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