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WORTH 100 POINTS.
Temple College
Government 2302 - Spring 2001
Exam #1
Version A
PART I. MULTIPLE CHOICE. INSTRUCTIONS: Answer each of the following
multiple choice questions by marking the letter on your scan-tron form that
corresponds to the BEST response. 72 questions/100 points total.
1. The process that determines “who gets what, when, and how” is known as
a. decision-making. b. political science. c. politics. d. paternalism.
2. Harold Laswell’s definition in question #1 implies that
a. people are in conflict over valued things in society.
b. societies have a set of procedures to resolve the question of “who gets
what, when, and how.”
c. individuals are anti-social.
d. both a and b.
3. Decisions which are authoritative are those
a. which can be backed up by legitimate power.
b. that are made with the approval of a majority of the public.
c. which can be repealed in a referendum.
d. that are made by a small percentage of society.
4. According to the Dye text, the tendency of most of us as American citizens,
most of the time, to obey laws out of habit is referred to as
a. habit of practice. b. enforcement compliance. c. habit of compliance.
d. compliant practice.
5. 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
6. 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. non-smokers. c. tobacco companies. d. none of these.
7. The policy action described in #6 would best be classified as
a. symbolic. b. regulatory. c. resource extractive. d. internal organization.
8. In which class or type of public policy does government set standards for
behavior, inspect for compliance with the standards, and punish for noncompliance?
a. symbolic
b. regulatory
c. redistributive
d. internal organization/management
9. Under the policy classification scheme introduced in class, which of the
following is NOT one of the five activities that government can undertake with
respect to a primary target group?
a. give
b. take
c. symbolize
d. lie
10. The Federal Trade Commission enforces the standards of the Fair Credit
Reporting Act of 1968. This legislation requires finance companies, retail
stores, nonfederal credit unions, and other creditors to inform consumers on
the costs of buying on credit, including total charges and the rate of interest
on unpaid balances. 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
11. A city council passes and the police enforce an ordinance imposing fines on
the parents of minor children who are “on the streets” past a 1:00 a.m.
curfew. This is an example of which class of policy?
a. resource allocative b. symbolic c. regulatory d. resource extractive
12. Under state law in Texas, voters may elect to establish special district
governments called Crime Control and Prevention Districts to distribute sales
tax revenues to municipal governments for the purposes of implementing law
enforcement programs. In March 1995, voters in the City of Fort Worth
established the first such district in the state. In October 1995, the Fort Worth
Crime Control and Prevention District began funding anti-crime programs to
be implemented by the City of Fort Worth Police Department. This is an
example of which type or class of public policy? [HINT: the policy action in
this case is the distribution of sales tax revenues from the Crime Control
District to the Fort Worth Police Department.]
a. resource allocative
b. resource extractive
c. regulatory
d. internal organization and management
13. The National Endowment for the Humanities awards a research grant to a
team of historians and anthropologists to study the ancestral claims of certain
native American tribes to “ceremonial” lands. 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
14. In 1964, Congress passed the Employment Opportunity Act that established
the Job Corps. This program provides intensive vocational training and basic
education to youths from 14 to 21 years of age who are poor, out of school,
and out of work. 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. Once every ten years (subsequent to the decennial census), the 435 seats in
the United States House of Representatives are reapportioned to reflect
population shifts. Legislatures in each of the 50 states redraw congressional
district lines (within their states) so that each district contains (roughly) the
same number of people. As a result of the 1990 census, the number of
representatives allotted to Texas increased from 28 to 30. The Texas
legislature last redrew district lines in 1991 to account for this change.
Redrawing congressional district lines by state legislatures is an example of
which type or class of public policy?
a. resource allocative
b. resource extractive
c. regulatory
d. internal organization and management
16. The United States denies the People’s Republic of China most favored
nation trading status as a result of China’s alleged human rights violations.
This is an example of which class of policy?
a. resource extractive b. symbolic c. regulatory d. resource extractive
17. The City Health Department inspects a local restaurant and finds “slime in
the ice machine,” inadequate refrigeration for perishable foods, and roach
and rodent droppings on cabinet shelves, the floor, and food containers. This
is the third round of violations for this restaurant. The Health Department
closes down the establishment until standards are met. 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
18. 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. symbolic
19. A few years ago, Congress passed a resolution declaring that surviving
Japanese-Americans who had their property confiscated when they were
interned in concentration camps during World War II were entitled to
compensation. Checks for $20,000 were then mailed by the U.S. Treasury
Department to all those eligible. 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
20. Which of the following views regulatory policies as a means to control the
“consequences” of conduct, rather than defining the proscribed conduct itself
as morally good or bad?
a. the mainstream b. the radical left c. the radical right
d. the radical center
21. Which of the following views progressive taxation as a way to correct the
excesses (unfairness) of capitalism?
a. the mainstream
b. the radical left
c. the radical right
d. the radical center
22. Which of the following is true of the radical left’s orientation toward regulatory
policies?
a. The radical left tends to be oblivious to the costs that regulatory policies
place on businesses.
b. The radical left tends to favor a “carrot” approach rather than a “stick”
approach when attempting to get business to conform to regulatory
standards.
c. The radical left views prostitution and the use of narcotics as “victimless
crimes” and therefore behaviors not subject to governmental regulation.
d. All of these statements are true of the radical left’s orientation toward
regulatory policies.
23. According to the Dye text, which of the following ideals is NOT in a list of
democratic ideals?
a. recognition of the dignity of every individual
b. majority rule while disallowing minority input
c. equal protection of the laws for every individual
d. opportunity for everyone to participate in public decisions
24. According to the Dye text, the idea that government originates as an implied
contract among individuals who agree to obey laws in exchange for protection
of their rights is known as the
a. social design.
b. social contract.
c. inherent contract.
d. government contract.
25. The non-violent violation of laws that people believe to be unjust is known as
a. violent disobedience.
b. civil disobedience.
c. criminal disobedience.
d. civil compliance.
26. One objective of the type of activity suggested by question #25 is to
a. reveal the corruption within a local police force.
b. Address the support of locally elected officials.
c. Bankrupt an oppressive government.
d. Stir the conscience of an apathetic majority.
27. According to the Dye text, balancing the principle of majority rule against the
principle of individual liberty is known as
a. the paradox of democracy.
b. a paradox of government.
c. a dilemma of great magnitude.
d. an episode of democratic crisis.
28. Which of the following political philosophers had the greatest single influence
on the principles expressed in the Declaration of Independence by the
founders of the American republic?
a. Thomas Hobbes
b. Jean-Jacques Rousseau
c. Thomas Aquinas
d. John Locke.
29. The pessimistic view of human nature and life without government (in a state
of nature) is “nasty, brutish, and short” is most closely associated with
a. Jean-Jacques Rousseau.
b. John Rawls.
c. Thomas Hobbes.
d. Thomas Jefferson.
30. One of the major problems of the Articles of Confederation was that
Congress had no power to
a. tax the people directly.
b. send envoys to foreign countries.
c. engage in diplomacy.
d. requisition materials and revenues from the states.
31. The framers of the Constitution embraced the principle that a government
should itself be restrained by law. This is known as the principle of
a. ineffective government.
b. Confederal government.
c. Popular government
d. Limited government.
32. The event that galvanized property owners more than any other to support
the creation of a strong central government capable of dealing with
democratic “mob rule” was
a. the Whiskey Rebellion.
b. The Charter Oak Affair.
c. The Colonial Indian Uprising.
d. Shays’ Rebellion.
33. Most Americans in the early national period believed that the liberties of
individuals and restraints on governmental powers should be set forth in
a. a declaration of principles.
b. Judicial decisions.
c. Legislative actions.
d. Constitutions.
34. Implicit in the theory of the social contract (as understood by the American
founders) is the belief that
a. governmental processes should be open to public scrutiny.
b. There should be strict separation of church and state.
c. There should be an elite governing body to guide the uneducated masses.
d. Governmental powers and restrictions on the individual should be kept to
a minimum.
35. The plan introduced at the Convention favoring large states that proposed a
two chamber Congress with the lower house chosen by the people with
representation based on population
a. the New York Plan.
b. The Virginia Plan.
c. The New Jersey Plan.
d. The Connecticut Compromise.
36. The proposal that established two chambers of Congress, a Senate with two
members from each state and a House of Representatives with members
representing population was known as
a. the New York Plan.
b. The Virginia Plan.
c. The New Jersey Plan.
d. The Connecticut Compromise.
37. Which American document is identified as the “supreme law of the land”?
a. the Declaration of Independence
b. the Articles of Confederation
c. the Mayflower Compact
d. the Constitution
38. The forces that opposed the creation of a strong national government were
called
a. Radicals.
b. Federal Extremists.
c. Federalists.
d. Anti-Federalists.
39. On which principle did the framers of the Constitution fundamentally agree?
a. that the states should form regional alliances
b. the protection of individual liberty and property
c. creation of a national judiciary
d. recognition of the Constitution as the “supreme law of the land”
40. The Bill of Rights was originally designed to limit the powers of the
a. rebellious southern states.
b. New national government.
c. The government of the Northwest Territory.
d. The slave states.
41. The framers of the U.S. Constitution attempted to prevent tyranny by
a. requiring that congress defer to the other branches of government.
b. not giving congress many powers.
c. making tyranny unconstitutional.
d. decentralizing political power through institutional mechanisms such as
separation of powers.
42. In class, we proposed two opposing lines of argument concerning the
apparent lack of efficiency and effectiveness of government in the United
States. Which of the following are the proper pair of criticisms?
a. incompetent or corrupt politicians AND uninformed voters
b. uninformed voters AND the amount of money in election campaigns
c. incompetent or corrupt politicians AND a decentralized political system
d. none of these
43. Both politics and policy differ between the American and parliamentary
versions of democracy. The form of democracy developed in the United
States is a product of
a. its constitutional system.
b. the treaty that ended the American Revolution.
c. the dominance of strong political parties in the American system.
d. the “Connecticut Compromise.”
44. In a parliamentary system, the prime minister is usually chosen by the
a. nation’s voters. b. legislature’s majority party. c. cabinet.
d. ruling monarch.
45. An important implication of our comparison of the parliamentary and
American systems is that the structure of a political system emphasizes some
values and not others. Which values are BEST served by the decentralized
nature of the American system?
a. efficient and effective government
b. effective, but prudent government
c. circumscribed (limited), deliberate government
d. crippled, impotent government
46. Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of the American system, but IS
of the parliamentary system?
a. The legislature may remove the executive on grounds of policy
disagreement.
b. The executive and members of the legislature are separately elected.
c. Members of the legislature are constitutionally-prohibited from serving in
the executive’s cabinet.
d. Divided party government is highly probable.
47. Which of the following BEST describes the "natural" state of Congress?
a. efficient b. integrated c. fragmented d. unprofessional
48. Which two basic functions or responsibilities given Congress by the
Constitution appear to be inherently at odds with one another?
a. oversight and law-making b. law-making and representation
c. representation and logrolling d. logrolling and redistricting
49. A fragmented Congress
a. is likely to have members with a constituency focus.
b. is relatively insulated from interest group pressures.
c. is tightly organized around strong political parties.
d. all of the above.
50. The concept of LOGROLLING refers to
a. action taken by a senator that attempts to prevent a bill from passing in the
Senate.
b. a method that is used to keep one bill on the floor for an extended period
of time, thus blocking all legislation.
c. an arrangement by which two or more members of Congress agree in
advance to support each other’s bills.
d. a method that the president uses when he wants to prevent the passage of
legislation.
51. A filibuster is
a. an attempt to prevent the passage of a bill by halting action through
unlimited debate.
b. an attempt to persuade others to vote for a particular bill in return for a
favor at a later date.
c. a device used to force a bill out of a standing committee.
d. a new 3/4 lb. beef sandwich at the Dairy Queen.
52. Which of the following is most likely to use a filibuster?
a. a House member who supports a bill that is likely to be passed by the
majority.
b. a Senator who supports a bill that is likely to be passed by the majority.
c. a. a House member who opposes a bill that is likely to be passed by the
majority.
d. a Senator who opposes a bill that is likely to be passed by the majority.
53. Most of the actual work of legislating is
a. performed by interest groups and then acted upon by Congress.
b. accomplished in state legislatures and then the more acceptable ideas are
acted upon by Congress.
c. performed by the president and his staff and then routinely accepted by
Congress.
d. performed by the committees and subcommittees within Congress.
54. A conference committee is
a. a special committee convened to resolve the differences between the
Congress and the president on legislative issues.
b. called into session when the president has vetoed an appropriations bill with
a pocket veto.
c. a special committee convened to reconcile differences between House and
Senate versions of a bill.
d. a special committee in the House that assists the Speaker in enacting his
party’s legislative agenda.
55. By far, the most important committees within Congress are the
a. joint resolution committees. b. special investigative committees.
c. standing committees. d. none of these.
56. The "hurdles" which a bill has to clear in the legislative process are called
a. "stop-gaps." b. "delay points." c. "veto points." d. "counter-points."
57. A typical bill, complete with appropriations measures and riders (nongermane amendments), would probably have to clear somewhere between
_______________ of the "hurdles" alluded to in question #56.
a. 5 - 10 b. 20 - 30 c. 50 - 70 d. 10,000 - 20,000
58. The typical difference between the value of a variable for a specific case and
the mean value of the variable is called the
a. range. b. median value. c. standard deviation. d. relative frequency
59. Which of the following is NOT a measure of central tendency?
a. mean
b. range
c. mode
d. median
60. Suppose your best friend calls you on the phone and excitedly reports to you
that in her government class today she learned about congressional
campaigns. She tells you that House incumbents spend an average of
$300,000 on their campaigns and that the standard deviation is $50,000.
Which of the “positive” statements can you make based on the information
she has provided you?
a. The largest campaign expenditure by an incumbent was $350,000 and the
smallest was $250,000.
b. A majority of the incumbents spent between $250,000 and $350,000 on
their campaigns.
c. Congressional campaigns have become way too expensive.
d. Exactly half of the incumbents spent more than $300,000 on their
campaigns while half spent less than $300,000.
61. Which of the following is NOT among the levels at which a variable can be
measured?
a. ordinal b. hierarchical c. interval d. nominal
62. When the values of a variable take on “qualities” rather than “quantities,” we
are measuring the variable at which level?
a. ordinal b. hierarchical c. interval d. nominal
63. Party affiliation is a variable that is measured at which level?
a. ordinal b. hierarchical c. interval d. nominal
64. Suppose we gather data on annual income (measured in actual dollars) for a
sample of 1,000 Americans. The variable “income” is measured at which
level?
a. ordinal b. hierarchical c. interval d. nominal
65. Suppose we rank (from highest to lowest) a sample of 100 countries based
on gross national product per capita. Which level of measurement are we
employing?
a. ordinal b. hierarchical c. interval d. nominal
66. A statement that predicts an expected relationship between two or more
variables and that can be empirically-tested is a
a. scientific theory. b. scientific law. c. hypothesis. d. supposition.
67. Which of the following is NOT an hypothesis?
a. “The majority party will lose seats in Congress in election years in which
unemployment rates are high.”
b. “Everyone should have the opportunity to hold public office regardless of
race, ethnic origin, or gender.”
c. “Democratic candidates for congressional office are more likely to receive a
larger percentage of their campaign contributions from political action
committees than are Republican candidates.”
d. “Incumbents are more likely to receive a larger percentage of their
campaign contributions from political action committees than are
challengers.”
68. Examine the table below which cross-tabulates “gender” with “party ID” for
the 435 members of the U.S. House of Representatives (106th Congress).
Which of the following statements is true?
1. Both variables are measured at the nominal level.
2. Male members of the House are slightly more likely to be Republicans than
Democrats.
3. Female members of the House are substantially more likely to be
Republicans than Democrats.
4. Gender is the independent variable and party id is the dependent variable.
5. The table reports only actual frequencies.
a. 1, 2, 3, and 5 b. 1, 2, and 4 c. 3 and 5 d. all of these are true.
Party ID
Gender
Male
Female
TOTAL
Democrat
172
45.5%
39
69.6%
211
48.6%
Republican
206
54.5%
17
30.4%
223
51.4%
Missing
1
0
1
TOTAL
378
100%
56
100%
434
69. According to the authors of the chapter on the Texas Legislature, all of the
following are reasons for the high turnover rate among members of the state
legislature except
a. low legislative pay.
b. Redistricting of legislative seats every ten years.
c. Personal costs involved in running for public office.
d. Major political scandals.
70. In Texas, the Speaker of the House and the lieutenant governor wield
tremendous influence over the lawmaking process through their power to
determine which
a. member will serve in the pro tempore position.
b. bills will be forwarded to the governor for signature.
c. committee will have jurisdiction over a specific bill.
d. members will serve on the governor’s advisory council.
71. Members of both the Texas House of Representatives and the Texas Senate
have a base pay of __________ per year.
a. $25,000 b. $20,000 c. 15,200 d. $7,200
72. The Texas state legislature meets in regular session
a. annually for 140 days.
b. Biennially for 140 days.
c. Annually in open-ended sessions.
d. Once every ten years for 140 days.