Deck 4: Public Opinion

Question 1

While college faculty tend to be more liberal in their public opinion, __________.

A) their students are more conservative
B) they are not allowed by the university administration to require that students share their views
C) their students are in principal free to adopt or reject the political views of faculty
D) the university administration balances the faculty by being more conservative

Answer 1

C

Question 2

Political socialization is the process through which people learn about __________.

A) life
B) society
C) healthcare
D) politics

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Economic, political, and social events __________.

A) have a significant impact on the way adults think about government
B) have little impact on the way adults think about government
C) do not impact the socialization of American children significantly
D) cannot change the way adults think about government

Answer 3

A

Question 4

How do parents influence their children's political attitudes and beliefs?

A) through a formal program of indoctrination
B) in a very minimal way
C) in a way that cannot be changed
D) by directly sharing those opinions

Question 5

For children, __________ tend to increase children's understanding of politics.

A) religious organizations
B) peers
C) the media
D) polls

Question 6

To get an accurate measure of public opinion, pollsters must do what?

A) talk to selective individuals
B) talk to more educated people
C) look at what the public is concerned about
D) focus on what their sponsors want to know

Question 7

One way in which schools today socialize children to politics is __________.

A) by awarding extra credit for political participation
B) by helping students understand that conflicts are inevitable in a diverse society
C) by fostering respect for the government through patriotic rituals
D) through parent-teacher meetings

Question 8

The Watergate scandal in 1973 had what effect on public opinion?

A) raised adults' and children's evaluations of the president
B) lowered adults' evaluations of the president
C) raised children's evaluations of the president
D) lowered children's evaluation of the president temporarily

Question 9

Due to strong emotional ties and exclusive control during early years, children's identification with a political party is shaped by their __________.

A) peers
B) family
C) neighbors
D) religious leaders

Question 10

The strength of public opinion is refelcted by what?

A) ideology
B) feelings
C) the minority of citizens
D) intensity

Question 11

The inability to understand abstract concepts or complex institutions is most prevalent during __________.

A) adolescence
B) teenage years
C) childhood
D) adulthood

Question 12

Peers tend to be influential in the socialization process __________.

A) across the board
B) on issues of special relevance to youth
C) only in rare cases
D) if there is no parental influence

Question 13

Opinions about __________ tend to be stable.

A) candidates
B) public officials
C) attachments to political parties
D) current presidents

Question 14

Commitment to stability by positively depicting government and the status quo is often fostered by __________.

A) money
B) the media
C) peers
D) schools

Question 15

The major impact of schooling from kindergarten through high school tends to foster what?

A) mistrust of government
B) support for disorder
C) poor polling habits
D) good citizens

Question 16

Public opinion is __________.

A) best ascertained through straw polls
B) a collection of individual opinions about a matter of general interest
C) typically unified when it comes to domestic issues
D) more likely to be radical in "blue" states

Question 17

Political learning __________.

A) primarily happens in late adolescence
B) is mostly a formal process
C) ends with adulthood
D) is a lifelong process beginning in childhood

Question 18

In the years following 9/11, 79 percent of college students supported the war in Afghanistan, __________.

A) and college professors felt the same way
B) and those views have remained consistent
C) while college faculty strongly opposed it
D) while 87 percent felt we should do more

Question 19

People who tend to be more politically tolerant and more likely to participate in government have __________.

A) extreme ideologies
B) U.S. citizenship
C) more money
D) education

Question 20

When it comes to public opinion and family, what usually occurs?

A) Children carry parents' opinions through adulthood.
B) Children reject parents' opinions as adolescents.
C) Young adults follow parents' political party affiliations.
D) New experiences and views decrease agreement.

Question 21

George Gallup is important in the history of public opinion because he __________.

A) used straw polls to divine public opinion
B) predicted that the Literary Digest poll was wrong
C) predicted FDR would lose the 1936 election
D) invented the probability-based poll

Question 22

An advantage of early polls is that they can __________.

A) accurately predict well in advance winners of elections
B) measure recognition of candidates' names
C) accurately measure support for candidates seeking office for the first time
D) accurately predict when voters have made up their minds

Question 23

Which of the following issues would most likely be supported by people in the red states?

A) increasing cigarette taxes
B) death penalty
C) abortion
D) the environment

Question 24

Pollsters attempting to draw conclusions about a large population with a scientific poll rely on what?

A) sample basis
B) tracking polls
C) television polls
D) random sampling

Question 25

Which of the following polls are violations of polling ethics?

A) phony polls
B) pony polls
C) exit polls
D) tracking polls

Question 26

Which president took the use of polling to a new high?

A) Bill Clinton
B) Harry Truman
C) Dwight Eisenhower
D) John Kennedy

Question 27

Should pollsters be worried about the population of "nonrespondents"?

A) yes, because nonrespondents are less educated than respondants
B) yes, because including nonrespondents will create sample bias
C) no, because nonrespondents are only a small percentage of the populace
D) not yet because "nonrespondants" differ little from those who engage in polls

Question 28

President George W. Bush __________.

A) does not have his own pollster
B) does not care about public opinion
C) used polls to choose proper phrases to retain his conservative base
D) has stated many times that his administration will follow public opinion

Question 29

What type of poll is used to manipulate public opinion?

A) Random sampling
B) Push poll
C) Exit poll
D) Scientific poll

Question 30

Polls used with the intent of spreading false information about a candidate are called what?

A) phony polls
B) focus groups
C) push polls
D) Gallup polls

Question 31

Since 2010, what statement has been proved to be accurate?

A) The number of Americans who call themselves conservative has increased.
B) The number of Americans who call themselves liberal has increased.
C) So-called moderate and independent Americans are beginning to disappear from the political scene.
D) Those Americans who call themselves conservative have stayed about the same.

Question 32

Though nearly 90 percent of Americans graduate from high school, and more than half go to college, __________.

A) citizens are more knowledgeable about only local politics
B) citizens' level of knowledge about politics has not changed much
C) citizens' level of knowledge about politics has declined
D) citizens believe the "Public Affairs Act" exists

Question 33

What recent election year saw the major failure of exit polls?

A) 2000
B) 2004
C) 2008
D) 2010

Question 34

Nearly one-third of people cannot __________.

A) name their two senators
B) recognize Nancy Pelosi
C) identify entertainment personalities
D) Name the vice president

Question 35

A(n) __________ is made up of opinions that are consistent with each other and reflect a broader framework or worldview.

A) ideology
B) philosophy
C) point of view
D) globalist

Question 36

One of the main reasons polls are used frequently by the media is __________.

A) their inherent complexity
B) that they are quickly acquired
C) that there is no sample bias
D) that Americans understand them

Question 37

Private pollsters engaged by a political party tend to __________.

A) be more accurate for media and public consumption
B) interpret their data to the advantage of their client
C) use phony poll methods
D) operate in the tradition of George Gallup

Question 38

Americans who believe that individuals and communities are better off without government assistance and that economic activity should be free from government interference are called __________.

A) agnostics
B) socialists
C) conservatives
D) liberals

Question 39

Americans who believe that government can be a positive and constructive force in society are called __________.

A) agnostics
B) socialists
C) conservatives
D) liberals

Question 40

What was the big problem with the Literary Digest poll done in 1936?

A) It was taken four weeks before the election.
B) Not enough people responded to the poll.
C) The questions asked were biased.
D) Lower-income people were excluded from the poll.

Question 41

What are some stereotypical differences between red states and blue states? What are some politically significant differences between red and blue states?

Question 42

What does it mean to be a liberal or conservative? Is ideology more important than practical politics?

Question 43

How do the schools influence socialization?

Question 44

Two years after the election of Barack Obama, 60 percent of blacks fall under what ideology concerning their social and economic positions and the government.

A) Modern conservatism
B) Radicalism
C) Socialism
D) Modern liberalism

Question 45

How does political socialization support the status quo? Give specific examples of childhood socialization. Under what conditions might political socialization not support the status quo?

Question 46

Although white Americans accept integration, __________.

A) whites have been slower to accept government initiatives to achieve it
B) most whites will still not vote for a black person to be president
C) most whites are still against sending their children to schools with more than a few black children
D) it has declined significantly among blacks

Question 47

Between 40 and 60 percent of whites believe that the average African American is as well or better off than the average white American in schooling, job, income, and health care; at the same time, __________.

A) most whites support government alleviation to equalize social and economic standings
B) blacks lag behind whites on virtually every social and economic indicator
C) the opinions of both whites and blacks are uninformed
D) support of government alleviation has increased since the 1960s

Question 48

Describe how and why the Literary Digest failed in their predictions in the 1936 presidential election.

Question 49

Describe how the family impacts political socialization.

Question 50

Religious differences among red and blue states has been found to be politically __________.

A) conservative
B) significant
C) liberal
D) miniscule

Question 51

Discuss two advantages and disadvantages of straw and scientific polls

Question 52

What are two examples of presidents using public opinion?

Question 53

Describe the difference in strategy in the use of polling by President Clinton and President George W. Bush.

Question 54

Describe how polls measure public opinion.

Question 55

What is political socialization?