political science test 2 edited
Single-member district electoral systems tend to produce
2 or 2-plus party systems (first past the post)
In democratic societies, large political parties are typically
2 plus party systems aimed at the idea that parties are coalitions of interest groups
Under which of these systems is party discipline likely to be highest?
a highly centralized system in which candidate selection is in the hands of party leadership
In proportional representation systems that use party lists, what types of individuals can expect to be put at the top of those party lists?
people with long term party experience
Polls/surveys can track public opinion as well as __________.
shape public opinion
What are the potential negative effect of interest groups playing an active role in politics
skewing policy, stalemating political power, scandal
what is a major shortcoming of a government that is heavily influenced by interest groups?
some people do not have the resources to organize into a group that can influence government
If you were interested in designing a country with moderate, centrist, and pragmatic politics, what feature would you be most likely to support?
Automatic registration, voting on weekends
Interest groups in the United States tend to over-represent
Better off, businesses
In most democratic countries, major parties attempt to be _________ to win a large number of votes
Catch-all
A system with several parties contesting elections but only one of them ever winning is called a ______ system
Dominant Party system
Countries that use single-member districts tend to have __________ systems
Majoritarian
Which of the following is a function of political parties? (a)
Nominate candidates (a)
Which of these is a practice that interest groups tend not to employ? (x)
Nominating candidates (x)
Which of the following is a reason that the telephone survey is the most common polling method in the United States?
Other forms are impractical or prohibitively expensive
Which statement explains why the issue of access challenges the pluralist theory?
Pluralists assume that all groups have access to policy makers when some groups are actually shut out of the system almost entirely
Single-member districts produce winners based on
Plurality of votes
Studies of _______ look for individuals views about specific leaders, events, and issues while studies of _______ look for basic, general values on politics and government.
Public opinion, political culture
If a "first-past-the-post" country has three viable political parties, but no one ever reaches 50 percent of the vote, what is the most likely result over time?
Smaller parties will merge
Which statement explains why public opinion is an important consideration for both democratic and authoritarian governments?
Strong public dissent can lead to an electoral defeat or the collapse of the regime
Churches, clubs, businesses, and soccer leagues are all elements of
civil society
On a left-right ideological spectrum, which types of parties are the farthest left?
communist and socialist parties
Which method of polling/surveying is best but very expensive and time-intensive?
face to face, area sampling
Elections rarely show __________.
how voters feel about specific issues
Which of the following is a disadvantage of single-member district electoral systems
inaccurate, unfair, boring
A surveyor/pollster can decrease a survey's/poll's margin of error by
increasing sample size
What does public opinion polling provide that election results cannot
insight into citizens views on specific issues
____________ is a non-publicly accountable organization that attempts to promote a shared private interest by influencing public policy outcomes.
interest group
Which of these changes is likely to have the greatest impact on the number of parties in a country's political system?
introduction of proportional representation
What is American voters' general response to ballots?
low voter turnout, enthusiasm, and feeling of efficacy
proportional representation electoral systems result in
multimember districts: each district sends several representatives to parliament instead of just one party lists
Political parties differ from interest groups because parties __________.
must win elections to influence policy
Which of the following is viewed as a disadvantage of proportional representation electoral systems?
not accountable, not stable, parties splinter
What range below contains the ideal number of survey respondents for an accurate reflection of public opinion in a large population of millions of people
one thousand for +/- 3%
a democratic system where all kinds of people with different opinions and values compete to influence government policy is a _________ society
pluralist
Which of the following would you expect to see in a country with routinely high voter turnout?
political fever, partisan politics may become too intense
Which of these is a characteristic of single-party systems?
political system in which a single party controls every level of government and is the only legal party and elections are rarely competitive
The most accurate public opinion polls/surveys utilize which of the following methods?
randomization
"____________ voting" refers to voters choosing whether or not to vote for a candidate based on overall incumbent performance, especially in regard to the economy
retrospective