Political Science 101- Introduction to American Politics » Spring 2021 » Chapter 8 Post Test

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Question #1
A political ideology is best defined as
A.   the concrete interests that people try to defend through public policy.
B.   the various attitudes that citizens possess toward political issues, events, and people.
C.   the specific preferences individuals contemplate while discussing an issue.
D.   a cohesive set of beliefs that form a general philosophy about the government.
Question #2
Support for an affirmative action policy that considers an applicant’s race in university admissions is an example of a political ________, while a belief in equality of opportunity is an example of a political ________.
A.   ideology; value
B.   value; ideology
C.   attitude; value
D.   ideology; attitude
Question #3
In international affairs, conservatism has come to mean
A.   opposition to military intervention and the ramping down of American military power.
B.   opposition to the United States’ membership in the United Nations.
C.   opposition to the continued existence of the European Union.
D.   support for military intervention and the maintenance of American military power.
Question #4
Bernie Sanders is best described as a ________, while Rand Paul is best described as a ________.
A.   conservative; libertarian
B.   democratic socialist; libertarian
C.   libertarian; democratic socialist
D.   libertarian; conservative
Question #5
Which of the following sets of terms best describes America’s fundamental political values?
A.   liberty, equality of opportunity, and democracy
B.   internationalist and isolationist
C.   independent and moderate
D.   liberal and conservative
Question #6
________ generally support abortion rights and oppose state involvement with religious institutions.
A.   Socialists
B.   Liberals
C.   Internationalists
D.   Conservatives
Question #7
________ is the most important core value of liberalism.
A.   Democracy
B.   Equality
C.   Justice
D.   Liberty
Question #8
Liberalism and conservatism are examples of
A.   public opinions.
B.   political ideologies.
C.   political preferences.
D.   political attitudes.
Question #9
A vast majority of Americans describe themselves as
A.   liberals, conservatives, or moderates.
B.   libertarians or socialists.
C.   liberals or socialists.
D.   conservatives or libertarians.
Question #10
A person’s political party preference is primarily acquired through the influence of the
A.   media.
B.   region of the country the person inhabits.
C.   person’s family.
D.   person’s education.
Question #11
Which of the following is an example of the “gender gap”?
A.   that women earn, on average, less than men
B.   that men are more supportive of Donald Trump’s presidency than women
C.   that women received the right to vote in the United States long after most men did
D.   that men and women have roughly the same overall levels of support for abortion
Question #12
The fact that liberals choose to live in neighborhoods, cities, counties, and states that are more liberal while conservatives move to areas with populations with more conservative views is called
A.   redlining.
B.   geographic sorting.
C.   political socialization.
D.   NIMBY-ism.
Question #13
What did the framers identify as the greatest source of political conflict for the United States?
A.   geographic differences
B.   conflicts between central and local governments
C.   differences between the rich and poor
D.   racial inequalities
Question #14
The marketplace of ideas refers to
A.   the explosion of information brought on by the internet and other advances in electronic communication.
B.   the competition between varying opinions and ideas that are aired in public forums.
C.   the use of opinion pollsters who market a politician’s speeches, ideas, and votes.
D.   important changes in copyright and patent laws that have restricted Americans’ access to free information.
Question #15
The ________ model states that individuals keep a running tally of information and use that tally to form their opinions.
A.   “receive,” “accept,” “sample”
B.   motivated reasoning
C.   memory
D.   online processing
Question #16
“Policy feedback” occurs when
A.   public opinion shifts in response to changes in government policy.
B.   members of the federal bureaucracy report to Congress about a law’s effectiveness.
C.   government policy shifts in response to changes in public opinion.
D.   interest groups provide congressional testimony during the lawmaking process.
Question #17
The fact that Americans today are likely to follow the news by briefly reading multiple headlines online rather than by reading longer news articles is referred to as
A.   skimming and scanning.
B.   browsing and breezing.
C.   receiving and accepting.
D.   searching and sampling.
Question #18
Political leaders may prefer communicating through social media because
A.   they can more directly control the content of their communication and speak to the public more directly
B.   the traditional media almost never educate or persuade members of the public.
C.   social media is free, whereas the mainstream press often charges monetary fees for broadcasting messages.
D.   federal law limits what they may say to journalists from the mainstream press but not what they may say on social media sites.
Question #19
News media reported that in the summer of 2020, more than half of the American public disapproved of the way President Trump was handling the COVID-19 crises. What could be inferred from this information?
A.   that media coverage of the president’s handling of the crisis is supportive of his efforts
B.   that the president is influencing media coverage to positively report on his efforts
C.   that the media went along with the president’s interests in reporting on the crisis
D.   that media coverage of the president’s handling of the crises is not always favorable
Question #20
Why do most people use cues from party elites and elected officials to help them form their political attitudes?
A.   Cues are free from bias; they are mostly fact-based and therefore let people make up their own minds more easily.
B.   Cues take a lot of effort; because they are more “hard-earned,” they are more valuable to individuals.
C.   Cues are not really partisan; they tend to come from objective or non-partisan sources so are easier for more people to use.
D.   Cues are easy; cues from trusted officials are usually consistent with a person’s underlying preferences.
Question #21
Which statement best describes the relationship between public opinion and government policy?
A.   Public opinion rarely influences government policy; because elections are spaced out far enough, the vast majority of lawmakers do not need to account for shifts in public opinion.
B.   Government policy never influences public opinion because most Americans pay very little attention to politics; this dynamic allows government policy to be more or less unresponsive to the public.
C.   Public opinion always influences government policy because lawmakers are legally bound to enact the majority’s preferences.
D.   The relationship between government policy and public opinion is dynamic, wherein government policy responds to public opinion but public opinion also shifts based on new government policies.
Question #22
The small group selected by pollsters to represent the entire population is called a
A.   validity quotient.
B.   sample.
C.   reliability quotient.
D.   quota.
Question #23
In recent years, response rates for random digit dial surveys have been
A.   declining steadily and now average less than 10%.
B.   increasing steadily and now average 75%.
C.   declining steadily and now average only 67%.
D.   increasing steadily and now average 95%.
Question #24
What is the “social desirability effect”?
A.   the impression conveyed by polls that something is important to the public when actually it is not
B.   the fact that respondents report what they think the interviewer wishes to hear or whatever they think is socially acceptable rather than what they actually believe
C.   the bias in surveys that comes from the failure of pollsters to interview respondents from lower socioeconomic backgrounds
D.   the strong desire that people have to express their opinions to survey researchers
Question #25
If a person supports a candidate because he or she is the front-runner in a poll, it is an example of the
A.   bandwagon effect.
B.   illusion of saliency.
C.   bellwether effect.
D.   “bounce” effect.
Question #26
The difference between a political value and a political attitude is that values are
A.   liberal, while attitudes are conservative.
B.   conservative, while attitudes are liberal.
C.   held for a short term, while attitudes are held for a long term.
D.   basic principles, while attitudes are specific preferences.
Question #27
Support for freedom of speech, a free internet, and the press is
A.   nearly nonexistent in the United States.
B.   lower in the United States than in most other countries in the world.
C.   higher in the United States than in most other countries in the world.
D.   roughly the same in the United States as most other countries in the world.
Question #28
Libertarianism is a political ideology that
A.   argues for the need to place strict limitations on voting rights and civil liberties.
B.   argues governments are inherently repressive and should be abolished entirely.
C.   argues a single ruler should have total control over every aspect of people’s lives.
D.   emphasizes freedom and voluntary association with small government.
Question #29
Donald Trump called himself a “law and order” president. This supports the idea that the president
A.   has a liberal ideology.
B.   is ideologically moderate.
C.   has a conservative ideology.
D.   has both a liberal and conservative ideology.
Question #30
Which of the following statements best describes current controversies about immigration among conservatives?
A.   There is no division of opinion among conservatives because almost all conservatives accept immigration.
B.   There is no division of opinion among conservatives because almost all conservatives strongly oppose immigration.
C.   There is a division of opinion among conservatives, with pro-business conservatives opposing immigration and social conservatives strongly supporting immigration to the United States.
D.   There is a division of opinion among conservatives, with pro-business conservatives accepting immigration and social conservatives strongly opposing immigration to the United States.
Question #31
The fact that Americans strongly support minimal governmental interference with individuals’ lives and property illustrates their commitment to
A.   liberty.
B.   anarchy.
C.   democracy.
D.   socialism.
Question #32
________ is the core political value most highly prioritized by American conservatives.
A.   Liberty
B.   Equality
C.   Family
D.   Justice
Question #33
Opposition to legalized abortion is a position most likely supported by ________, while support for legalized abortion is a position most likely supported by ________.
A.   conservatives; libertarians
B.   libertarians; conservatives
C.   conservatives; liberals
D.   liberals; conservatives
Question #34
In classical political theory, a liberal was closest to what we would today refer to as a
A.   communist.
B.   libertarian.
C.   anarchist.
D.   socialist.
Question #35
The tendency for Black Americans to perceive other Black Americans as members of a group with a common identity and a shared political interest is called
A.   linked fate.
B.   intergroup commonality.
C.   symbolic racism.
D.   reverse racism.
Question #36
In the 2020 presidential election, Americans without any religious affiliation are more likely to support the ________ candidate:
A.   Republican
B.   Democratic
C.   conservative
D.   Libertarian
Question #37
  
A.   Republican; Democrats
B.   Socialist; Democrats
C.   Democratic; Republicans
D.   Democratic; Socialists
Question #38
A wealthy businessperson who is very liberal is an example of the
A.   fact that group memberships can fully explain all of an individual’s political views.
B.   negative consequences of the power of the mass media.
C.   fact that group memberships never fully explain all of an individual’s political views.
D.   power of the bandwagon effect.
Question #39
The three steps of John Zaller’s model of opinion formation are
A.   reject, reconsider, and accept.
B.   receive, accept, and sample.
C.   listen, consider, and adapt.
D.   develop, spread, and react.
Question #40
According to the online processing model, members of the public may appear to be politically uninformed because
A.   they spend a great deal of time each day consuming nonpolitical content on the internet.
B.   they spend a great deal of time each day consuming nonpolitical content on television.
C.   by the time they actually voice an opinion on an issue, they are likely to have forgotten much of the information that helped them arrive at their opinion.
D.   their commitment to privacy makes them deeply unwilling to reveal to public opinion pollsters how much they actually know about politics.
Question #41
Which of the following statements about public opinion in America is most accurate?
A.   Politically knowledgeable citizens are more likely to consider themselves independent and not have a liberal or conservative ideology.
B.   Citizens with high levels of knowledge are generally better able to evaluate new information to determine its relevancy to their beliefs.
C.   Political knowledge is fairly high in America.
D.   Citizens with low levels of knowledge are generally better able to evaluate new information and determine its relevancy to their beliefs.
Question #42
Which of the following statements about the marketplace of ideas is true?
A.   Private groups and the news media play important roles in shaping opinions in the marketplace of ideas.
B.   Exposure to the marketplace of ideas rarely leads people to change their minds about political issues.
C.   Government officials are legally prohibited from promoting ideas in the marketplace of ideas.
D.   The British created the marketplace of ideas in the seventeenth century.
Question #43
In a speech, President Trump reminded the audience he would protect Second Amendment rights (the right to bear arms). This statement is most likely to convince and persuade which group that they should support his efforts?
A.   Independents, 57% of whom say gun laws should be more strict
B.   Democrats, 80% of whom want stricter gun laws
C.   Republicans, 72% of whom do not want stricter gun laws
D.   Democrats, 80% of whom do not want strict gun laws
Question #44
By the time of the Iraq invasion in March 2003, the American public was
A.   overwhelmingly supportive of the war, with almost 100% of Americans endorsing the Bush administration’s policy.
B.   strongly supportive of the war, with 70% of Americans endorsing the Bush administration’s policy.
C.   deeply divided on the war, with 50% of Americans endorsing and 50% of Americans opposing the Bush administration’s policy.
D.   overwhelmingly opposed to the war, with only 5% of Americans endorsing the Bush administration’s policy.
Question #45
Research into public opinion and public policy has shown that
A.   every citizen has an equally strong influence over politics and public policy decisions.
B.   nonvoters have a disproportionate influence over politics and public policy decisions.
C.   less affluent and less educated citizens have a disproportionate influence over politics and public policy decisions.
D.   more affluent and more educated citizens have a disproportionate influence over politics and public policy decisions.
Question #46
  
A.   the majority of affluent and educated citizens personally know an elected official.
B.   their opinions are of higher quality than those of less affluent and less educated citizens.
C.   the emoluments clause of the Constitution compels elected officials to give preferential treatment to citizens with a college degree.
D.   they vote at higher rates, and they are more likely to contribute money to political campaigns.
Question #47
A(n) ________ sample is a method used by pollsters to select a representative sample in which every individual in the population has an equal probability of being selected as a respondent.
A.   equal opportunity
B.   simple random
C.   quota
D.   stratified
Question #48
Suppose a researcher is conducting a public-opinion poll for a politician during an election. The politician cares about getting an accurate response but isn’t inclined to pay more than she needs to so long as the margin of error is less than 4%. How big of a sample size should the researcher aim to get?
A.   1,500
B.   500
C.   1,000
D.   250
Question #49
A push poll involves
A.   a poll to push politicians into adopting policy proposals they would not otherwise adopt.
B.   the system of repeatedly calling people in the sampling frame until they respond to the survey.
C.   asking loaded questions in order to subtly shape the respondent’s opinion.
D.   polling services attempting to sell their polling data to major news media organizations at higher prices during election seasons.
Question #50
A frequent cause of measurement error in polls is due to
A.   push polling.
B.   the increased use of cell phones.
C.   poorly worded questions.
D.   too large sample sizes.
Question #51
The fact that survey respondents overreport voting in elections and the frequency of their church attendance is an example of the ________ effect.
A.   social desirability
B.   Hawthorne
C.   coattail
D.   bandwagon
Question #52
During the 2000 South Carolina Republican primary, George W. Bush supporters telephoned conservative White voters to ask if they would be more or less likely to vote for John McCain if they knew he had fathered an illegitimate Black child. This was an example of a
A.   nonresponse bias.
B.   saliency illusion.
C.   push poll.
D.   bandwagon poll.
Question #53
The term “big data” refers to data sets that
A.   measure attributes of groups, organizations, or nations rather than attributes of single individuals.
B.   are paid for by large corporations.
C.   have a major impact on policy making.
D.   are so large and complex that they require advanced analytics, rather than traditional methods, to reveal insights on a massive scale.
Question #54
Which of the following situations is an example of data mining?
A.   All of the answer choices are correct.
B.   A media organization asks respondents loaded questions to produce a particular response that best matches the organization’s political ideology.
C.   A political campaign uses Google Search data to determine if the public supports repealing the death penalty.
D.   A corporation conducts a survey of 100,000 individuals using simple random sampling.
Question #55
During the 2020 Democratic presidential primary elections, candidate and former vice president Joe Biden received favorable national coverage showing his lead in the South Carolina polls. Despite losses in the previous four states, Biden went on to become the party’s presumptive nominee in weeks. The increased public support for Biden is partly explained by
A.   push polling
B.   the bandwagon effect
C.   social desirability bias
D.   data mining
Question #56
The term “public opinion” is used to describe
A.   beliefs and attitudes toward different issues, events, and people.
B.   the U.S. Supreme Court’s decisions.
C.   the analysis of events broadcast by reporters during the evening news.
D.   the president’s collected speeches and writings during his or her term in office.
Question #57
During his 2020 campaign for the Democratic Party’s nomination, Senator Bernie Sanders advocated for free tuition at public colleges. Which of the following best explains support for the policy among young individuals?
A.   inability of groups to translate preferences into policy
B.   conservative ideology
C.   agents of socialization
D.   group self-interest
Question #58
What are agents of socialization?
A.   The public forums in which beliefs and ideas are exchanged and compete for influence
B.   Social institutions, like family and school, that shape an individual’s basic political beliefs and values
C.   The general process of introducing a person into a political culture
D.   An influencer or politician who seeks to promote a socialist ideology
Question #59
Which of the following statements best describes agents of socialization?
A.   Agents of socialization are common and include a wide range of influences, from family to school; their impact on a person’s beliefs is important but not all-powerful.
B.   Agents of socialization are mostly ineffective; individuals largely determine their basic political beliefs on their own, and these agents exert almost no influence on a person.
C.   Agents of socialization are rare; they consist of only a handful of influential people a person might encounter throughout their life.
D.   Agents of socialization are overwhelmingly powerful and more or less fully explain how a person develops their own basic political beliefs.
Question #60
Which U.S. president promoted his policy agenda to the American people through “fireside chats”?
A.   John F. Kennedy
B.   Warren Harding
C.   Franklin D. Roosevelt
D.   Harry Truman

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