements always achieve their goals.
C) the effect of the Internet on interest groups.
D) why it's essential that an interest group have strong local chapters.
E) how major corporations manipulate the interest group system.

Question 38

The National Labor Relations Act guaranteeing workers the right to form unions was passed in

A) 1930.
B) 1935.
C) 1940.
D) 1945.
E) 1950.

Question 39

Union membership reached its peak in

A) 1935.
B) 1945.
C) 1955.
D) 1965.
E) 1975.

Question 40

The formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) was significant largely because

A) it was the first labor union to limit its membership to highly skilled workers.
B) of its insistence that strikes were immoral.
C) of its insistence that strikes were useless even though they were moral.
D) it was a company union that got almost all its money in secret donations from corporations.
E) it welcomed unskilled workers in industries such as auto, steel, rubber, and textiles.

Question 41

Summarize what the text says about unions and labor relations in the 1950s and 1960s.

Question 42

What is a professional advocacy group? What have been the consequences of the proliferation of such groups?

Question 43

According to the text, the Montgomery bus boycott illustrates five qualities of social movements. Summarize these five qualities.

Question 44

When and under what circumstances was the National Labor Relations Act passed? What were its main provisions and consequences? When and under what circumstances was the Taft-Hartley Act passed? What were its consequences?

Question 45

What is an "iron triangle," how does it work, and what is its significance in U.S. politics?

Question 46

Summarize the reasons why the text says that business interests don't always win in politics, even though they are "bigger, stronger, and faster" than other groups.

Question 47

The phrase "the personal is political" is most associated with which of the following?

A) the labor movement
B) the first wave of the women's movement
C) the civil rights movement
D) the second wave of the women's movement
E) the religious right

Question 48

The Nineteenth Amendment, which enfranchised women, was ratified in

A) 1890.
B) 1910.
C) 1920.
D) 1930.
E) 1940.

Question 49

Summarize the text's discussion about the causes of the proliferation of interest groups since the 1970s.

Question 50

In what ways has the interest group system changed since 1970?

Question 51

Environmental justice refers to the aspect of the environmental movement that

A) says most people in state prisons can be rehabilitated by becoming environmental activists.
B) stresses that environmentalists must be treated fairly when arrested during demonstrations.
C) stresses that environmentalists should focus on taking polluters to court.
D) is concerned with the relation between environmental issues and racial and class inequality.
E) is primarily concerned with improving environmentally focused scientific research.

Question 52

Summarize the main events in the history of the Montgomery bus boycott.

Question 53

The successes of second-wave feminism include all of the following except

A) making discrimination against women illegal.
B) equity for women's sports.
C) raising awareness about socially constructed gender goals.
D) passage of the Equal Rights Amendment (ERA).
E) getting women admitted to military academies.

Question 54

The text frames "equality of opportunity" as a politically contested term. Summarize the two views of the "equality of opportunity" and the role of government in each. Which do you find more persuasive?

Question 55

What conditions in the United States and events in the labor movement led to the formation of the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO)? In what ways did the CIO differ from the American Federation of Labor (AFL)? What were the consequences of the formation of the CIO?

Question 56

According to the text, all of the following are goals of the Tea Party movement except

A) lowering tax rates.
B) reducing government spending on social programs.
C) eliminating regulations on businesses.
D) curbing immigration.
E) reducing military spending.

Question 57

What factors have led to the weakening of labor unions?

Question 58

Summarize the similarities and differences between interest groups and social movements.

Question 59

The second wave of women's movement activism began in

A) the mid-nineteenth century.
B) the late nineteenth century.
C) the 1920s.
D) the 1940s.
E) the 1960s.

Question 60

Summarize the data and examples presented by the text in support of its claim that groups representing corporate interests are the most influential interest groups.

Question 61

Summarize the main characteristics of each of the three waves of activism in the women's movement discussed in the text, making sure to indicate when each of these waves occurred.

Question 62

What are the differences between what the text calls the fundamentalist and pragmatic wings of the contemporary environmental movement?

Question 63

Summarize the main characteristics of each wave of environmental activism discussed in the text.

Question 64

What are the differences between conservationists, preservationists, and those who subscribe to the ecological perspective?

Question 65

Summarize the reasons why "there is still movement in the labor movement" even though the contemporary labor movement is depleted and disarmed.