What are push polls?

Correct answer: Political campaign information presented as polls, designed to change a voter's mind.

Explanation

This question asks for the definition of 'push polls,' which are a controversial form of political communication. Chapter 6 distinguishes these from legitimate opinion polls by highlighting their purpose is to persuade rather than measure opinion.

Other questions

Question 1

What is a collection of popular views about something, such as a person, a local or national event, or a new idea, called?

Question 2

Which of the following is considered the most prominent agent of political socialization?

Question 3

The debate that assumes governments have a finite amount of money and must choose between spending on the military or on social programs is known as what?

Question 4

What is a key difference between modern conservatism and traditional conservatism?

Question 5

Which magazine's 1936 poll incorrectly predicted that Alf Landon would defeat Franklin D. Roosevelt in the presidential election?

Question 6

In polling, what is the term for a number that states how far the poll results may be from the actual opinion of the total population of citizens?

Question 7

What is the Bradley effect?

Question 9

In the context of forming political opinions, what are heuristics?

Question 10

According to the 2012 election data cited in the chapter, what percentage of African Americans voted for Barack Obama?

Question 11

How do political elites, such as talk show hosts or opinion columnists, primarily shape public opinion?

Question 12

In 2014, the number of self-identified independents in the U.S. had grown to what percentage?

Question 13

What is the 'rally 'round the flag' effect?

Question 14

Following the 9/11 attacks, President George W. Bush’s public approval rating jumped from 51 percent on September 10, 2001, to what percentage by September 15?

Question 15

The theory that a politician is in office to be the voice of the people and should vote according to their wishes is known as what?

Question 16

What is the 'bandwagon effect' in media coverage of elections?

Question 17

When the media calls out every candidate’s move throughout a presidential campaign, much like an announcer at a racetrack, this is known as what?

Question 18

Which branch of the U.S. government is generally least susceptible to public opinion polls?

Question 19

Political information provided under the pretense that it is neutral, but which is actually ideologically slanted, is known as what?

Question 20

What is the term for the process of learning the norms and practices of a political system, which starts when we are very young?

Question 21

A Pew Research study on political polarization found that the average difference between Republican and Democratic answers to values questions grew from 10 percent in 1987 to what percentage in 2012?

Question 22

What ideology is described as promoting total control of the country by the ruling party or political leader, running the economy, military, society, and culture?

Question 23

Informal polls that collect opinions of a non-random population, like those on Facebook or online newspapers, are called what?

Question 24

What polling method involves a computer randomly generating phone numbers with desired area codes?

Question 25

In the 2012 election data cited, which racial group had the lowest voter turnout percentage?

Question 26

What is the primary factor that makes House of Representatives members more susceptible to public opinion pressure than U.S. Senators?

Question 27

According to the text, what is the 'bully pulpit'?

Question 28

The Supreme Court case Town of Greece v. Galloway, which decided that ceremonial prayer before a town meeting was not a violation of the Establishment Clause, is used as an example of what?

Question 29

Beliefs, which citizens use as a foundation for their political opinions, are defined in the text as what?

Question 30

What is an 'agent of political socialization'?

Question 31

According to the ideological spectrum described in the chapter, which of the following falls on the right side?

Question 32

The failure of polls to correctly predict the 1948 presidential election between Truman and Dewey was largely due to what methodological error?

Question 33

What is the primary drawback of computer-based robo-polls?

Question 34

A poll states that a candidate will receive 30 percent of the vote with a margin of error of plus or minus 6 percent. What does this tell us about the candidate's potential range of support?

Question 35

What term does the chapter use for the prevailing political attitudes and beliefs within a specific state or region?

Question 36

According to Gallup data, what has been the historical trend for presidential approval ratings over a term in office?

Question 37

What is a major reason cited in the chapter for Congress having lower approval ratings than the president?

Question 38

According to studies cited in the chapter, public opinion has what effect on the reelection chances of members of the House of Representatives?

Question 39

What is the term for political information where the author makes it clear that only one side of a political debate is being presented?

Question 40

Which ideology is described as focusing on equality and supporting government intervention in society and the economy if it promotes equality?

Question 41

What is a major problem with using cell phones for polling that was not an issue with landlines?

Question 42

The idea that media coverage predisposes a viewer to a particular perspective on an issue is known as what?

Question 43

When a poll contains a quiz with questions to determine if a respondent knows enough about a topic to answer accurately, what problem is the poll trying to address?

Question 44

Which ideological group believes in individual rights and limited government intervention in private life and personal economic decisions?

Question 45

Which presidential candidate's 2016 campaign was noted for announcing their bid at Liberty University to appeal to the faith-based community?

Question 46

According to Figure 6.7, which issue showed the widest gap between Democrat and Republican opinions?

Question 47

According to the chapter, public approval for Congress spiked to over 80 percent after which major event?

Question 48

What factor does the chapter suggest is a primary reason for low voter turnout among citizens aged eighteen to twenty-five?

Question 49

How did Nate Silver explain the inconsistency in polls for California's Proposition 19 in 2010?

Question 50

According to a 2012 poll mentioned in the chapter, what percentage of the voting-age population (VAP) voted?