Deck 6: Public Opinion, Political Socialization, and the Media

Question 1

Having a college education

A)no longer means that an individual is likely to vote for a particular party.
B)is associated with a greater tendency to vote Democratic.
C)is associated with a greater tendency to vote Republican.
D)is associated with opposition to cultural liberalism.
E)is associated with a greater tendency to abstain from voting.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Private opinion becomes public opinion when

A)it, regardless of its subject matter, is publicly expressed.
B)it concerns public issues and is publicly expressed.
C)an individual is polled by a major polling organization.
D)it is not divided.
E)it is articulated to at least ten other people.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

The transfer of political values

A)is more likely to occur from children to parents.
B)is more likely to occur from parents to children.
C)is just as likely to occur from children to parents as it is to occur from parents to children.
D)is exceptionally rare in families.
E)never occurs from children to parents.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

The process by which people acquire political beliefs and attitudes is called

A)opinion leadership.
B)political socialization.
C)agenda setting.
D)peer grouping.
E)consensus building.

Question 5

The generational effect refers to the

A)way in which political socialization produces opinions.
B)increased tension between the two major political parties.
C)tendency for persons to become more conservative as they grow older.
D)long-lasting impact of significant events of a particular time on the generation that came of age at that time.
E)way in which the family influences opinions.

Question 6

During which period is public opinion most likely to shift toward conservatism?

A)successful Republican governance
B)successful Democratic governance
C)poor Republican governance
D)poor Democratic governance
E)both successful Democratic governance and poor Democratic governance.

Question 7

The Fairness Doctrine

A)was overturned as unconstitutional in the mid-2000s.
B)required radio and television to be balanced in presenting controversial issues.
C)led to the rise of conservative talk radio.
D)applied only to television but never to radio.
E)is why we have both liberal and conservative cable news networks today.

Question 8

​The impact of new media (cable news, blogs, and talk radio) on political socialization has been

A)​largely neutral, as the present balanced views in a moderate way.
B)​to lure liberals to the right and conservatives to the left.
C)​to further polarize the public by cementing and radicalizing their already conservative or liberal views.
D)​to lure moderates and centrists to the conservative camp.
E)​to lure moderates and centrists to the liberal camp.

Question 9

The influence of parents over their children's political socialization

A)only occurs in strongly political families.
B)is due to the declining influence of schools and the media.
C)is due to the rise of home-schooling.
D)is because of children seeing parents as an authority on politics.
E)is due to constant communication and receptivity of children to their parents' views.

Question 10

Peer groups are most likely to influence political attitudes when

A)people are over the age of fifty.
B)it is not an election year.
C)people within peer groups do not have strong party identification.
D)they are actively involved in political activities.
E)their members are all of the same gender.

Question 11

Public opinion in the United States tends to be more _____________ than political elites in areas such as religion in public schools, but more ______________ in areas such as Social Security spending.

A)​conservative; liberal
B)​liberal; conservative
C)​secular; liberal
D)​conservative; libertarian
E)​libertarian; centrist

Question 12

The new forms of media

A)have brought Americans closer to each other politically.
B)such as talk radio have been dominated by liberals.
C)like blogs have often changed people from liberals to conservatives.
D)like blogs, talk radio, and cable news channels have increased political polarization.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 13

The most important early sources of political socialization are

A)family and the media.
B)schools and the media.
C)family and political parties.
D)family and schools.
E)political parties and schools.

Question 14

The aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs shared by some portion of the population is ​

A)public opinion.
B)political socialization.
C)consensus.
D)ideology.
E)political culture.

Question 15

General agreement among the citizenry on an issue is

A)a consensus.
B)a divisive opinion.
C)a reconciliation.
D)a poll agreement.
E)no longer a public opinion.

Question 16

Those who identify as libertarian tend to be concentrated

A)along the West coast.
B)along the East coast.
C)among the poor.
D)among the wealthy.
E)in the middle class.

Question 17

In recent years

A)businesspersons have moved toward supporting the Democrats.
B)professionals with advanced degrees have moved toward supporting the Democrats.
C)businesspersons have remained largely Democratic.
D)professionals with advanced degrees have remained largely Republican.
E)it has become clear that there is no relationship between whether a person is a businessperson or a professional and the party he or she will endorse.

Question 18

An opinion poll in which 79% of respondents express the same answer reflects a

A)compromise position.
B)unified socialization.
C)divided opinion.
D)consensus opinion.
E)public opinion.

Question 19

In a recent study, high school students most often said they base their views on information they obtained from

A)mass media.
B)family.
C)peers.
D)school.
E)church.

Question 20

An opinion leader is

A)one who is able to influence the opinions of others because of position, expertise, or personality.
B)a pollster.
C)always someone whose job is to sway public opinion, such as a member of Congress.
D)a public relations expert.
E)someone who relies on position or expertise, rather than something like personality.

Question 21

Which of the following is an incorrect statement?

A)Overall, Hispanics have favored the Democrats.
B)Cuban Americans are more likely to support Republicans than Democrats.
C)Asian American groups have usually leaned to the Democrats.
D)Muslim Americans today represent one of the nation's most Democratic blocs.
E)Most African Americans have supported the Republican Party since the 1930s.

Question 22

The increase in the share of the electorate that is __________ poses a problem for __________.

A)Hispanic; the Republican Party
B)Hispanic; the Democratic Party
C)Asian; the Democratic Party
D)African American; the Democratic Party
E)culturally Southern; the Republican Party

Question 23

In polling, the difference between the sample's results and those that would have been obtained had the entire population been interviewed is

A)a failure of randomness.
B)a sampling error.
C)unlikely to happen at all.
D)likely to be very large.
E)a statistical miscalculation.

Question 24

Usually, the Gallup or Roper polls interview

A)people three to four times to ensure accuracy.
B)fewer than 2,000 people in a nationwide sample.
C)over 100,000 people in each random sample for presidential elections.
D)people who have been selected based on their intelligence.
E)using quota samples.

Question 25

The results of an opinion poll

A)are usually reported in terms of a specific number.
B)should be reported as a range of numbers to be more accurate.
C)are usually accompanied by a specific margin of error.
D)may be reported daily as a tracking poll.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 26

If two polling firms asked identical questions of the same group of 1,000 people, yet reported different results, this difference would likely be caused by

A)failure to achieve a random sample.
B)sampling error.
C)the house effect.
D)push polling.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 27

Voting patters are less predicted by __________ than by ___________.

A)Protestantism; Catholicism
B)race; religion
C)religion; religious commitment
D)fundamentalism; evangelicalism
E)fundamentalism; Protestantism

Question 28

To accurately represent the target population, a small sample should be

A)randomly selected.
B)representative of the whole group.
C)representative in terms of demographic traits (age, region, religion, race, and the like).
D)representative in terms of opinions.
E)All of these choices are true.

Question 29

In presidential elections, manual laborers, factory workers, and union members are

A)more likely to vote for Republican candidates.
B)more likely to vote for Democratic candidates.
C)likely to split their vote between the two major parties.
D)more likely to vote for socialist candidates.
E)more likely to vote for communist libertarian candidates.

Question 30

African Americans today tend to be

A)more conservative than whites on all issues.
B)less liberal than whites on all issues.
C)supportive of the Republican Party.
D)somewhat conservative on certain cultural issues such as gay marriage and abortion.
E)independents and not supportive of either Republicans or Democrats.

Question 31

American women are more likely to support

A)capital punishment.
B)restrictions on access to abortions.
C)social welfare programs.
D)military interventions abroad.
E)legislation restricting the rights of homosexuals.

Question 32

When Literary Digest incorrectly predicted the results of the 1936 election after polling only its own readers, its failure was because

A)its readers were asked to guess as to the outcome, rather than offering up their own opinions.
B)it had not obtained a random sample of the population.
C)its readers were generally wealthy, and not reflective of the population at large.
D)its readers were asked to guess as to the outcome, rather than offering up their own opinions, and it had not obtained a random sample of the population.
E)it had not obtained a random sample of the population, and its readers were generally wealthy, and not reflective of the population at large.

Question 33

A random sample means that

A)every person in the target population has an equal chance of being selected.
B)there is no pre-planning in the selection process.
C)every person in the target population who is encountered is selected.
D)researchers decide how many persons of certain types they need in the survey.
E)the poll is unscientific.

Question 34

Women are more likely than men to

A)disagree with extending civil rights to homosexuals.
B)vote Republican.
C)support capital punishment.
D)oppose the use of force abroad.
E)support cuts to social welfare.

Question 35

​The idea of a gender gap is

A)​the difference in voter turnout among men and women.
B)​the long-standing history of women favoring Democrats over Republicans.
C)​the long-standing history of women favoring Republicans over Democrats.
D)​the tendency of women to be more libertarian than men.
E)​the difference in the percentage of women voting for a certain candidate and the percentage of men doing the same.

Question 36

Historically, __________ have been among the most powerful influences on public opinion.

A)concerns about education
B)privacy concerns
C)concerns about war
D)concerns about healthcare
E)economic concerns

Question 37

​In the 2012 elections, the group of voters most strongly opposed to President Barack Obama was

A)​those who identify as culturally Southern.
B)​the white working class.
C)​the wealthy.
D)​those who identify as socially liberal.
E)​both those who identify as culturally southern and the white working class.

Question 38

Jewish voters tend to

A)vote for candidates who are politically conservative.
B)vote at a lower rate than Protestants.
C)focus almost totally on domestic issues.
D)be more liberal than average on economic and cultural issues.
E)be similar to the overall population in political preferences.

Question 39

Polls may be more accurate if the sample is

A)truly random.
B)weighted to correct missing data from underrepresented groups.
C)weighted to make up for day-to-day swings in public sentiment.
D)corrected for pollster bias.
E)truly random and weighted to correct missing data from underrepresented groups.

Question 40

All of the following are true of public opinion polls EXCEPT

A)for the most part, major pollling organizations have a good record of predicting the outcome of presidential races.
B)knowing what makes a poll accurate is not as important as the results of the poll.
C)polls based on random samples are the most valid.
D)polling firms can weight the sample to correct for underrepresented groups.
E)well-designed polls based on probability samples may result in 95 percent accuracy.

Question 41

Discuss the process of political socialization in children, being sure to highlight the sources of socialization and the ways in which children might be a source of socialization for others.​

Question 42

Push polls

A)have been determined to be illegal in twenty-three states.
B)are always conducted face to face rather than by telephone.
C)are so controversial that very few candidates have chosen to use them.
D)were used widely in the 1960s and 1970s, but when they became associated with the dirty politics of those eras, they were disregarded by most candidates.
E)are now used throughout all levels of U.S.politics-local, state, and federal.

Question 43

Public perceptions of the most important problem facing the nation

A)vary greatly by political party.
B)tend to be stories that have been given a large volume of media coverage.
C)have steadily focused on economic issues since the Great Depression.
D)have steadily focused on foreign policy issues since September 11, 2001.
E)are something polls rarely measure.

Question 44

Internet polls may be inaccurate because

A)most women are not on the Internet.
B)most men are not on the Internet.
C)most African Americans are not on the Internet.
D)they lack a random sample.
E)it is impossible to weight the sample.

Question 45

Since 2007, the public has shown the LEAST amount of confidence in

A)the military.
B)Congress.
C)religious organizations.
D)the U.S.Supreme Court
E)public schools.

Question 46

The values that shape American political culture include shared beliefs about the most important values in the American political system, including liberty, equality, and

A)justice.
B)economic prosperity.
C)diversity.
D)property.
E)government control of the economy.

Question 47

Public confidence in

A)the military has increased likely due to the military's role in the war on terrorism.
B)religion has decreased due to sex scandals.
C)Congress has increased due to the passage of healthcare reform.
D)the military has increased likely due to the military's role in the war on terrorism, and in religion has decreased due to sex scandals.
E)Congress has increased due to balancing the federal budget.

Question 48

Recent allegations of polling fraud have included

A)concerns about secret in-house weights being added to results.
B)concerns that results were fabricated.
C)concerns that reader surveys are being published as scientific polls.
D)Skype users flooding poll results with duplicate entries.
E)concerns that results were fabricated and concerns that reader surveys are being published as scientific polls.

Question 49

Establishing the context of a media report is called

A)framing.
B)agenda setting.
C)priming.
D)political contextualization.
E)political socialization.

Question 50

The answers given by respondents to poll questions are influenced by all of the following EXCEPT

A)the order in which questions are asked.
B)poorly designed questions that are hard to understand.
C)a yes/no format that restricts the respondents' choices.
D)compensation offered to the respondents.
E)the possible range of answers to the questions presented.

Question 51

Public opinion polls

A)show a steady and high level of Congressional approval.
B)only reflect the opinions of registered voters.
C)only reflect the opinions of likely voters.
D)can set informal limits on government action.
E)reflect broad consensus on the issue of immigration.

Question 52

One of the problems with polls is

A)they may fail to measure the impact of undecided voters.
B)because they are a snapshot in time, polls may fail to detect last-minute shifts in the electorate.
C)they are based on a random sample.
D)the results are affected by the news media.
E)they may fail to measure the impact of undecided voters and because they are a snapshot in time, polls may fail to detect last-minute shifts in the electorate.

Question 53

In __________, the Supreme Court found that corporations could claim the rights of religious freedom.

A)Citizens United v.FEC
B)Bush v.Gore
C)Griswold v.Connecticut
D)Hobby Lobby v.Obama
E)Burwell v.Hobby Lobby

Question 54

The question of whether employers should be required to include coverage for birth control methods in their employee insurance plans

A)arose in the 1970s as a consequence of Roe v.Wade.
B)has yet to be addressed by the Supreme Court.
C)was resolved by the Supreme Court as applying to all employers, regardless of religious affiliation.
D)arose in 2012 as a consequence of the Affordable Care Act.
E)raised questions of exemptions for businesses that could not afford contraception coverage.

Question 55

Since the early 1990s, the American people have consistently shown more confidence in _________ than in any other institution.

A)public schools
B)organized labor
C)big business
D)the military
E)television news

Question 56

Public opinion affects the political process

A)because it is a source of power for elected officials who take positions supported by the people.
B)despite the fact that most candidates dismiss public opinion as an effective means of identifying issues of concern.
C)because it allows the media to control the government.
D)because it is more important than elections in bringing about change in the government.
E)despite the fact that public opinion polls hardly ever reflect public opinion accurately.

Question 57

All of the following are true of public opinion and polls EXCEPT

A)polls show that people give Congress a high rating.
B)polls consistently give the military a high rating.
C)public opinion can have an impact on government policies.
D)public opinion can put limits on what government does.
E)polls indicate that a majority of the public believe that public opinion should influence public policy.

Question 58

Cell phones present a problem for pollsters for all of the following reasons EXCEPT

A)cell numbers are not listed in telephone directories.
B)it is illegal to using robopolling to contact cell phone users.
C)cell phone users may be located anywhere.
D)cell phones are more common among younger Americans.
E)most cell users have a landline, thus resulting in being "double polled."

Question 59

Respondents are given misleading information in the questions they are asked in order to persuade them to vote against a candidate in

A)convention polls.
B)publicity polls.
C)push polls.
D)scientific polls.
E)pundit polls.

Question 60

Regarding the influence of public opinion on policy making

A)a majority of both the public and policy makers feel that public opinion should have a great deal of influence.
B)a minority of the public feel that public opinion should have a great deal of influence, while policy makers hold the opposite view.
C)a minority of both the public and policy makers feel that public opinion should have a great deal of influence.
D)a majority of the public feel that public opinion should have a great deal of influence, while policy makers hold the opposite view.
E)we don't really know what the public tends to believe.

Question 61

​The use of media by candidates for public office is part of the media's role in

A)​entertainment.
B)​providing a political forum.
C)​earning profits.
D)​reporting the news.
E)​political socialization.

Question 62

The greatest number of radio and television hours are dedicated to

A)entertainment.
B)local news.
C)national news.
D)international news.
E)opinion journalism.

Question 63

Explain the roles of religion and religious commitment in predicting political attitudes and beliefs.

Question 64

Discuss the ways in which public opinion shifts toward left/liberal or right/conservative positions, as a reaction to government itself.​

Question 65

Explain the ways in which cell phones have affected polling and why this issue is important.

Question 66

The media influences the political socialization of younger Americans and immigrants by doing all of the following EXCEPT

A)transmitting historical information.
B)presenting American culture.
C)portraying diverse regions in the United States.
D)portraying diverse groups in the United States.
E)providing a source of neutral, factual political information.

Question 67

When the media uncovers public wrongdoing and brings that wrongdoing to the public's attention, it is engaged in which role of the media?

A)entertaining the public
B)socializing new generations
C)providing a political forum
D)making profits
E)setting the public agenda

Question 68

Discuss the ways in which public opinion influences policymakers and the limits to this means of the public controlling government actions.​

Question 69

Online versions of newspapers

A)now have more subscribers than cable news has viewers.
B)have led to a resurgence of the newspaper industry.
C)have difficulty selling enough advertising to cover their costs.
D)are highly profitable.
E)are free to consumers.

Question 70

Which institutions in the United States hold American's trust and which do not? Explain the reasons why some institutions are held in high esteem and others are not.

Question 71

The need to make a profit increases the pressure that media feels from

A)the president.
B)Congress.
C)lobbyists.
D)advertisers.
E)public television.

Question 72

Describe the ways in which social media on the Internet can be employed by candidates and political groups.

Question 73

Priming can be defined as a way in which the media

A)​limits access to opinionated information.
B)​sets the public agenda of what government ought to do.
C)​alters public perceptions of an issue by embedding that issue in particular stories.
D)​seeks to make a profit.
E)​socializes new generations about major political issues.

Question 74

Explain the principle of randomness in polling and connect this principle to at least one other technique or problem in polling.

Question 75

Today, most Americans obtain their national and international news from

A)television news.
B)newspapers.
C)news radio.
D)the Internet.
E)news magazines.

Question 76

The power of the media to determine what the government ought to do is referred to as​

A)framing.
B)priming.
C)setting the public agenda.
D)political socialization.
E)content aggregation.

Question 77

National Public Radio (NPR) is __________ most media in the United States, in that it is __________.

A)unlike; publicly owned
B)like; publicly owned
C)unlike; privately owned
D)like; privately owned
E)like; for-profit

Question 78

Explain how demographic influences shape voting behavior.

Question 79

Describe the significance and possible origins of the gender gap.

Question 80

By 2010, more people obtained national news from __________ than from __________.

A)national television news; talk radio
B)local television news; the Internet
C)the Internet; a newspaper
D)a newspaper; the Internet
E)the internet; foreign news networks