Political Science An Introduction 13E by Roskin – Test Bank

Political Science An Introduction 13E by Roskin – Test Bank

Chapter 8- Public Opinion

MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS

1. Public opinion is important in a __________, but it is often ignorant, fickle, and

untrustworthy.

1. A) fascist state
2. B) democracy
3. C) totalitarian state
4. D) plutocracy

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 120

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

2. __________ can lead or tamper with public opinion.

1. A) Protests
2. B) Elections
3. C) Interest groups
4. D) The church

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 121

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

3. A __________ government cannot be one led through sheer violence and coercion.

1. A) fundamentalist
2. B) long-lasting
3. C) malevolent
4. D) military

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 122

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

4. Though a man’s opinion of his neighbor’s religion would not be part of public opinion, that

man’s feeling on __________ would be.

1. A) the best brand of camera
2. B) the quality of artwork on offer at the local art museum
3. C) the state of his local church
4. D) prayer in public schools

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 120

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

5. Elections may point to what voters generally think of a candidate overall but __________.

1. A) rarely focus on specific issues
2. B) are usually unreliable
3. C) rarely actually focus on general issues
4. D) tend to be poorly administered

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 120

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

6. Widespread sympathy can be generated by bringing grievances to national attention, especially __________.

1. A) when scholars monitor those grievances
2. B) when only small town politicians are involved
3. C) when the media watch
4. D) if the church becomes involved

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 121

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

7. How was the event of 1971, in which President Nixon announced that he would be the first president to visit China, a positive example of governments creating the public opinion they desire?

1. A) Americans actively protested.
2. B) Americans supported the decision.
3. C) Americans supported the decision until trip became an embarrassment.
4. D) Americans supported the President, but not the trip.

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 120

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Apply What You Know

8. How was American support of the policy of Bush senior on Lithuania, as indicated by a solid majority in a1991 poll, indicative of the concept that public opinion shows widespread ignorance?

1. A) None knew how long Bush had been in office.
2. B) Most were more concerned with Latvia.
3. C) Most had a negative view of Lithuania.
4. D) None knew where Lithuania was located.

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 120

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Apply What You Know

9. Which is a possible explanation for the failure of scientific sampling method in the 1948 U.S. election when Dewey was solidly predicted to defeat Truman?

1. A) The error was in assuming that respondents who said they were decided would wind up voting in the same ratio as those who had already undecided.
2. B) The error was in assuming that respondents who said they were undecided would wind up voting in the same ratio as those who had already decided.
3. C) The error was in assuming that non-respondents would wind up voting in the same ratio as those who had already decided.
4. D) The error was in assuming that Democrats who said they were undecided would wind up voting in the same ratio as those Republicans who had already decided.

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 121

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Analyze It

10. If the majority of citizens are opposed to a given policy or action why might the government go ahead with that policy or action?

1. A) Politicians tend to be arrogant and believe what they think is right.
2. B) In order to rouse the people to action, even if it is action against a government policy.
3. C) Citizen preference does not always reflect what is best for the nation, in general.
4. D) The government rarely has a way of knowing what the people think.

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 8.1

Page Reference: 121

A-Head: What Political Opinion Is And Isn’t

Skill Level: Analyze It

11. The two ways social class tends to be measured is __________.

1. A) objective and subjective
2. B) rational and irrational
3. C) republican and democratic
4. D) militaristic and diplomatic

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 122

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

12. __________ people have been shown by survey results to be tolerant, favor civil rights, and understand different viewpoints.

1. A) Religious
2. B) Wealthy
3. C) College-educated
4. D) Rural

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 124

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

13. Women, in most recent elections, were several percentage points more likely to vote __________ for president than were men.

1. A) Republican
2. B) Democrat
3. C) Green Party
4. D) Libertarian

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 126

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

14. When summarized statistically in curves that show the distribution of opinions on a range from one extreme position to the other, when there is a matter on which there are few doubters, opinions are shown to be __________to one side, in the shape of a __________.

1. A) skewed; J-curve
2. B) unimodal; single hump
3. C) polarizing; flat-line
4. D) bimodal; U-curve

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 124

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

15. What is the main idea of a country’s outlying regions’ relationship with the capital? Those outlying regions usually __________.

1. A) attempt to align themselves with the capital’s policies
2. B) find themselves inundated with city-dwellers looking for work
3. C) fail entirely to communicate with the capital
4. D) harbor resentment against the capital

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 124

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

16. Describe the relationship between the mass public and complicated political decisions?

1. A) Though they rarely react after decisions have been made, the mass public does not comprehend a great deal about complex issues.
2. B) Though they can react after decisions have been made, the mass public does in fact comprehend a great deal about complex issues.
3. C) Though they can react after decisions have been made, the mass public does not comprehend a great deal about complex issues.
4. D) Though they almost never react after decisions have been made, the mass public does take action on decisions before and/or during the evolution of those decisions.

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 126

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

17. What must good public opinion studies do, especially those dealing with complex or specialized queries?

1. A) Distinguish between elite and mass opinions
2. B) Attempt to complicate the respondents’ responses, in order to get at their real opinions
3. C) Pose the simplest questions possible
4. D) Separate conservative from liberal opinions

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 128

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

18. In the 1980s, as represented by the gender gap, women liked federal programs for home and family and disliked the Republican emphasis on __________ and disdain for women’s rights.

1. A) corruption
2. B) regionalism
3. C) economics
4. D) war

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 126

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

19. How was Catholic John F. Kerry’s stance on abortion a factor in his 2004 run for President?

1. A) Catholics tend not to vote.
2. B) It lost Kerry many Catholic votes.
3. C) It won Kerry many Catholic votes.
4. D) It had little to no impact via Catholic voters, who tend to vote as actively as other sectors of the public.

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 125

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Apply What You Know

20. How were veterans’ experiences in Vietnam related to their position on the U.S. war in Iraq? They __________ of/in the U.S. war in Iraq.

1. A) were instinctively critical
2. B) tended to be uninterested
3. C) were adamantly in favor
4. D) tended to want to take part

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 125

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Apply What You Know

21. What is an example of American manual workers going against the expected habits of their class.

1. A) African American laborers motivated by noneconomic issues, such as race, gun control, etc. moving toward support of the Republican party
2. B) White working-class Americans motivated by noneconomic issues, such as race, gun control, etc. moving toward support of the Republican party
3. C) Working-class Hispanics motivated by noneconomic issues, such as race, gun control, etc. moving toward support of the Green party
4. D) White working-class Americans motivated by economic issues

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 122

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Apply What You Know

22. According to Almond’s “three publics,” the elite might play to the “attentive public” because they __________.

1. A) tend to pass on views that mobilize the general public
2. B) tend to pass on views that mobilize other elites
3. C) rarely pass on negative views that might upset the general public
4. D) rarely pass on views that simply repeat those of the elite

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 123

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Analyze It

23. Why might wealthy people consider themselves to be middle class?

1. A) They perceive their class status to be in danger of imminent decline.
2. B) Their ancestors were working class.
3. C) They hope to set themselves apart from their fellow elites.
4. D) They have working class origins.

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 122

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Analyze It

24. Why did some fear the hollowing out of the American middle class, while Americans simultaneously lost some of their belief that coming generations would always rise?

1. A) American social mobility fell behind that of West Europe’s and Canada’s.
2. B) American social mobility fell behind that of North Africa’s and Eastern Europe’s.
3. C) The social mobility of the poorest Americans fell behind that of those in West Europe and Canada.
4. D) The social mobility of only the American middle-class rose while the other classes saw a decline in social mobility.

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 8.2

Page Reference: 123

A-Head: The Shape of Public Opinion

Skill Level: Analyze It

25. Particularly in__________, published surveys are quite carefully watched.

1. A) wartime
2. B) Africa
3. C) election years
4. D) the south

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 8.3

Page Reference: 128

A-Head: Public Opinion Polls

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

26. The least expensive approaches to polling—a generally expensive activity—tend to be __________.

1. A) generally as effective as more expensive approaches
2. B) the most accurate
3. C) the least accurate
4. D) entirely inaccurate

Answer: C

Learning Objective: 8.3

Page Reference: 129

A-Head: Public Opinion Polls

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

27. What relatively new obstacle has arisen in regards to accurate telephone surveys?

1. A) Americans tend to simply decline or hang up.
2. B) Widespread technical issues
3. C) Many people provide misleading answer during phone surveys.
4. D) Very few respondents vote.

Answer: A

Learning Objective: 8.3

Page Reference: 130

A-Head: Public Opinion Polls

Skill Level: Remember the Facts

28. A debate that has arisen over some of the side effects of published surveys is whether __________.

1. A) people are educated enough to answer surveys appropriately
2. B) by treating polls as authoritative verdicts, journalists create self-fulfilling prophecies
3. C) men answer as honestly as women
4. D) polls are too conservative to determine policy

Answer: B

Learning Objective: 8.3

Page Reference: 128

A-Head: Public Opinion Polls

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

29. Describe how tone of voice and facial expressions play a role in the delivery of the polling questions.

1. A) In order to avoid discouraging one response over another and the skewing of results, pollsters must utilize sympathetic looks.
2. B) In order to avoid encouraging one response over another and the skewing of results, pollsters must avoid dressing to conservatively and sympathetic looks.
3. C) In order to avoid encouraging one response over another and the skewing of results, pollsters must avoid certain tones of voice and using foreign accents.
4. D) In order to avoid encouraging one response over another and the skewing of results, pollsters must avoid certain tones of voice and sympathetic looks.

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 8.3

Page Reference: 129

A-Head: Public Opinion Polls

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts

30. A survey sampling aimed at being both random and highly representative must involve selecting which of the following?

1. A) Geographic districts to sample, their religious characteristics, and random selection of which people to question from various categories
2. B) Republican districts to sample, their population characteristics, and random selection of which people to question from various categories
3. C) Geographic districts to sample, their population characteristics, and random selection of which people to question from a very narrow range of categories
4. D) Geographic districts to sample, their population characteristics, and random selection of which people to question from various categories

Answer: D

Learning Objective: 8.3

Page Reference: 129

A-Head: Public Opinion Polls

Skill Level: Understand the Concepts