Am. Gov. Final Exam Review - Week 14: Public Opinion and Political Parties

Week 13 (After Spring Break): Public Opinion and Political Parties

(Review the textbook chapters 7 and 9)

Key Terms:

a.       Gender gap

b.      Political elites

c.       Norm

d.      Public opinion

e.      Random sample

f.        Exit polls

g.       Political ideology

h.      Sampling error

i.         Ideological party

j.        Political party

k.       Caucus

l.         Party-column ballot

m.    National chairman

n.      Plurality system

o.      National convention

Four ideologies that Americans take on political issues:

1.       Pure Liberal: People liberal on both economic policy and personal conduct

2.       Pure Conservative: People conservative on both economic policy and personal conduct

3.       Libertarian: People who are conservative on economic matters and liberal on social ones

4.       Populist: These people want a government that will reduce economic inequality and control business, but they also want it to regulate personal conduct, lock up criminals, and permit school prayer (liberal on economic policy, conservative on personal conduct)

Review Questions:

1.       Which of the following is not true about public opinion in the U.S.?

a.       It is difficult to discuss, because there are many American “publics.”

b.      It is difficult to discuss, because there are many American “opinions.”

c.       The American public’s opinion has typically been consistently unified.

2.       Except for relatively small matters, most opinion in the U.S. tends to be

a.       Uninformed

b.      Stable

c.       Difficult to determine, because of sensitivity to the way poll questions are asked.

d.      A and C

3.       Which of the following is not one of the chief sources of political opinion in the U.S.?

a.       Family

b.      Friends

c.       Information media

d.      Schooling

4.       Which of the following is not a current cause of political opinion in the U.S.?

a.       Occupation/income

b.      Race/ethnicity

c.       Region

5.       True or false: Americans are divided neatly along a single liberal-conservative dimension.

a.       True

b.      False

6.       This group exerts a disproportionate influence on public policy.

a.       Libertarians

b.      Populists

c.       Political elites

7.       Which of the following is not one of the arenas in which a political party exists?

a.       Among the voters

b.      As a grassroots organization

c.       As members of the press

d.      As a group of elected officials

8.       The “national level” or party organization…

a.       Includes the “sponsored party”

b.      Is made up of weak “coalitions” of the local groups

c.       Is decreasing in influence

d.      Both C and D

9.       Which of the following has decreased the influence of political parties on the national level?

a.       The spread of primary elections

b.      The decline in primary elections

c.       The increase of media attention

10.   What effect does the “winner-take-all” feature of U.S. elections have on minor parties?

a.       It increases their influence.

b.      It has no effect on their influence.

c.       It decreases their influence.

11.   Minor parties…

a.       Rarely have much influence on national politics.

b.      Never effect elections at all.

c.       Usually have a large influence in national politics.