Chapter 11 True False Questions

1) After the 2000 presidential election, public opinion among Democrats and Republican differed
considerably concerning the outcome of the election and the appropriateness of a recount.

2) The family, schools, and the media affect political socialization.

3) Because children are rebellious, those who grow up with Democratic parents tend to become
Republicans.

4) College students are more likely to be liberal than to be conservative.

5) In 1994, the Kids Voting Project helped lead to higher voter turnout among parents.

6) Children are more likely to vote when they grow older if their parents voted.

7) Citizens who are better informed are more likely to vote.

8) Current American high school students know less about history and government than did
previous generations of high school students.

9) The number of Americans who read daily newspapers or watch nightly network news
broadcasts has increased in recent years.

10) During the 2004 election, more than three-quarters of Americans reported learning about
candidates or issues using the Internet.

11) The civil rights movement was strongly influenced by faith-based political activity.

12) Conservative Christian groups frequently publish voter guides that evaluate political
candidates on issues important to evangelical Christians.

13) In the wake of Hurricane Katrina, less than one-third of African Americans agreed that
ʺpresident Bush cares about black people.ʺ

14) Most Hispanics support government-sponsored health insurance for the working poor.

15) Unmarried women are more likely to be Democrats.

16) Women tend to have more liberal attitudes about capital punishment.

17) When compared to whites, blacks are less likely to favor the death penalty and more likely to
approve of Bushʹs handing of the war in Iraq.

18) Men are more likely to support increased funding for the war on terrorism than are women.

19) Younger voters are more likely to support increased federal spending on public schools than
are older voters.

20) Southerners are more likely to attend church, more likely to support civil rights, and more
likely to favor increasing the power of the national government.

21) In the 2004 election, Kerry won in the Northeast and the West Coast.

22) The September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks had a large effect on the political socialization of
Americans.

23) In a recent Pew poll, more Americans identified AIDS as a very big problem facing the United
States than any other single issue.

24) Straw polls are reliable methods of predicting election results.

25) Using scientific methods including random sampling, the Literary Digest successfully predicted
the outcome of every presidential election from 1920 to 1948.

26) The small size of the Literary Digestʹs sample was the main contributor to the inaccurate
prediction that Alfred Landon would beat Franklin Roosevelt.

27) The question wording used on a public opinion poll can influence the validity of the results.

28) The most accurate public opinion polls are those where television viewers are asked to call in
to indicate their preferences.

29) When conducted properly, stratified sampling produces fairly accurate measures of public
opinion.

30) Push polls are not designed to measure public opinion; they are designed to influence election
outcomes.

31) Tracking polls can measure how public opinion changes in response to campaign events.

32) Based partly on exit polls, Jimmy Carter conceded defeat in 1980 several hours before the polls
closed on the West Coast.

33) For the last ten years, the Voter News Service has provided high-quality, reliable Election
Night predictions based on exit polls.

34) All public opinion polls contain errors.

35) An advantage of public opinion polls is their ability to measure the intensity of feelings on a
given topic.

36) Americans tend to support policies that benefit themselves.

37) According to a study conducted in 2002, a majority of Americans between eighteen and
twenty-four years old could not locate Iraq on a map.

38) Most Americans know who represents them in the U.S. House of Representatives.

39) Politicians frequently try to influence American public opinion.

40) Only 15 percent of Americans consider themselves to be politically moderate.

41) George W. Bushʹs approval ratings have varied considerably during his term.