Deck 6: Interest Groups

Question 1

The greatest increase in the amount of money spent by interest groups since 2010 has occurred in which sector?

A) Corporate
B) Trade
C) Labor
D) Single-issue ideologically driven arenas

Answer 1

Single-issue ideologically driven arenas

Question 2

An interest group is

A) A group organized around a set of views or preferences
B) A group that engages in collective action
C) A group that tries to influence others
D) All of the above

Answer 2

All of the above

Question 3

Interest groups exclude all of the following EXCEPT

A) Non-political groups
B) Categorical groups
C) Individuals
D) Collective action groups

Answer 3

Collective action groups

Question 4

Political interest groups pursue ______ general objectives.

A) Three
B) Four
C) Two
D) Six

Question 5

Political interest groups pursue

A) New positive benefits to promote the group's interest
B) Defense of current benefits to protect the group's interest
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 6

About _________ of Americans belong to interest groups.

A) 80%
B) 20%
C) 60%
D) 40%

Question 7

One of the largest and most powerful interest groups in America is

A) The American Labor Union
B) The American Teacher's Union
C) The American Association of Retired Persons
D) The American Bar Association

Question 8

Political scientist generally explain interest group membership through the

A) Rational choice model
B) Behavioral model
C) Biological and Evolutionary model
D) None of these

Question 9

According to the textbook, the benefits of interest group membership include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Material benefits
B) Private benefits
C) Solidary benefits
D) Purposive benefits

Question 10

Solidary benefits are

A) The satisfaction gained from membership such as friendship and a sense of belonging
B) The satisfaction of knowing you're part of something bigger
C) The satisfaction that you are excluding others
D) The satisfaction gained from financial relationships

Question 11

Examples of material benefits of interest group membership include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Discounts at motels and restaurants
B) Safety provisions
C) Tangible rewards
D) Friendship with other members

Question 12

Purposive benefits are those that members derive from

A) Feeling socially better than others
B) Feeling more powerful than others
C) Feeling good about making a worthwhile cause
D) Feeling like they advance themselves personally

Question 13

According to the textbook, Mancur Olson (1965) pointed out a fundamental problem with interest group membership. This is

A) Rationality of personal cost for a public good
B) The tragedy of the commons
C) The free rider problem
D) Both a and c

Question 14

A public good

A) Cannot be withheld from anyone within society
B) Is provided to everyone
C) Encourages free riding
D) All of the above

Question 15

All of the following are ways to discourage free riders EXCEPT

A) Offering selective benefits
B) Forced group membership
C) A general welfare safety net
D) Ostracization of non-members

Question 16

The pluralist explanation of interest groups is

A) It is a natural extension of personal benefits
B) It is a natural extension of the democratic system as a result of specific social or economic events
C) It is a natural extension of the American Dream
D) None of these

Question 17

The theory that most people will not engage in collective action for collective goods, but they will for selective goods is

A) The exchange theory
B) The pluralist theory
C) The by-product theory
D) The group entrepreneur theory

Question 18

The biological and evolutionary approach to interest group membership is

A) Exchange theory
B) Niche theory
C) By-product theory
D) Collective action theory

Question 19

Overall, membership in interest groups has __________ over time.

A) Increased dramatically
B) Increased slowly
C) Decreased dramatically
D) Decreased slowly

Question 20

One matter of concern in terms of interest groups is the _________ in number of single-issue interest groups.

A) Slow decline
B) Rapid decline
C) Rapid rise
D) Slow rise

Question 21

There is concern over the rise of so-called thinks tanks because

A) They blur the line between research and advocacy
B) They provide more information that people can consume
C) They provide no material benefits to members
D) They balance partisan concerns on issues

Question 22

The political resources of an interest group are

A) Membership
B) Money
C) Leadership
D) All of the above

Question 23

The most basic political resource of an interest group is

A) Money
B) Membership
C) Leadership
D) Expertise

Question 24

The important components of membership include all of the following EXCEPT

A) Size
B) Geographic distribution
C) Status
D) Money

Question 25

The most popularly recognized resource of an interest group is

A) Money
B) Membership
C) Leadership
D) Expertise

Question 26

The most important sources of political clout for an interest group are

A) Leadership and expertise
B) Leadership and money
C) Money and expertise
D) Membership and leadership

Question 27

When a group or person attempts to influence public policy making it is called

A) Influencing
B) Lobbying
C) Coercion
D) None of these

Question 28

The two forms of lobbying are

A) Large scale and small scale
B) Direct and indirect
C) Publications and word of mouth
D) Liberal and conservative

Question 29

Coalition building can be with

A) Other competing interest groups
B) The public
C) Other similar interest groups
D) All of these

Question 30

Interest groups do all of the following EXCEPT

A) Support political campaigns
B) Lobby courts
C) Shape public opinion
D) None of these

Question 31

Political action committees (PACs)

A) Raise money for political contributions to campaigns
B) Ally with organizations that cannot donate directly to campaigns
C) Both a and b
D) Neither a nor b

Question 32

Super PACs can

A) Raise unlimited funds from organizations that cannot donate directly to campaigns
B) Not contribute directly to or coordinate with campaigns
C) Promote strongly ideological, single issue groups
D) All of the above

Question 33

Hard money is

A) Direct contributions to campaigns
B) Regulated by law
C) Not part of a candidate's own monetary contribution
D) All of the above

Question 34

The McCain-Feingold Act is also known as the

A) Hard Money Limiting Act
B) Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act
C) Limiting Interest Group Influence Act
D) Soft Money Ban Act

Question 35

The Supreme Court Case ruling that corporations, labor unions, and mega-wealthy individuals have a First Amendment right to spend unlimited amounts of money from their general treasuries to convince people to vote for or against some candidate is

A) Federal Election Commission v Wisconsin Right to Life
B) Schenck v United States
C) Citizens United v Federal Election Commission
D) Gideon v Wainwright

Question 36

Laws regulating interest groups seek to

A) Formally regulate action and behavior
B) Make interest group activity a matter of public record
C) Limit financial resources of interest groups
D) Ban the use of misleading information

Question 37

Interest groups always align closely along party (Democrat vs. Republican) lines.

Question 38

Fair Fight Action, created by Stacey Abrams, focused exclusively on Georgia politics during the 2020 elections.

Question 39

Political activity in the U.S. has always been shaped by organized group activity.

Question 40

Political interest groups are closely related to what James Madison called factions.

Question 41

Few Americans belong to interest groups

Question 42

Material, solidary, and purposive benefits of interest group membership are mutually exclusive.

Question 43

One way of overcoming the free rider problem is through mandatory membership in groups.

Question 44

Exchange theory depends on a group entrepreneur who seeks to increase membership in the group.

Question 45

All interest groups have the same amount of prominence.

Question 46

In theory, interest groups add to the democratic process by condensing public opinion.

Question 47

Corporations have long been banned from making campaign contributions directly to political campaigns.

Question 48

Most issues of interest groups attract attention and controversy from opposing interests.

Question 49

If you were to design an interest group, what would be your central issue? How would you gain members? How would you get Congress to notice your group?

Question 50

An important insight from niche theory is that political elites can manipulate proposals on the agenda to mobilize organized interests to support what the agenda setter wants. Does this mean that elected representatives are looking out for our interests?

Question 51

Have interest groups become too powerful? Do a handful of groups exercise undue influence? Is the result a political process that is elitist rather than pluralist?