Political Science Public Opinion Quiz

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What is a characteristic of a double-barreled question?

It combines two different questions into one. (correct)
It requires a simple yes or no answer.
It addresses a single issue but in multiple ways.
It provides a scale for respondents to gauge their feelings.

How does question wording affect responses about social assistance?

Question wording only affects responses in closed-ended questions.
Respondents favor the term 'welfare' over 'assistance to poor'.
The term 'assistance to poor' receives more support than 'welfare'. (correct)
It has no significant impact on public opinion.

What impact does the order of candidates on a ballot have?

Candidates listed first may receive more votes. (correct)
Candidates listed last tend to receive more votes.
All candidates receive equal attention regardless of order.
It has no effect on voter choice.

Why is party identification typically more stable than policy attitudes?

There are consistent labels associated with each point on the scale. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is a common characteristic of correlations between public opinion and policy attitudes?

People often have volatile opinions with weak correlations. (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is meant by the term 'valence' in the context of attitudes?

The degree to which an attitude is positive or negative (A) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following describes political ideology?

A personal belief about the way the world is and should be (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the main purpose of using probability samples in polling?

To allow for equal chance of selection among participants (A) Signup and view all the answers

How does the size of the sample affect the margin of error in public opinion polls?

Larger samples generally yield smaller margins of error (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is an example of a political preference?

Attitudes towards specific laws and policies (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which characteristic of attitudes refers to their consistency over time?

Stability (A) Signup and view all the answers

What is the term for the uncertainty in estimating a quantity based on a sample?

Sampling error (B) Signup and view all the answers

What does an individual’s party identification convey?

A personal alignment with a political category (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is a significant effect of poorly structured questions on survey responses?

They can create instability in how respondents articulate their views. (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which aspect of question design can cause respondents to select the first candidate listed on a ballot?

The order in which candidates are presented. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is a double-barreled question likely to cause in survey results?

Ambiguity in the responses due to mixed sentiments. (A) Signup and view all the answers

How does the wording of a question influence public perception about welfare?

It can lead to a different understanding of social assistance. (D) Signup and view all the answers

What happens to the stability of party identification when respondents are asked about their party affiliation?

It can become more stable through structured follow-up questions. (A) Signup and view all the answers

What effect can question format have on the interpretation of policy attitudes?

It can exaggerate differences in stability of attitudes. (A) Signup and view all the answers

Why is it important to avoid double-barreled questions in surveys?

They obscure the true attitudes of respondents. (A) Signup and view all the answers

What phenomenon may occur when respondents feel their views are unsteady?

They may provide random answers rather than reflective responses. (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is the implication of using a 7-point scale in surveys regarding party identification?

It allows respondents to express varying degrees of closeness to parties. (A) Signup and view all the answers

What variable could influence a respondent's stability in their political opinions?

The format and structure of the questions. (B) Signup and view all the answers

What does the term 'salience' refer to in the context of attitudes?

The extent to which an issue is prominent in individual or societal discussion (D) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following best describes a characteristic of political ideology?

A belief about distribution of economic resources (D) Signup and view all the answers

What is the primary role of random selection in public opinion polling?

To ensure that every individual has an equal chance of being selected for the sample (B) Signup and view all the answers

In what way are issue attitudes related to political preferences?

They represent evaluations of specific laws or policies (C) Signup and view all the answers

How is 'uncertainty' characterized in the context of public opinion polling?

It represents the degree to which poll results can fluctuate around the sampled estimate (C) Signup and view all the answers

Which term is used to refer to the discrepancy between a selected sample and the true population characteristics?

Sampling error (C) Signup and view all the answers

What is commonly the outcome when the margin of error overlaps with possibilities in polling?

It indicates no clear leader can be determined (B) Signup and view all the answers

What does 'strength' refer to when discussing attitudes in public opinion?

The degree to which an attitude is held with intensity (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which factor primarily affects sampling error in public opinion polling?

The size of the sample used in the survey (B) Signup and view all the answers

Which of the following is NOT a property of attitudes?

Ideological purity (D) Signup and view all the answers

Issue Attitude

An attitude towards specific laws and policies.

Political Ideology

A belief about how the world is and should be, often concerning economic and social issues.