The Key factors in determining the accuracy of an opinion poll are
the size of the sample and whether the sample was selected from the population by a random method.
The process by which individuals acqure their politcal opinions is called
political socialization
A properly drawn sample of one thousand individuals has a sampling error of roughtly plus or minus _____ percent
3
Which of the following is NOT a primary socializing agent?
peers
A memeber of Congress who wants to act on what the majority of his or her constituence thinks on a particular issue would be advised to respond to which of the following indicators?
a poll based on a random sample of constituents
The only presidential election in which the Gallup poll erred badly was
1948 Truman-Dewey
As part of her university dissertaion, Mia conducts a survery on the influence of news media on the society. She observes that people's perception about society is largely influenced by waht the media portrays. If traditional media and new media focus primarily on crimes, thefts, and murders, people perceieve their society to be more dangerous than it actually is. This effect of the media in this fictitious scenario is explained by the
agenda-setting effect
Jason calls himself a Democrat. He supports the social welfare reforms introduced by the Democratic Party and appreciates the party’s attention to all classes of society. He believes that the party’s efforts and policies reflect its commitment to the society. In this scenario, which of the following terms best describes Jason’s frame of reference?
party identification
Which of the following best describes economic conservatives?
people who believe that the government should leave the distribution of economic benefits largely to the workings of the free market
Identify the term that is used to describe an individual who is an economic liberal and a cultural conservative.
populist
Unlike a communitarian, a libertarian thinks that government should
refrain from undue intervention in the economic marketplace.
In public opinion polls, a sample refers to
a relatively few individuals who are interviewed in order to estimate the opinions of a whole population.
_____ is the key to scientific polling, which is theoretically based on probability sampling.
Random selection
The first American political parties emerged from the conflict between
small farmers and states' rights advocates, and those favoring commercial and wealthy interests.
Prospective voting is characterized by
choices based on what candidates promise to do if elected.
Which of the following is an accurate representation of the public's opinion about leaders and their accountability?
Most citizens have a low opinion of Congress as a whole, but say they
have confidence in their local representative
in Congress.
Andrew Jackson's contribution to the development of political parties was the
formation of a new type of grassroots party organization.
Which of the following is an indication of strong party loyalty?
straight-ticket voting
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
Which of the following encourages the two major parties to build broad coalitions?
the two-party system and the need to gain a plurality
Abraham Lincoln was first elected in 1860 with ________ percent of the popular vote.
40
Which of the following is one of the basic elements of party realignment?
the emergence of unusually powerful and divisive issues
Imagine that the United States has a multiparty electoral system. It follows an election system in which each candidate is elected to a particular office on the basis of majority voting. Each voter is allowed to vote for one candidate and the candidate getting the most votes in a district wins the office. The system works in such a way that it does not allow minority parties to win easily even if they perform well. On the basis of these characteristics in this fictitious scenario, the United States follows the _____ system of election.
plurality
Assume that the United States follows a two-party electoral system. The People’s Representative Party is adopting several measures to ensure a majority victory in the upcoming elections. According to the median voter theorem in this fictitious scenario, which of the following measures should the party members take to ensure victory in the election?
They should position themselves at the location of the voter whose preferences are exactly in the middle.
When nominees for an election are chosen in _____, participation is limited to voters registered or declared at the polls as members of the party whose primary is being held.
closed primaries
The national party organizations have the power to
determine the site of the party’s presidential nominating convention.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of using the Internet for political campaigning?
It lets voters easily ignore or delete unsolicited ads.
One of the reasons why voter turnout is lower in the United States than in Western European countries is that
U.S. registration laws place a greater burden on the individual.
The chief obstacle to Americans' participation in community activities is the
lack of personal motivation to get involved.
If Americans vote less than Europeans, why are they more likely to work in a political campaign than are citizens in Europe?
America's federal structure provides more campaign opportunities.
When the nation was founded, who was eligible to vote?
only white males aged 21 and older who owned property
A sustained action by citizens disenchanted with government to
express their opposition and work to bring about the
change they
seek is a
social movement.
MoveOn is an example of
an influential, Web-based organization that heads an activist network.
Which of the following groups of people is most adversely affected by the country's registration system?
those with less income and education
Voter registration in the United States
began as a way of preventing voters from casting more than one ballot on election day.
Women gained the right to vote
early in the twentieth century.
Which of the following statements is true?
Voter turnout in presidential elections has averaged 55 percent since
the 1960s, and midterm election turnout
has not exceeded 50
percent since 1920.
Identify an example from the following scenarios in which the individual does not vote on account of alienation.
Adia does not vote because she thinks that government won’t respond to her concerns even if she votes.
The sum of the face-to-face civic interactions among citizens in a society is known as
social capital.
Unlike the Tea Party movement, the Occupy Wall Street movement
targeted private wealth.
One reason that most Americans are not highly active in politics is the
emphasis that the American culture places on individualism.
The situation in which individuals are tempted not to contribute to a
cause because they will get the benefits
even if they do not
participate is called
the free-rider problem.
The term iron triangle refers to
a small and informal but relatively stable set of bureaucrats,
legislators, and lobbyists who are
concerned with promoting a
particular interest.
A basic reason for the existence of so many interest groups in the United States is
the American tradition of free association.
the extent of diverse interests in American society.
America's federal system of government.
the separation of powers in American government.
"Agency capture" occurs when
regulatory agencies side with the industries they are supposed to
regulate rather than with the
public.
An interest group that focuses on policy benefits for senior citizens would be an example ofa philosophical interest group.
a single-issue group.
Effective inside lobbying is based upon
providing useful and persuasive information to key officials.
Which of the following is a disadvantage of an economic group?
Persons within the group may not support leaders’ political efforts because they did not join the group for political reasons.
Which of the following is an example of a citizens’ group in which members are joined together by purposive incentives?
a community center that addresses issues of abortion and promotes the pro-choice position
Which of the following refers broadly to efforts by groups to influence public policy through contact with public officials?
lobbying
Which of the following is a similarity between issue networks and iron triangles?
Both are arenas in which organized groups exercise influence.
Imagine that the United Labor Rights Protectors (ULRP) is an economic group that primarily works toward protecting labor rights. The group is currently involved in activities that aim to influence and convince the ruling political party to reduce the weekly working hours of laborers. The activities include strategies such as making political action committee (PAC) contributions to candidates, urging its group members to write letters to their representatives in Congress, and conducting public demonstrations. In this fictitious scenario, identify the strategy that has been adopted by the ULRP to influence public policies.
outside lobbying
The Supreme Court ruling in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission (2010) led to the formation of
super political action committees.
Identify the theory that holds that organized groups are a source of sound governance.
pluralist theory
According to political scientist Theodore Lowi, why is the pluralist theory flawed?
It works on the principal assumption that lobbying groups receive what the majority would also want.
How has the Internet affected the watchdog capacity of the media?
It has expanded the watchdog capacity of the media.
The news media's common-carrier role is based on the idea that
the press should provide a channel through which political leaders
can communicate their views
to the public.
The yellow journalism of the late nineteenth century was characterized by
the emphasis on sensationalism as a way of selling newspapers.
The traditional media have "softened" their news by
infusing it with more stories about celebrities, crime, and the like.
The Gazette of the United States was founded to promote the policies of President
George Washington.
Agenda setting is an action that falls under which of the major roles played by the press?
signaling
Newspapers were most responsible for starting
the Spanish-American War.
The Federal Communications Commission
regulates the ownership of radio and television stations.
Which of the following is typically characterized by publishers openly backing one political party or the other?
partisan press
Which of the following best describes the function of media as a watchdog?
exposing officials who violate accepted legal, ethical, or performance standards
Which of the following best describes the role of media as a partisan?
the news media acting as an advocate for a particular viewpoint or interest
Helena is a renowned television journalist on a popular news channel in her country. In the run-up to the elections in her country, she focuses on political strategy and infighting, portraying politics largely as a struggle for personal power and competitive advantage. She talks about the winning and losing sides in an election campaign without stepping outside the bounds of objective journalism. On the basis of Helena’s activities in this fictitious scenario, she is said to be involved in
framing.
Which of the following best describes a system in which people’s media exposure is largely within their control?
high-choice media