POLS Exam 2: Multiple Choice

On average, how much money must a U.S. senator raise every week of his or her six-year term in order to acquire enough money to launch a competitive bid for reelection? $20,000 $2,000 $200,000 $2,000,000 $200

$20,000

Which of the following groups is most closely aligned with the Democratic Party, voting more than 80 percent Democratic in presidential elections? Christian fundamentalists white Protestants Roman Catholics Latino Americans African Americans

African Americans

During the twentieth century, American parties lost their complete control over All these answers are correct nominations financing platforms the staffing of government jobs

All these answers are correct

Sources of polling error can include unrepresentative samples All these answers are correct question wording respondents' lack of knowledge or interest in the issue question order

All these answers are correct

Which of the following are key players in the modern campaign? All these answers are correct pollsters media producers campaign consultants fundraising specialists

All these answers are correct

An electoral ballot prepared and administered by the state rather than political parties, which presents the names of all the candidates for any given office on the same ballot in order to ensure the secrecy of voting, is called the: Belgium ballot hanging chad butterfly ballot electronic ballot Australian ballot

Australian ballot

What was the primary cause for an increase in the public's support for a military invasion of Iraq during the six-month period leading to the start of the war? Bush administration efforts to press the case for war grass-roots efforts by conservative groups that argued it was necessary for greater national security election-year posturing on national security issues by congressional candidates for office mainstream media coverage of the actions of the Iraqi government the inability of the United Nations to discover strong evidence of weapons of mass destruction

Bush administration efforts to press the case for war

In terms of party identification, about two-thirds of adults call themselves: Republicans liberals Republicans or Democrats Independents Democrats

Republicans or Democrats

In a test of "civic literacy" conducted in 2007, the average college senior scored a grade of ________ C F A national Congress B D

F

How has the Internet affected the watchdog role of the media? It has tainted the watchdog role with a partisan bent It has had little to no effect because it lacks the objective standards of traditional media outlets It has almost completely usurped the watchdog role from the traditional media outlets It has diluted the watchdog capacity with an overflow of opinions It has expanded the watchdog capacity of the media

It has expanded the watchdog capacity of the media

Which of the following is true of the relationship between public opinion and shifts in major government policies? Analysts Page and Shapiro concluded that leaders' opinions ultimately affect most policy issues more than the larger public opinion The linguist Noam Chomsky claimed that democracy consistently preserved the will of the people over the will of elite interests On high-profile issues particularly, public opinion tends to affect policy to a greater degree than policymakers' agendas affect public opinion All these answers are correct Analysts Robert Erikson, Michael MacKuen, and James Stimson found a pattern consistent with their claim that "public opinion has little influence over policy."

On high-profile issues particularly, public opinion tends to affect policy to a greater degree than policymakers' agendas affect public opinion

Which of the following statements about Americans and ideology and political thinking is true? Only a minority of Americans can be classified as true ideologues Liberalism and conservatism have such imprecise meanings that it is not useful to think about politics in these terms Americans are highly consistent in their political thinking Americans overwhelmingly identify themselves as liberals Americans are highly sophisticated in their political thinking

Only a minority of Americans can be classified as true ideologues

________ elections tend to draw the largest percentage of voters in the U.S. Gubernatorial Mayoral Primary Congressional Presidential

Presidential

Americans who attend religious services at least once a week are most likely to vote for which political party? Green Populist Democrat Libertarian Republican

Republican

The issue of slavery gave birth to the ________ party as a major political party Whig Republican Populist Democratic Federalist

Republican

What party has made big gains in recent decades among white fundamentalist Christians, based on its positions on topics like abortion and school prayer? Democratic Green Socialist Republican Reform

Republican

Voter identification cards find the most support among libertarians poorer citizens Democrats Republicans liberals

Republicans

________ is based on judgment about the past performance of an elected official or political party Straight-ticket voting None of these answers is correct Split-ticket voting Retrospective voting Prospective voting

Retrospective voting

Which of the following is one of the two major advantages of journalists in covering the political game and strategic aspects of news instead of the policy frame? Government leaders are more interested in portraying their political views than their policy accomplishments Government leaders give journalists less access to the policy sphere The reporting of policy is less readily adaptable to editorial pages The political game is a constant source of fresh material The reporting of policy positions is too simplified

The political game is a constant source of fresh material

Unlike in many other democracies, elections in the United States are traditionally held on Tuesdays Fridays Sundays Mondays Saturdays

Tuesdays

One of the reasons voter turnout is lower in the United States than in Western European countries is that: None of these answers is correct Europeans must pay a huge fine if they fail to vote U.S. registration laws place a greater burden on the individual the U.S. population is not as well educated Americans pay less attention to politics

U.S. registration laws place a greater burden on the individual

As distinct from alienation, apathy is: widespread among affluent Americans a sign that the political system is working properly a feeling of powerlessness associated with a low rate of voter turnout a general lack of interest in politics

a general lack of interest in politics

According to polls, men and women tend to disagree on certain issues. Of the following issues, about which are men and women closest in agreement? use of military force education assistance affirmative action poverty assistance abortion rights

abortion rights

Party identification refers to: a political party's platform—the stances on issues that define its beliefs an emotional attachment to a political party the ability of individual citizens to identify the major issue positions of the major political parties the percentage of polled individuals that claim membership in a particular party formal membership in a political party

an emotional attachment to a political party

A consistent pattern of opinion on particular issues that stems from a coherent set of political beliefs is called: socialization politicization conservatism None of these answers is correct an ideology

an ideology

In his definition of public opinion, the author claims that the opinions of private individuals become public opinion when they: become part of the conflict between populists and libertarians are openly expressed first enter people's heads become part of the conflict between the Republican and Democratic parties are measured in opinion polls

are openly expressed

American party organizations: are unimportant in the political system today are about to die out are still important, but their role in campaigns is secondary to that of candidates have more power than their Western European counterparts are more powerful today than at any time in history

are still important, but their role in campaigns is secondary to that of candidates

Among the following, the news media are MOST likely to focus on events that affect small numbers of people are timely happen to ordinary citizens are complicated to report occur in other countries

are timely

Voter registration in the United States began as a way of preventing voters from casting more than one ballot on election day is the responsibility of the government, which adds legally qualified individuals automatically to the registration rolls was introduced as a means of keeping white males without property from voting applies to voting in general elections but not in primary elections has vastly increased voter turnout

began as a way of preventing voters from casting more than one ballot on election day

Prospective voting is characterized by: a sudden shift in the vote from one party to another choices based on party loyalty choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected the symbolism of a candidate's personality choices based on a candidate's past performance

choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected

In comparison with today's newspapers, early American newspapers All these answers are correct were written by hand could not have survived without political party support were so inexpensive that nearly everyone read a daily paper were more widely read

could not have survived without political party support

Organizationally, the U.S. major parties are decentralized and strong centralized and strong no longer in operation decentralized and fragmented centralized and weak

decentralized and fragmented

Literacy tests were used to: help subsidize public education in the North finance election campaigns ensure that women voted with their husbands, who legally controlled the money in a marriage disenfranchise African Americans in the South ensure that the people who voted would take the vote seriously

disenfranchise African Americans in the South

The news provides a refracted version of reality because it is biased in favor of a conservative perspective is biased in favor of a Democratic viewpoint is biased in favor of a liberal perspective is biased in favor of a Republican viewpoint emphasizes dramatic and compelling news stories

emphasizes dramatic and compelling news stories

Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the formation of a new type of grassroots party organization introduction of primary elections forging of a coalition of Democrats and Whigs formation of the Federalist Party formation of the Republican Party

formation of a new type of grassroots party organization

The redrawing of congressional districts in such a way as to give unfair advantage to the political party in power is called: redisctricting gerrymandering redlining mudzoning reapportionment

gerrymandering

Of the 2009-2010 health care reform legislation, a Gallup poll found that nearly a third of the public mistakenly believed that the legislation package included: vastly increased funding for Medicaid, the federal health care program for low-income individuals government committees that would decide which elderly patients would receive life-saving treatment and which would not government-sponsored health care for illegal immigrants a legalization of partial-birth abortions an elimination of the Medicare program

government committees that would decide which elderly patients would receive life-saving treatment and which would not

On both radio and television, most successful partisan talk shows have been hosted by teams of journalists holding multiple partisan viewpoints have been hosted by nonpartisan journalists have had no discernible political bias have been hosted by liberals have been hosted by conservatives

have been hosted by conservatives

In terms of news consumption, since the 1980s young adults: have remained on par with older adults in terms of news consumption have experienced a rise in news consumption because of the Internet have been more informed than older ones have experienced a rise in news consumption because of cable news channels have been less informed than older ones

have been less informed than older ones

The frequency of elections in the United States reduces voter turnout by creating more complex registration requirements focusing too much attention on state and local elections discouraging local politicians from playing an active role in presidential elections increasing the personal effort needed to participate in all elections increasing the amount of taxes paid at the polls

increasing the personal effort needed to participate in all elections

In the United States, the primary responsibility for registration of the individual voter rests with the state and local governments individual local courts employer federal government

individual

The traditional media have "softened" their news by: None of these answers is correct infusing it with more coverage of international affairs infusing it with more stories about celebrities, crime, and the like focusing on editorials instead of nonpartisan facts infusing it with more partisan talk shows

infusing it with more stories about celebrities, crime, and the like

Dramatic change in party identification is uncommon and is almost always a consequence of: major upheaval a change in the policy position of the president a change in the law a Supreme Court ruling popular satisfaction with a government initiative

major upheaval

Most candidates for office in the United States aim their appeals at corporate lobbying powers middle-income voters low-income voters labor unions and interest groups high-income voters

middle-income voters

Education and income affects voter turnout: only in national elections in Europe more in the United States than in Europe more in Europe than in the United States only in national elections in the United States None of these answers is correct

more in the United States than in Europe

Elisabeth Noelle-Neumann's "spiral of silence" theory contends that most individuals like to challenge dominant opinions None of these answers is correct people tend not to express their views until asked most individuals are reluctant to speak out against dominant opinion people holding deviant opinions tend to be more vocal, and hence silence the majority

most individuals are reluctant to speak out against dominant opinion

Compared with U.S. citizens of higher income, those of lower income are much less likely to vote in elections None of these answers is correct much less likely to vote in elections—a pattern that is also true in European democracies much more likely to vote in elections about equally likely to vote in elections

much less likely to vote in elections

The reason the news product is designed to fascinate as well as to inform is because of the high level of illiteracy of the need to compete with Hollywood productions All these answers are correct news organizations are fundamentally businesses and must obtain revenue from advertisers to survive the print media wish to emulate the broadcast media

news organizations are fundamentally businesses and must obtain revenue from advertisers to survive

The process of political socialization in the United States is: -uniform; there are almost no differences in the opinions of various groups, such as northerners and southerners -highly structured; children are subjected to an intense system of government-mandated political indoctrination - normally cumulative; political beliefs attained earlier in life tend to be retained to a substantial degree - highly effective; Americans are the best informed citizens in the world

normally cumulative; political beliefs attained earlier in life tend to be retained to a substantial degree

When it comes to protest activities, a majority of Americans are willing to contribute through financial support but not through active participation supportive of violent activities if the cause warrants such an approach not highly supportive of such activities, despite America's tradition of free expression actively involved in protests at one time or another in their lives actively involved only later in their lives, when they feel more secure that a protest is justified

not highly supportive of such activities, despite America's tradition of free expression

If a minor party gains a large following, it is almost certain that Congress will enact legislation to make it difficult for the minor party to get on the ballot party in-fighting will tear it apart the major parties will join together to attack the minor party one or both major parties will absorb its issue, and the minor party will lose support the media will attack the minor party

one or both major parties will absorb its issue, and the minor party will lose support

When the nation was founded, who was eligible to vote? only males who owned property only citizens who had lived in the nation for at least ten years everyone—there was universal suffrage all males and females who were at least 21 years of age All native-born citizens could vote

only males who owned property

Selective perception is primarily a result of: race and ethnicity partisanship economic class religion age and generational beliefs

partisanship

As an agent of political socialization, the American family has its greatest effect on individuals': knowledge of particular public policies professional career knowledge of the law choice and form of higher education party identification

party identification

The winner-take-all system is also known as the ________ system democratic minority proportional plurality majority

plurality

The type of electoral system in which victory goes to the individual who gets more votes than any other candidate is called a: majority system caucus Borda count system plurality system proportional representation system

plurality system

The process by which individuals acquire their political opinions is called: social communication political socialization political assimilation socio-economic change popular culture

political socialization

In the United States, typical legislative districts must have an equal: number of males and females population size balance of urban and suburban voters geographic size balance of white and non-white voters

population size

The Watergate scandal illustrates the futility of media attempts to forecast political events power of the media to serve as watchdog to safeguard against abuses of power ability of the press to serve as the public's representative in political disputes abuse of power by journalists in the United States inadequacy of the media as a common-carrier to the public

power of the media to serve as watchdog to safeguard against abuses of power

The term "framing" is used to describe the process of selecting certain aspects of reality and making them the most salient part of the communication, thereby conveying a particular interpretation of a situation media's ability to influence what is on people's minds nature of media reporting when objectivity has weakened and the system has tilted in favor of yellow journalism primary right of the media that is protected by the First Amendment media's obligation to convey a uniform and standard interpretation of a situation

process of selecting certain aspects of reality and making them the most salient part of the communication, thereby conveying a particular interpretation of a situation

The FCC's equal time requirement: requires broadcasters to give equal time to news programming and to commercial advertising requires broadcasters to give equal time to the two major political parties prohibits broadcasters from selling or giving time to political candidates and denying it to their opponents requires broadcasters to give equal time to third parties as well as the Democrats and Republicans includes the print media

prohibits broadcasters from selling or giving time to political candidates and denying it to their opponents

One special contribution of Internet-based news is that it: prevents rampant editorializing provides much faster reporting provides the ordinary citizen with an opportunity to be part of the news system is more accessible by a larger audience than television or radio news reporting offers more unbiased reporting

provides the ordinary citizen with an opportunity to be part of the news system

A(n) ________ party is a minor party that bases its appeal on the claim that the major parties are having a corrupting influence on government and policy single-issue third ideological reform factional

reform

Objective journalism is based on the idea that the reporter's job is to report what political leaders want them to report report the facts and cover alternative sides of a partisan debate scrutinize the partisan debate, and inform the news audience about which party has the better argument All these answers are correct discover what other reporters are saying and provide a uniform interpretation of events

report the facts and cover alternative sides of a partisan debate

The accuracy of a poll is usually expressed in terms of population error sampling error population density census parameter interview error

sampling error

The U.S. House of Representatives is an example of a legislative body with representatives selected from: multimember districts single-member districts state legislatures party lists unirepresentational districts

single-member districts

Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty? split-ticket voting an increase in independent voters straight-ticket voting a focus on candidate charisma and personal style the influence of short-term issues and candidates

straight-ticket voting

During what decade did the American network news audience change from a growing to a shrinking one? the 1980s The audience has not yet begun to shrink the 1970s the 1990s the 1960s

the 1980s

Citizens in which of the following countries are most likely to volunteer time and money to promote community causes? France There is no difference among the four nations Germany Great Britain the United States

the United States

Which of the following represents the greatest blow to the organizational strength of U.S. parties? Jacksonian democracy the national convention voter registration the direct primary the emergence of PACs

the direct primary

The major reason for the persistence of the American two-party system is the existence of single-member election districts and plurality (first-past-the post) voting regional conflict the existence of state laws prohibiting the placement of a third major party on the ballot that there are naturally only two sides to political disputes proportional representation

the existence of single-member election districts and plurality (first-past-the post) voting

About 95 percent of all political activists in the United States work at: the local level the state level the national and state levels Republican and Democratic party headquarters the national leve

the local level

One of the reasons the reporting of national news is relatively uniform among news sources is the there are only a few important events each day that merit news coverage modern journalists have become fairly lazy and use mostly wire reports to create news copy for the network newscasts the government dictates much of what is reported the network newscasts are brief and the day's top stories tend to dominate reporters are not given much freedom by their editors

the network newscasts are brief and the day's top stories tend to dominate

Which institution receives the most news coverage from the national press? U.S. House of Representatives the federal bureaucracy U.S. Senate U.S. Supreme Court the presidency

the presidency

The news media's common-carrier role is based on the idea that: the press should not charge for public service announcements the press should be patriotic in the reporting of the news the press should provide a channel through which political leaders can communicate their views to the public the news will be available to all citizens various news organizations should interpret the news in nearly the same way

the press should provide a channel through which political leaders can communicate their views to the public

What development brought about a dramatic reduction in television's capacity to generate an interest in news? the loss of objective journalistic standards an increase in newspaper circulation the rise of Internet news consumption a drop in education levels in the United States the rapid spread of cable

the rapid spread of cable

The federal government's licensing of broadcasting is based primarily on the desire of national officials to control the content of broadcast news and entertainment the fact that broadcasting is a national medium the fact that broadcasting was invented after the First Amendment was adopted the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies a desire to censor reporters so that they will stop criticizing governmental officials

the scarcity of broadcasting frequencies

Democrats and Republicans have endured as the two major U.S. parties primarily due to None of these answers is correct the stability of their ideologies a high degree of party discipline their ability to adapt to changing circumstances the lack of good third-party candidates

their ability to adapt to changing circumstances

Proportional representation systems encourage the formation of smaller parties by enabling parties to: win legislative seats by lottery for parties that have no chance of winning majority support share in patronage appointments, which serve as an incentive to lure campaign workers advertise on television win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections receive campaign funds from government in proportion to their support in opinion polls

win legislative seats even though they do not receive a majority of votes in elections

The term generational effect is used to describe the influence of watershed events on the political outlook of younger voters swing voters older voters African American voters female voters

younger voters