AP Government Test: Political Beliefs and Behaviors – Flashcards
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Most American voters are a. liberal b. conservative c. moderate d. non-ideological e. moderate-liberals
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C. Moderate
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Which of the following is true about American elections over the past 100 years? a. The suffrage has broadened and the turnout has increased b. The suffrage has broadened and the turnout has decreased c. The suffrage has narrowed and the turnout has increased d. The suffrage has broadened and the turnout has decreased e. The suffrage has broadened but there has been no change in turnout
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B. The suffrage has broadened and the turnout has decreased
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The Motor Voter Act of 1993 a. Requires states to provide transportation for citizens who are unable to get to the polls on their own efforts b. Requires states to mail voter registration forms to all individuals holding driver's licenses c. Requires states to register individuals to vote when they apply for or renew their driver's license or car tags d. Established drive-in polling places to make voting more convenient and increase voter turnout
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C. Requires states to register individuals to vote when they apply for or renew their driver's license or car tags
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Compared to other countries, the United States holds __________ elections for various offices. a. Far fewer b. Somewhat fewer c. About the same number of d. More
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D. More
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Compared to most other individualized countries in the world, the United States has a _______ voter turnout based on the voting age population. a. Much higher b. Slightly higher c. Slightly fewer d. Much lower e. Rising
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D. Much lower
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The most important factor affecting voter turnout is a. Education b. Gender c. Age d. Race. e. Mass media
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A. Education
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People with higher than average education a. Are no more and no less likely to vote than people of lower educational levels b. Are more likely to vote than people of lower educational levels c. Are somewhat less likely to vote than people of lower educational levels d. Are much less likely to vote than people of lower educational levels e. Are more likely to vote than high school dropouts, but less likely to vote than those with high school diplomas
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B. Are more likely to vote than people of lower educational levels
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Over the last five decades, according to the American voter, voting based primarily on party identification has a. Completely disappeared b. Declined sharply c. Stayed almost exactly the same d. Increased slightly
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D. Increased slightly
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In general, voter turnout is higher among those who are a. Less educated with a moderate income b. Male c. Older and wealthier d. Younger with a college education e. All of the above
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C. Older and wealthier
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The great one's sense of political efficacy, the a. Less likely one is to vote b. More likely one is to vote c. Greater one's chance of being defeated in an election d. Less likely one is to view the election process in the U.S. as legitimate
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B. More likely one is to vote
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Which of the following is not true about elections in America? a. They socialize and institutionalize political activity b. They provide regular access to political parties c. They are accepted as legitimate, fair, and free methods to select political leaders D. The vast majority of eligible citizens cast ballots, even for local races
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D. The vast majority of eligible citizens cast ballots, even for local races
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People are more likely to vote for all of the following reasons except if they a. Have a high sense of civic duty b. Have a high sense of political efficacy c. Are able to see policy differences that affect their interests d. Believe that some policies of one party are balanced by other policies of the other party
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D. Believe that some policies of one party are balanced by other policies of the other party
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As registration procedures have been made easier since 1960 a. Voter turnout has declined b. Americans' social and political connectedness has increased c. Americans' political interest has increased d.More Americans are going to the polls e. There has been a marked increase in voter fraud
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A. Voter turnout has declined
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The type of public policy that seems to have the greatest effect on elections today is a. Foreign policy b. Social policy c. Economic policy d. Military policy e. Racial policy
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C. Economic policy
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Recent polls on party identification have shown that a. More people today identify themselves as conservatives but moderates are a close second b. The percentage of liberals has increased only slightly, while the percentage of conservatives has declined c. Both the percentages of liberals and conservatives increased d. There are more independents than there are conservatives or liberals
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A. More people today identify themselves as conservatives but moderates are a close second
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Senior citizens are the most politically active age group of Americans for which of the following reasons? I. They have had more experiences from which to form their political beliefs and reinforce their political ideology II. They have more disposable income with which they can influence politicians through campaign contributions III. They are the largest voting age group and therefore the form a voting majority IV. Enrollment programs such as Social Security require participants to vote a. I only b. II only c. I & II only d. II & IV only e. II, III, & IV only
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C. I & II only
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Public opinion polling was first begun in 1932 by a. George Gallup b. Louis Harris c. Henry Luce d. The Associated Press e. The Democratic Party
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A. George Gallup
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Because it would be prohibitively expensive to ask every citizen his or her opinion on a whole range of issues, polis relay on what is called a(n) _________ of the population a. Slice b. Sample c. Demography d. Census e. Extraction
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B. Sample
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In public opinion polling, a sample as small as around ______ people can faithfully represent the "universe" of Americans a. 1,500 b. 5,000 c. 10,000 d. 20,000 e. 50,000
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A. 1,500
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The key to the accuracy of public opinion polls is a. The larger the size of the sample, the better b. Sampling error c. Random sampling d. Political ideology e. Polygraphs
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C. Random sampling
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A pollster using a representative sample of 1,500 Americans finds that 52% support candidate X and 48% support candidate Y. The pollster's conclusion should be that a. The race is too close to call because of a possible sampling error b. X is likely to win the race c. Polls are unreliable predictors of political outcomes d. The poll should be retaken with a larger sample e. The poll should be retaken using random digit dialing
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A. The race is too close to call because of a possible sampling error
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Most scientific polling today by polling groups or magazines is done a. By phone b. In person c. By mail d. By computer e. At shopping mails
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A. By phone
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Public opinion polls are a. Unimportant since what people say and what people do are two different things b. Becoming less important as more people recognize their inaccuracies c. Important because policymakers can keep in touch with changing opinions on the issues d. Important because results can sway people to change their political preferences e. Largely meaningless because they tend to measure people's responses to an agenda set by the pollster and assumptions embedded in the questions by the pollster
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C. Important because policymakers can keep in touch with changing opinions on the issues
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An exit poll is taken a. As people leave supermarkets, shopping malls, sporting events, or movies, and are thus available for interviews b. To measure an officeholder's popularity as he or she is leaving office c. Just prior to the election, in order to get a last reading of the public's views d. On election day, by interviewing voters as they leave the polling place e. In all of these situations
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D. On election day, by interviewing voters as they leave the polling place
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Public opinion analysts agree that the level of public knowledge about politics is a. Dismally low b. Fair c. Pretty good d. Surprisingly sharp e. Constantly fluctuating
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B. Fair
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The most valuable method for understanding demographic changes in America is the a. Public opinon poll b. Census c. Internal Revenue Service statistical tax abstracts d. Turnout in presidential elections e. Statistical Abstract of the United States
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B. Census
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_______ is the distribution of the population's beliefs about politics and policy issues. a. Public opinion b. Political socialization c. Political ideology d. Random sampling e. Direct mail
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A. Public opinion
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By constitution requirement, the government conducts the population count every a. Year b. Two years c. Five years d. Ten years e. 25 years
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D. Ten years
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Political culture refers to a. A set of beliefs about the role of government in society b. An overall set of values widely shared within a society c. How truly "American" someone is d. A high degree of homogeneity in political opinions
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B. An overal set of values widely shared within a society
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Nationwide, the fastest growing age group is composed of a. Those under 13 years old b. Those between 13-21 years old c. Those between 21-30 years old d. Those over 65 years old e. One year olds
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D. Those over 65 years old
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The process through which an individual acquires his or her particular political orientations, including his or her knowledge, feelings, and evaluations regarding his or her political world, is known as a. Demography b. Political indoctrination c. Political socialization d. Politcal ideology e. Political orientation
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C. Political socialization
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One can predict how the majority of young people will vote simply by a. Knowing their race b. Knowing the political leaning of their parents c. Knowing the political leaning of their friends d. Knowing the political leaning of their teachers e. Knowing their age
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B. Knowing the political leaning of their parents
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One of the effects of growing older on political learning and political behavior is that a. Political participation increases with age b. The strength of one's party attachment declines with age c. People become more liberal with age d. Interest in politics decreases with age
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A. Political participation increases with age
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Which of the following is not a criticism of modern polling? a. Politicians use polls to follow the crowd rather than to assess bold leadership b. Polls are subject to very wide margins of error, yet are treated as accurate measurements of public opinion c. Careful attention to polls is unwise, as polls only reflect the passive attitudes of voters d. Polls can distort the election process by creating a bandwagon effect, where people want to follow the crowd
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B. Polls are subject to very wide margins of error, yet are treated as accurate measurements of public opinion
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A ______ is a coherent set of values and beliefs about public policy a. Political ideology b. Political socialization c. Public opinion d. Demography e. Policy agenda
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A. Political ideology
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Which of the following is true about most liberals in American politics? a. They favor keeping taxes and government spending low b. They oppose abortion c. They believe that we should guard carefully the rights of defendants in criminal cases d. They are supportive of prayer in public schools e. None of these
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C. They believe that we should guard carefully the rights of defendants in criminal cases
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A political figure who was in favor of increased military spending, supported freedom of choice on abortion, opposed affirmative action programs, wanted to tax the rich more, and felt that the courts should stop coddling criminals is a a. Liberal b. Conservative c. Socialist d. Populist e. Mixture of liberal and conservative
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E. Mixture of liberal and conservative
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The most common form of political participation in the United States is a. Writing letters to public officials b. Voting in presidential elections c. Belonging to a political party d. Working on a political campaign e. Voting in local elections
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B. Voting in presidential elections
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Recent public opinion polls have shown that most Americans a. Favor big government b. Oppose big government c. Favor the idea of big government in principle, but oppose it in practice d. Oppose the idea of big government in principle, but favor it in practice e. Have strong opinions on the proper scope of government
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D. Oppose the idea of big government in principle, but favor it in practice
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The nearly two centuries of American electoral history has been characterized by a. Consistently close elections b. Increasing voter turnouts c. Expansion of the right to vote d. A proliferation of Presidential candidates e. All of these
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C. Consistently close elections
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Among the states that allow voter registration at the polls on election day-or, in the case of North Dakota has no registration at all - voter turnout rates are a. Substantially higher than the national average b. A percentage point or two higher than national average c. No different than the national average d. Substantially lower than the national average e. 9% lower than the national average
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A. Substantially higher than the national average
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Political efficacy refers to the belief that a. The costs of voting outweigh the benefits b. Significant policy differences exist between the parties c. One should always support democratic government d. Ordinary people can influence the government e. Government is very inefficient and needs to be streamlined
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D. Ordinary people can influence the government
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Which of the following countries has a lower voting age turnout rate than the United States? a. Australia b. Greece c. Switzerland d. Italy e. France
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C. Switzerland
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Which of these would be most likely to vote? a. A well-educated, middle-aged government worker b. A young southerner without a high school diploma c. A well-educated senior citizen who used to work for a big corporation d. A young southerner high school teacher e. A middle-aged professor at a private university
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A. A well-educated, middle-aged government worker
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Which of the following statements about voter participation is false? a. As people age, their likelihood of voting increases b. Minority groups with high levels of income and education have a similar turnout rate with whites of comparable status c. Men are more likely to vote than women d. Individuals who have lived at the same address longer are more likely to vote than those who have moved
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C. Men are more likely to vote than women
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The group of people with the lowest voter turnout rate is a. College graduates b. Young people c. Women d. Senior citizens
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B. Young people
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All of the following influence the way citizens form their political beliefs except a. Schooling b. The family c. Religion d. Mass media e. State of residence
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E. State of residence
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Politicians usually pay attention to public opinion as reported in polls in order to a. Decide whether to change party affiliation b. Shape their campaign strategy c. Form coalitions in Congress d. Know if they should run for reelection e. Solicit campaign contributions
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B. Shape their campaign strategy
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Young Americans are the least politically active group for all of the following reasons except a. They have little political experience b. They are not likely to watch the news or read newspapers c. They have been taught to distrust the government d.They have not developed a sense of what they need from government e. They have not witnessed the impact of governmental policies
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C. They have been taught to distrust the government
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Suffrage has been granted to many groups in the United States in which of the following ways? a. By amendments to the Constitution b. By rulings of the Supreme Court c. By presidential executive orders d. By a majority vote in the Senate e. By a two-thirds vote in the house
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A. By amendments to the Constitution
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Which if the following statements regarding religion and ideology is FALSE? a. Most Jews tend to be more conservative than liberal b. The ideological gap between Catholics and Protestants is smaller than the gender gap c. Born-again Christians are the most conservative demographic group d. People who have no religious affiliation are more liberal than conservative e. None of the above, all statements are true
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A. Most Jews tend to be more conservative than liberal
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If you believe that "public officials don't care much about what people think," then you are expressing feelings of a. High political efficacy b. Low political efficacy c. Rationality d. Policy voting e. Retrospective voting
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B. Low political efficacy
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When after his 2008 win, President Obama stated, "I don't think there's any question that we have a mandate to move the country in a new direction and not continue the same old practice that have gotten us into the fix that we are in," he was expressing a. The Mandate Theory of Elections b. Partisanship c. Bipartisanship d. A call to arms e. Policy voting
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A. The Mandate Theory of Elections
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According to Robert Putnam in Bowling Alone, which of the following is not a reason for the eroding of social capitalism? a. Increase of women into the workforce b. The mobility of the population c. Rise in the number of marriages d. Rise of television e. Rise of big box corporation
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C. Rise in the number of marriages
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An election whereby voters are given the chance to approve or disapprove some legislative act or constitutional amendment is called a. A referendum b. An initiative petition c. A direct primary d. A direct election e. A ratification election
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A. A referendum
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(T/F) Public opinion polls routinely find that the American public has a high level of knowledge about the major political issues that candidates and government officials talk about.
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B. False
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(T/F) Americans generally believe more strongly in political than economic equality.
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A. True
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(T/F) Putnam warned that our stock of social capital has plummeted and this has profound implications for political participation and our democracy.
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A. True
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(T/F) The data on voter turnout is misleading because it tends to compare turnout of the voting-age population instead of turnout of registered voters.
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A. True
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(T/F) Young adults are much less likely to vote than senior citizens in the U.S.
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A. True
