Deck 1: What Is Sociology

Question 1

The following is not an example of a possible social fact

A) ethnicity
B) gender
C) religion
D) marital status
E) personality

Answer 1

E

Question 2

Some microsociologists use ________ to explain social phenomena, based on the premise that people experience rewards and punishments through their interactions with others, and thus, mutually shape each other's behaviour.

Answer 2

learning theory

Question 3

Anomic suicides are likely to be found in societies marked by

A) overregulation of norms
B) insufficient rules and regulations
C) underattachment to rigid norms
D) excessively strong social ties
E) social isolation among citizens

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to Auguste Comte, the development of sociology as a discipline was made possible by:

A) the rise of democracy
B) increasing family sizes
C) the green revolution
D) the Black Death
E) the decline of religion

Question 5

________ suicides are found in societies marked by insufficient regulations, a condition that might arise in times of extensive or rapid social change.

Question 6

According to the functionalist perspective, occasional, temporary, and minor problems in society are called ________.

Question 7

Credited by some as the founder of sociology ________ ________ saw sociology as both a religion and a science.

A) Karl Marx
B) Emile Durkheim
C) Pierre Trudeau
D) John Porter
E) Auguste Comte

Question 8

Durkheim maintained that ________ links, found more frequently in some groups than in others, act as buffers against suicide.

Question 9

________ approaches in sociology often mix different sociological perspectives, with the exception of functionalism.

Question 10

________ is the study of social behaviour and relationships.

Question 11

Conflict theory suggests that ________ holds a society together.

Question 12

________ argued that although Canada may be an ethnic and cultural mosaic, it is an unequal or vertically stratified one.

Question 13

Suppose that a young woman belonging to a self-segregated religious sect fell in love and wanted to marry an individual outside the group. Suppose further that intense social pressures not to marry outside the group were brought to bear upon this woman by other group members. These pressures were so intense that she felt that she was trapped and that she had no alternatives. Finally, suppose this woman resolved her situation by suicide. What type of suicide would this be?

A) anomic
B) egoistic
C) altruistic
D) fatalistic
E) spiritualistic

Question 14

________ argued that contemporary society is held together by capitalist domination.

Question 15

The general position of ________ is that if something persists in society, especially in spite of widespread disapproval, it is because that particular social arrangement somehow benefits society.

Question 16

Although some sociology existed prior to the eighteenth century, the French and ________ Revolutions kindled its modern development.

Question 17

Durkheim called the social sources of behaviour ________.

Question 18

McLuhan proposed the important original idea that changes in the dominant ________ of communication affected political, social and cultural change in human history.

Question 19

________ claim that unlike other animals, humans think and interact on the basis of information encoded in strings of symbols.

Question 20

In the functionalist perspective the natural state of a society is ________, a stability based on a balance among parts and consensus.

Question 21

Certain medical services can be bought at private clinics. How would conflict theory view the presence of a two-tiered health care system in Canada?

Question 22

Marx argued that society is held together by:

A) capitalist domination
B) organic solidarity
C) government
D) the rule of law
E) social glue

Question 23

The understanding that a person will allocate time and effort to maximize the satisfaction obtained from last unit or course of action is part of ________ theory.

A) feminist
B) conflict
C) rational choice
D) economic
E) social identity

Question 24

Feminist sociology treats ________ as its main focus, because it crosscuts all aspects of social life.

A) gender
B) symbolism
C) conflict
D) function
E) game theory

Question 25

Consider the social phenomenon of chronic substance abuse. Describe the persistence of chronic substance from a: 1) functionalist point of view, and 2) conflict theory point of view.

Question 26

Conflict theorists argue that ________ is society's natural state.

A) stasis
B) social agreement
C) dysfunction
D) interaction
E) conflict

Question 27

John Porter argued that because of the continued inequality existing among its various ethnic groups, the country should be best viewed as a:

A) vertical mosaic
B) technocracy
C) pluralist democracy
D) reflection of the American experience
E) an industrialized society

Question 28

The general ________ position is that if something exists in society in spite of widespread disapproval, as in the case of prostitution, then it must serve a function.

A) conflict
B) traditionalist
C) interactionist
D) Marxist
E) functionalist

Question 29

According to Innis, the development of Canada has been greatly influenced by:

A) issues of separatism
B) questions derived from the symbolic interactionist viewpoint
C) changes in demand for "staple" products
D) French-Canadian society
E) anti-Americanism

Question 30

What elements do feminist "sociologies" have in common?

Question 31

According to Weber, in order to understand society, sociologists must be able to:

A) understand the nature of conflict and cooperation
B) put oneself in the place of those they study
C) develop a spirit of capitalism
D) provide behavioural therapy for their research subjects
E) forsake deep religious conviction

Question 32

During the 1970s, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada began a campaign to:

A) enforce mandatory retirement for aging professors
B) establish private universities
C) encourage leadership
D) eliminate the oppression of women
E) Canadianize university curricula

Question 33

Which of the following statements does NOT describe a feminist approach to sociology?

A) based on the assumption of gender inequality
B) often mixes different sociological perspectives
C) the physical causes of global warming often interdisciplinary
D) often incorporates functionalism
E) often associated with activism

Question 34

According to functionalists, society's ability to adapt to dysfunctions, and return to a more balanced state is called:

A) harmony
B) equity
C) equilibrium
D) structuralism
E) homeostasis

Question 35

Which of the following represent problems that can NOT be studied using a sociological approach?

A) the consequences of globalization
B) the physical causes of global warming
C) the future of Canadian federalism
D) the continued existence of discrimination
E) the effects of resource depletion on societies

Question 36

Both functionalism and conflict theory are ________ approaches to understanding society.

A) economical
B) coercive
C) exploitative
D) macro
E) micro

Question 37

According to symbolic interactionists, people act toward things on the basis of:

A) cryptic symbols
B) the meaning such things have for them
C) instinct.
D) whether or not they will be caught
E) biological reflex.

Question 38

Choose any two types of suicide described by Durkheim. Under what social conditions does each arise?

Question 39

In conducting their research, many microsociologists emphasize:

A) the epistemological
B) the subjective over the objective
C) the biological attributes of actors
D) the autonomy of human behaviour
E) the use of quantitative research methods

Question 40

Why is symbolic interactionism described as a micro-perspective in sociology?

Question 41

Conflict theory suggests that power holds a society together.

Question 42

In the functionalist perspective, equilibrium, a stability based on a balance among parts and consensus, is seen as the natural state of a society.

Question 43

During the 1970s, the Association of Universities and Colleges of Canada began a campaign to forge further links with Universities in the United States and "Americanize" sociology departments in Canada.

Question 44

The feminist perspective of sociology tends to be more accepting of using a broad range of sociological approaches to research.

Question 45

Altruistic suicides occur in subgroups of people within a society who feel socially isolated

Question 46

Psychology is the study of individual, internal processes, such as drives and motives.

Question 47

Marx argued that contemporary society is held together by socialist domination.

Question 48

According to the functionalist perspective, occasional, temporary, and minor problems in society are called "bad hair days".

Question 49

Most sociologists agree that behaviour can be fully predicted by common experiences that arise from group membership.

Question 50

Fatalistic suicides occur in societies with very few rules and unlimited options.

Question 51

In the early development of sociology in Canada, both English and French communities were influenced by the human ecology approach developed by Park and McKenzie.

Question 52

Functionalists claim that unlike other animals, humans think and interact on the basis of information encoded in strings of symbols.

Question 53

Social facts are traits shared between group members that point to explanations for certain behaviours.

Question 54

Both functionalism and conflict theory are macro approaches to understanding society.