PSCI 2305: Exam 1 Questions and
answers
Despite growing public support for nuclear power, what event led the federal
government to approve fewer new reactors in the United States in the mid-2000s? -
Answer -the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
What did studies from the 1950s reveal about public opinion? - Answer -Citizens
possessed low levels of political knowledge
According to the text, what is attitude consistency? - Answer -political opinions founded
on a set of principles about the function of government
Which of the following factors (among others) might account for the results of many
public opinion surveys? - Answer -timing and context of the studies
Which of the following would be considered a shortcut in making voting decisions? -
Answer -Identifying with a party
Which of the following is correlated with increasingly consistent ideological thinking? -
Answer -increased education
What is political typology? - Answer -Political typology categorizes groups of people
based on their attitudes and values.
What is the process through which we form our political values called? - Answer -
political socialization
Approximately what percentage of young voters identify with the same political party as
their parents? - Answer -over 50 percent
Which of the following groups is more likely to identify with conservative positions? -
Answer -senior citizens
Which of the following tend to be the most liberal in regard to social issues such as
abortion and same-sex marriage? - Answer -the religiously unaffiliated
According to the text, what is the key to proper public opinion studies? - Answer -
scientific measurement
, What is the main problem associated with the polling methods of the Literary Digest? -
Answer -Its respondents were not randomly selected
Who was the first president to use a private polling firm? - Answer -Franklin Roosevelt
Which of the following resulted from the 1980 election between Ronald Reagan and
Jimmy Carter? - Answer -media outlets agreed to wait to call races until all polls on the
West Coast had closed
What is the most effective way to ensure that a study reflects the opinions of the general
population? - Answer -use random sampling
A margin of error +/- 5 in an exit poll would indicate which of the following? - Answer -
the winner's actual vote percentage could be 5 percentage points higher or lower
predicted by the poll
Table 2 demonstrates that question wording can have what sort of impact on poll
results? - Answer -a significant impact
Based on the list above, which of the following questions would be the LEAST helpful to
ask when evaluating the trustworthiness of polling information? - Answer -Who asked
the questions?
Most Americans hold which of the following views on the use of public opinion polls? -
Answer -They think government leaders should pay attention to public opinion
Who believed that the best form of government is the one that is only INDIRECTLY
influenced by public opinion? - Answer -James Madison
Which of the following offers a reason why government leaders SHOULD pay attention
to public opinion? - Answer -people lose trust in government when their leaders fail to
adequately represent public opinion
Which of the following offers a reason why government leaders SHOULD NOT pay
attention to public opinion? - Answer -polling organizations do not always conduct
meaningful surveys
Public approval ratings of presidents tend to be which of the following? - Answer -
cyclical
What accounts for the "honeymoon period" that most presidents enjoy? - Answer -a lack
of presidential record in office
What happened to the approval ratings of President George W. Bush? - Answer -they
peaked in late 2001 and then generally declined
answers
Despite growing public support for nuclear power, what event led the federal
government to approve fewer new reactors in the United States in the mid-2000s? -
Answer -the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster
What did studies from the 1950s reveal about public opinion? - Answer -Citizens
possessed low levels of political knowledge
According to the text, what is attitude consistency? - Answer -political opinions founded
on a set of principles about the function of government
Which of the following factors (among others) might account for the results of many
public opinion surveys? - Answer -timing and context of the studies
Which of the following would be considered a shortcut in making voting decisions? -
Answer -Identifying with a party
Which of the following is correlated with increasingly consistent ideological thinking? -
Answer -increased education
What is political typology? - Answer -Political typology categorizes groups of people
based on their attitudes and values.
What is the process through which we form our political values called? - Answer -
political socialization
Approximately what percentage of young voters identify with the same political party as
their parents? - Answer -over 50 percent
Which of the following groups is more likely to identify with conservative positions? -
Answer -senior citizens
Which of the following tend to be the most liberal in regard to social issues such as
abortion and same-sex marriage? - Answer -the religiously unaffiliated
According to the text, what is the key to proper public opinion studies? - Answer -
scientific measurement
, What is the main problem associated with the polling methods of the Literary Digest? -
Answer -Its respondents were not randomly selected
Who was the first president to use a private polling firm? - Answer -Franklin Roosevelt
Which of the following resulted from the 1980 election between Ronald Reagan and
Jimmy Carter? - Answer -media outlets agreed to wait to call races until all polls on the
West Coast had closed
What is the most effective way to ensure that a study reflects the opinions of the general
population? - Answer -use random sampling
A margin of error +/- 5 in an exit poll would indicate which of the following? - Answer -
the winner's actual vote percentage could be 5 percentage points higher or lower
predicted by the poll
Table 2 demonstrates that question wording can have what sort of impact on poll
results? - Answer -a significant impact
Based on the list above, which of the following questions would be the LEAST helpful to
ask when evaluating the trustworthiness of polling information? - Answer -Who asked
the questions?
Most Americans hold which of the following views on the use of public opinion polls? -
Answer -They think government leaders should pay attention to public opinion
Who believed that the best form of government is the one that is only INDIRECTLY
influenced by public opinion? - Answer -James Madison
Which of the following offers a reason why government leaders SHOULD pay attention
to public opinion? - Answer -people lose trust in government when their leaders fail to
adequately represent public opinion
Which of the following offers a reason why government leaders SHOULD NOT pay
attention to public opinion? - Answer -polling organizations do not always conduct
meaningful surveys
Public approval ratings of presidents tend to be which of the following? - Answer -
cyclical
What accounts for the "honeymoon period" that most presidents enjoy? - Answer -a lack
of presidential record in office
What happened to the approval ratings of President George W. Bush? - Answer -they
peaked in late 2001 and then generally declined
