Deck 11: Public Opinion

Question 1

Compared to other industrialized nations,the United States ranks ______ in voter participation.

A) near the bottom
B) in the top quarter
C) among the very highest
D) in the middle
E) about the same as most western European nations

Answer 1

A

Question 2

A citizen's ability to hold democratic beliefs,including the acceptance that politics is about compromise,is called ______.

A) democratic engagement
B) democratic enlightenment
C) democratic pragmatism
D) democratic virtue
E) democratic citizenship

Answer 2

B

Question 3

Which of the following statements concerning the roles of ideology and partisanship in shaping public opinion is NOT true?

A) Much of the current division in American politics can be expressed in ideological or partisan terms.
B) Party labels provide mental cues that we use in interpreting and responding to personalities and news.
C) Partisan sorting means that the average Democrats and Republicans are farther apart ideologically than was the case in previous decades.
D) An ideology is a set of ideas about the world, whereas partisanship is an enduring allegiance to a party.
E) Most Americans are too moderate or nonpartisan for these concepts to have much influence on them.

Answer 3

E

Question 4

The textbook does NOT argue the following:

A) Self-interest is a source of division in public opinion.
B) Self-interest is a source of agreement in public opinion.
C) The major focus of self-interest is economic well-being.
D) Many people express opinions that seem to run counter to concerns over self-interest.
E) Self-interest is one of several factors affecting opinions.

Question 5

Self-interest is a source of ______.

A) agreement in society
B) manipulation by politicians in society
C) the lack of support for good public policies only by the uneducated in society
D) divisions in society
E) socialization in society

Question 6

A plebiscite is ______.

A) a proposed constitutional convention to update the Constitution
B) a law that grants ex-felons the right to vote
C) an amendment to the Constitution
D) a parliamentary system to replace the current system of separation of powers
E) a popular vote on national policy issues

Question 7

Education is a source of all of the following EXCEPT this:

A) socialization
B) apathy
C) democratic enlightenment
D) democratic engagement
E) tolerance

Question 8

If you are conducting a horse race poll,you want your sample to comprise ______.

A) an overrepresentation of those with more education
B) likely voters
C) all those over the age of eighteen
D) only those who identify with a political party
E) all American citizens

Question 9

Regarding tolerance,Americans are generally ______.

A) supportive of general issues, such as free speech, but less supportive when asked to extend rights to unpopular groups
B) very intolerant
C) less tolerant the more educated they are
D) unwilling to share their views on tolerance
E) extremely tolerant of all different viewpoints

Question 10

Which of the following statements concerning the relationship between age and opinions is NOT true?

A) People tend to become more politically engaged as they become middle aged and older.
B) Groups of citizens of the same age can be shaped by the same political events.
C) People tend to become more conservative as they age.
D) Young people are more likely to be influenced by current political trends.
E) As older generations die, overall opinions in the population change.

Question 11

Of the following,which pair of items concerning socialization is NOT linked properly?

A) preschool years and patriotism
B) school and citizenship
C) groups and the spiral of silence
D) the media and socialization by major political and social events
E) the media and ideological orientation

Question 12

Which of the following is NOT mentioned in the textbook as an agent of socialization?

A) the family
B) the Internet
C) schools
D) peers
E) social groups

Question 13

The gender gap is especially large on issues of ______.

A) equality
B) government involvement in the lives of citizens
C) social values
D) violence
E) justice

Question 14

American voter turnout for national elections is ______.

A) the highest among industrialized nations
B) about average among industrialized nations
C) the lowest, or among the lowest, among industrialized nations
D) consistently in third place among industrialized nations

Question 15

Which of the following is NOT an argument put forth by the textbook's authors?

A) The higher the level of education, the more tolerance people tend to demonstrate on surveys.
B) Education may be related to knowing the right answers rather than actually being more tolerant.
C) There are important cases in American history in which the educated elites were the leaders of intolerant behavior.
D) In many ways, less educated people are more tolerant than educated people.
E) Some observers argue that elites are the protectors of our democratic values.

Question 16

Public opinion not only should matter but also does matter in American politics because ______.

A) the public pays close attention to public policymaking
B) the public votes on the basis of well-informed policy views
C) the public is quick to react to all policy decisions that may not serve its interests
D) politicians and the media act as if it matters
E) the media is diligent in keeping the public well informed

Question 17

Tolerance is a key democratic value because ______.

A) it makes people feel good
B) most people believe in it
C) we should love our neighbors
D) the founders were tolerant
E) it is a prerequisite for compromise

Question 18

One advantage of direct contact between elected officials and the public versus the use of public opinion polls is that direct contact ______.

A) allows Congress to talk to more people collectively than pollsters talk to when taking polls
B) makes it less likely that certain public concerns will be overlooked
C) is always more accurate than a poll
D) provides more representative samples of public opinion
E) requires less time than it takes to conduct polls

Question 19

According to the text,the current process of political socialization in the United States ______.

A) teaches us tolerance for the political values of other nations
B) trains us to support and obey the existing political system
C) teaches us to think independently and critically
D) is the primary function of a college education
E) has no legitimate function

Question 20

According to studies,Americans tend to be ______.

A) very knowledgeable about politics
B) not very knowledgeable about politics
C) knowledgeable about issues but not knowledgeable about officeholders
D) knowledgeable about officeholders but not knowledgeable about issues
E) knowledgeable about the political system but not knowledgeable about issues or candidates

Question 21

The role of public opinion in government today is strongly debated because ______.

A) on the one hand, we want our opinions to be heard, but on the other hand, we don't want politicians to blindly follow public opinion
B) people always trust their own opinions but never the opinions of others
C) measuring public opinion accurately is nearly impossible
D) Congress listens only to a few people's opinions when crafting policy
E) politicians become beholden to special interests when they follow public opinion

Question 22

The authors of the textbook argue that Americans behave as ideal citizens as ______,although as ______ they do not.

A) a group; individuals
B) individuals; a group
C) voters; individuals
D) individuals; voters
E) subjects of public opinion polls; voters

Question 23

We can conclude from the history of polling that ______.

A) polls are unreliable
B) polls were developed for the purpose of manipulating the public
C) politicians loved polls when they were introduced but now have learned to distrust polls
D) polls are reliable only when they are timely and have been conducted using the proper procedures
E) polls rarely do a good job of predicting the outcome of presidential elections

Question 24

Which of the following statements concerning the relationship between gender and public opinion is NOT true?

A) Women now tend to vote at a slightly higher rate than men.
B) Men have become more conservative in recent years.
C) Women favor the death penalty
D) Women are more likely than men to be Democrats.
E) The opinion gap between men and women is particularly large on issues involving violence.

Question 25

One concern about the wording of questions in polls is that the person being sampled will be unfamiliar with a subject and thereby ______.

A) never participate in a poll again
B) inflate the "don't know" category, making the results meaningless
C) refuse to answer the question
D) be unlikely to finish the polling session
E) give responses solely based on cues picked up from the context of the interview or the question

Question 26

Benchmark polls and tracking polls are two types of ______.

A) campaign polls
B) national polls
C) pseudo-polls
D) push polls
E) exit polls

Question 27

Which of the following statements is NOT true?

A) Women tend to vote at a higher rate than men.
B) Blacks are less likely than whites to favor prayer in public schools.
C) Protestants are the only religious group whose members are more likely to be Republicans than Democrats.
D) Rural residents are more likely to favor traditional values.
E) Whites are more conservative on the death penalty.

Question 28

The process by which citizens take their political cues from more well-informed opinion leaders is known as ______.

A) the two-step flow of information
B) elite democracy
C) political socialization
D) on-line processing
E) rational ignorance

Question 29

The relationship between sample size and sampling error is ______.

A) the smaller the sample, the smaller the sampling error will be
B) the larger the sample, the smaller the sampling error will be
C) sampling error and poll size are unrelated
D) the wording of the poll questions will determine sampling error
E) sampling size and sampling error are related only if the poll contains sampling bias

Question 30

When politicians try to determine public opinion by listening to their supporters and friendly interest groups,they are likely to face the problem of ______.

A) erroneous data
B) sampling error
C) sample bias
D) push polling
E) straw men polling

Question 31

Today,the most likely cause of sampling bias in polls is ______.

A) interviewers' reluctance to go into "bad" neighborhoods
B) the growing number of homeless people who are not sampled
C) the pollsters' own biases
D) the overrepresentation of the middle class in modern polls
E) when a person is picked for the sample and he or she cannot be contacted or refuses to participate

Question 32

The collective decisions of citizens reflect a greater level of knowledge than public opinion polls reflect because of all of the following EXCEPT this:

A) on-line processing
B) the desire to hide our real views from pollsters
C) the two-step flow of communication
D) reliance on opinion leaders
E) reasons for our opinions that we cannot articulate

Question 33

Rational ignorance refers to ______.

A) the belief that a lack of tolerance may be acceptable under certain circumstances
B) the state of being uninformed about politics because the cost in time and energy does not produce tangible or measurable results
C) voters realizing that they do not understand most political issues
D) the realization that politics is unimportant and has little impact on our lives, and thus, there is no need to participate
E) a person's desire to vote but not to become informed

Question 34

Unscientific polls that are often conducted by newspapers and politicians to determine who is ahead in a political race are called ______ polls.

A) straw
B) interest
C) tracking
D) exit
E) benchmark

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT true regarding religion?

A) Issues of concern to those who are religious generally do not involve dividing up the economic pie.
B) Jews are strongly Democratic.
C) Catholics are less conservative than are Protestants.
D) Catholics are strongly Republican.
E) Secularists tend to be more supportive of abortion rights than are fundamentalists.

Question 36

The authors of the textbook argue that public opinion matters because ______.

A) it should matter
B) the public has far more power to influence events than politicians realize
C) the public is too knowledgeable for politicians to ignore
D) the news media covers public opinion and thereby gives it more importance than politicians would prefer
E) politicians and the media treat public opinion as if it matters

Question 37

Sampling error refers to ______.

A) a situation in which a sample is not representative of the larger universe being measured
B) mistakes made in the recording of responses in a poll
C) the number of mistakes made by a pollster
D) a situation in which question wording biases the results
E) a number that indicates within what range the results of a poll are accurate

Question 38

The portion of the population selected to participate in a poll is known as the ______.

A) population
B) public
C) focus group
D) deliberative group
E) sample

Question 39

Benchmark polls ______.

A) are good ways to track how a candidate is doing throughout the campaign
B) are instrumental in designing campaign strategy
C) are relied on by the media for information on the campaign
D) have caused the public to question the accuracy of polls
E) allow pundits to analyze voting on Election Day

Question 40

With respect to constructing survey questions,all of the following statements are true EXCEPT this one:

A) Respondents are often willing to give opinions on subjects about which they know little or nothing.
B) Questions should not be ambiguous.
C) Similar questions can yield surprisingly different answers.
D) The order in which questions are asked can change the results.
E) Surveys tend to underestimate the racial tolerance of the American people.

Question 41

The process by which we learn our political orientations and allegiances is called political adherence.

Question 42

Compared to other industrialized nations,the United States ranks in the top five percent in voter participation.

Question 43

Which of the following statements concerning sampling bias is NOT true?

A) Pollsters are often unaware of the problem of sampling bias.
B) The chief source of sampling bias today is nonresponse.
C) Changing patterns of telephone technology and use are part of the reason for sampling bias today.
D) Older women tend to be oversampled, whereas younger men tend to be undersampled.
E) Pollsters compensate for undersampling by the use of weighting.

Question 44

Which of the following statements concerning technology and polling is NOT true?

A) Telephone interviewing replaced in-person polling.
B) Robo polling is the replacement of people with computers.
C) Reliance on cell phones by citizens creates a challenge for pollsters.
D) Pollsters now create panels of citizens who regularly answer online questions.
E) Autodialing is one method of overcoming the problems caused by citizen reliance on cell phones.

Question 45

The danger of majority tyranny in a democracy most likely would result from ______.

A) majority rule without the tempering influence of debate and discussion
B) the growing influence of the media
C) the tendency of citizens to vote emotionally in elections
D) too many procedural restraints on Congress
E) an uninformed public

Question 46

Tracking polls are significant because they ______.

A) are able to catch daily changes in public opinion that other horse race polls cannot
B) help candidates devise their campaign strategies
C) have caused the public to question the accuracy of polls
D) are inexpensive to conduct
E) allow pundits to make predictions on Election Day

Question 47

A survey question such as "How many times in the past few months have you used drugs?" is problematic because ______.

A) the question is confusing
B) it is likely that few people have thought about the issue
C) the question is not balanced
D) the question is worded as a double negative
E) the question is ambiguous and loaded

Question 48

The process by which a majority opinion becomes exaggerated because minorities do not feel comfortable speaking out in opposition is called the spiral of silence.

Question 49

Good survey questions meet all of the following criteria EXCEPT this one:

A) They are unambiguous.
B) They are always short.
C) They ask about subjects that people are familiar with and that they have thought about.
D) They do not use loaded language.
E) They offer a reasonable number of choices.

Question 50

If you are to be a critical watcher of polls,among the issues of concern are all of the following EXCEPT this:

A) Where's the data?
B) Does the poll agree with your position?
C) How are the questions worded?
D) Who sponsored the poll
E) What questions were asked?

Question 51

The authors conclude that,in general,the accuracy of election polls is ______.

A) quite good
B) fair
C) good in some years but very poor in other years
D) generally poor
E) not able to be determined

Question 52

A citizen's ability to hold democratic beliefs,including the acceptance that politics is about compromise,is called ______.

A) democratic enlightenment.
B) fair trade.
C) reaching across the aisle.
D) "politics as usual."

Question 53

According to the text,the current process of political socialization in the United States trains us to support and obey the existing political system.

Question 54

Internet polls are ______.

A) unreliable
B) highly reliable
C) reliable if they are conducted by professional pollsters
D) reliable only if the right types of questions are asked
E) more reliable than exit polls or tracking polls

Question 55

Which of the following statements concerning exit polls is NOT true?

A) They are used by the networks to declare winners in national elections.
B) They are a form of pseudo-poll.
C) They are intended to provide information for analyzing the results of an election.
D) They are taken from people who have just voted.
E) They have a mixed record as a method for declaring who has won a state in a national election.

Question 56

A survey question such as,"Do you support or oppose being allowed to take the Lifetime Learning Credit during years in which you pay for postsecondary education with a distribution from an education IRA?" is problematic because ______.

A) the question is loaded
B) the question is not balanced
C) it is likely that few people have thought about the issue
D) the question is worded as a double negative
E) the question is ambiguous

Question 57

The gender gap is especially large on issues of ______.

A) pay
B) violence
C) voting
D) education

Question 58

Which of the following is NOT true regarding polling?

A) Sampling bias is not generally a problem that plagues pollsters.
B) A sample of 1,000 to 2,000 respondents can be very representative of the entire U.S. population.
C) How the question is worded can lead a person to give significantly different answers.
D) Few differences exist between those who choose to participate in polls and those who do not.
E) A poll that showed Candidate A with 48 percent of the vote and Candidate B with 45 percent of the vote, with a sampling error of 3 percent, means that we can be 95 percent sure that Candidate A is leading.

Question 59

Public opinion pollsters will often ask respondents their opinions on complex issues and public policies.Research indicates these questions are most likely used to ______.

A) create sampling error
B) ask respondents a poorly worded question
C) ask respondents a loaded question
D) ask respondents to express an opinion about something they do not know
E) ask respondents an ambiguous question

Question 60

A plebiscite is a popular vote on national policy issues.

Question 61

In recent years,the influence of ideology and partisanship on political divisions in American society has changed.Define these two terms,and then discuss how they influence political divisions today.

Question 62

When politicians try to determine public opinion by listening to their supporters and friendly interest groups,they are likely to face the problem of _______.

Question 63

Defenders of exit polls argue that they are not intended to predict the winner of an election in progress.What do they say such polls are intended to do?

Question 64

Unscientific polls that are often conducted by newspapers and politicians to determine who is ahead in a political race are called ______ polls.

Question 65

Why is sample bias problematic?

Question 66

______ refers to the state of being uninformed about politics because the cost in time and energy does not produce tangible or measurable results.

Question 67

The portion of the population selected to participate in a poll is known as the ______.

Question 68

______ refers to a number that indicates within what range the results of a poll are accurate.

Question 69

The relationship between sample size and sampling error is the larger the sample,the ______ the sampling error will be.

Question 70

The state of being uninformed about politics because of the cost in time and energy is known as ______.

Question 71

What are the three main objectives to keep in mind with respect to asking the right questions on a survey?

Question 72

What two shortcuts to political knowledge are discussed in the text?

Question 73

In recent years,ideology has become a more important factor in creating political divisions in American society.

Question 74

The textbook identifies four characteristics of ideal citizenship and concludes that only some Americans live up to them.The authors argue,however,that Americans as a group behave in a much more rational manner than one would expect from their failure to meet the characteristics.Name the four characteristics,and discuss the evidence for the authors' conclusion that most Americans do not meet the standards.Explain how Americans as a group can behave so rationally if they are not rational as individuals.

Question 75

Why should public opinion matter in a democracy,and why does public opinion matter?

Question 76

Pseudo-polls are becoming increasingly common.Discuss the different types of pseudo-polls that exist.How do these polls differ from what pollsters would consider to be legitimate polling? What problems do pseudo-polls create?

Question 77

From the time we are born,many things shape our political attitudes and beliefs.Discuss how our opinions are formed.What aspect of political socialization do you believe has the biggest impact on opinions? Why?

Question 78

______ are instrumental in designing campaign strategy.

Question 79

Pollsters use the technique of ______ to compensate for underrepresentation of a group in a sample.

Question 80

Benchmark polls and tracking polls are two types of ______ polls.