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Chapter 5: Public Opinion and Political Socialization

Multiple-Choice Quiz

Multiple-Choice Quiz
Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

This activity contains 23 questions.

	Which of the following statements best describes the U.S. government's position in the Gulf of Tonkin incident?   The U.S. government attempted to convince public opinion to support the North Vietnamese. The U.S. government tried to cover up the incident in which a U.S. ship fired on the North Vietnamese. The U.S. government tried to make the incident appear as an unprovoked attack against the U.S. in order to sway public opinion to support military action against North Vietnam. The U.S. government wanted to downplay the situation in order to prevent a groundswell of U.S. public opinion in support of a massive military attack on North Vietnam. The U.S. government was pulled into conflict against its will.

	Which of the following is a factor which enabled the U.S. government to manipulate public opinion concerning Vietnam?   The Vietnam conflict was an obscure issue in a faraway land. The Vietnam conflict was a salient issue with the American public, particularly when fighting first erupted. The U.S. media could easily tell if the government was lying. Checks and balances exist between the Congress and the president. The American public was eager for war.

	Political attitudes and beliefs expressed by ordinary citizens is the definition of:   political socialization. public opinion. political efficacy. public survey. govermental policy.

	Fears about the quality and stability of public opinion in the United States are:   exaggerated. real and immediate. of grave concern. only speculative and not based on empirical research. only expressed by the lower class.

	Today, public opinion can be measured with remarkable accuracy due to:   the use of random sample surveys. the use of sound bites. the use of "leaks." the use of talk radio. the federal monitoring of telephone lines.

	The secret of success in surveying public opinion is:   that the sample of people interviewed is drawn from people interviewed on a typical street corner. to survey only those people who have a real stake in the political system: the middle- and upper-classes. to throw out survey responses that do not follow popular opinions. that the people interviewed are representative of the whole population. sesecting only responses that support the hypothesis.

	Representativeness in public opinion polling is best achieved when the sample being interviewed is chosen randomly from the population. By random we mean:   people are chosen at a street corner or at a ball game. people are chosen based solely on their gender. by chance. by the art and science of astrology. people are chosen from rural areas only.

	A system of interrelated attitudes and beliefs is called:   public opinion. political socialization. ideology. party identification. "spin".

	In recent years citizens' sense of political efficacy has:   dropped markedly. increased markedly. remained constant. increased slightly. fluctuated wildly.

	The sense of belonging to a party is called:   political socialization. political efficacy. party identification. political culture. political cohesion.

	Which of the following statements is true with respect to party identification?   In recent decades the proportion of people who identify with either one of the two parties has been declining. In recent decades the proportion of people who identify with the Democratic Party has dramatically increased. In recent decades huge gains in people identifying themselves as Democrats or Republicans has occurred. There has been little change in the proportion of people identifying with political parties since the 1930s. Traditional parties are crumbling; most voters are turning independent.

	Most Americans' political beliefs include support for:   free enterprise capitalism. democracy. both free enterprise capitalism and democracy at the same time. neither free enterprise capitalism or democracy. amnesty and gun control.

	Those people that put more emphasis on economic liberty and freedom from government interference, values associated with free enterprise capitalism, are called   economic liberals. economic conservatives. social conservatives. social liberals. social moderates.

	Which of the following statements is true concerning the difference between liberalism and conservatism?   Liberals stress the need for equality of opportunity while conservatives stress the need for economic safety nets. Conservatives stress the need for economic safety nets while liberals tend to put more emphasis on economic liberty. Economic liberty is stressed by conservatives while equality of opportunity is stressed by liberals. Government regulation is stressed by conservatives while safety nets are stressed by liberals. Liberals stress economic liberty while conservatives stress equality of opportunity.

	Which of the following is an accurate statement concerning a recent trend in U.S. public opinion?   Public opinion has grown more supportive of civil rights and civil liberties. Public opinion has grown more opposed to various dissenting groups (communists, socialists, atheists, and others) teaching in school and speaking in public. Public opinion has grown more supportive of racial segregation. Public opinion has grown more supportive of higher military spending. Public opinion has become elusive and difficult to calculate.

	Which of the following groups of Americans is the most distinctive in its policy preferences?   Latinos Italians Irish African-Americans Polish-Americans

	The fastest growing ethnic group in America is:   African-Americans. Asians. Hispanics. Native Americans. White Ethnics.

	Which of the following reasons best accounts for Hispanics having a relatively low level of political participation?   Hispanics have high levels of education and use a rational choice calculation when deciding to vote. Hispanics have high levels of income and don't need to vote. Hispanics are suspicious of authorities and therefore register to vote in very low numbers. There aren't enough Hispanics running for office to give Hispanic voters a reason to vote. Hispanics are denied the vote under some state laws.

	Among the various religious groups, which one is exceptionally liberal on such social issues as civil liberties and abortion?   American Jews Catholics Fundamental Protestants Both b and c Southern Baptists

	Voters in which region of the U.S. are most different from southerners?   Midwest Mountain States Northeast Midwest Northwest

	Which of the following can be considered one of the most enduring, long-term differences between the Republican and Democratic parties?   Democrats support economic aid to the Third World while Republicans support military aid. Republicans tend to support the right to own a gun while Democrats favor stringent gun controls. Democrats tend to favor less government and Republicans favor more government programs. Those in lower-income and lower-status occupations tend to view themselves as Democrats while those at the higher end of the economic scale tend to view themselves as Republicans. Republicans favor higher taxes while Democrats favor a weak central government.

	Which of the following is the strongest predictor of participation in politics?   education income ethnicity religion occupation

	Which of the following statements best describes the relationship between public opinion and public policy in the United States?   Public policy actually moves public opinion (i.e., citizens support whatever their government is doing). Public opinion is a significant factor affecting the formation of policy. Public opinion only has an effect on non-salient issues. Public opinion and public policy are not really related at all. Public opinion is only looked to as a "tie breaker" in government policy debate.

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