- Which of the following is an example of a vague or ambiguous question that should NOT be used in a scientific poll?
Your answer:
Do you approve of the relationship between the U.S. and China?
Do you think that delays and cost over-runs on the development of a new submarine should result in the government’s canceling the project?
How old are you?
Do you think the states should ratify the Equal Rights Amendment?
- An organized pattern of looking at the political world, often used to justify a person’s point of view is known as
Your answer:
public opinion
a political culture
an ideology
a philosophy of life
- A right-wing person who favors a return to a previous state of affairs (“back to the good old days”), and may be willing to go to extremes to attain that goal is known as a
Your answer:
radical.
reactionary.
liberal.
conservative.
- Which of the following is NOT one of the factors that determine how much influence public opinion has on government actions and policies?
Your answer:
how strongly people feel about the issue
how personally concerned people are about the issue
how many people agree on the issue
how much legislators care about the issue
- Which of the following is NOT a part of the United States’ political culture?
Your answer:
the legal system
the Constitution
Democrats and Republicans
our system of state and local parks
- A person on the extreme left, ideologically, who favors rapid, fundamental change in society and politics (and may be willing to resort to violence to reach that goal) is known as a
Your answer:
liberal
moderate
radical
reactionary
- What did political scientist V.O. Key describe as “those opinions held by private persons which governments find it prudent to heed”?
Your answer:
ideology
political socialization
political culture
public opinion
- The majority of Americans are political
Your answer:
reactionaries.
moderates.
liberals.
conservatives.
- Which of the following is NOT one of the four main agents of political socialization?
Your answer:
your peer groups
school
movie stars
family
- Scientific polls differ from straw polls in that they
Your answer:
are based on random samples of the population.
have a larger sampling error.
ask more questions.
question more people.
- The people around us who have similar backgrounds and beliefs are known as our
Your answer:
friends.
class mates.
peers.
neighbors.
- A polling sample that groups people geographically is known as a
Your answer:
cluster sample.
regional sample.
quota sample.
sampling error.
- The traditional methods of measuring public opinion include all of the following EXCEPT
Your answer:
monitoring the activities of interest groups.
conducting scientific polls.
a legislator reading letters from his constituents.
reading newspapers and magazines.
- Which of the following is NOT an idea supported by citizens of the U.S. as an entire group?
Your answer:
innocent until proved guilty
economic equality for all
universal right to vote
due process of law
- Which of the following is an example of a political symbol that conveys the idea of governmental authority?
Your answer:
judges’ robes
the Gettysburg Address
Arlington National Cemetery
the Statue of Liberty
- A polling sample that is chosen on the basis of characteristics such as race, age, and income is known as a ___?___ sample.
Your answer:
quota
cluster
geographic
francophile
- A person whose political attitudes are “middle-of-the-road,” and who is tolerant of others’ opinions is known as a
Your answer:
conservative.
radical.
reactionary.
moderate.
- A person who believes that government should actively promote social reform within the existing political system is known as a
Your answer:
liberal
radical
moderate
conservative