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A STRICT TWO -- HOUR TIME LIMIT WILL BE
ENFORCED! THIS EXAM IS WORTH 200 POINTS.
Temple College
Government 2301
Fall 1998
Final Exam
PART I. MULTIPLE CHOICE. INSTRUCTIONS: Answer each of the following
multiple choice questions by marking the letter on your answer sheet that corresponds
to the BEST response. 100 questions/2 pts. each/200 points total.
Items #1-25 constitute the “comprehensive portion of this exam [from 1st three sections
of course syllabus]. Items #26-100 test material from syllabus topics #9-13.
1. Which of the following defines "politics?"
a. "Who gets what, when, and how."
b. "the authoritative allocation of valued things"
c. "the competitive process engaged by a society to determine priorities and allocate
or distribute scarce resources"
d. All of the above are adequate definitions of "politics."
2. All of the definitions in question #1 imply
a. people are in conflict over valued things in a society.
b. societies have a set of procedures to resolve the question of "who gets what."
c. individuals are anti-social.
d. both a & b.
3. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, one reason that
citizens obey laws is that government
a. has a monopoly on law-making.
b. has legitimate authority to make the laws.
c. only passes laws that are acceptable to the majority.
d. always protects the minority viewpoint.
4. Which of the following is (are) among the characteristics of public policy as presented
and discussed in class?
1. Policy consists of courses of action rather than mere decisions.
2. Policy is purposive or goal-oriented action.
3. Policy is based upon law and is authoritative - it must be developed by
government.
4. Public policy is the result of political processes.
5. Because of separation of powers, in the United States, public policy decisions are
always made by legislatures.
a. 1 and 2
b. 1, 2, and 3
c. 1, 2, 3, and 4
d. all of these
5. Suppose a city council passed an ordinance in 1990 which prohibits individuals and
businesses from posting signs (i.e., garage sale signs, small business advertising)
on right-of-ways, intersections, street lights, telephone poles, city property, etc.
Because Code Enforcement (the city department responsible for enforcement of the
ordinance) does not have enough manpower, it has not issued a single citation for
violation of the ordinance in seven years. Consequently, these signs are pervasive
around the city. What important principle of public policy does this example
illustrate?
a. City governments have little authority to make public policy decisions.
b. Public policies consist of decisions AND action - the action of government
determines the content of public policy.
c. Public policies NEVER work.
d. Public policies are what government intends to do.
6. According to systems model terminology, the “channels, linkages, and connections
from the environments to government institutions” are known as
a. input structures. b. feedback. c. outputs. d. conversion structures.
7. Which of the following systems model concepts describes social, economic, physical
or other sets of variables that are external to a political system but affect its
operation?
a. environments b. input structures c. outputs d. feedback
8. In which stage of the policy-making process are problem identification (perception)
and priority-setting important activities?
a. agenda-setting b. designation c. implementation d. adoption
9. In the evaluation stage of the policy-making process, which of the following may
judge the performance of a policy?
a. a member of Congress b. a bureaucrat c. a university professor
d. all of these.
10. Which stage of the policy-making process involves “officially choosing from among
alternative policy strategies?”
a. agenda-setting b. adoption c. implementation d. designation
11. The board of a Texas school district votes on a proposal to include a course on
moral values in the high school curriculum. This is an example of which stage of the
policy-making process?
a. implementation. b. designation. c. adoption. d. formulation.
12. In class, we introduced a public policy classification scheme. Which of the following
questions must be answered in order to classify a policy under this scheme?
1. Who is the primary target group?
2. Why is government implementing the policy?
3. What are the goals of the policy?
4. What is the activity of government with respect to the primary target group [what
is government doing to or for the primary target group]?
5. Who are the secondary target groups?
a. 1, 3, and 5 b. 1, 2, and 4 c. 2 and 4 d. 1 and 4
13. A city council bans smoking in all public places in the city. Fines are levied against
violators. The primary target group in this policy scenario is
a. the city council. b. tobacco companies. c. non-smokers. d. none of these.
14. The U.S. Department of Commerce requires that shrimpers operating in U.S. waters
install “turtle-excluder devices” [TEDs] on their nets to reduce the number of sea
turtles that are inadvertently killed in shrimp harvests. The Coast Guard randomly
inspects shrimping boats and may impose fines on or impound the vessels of
shrimpers who are not in compliance. This is an example of which type or class of
public policy?
a. resource allocative
b. resource extractive
c. regulatory
d. internal organization and management
15. Which of the following theories argues that political power is held by a relatively
small group of people whose main source of political power is economic power
[wealth]?
a. pluralism b. elitism c. majoritarianism d. substantive democracy
16. The requirement that “citizens must participate in the political process” is
characteristic of which theory of democracy?
a. elite theory b. traditional democratic theory c. pluralist theory
d. none of these
17. As drafted by the Philadelphia convention in 1787, the Constitution divided powers
among three branches of government because
a. the founding fathers wanted to ensure plenty of important positions for
themselves.
b. separation of powers would serve to limit the power of the government and
therefore protect individual rights.
c. the founding fathers lacked the practical experience to recognize the
awkwardness of the system they had created.
d. this is the most efficient way to organize government.
18. Constitutionally dividing governmental powers between the states and the national
government is referred to as
a. dual legitimacy.
b. egalitarianism.
c. federalism.
d. separation of powers.
19. Which of the following statements BEST characterizes the principle of separation
of powers under the U.S. Constitution?
a. Legislative, executive, and judicial powers are separated exercised by three
independent branches of government.
b. The three levels of government in the American system (national, state, and local)
all have separate and unrelated areas of autonomous power.
c. Democrats should either control the Congress or the presidency while the
Republicans control the other -- but neither should control both at the same time.
d. Each state has sovereignty to control the activities within its own borders.
20. Separation of powers, checks and balances, federalism, and specific denials of
power to government such as those in the Bill of Rights may be viewed as efforts to
a. vest government with sufficient authority to govern efficiently.
b. prevent the arbitrary exercise of governmental power - that is, to promote limited
government.
c. prevent the national government from taking over the power of the states.
d. to force George III to capitulate to the American colonists’ demands before they
declared their independence.
21. The Bill of Rights originally limited
a. the power of the central government.
b. the power of the state governments.
c. the rights of the people in each state.
d. both the power of the central government and the state governments.
22. The 1876 Texas Constitution is
a. statute-like. b. well organized.
c. brief.
d. all of the above.
23. Since 1876, the Texas Constitution has been amended approximately _____ times.
a. 25 b. 100 c. 250 d. 370
24. Which philosophy is the Texas Constitution based on?
a. Jeffersonian/Jacksonian republicanism b. Jeffersonian/Jacksonian democracy
c. Hamiltonian/Madisonian republicanism d. Hamiltonian/Madisonian democracy
25. Which of the following features of the Texas Constitution illustrates the philosophy
you indicated in question #24?
a. constitutional referenda b. appointment of state judges
c. centralized executive power d. open-ended legislative sessions
26. Which of the following describes a collection of individuals who are attentive to and
mobilizible on any issue that relates to a set of principles or ideals?
a. single-issue public b. organizational public c. extremist group
d. ideological public
27. The results of a recent public opinion poll indicate that 55% of survey respondents
support a bill before Congress while 45% are opposed to the bill. Which
characteristic of public opinion is being reported?
a. intensity b. distribution c. latency d. salience
28. Which of the following statements is TRUE?
a. As the issue becomes more visible, the relative size of the apathetic public
increases.
b. As the issue becomes more visible, the relative size of the attentive public
decreases.
c. As the issue becomes more visible, the relative size of the apathetic public
decreases.
d. None of the above statements are true.
29. Public opinion can BEST be defined as (was defined in class as)
a. the way that Americans feel about an issue.
b. the measurement of Americans' values and attitudes.
c. the results of scientific polls conducted by professional polling organizations such
as Harris, Roper, and Gallup.
d. shared expressed attitudes of a collection of individuals on a matter of common
concern.
30. Because there is no single, “general public," but many specialized publics, surveying
public opinion actually means
a. focusing on one identifiable opinion among all the competing ideas.
b. describing the distribution of opinions on an issue.
c. identifying an issue where opinion can aggregate.
d. surveying the attitudes of influential people only.
31. Which of the following characteristics of public opinion (as discussed in class) may
influence a response of government on an issue?
1. its distribution 2. its intensity 3. its stability 4. its latency 5. its salience
a. 1 only b. 1 and 2 c. 1, 2, and 3 d. all of these
32. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, a minority public
can often win on an issue of public policy over the majority if the minority opinion has
the quality of
a. intensity. b. fluidity. c. lucidity. d. latency.
33. A good example of a single-issue public is
a. the Democratic Party. b. the Republican Party.
d. the National Right-to-Life Movement.
c. the Libertarian Party.
34. Which of the following periods of life is MOST important to political socialization?
a. adulthood b. retirement age c. early childhood d. voting age
35. The American party system is often referred to as a(n)
a. one party system. b. two-party system. c. multi-party system.
d. no-party system.
36. A person's sense that what he or she thinks or does will have an impact on what
government does is
a. political power. b. political efficacy. c. political socialization.
d. political participation.
37. Which of the following factors has been suggested as an explanation as to why the
United States has a unique two-party system?
1. history/tradition
2. culture
3. a natural dualism on most issues
4. proportional representation
5. distinctive electoral institutions
a. 1 and 2 b. 1, 2, and 3 c. 1, 2, 3, and 5 d. 4 only
38. In order to win a plurality election, a candidate must
a. receive a majority of the popular vote.
b. win a run-off election.
c. receive more votes than any other candidate does.
d. appeal to the most extreme groups.
39. Which of the following is the most common tactic involved in "grassroots lobbying?"
a. organized protest b. legal advocacy c. letter-writing
d. campaign contributions
40. Which of the following general trends have been revealed by public opinion research
over the last three decades?
a. Americans generally express high levels of (diffuse) support for the system.
b. Americans generally trust their government less today than in the mid-1960s.
c. Americans demonstrate low levels of knowledge of their political system
compared to people in other countries.
d. all of these.
41. In class, we noted that a political system must have some mechanism to generate
support. Which of the following argues that political elites deliberately manipulate or
propagate values in support of the political regime?
a. systems theory
b. encultration theory
c. hegemonic theory
d. authoritarianism
42. At the systems-wide or macro level, political socialization [if it is successful]
a. generates the diffuse support necessary for the stability of the political system.
b. fosters authoritarian government.
c. undermines patriotism.
d. erodes the trust that Americans have in their government.
43. At the individual or micro level, political socialization is
a. a social event sponsored by a political party to acquaint voters with a particular
candidate or issue.
b. the distribution of opinions on an issue.
c. the process by which individuals become aware of which groups to associate with
to maximize political impact.
d. the process whereby individuals learn about the political norms, values, and
acceptable forms of political behavior of their culture.
44. Generally speaking, a person is FIRST exposed to which agent of socialization?
a. schools b. family c. peers d. media
45. Childhood learning is important to socialization because
a. values learned early in life form the core of an individual's value system and tend
to structure later learning.
b. children have far better memories than adults do.
c. small children tend to think that politics are interesting.
d. most parents are ACTIVELY committed to raising their children to be responsible,
informed citizens.
46. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, studies
concerning political socialization show that most
a. pre-adolescents are surprisingly well-informed about politics.
b. children are socialized to accept their parents' political party.
c. adolescents are predisposed to be Democrats.
d. teenagers reject their parents political party.
47. Which of the following was NOT identified in class (handout) as a traditional function
of American political parties?
a. lobbying b. contesting elections c. aggregating diverse interests
d. recruiting and nominating candidates
48. The American party system
a. has been dominated by the Democratic and Republican parties since the founding
of the republic.
b. has been characterized by competition between two major parties since the
1790s.
c. has ceased to exist.
d. can be said to meet the criteria of the model of responsible party government.
49. The growing numbers and influence of interest groups and their PACs
a. has strengthened the party system.
b. has worked against the strengthening of the party system.
c. has caused voters to associate more strongly with one of the two major political
parties.
d. has resulted in an evenly balanced representation of interests in American
politics.
50. "Organizing individuals" in order to "capture government" so they may "make public
policy" is most characteristic of what
a. political parties do. b. interest groups do. c. PACs do.
d. attentive publics do.
51. In the United States, most Democratic and Republican Party candidates are
nominated
a. through a patronage system where potential candidates must demonstrate loyalty
to party "bosses."
b. by the national committees of each party.
c. through direct primaries.
d. at state and local conventions.
52. The Constitution provides that a candidate must receive a majority of Electoral
College votes to be elected president. There are a total of 538 electoral votes.
How many electoral votes (minimum) must the winning candidate receive?
a. 254 b. 270 c. 538 d. at least one more than any other candidate
53. What happens if no presidential candidate receives a majority of the Electoral
College vote?
a. There is a run-off election.
b. The president is elected by the House of Representatives.
c. The president is elected by the Senate.
d. The entire process must start over, beginning with the nomination of new
candidates by the two major parties.
54. In the Electoral College, each state is accorded a number of electoral votes
a. equal to the number of the state's senators and representatives in Congress.
b. equal to the number of delegates it sends to the national party conventions.
c. equal to the number of representatives in the state legislature.
d. equal to the number of registered voters in the state.
55. Suppose that in the presidential election in the year 2000, George W. Bush gets 20
million popular votes and 241 electoral votes. Al Gore receives 18 million popular
votes and 265 votes in the Electoral College. Ross Perot manages to get 16 million
popular votes and 32 votes in the Electoral College. Who becomes president?
a. Kemp b. Gore c. Perot d. cannot be determined given the above facts.
56. Which of the following values taught by the family has an indirect effect on the
formation of political attitudes?
a. conformity b. respect for authority figures c. work ethic
d. all of these
57. A public can express its attitudes to government through which of the following?
a. organized group activities such as demonstrations and protests
b. voting in elections
c. direct communication such as traditional lobbying
d. all of these
58. What percentage of eligible voters actually casts ballots in presidential elections?
a. 33-37%
b. 50-54%
c. 62-66%
d. around 75%
59. What percentage of eligible voters actually casts ballots in “off-year” or midterm
congressional elections?
a. 33-37%
b. 50-54%
c. 62-66%
d. around 75%
60. Valence issues
a. relate mainly to particular social concerns such as abortion and gun control.
b. refer mainly to general judgments about "how well the country is doing."
c. can affect a politician's (i.e., president's) approval ratings.
d. b and c.
61. Which of the following is NOT a premise of the model of "responsible party
government?"
a. The party must evolve and enunciate a clear statement of philosophy, principles,
and policy ideals.
b. The party must nominate candidates who are willing to enact the party platform
once they are elected to public office.
c. Voters should cast their ballots for the candidates with the best personal
qualifications.
d. The parties should conduct electoral campaigns in such a way that voters can
grasp the programmatic differences between the opposing parties.
62. Latent opinion refers to
a. a type of polling similar to quota polling.
b. ideas that are discussed publicly on a daily basis.
c. ideas that are irrelevant and ignored by government.
d. attitudes toward general, non-specific issues.
63. Which of the following is TRUE of most Americans’ political knowledge?
a. Political knowledge is quickly forgotten.
b. A large percentage of the American public lacks details on complex issues.
c. The greater the intensity of public opinion, there is a greater likelihood of detailed
knowledge.
d. all of these.
64. In the United States, political parties were first formed
a. after the Civil War. b. in most colonial legislatures by 1742.
c. in the 1790s. d. after the election of Andrew Jackson in 1828.
65. The Founding Fathers' original intent to have an Electoral College was
a. based on a strict adherence to democratic principles.
b. to encourage the development of a two-party system.
c. to eliminate the need for factions.
d. to have electors use his or her own discretion in deciding whom would make the
best president.
66. An interest group is
a. any association of individuals.
b. a group of people who want to gain control of government.
c. an organization that actively attempts to influence government policy-makers.
d. any organization that requires its members to pay dues.
67. American political parties are said to be pragmatic - that is, they tend to concentrate
on
a. spreading ideology.
b. collecting dues from party members.
c. winning elections.
d. having a small cadre of deeply committed party activists.
68. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, the major factor
dividing American political parties has traditionally been
a. religious issues. b. ideological issues. c. economic issues.
d. foreign policy issues.
69. A major explanation for the two-party system in the U.S. is the country's unique
electoral institutions. These include
a. plurality elections and single member districts.
b. plurality elections and proportional representation.
c. proportional representation and single-member districts.
d. proportional representation and multi-member districts.
70. According to the author of the article “Democrats and LaRouchites: the Direct
Primary Caused It,” the purpose of introducing the direct primary as a means of
nominating candidates for public office was to
a. strengthen control of party leaders in selecting party candidates.
b. help the Republican Party win more elections.
c. open the nomination process to ordinary party members and to weaken the
influence of party bosses.
d. none of these.
71. Some critics of the primary system believe that if caucuses were in more widespread
use the result would be
a. stronger political parties.
b. weaker political parties.
c. weaker candidates.
d. presidential candidates would be more able to compromise.
72. The Electoral College operates according to the "unit rule." The "unit rule"
a. is prescribed by the Constitution.
b. increases the chances that no candidate will receive a majority of the electoral
vote.
c. encourages third party candidates.
d. means that all of a state's electoral votes go to the candidate who won a plurality
of the popular vote.
73. A primary in which only registered members of a party can vote is called
a. an open primary. b. a closed primary. c. a blanket primary.
d. a straw poll.
74. Which of the following is NOT among the reasons for the decline in the importance
of political parties in the United States?
a. the rise of independents b. the increasing influence of PACs
c. a lack of candidates for public office d. the direct primary
75. Which of the following is NOT a likely outcome of the “unit rule?”
1. The candidate who wins a plurality of the popular vote wins by an exaggerated
margin in the Electoral College vote.
2. Third parties have little incentive to run candidates for president and vicepresident.
3. One candidate could win the popular vote while another wins the electoral vote.
4. A state’s electoral votes could easily be divided among several candidates.
5. The chances that the election of the president having to be determined in the
House of Representatives are greatly enhanced.
a. none of these are likely outcomes b. 1 and 2 c. 3 and 4 d. 3, 4, and 5
76. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, support for civil
liberties and tolerance of different points of view tend to be
a. lowest among those of high socio-economic status and highest among those of
low socio-economic status.
b. highest among those of high socio-economic status and lowest among those of
low socio-economic status.
c. about the same level for both high and low socio-economic status.
d. determined by party affiliation more than any other factor.
77. Which of the following is a consequence of the direct primary as a method of
nominating party candidates?
a. Candidate’s who win a party’s nomination do it mainly on their own and often
believe they owe little or nothing to the party organization.
b. Candidates follow a party-centered strategy.
c. The effects of independents and weak party identifiers on the nomination process
are greatly minimized, giving party organizations greater control.
d. The potential for mass media, particularly television, to influence the nomination
of a party’s candidates is greatly diminished.
78. One important difference between political parties and interest groups is that political
parties
a. generally give more money to candidate campaigns.
b. are better organized.
c. seek to build majority consensus.
d. usually have a single-issue focus.
79. What percentage of the American electorate is “functionally” independent?
a. 33-37% b. 50-54% c. 62-66% d. around 75%
80. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, television, the media
source relied on by most Americans, conveys
a. only a limited amount of political information about issues.
b. more information on political issues than any other medium.
c. detailed information on most important issues.
d. both b and c.
81. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, in comparison to men,
women are more concerned about
a. support for social welfare programs. b. risks to the environment.
c. policy concerning nuclear power. d. all of these.
82. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, in opinion polling, the
difference between what the sample results show and what the true result would be
if everybody in a population had been interviewed is termed
a. opinion bias. b. inaccurate sampling. c. misleading and questionable.
d. sampling error.
83. The world’s first democratic political parties (allowing mass participation) were
established in
a. England. b. France. c. Japan. d. the United States.
84. The party-in-government is
a. the members of the general public who identify with a political party.
b. the formal structure and leadership of a political party.
c. all of the elected and appointed officials who identify with a political party.
d. all of the above.
85. In the United States, a political party consists of
a. the members of the general public who identify with a political party.
b. the formal structure and leadership of a political party.
c. all of the elected and appointed officials who identify with a political party.
d. all of the above.
86. In a closed primary
a. only party leaders are allowed to vote for the selection of delegates.
b. only registered party members are allowed to vote.
c. the results of the election are not announced until ballots have been checked by
the leaders of both major parties.
d. no candidate may appear on the ballot unless he or she has notarized his or her
intent to be a candidate for a specific office.
87. In an open primary
a. voters can vote in either party primary without disclosing their party affiliation.
b. candidates may file for office up to one week before the primary election.
c. the news media is allowed access to voting results throughout Election Day in
order to report on which candidate is leading.
d. there are no registration requirements for voters.
88. The Texas primary is
a. an open primary. b. a closed primary.
d. an indirect primary.
c. a blanket primary
89. In the Texas primary, a voter declares a party affiliation
a. by voting in one or the other party’s primary.
b. by identifying himself or herself as a Democrat or Republican at the time he or
she registers to vote.
c. at no time during the primary process.
d. by filing his/her party registration with the Texas secretary of state.
90. Under current federal law, political action committees [PACs] are limited to
a. contributing $5,000 to each candidate per election.
b. serving only two interest groups in any given election.
c. existing for a maximum of eight years.
d. all of the above.
91. Most legislators agree that contributions from PACs will
a. influence how they cast their votes.
b. increase the costs of advertising through the media.
c. guarantee access for the lobbyists of the organization.
d. all of the above.
92. The intent of “groundswell” public pressure is to
a. convince policy-makers that public opinion overwhelmingly supports the group’s
position.
b. mislead the public on environmental issues.
c. by-pass the legislative process.
d. force bureaucrats to answer to congressional committees.
93. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, the structure of
American government invites the participation of interest groups because
a. we do not have any national laws governing interest group activities.
b. policy-makers are easy targets for bribes and corruption.
c. there are many points of access where groups can focus their efforts.
d. the Federal Election Commission has been unable to adequately enforce the
laws governing interest groups.
94. One result of the increasing number of independent voters over the last 30 years
has been
a. more ethnic minorities being elected to Congress.
b. no clear consensus as to who should govern.
c. a greater emphasis on media campaigns and the politics of personality.
d. higher voter turnout.
95. Contrasted with European political parties, American political parties are
a. highly centralized in structure. b. more ideological. c. less ideological.
d. better financed.
96. Technically, the presidential nominees of the two major parties are selected by
a. the national committee chairmen. b. party bosses.
c. the national conventions. d. the Electoral College.
97. The trend of split-ticket voting has
a. decreased in recent years as the parties have strengthened.
b. increased sharply since 1944.
c. resulted in voters becoming more politically active.
d. contributed to political gains for the Democratic Party.
98. In comparison to voters, non-voters tend to be
a. less educated. b. younger. c. less wealthy.
d. all of these.
99. According to the authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, in recent years
campaigns have
a. changed from party-centered to candidate-centered.
b. de-emphasize the role of the media, particularly television.
c. become less expensive.
d. all of the above.
100. The authors of your AMERICAN GOVERNMENT text, discuss some of the contributions
made by Common Cause, a prominent public interest group. Which of the
following do they attribute to the efforts of this PIG?
a. helping to achieve passage of the 26th Amendment
b. promoting voter registration
c. promoting legislation that would limit campaign spending
d. all of the above