A Common Refrain of American Politicians in Recent Times-Most Notably

question 26

Multiple Choice

A common refrain of American politicians in recent times-most notably among them former President George W.Bush-is that the only polls that matter are elections.Much like Bush, however, elected officials-especially ones working at the national level-nonetheless relied on public opinion surveys in carrying out their work.Why might this be the case?

• A) Elected officials have little contact with constituents, so they have no way of judging what constituents' opinions are outside of opinion polls.
• B) The outcome of elections is never easy to interpret, except in landslide elections.
• C) They want to anticipate the effects of their decisions, develop ways to minimize objections to them, and to identify opportunities to change opinions.
• D) They know that voters would frown upon their use of polling in developing means of manipulating public opinion.

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Definitions:

Cardinal Traits

Core personality traits that are dominant and define a person's overall behavior and attitude.

Common Traits

Characteristics shared by most members of a population, often used in personality psychology to describe aspects of human behavior.

Ego Perception

An individual's awareness and understanding of their ego, which in psychoanalytic theory, refers to the conscious, rational part of the psyche.

Learned Responses

Behaviors that individuals acquire through conditioning or experience, as opposed to innate reflexes or instincts.