Sociology Final Exam

Which of the following statements best illustrates the career advantage a person gains by studying sociology?

A police officer understands which categories of people are at high risk of becoming victims of crime.

The term "sociology" was coined in 1838 by:

Auguste Comte.

____________ are rules about everyday, casual living; _____________ are rules with great moral significance.

Folkways; mores

Regarding ethical research guidelines, the American Sociological Association states that researchers:

Must protect the privacy of subjects taking part in a research project

____________ is a way of understanding the world based on science.

Positivism.

Who was the U.S. sociologist who distinguished between the manifest and latent functions of social patterns?

Robert K. Merton

Which research method asks subjects to respond to a series of items in a questionnaire or an interview?

a survey

Three campus roommates are talking about why they are in college. A sociological view of going to college highlights the effect of:

age, class, and our place in history, because these are all ways in which society guides college attendance.

According to Lenski, the term "sociocultural evolution" refers to:

changes that occur as a society acquires new technology

What is the term for the beliefs, values, behavior, and material objects that together make up the way of life for a group of people?

culture

The fact that instant messaging is based on a new set of symbols shows us that:

culture changes over time.

A person who criticizes the Amish farmer as being "backward" for tilling his fields with horses and a plow instead of using a tractor is displaying:

ethnocentrism

Interpretive sociology refers to sociology that:

focuses on the meaning people attach to behavior.

After a wild night in town, you are arrested for drunk driving. As a result, you receive a DUI and a notice of termination from your place of employment. What have you just received?

formal negative sanctions.

In terms of social inequality, agrarian societies generally:

have much more inequality than less productive societal types

Because there is more social isolation in rural areas of the United States than in urban areas, we would expect suicide rates to be:

higher in rural areas

A sociologist using the gender-conflict approach might state that:

in many ways, men are in positions of power over women.

Sociology provides an advantage to students preparing for later careers by preparing them for work:

in teaching, criminal justice, business, and many other careers.

The United States is multicultural because:

in this country we find many different languages and ways of life.

Sociologists use the term "empirical evidence" to refer to:

information we can verify with our senses.

Cultural change is set in motion in three general ways. What are they?

invention, discovery, and diffusion

Building social relationships and creating tens of thousands of jobs are two of the ____________ of sports.

latent functions.

According to Emile Durkheim, categories of people with a higher suicide rate typically have:

lower social integration.

Cars, computers, and iPhones are all examples of which of the following?

material culture

The sociological perspective reveals that:

much of what passes for "common sense" in the United States turns out to be at least partly wrong.

In deciding what kinds of questions to ask in their research, sociologists are guided by:

one or more theoretical approaches.

What concept did Durkheim use to refer to social bonds, which are strong among members of industrial society and are based on specialization and mutual interdependence?

organic solidarity

The social-conflict approach draws attention to:

patterns of social inequality.

A manifest function of sports is:

providing recreation and physical conditioning.

While one dominant key value of U.S. culture is the right to equal opportunity and freedom, another contradictory value is:

racism and group superiority

The fact that some married men and married women are sexually unfaithful to their spouses is an example of ____________ culture, while the fact that most adults say they support the idea of sexual fidelity is an example of ____________ culture.

real; ideal

As the suffering of proletariat workers became worse, Marx predicted that they would:

rise up against the capitalist system.

A small number of people that are used to represent a much larger population is called a:

sample

Critical sociology:

seeks to bring out desirable social change.

Emile Durkheim saw society as a system "beyond us" with the power to guide our lives. Therefore, he described elements of society that guide behaviors, including cultural norms, values and beliefs as:

social facts.

The ____________ approaches are macro-level, describing society in broad terms.

structural-functional and social-conflict.

The theoretical approach in sociology that assumes society is a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability is the:

structural-functional approach.

Harley Davidson motorcycle riders, computer programmers, and jazz musicians all display ____________ patterns.

subcultural

Weber traced the origins and success of the capitalist economy in Europe to:

the Protestant Ethic and the Calvinist belief system.

Karl Marx argued that the dominant social institution is:

the economy

As Marx used this concept, "alienation" meant:

the negative experience of isolation and job specialization resulting from industrialization.

The basic idea of the symbolic-interaction approach is that society is:

the product of people interacting in countless everyday situations.

Which theoretical approach would highlight the fact that, on average, African American families have less income than white families?

the race-conflict approach.

Among the historical changes that stimulated the development of sociology as a discipline was:

the rise of the industrial economy and growth of cities.

The distinction between high culture and popular culture is based mostly on:

the social standing of the people who display the cultural pattern.

About 1.4 million immigrants enter the United States each year and many (including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gloria Estefan) have become well known. These facts support the conclusion that:

the world's nations are increasingly interconnected.

Comte described the earliest human societies as being at which stage of historical development?

theological stage.

A statement that explains how and why specific facts are related is called a(n):

theory.

Which of the following examples illustrates a micro-level focus?

two people on an airplane getting to know one another