CLEP American Government POS2041 Questions
and Answers (Latest) Solved 100% Correct!!
Public opinion refers to how people think or feel about particular things, including but not
limited to politics and government. Today, it is commonly measured by means of scientific
survey research or polls based on random samples of given populations and carefully
worded questions.
Discuss what public opinion is and how we measure it.
There are many different factors that shape public opinion, but three key ones are political
socialization and the family, demographics, and partisanship and political ideology.
Political socialization refers to the influence of one's family on one's political views.
Demographics refer to our underlying characteristics (race, gender, age, etc.) that shape
our political beliefs. Finally, political partisanship and ideology are core values that shape
and guide what people want from government, and hence influence their views on the
issues.
Outline the major factors that determine public opinion.
In general, Americans don't know much about politics and government. Some argue that
this is not a terrible limitation, as citizens can use heuristics (information shortcuts) to
substitute for low levels of knowledge. However, shortcuts are not a perfect substitute for
information, and when citizens have more information about a policy, their preferences can
change. That suggests that a lack of information does impact American democracy in at
least some settings.
, Summarize the arguments for and against the claim that low levels of political knowledge among
ordinary voters impact American democracy.
Generally speaking, public opinion drives policy: When opinion changes, so does policy,
especially on salient issues or when the opinion change is especially large. But when a
minority group is particularly politically consequential (typically because they are more
politically engaged on the issue), government policy follows the minority view, rather than
the majority one.
Discuss the relationship between public opinion and public policy.
American voter turnout is generally lower than in other advanced industrialized
democracies. But it is important to note that American elections differ from their European
counterparts along many dimensions. Americans elect far more officials, have far more
frequent elections, and are required to register to vote (rather than being automatically
enrolled). Efforts to increase registration, such as the motor-voter law, have gotten more
names onto the voting rolls, but often these new additions do not vote as frequently as other
registered voters. Most states now permit people to vote early, absentee, and by mail; but
neither these measures, nor various "get-out-the-vote" tactics, have yet been shown to
increase voter turnout in ways that result in most eligible citizens voting in most elections.
Discuss how American voter turnout compares to other advanced industrialized democracies.
Initially, only white male property holders could vote, but over time, those barriers were
lifted. Today, nearly all citizens can vote, though there have been heated debates in recent
years about voter identification laws.
and Answers (Latest) Solved 100% Correct!!
Public opinion refers to how people think or feel about particular things, including but not
limited to politics and government. Today, it is commonly measured by means of scientific
survey research or polls based on random samples of given populations and carefully
worded questions.
Discuss what public opinion is and how we measure it.
There are many different factors that shape public opinion, but three key ones are political
socialization and the family, demographics, and partisanship and political ideology.
Political socialization refers to the influence of one's family on one's political views.
Demographics refer to our underlying characteristics (race, gender, age, etc.) that shape
our political beliefs. Finally, political partisanship and ideology are core values that shape
and guide what people want from government, and hence influence their views on the
issues.
Outline the major factors that determine public opinion.
In general, Americans don't know much about politics and government. Some argue that
this is not a terrible limitation, as citizens can use heuristics (information shortcuts) to
substitute for low levels of knowledge. However, shortcuts are not a perfect substitute for
information, and when citizens have more information about a policy, their preferences can
change. That suggests that a lack of information does impact American democracy in at
least some settings.
, Summarize the arguments for and against the claim that low levels of political knowledge among
ordinary voters impact American democracy.
Generally speaking, public opinion drives policy: When opinion changes, so does policy,
especially on salient issues or when the opinion change is especially large. But when a
minority group is particularly politically consequential (typically because they are more
politically engaged on the issue), government policy follows the minority view, rather than
the majority one.
Discuss the relationship between public opinion and public policy.
American voter turnout is generally lower than in other advanced industrialized
democracies. But it is important to note that American elections differ from their European
counterparts along many dimensions. Americans elect far more officials, have far more
frequent elections, and are required to register to vote (rather than being automatically
enrolled). Efforts to increase registration, such as the motor-voter law, have gotten more
names onto the voting rolls, but often these new additions do not vote as frequently as other
registered voters. Most states now permit people to vote early, absentee, and by mail; but
neither these measures, nor various "get-out-the-vote" tactics, have yet been shown to
increase voter turnout in ways that result in most eligible citizens voting in most elections.
Discuss how American voter turnout compares to other advanced industrialized democracies.
Initially, only white male property holders could vote, but over time, those barriers were
lifted. Today, nearly all citizens can vote, though there have been heated debates in recent
years about voter identification laws.
