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AMERICAN POLITICS AND THE US
CONSTITUTION - C963 WGU 2025 BRAND NEW
ACTUAL EXAM WITH ANSWERS.
How can social desirability impact public opinion polls? -correct
answer -Social desirability can make people afraid to answer
questions truthfully.
Social desirability can distort the polls causing them to be
inaccurate.
How do political actors use popular approval ratings? -correct
answer -Members of the House of Representatives have more
pressure to shift to the preferences of public opinion to sustain
high approval ratings.
Members of the Supreme Court are not usually affected by
popular or unpopular approval ratings.
Approval ratings do not harm members of the Senate as much as
the House of Representatives as senators have more time to
recover if they make an unpopular decision.
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When presidents have high approval ratings, they use their
popularity to try to accomplish personal policy goals.
What is the bandwagon effect? -correct answer -The bandwagon
effect occurs when increased coverage by the media leads to a
shift in support of a candidate by the electorate.
The bandwagon effect occurs when the media pays more
attention to candidates who perform well during the fall and first
few primary elections.
How is public opinion of the president different than public opinion
of Congress? -correct answer -The media plays close attention to
the president, therefore granting multiple points in public opinion.
The president is viewed as both a person and an institution, while
Congress is viewed mostly as an institution.
The public is more informed and aware of the actions of the
president than they are Congress.
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What describes the minimal effects theory developed during the
1930s -correct answer -News shared by friends is filtered through
their perspective and has a minimal effect on voters.
Which situation is an example of the government exercising prior
restraint? -correct answer -Forcing a newspaper to remove the
names of covert agents in a story about the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) before it is printed
Which statement is true about the general political beliefs of major
American demographic groups? -correct answer -Men tend to be
more politically conservative than women.
Which political belief is associated with modern conservatism? -
correct answer -The government should do little to intervene in
the national economy.
Which role do schools generally play in the political socialization
of young people? -correct answer -They provide information on
U.S. history and civics.
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Which form of influence can the media use to cause active
political debate on an issue? -correct answer -Agenda setting
natrual rights -correct answer -Life, Liberty, and Property
John Locke -correct answer -17th century English philosopher
who opposed the Divine Right of Kings and who asserted that
people have a natural right to life, liberty, and property.
State of Nature -correct answer -Hypothetical condition assumed
to exist in the absence of government where human beings live in
"complete" freedom and general equality.
Due Process -correct answer -involves the government's
obligation to treat all citizens fairly. Such a requirement lessens
the extent to which government power can be exercised over the
individual, making the power differential between the two more
fair, and ensuring a general sense of political equality
AMERICAN POLITICS AND THE US
CONSTITUTION - C963 WGU 2025 BRAND NEW
ACTUAL EXAM WITH ANSWERS.
How can social desirability impact public opinion polls? -correct
answer -Social desirability can make people afraid to answer
questions truthfully.
Social desirability can distort the polls causing them to be
inaccurate.
How do political actors use popular approval ratings? -correct
answer -Members of the House of Representatives have more
pressure to shift to the preferences of public opinion to sustain
high approval ratings.
Members of the Supreme Court are not usually affected by
popular or unpopular approval ratings.
Approval ratings do not harm members of the Senate as much as
the House of Representatives as senators have more time to
recover if they make an unpopular decision.
, Page | 2
When presidents have high approval ratings, they use their
popularity to try to accomplish personal policy goals.
What is the bandwagon effect? -correct answer -The bandwagon
effect occurs when increased coverage by the media leads to a
shift in support of a candidate by the electorate.
The bandwagon effect occurs when the media pays more
attention to candidates who perform well during the fall and first
few primary elections.
How is public opinion of the president different than public opinion
of Congress? -correct answer -The media plays close attention to
the president, therefore granting multiple points in public opinion.
The president is viewed as both a person and an institution, while
Congress is viewed mostly as an institution.
The public is more informed and aware of the actions of the
president than they are Congress.
, Page | 3
What describes the minimal effects theory developed during the
1930s -correct answer -News shared by friends is filtered through
their perspective and has a minimal effect on voters.
Which situation is an example of the government exercising prior
restraint? -correct answer -Forcing a newspaper to remove the
names of covert agents in a story about the Central Intelligence
Agency (CIA) before it is printed
Which statement is true about the general political beliefs of major
American demographic groups? -correct answer -Men tend to be
more politically conservative than women.
Which political belief is associated with modern conservatism? -
correct answer -The government should do little to intervene in
the national economy.
Which role do schools generally play in the political socialization
of young people? -correct answer -They provide information on
U.S. history and civics.
, Page | 4
Which form of influence can the media use to cause active
political debate on an issue? -correct answer -Agenda setting
natrual rights -correct answer -Life, Liberty, and Property
John Locke -correct answer -17th century English philosopher
who opposed the Divine Right of Kings and who asserted that
people have a natural right to life, liberty, and property.
State of Nature -correct answer -Hypothetical condition assumed
to exist in the absence of government where human beings live in
"complete" freedom and general equality.
Due Process -correct answer -involves the government's
obligation to treat all citizens fairly. Such a requirement lessens
the extent to which government power can be exercised over the
individual, making the power differential between the two more
fair, and ensuring a general sense of political equality
