Deck 1: Thinking About American Politics

Question 1

What is the meaning of plurality rule?

A)that all adult Americans (with a few exceptions)have the right to vote
B)that the people vote directly on laws
C)that each American's vote counts equally
D)that whoever or whatever gets the most votes wins
E)that every American is subject to the same laws as everyone else

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Referring to Figures 1.1 and 1.2,what is the definition of a correlation?

A)Two or more phenomena directly cause each other.
B)Two or more phenomena indirectly cause each other.
C)Two or more phenomena change at the same time,suggesting a potential causal relationship.
D)Two or more phenomena happen to change at the same time.
E)Two or more phenomena occur at the same time,suggesting that one definitely causes the other.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

For a particular factor or change in situation to cause a change in an outcome,the factor or situation must __________ the outcome.

A)happen after
B)happen at the same time as
C)oppose
D)precede
E)support

Answer 3

D

Question 4

Generally speaking,is a capitalist economic system,such as the United States,conducive to the provision of public goods?

A)No,because the costs of providing public goods are much higher than the benefits of doing so.
B)No,because the demand for public goods is simply not there,and capitalist economies operate based on the laws of supply and demand.
C)Yes,because capitalist states also tend to be democratic,and in democracies people care about each other.
D)Yes,because the great demand for public goods will ensure that the market will supply them.
E)Yes,because the inherent competition in capitalist systems will lead to public goods of higher quality.

Question 5

What is a spurious relationship?

A)a relationship between variables that reflects correlation but not causation
B)a relationship between variables that reflects causation but not correlation
C)a relationship between variables that reflects neither causation nor correlation
D)a relationship between factors such that change in one is accompanied by change in the other
E)a relationship between factors such that stability in one is reflected by stability in the other

Question 6

American political culture is sometimes referred to as which of the following?

A)the American creed
B)the American destiny
C)the American manifest
D)the American mission
E)the American way

Question 7

What is known as an agreement among members of a society to form and recognize the authority of a centralized government that is empowered to make and enforce laws governing the members of that society?

A)a government
B)an incorporation
C)a social contract
D)a monopoly
E)a political party

Question 8

Before the American invasion in 2003,Iraq would have been considered which of the following?

A)a representative democracy
B)an oligarchy
C)a monarchy
D)a failed state
E)an autocracy

Question 9

What do causal questions address?

A)the basic characteristics of society
B)the basic aspects of government
C)the roots or origins of particular events or behaviors
D)how society is organized
E)the basic characteristics of government

Question 10

Why is the United States considered to have a federal system?

A)Each state has equal representation in the U.S.Senate.
B)It contains national and state governments.
C)It is a representative democracy.
D)Power is centralized within the federal government.
E)The president is elected by the Electoral College.

Question 11

What are public goods?

A)products or services that all citizens enjoy that cannot easily be provided by anyone other than government
B)durable social contracts
C)products or services that can be denied to those who do not pay
D)products or services that can be contracted out to private companies
E)individual and collective efforts to influence the workings of government

Question 12

What is mentioned in the textbook as a primary component of American political culture?

A)capitalism
B)diversity
C)individualism
D)socialism
E)welfare

Question 13

Most good political science studies associate __________ causal or explanatory factor(s)with each outcome.

A)no
B)a single most important
C)more than one
D)seemingly unrelated
E)seemingly related

Question 14

What type of government is indicated when people vote for their leaders through elections?

A)direct democracy
B)autocracy
C)monarchy
D)anarchy
E)representative democracy

Question 15

Political culture can be thought of as a __________ through which to view American politics.

A)kaleidoscope
B)lens
C)magnifying glass
D)window
E)boundary

Question 16

What is meant by autocracy?

A)rule by the many
B)rule by a single person
C)rule by the few
D)the consent of the governed
E)the will of the people

Question 17

Journalists and politicians often focus on __________ causal or explanatory factor(s)with each outcome.

A)no
B)a single most important
C)more than one
D)seemingly unrelated
E)seemingly related

Question 18

California citizens successfully launched and passed an initiative that reduced property taxes by 57 percent.This is an example of which of the following?

A)direct democracy
B)federalism
C)indirect democracy
D)a public referendum
E)representative democracy

Question 19

What is a way in which the United States differs from other democracies?

A)It has a presidential system rather than a parliamentary one.
B)There is only one layer of decision-making authority-at the national level.
C)It has a commitment to majority rule through elections.
D)It has a political system in which the head of the executive branch is selected by members of the legislature.
E)It has a political culture that affects the political system.

Question 20

Which of the following refers to the orientation of citizens toward the political system and toward themselves as actors in it-the basic values,beliefs,attitudes,predispositions,and expectations that citizens bring to political life?

A)democracy
B)liberty
C)political party
D)political culture
E)majority rule

Question 21

The best example of a public good is __________.

Question 22

Because everyone can take advantage of so-called public goods without necessarily contributing to them,such goods tend to be which of the following?

A)cheap
B)overprovided
C)plentiful
D)replaceable
E)underprovided

Question 23

Some empirical studies have shown that in countries with high Internet usage people tend to live longer.From this evidence which of the following can be concluded?

A)Internet usage has nothing to do with life expectancy.
B)The fact that people live longer means they have more time to use the Internet,which explains the higher Internet-usage rates.
C)There could be a spurious relationship between the two variables.
D)There is a causal connection between Internet usage and life expectancy.
E)Using the Internet makes people live longer.

Question 24

In the United States,the people can alter government's authority by changing or amending the Constitution,or they can revoke the authority of government altogether.

Question 25

The government grants rights to the people.

Question 26

In the United States,the social contract is the Constitution.

Question 27

The main ideas and values that make up the American creed are __________,democracy,equality,and liberty,as well as respect for private property and religion.

Question 28

Democracy in its purest form is known as __________.

Question 29

__________,a word derived from ancient Greek,means "rule by the many."

Question 30

Answering __________ questions in the realm of politics and government is what political science is all about.

Question 31

A citizen who casts a ballot for a Republican candidate for president and a Democratic candidate for Senate is displaying which of the following?

A)straight-party voting
B)disloyal voting
C)preferential voting
D)split-ticket voting
E)strategic voting

Question 32

In which system would you expect the head of government to be more accountable to the citizens?

A)a parliamentary system
B)a presidential system
C)an autocracy
D)an oligarchy
E)a monarchy

Question 33

Two variables that are related in such a way that change in one variable is directly responsible for change in the other variable is called __________.

A)a coincidence
B)a correlation
C)a spurious relationship
D)causation
E)proof

Question 34

The North Korean government is an extreme example of a representative democracy.

Question 35

The alternative to a government monopoly on force is a collection of individuals with each trying to impose his or her will on someone else.

Question 36

In the United States,how do most citizens enter into the social contract?

A)explicitly,by applying for a driver's license
B)explicitly,by applying for a passport
C)explicitly,by paying taxes
D)implicitly,by living in the United States
E)implicitly,by voting in national elections

Question 37

__________ is what happens when you consider new facts,challenge old assumptions,determine the consequences and implications of an idea,understand context,evaluate arguments,and sharpen your views.

Question 38

If in a parliamentary system the head of government is voted into (or out of)office by the legislature,then we can assume that __________.

A)the head of government is dependent for his or her political survival on the legislature
B)the head of government will usually be chosen by the major interest groups that dominate the legislature
C)there is more of a separation of powers between the legislature and the executive than in other systems
D)the government can't theoretically fall if the legislature loses trust in it
E)the head of government is dependent for his or her political survival on the courts

Question 39

Government can make citizens do things they otherwise might not want to do.

Question 40

What happens in a spurious relationship between variables A and B when you control for alternative variables?

A)The relationship between A and B will get stronger.
B)The relationship between A and B will become negative.
C)The relationship will disappear if it is completely spurious.
D)The relationship between A and B will remain the same.
E)The relationship between A and B will become causal.