Public Opinion Ch7 Full Test Bank

Chapter 7: Public Opinion

Test Questions

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 1

1) Which perspective on public opinion’s influence could be related to the framers’ goal of avoiding the dangers of mob rule?

Feedback: factual

a. Ignorant masses

b. Self-governing people

c. Rational public

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 2

2) Public Opinion, an influential book, was written by

Feedback: conceptual

a. Ronald Reagan.

b. Walter Lippmann.

c. John F. Kennedy.

d. Karl Marx.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 3

3) Lippmann saw the typical American as distracted by which of the following?

Feedback: applied

a. Minor scandals

b. Voting records

c. Party politics

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 4

4) _______ said that the “science of public opinion” was undeserving of the name.

Feedback: factual

a. Mills

b. Lippmann

c. Goodnow

d. Lawrence

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 5

5) Lippmann saw the typical American as distracted by

Feedback: applied

a. Celebrity shenanigans

b. Voting records

c. Party politics

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 6

6) Lippmann felt that the typical American

Feedback: factual

a. was interested in politics.

b. voted in every election.

c. rarely understood policy details.

d. was highly motivated.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 7

7) With what university were the authors of The American Voter affiliated?

Feedback: factual

a. University of Michigan

b. University of California

c. Arizona State University

d. Harvard University

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 8

8) The publication of what text showed that those surveyed for the book’s research knew little about the positions either political party stood for or about the main policy issues at the time?

Feedback: applied

a. Voting in the States after Landslides

b. The Constant Majority

c. The American Voter

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 9

9) In The American Voter, the authors argued that citizens knew _______ about the positions either political party stood for or about the main policy issues at the time.

Feedback: conceptual

a. little

b. a moderate amount

c. a great deal

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 10

10) The American Voter presented the foundation for what concept concerning the lack of a stable perspective in opinion surveys?

Feedback: factual

a. Nonattitudes

b. Response bias

c. Margin of error

d. Scientific inquiry

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 11

11) What can be seen as suggesting that people often change their responses or opinions randomly, not necessarily because of new information?

Feedback: factual

a. Nonattitudes

b. Response bias

c. Margin of error

d. Shifting alignments

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 12

12) Which publication says that the public is wise and reasonable in its opinions?

Feedback: factual

a. The American Voter

b. The Informed Public

c. The Rational Public

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 13

13) _______ opinion is the key to assessing popular preferences, according to The Rational Public.

Feedback: conceptual

a. Minority

b. Majority

c. Collective

d. Cascading

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 14

14) Which of the following is not one of the three basic propositions in The Rational Public?

Feedback: factual

a. Collective opinion is key to assessing popular preferences.

b. Majority opinion is key to assessing popular preferences.

c. Individuals may be vague on policy specifics and even government basics.

d. Collective opinion is useful only when public officials are attentive to it.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 15

15) To which of the three propositions in The Rational Public does the idea of information shortcuts relate?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Collective opinion is key to assessing popular preferences.

b. Majority opinion is key to assessing popular preferences.

c. Individuals may be vague on policy specifics and even government basics.

d. Collective opinion is useful only when public officials are attentive to it.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 16

16) _______ shortcuts are cues about candidates and policies drawn from everyday life.

Feedback: conceptual

a. Preference

b. Information

c. Access

d. Temporary restraint

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 17

17) A homeowner grasping the importance of interest-rate changes demonstrates what type of shortcut relating to The Rational Public?

Feedback: factual

a. Preference

b. Information

c. Access

d. Temporary restraint

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 18

18) The basic argument behind The Rational Public is that the _______ public has rational views and the government should pay closer attention to them.

Feedback: factual

a. minority

b. majority

c. collective

d. educated

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 19

19) Which book makes the argument that, taken together, the views of a random collection of people add up to a rational public?

Feedback: factual

a. The Wisdom of Crowds

b. The American Voter

c. The Informed Public

d. The Rationale of Crowds

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 20

20) What term describes the tendency among a small group of decision makers to converge on a shared set of views?

Feedback: factual

a. Like-mindedness

b. Groupthink

c. Shared outlook

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 21

21) All of the following encourage creative thinking and solutions to policy problems except

Feedback: conceptual

a. groupthink.

b. random selection of participants.

c. open dialogue.

d. self-criticism.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 22

22) In order for public opinion to guide government, according to the text, how many conditions must be met?

Feedback: factual

a. Three

b. Four

c. Five

d. Six

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 23

23) Public views are _______ followed blindly by politicians.

Feedback: conceptual

a. rarely

b. almost always

c. always

d. never

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 24

24) An election winner may claim to have political authority based on _______ demonstrating the approval of the people.

Feedback: factual

a. An ideological adjustment

b. A mandate

c. A winner-take-all victory

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 25

25) What can change public opinion?

Feedback: factual

a. Public indifference

b. Popular president

c. Major event

d. Unhappy voters

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 26

26) _______ research is defined as the systematic study of a defined population, analyzing a representative sample’s views to draw inferences about the larger population’s views.

Feedback: factual

a. Survey

b. Qualitative

c. In-person

d. Random-digit dialing

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 27

27) Approximately how much is spent on campaign polling annually in the United States?

Feedback: conceptual

a. $10 million

b. $100 million

c. $750 million

d. $1 billion

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 28

28) “Eighty percent of Americans support the president” is an example of what type of rating?

Feedback: applied

a. Campaign

b. Approval

c. Establishment

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 29

29) Which president initiated the practice of private presidential polling?

Feedback: applied

a. Franklin D. Roosevelt

b. John F. Kennedy

c. Abraham Lincoln

d. Herbert Hoover

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 30

30) The amount spent by American politicians on pollsters is _______ the amounts spent by the leaders of other nations.

Feedback: factual

a. less than

b. more than

c. about the same as

d. not comparable to

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 31

31) Public opinion is often viewed as

Feedback: conceptual

a. unreliable.

b. reliable.

c. changeable.

d. available for purchase.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 32

32) Presidents may claim to have the approval of the people because of

Feedback: conceptual

a. the Electoral College.

b. legislative control.

c. mandates.

d. judicial nominations.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 33

33) Polls help identify the _______, which includes the issues that the public considers important.

Feedback: factual

a. agenda

b. framework

c. legitimation of policy

d. evaluation of policy

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 34

34) Members of Congress are often _______ to legislate in the face of strong popular opposition.

Feedback: conceptual

a. reluctant

b. likely

c. willing

d. required

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 35

35) President Trump’s tweets are followed by millions and help shape

Feedback: factual

a. congressional votes.

b. political campaigns.

c. supporters’ views.

d. opponents’ voting patterns.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 36

36) A sampling _______ is a designated group of people from whom poll respondents are randomly selected.

Feedback: factual

a. frame

b. error

c. measure

d. statistic

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 37

37) The sampling frame in a public survey should represent diverse aspects and characteristics of the _______, for conclusions to be drawn about this group.

Feedback: factual

a. population

b. sample

c. random sample

d. stratified sample

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 38

38) _______ voters are those who will probably turn out in an upcoming election.

Feedback: factual

a. Likely

b. Registered

c. Campaign-friendly

d. Committed

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 39

39) Generally, the closer to Election Day a poll is taken, the _______ it is.

Feedback: applied

a. less accurate

b. more accurate

c. less rigorous

d. more rigorous

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 40

40) Generally, the further away from Election Day a poll is taken, the _______ it is.

Feedback: factual

a. less accurate

b. more accurate

c. less rigorous

d. more rigorous

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 41

41) According to the text, polls targeting _______ voters more accurately predict the outcome of most elections.

Feedback: conceptual

a. likely

b. registered

c. campaign-friendly

d. committed

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 42

42) Asking people to respond to a poll on a Friday night demonstrates lack of consideration of which principle of polling?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Location

b. Timing

c. Proximity

d. Courteousness

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 43

43) In survey research, what is the term for inaccurate poll responses?

Feedback: applied

a. Interference

b. Noise

c. Statistically insignificant findings

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 44

44) Framing effects relate to the _______ of a question.

Feedback: conceptual

a. wording

b. punctuation

c. spelling

d. content

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 45

45) _______ effects are the influences on respondents of how a polling question is asked.

Feedback: factual

a. Framing

b. Scaling

c. Sampling

d. Falsifying

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 46

46) When groups want to skew survey results what process would be most helpful?

Feedback: factual

a. Framing

b. Scaling

c. Sampling

d. Falsifying

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 47

47) A _______ poll is a form of negative campaigning that masquerades as a regular opinion survey.

Feedback: conceptual

a. survey research

b. partial

c. push

d. pull

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 48

48) What is considered the polling gold standard?

Feedback: factual

a. Random sample

b. Self-selected sample

c. Semi-random sample

d. Weighted sample

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 49

49) Samples of the population should be _______ of that population.

Feedback: factual

a. representative

b. suggestive

c. independent

d. respectful

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 50

50) Polling by calling cell phones must use which of the following methods?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Dialing by hand

b. Automated dialing

c. Selective dialing

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 51

51) Today, more than _______ of Americans rely on mobile phones.

Feedback: conceptual

a. 47 percent

b. 50 percent

c. 54 percent

d. 65 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 52

52) What does a 3 percent margin of error mean?

Feedback: conceptual

a. 3 percent of the people responded

b. Plus or minus 3 percent

c. 3 percent of the people did not respond

d. 3 percent answered positively

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 53

53) A margin of _______ is a statistical calculation for how accurate a poll’s results are.

Feedback: factual

a. error

b. analysis

c. bias

d. framework

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 54

54) As a general rule, the larger the sample size, the _______ the margin of sampling error.

Feedback: conceptual

a. larger

b. smaller

c. less affected

d. less important

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 55

55) The margin of sampling error is the degree of _______ of a poll.

Feedback: factual

a. randomness

b. inaccuracy

c. representativeness

d. response bias

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 56

56) If you surveyed every individual in a population, the margin of error would be

Feedback: applied

a. 0 percent.

b. 1 percent.

c. 3 percent.

d. 5 percent.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 57

57) _______ bias is the tendency of poll respondents to misstate their views, frequently to avoid expressing “shameful” opinions.

Feedback: factual

a. Selection

b. Response

c. Sampling error

d. Random error

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 58

58) What bias reflects a respondent’s desire to answer a question in a way that is “acceptable”?

Feedback: factual

a. Random error

b. Response

c. Sampling error

d. Selection

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 59

59) The Bradley effect is a response bias based on

Feedback: conceptual

a. age.

b. race.

c. income.

d. sexual orientation.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 60

60) The apparent inclination of some survey respondents to avoid appearing racist or racially motivated is known as the _______ effect.

Feedback: factual

a. Bradford

b. Bradley

c. Miranda

d. poor sampling

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 61

61) What magazine used polling to predict presidential elections and predicted the wrong winner in 1936?

Feedback: factual

a. Literary Digest

b. Reader’s Digest

c. Good Housekeeping

d. Political Digest

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 62

62) The Literary Digest started polling to predict presidential elections in what year?

Feedback: factual

a. 1910

b. 1920

c. 1950

d. 1951

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 63

63) Pollsters predicted that who would win the presidential race in 2016?

Feedback: factual

a. Hillary Clinton

b. Donald Trump

c. Bernie Sanders

d. Barack Obama

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 64

64) The Literary Digest incorrectly predicted that who would lose in 1936?

Feedback: factual

a. Franklin D. Roosevelt

b. Woodrow Wilson

c. Warren Harding

d. John F. Kennedy

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 65

65) What contributed to the incorrect prediction from the Literary Digest poll during President Franklin Roosevelt’s election?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Sampling frame

b. Response bias

c. Oversampling

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 66

66) Converse found that when people were asked the same question at different times, their answers tended to

Feedback: factual

a. change.

b. remain similar.

c. reverse direction.

d. remain exactly the same.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 67

67) Cues gained from everyday life are known as which of the following?

Feedback: factual

a. Information shortcuts

b. Details

c. Information cues

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 68

68) Presidents usually are more responsive to

Feedback: factual

a. the people who elected them.

b. Congress.

c. the courts.

d. the media.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 69

69) Savvy message consultants can use public opinion for

Feedback: factual

a. manipulation.

b. voter identification.

c. agenda setting.

d. policy creation.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 70

70) Public opinion was first mentioned by a public official in

Feedback: factual

a. the United States.

b. France.

c. Britain.

d. Canada.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 71

71) In what year was public opinion first mentioned by a public official?

Feedback: conceptual

a. 1620

b. 1776

c. 1788

d. 1789

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 72

72) What percentage of the “Silent Generation” approve of marijuana legalization?

Feedback: factual

a. 71 percent

b. 35 percent

c. 20 percent

d. 25 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 73

73) What percentage of millennials believe that abortions should be legal?

Feedback: factual

a. 82 percent

b. 78 percent

c. 70 percent

d. 54 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 74

74) What effect is demonstrated by people who want to hold the same views as the majority?

Feedback: factual

a. Bandwagon effect

b. Boomerang effect

c. Tiled-floor effect

d. “Golden” effect

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 75

75) What effect is demonstrated when candidates who are leading in the polls tend to pick up support from voters who were undecided?

Feedback: factual

a. Bandwagon effect

b. Boomerang effect

c. Tiled-floor effect

d. Underdog effect

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 76

76) What effect is described as the discrepancy between candidates’ high poll ratings and election performance?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Bandwagon effect

b. Boomerang effect

c. Tiled-floor effect

d. “Golden” effect

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 77

77) When people do not vote because polls indicate that their candidate is in the lead, and their candidate then loses the election, which effect is shown?

Feedback: factual

a. Bandwagon effect

b. Boomerang effect

c. Tiled-floor effect

d. “Golden” effect

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 78

78) The _______ effect is defined as sympathy for a candidate behind in the polls, contributing to a higher-than-predicted vote total.

Feedback: conceptual

a. bandwagon effect

b. boomerang effect

c. underdog effect

d. “golden” effect

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 79

79) On average, which candidates do women prefer?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Republican

b. Democratic

c. Libertarian

d. Women do not demonstrate systematic preferences.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 80

80) By what percentage did women vote Democrat in the 2018 midterms?

Feedback: factual

a. 23 percent

b. 59 percent

c. 36 percent

d. 15 percent

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 81

81) Political _______ are individuals who control significant wealth, status, power, or visibility and who consequently have significant influence over public debate.

Feedback: factual

a. elites

b. partisans

c. beginners

d. experts

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 82

82) The _______ public is the best source of democratic decision making.

Feedback: conceptual

a. irrational

b. innovative

c. rational

d. voting

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 83

83) Which of the following is most likely subject to groupthink?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Experts

b. Independent voters

c. Registered voters

d. None of the above

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 84

84) How easy is it for people to convey their views to policymakers?

Feedback: factual

a. Very easy

b. Difficult

c. Somewhat easy

d. Impossible

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 85

85) Compared with American politicians, politicians in other nations devote _______ resources to polling.

Feedback: factual

a. more

b. fewer

c. about the same

d. more variable

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 86

86) _______ polls are conducted by a campaign as the race begins, and they provide a basis for comparison.

Feedback: applied

a. Benchmark

b. Response

c. Straw

d. Brushfire

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 87

87) What informal polls carried out by local party organizations or news outlets involve actual nonbinding votes cast by party members?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Benchmark

b. Straw

c. Brushfire

d. Response

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 88

88) Once an election begins, campaigns conduct internal surveys called _______ polls.

Feedback: conceptual

a. benchmark

b. straw

c. brushfire

d. response

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 89

89) Polls taken on Election Day are known as _______ polls.

Feedback: conceptual

a. benchmark

b. exit

c. brushfire

d. response

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 90

90) Media often rely on _______ polls to call election results.

Feedback: conceptual

a. benchmark

b. straw

c. brushfire

d. exit

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 91

91) When a party has members vote unofficially to help determine who would win a primary, it is conducting a _______ poll.

Feedback: conceptual

a. benchmark

b. straw

c. brushfire

d. response

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 92

92) The first poll conducted by a campaign will likely be a _______ poll.

Feedback: conceptual

a. benchmark

b. straw

c. brushfire

d. response

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 93

93) Bad news from a poll is referred to as a

Feedback: conceptual

a. benchmark.

b. straw.

c. brushfire.

d. response.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 94

94) A 3 percent margin of error on a 50 percent approval rating means the actual rating could be as high as

Feedback: conceptual

a. 150 percent.

b. 53 percent.

c. 47 percent.

d. 15 percent.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 95

95) A 3 percent margin of error on a 50 percent approval rating means the actual rating could be as low as

Feedback: conceptual

a. 150 percent.

b. 53 percent.

c. 47 percent.

d. 15 percent.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 96

96) How accurate is an Internet poll in which respondents choose whether or not to respond?

Feedback: conceptual

a. Very accurate

b. Not very accurate

c. Depends on the website

d. Depends on the questions

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 97

97) What is a typical number of respondents for a national poll?

Feedback: conceptual

a. 200–600

b. 1,000–1,500

c. 5,000–6,500

d. 10,000+

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 98

98) As the number of respondents decreases, the margin of error

Feedback: conceptual

a. decreases.

b. increases.

c. remains the same.

d. is not affected.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 99

99) The Bradley effect was first seen in

Feedback: conceptual

a. Florida.

b. California.

c. Oregon.

d. Vermont.

Type: multiple choice question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 100

100) When survey respondents answer in such a way as to avoid appearing racist, they are showing the

Feedback: conceptual

a. West Coast effect.

b. Bradley effect.

c. California effect.

d. Los Angeles effect.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 101

101) Discuss Lippmann’s three points about being skeptical of public influence.

Feedback:

 Most people, most of the time, are not very interested in public affairs.

 Most Americans have no expertise in political matters.

 Public opinion can decide only “who governs at a given moment," and no more.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 102

102) Describe the concept of rational ignorance.

Feedback:

 This is the view that it makes sense to remain relatively uninformed about most policy/political issues given the enormous effort required to keep up closely with even a few topics.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 103

103) Discuss the concept of nonattitudes.

Feedback:

 The term nonattitudes describes the lack of a stable perspective shown in people’s responses to opinion surveys. Their answers may be self-contradictory or display no ideological consistency.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 104

104) Explain the importance of the publication of The American Voter.

Feedback:

 This publication shook confidence in the value of both public opinion and the scientific methods used to measure it. It showed that people know little about the positions either political party stands for or about the main policy issues of the time.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 105

105) Explain the importance of the publication of The Rational Public.

Feedback:

 The Rational Public identified public opinion as a legitimate guide to policy making.

 It made the case that collective opinion is the key to assessing popular preferences.

 Information shortcuts result in coherent and stable views.

 Collective opinion is useful only when public officials are attentive to it.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 106

106) What three conditions must be met for public opinion to guide government?

Feedback:

 People must know what they want and guide government decisions, the public must clearly communicate its desires to political leaders, and political leaders must pay attention to public views and respond.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 107

107) Explain the concept of groupthink.

Feedback:

 Groupthink is the tendency of a small group of decision makers to converge on a shared set of views.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 108

108) How does groupthink affect creativity?

Feedback:

 Groupthink can limit creative thinking and solutions to policy problems.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 109

109) What does it mean when a president claims a mandate?

Feedback:

 The president claims that his or her election gives him or her legitimate authority, sometimes on a specific policy issue.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 110

110) Explain the concept of survey research.

Feedback:

 Survey research is the systematic study of a defined population, analyzing a representative sample’s views to draw inferences about the larger public’s views.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 111

111) How can polls be considered partisan?

Feedback:

 Polls can be interpreted by both sides, and the margin of error can be interpreted to support or reject a candidate’s claim.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 112

112) What is an approval rating?

Feedback:

 An approval rating is a measure of public support for a political figure or institution.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 113

113) Why do elected officials often deny their reliance on polls?

Feedback:

 Elected officials do not want to seem reliant on polling. They prefer, instead, to appear to rely on themselves and on their policy stances.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 114

114) What is the agenda, and how does polling relate to it?

Feedback:

 The agenda is the issues that the public considers important, the media covers, and politicians discuss. The agenda is often influenced by public opinion polls; if public opinion does not support an item, it is less likely to be on the agenda.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 115

115) What is a sampling frame?

Feedback:

 A sampling frame is a designated group of people from whom a set of poll respondents is randomly selected.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 116

116) What should a sampling frame represent?

Feedback:

 A sampling frame should represent the population and its diverse demographic groups.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 117

117) Why do pollsters trying to predict electoral outcomes prefer likely voters?

Feedback:

 Likely voters are preferred because they more accurately predict the outcome of most elections.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 118

118) What are framing effects?

Feedback:

 Framing effects reflect the influence on respondents of how a polling question is asked, since changes in wording can significantly alter many people’s answer.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 119

119) What is the gold standard in polling?

Feedback:

 A randomly selected sample.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 120

120) What principle in polling do online polls often violate?

Feedback:

 They often violate the random-sample principle.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 121

121) How may pollsters contact people without landlines? Are there any special requirements?

Feedback:

 Pollsters may contact respondents on cell phones but must manually dial each number.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 122

122) What is the margin of sampling error?

Feedback:

 The margin of sampling error is the degree of inaccuracy in any poll arising from the fact that surveys involve a sample of respondents from a population rather than every member.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 123

123) Explain the concept of response bias.

Feedback:

 Response bias occurs when poll takers provide responses that they think the pollster wants, or when poll respondents misstate their views to avoid “shameful” opinions like sexism or racism.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 124

124) Explain why the support of marijuana legalization changed over time.

Feedback:

 Different generations have different opinions.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 125

125) How do family and friends affect political socialization?

Feedback:

 Young people absorb the political attitudes of their parents and caregivers.

 Political ideas from friends can their change views.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 126

126) How do women voters change the vote?

Feedback:

 If only women were allowed to vote in American presidential elections, Reagan would have been the only Republican candidate who won in the last fifty years.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 127

127) Identify a major life event that changed political views.

Feedback:

 9/11 terrorist attacks: invading Iraq.

 Great Recession of 2008: banking regulations.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 128

128) Discuss the importance of What’s the Matter with Kansas?

Feedback:

 Disproves the idea that voters vote for self-interest.

 Uses Kansas voters as an example of a state voting against its own self-interest.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 129

129) What went wrong with the Literary Digest poll in 1936?

Feedback:

 Polled only elite voters.

 Limited group: many readers of the magazine were wealthy in 1936 in spite of the Depression.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 130

130) Discuss the biggest polling blooper of recent years.

Feedback:

 2016 Presidential election.

 Hillary Clinton had a solid lead in polls, but lost the election.

 Many polls were national rather than state by state. Clinton won the popular vote but lost the electoral vote, which is done by state by state.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 131

131) Compare the two perspectives on public opinion in a democracy.

Feedback:

 One argument is that the masses are ignorant on public matters and their influence should be limited. The other is that the public is rational even in choosing to not pay a great deal of attention to public matters, and their opinions should still guide public actions.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 132

132) Discuss Lippmann’s three principles of public opinion as a “phantom.”

Feedback:

 Most people, most of the time, are not very interested in public affairs.

 Most Americans have no expertise in political matters and demonstrate rational ignorance.

 Since most people lack interest and expertise, public opinion can only decide “who governs at a given moment, and no more.”

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 133

133) Compare the ideas from The American Voter and The Rational Public.

Feedback:

 The American Voter was critical of voter knowledge and the usefulness of public opinion polls and research.

 The Rational Public said public opinion polls are a reasonable guide to governance.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 134

134) Discuss the three principles in The Rational Public.

Feedback:

 Collective opinion is the key to assessing popular preferences.

 Most people use information shortcuts to arrive at reasonable judgments about politics and government.

 Collective opinion is useful only when public officials are attentive to it.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 135

135) Explain the concept of groupthink and a situation that might exhibit this.

Feedback:

 Groupthink is the tendency of a small group of decision makers to converge on a shared set of views, which can limit creative thinking and solutions to policy problems.

 This tendency is often demonstrated by policy experts in a particular field.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 136

136) What is a mandate, and why does it sometimes not directly result in a given policy being passed?

Feedback:

 A mandate represents political authority. An election winner may claim that his or her victory represents a mandate because it reflects public approval.

 It is difficult to translate electoral victory to success in any policy area.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 137

137) Explain early uses of presidential polling.

Feedback:

 President Franklin Roosevelt initiated presidential polling, President Kennedy poll-tested specific phrases to describe policy initiatives, and President Clinton used them for specific policy decisions.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 138

138) How does public opinion relate to the agenda?

Feedback:

 It is likely difficult to get policy items on the agenda if they do not have public support.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 139

139) Why is the timing of a poll important?

Feedback:

 The timing is important because it could affect who is included in a pollster’s sample; for instance, polling on Fridays would miss the people who work or are not home on Fridays.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 140

140) What is a good sampling frame for a poll?

Feedback:

 A good sampling frame is representative of the population, including the demographic groups that the population includes.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 141

141) What are framing effects, and how can they be addressed?

Feedback:

 Framing effects reflect the influence on respondents of how a polling question is asked; changes in wording can significantly alter many people’s answer. Questions should be asked in a neutral way and should not be asked multiple times in different orders.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 142

142) What is a push poll, and what are issues in interpretation of such a poll?

Feedback:

 Push polls are a form of negative campaigning that masquerades as a regular opinion survey. These polls are often biased and not scientific, and their interpretation should reflect their limits.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 143

143) Explain how sample size relates to the margin of sampling error.

Feedback:

 Generally, the larger the sample, the smaller the margin of sampling error, and the smaller the sample, the larger the margin of sampling error.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 144

144) Compare the bandwagon and boomerang effects relating to opinion polling.

Feedback:

 The bandwagon effect occurs when candidates who are leading the polls pick up support from voters who were undecided. The boomerang effect describes the discrepancy between candidates’ high poll ratings and election performance; this effect occurs because supporters assume that an easy win means they need not turn out on Election Day.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 145

145) Discuss a few sources of public opinion.

Feedback:

 Economic self-interest, demographic effects, partisan effects, elite influence, and wars and other focusing events.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 146

146) What are the factors affecting political socialization?

Feedback:

 Parents and friends.

 Education.

 Gender.

 Race.

 Religion.

 Life events.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 147

147) Discuss voting with your pocketbook.

Feedback:

 Voters vote for self-interest, for what is best for them financially.

 Voters do not always vote this way, as shown in What’s the Matter with Kansas?

 Discuss a few sources of public opinion.

 Economic self-interest, demographic effects, partisan effects, elite influence, and wars and other focusing events.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 148

148) Discuss why public opinion may or may not be used to guide the government.

Feedback:

 Public uninformed and unreliable.

 As a whole, public is rational and reliable; wisdom in crowds.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 149

149) Discuss the tips for reading polls.

Feedback:

 Check out the margin of error.

 What is the timing?

 The random sample is the gold standard.

 What is the sample size?

 Compare across polls.

Type: essay/short answer question

Title: Chapter 07 Question 150

150) Discuss three different types of polls and how they are used.

Feedback:

 Benchmark polls: conducted as race begins.

 Straw polls: informal polls.

 Brushfire polls: internal surveys.

 Exit polls: performed on Election Day.