American Government Stories of a Nation Essentials Edition 1st Edition Abernathy Test Bank

American Government Stories of a Nation Essentials

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Abernathy, American Government 1e
CQ Press, 2018

Test Bank

Chapter 7: Public Opinion

Multiple Choice

1. Information is a central part of representative government because

a. candidate access to political information is essential.
b. government control of information is critical.
c. citizens must have some knowledge of what their elected representatives are up to.
d. public information is of value to any governmental institution.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Which of the following best defines public opinion?

a. the sum of individual attitudes about governmental policies and issues
b. a representative sampling of public attitudes and opinions
c. the feelings and attitudes of an individual respondent
d. the results of a brief political poll conducted by a single candidate

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Which of the following questions is central to measuring public opinion?

a. Are the measurements actually collecting individual beliefs and attitudes?
b. Are individual beliefs and attitudes somehow different than their aggregate?
c. Is the aggregate collection accounting for differences in individual beliefs and
attitudes?
d. Does the aggregate sum of “public opinion” constitute a meaningful communication or
just noise?

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Introduction
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Difficulty Level: Hard
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4. This chapter focused on American public opinion in which of the following specific
areas?
a. successful election of ethnic minorities in governmental situations
b. treatment of young African American men by law enforcement officials
c. educational pursuits of young men and women on college campuses
d. public reaction to large social movements such as Black Lives Matter

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Introduction
Difficulty Level: Medium

5. On August 9, 2015, demonstrators in Ferguson, Missouri, rallied to the slogan

a. “Hands up, don’t shoot.”
b. “Black lives matter.”
c. “All lives matter.”
d. “Police brutality.”

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Fergusons of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Immediately following the Michael Brown shooting, protesters were calling for
a. the release of autopsy results.
b. the name of the officer who shot Mr. Brown.
c. the release of Mr. Brown’s personal effects.
d. the release of dash cam video of the encounter.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Fergusons of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event
Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Which of the following national organizations got their start with the protests in
Ferguson, Missouri?
a. Black Lives Matter
b. MoveOnDotOrg
c. Carry That Weight
d. The Peterson Project
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Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Fergusons of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event
Difficulty Level: Medium
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8. Many observers could interpret the events of Ferguson, along with the August 5
shooting of John Crawford and the death of Eric Garner in Staten Island, New York, as
evidence of
a. escalating black-on-black violence.
b. renewed white-on-black hatred
c. systemic police mistreatment of blacks.
d. continuous black-on-white crimes.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: The Fergusons of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event
Difficulty Level: Hard

9. By 2015, how had the national conversation changed?

a. Public opinion on the issue of police–citizen interactions had shifted.
b. Black Lives Matter had become the center of attention in Southern states.
c. White citizens had changed their perspective to that of the protesters.
d. Many black citizens ceased supporting the Black Lives Matter group.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Fergusons of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event
Difficulty Level: Medium

10. What observation did Representative John Conyers (D-Mich) make about the
treatment of African Americans by police?
a. “There is little or no evidence of focused attention by police on black citizens.”
b. “Police mistreatment of blacks and Hispanics has become a major problem in
America.”
c. “Police should be given latitude to perform their duties without question or oversight.”
d. “There are virtually no African-American males who have not been stopped for driving
while black.”

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Fergusons of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event
Difficulty Level: Medium
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11. Immediately following the death of Michael Brown, the Pew Research Center
organized a survey by
a. conducting a random sample of 1,000 American adults using landlines and cell
phones.
b. posting a self-selected survey on a public Internet site titled DoBlackLivesMatter.org.
c. going to Ferguson and personally interviewing more than 2,000 active protesters.
d. recording the opinions of callers who responded on local talk radio programs.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Fergusons of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event
Difficulty Level: Medium

12. Which of the following best describes the results of the Pew Survey following the
Michael Brown incident?
a. More than 90% of all respondents indicated concern for the treatment of blacks by
the police.
b. Only 10% of all respondents showed any concern for the treatment of blacks by the
police.
c. Eighty percent of black respondents indicated concern for “important issues about
race,” while only 37% of white respondents agreed.
d. No significant information was obtained due to errors in survey construction and data
collection.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Fergusons of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event
Difficulty Level: Medium

13. The Pew Survey that followed the Michael Brown incident demonstrated that
Americans were ______ about whether Mr. Brown’s death reflected important issues
about the state of race in America.
a. deeply divided
b. indifferent
c. highly unified
d. moderately concerned

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
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Answer Location: The Fergusons of America: Differing Views on a Tragic Event
Difficulty Level: Easy

14. One of the most interesting and important debates about American public opinion is
a. the value of public opinion in governmental decisions.
b. whether public opinion actually exists.
c. the validity of public opinion in political races.
d. how to accurately measure public opinion among young adults.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

15. American public opinion is difficult to understand because individuals

a. always have hidden preferences.
b. may not actually have meaningful preferences.
c. may have unexpressed preferences and attitudes.
d. may not understand the public opinion process.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy
16. Which of the following best explains the assumptions of constituency?
a. Voters have attitudes, and those attitudes are expressed through political action.
b. The public has knowledge assets, and those assets are expressed through
representative activation.
c. Candidates need political information, and the value of political information can be
measured.
d. Constituents have preferences and attitudes that can be meaningfully expressed and
measured.

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy
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17. What two camps do arguments about the meaning of public opinion fall into?
a. (1) The average citizen either doesn’t have or is unable to express meaningful
opinion and (2) even though they may lack sufficient political information, citizens can
find ways to work around their lack of information through friends, institutions, and
partisanship.
b. (1) The average citizen possesses sufficient political information and (2) political
information can be expressed and fluidly changed over time.
c. (1) Citizens seek to be educated about political information and (2) it is the
responsibility of a democratic republic to educate and indoctrinate its citizens with
political information.
d. (1) Citizens lack political knowledge and (2) the lack of political knowledge creates a
barrier to effective government.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Hard

18. Which of the following best describes the minimalist paradigm?

a. Individuals have sufficient political knowledge to vote and take political action.
b. People have insufficient capacity to acquire political knowledge and cannot make
rational political decisions.
c. Most people fall short of what we expect them to know, think about, and pay attention
to in the complicated world of politics and policy.
d. Most citizens do not need to acquire political information or civic education, and
governments run with minimal interaction from their citizenry.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Hard
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19. One of the earliest and most influential advocates of the minimalist argument was
______.
a. Christopher Achen
b. Walter Lippmann
c. Phillip E. Converse
d. Robert Shapiro

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

20. A key concept in Walter Lippmann’s research was the ______.

a. stereotype
b. constituency
c. elites
d. consideration

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Lippmann described a public that is ______.

a. highly reflective and averse to efforts that might change their opinions
b. intensely interactive and fluidly reactive to change
c. moderately reflective and lacking sufficient levels of information to be of value
d. dangerously unreflective and vulnerable to attempts to shape our opinions

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Inherent in the minimalist critique is the idea that

a. Americans lack any relevant amount of political information.
b. not all Americans have the same amount of political information.
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c. all Americans have equal access to and knowledge of political information.
d. political information contains no value and is irrelevant to the political process.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

23. The small number of Americans who have well-informed and well-reasoned
opinions is known as
a. elites.
b. masses.
c. politicos.
d. partisans.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

24. The majority of individuals, who lack necessary levels of political information, are
described as
a. elites.
b. masses.
c. politicos.
d. partisans.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

25. In their 1960 study, The American Voter, researchers, using large sample survey
technology, made the observation that
a. young citizens tend to be underinvolved in politics, while older citizens tend to be
highly involved.
b. most citizens are highly involved in political activities.
c. American citizens are no more or less involved in politics than citizens of other
countries.
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d. the average citizen is very much less involved in politics than is imagined.

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

26. A preconceived, often oversimplified idea about something, which people apply as a
filter to the world, is best described as a/n
a. stereotype.
b. attitude.
c. opinion.
d. observation.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

27. Which of the following best describes a term referring to the lack of stable and
coherent opinions on political issues and candidates?
a. stereotype
b. attitude
c. nonattitude
d. knowledge

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

28. Philip E. Converse found that

a. elites serve as models for mass behavior.
b. masses do not learn from elites.
c. elites filter political knowledge to masses.
d. mass behavior lacks a level of education.

Ans: B
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Abernathy, American Government 1e
CQ Press, 2018
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

29. Systematic attempts to make inferences about the opinions of large numbers of
individuals by carefully sampling and asking questions to a small, randomly assigned
sample of the larger population are defined as
a. public opinion surveys.
b. straw polls.
c. self-selected listener opinion polls.
d. exit polls.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

30. In 1975, political scientist Christopher Achen posed a challenge to the research of
Phillip E. Converse, focusing on the
a. construction of the survey instrument.
b. wording of the survey instrument.
c. lack of coherence and stability in individual survey responses.
d. methods used to calculate survey results.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium
31. According to Christopher Achen, political surveys may be used to
a. “shape” political findings depending upon the partisan or policy preferences of those
who constructed or paid for the poll.
b. influence the transmission of political information on the basis of biased assumptions
and inconclusive information.
c. communicate incomplete or inaccurate information to the mass public so as to unduly
influence the voting public.
d. give value to political information for the purposes of constituents and representatives
alike.

Ans: A
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Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

32. According to political scientists John Zaller and Stanley Feldman, survey questions
a. must be constructed so as to produce the results desired by political experts.
b. fail to account for individual and institutional biases.
c. go beyond measuring public opinion by shaping and channeling it in order to frame
issues.
d. are designed to collect individual stereotypes and generalizations without filtering
them.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

33. In their 1996 book What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters, two
researchers came to the finding that
a. civic knowledge had a high degree of correlation to successful political efficacy.
b. knowledge of American government had no impact on the behavior of political
candidates.
c. political knowledge was consistently high among all groups involved in the survey.
d. a significant percentage of Americans were unable to answer basic questions about
American government.

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium
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34. The authors of What Americans Know About Politics and Why It Matters found that
with regard to political knowledge, it was
a. highly equitable.
b. unequally distributed.
c. solely in the hands of the elite.
d. significantly inaccurate and biased.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

35. Researchers with the Pew Center periodically administer an instrument called
______, which is a test administered to random samples of Americans with questions
covering political figures and current issues.
a. POLIQUEST
b. NEWSQUEST
c. NEWSIQ
d. PRONEWS

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

36. A combination of cognition and affect that contributes to any one answer to any one
question or evaluation is defined as
a. assumption.
b. consideration.
c. stereotype.
d. aggregation.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Easy

37. Zaller’s theory of consideration says that our

a. knowledge and emotions both come into play when forming an opinion.
b. desire to become politically active is influenced by family and societal acquaintances.
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c. interest in the political process is an innate human response to societal engagement.
d. opinions and attitudes are influenced more by institutions than by family and friends.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

38. An individual’s identification with a particular ______ is a powerful informational

shortcut for voters in order to evaluate candidates and form opinions about them.
a. political attitude
b. social movement
c. political party
d. political campaign

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

39. Some political scientists have emphasized the possibility of the ______ in which
individuals, imperfectly informed, can come up with meaningful assessments of
problems and situations.
a. wisdom of crowds
b. social effect
c. group learning process
d. random sampling effect

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

40. The phenomenon in which “individual voters are unable to satisfy the requirements
of a democratic system but the system of democracy meets certain requirements for a
going political organization” is called the
a. collective system of individual and aggregate beliefs.
b. systems theory of organizational political information.
c. paradox of individual capabilities and systems capability.
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d. individual theory of political beliefs and attitudes.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

41. Benjamin Page and Robert Shapiro contend that public opinion is a ______
phenomenon.
a. partisan
b. individual
c. aggregate
d. collective

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: “What is Public Opinion?”
Difficulty Level: Medium

42. The component of individual opinion that is the common focus of political experts is
a. direction.
b. intensity.
c. stability.
d. salience.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Easy

43. The strength of individual involvement and preference is defined as

a. direction.
b. intensity.
c. stability.
d. salience.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
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Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Easy

44. The degree of change over time in response to differently worded survey questions
or in different contexts of a particular opinion is defined as
a. direction.
b. intensity.
c. stability.
d. salience.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Easy

45. The centrality of an individual’s opinion in the sense of its ability to shape their views
on other issues or candidate evaluations is defined as
a. direction.
b. intensity.
c. stability.
d. salience

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Easy

46. The president’s role in focusing Americans’ attention on specific issues and events
and in making sense of tragedies and challenges is referred to as being the ______.
a. chief executive
b. chief communicator
c. chief of state
d. chief diplomat

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Easy
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47. Immediately following the protests in Ferguson, many white residents commented
that Mr. Brown’s death
a. revealed racial tensions they had not realized were there.
b. uncovered a well-hidden system of ongoing and purposeful racism.
c. described the true extent to which racism had been addressed.
d. aggravated the already existing racist tendencies of white citizens.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Easy

48. According to your textbook, the battle over Ferguson quickly became a battle over
______, with a need to tell stories from a particular point of view.
a. political information
b. racial supremacy
c. individual biases
d. public opinion

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Easy

49. In an essay, journalist Touré noted that the main issue was not Mr. Brown’s past
behavior but “How______?”
a. is the public supposed to react to ongoing racism
b. are police officers supposed to treat citizens
c. are black youth supposed to react when stopped by police
d. do we keep this tragedy from happening again

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Medium

50. In November 2014, a grand jury announced Officer Wilson would ______.
a. face disciplinary charges
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b. be indicted for aggravated murder
c. not be indicted for the shooting
d. resign his position as a police officer

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Medium
51. A poll conducted several months after Mr. Brown’s shooting found that large
majorities of Americans expressed support for the use of ______ by law enforcement to
record their interactions with people.
a. personal logs
b. body cameras
c. increased paperwork
d. dash cams

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Medium

52. A sociologist at George Washington University pointed out that one incident on its
own might not move American public opinion, but a(n) ______ of these incidents might
certainly shift public opinion.
a. critical mass
b. small number
c. isolated few
d. rising number

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: The Components of Individual Opinions
Difficulty Level: Medium

53. A system through which citizens communicate with their elected officials through
phone calls, emails, or personal visits would best be described as
a. census taking.
b. indirect communication.
c. constituent polling.
d. direct communication.
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Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-5: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual political
attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

54. A political tool that gives elected officials broader knowledge of the overall
preferences of the citizens as a whole is
a. straw polling.
b. scientific polling.
c. elections.
d. census taking.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-3: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time
and between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

55. Which of the following is a limiting factor of most elections?

a. low turnout rates
b. degree of reliability
c. scope of public opinion
d. reliability of preferences

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Easy

56. In terms of measuring the preferences of constituents, the deeper challenge with
elections is that they tend to
a. involve issues that are important to the candidates but have no relevance to the
voters.
b. revolve around a small set of issues for which voters have intense preferences.
c. measure only a snapshot of public opinion at one particular point in time.
d. fail to take into account the reasons people vote in the first place.

Ans: B
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Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual political
attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

57. For the majority of questions of public policy with which elected officials will have to
contend, elections are too ______ to reveal useful information.
a. narrow in scope
b. focused on candidates
c. broad a tool
d. focused on voter preferences

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

58. One tool in which candidates assemble small groups of individuals for a directed
conversation in which they hope to uncover patterns of thinking about issues and
individuals is the ______.
a. focus group
b. political survey
c. self-selected opinion poll
d. random sampling

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Easy
59. A political candidate has constructed a survey instrument and intends to administer
it to a randomly selected sampling of respondents who are divided by geographic
region, political party membership, age, gender, and ethnicity. This would be an
example of a
a. scientific poll.
b. self-selected opinion poll.
c. straw poll.
d. census instrument.

Ans: A
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Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: The Foundations of Scientific Polling
Difficulty Level: Easy

60. The main problem with scientific polling is one of

a. administration.
b. construction.
c. sampling.
d. administration.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Easy

61. A key challenge to sampling is one of

a. self-selection.
b. random selection.
c. instrument construction.
d. participant selection.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Easy
62. Those individuals who participate on your survey are known as
a. respondents.
b. participants.
c. subjects.
d. members.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Easy
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63. A random sampling has been taken from a normally distributed American population
of respondents with 60% white, 30% black, 10% Hispanic, 50% male, and 50% female.
The sample contains the following characteristics: 90% white, 10% black, 0% Hispanic,
50% male, 50% female. This sampling is likely to contain which of the following
sampling errors?
a. oversampling of black respondents
b. undersampling of male respondents
c. oversampling of white respondents
d. undersampling of Hispanic respondents

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Hard

64. Pollsters are likely to use weighting in which of the following situations?
a. when observed results need to be adjusted according to what is known about specific
proportions from the larger population
b. when observed results are equivalent to what is known about specific proportions
from the larger population
c. in all randomly selected sampling situations involving large populations of American
citizens
d. This technique is rarely used, as it carries with it a set of sampling errors and other
biases.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium
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65. A barrel contains 1000 balls with 800 of them blue, 150 red, and 50 green. A sample
of 100 balls is randomly selected from the barrel with the following results: 40 green, 10
red, and 60 blue. This would be a possible example of which of the following types of
errors?
a. sampling error
b. self-selection bias
c. questioning bias
d. Instrument construction error

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Hard

66. The goal of scientific polling is to

a. maximize uncertainty while maximizing cost.
b. minimize uncertainty while maximizing cost.
c. minimize uncertainty while minimizing cost.
d. maximize uncertainty while minimizing cost.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Easy

67. Which of the following is a problem inherent to straw polls?

a. They are subject to self-selection bias.
b. Their target population is not randomly selected.
c. Interview bias can impact their outcome.
d. Question selection is often difficult.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Easy

68. Which of the following is a problem inherent in self-selected listener opinion polls?
a. question wording
b. instrument construction
c. self-selection bias
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d. nonopinion bias

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Easy
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69. A political candidate wishes to get immediate feedback as to how voters are casting
their ballots in an election. Which of the following types of surveys would he/she most
likely select?
a. self-selected listener opinion polling
b. random-digit dialing
c. exit polling
d. straw polling

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

70. In 1980, television networks were releasing their presidential predictions after the
polls had closed on the East Coast. Which of the following would be a major criticism of
this decision?
a. Exit polls in other areas had yet to be tabulated and were not inclusive.
b. Exit polls were not predictively accurate enough to be of any use.
c. This action could influence voters in other time zones around the country.
d. Exit polling is seen as a disruption of the voting process and is illegal.

Ans: C
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Hard

71. In order to obtain a random yet representative sample with minimal cost, many
pollsters use which of the following tools?
a. self-selected listener opinion polling
b. straw polls
c. exit polls
d. random-digit dialing

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

72. Random-digit dialing carries which of the following possible errors?

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a. sampling error
b. interviewer error
c. wording error
d. tabulation error

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium
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73. In a survey of Americans, political scientist George Bishop asked respondents about
their opinions on “the Public Act Affairs Act of 1975.” What problem did his study
reveal?
a. Respondents tend to self-select.
b. Many respondents lack sufficient subject knowledge.
c. Survey wording can influence the results of a survey.
d. Question framing can impact the results of a survey.

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Hard

74. Question order is important in survey construction because

a. the sequencing of questions can influence answers.
b. the construction of question types influences survey outcome.
c. some questions are easier to understand than others.
d. more salient questions should be placed at the end of the survey.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Hard

75. When the race or ethnicity of respondents and interviewers impacts the outcome of
a survey, political scientists refer to this as
a. race-of-interviewer effect.
b. racial discrimination.
c. interviewer bias.
d. respondent bias.

Ans: A
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Measuring and Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

76. An academic political researcher would be more apt to use which of the following
poll types in order to obtain reliable information?
a. random-digit dialing in which calls are placed to landlines and cell phones
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b. scientific surveys with randomly selected respondents and multiple random survey
instruments
c. Internet-based polling of large numbers of respondents with little respondent filtering
d. well-designed exit polls administered in a particular set of purposely selected
precincts

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Application
Answer Location: How Are Polls Used
Difficulty Level: Hard
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77. Which of the following is considered a negative campaign tactic rather than a truly
reflective poll?
a. straw poll
b. random digit dialing
c. self-selected listener opinion poll
d. push poll

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-4: Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: How are Polls Used?
Difficulty Level: Medium

78. The variety of experiences and factors that contributes to our understanding of,
attitudes toward, and values in the political space is defined as
a. political opinions.
b. political information.
c. political attitudes.
d. political socialization.

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual political
attitudes and preferences.
gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

79. Party identification is highly transmitted through which of the following?

a. peer groups
b. families
c. employers
d. schools

Ans: B
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual political
attitudes and preferences.
gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium
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80. Which of the following plays the most important role in conveying civic education?
a. peer groups
b. families
c. employers
d. schools

Ans: D
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual political
attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium
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True/False

1. When it comes to political socialization, schools get there first and families second.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual political
attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Individual political opinions are considered set in stone at an early age.

Ans: F
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual
political attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

3. The effects of national events and crises on opinions and attitudes work on a highly
individual level.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual
political attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. American public opinion is frozen in time due to the tools with which it is measured
and the technologies through which it is expressed.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual
political attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium
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5. One group of political scientists has found evidence that genetically inherited
characteristics play an important role in shaping political attitudes and ideologies.
Ans: True
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual
political attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

6. The incidents at Ferguson, Missouri are evidence that social media plays only a small
role in transmitting and collecting political information, attitudes and ideologies today.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual
political attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

7. During the Ferguson riots, the group Anonymous played a major role by illegally
hacking into police and city information and Internet resources.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual
political attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

8. One of the least effective predictors of public opinion is an individual’s identification

with a political party.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual
political attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium
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9. How we define ourselves in terms of race, gender, or ethnicity can form clear,
consistent, and persistent patterns of similarity and division in American public opinion.
Ans: T
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Studies have demonstrated that the phenomenon of political polarization has not
been observed in American politics.
Ans: F
Learning Objective: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

Short Answer

1. A subgroup of individuals within a larger population that is intended to be

representative of the larger group is called a ______.
Ans: sample
Learning Objective:: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring And Transmitting Public Opinion
Difficulty Level: Easy

2. A polling company wishes to administer a scientific random poll of individuals across

the country. In order to truly get a computer-generated random sample, what type of
survey should it conduct?
Ans: random-digit dialing
Learning Objective:: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Measuring And Transmitting Public Opinion
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Difficulty Level: Easy

3. The term “______” refers to the fact that American women are more likely to identify
with and vote for the Democratic Party than are men, who are more likely to vote for
Republican Party candidates.
Ans: gender gap
Learning Objective:: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Partisan Identification
Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Scholars of race and gender in American politics have found evidence to support the
notion of ______, in which individuals accept “the belief that their own life chances are
inextricably tied to the group as a whole.”
Ans: linked fate
Learning Objective:: 7-5: Assess patterns of American public opinion, over time and
between different groups.
Cognitive Domain: Knowledge
Answer Location: Racial and Ethnic Identity
Difficulty Level: Easy

5. The primary source of political socialization is considered to be the ______.

Ans: family
Learning Objective: 7-3: Examine the sources of and contributors to individual
political attitudes and preferences.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location: Political Socialization: The Sources of Political Knowledge and
Opinion
Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Explain the role of accurate and reliable information in the political process.

Ans: Citizens need to have knowledge of what their elected representatives are up to in
order to keep a watch over their activities and to hold them accountable at the voting
booth. Elected officials need information in order to convince voters to send them into
office and to carry out their wishes. But the problem with collecting and acting on
information is that the information must be accurate and reliable while still affordable.
For this reason, a variety of scientific tools and techniques, such as scientific random
sampling and well-constructed surveys, are used to obtain information.
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Learning Objective: 7-1: Discuss differing theories about public opinion formation,
expression, and the degree to which it is meaningful.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Difficulty Level: Hard

2. How does the story of Michael Brown and the protests in Ferguson, Missouri,
demonstrate the need for and value of information?

Ans: Following the shooting of Michael Brown, a variety of stories and videos were
posted immediately on social media sites. This was used by many as evidence of
wrongdoing. While no video exists of the actual event, many stories and accounts
prompted anger in the black community of Ferguson while prompting frustration and
anger in the white community that tended to support the perspective of the white police
officer. Calls for the name of the officer who shot Mr. Brown also became contentious
and demonstrated the value of information in the political process. The longer the police
refused to release the name, the more angry the black community got. Once the name
was finally released, the safety of the officer and his family was also threatened. As
events continued, more dramatic protests and eventually riots ensued. These were
covered by local and national media agencies, which again prompted more protests
across the country. Within a short period of time, “Hands up, don’t shoot” and “Black
Lives Matter” were polarizing agents between black and white residents. While black
residents were not surprised with the events of the Brown case, white citizens seemed
confused and divided, with many expressing a lack of understanding as to why this
divide in political opinion and attitude existed. Politicos and elected representatives
used the information and feedback they got from black and white citizens to adjust and
change policies at local and national levels. The arguments continue to this day and
have shaped recent events even three years later.

Learning Objective: 7-6: Debate the power of individuals, events, and people’s
interpretations of these events to make lasting change in American politics.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Difficulty Level: Hard

3. What issues and problems might derive from the construction and administration of
political surveys?

Ans: In order to obtain accurate, reliable, and affordable information, surveys must be
administered to random samples of respondents. This requires a well-constructed (in
both wording and question order) and error-minimized (through scientific sampling and
sample selection procedures) instrument. But people often do not understand or are
unable to effectively communicate their personal preferences and attitudes. This
noninformation problem often leads to errors as well. Other problems with survey
administration include sampling error, in which the sample drawn is not representative
of the community as a whole, self-selection error (such as SLOP surveys), and
interviewer error, in which questions are asked in a leading way or are not effectively
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communicated to the respondents. Other errors can take place in tabulating and
interpreting the results. The degree of error must be calculated and transmitted to those
who are interpreting the survey. For instance, a survey with +/- 3% degree of error is
much more reliable than one with +/- 25% degree of error. Also, the aggregate degree
of error may be misleading. Error and responses must be interpreted at the level of
individual demographic variables such as age, gender, education, race/ethnicity, and
political party affiliation.
Learning Objective: 7-5: : Reflect upon the role, possibilities, and dangers of modern
public opinion gathering in the United States.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Answer Location:
Difficulty Level: Medium

4. How are political values correlated to the individual lived experiences of individuals in
interpreting political information?

Ans: Individual political attitudes and opinions must be aggregated in order to arrive at
what we call political opinion. These individual attitudes and opinions are shaped by a
variety of sources including (1) family, (2) schools, (3) friends and colleagues, (4) past
experiences, and (5) political partisanship. In analyzing individual attitudes, several
additional components must be accounted for. These are (1) the direction of the opinion
or attitude, (2) the intensity or strength of involvement and preference, (3) stability,
which is a measurement of change in attitude or opinion over time, and (4) salience (or
centrality), which measures how strongly held an opinion or attitude is. As can be seen,
individual attitudes are based on past experiences which are then filtered through a
series of individual components which then influence how past experiences are framed
by the individual into a set of opinions and attitudes. In interpreting political information,
these components must be accounted for as we understand the aggregate
measurement we call political information.

Learning Objective: 7-2: Describe the issues involved in surveying American public
opinion and constructing the instruments used to do so.
Cognitive Domain: Comprehension
Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Have the events of Ferguson and the story of Michael Brown impacted American
political opinions today? How can we measure this impact in an accurate and cost-
effective manner? How can political information presented in the text be used to prove
or disprove your initial answer?
Ans: Students should form an initial thesis or opinion with regard to the impact of the
Ferguson case, which will most likely be based on their individual frames of reference.
However, the textbook provides a great deal of political poll information with regard to
the Ferguson case. Figure 7.1 demonstrates the degree to which perceptions of
Ferguson are racially divided along black and white filters of perception. Figure 7.4
analyzes partisan divisions with regard to Ferguson and demonstrates the presence of
American Government Stories of a Nation Essentials Edition 1st Edition Abernathy Test Bank

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Abernathy, American Government 1e
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political polarization at a national level. Figure 7.7 demonstrates the public’s opinion on
the subject of body cameras for police officers, and Figure 7.8 demonstrates that the
majority of respondents believe the nation needs to give blacks equal rights. Firsthand
accounts and aggregate political information are used throughout the chapter to discuss
and analyze the phenomenon described as a “racial gap” in answering and interpreting
political polls. These can be used to show that the problem of analyzing a major event
such as Ferguson is the disaggregation of data into individual opinions, perceptions,
and filters. What is clear today is that Ferguson changed the way events such as
Michael Brown’s death are reported, recorded, interpreted, and presented on an
individual and group basis. The use of cell phone cameras and police body cameras
has exponentially increased the amount of raw data that must be interpreted by
individuals in analyzing events which pertain to officer involved shootings. In addition,
the Black Lives Matter movement has increasingly grown throughout the country, with a
great deal of personal and national debate. A countermovement now is Blue Lives
Matter, which says that police must be protected as they go about their daily duties. The
fact that we are still talking about this today can be used as evidence of the impact
Ferguson and the death of Michael Brown have had on our national attitudes toward
racism.

Learning Objective: 7-7: Debate the power of individuals, events, and people’s
interpretations of these events to make lasting change in American politics.
Cognitive Domain: Analysis
Answer Location: Connecting to…Ferguson’s Impact
Difficulty Level: Hard

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