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Chapter 5: Political Opinion and Political Action

Multiple Choice

Multiple Choice


This activity contains 20 questions.

	The phrase that refers to the United States as a mixture of cultures, ideas, and peoples is   melting pot. immigrant society. ethnic socialization. marble cake. minority majority.

	The term "minority majority" refers to the fact that   African Americans are the largest minority group in the United States. minority groups have been able to impose their will upon the majority. America will soon cease to have a white majority and together the minority groups will become a majority. more numbers of diverse ethnic subgroups are appearing in America. Hispanic Americans will soon become the largest minority group in the United States.

	The Simpson-Mazzoli Act   required employers to document the citizenship of their employees. granted amnesty to all illegal aliens. doubled the number of Customs Agency border guards along the U.S./Mexican border. required all immigrants to register with the Immigration and Naturalization Service. placed a limit on the number of Mexican immigrants allowed in the United States per year.

	Reapportionment   changes the states' number of representatives in the U.S. Senate. has most recently increased congressional representation for New England. affects how much federal aid population groups can receive. occurs every year. can dramatically shift political power among the states.

	Nationwide, the fastest growing age group in America is composed of   people in their thirties and forties. infants. college-age people. teenagers. citizens over sixty-five.

	Most Americans learn about government and politics through   university political science classes. an informal learning process. media news. high school civics courses. direct explanation from their parents.

	One of the effects of growing older on political learning and political behavior is that   interest in politics decreases with age. the strength of one's party attachment declines with age. liberalism increases. people become more liberal with age. political participation increases with age.

	A relatively small proportion of people who are chosen as representative of the whole is called a(n)   census. target. error. sample. population.

	A pollster using a representative sample of 1,500 Americans finds that 52 percent support candidate X and 48 percent support candidate Y. The pollster's conclusion should be that   X is likely to win. the race is too close to call because of a possible sampling error. Y is likely to win. the poll should be retaken with a larger sample. polls are unreliable predictors of political outcomes.

	According to the text, public opinion polls are   unimportant since what people say and what people do are two different things. becoming less important as more people recognize the inaccuracies of public opinion polls. unimportant as politicians care little about their constituents' feedback. important because results can sway people to change their political preferences. important because policymakers can keep in touch with changing opinions on the issues.

	Critics of polling think   it is unscientific. it could lead to a tyranny of the majority. the public's opinion should not be taken into account. it makes politicians more concerned with following than leading. it gives politicians the wrong information.

	Public opinion polls have shown that   most people are well informed about politics but know little about geography. most people can name their representatives but do not know how they generally vote in Congress. only during an international crisis are people able to locate specific countries involved in the crisis. people are highly informed about politics due to around-the-clock coverage from CSPAN. people are more likely to recognize slogans from TV commercials than famous political figures.

	According to Russell Neuman, the paradox of mass politics is that the American political system works as well as it does given   the vast number of elderly people involved. that most people do not even know what basic values they want upheld. the inability of people to express their opinion on issues and candidates. the fact that elected officials tend to ignore public opinion. the discomforting lack of public knowledge about politics.

	In general, liberal ideology supports   a small, less active government that gives freer reign to the private sector. a strong central government that sets policies to promote equality. a large military presence overseas. public and government ownership of the means of production. strong local and state governments that are closer to the people.

	In general, women tend   to vote for Republican candidates. to vote for Democratic candidates. not to vote. to vote with no particular distinction towards gender. to be more conservative than men.

	Researchers in the 1950s found that the largest share of the electorate consisted of   no-issue-content voters. group-benefits voters. disgruntled voters. highly ideological voters. nature-of-the-times voters.

	The most common form of political participation in the United States is   protesting. working on a political campaign. belonging to a political party. writing letters to public officials. voting in presidential elections.

	The conscious decision to break a law believed to be immoral and suffer the consequences is called   civil disobedience. activation. robbery. political participation. protest.

	One of the reasons why the participation gap between minority groups and the national average is no longer enormous is because   the education and income levels of minorities are no longer significantly lower than those of whites. large numbers of minorities are now running for important political offices. education and income are no longer considered good predictors of voting behavior. minorities have a group consciousness that gives them an extra incentive to vote. minorities are now the majority in America.

	When people vote according to the nature of the times and know little about specific issues   they are not making rational choices. their vote is automatically nullified. their opinions are not clearly heard. they are not voting wisely. they still hold public officials accountable for their actions.

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