01
True or false
1 point
Political power can help a group coordinate action or provide public goods; it is not necessarily oppressive.
Free Practice Quiz Question List
1 Concepts and Theories of Political Power Online Quiz Questions
Use this free practice quiz with 20 questions to review 1 Concepts and Theories of Political Power, test your knowledge, and prepare for your next test or exam.
20 questions
02
Fill in the blank
1 point
In Weber's ideal types, authority grounded in established custom is .
03
Choose one
1 point
A government credibly threatens a lawful penalty to secure compliance, but does not impose it. Which concept most specifically describes this means of securing compliance?
- A
Persuasion
- B
Coercion
- C
Violence
- D
Leadership
04
Written response
1 point
What concept means the broader capacity to affect another person's beliefs, preferences, or conduct?
05
Choose one
1 point
A researcher studying a city council's clinic-closure dispute records who voted and whose proposal passed. Which approach is the researcher using most directly?
- A
It asks whether residents' alternatives were kept off the agenda.
- B
It examines how the closure was framed as unavoidable.
- C
It asks who voted and whose proposal passed.
- D
It examines how budget rules and administrative procedures shaped the decision.
06
True or false
1 point
An official's formal authorization to make decisions necessarily means that the official has practical power to shape outcomes.
- A
True
- B
False
07
Fill in the blank
1 point
In Lukes's account, the third dimension of power can shape people's perceptions, expectations, or .
08
Written response
1 point
What term describes a durable relationship in which one actor or group exercises substantial control over others?
09
Choose all
1 point
A city committee uses its procedures to keep certain demands from being debated. Which other practices would also illustrate power over the agenda? Select all that apply.
- A
Unequal access to decision-makers prevents a demand from being heard.
- B
A proposal wins a public vote after all alternatives are considered.
- C
Control of meeting time is used to keep an issue from receiving discussion.
- D
A group’s preferred outcome prevails in an open negotiation.
10
Choose one
1 point
Which statement best captures the idea that political power is relational?
- A
Power is a fixed possession that produces the same effect in every situation.
- B
An actor's capacity to shape outcomes depends on relationships, setting, and available resources.
- C
Power exists only when someone issues a direct command.
- D
Power is another word for physical force.
11
Choose one
1 point
Which example most directly illustrates institutional power?
- A
Laws and administrative procedures constrain which options can be pursued, even without a direct command.
- B
A leader persuades residents to support a campaign through personal reputation.
- C
An official threatens a penalty to obtain compliance.
- D
A group wins a vote on an identifiable proposal.
12
Choose all
1 point
Which two investigations correspond to dimensions in Lukes's account of power? Select all that apply.
- A
An analyst examines whose preferred outcome prevailed in a public dispute.
- B
An analyst asks only which office formally authorized a decision.
- C
An analyst investigates how public discussion made one arrangement seem natural and alternatives seem impossible.
- D
An analyst measures only whether a leader used a physical instrument of force.
13
True or false
1 point
Because leadership guides or coordinates collective action, it necessarily guarantees that the leader's power is regarded as legitimate.
- A
True
- B
False
14
Open ended
1 point
A city is considering closing a neighborhood clinic. Explain how a decision-centered, agenda-setting, preference-shaping, and institutional analysis would each investigate the decision. Give one relevant question or kind of evidence for each approach.
15
Choose one
1 point
A council persuades residents to accept a proposal they would otherwise reject. Which account most directly identifies this as an exercise of power?
- A
The council persuaded residents that the proposal was beneficial.
- B
The council got residents to accept a proposal they otherwise would have rejected.
- C
The council prevented any proposal from being discussed.
- D
The council gained authority because residents regarded its procedures as rightful.
16
Written response
1 point
In French and Raven’s framework, what category names a basis of influence that comes from specialist knowledge?
17
Choose one
1 point
People comply with an official’s directive because they regard the office and its procedures as rightful, not because they fear punishment. Which concept best explains this basis for compliance?
- A
Coercion, because the official can impose costs for disobedience.
- B
Leadership, because the official is guiding collective action.
- C
Authority, because people regard the office or procedure as a rightful basis for directives.
- D
Violence, because the official’s directive is backed by physical force.
18
Choose one
1 point
A public official’s directives are accepted because the official occupies a position defined by impersonal rules. Which of Weber’s ideal types of authority best fits this case?
- A
Legal-rational authority
- B
Traditional authority
- C
Charismatic authority
- D
Collective power
19
Choose one
1 point
A city schedules a clinic-closure decision but excludes residents’ alternative proposals from the hearing. Which analytical approach most directly examines this form of power?
- A
Decision-making, because the key issue is which proposal wins a vote.
- B
Agenda-setting, because residents’ alternatives are prevented from being considered.
- C
Preference-shaping, because residents have been shown to regard the closure as natural.
- D
Collective power, because residents have organized to coordinate action.
20
Written response
1 point
During a political protest, state agents physically strike demonstrators to disperse them. What term describes the use of physical force in this situation?
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