Deck 13: Groups and Interests

Question 1

James Madison argued that organized interests would have less opportunity to dominate the political process if the nation

A)was large with diverse interests.
B)was small with diverse interests.
C)was large with common interests.
D)was small with common interests.
E)had a strong party system.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

Interest-group politics tend to reflect the bias of

A)religious activists.
B)unemployed and homeless persons.
C)low-wage service employees.
D)well-educated, upper-income professionals.
E)unionized workers.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

The Natural Resources Defense Council, Common Cause, and the Christian Coalition of America are groups driven primarily by

A)labor interests.
B)moral interests.
C)the public interest.
D)economic interests.
E)the research lobby.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

According to the pluralist doctrine, competing interests will lead to

A)corporatism.
B)class warfare.
C)consumerism.
D)consolidation.
E)compromise.

Question 5

Which term describes an organized group of individuals or organizations that makes policy-related appeals to government?

A)corporation
B)lobbying firm
C)interest group
D)political action committee
E)527 group

Question 6

How do interest groups help improve the principal-agent relationship between politicians and voters?

A)They give money to voters to reward them for turning out to vote.
B)They share information about the preferences of constituents, the effects of policies, and the actions of politicians.
C)They sue legislators who have betrayed their commitments to voters.
D)They help politicians stage Astroturf campaigns.
E)They provide selective incentives to politicians who are good principals.

Question 7

When a set of environmentalists banded together to form the Sierra Club to influence government policy, they created a(n)

A)corporation.
B)lobbying firm.
C)interest group.
D)political action committee.
E)527 group.

Question 8

Which one of the following political organizations is most likely to represent the interests of the unemployed in Washington, D.C.?

A)AFL-CIO
B)Common Cause
C)Democratic Party
D)Small Business Administration
E)Department of Housing and Urban Development

Question 9

To build a financial structure capable of sustaining an organization and funding the group's activities, what do most interest groups primarily rely on?

A)public expenditures and tax credits
B)grants from charitable foundations
C)research contracts and royalties from intellectual properties
D)selling of ancillary services such as insurance or vacation tours
E)membership dues and voluntary contributions

Question 10

The theory that all interests are and should be free to compete for influence in the government is called

A)pluralism.
B)determinism.
C)capitalism.
D)interest-group liberalism.
E)functionalism.

Question 11

According to Madison, how are the problems of factions best controlled?

A)The government exercises its coercive powers to control group activities that become violent or subversive.
B)The government places limits on the number of interest groups allowed in society.
C)The government encourages the formation of many groups so that no single interest can tyrannize over the others.
D)The government places limits on the amount of money groups may contribute to political campaigns.
E)The government gives corporations the same legal status as people.

Question 12

According to the Madisonian theory, what does a good constitution promote?

A)many interest groups
B)firm regulation of interest groups
C)a limited number of interest groups
D)government subsidies for interest groups
E)tax breaks for interest groups

Question 13

Harvard University, the Brookings Institution, and the American Enterprise Institute help make up what is known as the __________ lobby.

A)moral
B)beltway
C)business
D)consumer
E)research

Question 14

In order to obtain adequate political representation, forces from the bottom rungs of the socioeconomic ladder must be organized together on a massive scale through

A)labor unions.
B)interest groups.
C)political parties.
D)conscriptive service.
E)creative redistricting.

Question 15

In order to attract members, most interest groups appeal to potential members not only by advertising their political goals but also by

A)offering jobs to all members in their Washington, D.C., offices.
B)threatening the livelihood of people who refuse to join.
C)providing direct economic and social benefits to group members.
D)lobbying state legislatures to make group membership mandatory for affected citizens.
E)advertising their organizers' personal ambitions.

Question 16

Which of the following explains the growth and presence of interest groups in Washington, D.C., in the 1930s?

A)the dramatic expansion of the national government
B)a sharp uptick in the number of political entrepreneurs
C)the leftist movement that gained hold during the Great Depression
D)federal deregulation of interest-group formation
E)the development of radio and broadcast media

Question 17

What is the relationship between government activity and interest-group activity?

A)As government activity declines, interest-group activity increases.
B)As government activity increases, interest-group activity declines.
C)As government activity increases, interest-group activity increases.
D)Interest-group activity increases regardless of government activity.
E)Interest-group activity decreases regardless of government activity.

Question 18

When many organized interests mobilized to support tax cuts for the wealthiest 1 percent of Americans, it illustrated the

A)low political knowledge of Americans.
B)influence of religious activists.
C)upper-class bias of interest groups.
D)influence of union groups.
E)political power of service and industrial workers.

Question 19

The American Farm Bureau Federation and the National Petrochemical Refiners Association are examples of interest groups driven primarily by

A)labor interests.
B)moral interests.
C)the public interest.
D)economic interests.
E)the research lobby.

Question 20

Interest groups tend to concern themselves with the

A)policies of government.
B)personnel of government.
C)issues relevant to businesses.
D)issues relevant to individual citizens.
E)issues relevant to foreign nations.

Question 21

Union members who label other members as scabs for their refusal to strike is an example of

A)union opposition.
B)bad behavior.
C)political entrepreneurship.
D)solidary support.
E)coercion.

Question 22

Which of the following explains why cooperation in groups can be difficult to achieve?

A)rowboat matrix
B)prisoner's dilemma
C)splintering postulation
D)cliffhanger conundrum
E)tragedy of the high schooler

Question 23

In the prisoner's dilemma, each player has a dominant strategy that leads to an outcome in which

A)all players win.
B)all players lose.
C)no one wins or loses.
D)one player wins while the others lose.
E)half of the players win and half lose.

Question 24

Which of the following was a major technological factor contributing to the rise and success of new political forces in the 1970s and 1980s?

A)computerized direct-mail campaigns
B)random digit dialing for telemarketing
C)public access programming required for city cable system franchises
D)HTML protocols for initial website development
E)the development of SMS text messaging

Question 25

The sharing of a commonly developed ideology with other group members is an example of __________ benefits.

A)solidary
B)material
C)purposive
D)informational
E)substantive

Question 26

Many women's organizations claim that active participation conveys to each member an enhanced sense of her own value as well as a stronger ability to advance individual and collective civil rights.This type of solidary benefit has come to be called

A)ego engagement.
B)consciousness-raising.
C)self-esteem awareness.
D)enlightened feminization.
E)gender-specific self-actualization.

Question 27

According to Mancur Olson, what is the solution to the collective action problem?

A)selective benefits
B)selective activities
C)selective membership
D)selective action
E)selective incorporation

Question 28

Selective benefits that emphasize the purpose and accomplishments of the group are known as __________ benefits.

A)solidary
B)material
C)purposive
D)informational
E)substantive

Question 29

The emergence of AARP after the creation and expansion of Social Security and Medicare exemplifies which of the following?

A)social movement
B)public interest
C)reactionary response
D)social networking
E)expansionism

Question 30

According to Mancur Olson, small groups are able to overcome the collective action problem more easily than large groups because small groups

A)are generally not formed for self-interest reasons.
B)are more personal and thus more vulnerable to interpersonal persuasion.
C)are generally formed by labor interests, which are better at enforcing collective action.
D)have fewer resource needs.
E)tend to focus on providing public goods instead of private goods.

Question 31

The fact that a group of individuals would all benefit from draining a swamp but that any individual can shirk his or her part of the duties illustrates the concept of

A)free riding.
B)negative externalities.
C)positive externalities.
D)collective optimization.
E)groupthink failures.

Question 32

Special newsletters, periodicals, training programs, and conferences provided to members of interest groups to entice others to join are examples of __________ benefits.

A)solidary
B)material
C)purposive
D)informational
E)substantive

Question 33

When theorizing about social situations involving collective action, researchers often rely on the metaphor of the

A)perplexed citizen.
B)prisoner's dilemma.
C)cowboy's quandary.
D)extroverted file clerk.
E)omnivore's dilemma.

Question 34

Special goods, services, or money provided to members of groups to entice others to join are examples of __________ benefits.

A)solidary
B)material
C)purposive
D)informational
E)substantive

Question 35

In the prisoner's dilemma, adherence to self-interest in accordance with the rationality principle

A)helps an individual gain freedom.
B)only helps the other individual in gaining freedom.
C)makes both individuals worse off.
D)makes both individuals slightly better off.
E)makes both individuals much better off.

Question 36

In The Logic of Collective Action, Mancur Olson challenged the pluralist assumption that

A)individuals always act according to their own self-interests.
B)political representation is responsive to the influence of interest groups.
C)organizations tend to dissolve away after their primary mission is accomplished.
D)common interests among individuals automatically transform into group action.
E)political entrepreneurs would naturally arise to form groups.

Question 37

According to Mancur Olson's perspective, collective action is most likely to be successful among which one of the following groups in the United States?

A)workers
B)consumers
C)wealthy business owners
D)registered Democrats and Republicans
E)the elderly

Question 38

Selective benefits of a group's membership that emphasize friendship, networking, and consciousness-raising are best described as

A)solidary.
B)material.
C)purposive.
D)informational.
E)substantive.

Question 39

College students are said to share an interest in the cost and quality of education, but they have not organized to demand lower tuition, better facilities, or more effective faculty.Based on this observation, college students are otherwise referred to as which of the following?

A)latent group
B)active group
C)block group
D)revenue stream
E)social group

Question 40

Which industry lobbies to maintain the mortgage interest tax deduction?

A)moving and transportation
B)education
C)semiconductor manufacturing
D)real estate
E)venture capital

Question 41

After the president signs a piece of legislation into law, why do interest groups continue working with the executive branch?

A)They don't want it to look like they only cared about passing the legislation.
B)The friendships developed with executive branch members lead to subsequent get-togethers.
C)Groups typically fear that attempts will be made to undo the legislation in Congress.
D)Faithful implementation of the law is not guaranteed and requires continued contact.
E)The executive branch requires continued input from all lobbying groups under the provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act.

Question 42

The Christian right is a powerful movement made up of a number of interest groups driven primarily by

A)informational benefits.
B)nonideological missions.
C)solidary benefits.
D)material benefits.
E)purposive benefits.

Question 43

Political entrepreneurs bear the organization costs of a group because doing so may provide them with certain __________ benefits.

A)public
B)material
C)selective
D)informational
E)ideological

Question 44

The federal Administrative Procedure Act (as amended) requires most federal agencies to

A)prohibit interest groups from influencing the rule-making process.
B)set specific timelines for termination of regulations after legislative approval.
C)reduce existing paperwork requirements and streamline the regulatory process.
D)provide notice and opportunity for comment before implementing new regulations.
E)seek formal congressional approval before new rules may go into effect.

Question 45

Today, few federal agencies would implement a new rule without

A)obtaining the direct comment of the president.
B)getting new authorizing legislation from Congress.
C)obtaining a court order.
D)consulting the affected interest groups.
E)discussing the matter with an independent team of academics.

Question 46

A companion brief to an existing court case is called

A)in camera.
B)lex scripta.
C)amicus curiae.
D)non compos mentis.
E)writ of mandamus.

Question 47

In the quest for political influence, outsider strategies include which of the following?

A)going public
B)using the courts
C)gaining access to key decision makers
D)participating in bureaucratic rule making
E)making campaign contributions

Question 48

When Representative Claude Pepper saw the benefit he could achieve by bearing the costs of organizing the elderly in the district he represented and decided to incur the costs of helping them organize, he acted as a(n)

A)collective actor.
B)political entrepreneur.
C)political opportunist.
D)enterprise facilitator.
E)economic opportunist.

Question 49

Which restriction on the actions of lobbyists passed in 1996 is still in effect today?

A)relaxed control over the practice of honoraria
B)limited the size of individual gifts to no more than $50
C)banned travel of congressional representatives on corporate jets
D)allowed businesses to deduct lobbying costs as a business expense
E)prohibited businesses from deducting lobbying costs as a business expense

Question 50

A strategy that launches a media campaign to build popular support is called

A)going public.
B)new politics.
C)network advocacy.
D)direct group representation.
E)lobbying.

Question 51

An attempt by a group to influence the policy process through persuasion of government officials is known as

A)access.
B)lobbying.
C)corridoring.
D)media management.
E)going public.

Question 52

The rotation of people between jobs as members and staff in Congress and as lobbyists working with Congress has been labeled

A)iron triangles.
B)rotation station.
C)insider trading.
D)sleeper cells.
E)revolving door politics.

Question 53

Regulations on lobbying adopted in 2007

A)required disclosure of bundled contributions from lobbyists.
B)relaxed restrictions on gifts to members of Congress.
C)prohibited interest groups from running voter mobilization drives.
D)allowed members of Congress to travel on corporate jets free of charge.
E)prohibited corporate and union expenditures for political purposes.

Question 54

Someone who sees a possible benefit for cooperation that is currently not being enjoyed and organizes a group to take advantage of it is considered to be a(n)

A)collective actor.
B)political entrepreneur.
C)political opportunist.
D)economic facilitator.
E)economic opportunist.

Question 55

An example of a case in which the NAACP successfully used the courts to make the first declaration that segregation of grade schools was unconstitutional was

A)Brown v.Board of Education.
B)Janey v.Fleet School District.
C)Abrams v.Little Rock Public Schools.
D)Atkinson v.State School Superintendent of Public Instruction.
E)Heart of Atlanta v.United States.

Question 56

An early example of a case in which women's groups seeking support from the courts won a major victory for the women's rights movement was the Supreme Court case

A)Wesberry v.Sanders.
B)Eisenstadt v.Baird.
C)Taylor v.Caldecott.
D)Webster v.Reproductive Health Services.
E)Griswold v.Connecticut.

Question 57

Which term describes the strategy of obtaining political influence that involves gaining access to key decision makers and using the courts?

A)insider strategy
B)beltway strategy
C)going public
D)outsider strategy
E)citizen's strategy

Question 58

In the quest for political influence, insider strategies include

A)going public.
B)media campaigns.
C)using electoral politics.
D)meeting with a senator.
E)holding a demonstration on the sidewalk outside the Supreme Court.

Question 59

An example of an outsider strategy used by the Sierra Club is

A)providing testimony on new environmental rules.
B)bringing a lawsuit under the Endangered Species Act.
C)supporting candidates who promote environmental protection.
D)lobbying members of Congress to support legislation to protect the environment.
E)meeting with leaders of the Environmental Protection Agency.

Question 60

In 1990, Congress encouraged administrative agencies to engage in direct and open discussion with affected stakeholders when developing new regulations through the __________ Act.

A)Public Interest
B)Negotiated Rulemaking
C)Regulatory Participation
D)Interest Group Pluralism
E)Public Affairs

Question 61

A financial services company, which supports legislation that makes it more difficult for investors to sue for fraud, hires a Washington-based firm to generate and mail thousands of letters of support to members of Congress.This strategy is also known as

A)Astroturf lobbying.
B)franking.
C)advertising.
D)grassroots lobbying.
E)protesting.

Question 62

Interest groups focus on helping their favorite candidates win elections while political action committees (PACs) focus on influencing elected officials.

Question 63

According to research by Alan Gerber and Donald Green, what is the approximate cost of getting a voter to the polls?

A)$3
B)$40
C)$120
D)$500
E)$1,000

Question 64

Which court case struck down legal limits on independent expenditures by business corporations and labor unions?

A)Buckley v.Valeo
B)McConnell v.FEC
C)Citizens United v.FEC
D)Colorado Republican Federal Campaign Committee v.FEC
E)Caperton v.Massey

Question 65

Interest groups work primarily by trying to get candidates elected.

Question 66

Which of the following suggests that lobbying efforts can be successful and profitable?

A)earmarks
B)set asides
C)grants-in-aid
D)revenue streams
E)block grants

Question 67

An expensive, well-designed ad published in the New York Times that features a major oil company's successful track record in environmental protection is an example of

A)lobbying.
B)corridoring.
C)going public.
D)damage control.
E)network advocacy.

Question 68

Which type of nonprofit political group can raise unlimited funds from any source and spend the funds to influence elections but cannot directly communicate with the candidates it supports?

A)super PAC
B)labor union
C)527
D)trade association
E)political party

Question 69

When the Sierra Club initiated a public media campaign to encourage citizens across the country to support its environmental initiatives, it used the strategy known as

A)going public.
B)new politics.
C)network advocacy.
D)direct group representation.
E)lobbying.

Question 70

Special congressional appropriations for expenditures on particular projects in specific states or districts that lobbyists seek for their group are called

A)earmarks.
B)set asides.
C)grants-in-aid.
D)revenue streams.
E)block grants.

Question 71

Mobilizing ordinary citizens to write to their representatives in support of a group's position is a specific example of a

A)media blitz.
B)mass pressure group.
C)direct group representation.
D)insider strategy.
E)grassroots lobbying effort.

Question 72

When a grassroots campaign is artificially orchestrated to appear that constituents care about an issue when in reality they do not, it is called.

A)Astroturf lobbying.
B)stealth lobbying.
C)misguided lobbying
D)simulated lobbying.
E)synthetic lobbying.

Question 73

Campaign spending (supporting or opposing a candidate) that is made by corporations or groups and is uncoordinated with the candidates' campaigns is known as

A)PAC contributions.
B)independent expenditures.
C)issue advocacy.
D)lobbying.
E)527 spending.

Question 74

When the Service Employees International Union spent over $14.4 million in independent campaign activity on behalf of Democratic candidates, they exemplified the strategy of

A)contributions through PACs.
B)campaign activism.
C)vote buying.
D)Internet campaigning.
E)Astroturf lobbying.

Question 75

The Watergate scandal was triggered by the illegal

A)trading of arms for hostages in Iran.
B)taping of presidential conversations in the White House.
C)use of unregistered cash from corporate executives by the Nixon campaign.
D)entry of Republican workers into the Democratic National Committee office.
E)use of wiretapping of Democratic candidates' phones.

Question 76

Organized protests as strategy for winning support for a group's policy positions

A)are generally not protected as free speech because of the inherent dangers in protests.
B)create a sense of community and raise the consciousness of people outside the protest.
C)have no record of success in the United States, though they have been used successfully elsewhere.
D)are effective for unions but are not effective for other groups.
E)tend to work for Democrats but not for Republicans.

Question 77

Most initiatives today are actually sponsored by

A)interest groups.
B)political parties.
C)individual citizens.
D)state legislative leaders.
E)members of Congress.

Question 78

In contrast to political parties, interest groups tend to concern themselves with government personnel.

Question 79

A device that allows groups to propose laws that the public will vote on in the next general election ballot, thereby bypassing elected officials, is a(n)

A)recall.
B)run-off.
C)petition.
D)initiative.
E)redress requisition.

Question 80

Limits on campaign contributions and requirements that each candidate or campaign committee provide the full name and address, occupation, and principal business of each person who contributes more than $100 are features of the

A)Kennedy-Obama plan of 2007.
B)McCain-Feingold legislative proposal of 2002.
C)Bipartisan Campaign Control and Reform Act of 1986.
D)Federal Election Campaign Act of 1971 (as amended in 1974).
E)Buckley decision of 1976.