Deck 7: Public Opinion

Question 1

If any given voter has an equal chance of being in a survey,the sample is best described as a sample.

A)random
B)stratified quota
C)split
D)two-stage
E)bifurcated

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The Preamble to the U.S.Constitution lists all of the following goals of government EXCEPT

A)union.
B)justice.
C)liberty.
D)democracy.
E)tranquility.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Exit polls are conducted

A)just after a voter registers to vote.
B)during the national conventions.
C)on election day at polling places.
D)after each presidential debate.
E)when voters change their party identification.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

The difference between the results of two surveys or samples is called

A)research flaws.
B)sampling error.
C)type one error.
D)type two error.
E)confidence error.

Question 5

U.S.Senators were not popularly elected until 1913

A)since no one thought to change the Constitution.
B)to encourage democracy at the state level.
C)because public opinion only temporarily favored it in 1912.
D)as a defense to the people against their own temporary error and delusions.
E)because permanent majorities were not allowed to amend the Constitution.

Question 6

Although early studies of American public opinion and voting found low information levels,they also found that Americans were pretty good at

A)working the system to get the policies that they desired.
B)contacting candidates on a regular basis.
C)discussing complex political issues.
D)employing cues to select policies,parties,and candidates that most nearly reflected their values and interests.
E)explaining the workings of government and major currents in law.

Question 7

The Framers created a government for the purpose of

A)unifying citizens.
B)achieving certain substantive goals.
C)efficiency in the administration of justice.
D)accomplishing the will of the people.
E)ensuring that the will of the majority would be realized.

Question 8

A public opinion pollster might need to make as many as phone calls just to get about one thousand respondents for a survey.

A)2,000
B)4,000
C)6,000
D)10,000
E)15,000

Question 9

Since 1952,most major polls have

A)picked the winner of the presidential election.
B)sampled fewer people each year.
C)sampled more people each year.
D)been administered by mail.
E)been flawed.

Question 10

In his analysis of public opinion concerning school vouchers,Terry M.Moe found that citizens supplied with basic information can

A)have an in-depth understanding of the issue.
B)participate in a very knowledgeable debate regarding the issue.
C)adopt their positions for good substantive reasons.
D)fail to understand the issue.
E)become more trustful of the government.

Question 11

According to the results from a "U.S.Citizenship Test" administered by Newsweek magazine,only of the test takers knew that the U.S.House of Representatives had 435 members.

A)75 percent
B)25 percent
C)14 percent
D)4 percent
E)48 percent

Question 12

One reason that public policy often differs from public opinion is that

A)the U.S.Constitution places many checks on the influence of public opinion.
B)public opinion polling tends to express the opinions of a political elite.
C)public opinion is easy to gauge,whereas the effectiveness of public policy is not.
D)public opinion tends to change much more slowly than public policy.
E)public opinion is rarely informed at the beginning of the policymaking process.

Question 13

During a local and national survey by the University of Cincinnati,researchers asked individuals whether they favored passage of the Monetary Control Bill and found that

A)public opinion was deeply divided.
B)public opinion unanimously condemned the legislation.
C)many people expressed views about the legislation,although it was entirely fictitious.
D)the legislation was still pending.
E)Congress had passed the legislation only two days before the surveys were conducted.

Question 14

Which best describes the Framers' opinion on the role of public opinion in government?

A)The Framers thought that public opinion should play only a limited and indirect role in making public policy.
B)The Framers favored a direct role for the public in policy making.
C)The Framers felt that our experience as colonies of Great Britain showed us that the public needs to vote on most major issues of government.
D)The Framers wanted the United States to be a direct democracy.
E)The Framers felt that the public's role should be limitless.

Question 15

Which factors can influence the results of a poll?

A)Question wording
B)Question order
C)Sampling technique
D)Question wording and order and sampling technique all influence poll results.
E)None of these choices influences poll results.

Question 16

James Madison felt that direct popular participation in the decisions of government was

A)a recipe for disaster.
B)an eventual goal of the new republic.
C)to be achieved by amending the Constitution.
D)the problem with the British form of government.
E)the desire of his political enemies.

Question 17

If properly conducted,a survey of public opinion can capture opinions of 300 million citizens by interviewing as few as respondents.

A)300
B)500
C)1,000
D)1,500
E)3,000

Question 18

The first major studies of public opinion and voting,published in the 1940s,found that

A)most Americans were well informed about politics even though they did not vote regularly.
B)most Americans voted regularly and were well informed about politics.
C)a small group of Americans voted but were not well informed about politics.
D)a small group of Americans were informed,but most Americans were not.
E)it was difficult to generalize about Americans when it came to politics.

Question 19

Through a process called ,the pollster makes a list of all the geographical units in the country and groups them by size of their population.

A)stratified or multistage sampling
B)bifurcated sampling
C)snowball sampling
D)convenience sampling
E)split sampling

Question 20

The Framers knew that in a nation as large and diverse as the United States there would rarely be any such thing as "public opinion;" rather there would be

A)no organized opinion.
B)one determining point of view of most issues.
C)many "publics" holding many opinions.
D)one powerful interest group dominating the debate.
E)chaos of opinion.

Question 21

Cleavages in public opinion are more common in the United States than in many other countries because the United States

A)has a socially diverse population.
B)is a relatively classless society.
C)has a high degree of religious freedom.
D)places a high value on social equality.
E)is more protective of freedom of press.

Question 22

is the process by which personal and other background traits influence one's views about politics and government.

A)Political socialization
B)Political identification
C)Political memory
D)Political positioning
E)Political foundation

Question 23

Which statement regarding the voting habits of men/women is correct?

A)Both men and women voting reflect very similar points of view.
B)The gender gap that is evident between their points of view is new.
C)Men are more likely to favor activist policies.
D)Women are more likely to favor activist policies.
E)Abortion is the largest source of differences between men and women.

Question 24

While occupational differences are narrower than in the 1950s,there are still substantial differences between

A)working and upper classes.
B)businessmen and professionals.
C)the very rich and everyone else.
D)lower and working classes.
E)managers and laborers.

Question 25

The impressionable years hypothesis states that

A)young people's political attitudes are strongly influenced by what happens in their mid­teens and twenties.
B)important electoral years in American history strongly influence voting patterns afterwards.
C)children tend to vote as their parents did.
D)people's politics change after events that leave an impression on their memories.
E)people all become politically active at the same time.

Question 26

Religious political differences in the United States appear

A)by denomination.
B)by sect.
C)by how often the individual attends services.
D)by race.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 27

Demographic information's predictions of individual opinions are

A)only a good guess.
B)very accurate.
C)completely misleading.
D)better average at predicting.
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 28

Americans speak of "social class" with

A)pride.
B)embarrassment.
C)contempt.
D)lack of knowledge.
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 29

Women are more likely than men to oppose

A)universal health care.
B)environmental protection regulations.
C)reducing military spending.
D)anti-poverty programs.
E)activist government.

Question 30

Based on the 2012 survey by the Pew Global Attitudes Project,this nation had the lowest percentage of individuals who held a favorable view of the American people.

A)Pakistan
B)Jordan
C)France
D)South Korea
E)Turkey

Question 31

Today,adults under 30 are markedly similar to senior citizens persons age 65 and older)in their opinions on

A)social security.
B)single-parenting.
C)immigration.
D)size of government.
E)None of these choices are true.

Question 32

Latino public opinion tends to

A)look very similar on jobs,education,and foreign policy to other Americans.
B)look very similar on immigration reform to other Americans.
C)diverge from the rest of the United States the longer the Latino has lived in the US.
D)lack a generational gap.
E)The studies on Latino public opinion are too recent to tell.

Question 33

What trait has been shown to influence one's political opinions?

A)Age
B)Gender
C)Religion
D)Race
E)Age,gender,religion,and race have been shown to influence one's political opinions.

Question 34

The text suggests that our genetic background explains

A)some of our political ideology.
B)some of our party identification.
C)some of our political socialization.
D)some of our group memberships.
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 35

If not by genetic background,families likely transmit politics through

A)family discussions of politics.
B)family political activism.
C)the political cues of their parents.
D)Family discussion,activism,and the political cues of parents are all true.
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 36

People of all religions who attend worship services regularly are more likely to vote

A)Republican.
B)Independent.
C)Democrat.
D)Green Party.
E)Constitutional Party.

Question 37

Simple questions are not necessarily better than complex questions because

A)Americans refuse to answer simple questions.
B)Americans' views on policy are complicated.
C)Americans do not have opinions on simple policy questions.
D)simple questions do not provide good data.
E)simple questions are more susceptible to question order problems.

Question 38

The gender gap in American policy is least pronounced on

A)abortion.
B)helping the poor.
C)helping the elderly.
D)foreign policy.
E)general size of government.

Question 39

The partisan anchors of American political ideology are defined by

A)position on social issues and economic issues.
B)geographic region and socioeconomic class.
C)financial stress and pessimism
D)gender.
E)religious beliefs.

Question 40

When using the term "elite," social scientists are referring to

A)people who are better than others.
B)people who have some valued resource,such as money,schooling,prestige,or political power.
C)people born into the "right" family.
D)people with royal titles.
E)only the people that hold political office.

Question 41

Which of the following statements is incorrect?

A)Democratic members of Congress tend to be consistently liberal.
B)Republican members of Congress tend to be consistently conservative.
C)Democratic members of Congress tend to be more liberal than Democratic voters.
D)Republican members of Congress tend to be more conservative than Republican voters.
E)The policy preferences of Democratic and Republican voters are generally the same.

Question 42

One reason that political elites are more consistent in their ideological beliefs than the average citizen is that they are

A)less influenced by peers.
B)less influenced by factors such as religion and family.
C)smarter.
D)better informed.
E)more influenced by religion.

Question 43

A heuristic is an)

A)research program for learning about policy.
B)rational decision in politics.
C)voting method used in some states.
D)special organization that informs voters.
E)information shortcut to make a decision.

Question 44

A coherent and consistent set of beliefs about what policies government ought to pursue is referred to as

A)political efficacy.
B)public opinion.
C)pragmatism.
D)realism.
E)political ideology.

Question 45

The process of voters aligning their preferences with their party is

A)polarization.
B)electoral coordination.
C)political ideology.
D)party sorting.
E)partisanship.

Question 46

According to the text,African Americans are

A)somewhat Republican.
B)largely Republican.
C)generally Independent.
D)somewhat Democratic.
E)overwhelming Democratic.

Question 47

According to the text,Americans' knowledge of politics is

A)very good.
B)usually up on current events,but nothing else.
C)by any measure,woefully ignorant.
D)good about the workings of the government,but not current office holders or events.
E)better at the local level.

Question 48

Policy will tend to follow the minority view

A)when the minority is right.
B)when the minority is well organized and politically engaged.
C)when the minority is poorly organized.
D)never.
E)always.

Question 49

are today the nation's largest minority group with more than 50 million people.

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

Question 50

The Founders' distrust of public opinion can be seen in

A)their suspicion of too much popular control.
B)the system of indirect democracy.
C)their concern for "transient majorities."
D)their limiting of direct elections to the House of Representatives only.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 51

When an individual's views are consistently conservative or liberal,we say that person is ideologically

A)tuned.
B)constrained.
C)aligned.
D)placed.
E)sealed.

Question 52

Political activism is correlated most closely with

A)political conservatism.
B)libertarian politics.
C)gender.
D)class differentiation.
E)ideological consistency.

Question 53

V.O.Key's classic research in the 1950s found that differences in public opinion were closely associated with

A)ethnicity.
B)race.
C)gender.
D)occupation.
E)religion.

Question 54

When public opinion shifts,policy tends to

A)remain stable.
B)move in the opposite direction.
C)follow public opinion.
D)follow only the opinion of the political elite.
E)follow only the opinion of the general public.

Question 55

African Americans are more likely than whites to

A)support affirmative action.
B)think the criminal justice system is biased against them.
C)have low confidence in the police.
D)think the government should guarantee food and shelter.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 56

In America,we often refer to political elites as

A)activists.
B)special interests.
C)politicos.
D)socialites.
E)the ruling class.

Question 57

Compared with European countries such as Great Britain,France,and Germany,class voting in the United States has

A)risen sharply.
B)remained relatively steady.
C)declined sharply.
D)always been more common.
E)increased slightly.

Question 58

Most Americans' political ideology is

A)internally consistent.
B)in lockstep with their partisan affiliation.
C)something they think about constantly.
D)very important to them,personally.
E)incoherent.

Question 59

Partisan elected officials tend to have ideologies that are

A)more consistent than other Americans.
B)less consistent than other Americans.
C)show the same variation as other Americans.
D)are more consistent for Republicans than Democrats.
E)are more consistent for Democrats than Republicans.

Question 60

Voter heuristics allow voters to make the decisions they want to make when

A)relying on the class background of politicians.
B)the lack of information also affects their political attitudes.
C)they can identify politically relevant actors to understand and follow.
D)they are well informed about politics,generally.
E)None of these choices is true.

Question 61

Voters follow their party leaders blindly.

Question 62

Public policy is invariably consistent with public opinion.

Question 63

A person's age tends to not have much effect on that individual's political opinions.

Question 64

Younger people are uniformly more liberal than their elders.

Question 65

The more informed a person is about politics,the more likely he or she is to be ideologically consistent in his or her thought.

Question 66

The gender gap in U.S.public opinion sees women voting more Democratic than men.

Question 67

The proportion of citizens who claim to be independents has declined in recent years.

Question 68

When it came to civil liberties and civil rights,Madison and the other Framers were not willing to empower even persistent majorities or subject fundamental freedoms to a popular vote.

Question 69

The only meaningful religious distinction in the United States is between Protestants and Catholics.

Question 70

One way in which the family forms and transmits political beliefs is by its religious tradition.

Question 71

The Founding Fathers believed that most average citizens lacked the time,information,energy,interest,and experience to decide on public policy.

Question 72

Demographic information is enough to accurately predict an individual's opinions.

Question 73

We have recently learned that our genetic background may explain some of our political ideology.

Question 74

The text suggests that it is increasingly more difficult to conduct reliable polling with the traditional land line methods.

Question 75

Social class influences American public opinion more than European public opinion.

Question 76

Early academic studies of public opinion found that voters were generally informed about issues and governmental processes.

Question 77

Studies suggest that steadfast conservatives lean toward the Republican Party.

Question 78

What role did the Framers think public opinion should play in government?

Question 79

Based on public opinion research,the American public is highly knowledgeable about government.

Question 80

Most Americans do not employ the words "liberal" or "conservative" when explaining their political beliefs and
preferences.