Chpt 11

Question 1

Public opinion not only should matter but also does matter in American politics because ______.

Answer 1

politicians and the media act as if it matters

Question 2

Which of the following groups tends to have higher levels of political participation?

Answer 2

those with higher income levels

Question 3

What is the relationship between age and involvement in politics?

Answer 3

Older individuals are more politically active and attentive to current events.

Question 4

Following the New Deal, non-southern Protestants tended to fall into which category?

Answer 4

republican

Question 5

The portion of the population selected to participate in a poll is known as the ______.

Answer 5

sample

Question 6

The process by which citizens take their political cues from more well-informed opinion leaders is known as ______.

Answer 6

the two-step flow of information

Question 7

The strong emotional attachment someone has with their community is known as ______.

Answer 7

patriotism

Question 8

Democrats and Republicans are more ideologically divided than ever before due to which of the following?

Answer 8

partisan sorting

Question 9

Which of the following statements best describes benchmark polls?

Answer 9

They are instrumental in designing campaign strategy.

Question 10

One advantage of direct contact between elected officials and the public versus the use of public opinion polls is that direct contact ______.

Answer 10

makes it less likely that certain public concerns will be overlooked

Question 11

Which of the following is a consequence of partisan sorting?

Answer 11

It makes it easier to demonize one’s political opponents.

Question 12

Unscientific polls that are often conducted by newspapers and politicians to determine who is ahead in a political race are called ______ polls.

Answer 12

straw

Question 13

When politicians try to determine public opinion by listening to their supporters and friendly interest groups, they are likely to face the problem of ______.

Answer 13

sample bias

Question 14

Which of the following is a heuristic used to get political information?

Answer 14

on-line processing

Question 15

American voter turnout for national elections is ______.

Answer 15

the lowest, or among the lowest, among industrialized nations

Question 16

A citizen’s ability to hold democratic beliefs, including the acceptance that politics is about compromise, is called ______.

Answer 16

democratic enlightenment

Question 17

Someone who has faith in the government’s ability to bring about equitable outcomes and social tolerance would be considered ______.

Answer 17

liberal

Question 18

Tracking polls are significant because they ______.

Answer 18

are able to catch daily changes in public opinion

Question 19

Rational ignorance refers to ______.

Answer 19

the state of being uninformed about politics due to the cost in time and energy

Question 20

The authors of the textbook argue that Americans behave as ideal citizens as ______, although as ______ they do not.

Answer 20

a group; individuals

Question 21

Self-interest is a source of ______.

Answer 21

divisions in society

Question 22

Benchmark polls and tracking polls are two types of ______.

Answer 22

campaign polls

Question 23

Which of the following is a consequence of partisan sorting?

Answer 23

It makes it easier to demonize one’s political opponents.

Question 24

In-house public opinion experts assist in developing political strategies for ______.

Answer 24

presidents

Question 25

The gender gap is especially large on issues of ______.

Answer 25

social welfare policies

Question 26

According to the text, the current process of political socialization in the United States ______.

Answer 26

trains us to support and obey the existing political system

Question 27

A good survey question will abide by which of the following criteria?

Answer 27

Questions are straightforward and unambiguous.

Question 28

Internet polls are ______.

Answer 28

unreliable

Question 29

If you are conducting a horse race poll, you want your sample to comprise ______.

Answer 29

likely voters

Question 30

Tolerance is a key democratic value because ______.

Answer 30

it is a prerequisite for compromise

Question 31

Family members, peers, schools, and churches are all considered ______.

Answer 31

agents of political socialization

Question 32

Members of the New Deal generation tended to be more ______ than preceding generations.

Question 33

If a local news station wants to get an idea of which candidate will win the election on Election Day, which type of poll should it conduct?

Answer 33

exit poll

Question 34

According to the text, the legitimacy of the U.S. government rests on which of the following?

Answer 34

the idea that government exists to serve the interests of its citizens

Question 35

Sampling error refers to ______.

Answer 35

a number that indicates within what range the results of a poll are accurate

Question 36

The ratification of the Seventeenth Amendment resulted in which of the following?

Answer 36

a greater, more direct role, played by citizens in the political process

Question 37

According to the text, what is the most influential agent of political socialization?

Answer 37

the family

Question 38

Compared to other industrialized nations, the United States ranks ______ in voter participation.

Answer 38

near the bottom

Question 39

When politicians try to determine public opinion by listening to their supporters and friendly interest groups, they are likely to face the problem of ______.

Question 40

According to the text, what kind of political knowledge is necessary if Americans want to hold their elected officials accountable?

Answer 40

knowing key figures in politics

Question 41

Today, the most likely cause of sampling bias in polls is ______.

Answer 41

differing opinions between those who do and do not participate in a poll

Question 42

The worst cases of intolerance if American history were perpetrated by which of the following?

Answer 42

elites

Question 43

According to the view of self-interested citizenship, Americans are ______.

Answer 43

intolerant

Question 44

The relationship between sample size and sampling error is ______.

Answer 44

the larger the sample, the smaller the sampling error will be

Question 45

A competing view of the public-interested citizenship approach states that Americans are ______.

Answer 45

apolitical and self-absorbed

Question 46

The process by which a majority opinion is exaggerated because the minority opinion does not feel comfortable speaking out in opposition is known as ______.

Answer 46

the spiral of silence

Question 47

Which of the following is a feature of a scientific poll?

Answer 47

a random sample

Question 48

Those who know more about certain political topics and issues, who can be trusted as a source of information, are considered ______.

Answer 48

opinion leaders