8th-Ch 11.1

______ plays a key role in a democracy. It helps shape the decisions of every president.

• Money

• Endorsements

• Public opinion

• Students

Enough people must hold a particular ______, however, to make government officials listen to them.

• opinion

• amount of money

• job

• political party

Television, radio, newspapers, magazines, recordings, movies, and books are called the _______ because they communicate broadly to masses of people.

• technology

• propaganda

• endorsments

• mass media

______ state their views in speeches, news conferences, television appearances, and newspaper and magazine articles. 

In doing so, they hope to persuade as many people as possible to support their positions.

• Public officials

• The government

• Constituents

• The media

Political scientists and public opinion experts often describe public opinion in terms of three features. Which of the following is not one of them?

• Direction

• Persistence

• Intensity

• Stability

This refers to the strength of opinion on a given issue. 

When Americans have strong feelings, many are often willing to act upon them by voting for or against a candidate, working in an election campaign, or even participating in demonstrations.

• Direction

• Intensity

• Consistency

• Stability

Most presidents, for example, have a specialist—a _____—whose job is to conduct polls regularly. The _____ measures the president’s popularity or public attitudes toward a White House proposal, such as a possible tax increase.

• pollster

• campaign manager

• Vice President

• Secretary

Every major elected official uses ____ to closely monitor public opinion.

• propaganda

• votes

• polls

• Facebook

Some claim that polls, make our officeholders more concerned with

• have a celebrity endorse their beliefs.

• making money than caring for the public.

• their personal image.

• following the public than political leadership.

This is how firmly people hold their views—they may differ greatly from issue to issue. People’s opinions are less likely to change when they have a firm belief about a topic.

• Direction

• Intensity

• Stability

• Consistency