Deck 1: The Sociological Perspective

Question 1

Herbert Spencer believed the most capable and intelligent members of a society would survive while the weak and "less fit" would die, thus improving society, in a master plan that he called "survival of the fittest."

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Sociologists have always agreed that the most important goal of sociology is to generate social change.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

According to the principles of symbolic interactionism, symbols not only allow relationships to exist, they also allow society to exist.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

Because sociology is based on common sense, it is an excellent discipline for students to study who approach the world in a rational, matter-of-fact way.

Question 5

Despite her acclaimed research on social life, until recently Harriet Martineau was best known for translating Comte's works on sociology into English.

Question 6

C. Wright Mills urged American sociologists to concentrate on social reform, developing the concept of the power elite to illustrate how top leaders of business, politics, and the military were an imminent threat to American freedom.

Question 7

Emile Durkheim identified the degree of social integration as the primary variable to explain different rates of suicide within different European nations.

Question 8

Because of their training and expertise, sociologists often stress their personal values in their research.

Question 9

Applying the scientific method to the social world is called empiricism.

Question 10

According to Max Weber, the "sign" Calvinists looked for as an indication they were saved was their successful investment in capital.

Question 11

Booker T. Washington was the first African American to earn a doctorate degree from Harvard University.

Question 12

Sociologist Lewis Coser pointed out that conflict is most likely to develop among people who are in close relationships.

Question 13

The corners of life that people occupy such as jobs, income, education, gender, age, and race are referred to as the social imperative.

Question 14

Frances Perkins, a sociologist, won the Nobel Prize for her work with the homeless in Hull-House.

Question 15

In the early 20th century, the University of Chicago dominated the field of sociology.

Question 16

Sociologists who use the functionalist perspective stress how industrialization and urbanization have undermined the traditional functions of the family.

Question 17

Anthropology, economics, political science, psychology, and sociology are all appropriately classified as social sciences.

Question 18

How people interpret their situation in life, how they view what they are doing, and how they perceive what is happening to them, is referred to as their objective meaning of life.

Question 19

The first goal of any scientific discipline is to discover the pattern, or reoccurring characteristics, of the phenomena under study.

Question 20

Karl Marx thought of himself as a classical sociologist, a label that greatly influenced his theories on class conflict.

Question 21

The notion that only the fittest members of society deserve to survive and that social programs to help the poor will ultimately weaken the social order is a doctrine known as ________.

A) social Darwinism
B) positivism
C) post-modernism
D) social welfare

Question 22

The theorist who is sometimes referred to as "the second founder of sociology" was ________.

A) Henri Saint Simon
B) Herbert Spencer
C) Emile Durkheim
D) Karl Marx

Question 23

Which of the following elements did C. Wright Mills attribute as being the one that sociologists would use to explain individual behavior?

A) common sense
B) instinct
C) external influence
D) inherited ability

Question 24

Of the following, which discipline is most appropriately classified as a natural science?

A) biology
B) economics
C) political science
D) cultural anthropology

Question 25

According to Max Weber, the Protestant ethic was a central factor in the birth of ________.

A) capitalism
B) democracy
C) socialism
D) bureaucracy

Question 26

The social science discipline that concentrates on the study of artifacts, social structure, ideas, values, and forms of communication is ________.

A) political science
B) social physics
C) anthropology
D) psychology

Question 27

The sociological perspective emphasizes how the social context influences people's lives, particularly how people are influenced by ________.

A) random chance events
B) geographical location
C) inherited genetic structure
D) society

Question 28

The French sociologist Emile Durkheim is most identified with which of the following areas of study?

A) social integration
B) class conflict
C) social Darwinism
D) the spirit of capitalism

Question 29

When sociologists' group people into categories based on their age, gender, educational level, job, and income, they are trying to determine ________.

A) social network
B) social location
C) social personality
D) social skills

Question 30

What was the social event that most influenced Auguste Comte to explore patterns within society and become interested in what holds society together?

A) the discovery of the New World
B) the Spanish Inquisition
C) the Russian Revolution
D) the French Revolution

Question 31

Karl Marx believed that ________ was the central force for social change, while Max Weber believed that ________ was the force most responsible for social change.

A) economics; religion
B) education; political stability
C) government; economics
D) religion; education

Question 32

The concept that describes opening a window into unfamiliar worlds that allows us to understand human behavior by placing it within its broader social context is called ________.

A) the sociological perspective (or imagination)
B) social location
C) social integration
D) the social imperative

Question 33

The first goal of each scientific discipline is to ________.

A) explain why something happens
B) make generalizations about why things happen
C) look for patterns when things happen
D) predict what will happen in the future

Question 34

The term "survival of the fittest," which is a principle part of the concept of social Darwinism, was coined by ________.

A) Charles Darwin
B) Talcott Parsons
C) Auguste Comte
D) Herbert Spencer

Question 35

The Wall Street Journal has declared that the three greatest modern thinkers were ________, ________, and ________.

A) Karl Marx; Sigmund Freud; Albert Einstein
B) Max Weber; B. F. Skinner; J. Edgar Hoover
C) Karl Marx; Louis Pasteur; Albert Einstein
D) Frank Lloyd Wright; Jonas Salk; Sigmund Freud

Question 36

Karl Marx suggested that the force that drives human history and is at the core of human society is ________.

A) class conflict
B) religion
C) family
D) education

Question 37

The social thinker of the 19th century who predicted that there would be a classless society once the working class united and began a revolution was ________.

A) Emile Durkheim
B) C. Wright Mills
C) Herbert Spencer
D) Karl Marx

Question 38

The titles Karl Marx used to describe the two classes in society were the ________ and the ________.

A) nobles; peasants
B) bourgeoisie; proletariat
C) upper class; lower class
D) civilized; barbarians

Question 39

The sociologist responsible for suggesting the connection between history and biography to explain the sociological imagination was ________.

A) Talcott Parsons
B) Herbert Spencer
C) C. Wright Mills
D) Emile Durkheim

Question 40

The first person to propose that the scientific method could be applied to the study of social life was ________.

A) Emile Durkheim
B) Max Weber
C) Karl Marx
D) Auguste Comte

Question 41

Functionalists refer to how parts of a society fit together to form a whole as ________.

A) a symbol
B) a synthesis
C) an integration
D) a structure

Question 42

More than twenty years prior to the birth of Durkheim and Weber, Society in America, an analysis of American social customs, was published by sociologist ________.

A) W. I. Thomas
B) W. E. B. Du Bois
C) Harriet Martineau
D) Ernest Burgess

Question 43

What distinction did sociologist Frances Perkins hold in American history?

A) She was the first woman president of the American Sociological Association.
B) She won a Nobel Prize for her work with poor women.
C) She was the first woman elected governor.
D) She was the first woman to hold a presidential cabinet position.

Question 44

The two sociologists who referred to society as being a kind of living organism were _______ and ________.

A) Auguste Comte; Emile Durkheim
B) Karl Marx; Max Weber
C) Auguste Comte; Herbert Spencer
D) Emile Durkheim; Max Weber

Question 45

What quality did Max Weber stress as being the hallmark of social research?

A) subjective assessment
B) sympathetic understanding
C) value neutrality
D) capital investment

Question 46

The scientific method requires ________, repeating a study in order to compare the new research results with the original findings.

A) replication
B) ethnography
C) triangulation
D) correlation

Question 47

The sociologist who developed the concept of the power elite was ________.

A) C. Wright Mills
B) Talcott Parsons
C) Robert K. Merton
D) F. Ivan Nye

Question 48

Sociologists who analyze how social life depends on the ways that people define themselves and others are most likely ________.

A) ethnomethodologists
B) functionalists
C) conflict theorists
D) symbolic interactionists

Question 49

During his career, Anthony has worked as a juvenile police officer, corrections counselor in a state prison, and executive director of an urban redevelopment program. In view of this, which description best describes Anthony's career path?

A) Anthony has been a pure sociologist.
B) Anthony has assumed the role of being a basic sociologist.
C) Anthony has been an applied sociologist.
D) Anthony has been a social reformer.

Question 50

Max Weber used the term Verstehen to mean ________.

A) to be value free
B) to grasp by insight
C) to embrace the principles of society
D) to need for human companionship

Question 51

Durkheim referred to patterns of behavior that characterize a social group as ________.

A) a social profile
B) stereotyping
C) social integration
D) social facts

Question 52

According to symbolic interactionists, the deciding factor that determines if change in society is good or bad requires ________.

A) an understanding of who may have benefited from the change
B) an understanding of who may have been victimized by the change
C) a framework or context from which to view the meaning of the change
D) a macroanalytical focus of the extent and duration of the change

Question 53

The American sociologist who focused on social analysis, developing abstract models showing how parts of society harmoniously work together, was ________.

A) Talcott Parsons
B) Ernest Burgess
C) Robert E. Park
D) W. I. Thomas

Question 54

Dr. Zahn's academic interest is analyzing various aspects of society and publishing his findings in sociological journals. In view of this, Dr. Zahn is considered to be a(n) ________ sociologist.

A) applied
B) practical
C) basic (or pure)
D) reform

Question 55

Because of her outstanding contributions to social reform, as demonstrated in her work as co-founder of Hull-House, ________ was a co-winner of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1931.

A) Marion Talbot
B) Charlotte Perkins Gilman
C) Alice Paul
D) Jane Addams

Question 56

The book published by W. E. B. Du Bois in 1899 that analyzed how African Americans in a major United States city coped with racism was ________.

A) The Souls of Black Folk
B) White Over Black
C) The Philadelphia Negro
D) The Crisis

Question 57

Sociology first took root as an academic discipline at _______ in 1890.

A) the University of Pennsylvania
B) the University of Kansas
C) Stanford University
D) Princeton University

Question 58

The first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard University, who spent his lifetime studying race relations in America and was one of the founders of the NAACP, was ________.

A) W. E. B. Du Bois
B) Booker T. Washington
C) George Washington Carver
D) Benjamin Quarles

Question 59

What did Robert E. Park, Ernest Burgess, and George Herbert Mead have in common?

A) They were among the first faculty members in the sociology department at the University of Chicago.
B) They were all sociologists who won Nobel Prizes for their work in social reform.
C) They all established major disciplines in sociology while at Harvard University.
D) They co-authored the textbook, Principles of Sociology.

Question 60

The university that dominated sociology as an academic discipline when Albion Small headed the department was ________.

A) the University of California at Berkeley
B) Harvard University
C) Princeton University
D) the University of Chicago

Question 61

The social science closely related to sociology, which traditionally focuses on the study of tribal peoples, is called ________.

Question 62

People all over the world, including college students, are breaking down national boundaries because of advances in communication, trade, and travel. This is referred to as ________.

A) multiculturalism
B) colonialism
C) neo-colonialism
D) globalization

Question 63

Mark views society as a system of interrelated parts, while John views society as composed of groups competing for scarce resources. Mark would be considered a(n) ________ and John would be seen as a(n) ________.

A) symbolic interactionist; functionalist
B) applied sociologist; functionalist
C) basic sociologist; applied sociologist
D) functionalist; conflict theorist

Question 64

Cindy is interested in how the movement of Maytag production plants and other industries from the Midwest to Mexico has changed the lives of thousands of unemployed workers and their communities. Cindy is conducting a ________ analysis.

A) macro-level
B) pure
C) micro-level
D) symbolic

Question 65

The contemporary conflict sociologist who pointed out that conflict is most likely to develop among people in close relationships was ________.

A) Lewis Coser
B) Ralf Dahrendorf
C) William Domhoff
D) Howard Winet

Question 66

At the first meeting of the American Sociological Society, attendees discussed the primary reason for sociology as the practical application to the improvement of social life. This goal of sociology was aligned with the discipline's ________ stage of development in the United States.

A) first
B) second
C) third
D) fourth

Question 67

College provides a haven for several million potential workers who are classified as "students" rather than "unemployed," which helps stabilize the job market. This situation represents what Merton would describe as a ________.

A) manifest function
B) latent dysfunction
C) manifest dysfunction
D) latent function

Question 68

In addressing the sociological perspective, what did C. Wright Mills mean by "history"?

Question 69

What is the scientific method?

Question 70

According to Robert Merton, ________ are the intended beneficial consequences of people's actions.

A) latent functions
B) manifest dysfunctions
C) manifest functions
D) latent dysfunctions

Question 71

What is social location?

Question 72

The prevailing ideas in society, the things that "everyone knows" as true, are collectively referred to as ________.

Question 73

Functionalists and conflict theorists tend to focus on the ________, or large scale patterns of society, in conducting their analyses.

A) macro level
B) micro level
C) symbolic level
D) interactionist level

Question 74

Which sociological perspectives are best to use in developing an accurate understanding of society?

A) structural functionalism and the conflict perspective
B) symbolic interactionism and structural functionalism
C) symbolic interactionism and the conflict perspective
D) No single perspective is best, so all three must be utilized.

Question 75

Which groups of social theorists would focus most on macro-level analysis when examining patterns of society?

A) symbolic interactionists and structural functionalists
B) symbolic interactionists and conflict theorists
C) conflict theorists and structural functionalists
D) conflict theorists and symbolic interactionists

Question 76

Sue is an expert in interpreting gestures, silence, the use of space, and expressions people make in their daily interactions. In view of this, how would Sue's expertise be defined?

A) Sue is a social linguist.
B) Sue is an expert in multiculturalism.
C) Sue recognizes the importance of globalization.
D) Sue is an expert in nonverbal interaction.

Question 77

The two goals of a scientific discipline are to ________ and ________.

Question 78

What is the primary difference between the social and natural sciences?

Question 79

Herbert Spencer suggested that to help lower classes is to interfere with the natural process of "survival of the fittest." This concept was the key element in his view of the evolution of society, called ________.

Question 80

Capitalism is becoming the world's dominant economic system. This is referred to as ________.

A) globalization
B) economic diffusion
C) globalization of capitalism
D) globalization of economics