The Logic of American Politics 12th Edition By Samuel Kernell, Gary Jacobson, Thad Kousser,
Lynn Vavreck, Timothy Johnson | Test Bank | Chapters 1 to 15
@ StudentsHelp @ Test Bank Chapter 1-15
Chapter 01 Test Bank - Easy
Questions & Answers
1. A good formal definition of politics is _____.
A. a controlled study of the impact of an independent variable on a dependent variable
B. the process through which individuals and groups seek agreement on a course of common
action
C. any system where the governed make all important decisions regarding governance
D. a two−party system that governs nationally
Correct Answer: B. the process through which individuals and groups seek agreement on a course
of common action
2. A prominent cue that helps individuals recognize the preferences of others with whom they want
to cooperate is called a/an ______.
A. ideal point
Test Bank
B. status quo ante
C. focal point
D. inversion point
Correct Answer: C. focal point
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3. After the Vietnam War, Congress passed legislation in the area of ______ increasing transaction
costs to inhibit executive action in this area.
A. kidnapping
B. homicide
C. press freedoms
D. wiretapping
Correct Answer: D. wiretapping
4. All organizations are governed by rules and procedures ______.
A. that are difficult to change
B. that rarely impact the actual decisions made by those organizations
C. for the resolution of contested elections
D. for reaching and enforcing collective agreements
Correct Answer: D. for reaching and enforcing collective agreements
5. Assigning authority to make and implement decisions to a small number of persons who are
expected to act on behalf of the larger group’s interest is an example of which of the following?
A. a conformity cost
B. an example of an institution
C. a prisoner’s dilemma
Test Bank Chapter 1- Test Bank The Logic of American Politics 12th Edition By Samuel Kernell @ StudentsHelp @
, @ StudentsHelp @ Test Bank Chapter 1-15
D. delegation
Correct Answer: D. delegation
6. In January 1999, during the Senate impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, what did Senate leaders do
to design a mutually beneficial process?
A. provided a list of demands that had to be met without compromise
B. pre−established rules for the trial to prevent one side from resorting to trickery
C. offered to fast track opposition bills in order to avoid a long trial
D. created a new federal office to oversee the entire process
Correct Answer: B. pre−established rules for the trial to prevent one side from resorting to trickery
7. In a parliamentary government, the team of executives in a legislature is referred to as a ______.
A. ministry
B. court
C. coalition
D. cabinet
Test Bank
Correct Answer: D. cabinet
8. Setting up rules limiting access to the common resource and monitoring and penalizing those
who violate them is referred to as ______.
A. free riding
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B. regulation
C. bargaining
D. privatization
Correct Answer: B. regulation
9. Success at politics requires ______.
A. gridlock
B. bargaining
C. majority leadership
D. constituent support
Correct Answer: B. bargaining
10. To say we regard preferences as “givens” means which of the following?
A. Individuals and groups know what they want.
B. Those who create institutions impose or give preferences to others.
C. Individuals and groups always disclose their preferences.
D. Preferences in society are easily reconciled.
Correct Answer: A. Individuals and groups know what they want.
11. What are transaction costs?
Test Bank Chapter 1- Test Bank The Logic of American Politics 12th Edition By Samuel Kernell @ StudentsHelp @
, @ StudentsHelp @ Test Bank Chapter 1-15
A. fees associated with the Electoral College
B. the costs only associated with the enactment of laws
C. the time, effort, and resources required to make collective decisions
D. the money necessary to inhibit specific types of actions
Correct Answer: C. the time, effort, and resources required to make collective decisions
12. What percentage of GDP are NATO members required to contribute to their military spending?
A. 1%
B. 2%
C. 5%
D. 10%
Correct Answer: B. 2%
13. What recent development has made organizing demonstrations easier?
A. the 24−hour cable news cycle
Test Bank
B. social media
C. changes in federal law that make it easier for protesters to get the necessary permits
D. podcasts
Correct Answer: B. social media
14. Which statement is true of any nation’s constitution?
@ StudentsHelp @
A. It is always set down in writing.
B. It is divinely inspired and theologically grounded.
C. It creates the governing institutions and the set of rules prescribing the political process these
institutions must follow.
D. It creates barriers to collective agreements so that the political process does not get captured by
special interests.
Correct Answer: C. It creates the governing institutions and the set of rules prescribing the political
process these institutions must follow.
15. Who controls the executive in a parliamentary government?
A. the monarch
B. the majority party/coalition
C. the prime minister
D. the constituents
Correct Answer: B. the majority party/coalition
Test Bank Chapter 1- Test Bank The Logic of American Politics 12th Edition By Samuel Kernell @ StudentsHelp @
, @ StudentsHelp @ Test Bank Chapter 1-15
Chapter 01 Test Bank - Hard
Questions & Answers
1. Cars, clothes, food, and sources of entertainment ere examples of private goods.
A. True
B. False
Correct Answer: A. True
2. Discuss the differences between public, private, and collective goods. Provide examples of each.
A. Sample response: Public goods are those that everyone participates in supplying and which
anyone can freely consume, as much as he or she desires. Private goods are things people buy
and consume themselves in a marketplace that supplies these goods according to the demand for
them. Collective goods are a mix between the two, a mix of both private and public provision and
benefit. Examples of public goods include freeways, parks, national defense, a legal system, civil
liberties, and public parks. Examples of private goods include clothes, food, clothes, homes, and
entertainment sources. Collective good examples include education and public health programs.
Test Bank
Correct Answer: Self Answer by Student
3. Give an example of the tragedy of the commons and discuss how it typifies this concept.
A. Sample response: Answers should first define the tragedy of the commons: individuals’ costless
consumption of a public good leading to its rumination. They should then offer an example. One
offered by the textbook is the collapse of the cod fishery industry off the coast of New England
@ StudentsHelp @
where a natural fishing resource created the very industry that overfished and subsequently made
the industry collapse. This is a tragedy of the commons because an underregulated common good
was exploited for economic gain and subsequently created a lack of that very resource and created
economic turmoil as well.
Correct Answer: Self Answer by Student
4. Paying property taxes is an example of a/an ______.
A. transaction cost
B. conformity cost
C. overhead cost
D. enterprise cost
Correct Answer: B. conformity cost
5. President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign organized its volunteers into smaller teams so they
could see their efforts making a difference to counter the free−rider problem.
A. True
B. False
Correct Answer: A. True
6. Provide an example of a "prisoner's dilemma" not discussed in the textbook and describe when a
"prisoner's dilemma" arises.
Test Bank Chapter 1- Test Bank The Logic of American Politics 12th Edition By Samuel Kernell @ StudentsHelp @
Lynn Vavreck, Timothy Johnson | Test Bank | Chapters 1 to 15
@ StudentsHelp @ Test Bank Chapter 1-15
Chapter 01 Test Bank - Easy
Questions & Answers
1. A good formal definition of politics is _____.
A. a controlled study of the impact of an independent variable on a dependent variable
B. the process through which individuals and groups seek agreement on a course of common
action
C. any system where the governed make all important decisions regarding governance
D. a two−party system that governs nationally
Correct Answer: B. the process through which individuals and groups seek agreement on a course
of common action
2. A prominent cue that helps individuals recognize the preferences of others with whom they want
to cooperate is called a/an ______.
A. ideal point
Test Bank
B. status quo ante
C. focal point
D. inversion point
Correct Answer: C. focal point
@ StudentsHelp @
3. After the Vietnam War, Congress passed legislation in the area of ______ increasing transaction
costs to inhibit executive action in this area.
A. kidnapping
B. homicide
C. press freedoms
D. wiretapping
Correct Answer: D. wiretapping
4. All organizations are governed by rules and procedures ______.
A. that are difficult to change
B. that rarely impact the actual decisions made by those organizations
C. for the resolution of contested elections
D. for reaching and enforcing collective agreements
Correct Answer: D. for reaching and enforcing collective agreements
5. Assigning authority to make and implement decisions to a small number of persons who are
expected to act on behalf of the larger group’s interest is an example of which of the following?
A. a conformity cost
B. an example of an institution
C. a prisoner’s dilemma
Test Bank Chapter 1- Test Bank The Logic of American Politics 12th Edition By Samuel Kernell @ StudentsHelp @
, @ StudentsHelp @ Test Bank Chapter 1-15
D. delegation
Correct Answer: D. delegation
6. In January 1999, during the Senate impeachment trial of Bill Clinton, what did Senate leaders do
to design a mutually beneficial process?
A. provided a list of demands that had to be met without compromise
B. pre−established rules for the trial to prevent one side from resorting to trickery
C. offered to fast track opposition bills in order to avoid a long trial
D. created a new federal office to oversee the entire process
Correct Answer: B. pre−established rules for the trial to prevent one side from resorting to trickery
7. In a parliamentary government, the team of executives in a legislature is referred to as a ______.
A. ministry
B. court
C. coalition
D. cabinet
Test Bank
Correct Answer: D. cabinet
8. Setting up rules limiting access to the common resource and monitoring and penalizing those
who violate them is referred to as ______.
A. free riding
@ StudentsHelp @
B. regulation
C. bargaining
D. privatization
Correct Answer: B. regulation
9. Success at politics requires ______.
A. gridlock
B. bargaining
C. majority leadership
D. constituent support
Correct Answer: B. bargaining
10. To say we regard preferences as “givens” means which of the following?
A. Individuals and groups know what they want.
B. Those who create institutions impose or give preferences to others.
C. Individuals and groups always disclose their preferences.
D. Preferences in society are easily reconciled.
Correct Answer: A. Individuals and groups know what they want.
11. What are transaction costs?
Test Bank Chapter 1- Test Bank The Logic of American Politics 12th Edition By Samuel Kernell @ StudentsHelp @
, @ StudentsHelp @ Test Bank Chapter 1-15
A. fees associated with the Electoral College
B. the costs only associated with the enactment of laws
C. the time, effort, and resources required to make collective decisions
D. the money necessary to inhibit specific types of actions
Correct Answer: C. the time, effort, and resources required to make collective decisions
12. What percentage of GDP are NATO members required to contribute to their military spending?
A. 1%
B. 2%
C. 5%
D. 10%
Correct Answer: B. 2%
13. What recent development has made organizing demonstrations easier?
A. the 24−hour cable news cycle
Test Bank
B. social media
C. changes in federal law that make it easier for protesters to get the necessary permits
D. podcasts
Correct Answer: B. social media
14. Which statement is true of any nation’s constitution?
@ StudentsHelp @
A. It is always set down in writing.
B. It is divinely inspired and theologically grounded.
C. It creates the governing institutions and the set of rules prescribing the political process these
institutions must follow.
D. It creates barriers to collective agreements so that the political process does not get captured by
special interests.
Correct Answer: C. It creates the governing institutions and the set of rules prescribing the political
process these institutions must follow.
15. Who controls the executive in a parliamentary government?
A. the monarch
B. the majority party/coalition
C. the prime minister
D. the constituents
Correct Answer: B. the majority party/coalition
Test Bank Chapter 1- Test Bank The Logic of American Politics 12th Edition By Samuel Kernell @ StudentsHelp @
, @ StudentsHelp @ Test Bank Chapter 1-15
Chapter 01 Test Bank - Hard
Questions & Answers
1. Cars, clothes, food, and sources of entertainment ere examples of private goods.
A. True
B. False
Correct Answer: A. True
2. Discuss the differences between public, private, and collective goods. Provide examples of each.
A. Sample response: Public goods are those that everyone participates in supplying and which
anyone can freely consume, as much as he or she desires. Private goods are things people buy
and consume themselves in a marketplace that supplies these goods according to the demand for
them. Collective goods are a mix between the two, a mix of both private and public provision and
benefit. Examples of public goods include freeways, parks, national defense, a legal system, civil
liberties, and public parks. Examples of private goods include clothes, food, clothes, homes, and
entertainment sources. Collective good examples include education and public health programs.
Test Bank
Correct Answer: Self Answer by Student
3. Give an example of the tragedy of the commons and discuss how it typifies this concept.
A. Sample response: Answers should first define the tragedy of the commons: individuals’ costless
consumption of a public good leading to its rumination. They should then offer an example. One
offered by the textbook is the collapse of the cod fishery industry off the coast of New England
@ StudentsHelp @
where a natural fishing resource created the very industry that overfished and subsequently made
the industry collapse. This is a tragedy of the commons because an underregulated common good
was exploited for economic gain and subsequently created a lack of that very resource and created
economic turmoil as well.
Correct Answer: Self Answer by Student
4. Paying property taxes is an example of a/an ______.
A. transaction cost
B. conformity cost
C. overhead cost
D. enterprise cost
Correct Answer: B. conformity cost
5. President Obama’s 2012 reelection campaign organized its volunteers into smaller teams so they
could see their efforts making a difference to counter the free−rider problem.
A. True
B. False
Correct Answer: A. True
6. Provide an example of a "prisoner's dilemma" not discussed in the textbook and describe when a
"prisoner's dilemma" arises.
Test Bank Chapter 1- Test Bank The Logic of American Politics 12th Edition By Samuel Kernell @ StudentsHelp @
