POLS 1113 Exam #2 - Oklahoma State University

Which political figure understood that democratic government must be responsive to the will of the people and once claimed, "Our government rests on public opinion"?

Abraham Lincoln

Who is the only president to receive an approval rating higher than 90 percent?

George W. Bush

Hard to measure and predict, efficacy is the aggregate of individual attitudes or beliefs about certain issues or officials, and it is the foundation of any democracy.

False

Which term refers to the extent to which people believe their actions affect the course of government?

Efficacy

Which phrase best defines political trust?

The extent to which people believe the government acts in their best interests

One U.S. president read daily newspaper clippings, another held public meetings at the White House, and still another rode his horse into the countryside to talk to the people. Each of these presidents is attempting to influence

public opinion

What was wrong with the 1936 Literary Digest poll conducted during the presidential campaign?

The poles sampling was biased

What polling technique enabled George Gallup to predict correctly the outcome of the 1936 election?

Random sample

After Hwan picks up the phone, a computerized voice on the other end asks, "Regardless of how you are registered to vote, do you tend to think of yourself more as (1) a Republican, (2) a Democrat, or (3) an Independent voter?" Hwan answers the question by pressing #2 on his keypad. In which type of poll is Hwan participating?

Automated

Which problem is most specific to internet polling?

It may be biased against older and poor Americans who are less likely to have Internet access

Which type of poll is conducted as voters are leaving the voting booth?

Exit

Antonia lives in a predominately Polish suburb of Toledo, Ohio. She and her two brothers attend public school, and her parents work at GM's car manufacturing plant. Antonia's cousin Dominik, who is also Polish, lives in a diverse neighborhood in downtown Boston. He and his sister attend a private school, and his same-sex parents are renowned surgeons in their fields. Although their ancestry is the same, Antonia and Dominik will likely have vastly different ideas about family, community, and politics because of their

Socialization

If your parents are Democrats, what is the likelihood that you will also identify yourself as a Democrat?

About 67 percent

What have preliminary studies of twins suggested about the formation of political attitudes?

Genetics may play a role in the formation of political attitudes

The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, were a defining event that caused Americans to change their views on national security and express a willingness to give up some personal freedom to reduce the threat of terrorism. This is an example of

a generational effect

Mariella was a Democrat when she was young, but as she got older and began making more money, she became a Republican because she believed Republicans have pursued tax policies that protect individual wealth. In this case, Mariella is choosing a political ideology based upon

self-interest

Which concept concerns the psychological attachment an individual has towards her political party?

Party identification

Liberals tend to be Democrats, and conservatives tend to be Republicans.

True

How did the Framers feel about the public's capacity to be politically informed and make good choices?

They were concerneed about the public's ability to make good political decisions

How has party polarization in Congress changed from the 1970s to present?

It has increased steadily over this period

Working-class people who support the Republican party because they believe in a conservative social agenda and a decreased role for government welfare-based programs are known as

Reagan Democrats

Overall, Jews tend to be the most politically conservative religious group

False

Which term does the text use to describe the differences in political attitudes among men and women?

Gender gap

Which statement accurately identifies party identification of Latinos and African Americans?

African Americans are more likely to be Democrats than Republicans, and both parties compete for Latino support.

How do college graduates differ in their perspective about immigration reform when compared with those who have a high school education or less?

They are more in favor of allowing illegal immigrants to become citizens

The mass media help ensure government accountability and responsiveness by performing three important tasks: informing, investigating, and modifying the news.

False

Who uncovered the Watergate scandal?

Bob Woodard and Carl Bernstein

Which amendment governs freedom of press?

First

Which Supreme Court case limited the government's ability to suppress a news story?

Near v. Minnesota

In which Supreme Court case did the court require proof of actual malice in order to convict of libel?

New York Times v. Sullivan

Which federal agency oversees the regulation of electronic media?

Federal Communication Commision

Which was a result of the Pentagon Papers Supreme Court decision?

The government had not met and would have needed to meet an extraordinary burden of proof for prior restraint

Which newspaper, headed by Benjamin Franklin and often considered the foundation for modern American news coverage, included sensationalist stories?

Philadelphia Gazette

The series of articles written by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay to support the ratification of the Constitution are known as

The Federalist Papers

Which president started his own newspaper to get his message out regarding issues of the day?

James K. Polk

Which assessment of the 1960 debate between Richard Nixon and John F. Kennedy is considered correct?

Most television watchers thought Kennedy won, and most radio listeners thought Nixon won

The press concealed the health of which president, thereby preserving his public image?

Franklin Delano Roosevelt

Which three major networks aired evening news broadcasts in the early 1960s?

ABC, NBC, CBS

Jake, a freshman in college, gets most of his news online from sources such as the Huffington Post and Daily Kos while his grandfather Joe reads a print version of the Wall Street Journal from cover to cover. Some would argue that because he's reading a traditional printed newspaper, Joe is exposed to more

hard news

Since the 1990s, what has happened to newspaper readership?

it has declined for both younger and older age groups

The popularity of Americans who listen to the radio has remained unchanged in the past decade as a medium of communication.

True

Which factor poses the biggest threat to the television evening news?

An aging audience

Boing Boing, Techcrunch, Talking Points Memo, and Engadget: what do we call these forms of media that provide forums for commentary, video postings, and general conversation, and allow average citizens to express their opinions to a wider audience?

Blogs

Facebook is an example of a(n)

social networking site

Which model for interpreting public opinion asserts that the news media does not have a lot of influence on the public's thinking about politics?

Minimal effects

Selective exposure is the process whereby people secure information from sources that agree with them, reinforcing their beliefs.

True

In the mid-1990s, virtually every form of media—TV news, magazines, newspapers, radio—covered O.J. Simpson's murder trial, a criminal court case involving the former football player and the suspicious deaths of his ex-wife and her friend. The O.J. trial captivated the nation for years. What is this effect called when the news covers an item so frequently that the audience begins to see the issue as immensely important?

Agenda setting

When the George W. Bush administration waged war in Afghanistan, the media emphasized the issue of fighting terrorism and presented war in a favorable light. This is an example of

framing

According to journalist David Broder, what is the main factor that contributes to bias in the media?

The speed with which journalist must act

"Fireside chats" were most associated with which president?

Franklin Roosevelt

Which term refers to the general patterns of voters' party identification and their behavior on Election Day?

Party in the Electorate

In the case of the U.S., the party in government is made up of the

number of Democrats and Republicans in Congress

The internal structure that guides how a party operates at the federal, state, and local levels is called the party

organization

In what election do voters choose candidates who will run on the party label in a general election?

Primary

What type of primary is restricted to voters affiliated with a particular party?

Closed

Janice is voting in a primary but does not announce an affiliation with either party. She is given ballots with each party's list of candidates; she chooses which ballot to use and is restricted to voting for only one party's nominees. In which type of primary is Janice participating?

Open

In which case did the Supreme Court rule that blanket primaries were unconstitutional?

California Democratic Party v. Jones

In the 1960s, members of underrepresented groups like women and black Americans objected to the Democratic Party's use of the unit rule to nominate presidents—which stated that whoever won the majority of primary or state nominating convention votes won the entire state's delegates. What's another name for the this rule?

Winner take all

Which members of a party will definitely be invited to a national convention because they are instrumental in turning out party voters in the general election?

Superdelegates

An electoral system that assigns party delegates according to vote share in a presidential primary election or that assigns seats in the legislature according to vote share in a general election is known what?

Proportional representation

What did the Framers who favored ratification of the Constitution call themselves?

Federalists

Party machines of the late nineteenth century were fueled by what group of individuals?

Immigrants

Which issue ignited the formation of the Republican Party?

Slavery

Which system awards government programs and benefits based on political loyalty to a party?

Patronage

Which piece of legislation was passed to reform the civil service by requiring that government jobs be filled based on qualifications rather than political connections?

Pendleton Act

Which theory asserts that, in a two-party race, if voters select candidates on the basis of ideology and everyone participates equally, the party closer to the middle will win?

Median voter

Stephanie is running for a seat on the House of Representatives. She beats her opponents in the election but does not get 50 percent or more of the votes. In a single-member plurality system, what does this mean?

She wins because only a plurality of votes is needed

Teddy Roosevelt ran for president under which third party label?

Progressive

Which amendment allowed for the direct election of U.S. senators?

Seventeenth

Why do candidates who are elected from third parties like Ross Perot and Ralph Nader have little influence in legislatures?

They have no party organization to join in the legislature

A long-term shift in voter allegiance from one party to the other is called a

party realignment

Which party established itself as the party for civil rights for African Americans in the 1960s?

Democrats

Although Barack Obama won reelection in 2012 by a margin of 51 to 47 percent, due to a Republican majority in the House, the country experienced

little bipartisanship and a divided government

Which Republican president attracted significant support from working-class, ethnic, northern voters, and southern white voters?

Roanld Reagan

In 2016, voters gave the Republican party control of the White House and Congress. Now, voters have high expectations and will hold the Republican party accountable for policy outcomes in the next election. This demonstrates the concept of

The responsible party