Question 1

The small number of Americans who have well-informed and well-reasoned opinions is known as

Accepted Answer

A)  elites.
B)  masses.
C)  politicos.
D)  partisans.E) A) and B)
F) C) and D)

Question 2

One tool in which candidates assemble small groups of individuals for a directed conversation in which they hope to uncover patterns of thinking about issues and individuals is the ______.

Accepted Answer

A)  focus group
B)  political survey
C)  self-selected opinion poll
D)  random samplingE) All of the above
F) A) and C)

Question 3

In order to obtain a random yet representative sample with minimal cost, many pollsters use which of the following tools?

Accepted Answer

A)  self-selected listener opinion polling
B)  straw polls
C)  exit polls
D)  random-digit dialingE) B) and C)
F) A) and B) D

Question 4

A system through which citizens communicate with their elected officials through phone calls, emails, or personal visits would best be described as

Accepted Answer

A)  census taking.
B)  indirect communication.
C)  constituent polling.
D)  direct communication.E) C) and D)
F) B) and D) D

Question 5

Question order is important in survey construction because

Accepted Answer

A)  the sequencing of questions can influence answers.
B)  the construction of question types influences survey outcome.
C)  some questions are easier to understand than others.
D)  more salient questions should be placed at the end of the survey.E) B) and C)
F) B) and D)

Question 6

Studies have demonstrated that the phenomenon of political polarization has not been observed in American politics.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 7

The strength of individual involvement and preference is defined as

Accepted Answer

A)  direction.
B)  intensity.
C)  stability.
D)  salience.E) B) and D)
F) B) and C)

Question 8

A sociologist at George Washington University pointed out that one incident on its own might not move American public opinion, but a(n) ______ of these incidents might certainly shift public opinion.

Accepted Answer

A)  critical mass
B)  small number
C)  isolated few
D)  rising numberE) None of the above
F) A) and D)

Question 9

The phenomenon in which "individual voters are unable to satisfy the requirements of a democratic system but the system of democracy meets certain requirements for a going political organization" is called the

Accepted Answer

A)  collective system of individual and aggregate beliefs.
B)  systems theory of organizational political information.
C)  paradox of individual capabilities and systems capability.
D)  individual theory of political beliefs and attitudes.E) All of the above
F) A) and B)

Question 10

Individual political opinions are considered set in stone at an early age.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 11

Inherent in the minimalist critique is the idea that

Accepted Answer

A)  Americans lack any relevant amount of political information.
B)  not all Americans have the same amount of political information.
C)  all Americans have equal access to and knowledge of political information.
D)  political information contains no value and is irrelevant to the political process.E) B) and D)
F) A) and D) B

Question 12

On August 9, 2015, demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, rallied to the slogan

Accepted Answer

A)  "Hands up, don't shoot."
B)  "Black lives matter."
C)  "All lives matter."
D)  "Police brutality."E) A) and D)
F) C) and D)

Question 13

The degree of change over time in response to differently worded survey questions or in different contexts of a particular opinion is defined as

Accepted Answer

A)  direction.
B)  intensity.
C)  stability.
D)  salience.E) A) and D)
F) B) and D)

Question 14

The authors of What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters found that with regard to political knowledge, it was

Accepted Answer

A)  highly equitable.
B)  unequally distributed.
C)  solely in the hands of the elite.
D)  significantly inaccurate and biased.E) B) and C)
F) None of the above

Question 15

In their 1960 study, The American Voter, researchers, using large sample survey technology, made the observation that

Accepted Answer

A)  young citizens tend to be underinvolved in politics, while older citizens tend to be highly involved.
B)  most citizens are highly involved in political activities.
C)  American citizens are no more or less involved in politics than citizens of other countries.
D)  the average citizen is very much less involved in politics than is imagined.E) C) and D)
F) All of the above

Question 16

Which of the following national organizations got their start with the protests in Ferguson, Missouri?

Accepted Answer

A)  Black Lives Matter
B)  MoveOnDotOrg
C)  Carry That Weight
D)  The Peterson ProjectE) C) and D)
F) B) and D)

Question 17

The main problem with scientific polling is one of

Accepted Answer

A)  administration.
B)  construction.
C)  sampling.D) All of the above
E) A) and B)

Question 18

A polling company wishes to administer a scientific random poll of individuals across the country.In order to truly get a computer-generated random sample, what type of survey should it conduct?

Accepted Answer

random-dig...

Question 19

One of the most interesting and important debates about American public opinion is

Accepted Answer

A)  the value of public opinion in governmental decisions.
B)  whether public opinion actually exists.
C)  the validity of public opinion in political races.
D)  how to accurately measure public opinion among young adults.E) C) and D)
F) A) and D)

Question 20

In their 1996 book What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters, two researchers came to the finding that

Accepted Answer

A)  civic knowledge had a high degree of correlation to successful political efficacy.
B)  knowledge of American government had no impact on the behavior of political candidates.
C)  political knowledge was consistently high among all groups involved in the survey.
D)  a significant percentage of Americans were unable to answer basic questions about American government.E) B) and D)
F) A) and B)

Exam 7: Public Opinion

The small number of Americans who have well-informed and well-reasoned opinions is known as

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

One tool in which candidates assemble small groups of individuals for a directed conversation in which they hope to uncover patterns of thinking about issues and individuals is the ______.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In order to obtain a random yet representative sample with minimal cost, many pollsters use which of the following tools?

Correct AnswerverifiedD

A system through which citizens communicate with their elected officials through phone calls, emails, or personal visits would best be described as

Correct AnswerverifiedD

Question order is important in survey construction because

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Studies have demonstrated that the phenomenon of political polarization has not been observed in American politics.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The strength of individual involvement and preference is defined as

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A sociologist at George Washington University pointed out that one incident on its own might not move American public opinion, but a(n) ______ of these incidents might certainly shift public opinion.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The phenomenon in which "individual voters are unable to satisfy the requirements of a democratic system but the system of democracy meets certain requirements for a going political organization" is called the

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Individual political opinions are considered set in stone at an early age.

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Inherent in the minimalist critique is the idea that

Correct AnswerverifiedB

On August 9, 2015, demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, rallied to the slogan

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The degree of change over time in response to differently worded survey questions or in different contexts of a particular opinion is defined as

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The authors of What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters found that with regard to political knowledge, it was

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In their 1960 study, The American Voter, researchers, using large sample survey technology, made the observation that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

Which of the following national organizations got their start with the protests in Ferguson, Missouri?

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

The main problem with scientific polling is one of

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

A polling company wishes to administer a scientific random poll of individuals across the country.In order to truly get a computer-generated random sample, what type of survey should it conduct?

Correct Answerverifiedrandom-dig...View AnswerShow Answer

One of the most interesting and important debates about American public opinion is

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

In their 1996 book What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters, two researchers came to the finding that

Correct AnswerverifiedShow Answer

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