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1 | |
The process by which individuals acquire their political opinions is most accurately known as |
| | A) | popular conditioning. |
| | B) | social communication. |
| | C) | socio-economic propaganda. |
| | D) | political socialization. |
| | E) | mind control. |
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2 | |
Which of the following poll results are theoretically the most accurate, assuming that all have a confidence level of .95? |
| | A) | sample size = 2,000; population size – 250 million. |
| | B) | sample size = 1,000; population size – 100,000. |
| | C) | sample size = 1,500; population size – 35 million. |
| | D) | sample size = 500; population size – 25,000. |
| | E) | sample size = 1,000; population size – 100 million. |
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3 | |
Economic class influences political opinion in the U.S. in all except which one of the following issues? |
| | A) | social welfare programs. |
| | B) | business regulation. |
| | C) | progressive taxation. |
| | D) | abortion rights. |
| | E) | Economic class influences all issues. |
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4 | |
In general, public opinion |
| | A) | determines government action. |
| | B) | is unrelated to government action. |
| | C) | sets broad limits on government action. |
| | D) | affects government action only on issues that are prominent in elections. |
| | E) | speaks for all people of the country equally. |
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5 | |
Since 1960, Americans have increasingly considering themselves to be |
| | A) | liberals. |
| | B) | independents. |
| | C) | Repubicans. |
| | D) | Democrats. |
| | E) | Libertarians. |
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6 | |
The chief agents for political socialization include all except which one of the following? |
| | A) | family. |
| | B) | peers. |
| | C) | education. |
| | D) | corporations. |
| | E) | mass media. |
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7 | |
Frames of reference that guide American political thinking include: 1) political cultural thinking; 2) ideological thinking; 3) group attachments; 4) partisan identification. |
| | A) | 3 and 4 |
| | B) | 1, 3, 4 |
| | C) | 1 and 3 |
| | D) | 2, 3, 4 |
| | E) | all the above |
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8 | |
Partisan thinking is linked to |
| | A) | loyalty to a political party. |
| | B) | preference for interest groups over political parties. |
| | C) | voting for the individual rather than the party. |
| | D) | considering oneself an independent. |
| | E) | planning the next major party. |
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9 | |
Liberalism and conservatism are given in the text as examples of |
| | A) | political parties. |
| | B) | partisan thinking. |
| | C) | cultural idealism. |
| | D) | ideologies. |
| | E) | philosophies of everyday life. |
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10 | |
Indicators of public opinion in the United States include all except which one of the following? |
| | A) | election results. |
| | B) | size of crowds at demonstrations. |
| | C) | number of newspapers sold. |
| | D) | letters to editors of newspapers. |
| | E) | all are quality indicators of public opinion. |
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11 | |
Major characteristics mentioned in the text to describe the process of political socialization include: 1) what is learned first is often lodged most firmly in one's mind; 2) socialization continues throughout life; 3) early learning structures what is learned later; 4) an extraordinary event can alter beliefs especially for younger adults. |
| | A) | 1 and 3 |
| | B) | 2 and 4 |
| | C) | 1, 2, 3 |
| | D) | 2, 3, 4 |
| | E) | all the above |
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12 | |
Discovering how Americans think politically can be important in which respects? |
| | A) | It can provide clues about how public opinion is likely to affect government. |
| | B) | A shared frame of reference can bring citizens together in the pursuit of a common goal. |
| | C) | It can reveal how truly alienated public opinion is from the actions of government in a democratic political system. |
| | D) | a and b only. |
| | E) | a, b and c. |
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13 | |
The major characteristics of the process of political socialization include all except which one of the following? |
| | A) | primacy tendency. |
| | B) | structuring tendency. |
| | C) | age-cohort tendency. |
| | D) | reverse tendency. |
| | E) | all are parts of the process of political socialization. |
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14 | |
Public opinion assumes more importance in democratic societies than in non-democratic ones because of the |
| | A) | president's power as commander in chief. |
| | B) | availability of polls. |
| | C) | legal requirement for a national referendum on presidential war actions. |
| | D) | belief that the source of government is the will of the people. |
| | E) | need to mobilize the populace to action. |
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15 | |
The public's relatively low level of accurate information is based on which? |
| | A) | media bias |
| | B) | the will to believe |
| | C) | political socialization |
| | D) | misinformation by political leaders |
| | E) | right-wing radio talk show hosts. |
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