Sociology final questions
Which system of social stratification was in the final stages of breaking down when Karl Marx developed his ideas? a. feudalism b. capitalism c. slavery d. communism
ANS: A
________ have made it possible for politicians to bypass traditional media outlets. a. Social media b. Newspapers c. TV channels d. Radio stations
ANS: A
. Which theory suggests crimes committed by the upper classes are typically treated more leniently than crimes committed by the lower classes because laws represent the interests of those in power? a. differential association theory b. conflict theory c. principled deviance d. functionalist theory
ANS: B
A heterosexual couple living in the same household and raising children is defined as a(n) ________ family. a. nontraditional b. nuclear c. extended d. broken
ANS: B
What group was MOST likely to move away from the urban core to the suburbs? a. single mothers b. senior citizens c. racial and ethnic minorities d. whites
ANS: D
Samantha believes corporations are not punished enough for polluting the planet, manufacturing unsafe products, and manipulating prices. At the same time, she sees homeless people imprisoned for stealing food; she believes we should all have access to regardless of wealth. Samantha has taken a ________ perspective to explain the way deviance is viewed in society. a. structural functionalist b. symbolic interactionist c. conflict theory d. retreatist
AND: C
Apartheid is a specific example of what system of social stratification? a. caste b. class c. slavery d. oligarchy
ANS: A
Appearance, manner, style of dress, race, gender and age are all elements of a. an individual's personal front. b. a setting or region. c. expressions given. d. the superego.
ANS: A
What defines the so-called official poverty in the United States based on household income? a. social stratification b. the federal poverty line c. relative deprivation d. absolute deprivation
ANS: B
What do sociologists cal patterns of interactions between groups and individuals? a. rationalization b. group dynamics c. in-group solidarity d. anomie
ANS: B
What do sociologists call the idea that all individuals act like mirrors to each other? a. status b. the looking-glass self c. the unconscious d. the particular other
ANS: B
What is the sociological term for signs people make with their bodies a. language b. gestures c. sanctions d. values
ANS: B
Norms develop out of a culture's value system True or false?
ANS: True
Gene Genetic testing in utero can inform parents of possible genetic mutations in the embryo. There are ethical concerns regarding this type of genetic testing because some assert that the selection of only healthy babies is a form of a. eugenics. b. epidemic. c. genocide. d. bioethics.
ANS: A
Good health is a. socially defined. b. biologically determined. c. unrelated to culture. d. consistent around the world.
ANS: A
In the past, which group of people had the time and resources necessary to pursue recreational activities? a. only the wealthy b. almost everyone c. the middle class and the upper class d. only the clergy
ANS: A
Regardless of their various approaches to social phenomena, what are all sociologists trying to do? a. illuminate the connection between the individual and society b. explain why poverty and inequality still exist c. compare the present with the past d. understand how our society is different from other cultures and other times
ANS: A
Sociologists observe society by a. studying the various parts of a society and the ways they interact and influence one another. b. studying society as if it were a concrete object, in the same way a geologist studies rocks. c. comparing the past and present, with a focus on the past. d. studying the relationship between individuals and society, specializing in internal states of mind.
ANS: A
Sociology can be defines as the systematic and scientific study of human society and social behavior, from _____ to ______ a. large-scale institutions; individual interactions b. practical knowledge; scientific knowledge c. individual interactions; small groups d. economics; political science
ANS: A
Some people believe that women are better suited to be homemakers because they are naturally more caring and emotional than men. What perspective is expressed in this statement? a. an essentialist perspective b. a social constructionist perspective c. a macro perspective d. an interactionist perspective
ANS: A
The tendency to use your own group's way of doing things as the yardstick for judging others is called a. ethnocentrism. b. culture shock. c. cultural relativism. d. self-centeredness.
ANS: A
The term "socialization" refers to a. lifelong process by which people learn the norms, values, and beliefs of their culture. b. fact that human nature is essentially self-centered and must be unlearned. c. interaction among the cultures of different societies. d. process by which individuals come to know one another.
ANS: A
What do you call broad theoretical models of the social or natural world? a. paradigms b. hypotheses c. interviews d. grounded theory
ANS: A
What is an example of a primary sex characteristic? a. reproductive organs b. facial hair c. body hair d. bone structure
ANS: A
What kind of leadership style is typically expected of women in contemporary society? a. expressive b. rational c. family d. proscriptive
ANS: A
What uses an inductive method that involves collecting data and then generating theory by looking for relationships among categories? a. grounded theory b. chaos theory c. conflict theory d. scientific theory
ANS: A
What will a good researcher always do after formulating a general research question? a. review the literature relevant to his or her topic b. clearly define his or her variables c. look for correlations between at least two phenomena d. form a hypothesis
ANS: A
Which of the following statements best characterizes microsociology? a. It is an approach that examines interactions between individuals and how those interactions reflect larger societal patterns. b. It is an approach that examines institutional interactions that occur over time. c. It is an approach that quantifies data about social structures so they can be analyzed statistically. d. It is an approach that focuses exclusively on gender and power as they manifest themselves socially.
ANS: A
An action or behavior that results in the unequal treatment of an individual because of his or her membership in a racial or ethnic group is called a. prejudice. b. discrimination. c. pluralism. d. passing.
ANS: B
Corporal punishments like branding or amputation were commonly used in colonial America. What were these punishments designed to do? a. They were designed to encourage deviance but not crime. b. They were designed to mark the offender. c. They were designed to make the offender impossible to marry. d. They were designed to promote differential association theory.
ANS: B
How do sociologists distinguish a group from a crowd? a. Individuals associated with a group don't share any common attribute. b. Individuals associated with a group feel a shared identity. c. Individuals associated with a group don't have ongoing social relations. d. Individuals associated with a crowd remain in contact.
ANS: B
In the early 1900s, more than half of American women gave birth at home. Today, around 99 percent of all births take place in hospitals. This is an example of a. chronic care. b. medicalization. c. palliative care. d. the tragedy of the commons.
ANS: B
Parents often buy their children gender specific toys, Boys are given action figures that encourage active and aggressive play and girls are given dolls and toy ovens that reinforce traditional gender roles. This is part of what process? a. personality b. socialization c. social isolation d. status conflict
ANS: B
Social mobility that occurs over the course of an individual's lifetime is called ________ mobility. a. life-cycle b. intragenerational c. structural d. intergenerational
ANS: B
The economy is not only about money but also about a. the people who are most important to an individual's sense of self. b. the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. c. encouraging cooperation over competition. d. rituals and beliefs that divide the world into the sacred and the profane.
ANS: B
Today, who do average Americans have in mind when they think of their families? a. an uncle or aunt b. a brother or sister c. any person in their ethnic group d. a cousin
ANS: B
Which of the following is one of the goals of socialization a. to ensure that society self-evaluates b. to teach norms, values, and beliefs c. to teach people how to avoid incarceration d. to teach the skills necessary to satisfy our love of technology
ANS: B
Which of the following statements best describes the approach taken by macrosociologists? a. Macrosociology concentrates on the way large social institutions are created through individual interactions. b. Macrosociology examines large-scale social structure to see how it affects individual lives. c. Macrosociology focuses on creating a beginner's mind in contrast to microsociology, which uses an expert's mind. d. Unlike microsociology, macrosociology focuses on creating scientific knowledge of the world, rather than practical knowledge.
ANS: B
Which of the following would be considered a group in the sociological sense? a. a collection of sightseers at a tourist attraction b. a high school chess club c. a gathering at a crime scene d. a line at the grocery store
ANS: B
Which of the following would sociologists consider the best definition of deviance? a. actions that are harmful to society b. violat violation of social norms c. criminal activities d. immoral or unethical behaviors
ANS: B
Garrett Hardin believes that "a 'just' sharing of the world's wealth among all the inhabitants, without coercive control of individual reproduction, would result in a continual, exponential growth of the human population" and much more suffering. This means Hardin is a a. grassroots organizer. b. believer in sustainable development. c. neo-Malthusian. d. mainstream environmentalist.
ANS: C
How did the rise of the suburbs affect the way people used their leisure time? a. It encouraged them to join neighborhood groups and associations. b. It encouraged them to take more vacations. c. It encouraged them to spend their leisure time in their own homes. d. It led to an increase in outdoor activities.
ANS: C
How do most sociologists differentiate between sex and gender? a. Sex is biological; gender is social. b. Both relate to genetics, but hormones have a greater influence on gender. c. Sex is genetic; gender is about primary and secondary sex characteristics. d. Gender is biological; sex is social.
ANS: C
How do sociologists define ethnicity? a. people who share a common physical characteristic b. people with the same skin color c. a group with a shared ancestry or shared cultural heritage d. the same way they define race
ANS: C
In the early twentieth century, women who had children out of wedlock were considered to be feebleminded or to suffer from mental problems. They were also thought more likely to give birth to children who were also feebleminded. Today, this attitude seems ridiculous. This is an example of a. preventative medicine. b. epidemiological change. c. the social construction of mental illness. d. a disease risk being amplified by social factors
ANS: C
Ori went to eat at his favorite restaurant and got food poisoning. His illness was treated right away. This type of illness would be classified as a. palliative. b. chronic. c. acute. d. lifestyle based.
ANS: C
The fact that the top causes of death in the United States are due to chronic illness while people in the developing world are continually affected by the threat of acute illnesses indicates that a. illness is a biological event b. palliative care is necessary c. illness is impacted by social factors d. We can prevent deaths in the US but not in the developing world
ANS: C
What are the goals of ethnography a. to develop quantitative data sets that allow researchers to discover correlations b. to conduct interviews with people who have very different ways of life c. to understand the meanings people attach to their activities d. to develop ethics and standards for sociological research
ANS: C
What criteria does a social class system use to stratify its members? a. heredity and employment status b. occupational attainment and gender c. wealth, property, power, and prestige d. gender, race, and ethnicity
ANS: C
What do schools, churches, and governments all have in common? a. They are all secular institutions. b. They are all less important today than in the past. c. They are all social institutions. d. They function only at the macro level.
ANS: C
What do schools, churches, and governments all have in common? a. They are all secular institutions. b. They are all less important today than in the past. c. They are all social institutions. d. They function only at the macro level.
ANS: C
What do sociologists call a group that provides standards by which an individual can judge his or her own accomplishments? a. a secondary group b. a social network c. a reference group d. a primary group
ANS: C
What do sociologists call it when members of groups are influenced by other members? a. internalization b. commodification c. peer pressure d. rationalization
ANS: C
What is a society called in which social mobility is highly restricted by formal or informal rules like those of a caste system? a. capitalism b. a system of achieved status c. a closed system d. an open system
ANS: C
What is it called when a minority group is absorbed into the dominant group? a. segregation b. population transfer c. assimilation d. internal colonialism
ANS: C
What is it called when individuals live as if they were members of a different racial category than the one into which they were born? a. cultural imperialism b. racial self-hatred c. racial passing d. racial stereotyping
ANS: C
What is the difference between recreation and leisure? a. Leisure is a kind of activity; recreation is a kind of time. b. Leisure requires money; recreation does not. c. Leisure is a kind of time; recreation is a kind of activity. d. Recreation requires money; leisure does not.
ANS: C
What is the scientific method? a. the use of statistics to analyze numerical data b. the appearance of causation c. the procedure for acquiring and collecting concrete data d. research that translates the social world into numbers
ANS: C
What school of social thought insists that all social structures, including systems of stratification, are built out of everyday interactions? a. functionalism b. symbolic interactionism c. Weberianism d. conflict theory
ANS: C
Which of the following is an example of a way to collect demographic data? a. voluntary simplicity and recycling b. organizing environmental activist groups to engage in direct actions c. the U.S. Census Bureau sending out surveys d. the Malthusian theorem
ANS: C
A man's computer is hacked; by stealing his identity, the hacker is able to steal money from the man's bank account. The man is a victim of a. property crime. b. violent crime. c. cyberbullying. d. cybercrime.
ANS: D
Before the United States invaded Iraq, about 5.5 people out of every thousand would die each year according to a controversial study published in the British medical journal The Lancet. After the invasion, that number rose to over 13. This study was attempting to measure a. immigration. b. suicide. c. morbidity. d. mortality.
ANS: D
How has Earth's population changed in the past fifty years? a. It has shrunk slightly. b. It peaked around twenty-five years ago and has been shrinking ever since. c. It has increased by around 25 percent. d. It has nearly tripled.
ANS: D
New innovations in farming like mechanized seed spreaders and new techniques of crop rotation were part of what macro-level social change? a. the Instrumental Revolution b. the Information Revolution c. the Great Depression d. the Agricultural Revolution
ANS: D
Sociologists who conduct interviews can only gather data from a limited number of people because a. it is impossible to find enough people through a random sample. b. researchers are only allowed to talk to people who are eighteen and older. c. it is extremely difficult to guarantee confidentiality to large groups. d. interviews are too time-consuming.
ANS: D
Sociology can be approached from both a microsociological and a macrosociological perspective. Which is more useful? a. The macrosociological perspective is more useful because it explains how large-scale social institutions influence individuals. b. The microsociological perspective is more useful because it explains how individuals shape and create large-scale social institutions. c. Both are useful and any study that uses only one or the other will be unable to explain anything useful about society. d. Both are useful in different ways because they each provide different types of information about the same object of study.
ANS: D
The methods and tactics of managing and influencing government are called a. power. b. totalitarianism. c. fascism. d. politics.
ANS: D
The net migration rate is the a. number of deaths that can be expected per one thousand people in a given year. b. average number of births per one thousand people in the total population. c. average age to which a person can expect to live. d. number of emigrants subtracted from the number of immigrants.
ANS: D
The transformation of culture over time is called a. social revolution. b. cultural evolution. c. social iteration. d. social change.
ANS: D
What are the parts of the mind according to Sigmund Freud's theoretical perspective? a. the looking-glass self and the dual nature of the self b. the dual nature of the self, the significant other, and the generalized other c. the significant other and the generalized other d. the id, the ego, and the superego
ANS: D
What do sociologists call it when cultures that were once distinct become increasingly similar? a. cultural imperialism b. social control c. cultural diffusion d. cultural leveling
ANS: D
What is it called when members of the dominant group, whites in the case of race, believe they are discriminated against because of their race? a. white nationalism b. color-blind racism c. microaggressions d. reverse racism
ANS: D
What is the definition of culture? a. Culture involves the reactions to the ways in which people follow or disobey norms in society. b. Culture is limited to rules or guidelines about what kind of behavior is acceptable and appropriate within a particular situation. c. Culture is the principle of evaluating another group or individual as abnormal or inferior. d. Culture is the entire way of life of a group of people and it acts as a lens through which we view the world.
ANS: D
What is the study of the social aspects of diseases? a. Eugenics b. Physiology c. medicalization d. epidemiology
ANS: D
What is the study of the social aspects of diseases? a. eugenics b. physiology c. medicalization d. epidemiology
ANS: D
What new technology helped to bring about the Industrial Revolution? a. the jet airplane b. the automobile c. the Internet d. the steam engine
ANS: D
What sort of activities can be considered recreation? a. those that cannot be done for a wage b. those that involve friends and family c. those that are done on the weekend d. those that are enjoyable
ANS: D
What sort of pollution is responsible for global warming? a. water b. light c. groundwater d. Air
ANS: D
Which is true of social mobility in a caste system? a. Social mobility is common with hard work. b. A great deal of social mobility occurs. c. A small part of each generation will experience upward social mobility. d. There is little or no chance of social mobility.
ANS: D
Which of the following statements about social change is true? a. It occurs exclusively during unmistakable periods in history. b. It happens quickly. c. It occurs rarely. d. It is always happening.
ANS: D
Which of the following would be an example of a "positive check" on population growth? a. family planning b. Emigration c. cloning d. famine
ANS: D
Why did so many people feel dissatisfied working on assembly lines? a. Assembly lines were not a very efficient way to produce things. b. Assembly lines made goods more expensive. c. Assembly lines forced people from different racial and ethnic groups to work together. d. Workers never had the satisfaction of seeing the finished product.
ANS: D
Why is the population in the United States growing given that fertility rates have dropped below the level needed to maintain the population level? a. There has been a decrease in life expectancy. b. The mortality rate is increasing. c. There have been considerable advances in modern medicine. d. Immigration rates have risen.
ANS: D
In societies across the globe, men and women have always performed different tasks to help the family function, and these roles have always been considered unequal. True or False?
ANS: False
The Flint, Michigan, water crisis involved dangerously high levels of nitrogen. True or False?
ANS: False
All successful social movements are eventually incorporated into institutions. True or False?
ANS: True
Climate change causes more severe droughts; stronger and more prevalent hurricanes, tornadoes, and cyclones; and more rain and flooding. True or False?
ANS: True
Gerrymandering involves the redrawing of voting district borders by the officials in power to benefit a political party. True or False?
ANS: True
President Donald Trump's Twitter account is an example of social media making it possible for politicians to bypass traditional media. True or False?
ANS: True
Since leisure and recreation are largely commodified, some things that are one person's leisure are another person's job. True or False?
ANS: True
Sociologists claim that culture is the lens through which we perceive and evaluate what is going on in the world around us True or False?
ANS: True
