POSC 100, Exam #4

What is the most important factor in predicting whether an individual votes?

Educational level or Political Environment

If a person enjoys the benefits of a groups collective efforts but does not contribute to those efforts, he or she is called a:

Free rider

The solidary benefits of interest groups include

Friendship, networking, and consciousness raising

What is the most important and beneficial resource that lobbyists provide government officials?

Information

Which of the following is NOT one of the potential disadvantages of shifting away from traditional media and toward digital media?

Less "horse race" coverage during elections

Many interest groups are initially organized because

A political entrepreneur with a strong commitment to to a particular set of goals believes a group will promote his or her goals and enhance his or her political influence.

A benefit that is sought by an interest group and that once achieved cannot be denied to non members is called _____

Collective goods

________ occurs when one party controls the presidency while another party controls one or both houses of Congress.

Divided party government

Interest groups are permitted to spend as much money as they want on issue advocacy during a campaign season as long as they ____

Don't coordinate their efforts with the candidate's own campaign organization

Since the 1930's, the number and scale of interest groups at the national level has ____

Dramatically increased

One way AARP has been effective at overcoming the free rider program is by providing ______ benefits

Selective

Between the Civil War and the 1960s, the ________ was a Democratic stronghold.

South

Which of the following news sources reaches the most Americans?

Television

The free rider problem occurs because

The benefits of a group's actions are broadly available and cannot be denied to non members

How do interest groups use litigation as a strategy of influence?

They file amicae curiae briefs, finance lawsuits, and bring a suit on behalf of their group

Which of the following statements concerning third parties is true?

Third parties often have their programs adopted by one of the two major parties.

The most important selection bias in news is the

audience appeal of a story.

The Tea Party movement is an

organized challenge to incumbents in the Republican Party by the most conservative wing of the Republican Party.

Priming refers to the

process of preparing the public to bring specific criteria to mind when evaluating a politician or issue.

State ballot access laws, such as registration fees and petition requirements, have the effect of

reducing the number of third-party and independent candidates who can run for office.

Primary elections were introduced by

reformers at the start of the 1900s who hoped to weaken the power of party leaders.

Organized interest group enhance American democracy by

representing interest of large number of people and encourage political participation

The primary responsibility for conducting public elections rests with

state and local governments or political parties

A political party is an organization

that tries to influence the government by getting its members elected to office.

The BBC in Britain is owned by

the government but allowed to report whatever it wants.

it is difficult for political scientists to categorize unrepresented interests because

there are no organizations that can present their identities and demands

public interest groups differ from other types of interest groups in that

they claim to serve the common good, not just their own particular interests

The practice of lobbying is protected by the ____

1st amendment

_____ states currently require all voters to show some form of ID before voting at the polls.

32

AARP has approximately ____ members today

38 million

Approximately _____ percent of eligible voters turnout for midterm congressional elections.

6-10

The power of the media to draw public attention to particular issues and problems is called

agenda-setting

Which of the following is theoretical assumption of pluralism?

competition among interest will produce balance, with all interest regulating each other.

Lobbying is an attempt by an individual or group to influence the passage of ___________ by exerting ________ pressure on members of congress

legislation, direct

The ________ provides candidates for the same political office equal opportunities to communicate their messages.

equal time rule

The greatest challenge for journalism organizations today is

generating enough revenue to finance traditional investigative journalism.

What are the primary variables for predicting the likelihood of joining an interest group?

having higher income and education

It is likely that eliminating state-level voter registration laws would ________ voter turnout among ________.

increase; younger people

The best description of the idea of pluralism is that

interest groups should be free to compete for governmental influence

The free rider phenomenon is more problematic as the size of the group becomes _____

larger