Government Exam 2

A person's political party preferences are primarily acquired through the influence of

the person's family.

Who is an incumbent?

The current officeholder, running for re-election.

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

They file amicus curiae briefs, finance lawsuits, and bring suit directly on behalf of the group.

The solidary benefits of interest groups include

friendship and consciousness-raising.

Voter turnout in state and local elections is generally

much lower than turnout in national elections.

Political party leaders are

not willing to provide financial backing to candidates who are unable to raise substantial funds on their own.

The small group selected by pollsters to represent the entire population is called a

sample.

The primary beneficiaries of the lobbying efforts of public interest groups are

the general public

One of the earliest activities party workers engage in once the general election campaign begins is

ensuring that citizens are registered to vote.

A liberal would MOST likely support

expansion in governmental social services.

Apart from the money that they gather in membership fees, interest groups try to increase their numbers because large groups can

expect to have more clout

A person who enjoys the benefits of a group's collective efforts, but does not contribute to those efforts is called a

free rider.

What is the relationship between interest groups and PACs?

Many PACs are the money-giving arm of interest groups

Which of the following statements about the marketplace of ideas is true?

Private groups and the news media play important roles in shaping opinion in the marketplace of ideas.

An individual's psychologist attachment to one party or another is called to party

identification

A membership association is a group

in which members play an important role in the daily activities and administration.

A criticism of interest group pluralism is

its class bias in favor of those with greater financial resources.

Which of the following statements about primary elections is MOST accurate?

The United States is one of the few nations in the world to hold primary elections.

What is the social desirability effect?

The fact that respondents report what they think the interviewer wants to hear or whatever they think is socially acceptable, rather than what they actually believe.

______________ is the single-most important political act for most Americans.

Voting

Which of the following statements about age and political participation is true?

Young people are far less likely to participate in politics than older people.

A loose, informal relationship of public officials, interest groups, and activists who are all concerned with the same policies is called

an issue network.

Interest groups

are less visible links to the political system than the media and political parties

In the United State, political parties are organized

at the national, state and local levels

Electoral systems with proportional representation

award representation to parties that do not win

Ideological parties form because

supporters want the opportunity to publicize their views

Selective benefits are

tangible goods that flow only to dues-paying interest group members

A political party is an organization

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

Single-issue interest groups might represent

the rights of gun owners

The term "iron triangle" describes

the subgovernment that develops among interest groups, legislative committees, and an executive agency.

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.

Lobbyists

nurture friendships as much as or more than they pressure officials

Former members of Congress often become lobbyists because they

offer easy access to official Washington

The fact that Democratic Party leaders have become more liberal and Republican Party leaders have become more conservative is important because

partisans in the public tend to rely on party leaders for cues on the appropriate positions to take on major political issues.

Interest groups are concerned with the _________ of government, while political parties are concerned with the __________ of government.

policies; personnel

Liberalism and conservatism are examples of

political ideologies

The process by which political values are formed is known as

political socialization.

A significant, lasting, long-term shift in the groups that identify with political parties is called a

realignment

During the 1980s, the Republicans added ________________ to their coalition.

religious conservatives and working-class whites

The fact that public support for government policies declines dramatically when calling the policies "welfare" rather than "assistance for the poor" illustrates that

seemingly minor differences in the wording of a question can convey vastly different meanings to survey respondents.

Political parties hold primary elections on caucuses in order to

select a single candidate to represent the party in the general election.

In 1936, pollsters at the Literary Digest were guilty of _______ when they mistakenly predicted a presidential victory for Alf Landon over Franklin D. Roosevelt by polling people whose names came from the telephone book and automobile records.

selection bias

A(n) _______________ is a method used by pollsters to select a representative sample in which every individual in the population has an equal probability of being selected as a respondent.

simple random sample

Third parties in the United States typically represent

social and economic interests that are disregarded by the two major parties for certain reasons.

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

Divided government

Which US president promoted his policy agenda to the American people through

Franklin D. Roosevelt

______________ is a strategy that attempts to mobilize the widest and most favorable climate of opinion.

Going public

The vast majority of Americans describe themselves as

Liberals, conservatives, or moderates

The fact that Americans strongly support minimal governmental interference with individuals' lives and property illustrates their commitment to

Liberty

What distinguishes lobbying from other strategies of influence?

Lobbyists try to exert pressure directly on government officials themselves.

_______________ is the practice of tailoring campaign messages to individuals in small, homogenous groups.

Micro-targeting

If a person supports a candidate because he or she is the front-runner in a poll, it is an example of the

bandwagon effect.

A(n) ___________ occurs when a voter must be registered with a party prior to voting in that party's election.

closed primary.

Individuals who attend church regularly are more likely to be __________ in their political views than people who are not religious.

conservative

Declining levels of trust in government are important because declining trust has been linked to

declines in political participation and voting.

The term "public opinion" is used to describe

no attitudes about political issues, leaders, institutions, and events.

The concept of a marketplace of ideas refers to

the competition between varying opinions and ideas that are aired in public forums.

Dealignment refers to

the decline of partisan attachment within the electorate, the growth in the number of voters identifying themselves as independents and the rise of split-taking voting.

The difference between a political value and a political attitude is that values are

with basic principles, while attitudes are specific preferences.

Members of interest groups in the United States are typically people

with higher incomes, more education, and management or professional occupations.