POS Exam 3 – Flashcards
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Unscientific surveys used to gauge public opinion on a variety of issues are known as what?
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Straw Polls
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Polls may be inaccurate for a number of reasons. Which of the following is one of those reasons?
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Polls are unable to measure the intensity of feelings about issues.
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The --- is a measure of the accuracy of a public opinion poll.
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Margin of error.
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Of the following, which is considered a demographic characteristic?
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Gender
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What is a media effect?
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Agenda setting.
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Why do reputable polling firms eschew push poll tactics?
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The intent of push polls is to give respondents some negative or even untruthful information about a candidate's opponent.
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How do political scientists define political socialization?
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as the process through which individuals acquire their political beliefs and values.
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Gaps in the way that citizens view government, political leaders, and public policies may be the result of gender, race, age, party, and religion, which are collectively known as what?
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Demographic characteristics.
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Nightly panels of experts and pundits on television network news...
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Have as much impact on public opinion as reports from the field.
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In terms of speaking to the press on behalf of Congress,--- command center stage when subjects in their domain are newsworthy, occasionally achieving fame.
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Key committee chairs.
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The press has the greatest impact on public opinion regarding...
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Events in foreign countries.
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In your American government class, you learn that most Americans' level of knowledge about history and politics is quite low and is declining every year. You also learn that political knowledge and political participation have a reciprocal effect on one another. Which of the following statements aligns with the statements presented in this scenario?
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In the future, the degree of political participation in America is likely to go down.
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Web polls that allow anyone to weigh in on a topic are similar to which of the following types of polls?
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Straw polls.
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What is the difference between simple random sampling and stratified sampling?
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Stratified sampling combines random selection with predetermined weighting of a population's demographic characteristics, whereas random sampling does not.
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When they become ten or eleven, what political opinion of Democratic presidents would you expect of children raised in politically active Republican households?
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That they would be more skeptical of Democratic presidents than Republican ones.
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Which of the following statements about the relationship between political knowledge and political participation is true?
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Increases in political knowledge lead to increases in political participation.
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The rise of Spanish language television and news programming is an example of...
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Narrowcasting
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Which is a primary reason that news cameras are not allowed in the Supreme Court?
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To avoid politicization of Court Activity.
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In the federalist No.10, James Madison described how a government could be designed to control the effects of...
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factions
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When a case that an interest group is interested in, but not actually sponsoring, comes before a court, the group can...
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File an amicus curiae brief to present the group's analysis of the case.
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Which of the following raise money from individuals and then distribute it in the form of contributions to political candidates?
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political action committees.
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What is lobbying?
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Communicating with government officials to persuade them to support a particular policy position.
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The --- problem occurs when people fail to join a group because they can get the benefits the group offers without contributing to the group's efforts.
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Free rider.
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One of the various ways in which parties contribute to democratic governance is by
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running candidates
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What is the single greatest influence in establishing a person's first party identification?
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Parents
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What typically precedes a major party realignment?
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A critical election.
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The most visible instrument that parties use to formulate, convey, and promote public policy is...
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Its platform.
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Modern national party conventions serve what ends?
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They mobilize supporters for the nominee, who has basically already been decided.
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What has become the most powerful predictor of congressional voting in recent years?
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Party labels.
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Which of the following is an example of an economic interest group?
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The Chamber of Commerce.
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Which of the following is an example of grassroots/outside lobbying?
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A petition sent to representatives in Congress.
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How do interest groups lobby the executive branch?
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By appearing at administrative hearings to offer information.
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Scholarship suggests that about--- of the promises int he victorious party's presidential platform are completely or mostly implemented.
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Two-thirds.
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While the national congressional campaign committees work to garner more seats for their respective parties, the Democratic National Committee and the Republican National Committee focus on...
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Aiding presidential campaigns and conducting general party-building activities.
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You are the leader of a consumer rights group that has been unable to get a meeting with your elected representative in Congress. How could you get the attention of your legislator on the issues your group cares about?
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Organize a demonstration in the representative's district and invite the media.
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What serves as the glue that holds together the disparate elements of the U.S. governmental and political apparatus?
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The political parties
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Although national committee activities attract most of the media attention, the roots of the party lie in...
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the states and localities.
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Why was Madison particularly concerned about factions in Federalist No. 10?
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He believed that factions pursuing their self-interest would work against the broader public interest.
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To which of the following might political action committees (PAC's) invest their contributions in order to maximize their political influence?
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Campaigns of incumbents.
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Which type of organization would find it easiest to overcome the free rider/collective action problem?
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A trade association representing a small number of firms.
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Which of the following statements, if true, would confirm the theory of pluralism?
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Elected officials seek out the opinions of multiple interest groups when creating policy.
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Most candidates running in a general election tend to move their campaigns toward the
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idealogical center.
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The person closest to the candidate who makes the essential day-to-day decisions is the
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campaign manager
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The --- is the bureaucratic agency in charge of monitoring campaign activity.
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Federal Election Commission.
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What Supreme Court decision determined that no limits could be placed on the amount of his or her own money a candidate spends in an election?
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Buckley v. Valeo
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The brief, clever quotes that candidates hope will be replayed after media events are known as...
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sound bites.
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What institution is responsible for electing the president of the United States?
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Electoral College
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The ability of an office holder to fend off challenges from quality challengers is known as the
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scare-off effect
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Which of the following religious groups maintains the most consisting voting patterns.
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Jewish voters.
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Roughly what percentage of Americans rarely or never vote?
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35 percent
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Most elections follow the same structure, consisting of a(an)
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nomination campaign and general election campaign.
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In general, women who vote favor which party?
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Democrats.
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What is front-loading?
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The tendency of states to choose an early date on the nomination calendar.
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Democrats no longer use the winner-take-all primary because---
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it was generally less representative.
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One of the primary dangers of the nomination campaign is that...
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candidates can become too idealogically extreme.
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The incumbency advantage includes which of the following...?
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Greater visibility
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Prospective judgement is voting based upon
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The candidates policy promises
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The most dominant feature of traditional media coverage of campaigns is...
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coverage of the "horse race."
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Which of the following is a problem presented by the Electoral College?
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The winner of a popular vote can still fail to be elected.
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Which of the following is a characteristic of negative ads?
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They sometimes do not even mention the sponsor of the ads.
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Why is redistricting an issue for incumbents?
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It can pit an incumbent against another incumbent in the next election cycle.
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Which of the following is one strategy that campaigns use to control the media?
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Staging media events.
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If you wanted to have the most informed voters during a party nomination, you would use which nomination system?
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Caucus
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Front loading benefits...
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Front runners
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If you are competing for your party's nomination for office, you must first participate in a(n)...
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primary election.
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If you are challenging an incumbent and looking for PAC money to support your campaign, you can expect to receive...
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significantly less money than if you were an incumbent.
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If a state wanted to increase its influence in the presidential nomination, what could the state do?
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Frontload the primaries
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A campaign manager who was attempting to make clear that his candidate was suitable for the presidency would most likely...
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Prepare his candidate very well for televised debates.
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Why might being a member of a civic group make you more likely to vote?
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Civic groups provide opportunities to learn important political skills.
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Why is a candidate's moving to the left or the right during the nomination phase both an advantage and a disadvantage?
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While moving to one end of the spectrum might motivate a party base during nomination, it might actually alienate more moderate or on-the-fence voters of the general election.
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Which of the following is a criticism of early voting?
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It decreases the importance of campaigns.
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Oil rigs
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Nigeria
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Partide Law
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South Africa
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Example of failed state
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Somalia
