Public Opinion

Question 1

what is public opinion ?

Answer 1

collection of attitudes and preferences of the mass public

Question 2

Politicians must balance between being a ___ and a _____.

Answer 2

a trustee and a delegate.

Question 3

The relationship between the public and government is what problem ?

Answer 3

principal-agent problem

Question 4

What is rationality ?

Answer 4

habit of choosing the best choice among available options, given a person’s interests and information.

Question 5

What are straw polls ?

Answer 5

early attempt to predict election results (not scientifically valid)

Question 6

How to measure public opinion ?

Answer 6

Through random selection

Question 7

When are polls more accurate ?

Answer 7

when they are closer to the election.

Question 8

In a typical presidential election poll, what is the margin of error ?

Answer 8

around 1.5 percent

Question 9

Samples are biased when they do not reflect the population with 100% accuracy….

Answer 9

 Self-selection
 Phones and random digit dialing
 Nonresponse

Question 10

what is question wording ?

Answer 10

The way questions are worded can introduce other kinds of biased responses in opinion polling.

Question 11

what are Alternatives Methods to Surveys ?

Answer 11

Intensive interviews
 Focus groups
 Listening to everyday conversations
 Experiments
 Brain imaging (MRIs)
 Genetic makeup

Question 11

what is push pulling ?

Answer 11

surveys or polls in which respondents are given information before answering an opinion question about a candidate, party, or political issue, where the information is given with the intention of influencing the opinion expressed.

Question 12

Where do Political Attitudes Come From?

Answer 12

Socialization

Question 13

Material interests are often correlated with what ? exception ?

Answer 13

political attitudes
- sometimes people have attitudes that seemingly conflict with their material interests

Question 14

public opinion research often assumes people are not always ____?

Answer 14

rational

Question 15

_____ guide individuals’ political attitudes and opinions, often conflicting with ______.

Answer 15

Group interests
self-interests

Question 15

Positive ads with emotional images and music _______.

Answer 15

polarize viewers

Question 16

negative ads with disturbing images and tense music _____.

Answer 16

reduce confidence in convictions

Question 17

What is priming ?

Answer 17

psychological process of shaping people’s perceptions of a particular issue, figure, or policy. (Remember: Primining is PRIOR)

Question 18

What is framing ?

Answer 18

Establishing the context for an issue in such as way as to emphasize certain aspects over others.

Question 19

What 2 things are long-term predispositions that shape opinions towards politicians and government policies ?

Answer 19

ideology and partisanship

Question 20

What is ideological “constraint.” ?

Answer 20

Preferences on one policy may correlate with preferences on another.

Question 21

What is the best predictor of how someone would vote in a congressional or presidential election ?

Answer 21

party identification

Question 22

Survey research shows that party identification is generally stable or unstable ?

Answer 22

stable with some changes over time, but most individuals retain their party loyalties throughout adulthood.

Question 23

Which opinions are more amenable to change and may be shaped by a number of factor ?

Answer 23

opinions toward current events and the policies of the government

Question 24

Surveys reveal that a significant number of Americans ____ factual understanding of their government, other countries’ governments, and world affairs.

Answer 24

lack

Question 25

What is a significant predictor of how presidents will perform in their reelection efforts and relationship with Congress ?

Answer 25

Presidential approval rating

Question 26

What evaluations do people often giving Congress as a whole vs their individual representatives or senators ?

Answer 26

negative evaluations of Congress as a whole
positive evaluations of their individual representatives or senators.

Question 27

How many American adults cannot name the chief justice of the Supreme Court ? the vide-president ? which party controls the U.S. House ?

Answer 27

2/3 chief justice of the Supreme Court,
1/3 the vide-president
1/3 which party controls the U.S. House

Question 28

What is Non-attitude ?

Answer 28

lack of opinion on an issue or very weak opinion

Question 29

Political ignorance has remained ______ since the 1950s.

Answer 29

constant

Question 30

What is Rational Ignorance ?

Answer 30

people can engage in political ignorance by free riding off those who are knowledgeable about politics.

Question 30

Commentators in the early to mid-twentieth century feared that ignorance could lead to what ? (3)

Answer 30

support for oppressive policies, authoritarian leadership, and fascism

Question 31

How to accurately estimate populations’ opinions on policies and politicians, and for research into whether people are embarrassed to give certain answers ?

Answer 31

giving full options including “don’t know” and “no answer”

Question 32

Comparing public opinion ? why the difference ?

Answer 32

Americans’ ideologies not as widely spread on the spectrum from far left to far right as in other countries with similar levels of economic development and democracy.

• United States’ foundation on principles transcending ethnicity, religion, and class,
  whereas other countries were organized along ethnic or religious lines.

Question 33

The United States is significantly more _____ than countries with similar wealth and economic development.

Answer 33

religious (85%)

Question 34

What does Cramer say ?

Answer 34

• Rural consciousness: Sense of injustice over the distribution of power and resources and + resentment about a lack of power compared to city people

Question 35

What does Jardina say ?

Answer 35

Distinction between two types of white racial attitudes:
1. out-group racial resentment

2. in-group racial identity and solarity
   *linked to preference for trump (as well as those w/ Racial resentment)

Question 36

Literary Digest mailed out millions of sample ballots to its readers months before a presidential election and then recorded responses from those completed and returned. From 1920 through 1932, these ______ predicted election results quite accurately, including the margins of victory.
A. Straw polls
B. Push polls
C. State polls
D. Social surveys
E. Sample surveys

Answer 36

A. Straw polls

Question 37

What were the three main predictors for support for Trump in 2016?

Answer 37

Party ID, Racial Resentment, and Hostility between the Genders

Question 38

Many people express opinions and attitudes in surveys that are inconsistent with their own personal material interests but are in accordance with collective interests. For example, quite a few wealthy African Americans support more liberal social welfare policies than their wealthy white counterparts. This is an example of _____.
A. Socialization
B. Irrationality
C. Group attachment
D. Social connectedness
E. Racial consciousness

Answer 38

C. Group attachment

Question 39

Ideology and partisanship are two fundamental _____ that are usually long term and shape people’s opinions toward specific politicians and government policies.
A. Attitudes
B. Values
C. Predispositions
D. Worldviews
E. Opinions

Answer 39

C. Predispositions

Question 40

Through careful analysis, scholars have shown that government policy changes in a liberal or conservative direction on economic policy come ______ public opinion mood changes in the ______ direction.
A. Before; same
B. After; same
C. Before; opposite
D. After; opposite
E. Concurrently; same

Answer 40

B. After; same