POS EXAM 2 UPDATED QUESTIONS AND CORRECT
ANSWERS
Question:
1. public opinion
Answer:
the distribution of the popula-tion's beliefs about politics and policy issues
Question:
2. demography
Answer:
the science of population changes
Question:
3. census
Answer:
an "actual enumeration" of the population, which the Consitu-tion requires that the govt. con-duct
every 10 years the is a valu-able tool for understanding de-mographic changes.
Question:
4. melting pot
Answer:
a term often used to character-ize the US, which its history of immigration and mixing of cul-tures,
ideas, and people
Question:
5. minority majority
Answer:
the situation, likely beginning in the mid-twenty-first century, which the non-hispanic whites will
represnt a minority of the US population and minority groups together will represent the majority
Question:
6. political culture
Answer:
an overall set of values widely shared within a society
Question:
7. reapportionment
Answer:
the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the
results of the census
Question:
8. political socialization
, Answer:
the process through which in-dividuals in a society acquire political attitudes , views, and knowledge,
based on inputs from family, schools, the media, and others.
Question:
9. sample
Answer:
a relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in sur-vey so as to be representive of the
whole
Question:
10. random sampling
Answer:
the key technique employed by survey researchers, which oper-ates on the principle that every-one
should have an equal prob-ablity of being selected for the sample
Question:
11. sampling error
Answer:
the level of condidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. the more people inter-viewed the
more confident one can be of the results
Question:
12. random-digit dialing
Answer:
a technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted num-bers
when conducting a survey
Question:
13. exit poll
Answer:
public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and
precison
Question:
14. political ideology
Answer:
a coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and pub-lic purpose, which helps give meaning
to political events
Question:
15. gender gap
Answer:
the regular pattern in which women are more likely to sup-port Democratic candidates in part because
they tend to be less conservative then men and more likely to support spending on social services and
to oppose higher levels of military spend-ing
, Question:
16. political participation
Answer:
all the activities uded by citizens to influence the selection of po-litical leaders or the policies they
pursue. the most common means of political participation in a democracy is voting; other means
include protest and civil disobedience
Question:
17. protest
Answer:
a form of political particiapa-tion desined to achieve policy change through dramatic and
unconventional tactics
Question:
18. civil disobendience
Answer:
a form of political participation based on a conscious decision to break a law believed to be unjust
and to suffer the conse-quences
Question:
19. political party
Answer:
according to Anthony Downs a "team of men(and women) seeking to control the govern-ing appartus
by gaining office in a duly consituted election
Question:
20. linkage institutions
Answer:
the channels through which people's concerms become po-litical issues on the govern-ment's policy
agenda. In the US linkage insitutions include elec-tions political parties, interest groups, and the
media
Question:
21. rational-choice theory
Answer:
a popular theory in political sci-ence to explian the actions of voters as wll as politicans. it assumes
that individuals act in theri own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible
alternatives
Question:
22. party image
Answer:
the voter's perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for such as conservatism or
liveralism
Question:
23. party identification
ANSWERS
Question:
1. public opinion
Answer:
the distribution of the popula-tion's beliefs about politics and policy issues
Question:
2. demography
Answer:
the science of population changes
Question:
3. census
Answer:
an "actual enumeration" of the population, which the Consitu-tion requires that the govt. con-duct
every 10 years the is a valu-able tool for understanding de-mographic changes.
Question:
4. melting pot
Answer:
a term often used to character-ize the US, which its history of immigration and mixing of cul-tures,
ideas, and people
Question:
5. minority majority
Answer:
the situation, likely beginning in the mid-twenty-first century, which the non-hispanic whites will
represnt a minority of the US population and minority groups together will represent the majority
Question:
6. political culture
Answer:
an overall set of values widely shared within a society
Question:
7. reapportionment
Answer:
the process of reallocating seats in the House of Representatives every 10 years on the basis of the
results of the census
Question:
8. political socialization
, Answer:
the process through which in-dividuals in a society acquire political attitudes , views, and knowledge,
based on inputs from family, schools, the media, and others.
Question:
9. sample
Answer:
a relatively small proportion of people who are chosen in sur-vey so as to be representive of the
whole
Question:
10. random sampling
Answer:
the key technique employed by survey researchers, which oper-ates on the principle that every-one
should have an equal prob-ablity of being selected for the sample
Question:
11. sampling error
Answer:
the level of condidence in the findings of a public opinion poll. the more people inter-viewed the
more confident one can be of the results
Question:
12. random-digit dialing
Answer:
a technique used by pollsters to place telephone calls randomly to both listed and unlisted num-bers
when conducting a survey
Question:
13. exit poll
Answer:
public opinion surveys used by major media pollsters to predict electoral winners with speed and
precison
Question:
14. political ideology
Answer:
a coherent set of beliefs about politics, public policy, and pub-lic purpose, which helps give meaning
to political events
Question:
15. gender gap
Answer:
the regular pattern in which women are more likely to sup-port Democratic candidates in part because
they tend to be less conservative then men and more likely to support spending on social services and
to oppose higher levels of military spend-ing
, Question:
16. political participation
Answer:
all the activities uded by citizens to influence the selection of po-litical leaders or the policies they
pursue. the most common means of political participation in a democracy is voting; other means
include protest and civil disobedience
Question:
17. protest
Answer:
a form of political particiapa-tion desined to achieve policy change through dramatic and
unconventional tactics
Question:
18. civil disobendience
Answer:
a form of political participation based on a conscious decision to break a law believed to be unjust
and to suffer the conse-quences
Question:
19. political party
Answer:
according to Anthony Downs a "team of men(and women) seeking to control the govern-ing appartus
by gaining office in a duly consituted election
Question:
20. linkage institutions
Answer:
the channels through which people's concerms become po-litical issues on the govern-ment's policy
agenda. In the US linkage insitutions include elec-tions political parties, interest groups, and the
media
Question:
21. rational-choice theory
Answer:
a popular theory in political sci-ence to explian the actions of voters as wll as politicans. it assumes
that individuals act in theri own best interest, carefully weighing the costs and benefits of possible
alternatives
Question:
22. party image
Answer:
the voter's perception of what the Republicans or Democrats stand for such as conservatism or
liveralism
Question:
23. party identification
