This is a timed quiz.
You have 15 minutes to complete the 20 questions in this quiz.
Which of the following statements about youth participation in the U.S. is TRUE?
More than one-half of Americans under the age of 30 say that they rarely follow politics.
Young people today score better on political knowledge tests than did young people in the early 1970s.
Younger Americans are more likely to vote than are older Americans.
Young people score higher on political knowledge surveys than do older Americans.
All of these are true.
According to Michael DelliCarpini and Scott Keeter, all of the following are strong reasons for staying informed about political affairs EXCEPT
helping citizens identify policies that will benefit them.
fostering civic virtue.
easing the burden placed on journalists and media organizations charged with educating the public.
helping citizens incorporate policy information into their voting behavior.
promoting active participation in politics.
Which of the following best describes a linkage institution?
A channel through which people’s concerns become a political agenda
A location to express a political opinion
Formation of a special interest group
An environment where one learns about the political process
A gathering of people to represent a public opinion
The theory that argues that group competition results in a rough approximation of the public interest in public policy is
hyperpluralist theory.
balance-of-power theory.
elite-and-class theory.
pluralist theory.
bureaucratic theory.
Which of the following is TRUE of voter turnout in the United States?
The youth vote in 2008 erased the age gap in voter turnout between young Americans and older Americans.
The youth surge in the 2008 election was due in large part to increased turnout among minorities; for the first time ever, young African Americans had a higher turnout rate than did young whites.
Turnout rates for the young have generally been going up, while turnout among people over 65 years of age has generally been going down since 1972.
Young adults age 18–29 report higher levels of interest in keeping up with politics when compared to older adults.
Which of the following statements helps explain the link between youth voter turnout and changes in media communication and technology?
The current generation is the first to grow up in a media environment with few shared experiences.
The proliferation of television channels makes it easier for young Americans to avoid exposure to politics.
Most young Americans have not developed habits of following the news.
Young people today have never known a time when most citizens paid attention to major political events.
An example of a public good is
national defense.
a toll road.
food stamps.
a college education.
medical care.
The who of politics includes voters, candidates, groups and parties; the what refers to the
media organizations that cover voters, candidates, groups, and parties.
institutions that respond to voters, candidates, groups, and parties.
substance of politics and government—benefits and burdens.
procedures through which voters, candidates, groups, and parties get what they want.
winners and losers.
The media usually focus on the ____ of politics.
“who”
“what”
“when”
“how”
“why”
Which of the following is an example of a linkage institution?
Political parties
Interest groups
Elections
The media
All of these are examples of linkage institutions.
The U.S. troop surge in Afghanistan resulted from a
congressional statute.
presidential action.
court decision.
budgetary choice.
regulation.
What kind of public policy involves the legislative enactment of taxes and expenditures?
Congressional statute
Presidential action
Court decision
Budgetary choice
Regulation
Which of the following statements is TRUE?
The authors of the U.S. Constitution were wary of democracy and doubted the ability of ordinary Americans to make informed judgments about what government should do.
Most people in most democracies around the world believe that although democracy has its faults, it is the best form of government.
Government “by the people” is literally impossible in the U.S.
Democracy is a system of selecting policymakers and organizing government so that policy represents and responds to the public’s preferences.
The notion that, in politics, the desires of the people should be replicated in government through the choices of elected officials is called
minority rights.
majority rules.
representation.
pluralism.
political participation.
The relationship between groups and the government in hyperpluralist theory is
strong government and strong groups.
weak groups and strong government.
weak groups, strong elites, and weak government.
strong groups and weak government.
too few groups result in the creation of many governments.
Escalating campaign costs pose a challenge to contemporary American democracy because
candidates have become dependent on PACs, which represent specific economic interests rather than the American people as a whole.
candidates may be more likely to pay attention to PACs because they depend on PAC contributions for reelection.
candidates’ reliance on PACs and PAC contributions makes them more likely to get involved in single-issue politics.
the influence of PAC money on the electoral process widens the gap between democratic theory and the reality of democracy in America.
The diversity of the American people is reflected in a great diversity of interests, which may pose a challenge to democracy to the extent that
it leads to lower levels of political participation.
it contributes to policy gridlock.
interests conflict and, thus, each interest uses its influence to thwart others.
it makes it more difficult for government to deliver policies that are responsive to all citizens’ needs and interests.
What unites Americans more than anything else according to your textbook?
The president
Their political culture
Participation in elections
A belief in group politics
Liberal attitudes toward immigration
The well-known phrase, “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal,” in the Declaration of Independence is a statement of the principle of
communism.
egalitarianism.
individualism.
libertarianism.
republicanism.
Patrick Henry’s exclamation, “Give me liberty or give me death,” was an expression of which element of the American creed?
Liberty
Egalitarianism
Individualism
Populism
Laissez-faire
