Intro. to Gov't. Exam #2

Most scholars who study public opinion believe that expressed opinions seldom represent underlying attitudes. A. True b. False

False

A system of proportional representation helps preserve smaller parties because votes for their candidates are not wasted. a. True b. False

True

Affirmative action represents a policy that required employers and schools that had practiced past discrimination to compensate minorities (and subsequently, women) by giving them special consideration in hiring and school admissions. A. True B. False

True

Aggregate public opinion on abortion is both highly stable and acutely sensitive to how the issue is framed. A. True B. False

True

Civil rights are protections the government secures on behalf of its citizens. A. True B. False

True

Elections create strong links between public opinion and government action in the United States. a. True b. False

True

For most people, basic political orientations, whether reflections of ideologies, a few core values, or simple party preferences, are quite resistant to change. A. True B. False

True

Madison, who recognized that people act most forcefully when they have a stake in the outcome, believed tyranny could best be avoided by empowering every faction to look out for its own interests. A. True B. False

True

Party labels provide useful information for performance voting, so voters can easily vote for the in-party when the voter thinks the government is doing well and vote for the out-party when the voter thinks the government is doing badly. a. True b. False

True

The Democratic administration's high-profile sponsorship of civil rights laws led to its emergence as a major campaign issue in the 1964 presidential election. A. True B. False

True

The reservation of power to the states to determine voting eligibility and the fragmented constitutional system are two major obstacles faced by African Americans in securing civil rights. A. True B. False

True

Voters who coalesce around causes such as gun control or gun rights are examples of single-issue voters. a. True b. False

True

A staple of political advertising is ______. a. repetition b. all of these c. exaggeration d. simplicity and symbolism

b

Civil rights in colonial times roughly amounted to protections against arbitrary action by the distant British Crown and can be thought of as ______. A. civil liberties B. civic rights C. limited government D. tyranny

b

Divided government ______. a. is such a rare phenomenon in American politics that it is virtually nonexistent b. allows each party to block the other party's more extreme proposals and forces both to compromise when making policy c. is unconstitutional pursuant to Article II of the U.S. Constitution and not a factor at all in the parliamentary systems of the world such as Britain and Canada d. has not happened at the federal level since the end of the Progressive Era

b

Every expansion of suffrage since the adoption of the Constitution has had to do which of the following? a. be enforced at the state level with the federal military b. overcome both philosophical objections and mundane calculations of political advantage c. be unanimously approved in the Senate d. be unanimously approved in the House

b

In theory, ideologies promote consistency among political attitudes by connecting them to a more general principle or set of principles. In practice, ideologies ______. A. are inherited from your parents B. often combine attitudes linked more by coalitional politics than by principle C. are incoherently connected beliefs D. reflect little more than the emotion of the moment for most people

b

Issue voting is ______. a. not affected by party labels b. made easier by party labels c. closely tied to socioeconomic status d. has been rendered obsolete by party labels

b

Most people get to fake news from ______. a. web searches b. social media c. radio podcasts d. local news sources

b

Pluralist politics is all about building coalitions, which means ______. a. getting people to agree to disagree b. getting people to agree on the action even in the absence of agreement on the purposes of the action c. the formation of interest groups for key policies getting people to agree to act as long as there is an d. agreement about the purpose of the action

b

Political parties are ______. a. prohibited by the Constitution, although the First Amendment overrides the prohibition b. not mentioned in the Constitution c. prohibited by the Constitution, although the Supreme Court struck down the prohibition shortly after the first Congress met d. explicitly provided for in Article II of the Constitution

b

The difference between de facto segregation and de jure segregation is that ______. A. de facto and de jure segregation are both imposed by law, but the outcomes are different B. de facto segregation is not mandated by law; de jure segregation is mandated by law C. de facto segregation is mandated by law; de jure segregation is not mandated by law D. de facto segregation comes about as a result of racial differences; de jure segregation comes about as a result of cultural differences

b

The franking privilege ______. a. refers to confidential information given to reporters under the condition that they not reveal their sources b. allows members of Congress free access to the postal system for official correspondence c. refers to the weekly free lunches members of Congress provide reporters d. gives members of Congress free unlimited broadcast time on C-SPAN

b

The history of Black civil rights depended on ______. A. the simple ideas set forth by the Antifederalists B. configuring politics to allow society's competing interests to check one another C. government creating institutions to minimize collective action problems D. the national veto of state laws

b

"Pack journalism" refers to ______. a. journalists crowding outside the hall of a congressional hearing to try to cover the story all at the same time b. journalists traveling abroad to find a story c. journalists hovering around one person to ask questions d. journalists repeating the same story because they talk to one another and validate each other's reporting

d

A focus group is ______. a. a group of voters a politician tries to sway away from the opposition candidate b. the general name for the group of campaign workers who keep the candidate focused on the message of the campaign c. a targeted segment of voters that politicians believe are crucial for victory d. a group of voters who are observed as they discuss political candidates, issues, and events

d

Aggregate public opinion on abortion is ______. a.highly stable but not responsive to framing b. unstable but also not responsive to framing c. unstable but acutely responsive to framing d. both highly stable and acutely sensitive to how the issue is framed

d

Americans seem to support a wide range of economic and social policies that commonly are classified as ______. A. conservative B. socialist C. fascist D. liberal

d

Because of the basic constitutional guarantees that allow citizens to express their views and compel government leaders to take those views into account, it is both possible and essential for political leaders and policy advocates to try to ______. A. shape public opinion on behalf of their causes because they are incapable of also mobilizing public opinion on behalf of their causes B. avoid considering the role of public opinion in the success of their causes C. mobilize public opinion on behalf of their causes because they are incapable of also shaping public opinion on behalf of their causes D. shape and mobilize public opinion on behalf of their causes

d

By the end of the 1960s, households with televisions outnumbered those with ______. a. radios b. glass windows c. electricity d. indoor plumbing

d

Casting a vote is making a prediction about the future ______. a. that if you do not vote, your preferred candidate is going to lose b. that one candidate will implement the policies you want exactly as you would like c. that your preferred candidate is going to win d. that electing one particular candidate will produce a better outcome

d

The "party in the electorate" refers to one part of a connected three-part system that is ______. a. dedicated to electing the party's candidates b. only the party affiliated with the majority of the population c. an alliance of current officeholders cooperating to shape public policy d. composed of those voters who identify with the party and regularly vote for its nominees

d

When the media does not tell you how to think, but what to think about, it is doing what? a. Priming b. Framing c. Agenda Drawing d. Agenda Setting

d

Which of the following statements regarding news in the colonial days is true? a. News had to be submitted to the censorship of the British government. b. The news was distributed over large geographic areas with poor infrastructure. c. It was difficult to maintain a large staff both locally and globally to provide full coverage. d. The news took vast amounts of time and effort.

d

Politicians pay close attention to group differences in polling data because they determine feasible coalition-building strategies. A. True B. False

False

Regardless of religious affiliation, the more active people are in religious life, the less socially conservative they are likely to be. A. True B. False

False

The most important information shortcut voters use to make predictions is the candidates' recorded policy positions. a. True b. False

False

A republic differs from a democracy because ______. a. republics delegate power to a smaller number of elected citizens and republics often have a greater number of citizens and a greater sphere of country b. republics are generally small and the people are generally responsible for making all of the major decisions c. democracies have a large number of interests and one person is selected to mediate between the competing interests d. democracies have parliamentary governments and the people are directly responsible for making all major decisions

a

Campaign messages are often chosen opportunistically, rather than thought out well in advance. a. True b. False

a

Issue voting is ______. a. made easier by party labels because the typical positions of Republicans and Democrats differ in predictable ways on many issues b. made more difficult by party labels because the typical positions of Republicans and Democrats do not differ in predictable ways on very many issues c. not affected by party labels d. reserved for people who do not have a party identification

a

Modern-day civil rights struggles tend to be focused on ______. a. preventing majorities from subjugating minority groups b. guaranteeing freedom from slavery c. political expression and participation d. making sure everyone earns a sufficient salary

a

Other things being equal, the voting rates for men and women ______. a.had been roughly equal for decades but women are now more likely to vote b. depend on context as greater percentages of men vote in midterm elections, while greater percentages of women vote in presidential elections c .vary depending on the salient issues in a given election d. are heavily conditioned by race and region so it is hard to draw clear conclusions from the data

a

Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. spearheaded demonstrations throughout the South through his organization, which was called ______. a. the Southern Christian Leadership Conference b. the Association of Baptist Ministers c. United We Stand d. People for the Ethical Treatment of Others

a

What are the main conduits of public opinion in a pluralist political system? a. opinion leaders and issue publics b. opinion leaders and interest groups c. issue publics and political parties d. political parties and interest groups

a

When politicians participate in news making, they usually have one or both of two audiences in mind—the public and ______. a. fellow politicians b. soft money donors c. political scientists d. newspaper editors and reporters

a

When politicians strategically give important information to the news media on the condition that its source not be identified by name, this is referred to as ______. a. a leak b. a trial balloon c. a plumber d. a stopper

a

Which of the following is true about opinion leaders? A. They are a small segment of the public that forms opinions by paying close attention to political events and issues and from whom the uninformed majority takes cues about the issues. B. They are limited to the media elite who tell individuals how they should think. C. They are limited to the political elite who tell individuals how they should think and who makes the decisions for the country. D. They are those who agree with the majority.

a

Which political party was committed to the abolition of slavery and attracted a former president to serve as its candidate when it won 10% of the popular vote? a. Free Soil Party b. Constitutional Union Party c. Liberty Party d. "Know-Nothing" Party

a

The reaction to September 11 ______. a. was the adoption of mandatory racial profiling in the United States to prevent another terrorist attack b. recalled the internment of Japanese Americans following the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 c. was nonchalant as the country has been used to foreign threats d. was unprecedented in the history of the United States as the country was forced to respond to a new threat

b

The term civil rights_____________________. a. reminds us that once rights are established for one group, they apply to everyone b. describes the protections of individuals against arbitrary and abusive government action c. refers only to the struggle of African Americans and their struggle to achieve freedom d. was defined in Article VI of the Constitution and commits the federal government to avoid discrimination

b

What ideological label do we use to describe those who distrust government, have greater faith in private enterprise and free markets, and are more willing to use government to enforce traditional moral standards? a. liberals b. conservatives c. libertarians d. Keynesians

b

What is the term for when the news media affects the criteria with which we evaluate candidates or elected leaders? a. coordination b. priming c. low information rationality d. agenda setting

b

Why are the personal characteristics of the candidates important to voters? a. They are closely tied to partisanship so it reinforces preexisting biases. b. Since much of what these agents do is out of public sight, these give clues about a candidate's personal values. c. They are pieces of information that are readily accessible so people can make generalizations. d. It is an easy piece of information, but it really has very little effect on voting outcomes.

b

Because the fit between the words and concepts used in polling questions and how people actually think about issues is never perfect, even the most carefully designed question ______. A. is only right about 50% of the time B. can fail to provide any accurate information C. is subject to some measurement error D. can result in an inaccurate representation of opinion

c

Casting a vote is making a prediction about the future ______. a. in which you hope for improvements over the past b. that one candidate can not-and should not-win c. that electing one candidate will produce a better outcome in some relevant sense than electing another candidate d. that one candidate will implement the policies you want exactly as you would like

c

Elections allow ordinary citizens to, in aggregate, ___________________. a. express how they feel about government although elected officials do not take the voters' views into account when they make policy choices b. essentially support the status quo c. reward or punish elected officials for their performance in office d. avoid working for the duration of Election Day

c

Since 1972, on average, about ______ of all eligible voters register and vote in presidential elections. a 45% b. 65% c. 58% d. 73%

c

The commitment of northern Republicans to Reconstruction in the South waned after which of the following? A. The Ku Klux Klan rose as an economic force in the northeast. B. It never waned. C. An economic recession led to many Republican losses in the 1874 election. D.African Americans began voting overwhelmingly for Democrats starting with the 1890 election.

c

What party found its only presidential success by nominating a popular military hero without known political coloration and obscuring party divisions by not writing a party platform? a. Republican Party b. American Party c. Whig Party d. Democratic-Republican Party

c

Which of the following was the rationale behind the Missouri Compromise of 1820? A. The parties compromised so the balance in the House of Representatives between free and slave states would be maintained. B. The parties compromised so the balance in the executive's cabinet between free and slave states would be maintained. C. The parties compromised so the balance in the Senate between free and slave states would be maintained. D. The parties compromised so the balance in the Supreme Court between free and slave states would be maintained.

c

Why did the Framers have such a pervasive fear of political parties? a. The strength of the British crown was rooted in the party system. b. Because men could not be trusted, any permanent alliances would naturally lead to tyranny. c. Historical experiences about the dangers that resulted from factional strife along with 18th-century social beliefs caused the fear. d. The rigidity of the party system in the colonies generated a great deal of free riding and nearly undermined the American Revolution.

c