Deck 4: Public Opinion

Question 1

Which of the following does NOT describe public opinion?

A) elusive and fragile
B) combustible and changing
C) fleeting and vulnerable
D) staid and immutable

Answer 1

staid and immutable

Question 2

As a general rule, those who examine public opinion recognize that

A) it is easy to move people toward a strong opinion.
B) it is difficult to move people toward a strong opinion.
C) it is easy to move people toward a weak opinion.
D) it is difficult to move them away from a weak opinion.

Answer 2

it is difficult to move people toward a strong opinion.

Question 3

Which is NOT a description of public opinion?

A) a term describing an ill-defined, mercurial and changeable group of individual judgments
B) not the name of something, but the classification of a number of something.
C) the aggregate of many individual opinions on a particular issue that affects a group of people
D) trying to influence what an individual thinks about a topic

Answer 3

trying to influence what an individual thinks about a topic

Question 4

The primary focus of the practice of public relations is:

A) trying to influence an individual's attitude - how he or she thinks on a given topic
B) tracking public opinion
C) burning incense to the unknown god of public opinion
D) detecting vulnerabilities of culture driven by media, fueled by the Internet and dominated by celebrity

Question 5

For a long time, scholars believed attitudes were

A) actions people take based on an opinion.
B) predispositions to think a certain way about a certain topic.
C) judgments people make after people take action.
D) responses people have to strong opinions.

Question 6

Research indicates that an attitude is likely

A) a bias toward something.
B) an evaluation made about a specific problem or issue.
C) a bias against something.
D) an aggregate opinion.

Question 7

Experiences that influence attitudes include

A) religion.
B) social class.
C) educational.
D) all of the above

Question 8

If your parents have owned only SUVs, when you go to purchase your first vehicle as a new parent, it is likely that you will first consider buying an SUV because your attitude has been influenced most by the ________ characteristic.

A) cultural
B) familial
C) personal
D) race

Question 9

Former Vice President Spiro T. Agnew called ________ the "silent majority."

A) people who are strongly committed
B) people who are strongly uncommitted
C) people who are in the middle
D) people who have cognitive dissonance

Question 10

We credit ________ with developing the theory of cognitive dissonance.

A) Leon Festinger
B) Harwood Childs
C) Joseph Kraft
D) Herman C. Boyle

Question 11

The theory of cognitive dissonance indicates that people

A) tend to seek information contrary to their opinions.
B) tend to seek information that supports their points of view.
C) tend to avoid information that crystallizes their points of view.
D) tend to avoid information that reinforces their opinions.

Question 12

Social judgment theory suggests

A) people don't have a range of opinions on a specific topic.
B) people have a range of opinions on a specific topic that is not anchored by a clear attitude.
C) people don't have a "latitude of acceptance" within which they may change their opinion.
D) people have a "latitude of acceptance" within which they may change their opinion.

Question 13

Persuading a person to move from a latent state of attitude formation to a more aware state and, finally, to an active state is a matter of ________.

A) personality
B) dissonance
C) motivation
D) chance

Question 14

In the hierarchy of needs theory, the second level focuses on

A) love needs.
B) self-aggrandizement.
C) self-actualization.
D) safety needs.

Question 15

"Being all you can be" is what Abraham Maslow would likely describe as fulfilling the ________ need.

A) self-actualization
B) self-esteem
C) safety
D) physiological

Question 16

The ________ model addresses what motivates people to change their attitude.

A) cognitive consonance
B) persuasion
C) elaboration likelihood
D) "muddled middle"

Question 17

Classic persuasion theory indicates that a person who carefully considers an argument alertly, actively, and creatively is

A) in a heuristic mode.
B) in a cognitive dissonant mode.
C) in a systematic mode.
D) in a differentiation mode.

Question 18

From classic persuasion theory, we learn that a person who skims the surface and doesn't focus on the intricacies of an argument is

A) in a heuristic mode.
B) in a cognitive dissonant mode.
C) in a systematic mode.
D) In a differentiation mode.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT one of the types of "evidence" that will persuade?

A) facts
B) emotions
C) personalizing
D) activity

Question 20

Which of the "Laws of Public Opinion" is described by the following: "Events of unusual magnitude are likely to swing public opinion temporarily from one extreme to another. Opinion doesn't become stabilized until the implications of events are seen in some perspective."

A) Opinion is highly sensitive to important events
B) Opinion is generally determined more by events than by words - unless those words are themselves interpreted as an event
C) At critical times, people become more sensitive to the adequacy of their leadership. If they have confidence it in, they are willing to assign more than usual responsibility to it; if they lack confidence in it, they are less tolerant than usual.
D) Once self-interest is involved, opinions are slow to change.

Question 21

A President trying to gain support for an assault on terrorism would likely use an ________ appeal.

A) economic
B) efficient
C) emotional
D) evidential

Question 22

Using your experiences, especially when they reflect how you've overcome obstacles, is an appeal based largely on

A) logic.
B) personalizing.
C) incontrovertible facts and statistics.
D) the "you" factor.

Question 23

The so-called "Laws of Public Opinion" were developed by

A) Hadley Cantrill.
B) Harwood Childs.
C) Abraham Maslow.
D) Leon Festinger.

Question 24

One of the "Laws of Public Opinion" emphasizes _____________

A) the power of words alone.
B) the power of hardheaded common sense.
C) the power of unusual events to create stable opinions in the moment they occur.
D) the power of methods to achieve goals.

Question 25

What was one of the reasons Occupy Wall Street had mixed results?

A) Occupy quickly issued news releases about too many issues.
B) Occupy established partnerships with local residents and merchants.
C) People were unaware of Occup's slogan, "the other 99 percent".
D) Occupy was not concerned enough about publicity.

Question 26

Which of the following is NOT true regarding what organizations have come to realize about their image?

A) Improving their image often means operating without implicit trust of the public.
B) A favorable image can disappear in an instant when there are negative perceptions about the organization.
C) Touting good works is critically important.
D) Improving their image means operating with implicit trust of the public.

Question 27

Apple, Google, and The Coca-Cola Company have

A) been vilified for ignoring their social responsibilities.
B) been exonerated for telling the truth to the media.
C) been judged to have the highest reputation among well-known companies.
D) been role models for knowing how to present financial information.

Question 28

________ aligns communications with an organization's character and action.

A) Litigation publicity
B) Reputation management
C) Systematic argumentation
D) Relationship management

Question 29

________ is a front-line responsibility of public relations.

A) Litigation publicity
B) Motivation management
C) Reputation management
D) Heuristic argumentation

Question 30

Which of the following is NOT a prediction made by futurist John Naisbitt?

A) There will be shift from public housing to more home ownership.
B) There will be a downward trend in population growth in Asia.
C) Inflation and interest rates will be held in check.
D) There will be a shift from welfare to workfare.

Question 31

Positive public opinion diminishes when a person or organization's words don't align with actions.

Question 32

Generally, it's easy to move people toward a strong opinion on almost anything.

Question 33

If an opinion becomes strong enough, it can lead people to behavioral or verbal actions.

Question 34

Public opinion is the aggregate of many individual opinions on a particular issue that affects a group of people.

Question 35

Research suggests attitudes may more likely be evaluations people make about specific problems or issues.

Question 36

Social class is no longer a major characteristic in the U.S.A. that influences attitudes.

Question 37

On a given issue, the "muddled middle"
is either positive, nonexistent, or negative.

Question 38

On any issue, people may be strongly for, strongly against, passive, neutral, or indifferent toward it.

Question 39

Based on the theory that Leon Festinger developed in a campaign, individuals likely would seek information that supports their own points of view.

Question 40

According to social judgment theory, people may have a range of opinions on a certain subject, anchored by a clear attitude.

Question 41

Abraham Maslow developed a theory that indicates each of us is moved by different drives and needs.

Question 42

According to the elaboration likelihood model of motivation, if we're interested and focused enough on a message, we take a "peripheral"
route to a decision.

Question 43

Persuasion can include advising, reasoning, and even arm-twisting.

Question 44

The goal of most public relations efforts is to influence people to take a desired action regardless of whether they are "systematic"
or "heuristic"
thinkers.

Question 45

Business leaders are quite comfortable using emotion in attempts to persuade.

Question 46

Words have more influence on opinions than events.

Question 47

People in a society that provides educational opportunities and easy access to information are likely to develop "hardheaded commonsense."

Question 48

Most organizations today and the people who manage them have adopted the philosophy "The public be damned!"

Question 49

Public opinion can seriously affect the success of enormous, well-established organizations when the public decides they or their executives have violated the public's trust.

Question 50

During the past decade, both managing relationships and reputations have become front-line responsibilities of public relations.

Question 51

Why must public relations professionals understand public opinion?

Question 52

Based on Hadley Cantril's "Laws of Public Opinion,"
explain the role of events in helping to form opinions.

Question 53

Discuss the importance of corporate image to an organization.

Question 54

What is relationship management and why is it so important?