Deck 7: Interest Groups

Question 1

Enticing individuals to join an interest group for solidary incentives has become easier because of which of the following?

A) Changes in federal law
B) The creation of virtual currency
C) The intense partisanship in the federal government
D) The increased diversity of the U.S. population
E) The advent of social media

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Which of the following best describes an interest group?

A) Any association of individuals
B) A group of people who want to gain control of the government
C) An organization that actively attempts to influence government policy
D) Any organization that requires members to pay dues
E) An organization set up to support a particular candidate for public office

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The free-rider problem increases the difficulty of attracting which of the following?

A) Young people
B) Paying members
C) Media attention
D) Votes in Congress
E) Cooperation from other interest costs

Answer 3

B

Question 4

Generally speaking, groups that work toward a common or national good are considered which of the following?

A) Organized labor
B) Material incentive groups
C) Ideological groups
D) Solidary incentive groups
E) Public-interest groups

Question 5

Which of the following best describes how the U.S. Constitution protects interest groups?

A) Through the First Amendment's right to "petition the Government for a redress of grievances"
B) Through the First Amendment's right to "peaceably assemble"
C) Through the Fourth Amendment's protection against illegal search and seizure
D) Through the Fifth Amendment's right against self-incrimination
E) Through the First Amendment's right to "petition the Government for a redress of grievances" and the First Amendment's right to "peaceably assemble"

Question 6

People who join an interest group for solidary incentives are joining for which of the following reasons?

A) To improve their economic opportunities
B) For a sense of belonging to the group
C) For ethical beliefs or ideological reasons
D) To obtain political, social, or economic change
E) To become a free rider

Question 7

Since 1960, the greatest growth in unionization has occurred among which of the following groups?

A) Military personnel
B) Public employees
C) Professional athletes
D) Private sector employees
E) Information technology employees

Question 8

Which of the following statements regarding the existence of interest groups is true?

A) Public-interest groups and civil rights make up a large percentage of interest groups lobbying Congress.
B) Interest group leaders are from the lower socioeconomic groups.
C) Interest groups demonstrate the validity of the elite theory model of the U.S. political system.
D) Interest groups can be problematic for democracy because members of the middle or upper classes often dominate them.
E) Interest groups are required by the Constitution.

Question 9

In recent years, public employee unions have come under increasing challenge over issues related to which of the following?

A) Issue networks
B) International trade
C) Wages and pensions
D) Medicare and Medicaid
E) Grassroots mobilization

Question 10

Many interest groups employ which of the following, who are hired to represent the group's interests to the government?

A) Members of Congress
B) Members of the White House Executive Office of the President
C) Judges
D) Lobbyists
E) Activists

Question 11

What types of interest groups are defined as economic interest groups?

A) Business, labor, and public interest groups
B) Labor, agricultural, and environmental groups
C) Business and labor groups and foreign governments
D) Business, labor, and professional groups
E) Professional and agricultural groups and foreign governments

Question 12

People who become members of interest groups for material incentives are joining for which of the following reasons?

A) For a sense of belonging to the group
B) For ethical or ideological reasons
C) To improve their economic opportunities or gain economic benefits
D) To institute change for political, economic, or social impact on the whole society
E) Because they have been pressured to do so

Question 13

A free rider is which of the following?

A) An interest group member
B) A participant in a social movement
C) Someone granted free passage to Washington DC to demonstrate
D) Someone who benefits from the actions of a group without joining it
E) A civil rights activist

Question 14

When we talk about a lobbyist, we talk about a person or group that is which of the following?

A) Part of an association of individuals
B) Someone or something that attempts to influence legislation and the administrative decisions of government
C) Inevitably associated with one of the two major parties
D) A member of Congress who challenges the majority position
E) A member of the president's cabinet who argues against any change

Question 15

The most numerous types of interest groups in the United States are which of the following?

A) Economic interest groups
B) Social interest groups
C) Liberal interest groups
D) Environmental interest groups
E) Public interest groups

Question 16

In recent years, private sector union membership has done which of the following?

A) It has plateaued.
B) It has completely disappeared.
C) It has doubled.
D) It has tripled.
E) It has declined.

Question 17

If a group of people supporting housing equity organized themselves and attempted to affect policymakers, they would have formed which of the following?

A) An interest group
B) A political party
C) A lobby
D) A civil interest group
E) A social movement

Question 18

Some argue that the interest group system is most likely to leave out which of the following groups?

A) Poor Americans
B) Workers in the public sector
C) Workers in the private sector
D) The agriculture industry
E) Small businesses

Question 19

Someone joining an interest group because they want benefits such as emergency assistance or discounts is joining for which of the following reasons?

A) Material incentives
B) Solidary incentives
C) Purposive incentives
D) Philosophical incentives
E) Social incentives

Question 20

The National Abortion Rights Action League (NARAL) and the National Rifle Association (NRA) are examples of which of the following?

A) Economic interest groups
B) Single-interest group
C) Public-interest group
D) Foreign interest group
E) Fringe interest group

Question 21

Successful interest groups and their representatives try to cultivate long-term relationships with which of the following?

A) Foreign ambassadors
B) Legislators and government officials
C) Federal judges
D) Business leaders
E) Police commissioners and chiefs of police

Question 22

Which of the following groups would most likely support Republicans?

A) Labor unions
B) Tax reform organizations
C) Environmental groups
D) Minority groups
E) All of these are correct.

Question 23

Generating public pressure and awareness may do which of the following?

A) Convince policymakers that public opinion overwhelmingly supports the interest group's position
B) Mislead the public on environmental issues
C) Bypass the legislative process
D) Force bureaucrats to answer to congressional committees
E) Lobby lawmakers directly

Question 24

What role do interest groups play in educating policymakers about political issues?

A) Interest groups are never considered a valid source of information because they are so biased.
B) So few people are members of interest groups that any communication policymakers receive from such groups is considered insignificant.
C) They are an important source of political information.
D) They tend to confuse policymakers and often alienate them.
E) They serve to overwhelm policymakers with too much information.

Question 25

Groups specially formed to raise and contribute funds to support electoral candidates and that are subject to campaign finance laws are known as which of the following?

A) Political action committees
B) Unions
C) Special interests
D) 501 (c)(3) organizations
E) 501 (c)(4) organizations

Question 26

According to 1995 lobbying reforms, a lobbyist is defined as which of the following?

A) Anyone who spends any of his or her time lobbying
B) Anyone who spends at least 10% of his or her time lobbying
C) Anyone who spends at least 20% of his or her time lobbying
D) Anyone who spends at least 50% of his or her time lobbying
E) Anyone who spends all of his or her work hours lobbying

Question 27

Which of the following best describes how lobbyists provide advisory assistance to legislators?

A) Testifying before legislative committees
B) Assisting legislators with the drafting of bills
C) Providing technical expertise to legislators
D) Providing exotic vacations to legislators
E) Testifying before legislative committees, assisting legislators with the drafting of bills, and providing technical expertise to legislators

Question 28

Which of the following is true of the enthusiasm gap?

A) It declined in the 1980s.
B) It depicts the different levels of enthusiasm between public and private sector unions.
C) It depicts the different levels of enthusiasm between those who gain the benefits and those who pay the costs of a policy.
D) It depicts the different levels of enthusiasm between interest groups and political parties.
E) It depicts the different levels of enthusiasm between identity groups and ideological groups.

Question 29

As a result of 1946 lobbying legislation and the Supreme Court's United States v. Harris decision, when do you have to register as a lobbyist?

A) If you work for any group trying to influence government
B) If you work directly to influence the bureaucracy
C) If you work directly to influence Congress
D) If you work directly to influence the executive
E) All of these are correct.

Question 30

Interest groups recognize that the greatest concern of legislators is which of the following?

A) Supporting the principles of their political party
B) Getting reelected
C) Voting for the ideas of their constituents
D) Being totally informed on issues they will have to vote on
E) Pleasing the congressional leadership

Question 31

Which of the following is the best indicator of the power of an interest group, regardless of its size or resources?

A) It has strong and effective leadership.
B) It successfully turns itself into a political party.
C) Its members are motivated, engaged, and politically active.
D) It has strong and effective leadership, and it successfully turns itself into a political party.
E) It has strong and effective leadership, and its members are motivated, engaged, and politically active.

Question 32

The primary purpose of 1946 legislation that targeted lobbying was to do which of the following?

A) Prohibit all lobbying activities
B) Restrict lobbying to the legislative branch
C) Heavily regulate lobbying
D) Improve public disclosure of lobbying
E) Create an agency that would oversee lobbying

Question 33

Which of the following is true of political endorsements by interest groups?

A) They are relatively ineffective today.
B) They are not very important because candidates can publicize the fact that their campaign is endorsed by groups but they cannot identify the specific source of the endorsement.
C) They are important because the group can publicize its choices in its membership publications.
D) They are a violation of campaign finance reform laws.
E) They are allowed in local elections but forbidden in races for federal office.

Question 34

A lobbyist from the NRA (National Rifle Association) meeting with a member of Congress to discuss firearms legislation is an example of which of the following?

A) The free-rider problem
B) A party coalition
C) An indirect technique
D) A direct technique
E) A boycott

Question 35

Legislation to regulate lobbying in 1946 resulted in which of the following?

A) A minimal number of individuals registered as lobbyists
B) A large number of lobbyists deciding to reveal their tactics
C) A significant decrease in the influence of special interests
D) An increase in reporting requirements for lobbyists at federal agencies and courts
E) A public record of all lobbyists active that year

Question 36

If a lobbyist is trying to convince a legislator to support a particular bill, one of the most valuable resources in doing so is which of the following?

A) A large budget
B) A small but very vocal membership
C) A long history of supporting that particular legislator
D) A large, politically active membership
E) A group of policy experts willing to draft legislation for the legislator

Question 37

Most interest groups have a bias toward which of the following?

A) The middle and upper classes
B) Environmental groups
C) The common good
D) The political right
E) The political left

Question 38

Direct techniques used by interest groups include which of the following?

A) Using YouTube, Twitter, and Facebook to generate influence
B) Using public relations firms to polish their image with the public
C) Building alliances with other groups to increase their collective effectiveness
D) Using constituents to lobby Congress on behalf of an issue
E) Staging demonstrations, marches, and boycotts

Question 39

What is the primary distinction between an interest group and a political party?

A) Only interest groups seek to affect policy.
B) Only interest groups have unaffiliated supporters.
C) Only parties run candidates for office.
D) Only interest groups seek to operate the government.
E) Only interest groups have unaffiliated supporters and only parties try to influence elections.

Question 40

Lobbying reforms made in 1995 and 1996, both through legislation and congressional rules, included which of the following?

A) Defining a lobbyist as anyone who spends 20% of his or her time lobbying Congress or the executive branch
B) Requiring lobbyists to register with congressional officials
C) Reporting on the nature of lobbying efforts
D) Rules meant to restrict the value of gifts given to members of Congress
E) All of these are correct.

Question 41

What are the differences between a social movement and an interest group? How are they related?

Question 42

Describe two different categories of economic interest groups, and contrast these groups with public interest groups.

Question 43

Discuss the direct techniques used by interest groups to influence government decisions.

Question 44

Discuss some of the unintended consequences of a congressional ban on lobbying.

Question 45

Explain the factors that make an interest group powerful.

Question 46

The Honest Leadership and Open Government Act of 1997 does which of the following?

A) Requires lobbyists to report their activities annually
B) Requires Congress to post lobbying information on the Internet
C) Significantly changes the culture of Washington, D.C.
D) Requires that all pork spending proposals be reported to the president
E) Limits spending by lobbyists to $100,000/quarter

Question 47

Earmarks that benefit a particular business were banned by the House in what year?

A) 1946
B) 1995
C) 1996
D) 2007
E) 2011

Question 48

Describe legislative efforts to regulate the activities of lobbyists.

Question 49

Discuss the different reasons Americans join interest groups. Provide examples of interest groups that demonstrate their benefits.

Question 50

Explain the free-rider problem faced by interest groups and how they combat the problem.

Question 51

Explain how lobbyists influence legislation or policy by highlighting three common techniques employed by lobbyists.

Question 52

Identifying and making legislative earmarks was a key feature of which of the following?

A) The 1946 lobbying reforms
B) The 1995 lobbying reforms
C) The 1995-1996 rules of the House and Senate
D) The 2007 lobbying reforms
E) The Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946

Question 53

According to the Lobbying Disclosure Act of 1995, a lobbyist must register with which of the following?

A) The Speaker of the House and the president pro tempore of the Senate
B) The clerk of the House and the secretary of the Senate
C) The Speaker of the House and the Senate majority leader
D) The House majority whip and the Senate majority whip
E) The bailiff of the House and the president of the Senate

Question 54

Describe the categories of economic interest groups, and provide examples of each.

Question 55

Explain how technology has changed the methods interest groups use to promote their agendas to members of Congress.

Question 56

Discuss the tactics used by interest groups as part of information campaigns.

Question 57

Explain the differences between interest groups and political parties.

Question 58

Explain how interest groups make use of the public in their efforts to influence policy and legislation.