Ch6 Political Socialization and Test Questions & Answers

American Democracy Now, 6e (Harrison)

Chapter 6 Political Socialization and Public Opinion

1) The process by which individuals acquire their opinions is called

A) popular culture.

B) social communication.

C) socioeconomic change.

D) political socialization.

E) political assimilation.

2) Studies indicate that children whose parents participate in civic life are ________ to do so themselves.

A) about as likely

B) more likely

C) less likely

D) much less likely

E) None of these answers is correct.

3) Of the following political socialization agents, which have the greatest impact on forming political beliefs?

A) demographic characteristics

B) political leaders

C) groups

D) peers

E) schools

4) Social scientists argue that ________ exert the strongest influence on political socialization.

A) family, school, and the media

B) family, peer groups, and religion

C) school, religion, and the media

D) school, peer groups, and civic participation

E) civic participation, the media, and family

5) Which socialization agent has the first major impact on a child?

A) peers

B) church

C) political leaders

D) family

E) community leaders

6) From 1956 until it ceased operation in 2012, the first- through twelfth-grade Weekly Reader student poll correctly predicted the outcome of every presidential election. What is the best explanation for this?

A) Children mimic the behavior of their parents.

B) The media have a strong influence on children.

C) Stratified sampling is used.

D) It is a highly effective random sample.

E) Children are likely to vote like the majority of their community, therefore making the poll an accurate predictor.

7) Which of the following is NOT true of media's contributions to the political socialization of Americans?

A) The media aid in shaping societal norms.

B) The media help determine the national agenda.

C) The media educate the public about policy issues.

D) The media play a stronger role than any other agent of socialization.

E) The media often reinforce core democratic values.

8) When are children in the United States first exposed to socialization by being encouraged to believe in democracy and express patriotism?

A) preschool

B) kindergarten

C) elementary school

D) middle school

E) high school

9) White Protestants are most likely to vote

A) Independent.

B) Democrat.

C) Republican.

D) Libertarian.

E) None of these answers is correct.

10) Among white voters, those who regularly attend religious services are more likely to

A) be Republican.

B) be Democratic.

C) be Independent.

D) be inactive in politics.

E) switch back and forth between parties.

11) No matter how religious they are, ________ are likely to identify themselves as Democrats.

A) white Americans

B) African Americans

C) Asian Americans

D) Hispanic Americans

E) Native Americans

12) The largest proportion of nonreligious Americans are

A) Republicans.

B) Democrats.

C) Independents.

D) inactive in politics.

E) more likely to switch back and forth between parties.

13) According to the results of a 2016 Pew Research poll, which of the following best represents the percentage of Americans who had close friends who support opposing candidates?

A) fewer than 50 percent

B) fewer than 25 percent

C) more than 50 percent

D) more than 25 percent

E) 100 percent

14) The primary function of peers as socialization agents is to

A) challenge our ingrained perspectives from childhood.

B) prompt us to conform to societal norms.

C) lead us to embrace diversity.

D) encourage us to explore new ways of thinking.

E) reinforce existing beliefs and attitudes.

15) The increased awareness among Americans in the debate over building a wall between the U.S. and Mexico demonstrates the prominent role that the ________ plays in shaping Americans' views.

A) Speaker of the House

B) House majority leader

C) House minority leader

D) president

E) vice president

16) Whites, African Americans, Latinos, and Asian Americans hold ________ political views.

A) identical

B) very similar

C) somewhat similar

D) different

E) None of these answers is correct.

17) According to exit polls from the 2016 presidential election, which ethnic group was the most unified?

A) whites

B) African Americans

C) Native Americans

D) Hispanics

E) Asian Americans

18) According to exit polls from the 2016 presidential election, which ethnic group was the most divided?

A) whites

B) African Americans

C) Native Americans

D) Latinos

E) Asian Americans

19) Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of women voters?

A) Women are less likely than men to favor capital punishment.

B) Women are more likely than men to favor Republican candidates.

C) Millennial women tend to vote Democratic.

D) Women in most age groups are more likely to vote than males.

E) Women are more likely than men to identify the treatment of minorities as a very important issue.

20) Which Latino group more strongly identifies as Republican?

A) Puerto Ricans

B) Salvadorans

C) Mexican Americans

D) Dominicans

E) Cubans

21) Public polls and voting behavior indicate that men and women have ________ views on many issues.

A) largely identical

B) very similar

C) somewhat similar

D) somewhat different

E) very different

22) Which presidential election first revealed the existence of the gender gap?

A) 1968

B) 1976

C) 1980

D) 1984

E) 1992

23) Women are more likely to vote than men in every age group EXCEPT

A) those under 25.

B) those aged 25–34.

C) those aged 35–44.

D) those aged 45–54.

E) those over 55.

24) Men and women differ the LEAST in

A) how they choose to become politically involved.

B) their opinions on issues they see as "very important," such as the economy, terrorism, and immigration.

C) how they feel about government activism.

D) their opinions on the importance of pay equity.

E) their support of the death penalty.

25) Which geographical region is the most evenly divided among the ideologies?

A) East

B) Midwest

C) South

D) West

E) None of these answers is correct.

26) At what point was there no discernible gender gap in presidential elections?

A) 1972–1976

B) 1980–1984

C) 1992–1996

D) 2000–2004

E) 2008–2012

27) Among geographical regions, which areas differ the most in political outlook?

A) Midwest and South

B) Northeast and West Coast

C) West Coast and Midwest

D) Northeast and South

E) West Coast and South

28) Generational effects tend to be felt most strongly by which group?

A) old people

B) women

C) young people

D) men

E) Latinos

29) Which of these events is a strong example of the generational effect on the oldest Americans?

A) World War II

B) September 11, 2001

C) the Vietnam War

D) the Civil War

E) the Persian Gulf War

30) Which of the following events would be described as having a generational effect?

A) WWI

B) the Great Depression

C) the Great Recession

D) the terrorist attacks of 9/11

E) All of these answers are correct.

31) Which regions tend to favor the Democrats?

A) the Northeast and the Midwest

B) the West Coast and the South

C) the South and the West Coast

D) most major cities and the West

E) the Northeast, the West Coast, and most major cities

32) Which regions tend to favor the Republicans?

A) the West and most major cities

B) the West Coast and the South

C) the South and most major cities

D) the Midwest and the Northeast

E) the South, the West, and most of the Midwest

33) Which region is the most Protestant compared to other regions in the United States?

A) the West

B) the West Coast

C) the South

D) the Midwest

E) the Northeast

34) Which region has the largest Catholic and Jewish populations compared to other regions in the United States?

A) the West

B) the West Coast

C) the South

D) the Midwest

E) the Northeast

35) Which region has the largest population of those without a religious affiliation, compared to other regions in the United States?

A) the West

B) the major cities

C) the South

D) the Midwest

E) the Northeast

36) Public opinion and ________ are inextricably linked because the latter is the prism through which people view all political issues.

A) tradition

B) ideology

C) religion

D) family dynamics

E) personal belief

37) Popular opinion is often manifested by activities such as

A) public demonstrations.

B) looting and destruction of public property.

C) opinion blogging.

D) calling members of Congress.

E) public demonstrations; opinion blogging; and calling members of Congress.

38) Which of the following is the earliest example of American politicians trying to shape public opinion?

A) the publication of The Federalist Papers

B) Lincoln's Gettysburg Address

C) William Jennings Bryan's "Cross of Gold" speech in the 1890s

D) Franklin D. Roosevelt's fireside chats during the Depression

E) Abolitionist newspapers published in the years before the Civil War

39) Which of the following statements about public opinion is FALSE?

A) Public opinion is itself a socializing agent.

B) Public opinion is measured in part through the act of voting.

C) Public opinion is used to craft policies to help politicians gain reelection.

D) Public opinion has only recently been important to American politics.

E) Public opinion is manifested in many ways.

40) Which of the following is NOT characteristic of both Generation Z and Millennials?

A) support for marijuana legalization

B) support for tolerant policies in racial and ethnic issues

C) support for LGBT rights and same-sex marriage

D) very likely to have a college education

E) belief in fewer and more tolerant laws concerning gun control

41) Which of the following is currently the largest generation group in the U.S.?

A) Generation X

B) Generation Z

C) Millennials

D) Baby Boomers

E) Silent Generation

42) Which generation is most likely to support legislation for tolerant immigration policies?

A) Generation X

B) Generation Z

C) Millennials

D) Baby Boomers

E) Silent Generation

43) Wide and accepted use of birth control is an "externality" that has played an important role in the political development of which generation?

A) Generation X

B) Generation Z

C) Millennials

D) Baby Boomers

E) Silent Generation

44) As a result of the Great Recession, which generation group is predicted to be fiscally reserved?

A) Generation X

B) Generation Z

C) Millennials

D) Baby Boomers

E) Silent Generation

45) What is the first thing someone who is conducting a poll needs to do?

A) Construct unbiased questions.

B) Determine a target population.

C) Select a sample.

D) Pick a survey measurement instrument.

E) Group participants by ideology.

46) Because it is impossible to measure everyone's opinions, pollsters frequently rely on ________ sampling.

A) random

B) quota

C) stratified

D) qualitative

E) quantitative

47) Pollsters who structure a sample so that it is representative of the characteristics of a target population are using what type of sampling?

A) random sampling

B) quota sampling

C) stratified sampling

D) qualitative sampling

E) quantitative sampling

48) For the purposes of stratified sampling, how many sampling regions are there in the United States?

A) two

B) three

C) four

D) five

E) six

49) Most national polling organizations rarely poll more than ________ respondents.

A) 100

B) 150

C) 500

D) 1,000

E) 1,500

50) When polling a state or congressional district, a polling organization will typically use a sample size of

A) 80–100.

B) 150–200.

C) 300–500.

D) 800–1,000.

E) 1,000–1,500.

51) The key to a successful sample is

A) accurately reflecting the population.

B) using exactly five percent of the population that is being polled.

C) using under 100 participants.

D) hand selecting each participant according to their political views.

E) polling only when it is ensured that they have enough time to answer the questions.

52) Internet polls present their own set of obstacles, including

A) the relative rarity of access to the Internet.

B) young people's preference for cell phones.

C) the increased number of respondents.

D) the ability of respondents to "vote" more than once.

E) significantly greater costs.

53) A poll that measures changes in public opinion over time is known as a(n) ________ poll.

A) straw

B) Gallup

C) tracking

D) push

E) exit

54) A poll that both attempts to skew public opinion on a candidate and provides information about candidate strengths and weaknesses is a(n) ________ poll.

A) straw

B) Gallup

C) tracking

D) push

E) exit

55) A poll of which type would be most likely to ask the following question? "If you found out that Representative Jones participated in several unsavory financial transactions, would it affect your vote?"

A) straw poll

B) Gallup poll

C) tracking poll

D) push poll

E) exit poll

56) ________ polls are frequently sponsored on Election Day by news organizations, who use them to help predict outcomes of presidential or other national races.

A) Straw

B) Gallup

C) Tracking

D) Push

E) Exit

57) In 2018, which of the following issues was identified by respondents as the "most important problem" facing the country?

A) race relations

B) dissatisfaction with government

C) the economy

D) foreign wars

E) the threat of terrorism

58) The recent decline in trust in the institution of the presidency is closely related to

A) anxiety over the direction of America's foreign policy.

B) concerns over whether the executive branch can be a force for positive change.

C) worries over government corruption and waste.

D) dissatisfaction with government/poor leadership.

E) public perceptions of America's economic health.

59) Which branch of the federal government consistently scores higher in levels of public trust than others?

A) federal bureaucracy

B) executive branch

C) judicial branch

D) legislative branch

E) Department of Justice

60) Identify the two main influences on political socialization that we experience from early childhood.

61) Discuss the ways in which the media act as an agent of political socialization.

62) Explain how peer groups, diversity, and norms and values are related.

63) Define the gender gap and provide examples of its visibility on certain issues.

64) Identify the role geographic region plays in forming public opinion.

65) Explain the role of the public opinion poll in American politics.

66) Define quota sampling and explain its uses.

67) Identify issues associated with Internet sampling techniques.

68) Identify the types of information that can be derived from tracking polls, and which organizations or individuals employ them.

69) Outline how Americans have changed their responses to the "most important problem" question in public opinion polls between 2003 and 2016.