POSC 1010 (AMERICAN NATIONAL
GOVERNMENT) FINAL EXAM
CORRECT 100%
if you can change public opinion... - ANSWER...you can change how the government
acts
public opinion (definition) - ANSWERdistribution of views on a topic of public interest;
views that the government listens to
what are the two opinions that are formed at different points in time? - ANSWER1. some
are formed early and remain stable for life
2. others are latent; subject to change
latent public opinions are... - ANSWER...those that change over time
what are the three ways in which people's public opinion is discovered? - ANSWER1.
regular elections with broad suffrage
2. freedom of speech, press, and association
3. polls and surveys (the best method)
public opinion is important for what three reasons? - ANSWER1. politicians pay
attention to it
2. political institutions pay attention to it
3. public opinion impacts political behavior
the impact that public opinion has is determined by the aggregate (large group of
people) but... - ANSWER...it is the sum of individual actions
political culture (definition) - ANSWERpattern of behavior between people and with
government
what is the "American Creed"? - ANSWERthe "American Creed" is the American culture
political socialization (definition) - ANSWERhow political culture is communicated
amongst people; how you learned about political culture AND how we communicate
political information AND how we develop our political opinion
agents of socialization (definition) - ANSWERpeople and setting that communicate
culture and information
what are the two main agents of socialization? - ANSWER1. family
2. school
,what can impact the socialization aspect of public opinion? - ANSWERmajor
transformative events in history
political attitude (definition) - ANSWERan organized and consistent manner of thinking,
feeling, and reacting; introduces bias
political ideology (definition) - ANSWERstructured sets of political attitudes that reflect
core values
what are the major U.S ideological labels? - ANSWER1. conservative (right)
2. liberal (democrat)
political partisanship (definition) - ANSWERallegiance to political party
what is the origins of public opinion staircase? - ANSWER1. socialization (bottom)
2. attitudes
3. ideology
4. partisanship (top)
what is the most important political attitude? - ANSWERparty identification
the personal identity aspect of public opinion... - ANSWER...is psychological =
identifying ourselves as the party we are in
the cognitive shortcut aspect of public opinion... - ANSWER...is practical = using our
political party as a response
what are some examples in which life experience effects public opinion? -
ANSWER*race & ethnicity
*gender identity
*income
*education
*religion
*generation (age)
*geography (urban OR rural)
gender gap (definition) - ANSWERdifference in political participation, and the ways
political issues and candidates are viewed; the difference in the way people view issues
polling is used... - ANSWER...to measure public opinion accurately
what is the gold standard in polling and sampling? - ANSWERrandom probability
was the Literary Digest poll successful?... (yes OR no) - ANSWERNO
, what requirements are needed in a sample size? - ANSWER*1,200 to 1,500
respondents
*a margin of error of +- 3 points with 95% confidence
preference poll (definition) - ANSWERask choices of candidates (like...who would you
vote for?)
opinion survey (definition) - ANSWERasks your opinion on a certain issue
exit poll (definition) - ANSWERbeing polled after voting
exit polls are valuable because... - ANSWER...you can discover why they voted the way
they did
race-of-interviewer effect (definition) - ANSWERthey can change their responses based
on how they perceive the interviewer
pre-election polls are the most difficult to create because... - ANSWER...you are
predicting something that has not happened yet
partisan press (definition) - ANSWERa newspaper associated with a specific political
party
the penny press... - ANSWER...was a newspaper sold by a penny that created an
unbiased atmosphere AND gave way to the birth of mass media in the U.S
muckracking... - ANSWER...gave rise to investigative journalism
yellow journalism... - ANSWER...emphasized sensationalism/public opinion over
government fact
what are the four roles of the media? - ANSWER1. informs public
2. monitors politicians (government watchdog)
3. shapes narrative
4. influences politics
traditional forms of media include... - ANSWER...broadcast, television, radio, music,
AND movies
print forms of media include... - ANSWER...newspapers, magazines, books, AND
billboards
new forms of media include... - ANSWER...websites, podcasts, blogs, eBooks, apps,
social media, AND wiki pages
what are the five ways media effects the public? - ANSWER1. education
GOVERNMENT) FINAL EXAM
CORRECT 100%
if you can change public opinion... - ANSWER...you can change how the government
acts
public opinion (definition) - ANSWERdistribution of views on a topic of public interest;
views that the government listens to
what are the two opinions that are formed at different points in time? - ANSWER1. some
are formed early and remain stable for life
2. others are latent; subject to change
latent public opinions are... - ANSWER...those that change over time
what are the three ways in which people's public opinion is discovered? - ANSWER1.
regular elections with broad suffrage
2. freedom of speech, press, and association
3. polls and surveys (the best method)
public opinion is important for what three reasons? - ANSWER1. politicians pay
attention to it
2. political institutions pay attention to it
3. public opinion impacts political behavior
the impact that public opinion has is determined by the aggregate (large group of
people) but... - ANSWER...it is the sum of individual actions
political culture (definition) - ANSWERpattern of behavior between people and with
government
what is the "American Creed"? - ANSWERthe "American Creed" is the American culture
political socialization (definition) - ANSWERhow political culture is communicated
amongst people; how you learned about political culture AND how we communicate
political information AND how we develop our political opinion
agents of socialization (definition) - ANSWERpeople and setting that communicate
culture and information
what are the two main agents of socialization? - ANSWER1. family
2. school
,what can impact the socialization aspect of public opinion? - ANSWERmajor
transformative events in history
political attitude (definition) - ANSWERan organized and consistent manner of thinking,
feeling, and reacting; introduces bias
political ideology (definition) - ANSWERstructured sets of political attitudes that reflect
core values
what are the major U.S ideological labels? - ANSWER1. conservative (right)
2. liberal (democrat)
political partisanship (definition) - ANSWERallegiance to political party
what is the origins of public opinion staircase? - ANSWER1. socialization (bottom)
2. attitudes
3. ideology
4. partisanship (top)
what is the most important political attitude? - ANSWERparty identification
the personal identity aspect of public opinion... - ANSWER...is psychological =
identifying ourselves as the party we are in
the cognitive shortcut aspect of public opinion... - ANSWER...is practical = using our
political party as a response
what are some examples in which life experience effects public opinion? -
ANSWER*race & ethnicity
*gender identity
*income
*education
*religion
*generation (age)
*geography (urban OR rural)
gender gap (definition) - ANSWERdifference in political participation, and the ways
political issues and candidates are viewed; the difference in the way people view issues
polling is used... - ANSWER...to measure public opinion accurately
what is the gold standard in polling and sampling? - ANSWERrandom probability
was the Literary Digest poll successful?... (yes OR no) - ANSWERNO
, what requirements are needed in a sample size? - ANSWER*1,200 to 1,500
respondents
*a margin of error of +- 3 points with 95% confidence
preference poll (definition) - ANSWERask choices of candidates (like...who would you
vote for?)
opinion survey (definition) - ANSWERasks your opinion on a certain issue
exit poll (definition) - ANSWERbeing polled after voting
exit polls are valuable because... - ANSWER...you can discover why they voted the way
they did
race-of-interviewer effect (definition) - ANSWERthey can change their responses based
on how they perceive the interviewer
pre-election polls are the most difficult to create because... - ANSWER...you are
predicting something that has not happened yet
partisan press (definition) - ANSWERa newspaper associated with a specific political
party
the penny press... - ANSWER...was a newspaper sold by a penny that created an
unbiased atmosphere AND gave way to the birth of mass media in the U.S
muckracking... - ANSWER...gave rise to investigative journalism
yellow journalism... - ANSWER...emphasized sensationalism/public opinion over
government fact
what are the four roles of the media? - ANSWER1. informs public
2. monitors politicians (government watchdog)
3. shapes narrative
4. influences politics
traditional forms of media include... - ANSWER...broadcast, television, radio, music,
AND movies
print forms of media include... - ANSWER...newspapers, magazines, books, AND
billboards
new forms of media include... - ANSWER...websites, podcasts, blogs, eBooks, apps,
social media, AND wiki pages
what are the five ways media effects the public? - ANSWER1. education
