Deck 1: The Study of Society

Question 1

According to your text,what distinguishes social sciences from fields such as journalism,medicine,or the law?

A) Social sciences are interested in human behavior.
B) Social sciences use a critical and systematic examination of evidence before reaching any conclusion.
C) Social sciences try to approach each research question from a position of moral neutrality.
D) Social sciences are interested in society, not individuals.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

One of Spencer's biggest contributions to sociology was his:

A) model for understanding changing exploitative labor laws.
B) study of the unfair treatment of women.
C) caution to sociologists to put aside their biases, opinions, and wishes when conducting research.
D) development of the concept of economic determinism.

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The ability to see the intimate realities of our own lives in the context of common social structures is what C.Wright Mills refers to as:

A) common human drama.
B) the family.
C) the sociological imagination.
D) a social script.

Answer 3

C

Question 4

Spencer believed:

A) the environment will adapt to society.
B) there is one best way to organize society.
C) society is an adaptation to its environment.
D) all parts of society work separately.

Question 5

The social sciences rely on empirical research.This means that they:

A) are very philosophical.
B) are less scientific that other fields such as journalism and medicine.
C) are based on systematic examination of evidence.
D) use research methods that are very different from those used in the sciences.

Question 6

The credit for founding the discipline of sociology is given to:

A) Thomas Hobbes.
B) Émile Durkheim.
C) Auguste Comte.
D) Herbert Spencer.

Question 7

According to Marx,the most basic element of any human society is:

A) the family.
B) religion.
C) laws.
D) the economic system.

Question 8

Sociology is defined in your text as the systematic study of:

A) mental cognition.
B) the biological difference between individuals.
C) human social interaction.
D) individual human behavior.

Question 9

In what way were Marx and Durkheim similar?

A) Both worked as professors in elite universities.
B) Both lived in exile for a time.
C) They both rejected the society of their time.
D) They lived and worked at the same time.

Question 10

Sociologists are most inclined to explain behavior in terms of:

A) individual personality characteristics.
B) roles and social structures.
C) the biological differences between people.
D) individual attitudes.

Question 11

The belief that the social world can be studied with the same scientific accuracy and assurance as the natural world is known as:

A) relativism.
B) cause and effect.
C) methodology.
D) positivism.

Question 12

According to C.Wright Mills,the difficulties that John and Mary experience in their marriage represent a personal trouble.The fact that 250 out of every 1000 marriages ends in divorce within the first 4 years,however,is:

A) a public issue.
B) a sign of moral collapse.
C) a latent dysfunction of marriage.
D) meaningless.

Question 13

Much of Durkheim's scholarly work was devoted to understanding:

A) social conflict.
B) the stability of society.
C) personal troubles of individuals.
D) the economic causes of behavior.

Question 14

According to Comte,understanding society requires recognizing forces for stability and order,as well as change.Today,sociologists refer to these using the terms:

A) social structure and social process.
B) continuity and change.
C) social conflict and social order.
D) symbolic interaction and social interaction.

Question 15

The sociological imagination does all of the following EXCEPT:

A) offer a new way to look at social issues.
B) offer a new way to solve social issues.
C) suggest the benefit of considering the impact of social forces as well as personal choices.
D) suggest that individuals bear no responsibility for their choices.

Question 16

According to Marx,what was necessary for social change?

A) conflict between groups with opposing economic interests
B) working with politicians
C) change within the family
D) through working with the leadership of the church

Question 17

Which of these conditions contributed to the early development of sociology?

A) a period of stability that gave people time to reflect about society
B) changes brought by the Industrial Revolution
C) the need for reconstruction in the South following the Civil War
D) social and economic prosperity in Europe and America

Question 18

Public issues are different from personal troubles in that issues affect a:

A) few people and require personal adjustments.
B) few people and require structural adjustments.
C) large number of people and require personal adjustments.
D) large number of people and require structural adjustments.

Question 19

Which of the following is NOT a reason for the emergence of sociology as a field of study?

A) political changes
B) changing gender roles
C) economic change
D) intellectual upheavals

Question 20

Which theorist was among the first to stress the use of statistics?

A) Comte
B) Marx
C) Durkheim
D) Weber

Question 21

Which of the following is a manifest dysfunction of proms?

A) building school spirit
B) teachers and students bonding by complaining about prom to one another
C) highlighting economic divisions between students
D) angry students vandalizing the school

Question 22

Nobel Prize winner Jane Addams was concerned with using social science data to do all of the following EXCEPT:

A) provide services to the poor.
B) design a better juvenile justice system.
C) end slavery.
D) achieve better public sanitation.

Question 23

A teenager's parents divorce and as a result,neither parent has as much time to spend with her.She has the freedom to do whatever she wants whenever she wants,with little regulation.Unable to cope with the many changes,she takes her own life.This is _________ suicide.

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

Question 24

Which feature has NOT been a characteristic of the development of sociology in the United States?

A) concern for social problems
B) a reforming approach
C) a radical approach
D) emphasis on the scientific method

Question 25

Weber argued that part of the ideological foundation for capitalism came from:

A) the dialectic.
B) changing modes of production.
C) Protestant religious values.
D) the American frontier.

Question 26

Which major theoretical perspective addresses the question of social organization and how it is maintained?

A) dramaturgy theory
B) structural?functional theory
C) conflict theory
D) symbolic interaction theory

Question 27

Weber emphasized all of the following EXCEPT:

A) the subjective meanings of social action.
B) a stress on social rather than economic causes of behavior.
C) being objective in research.
D) conflict as a mechanism of social change.

Question 28

Weber rejected Marx's view that economic factors determine all social factors,arguing that _______________ affect economic systems.

A) racial inequalities
B) social and religious values
C) family values
D) gender roles

Question 29

Based upon Durkheim's early research on suicide,one can expect that suicides may increase when society allows:

A) too little or too much freedom.
B) too little freedom only.
C) too much freedom only.
D) too much regulation only.

Question 30

According to Durkheim,_________ suicide occurs when the institutions of society provide too much regulation and allow too little individual freedom.

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

Question 31

_________ theory relies on the assumptions of stability,harmony,and evolution.

A) Conflict
B) Symbolic interaction
C) Structural-functional
D) Microsociology

Question 32

"Society is like an organism: the parts work in harmony to contribute to the maintenance of the whole. A healthy society is one that is stable." These statements are consistent with which theoretical perspective?

A) symbolic interaction
B) conflict theory
C) structural-functional
D) dialectic

Question 33

Value-free sociology is LEAST likely to be practiced by sociologists who:

A) are basic research scientists employed in universities.
B) are social activists who adhere to Marxist principles.
C) adhere to Weber's principles.
D) study social facts as advocated by Durkheim.

Question 34

Today,sociologists routinely do all of the following EXCEPT:

A) run for political office.
B) try to help alleviate social problems by studying them and sharing their results.
C) work with organizations that are working for social change.
D) take their research directly to the public, hoping to influence policy change.

Question 35

Consequences of social structures that are neither intended nor recognized are referred to by sociologists as:

A) latent functions.
B) manifest functions.
C) patterned regularities.
D) patterned irregularities.

Question 36

How does U.S.sociology differ from European sociology?

A) Our social problems are different.
B) Higher-degree sociology programs are more popular in the U.S.
C) U.S. sociology is has always been more theoretical than European sociology.
D) Higher-degree sociology programs are more popular in the U.S. than in Europe.

Question 37

Harvard graduate _________ devoted his career to collecting data about African Americans to combat racism.

A) Ralph Dahrendorf
B) Martin Luther King, Jr.
C) Emile Durkheim
D) W.E.B. DuBois

Question 38

Stabilizing or positive consequences of social structures that are intended and recognized are referred to by sociologists as:

A) latent functions.
B) manifest functions.
C) patterned regularities.
D) dysfunctions.

Question 39

Max Weber developed which approaches for sociology?

A) value-free stance
B) positivism and theories of statics and dynamics
C) adaptation and evolution
D) economic determinism and the dialectic

Question 40

The statement "sociology should be value?free" means that sociologists should be concerned with:

A) what is, rather than with what ought to be.
B) identifying the major values of a free society.
C) analyzing how values affect individual behavior.
D) making recommendations about how to make a better society.

Question 41

The idea that prostitution provides a sexual outlet for men who cannot compete in the marriage market is an example of which view of sociology?

A) structural-functional
B) conflict
C) symbolic interaction
D) feminist

Question 42

According to your text,a latent dysfunction of the "battered women's syndrome" defense may be that:

A) it gives legal recognition to the devastating effects of domestic violence.
B) women who successfully use the defense may find it difficult to retain custody of their children.
C) more women will leave their abusive husbands.
D) some offenders could use the defense as an excuse for malicious, premeditated attacks on a significant other.

Question 43

Macrosociology is NOT associated with which of the following?

A) conflict theory
B) structural-functional theory
C) symbolic interaction theory
D) the study of social structures

Question 44

Chapkis's study of prostitution suggests that prostitutes manage to maintain their self-esteem in spite of societal disapproval by:

A) indulging their unusual sexual tastes.
B) becoming adept at what they do sexually.
C) keeping a distance between their emotions and their work.
D) maintaining a low profile and avoiding arrest.

Question 45

Mary became a prostitute because it was one of the few occupations that would allow her to escape poverty.Mary's use of sex as a scarce resource is explained by which sociological perspective?

A) conflict theory
B) dramaturgy
C) trade theory
D) situational theory

Question 46

Which of the following is NOT a basic assumption of the conflict perspective?

A) Change is a gradual process of social evolution.
B) Social relationships are based on economic competition.
C) Inequalities are built into social structures.
D) Social change is the result of conflict and competition.

Question 47

According to the arguments presented in the text,the possibility that the new "battered women's syndrome" laws may perpetuate the view that women are irrational is a:

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

Question 48

According to conflict theory,conflict between competing interests results in:

A) social change.
B) adaptation of the less powerful.
C) adaptation of the more powerful.
D) evolution.

Question 49

Your text concludes that the best theoretical perspective to use in studying human social interaction:

A) is structural-functional theory.
B) is symbolic interaction theory.
C) is conflict theory.
D) depends on which the sociologist feels is more appropriate for the topic being studied.

Question 50

Marie grew up in Spanish Harlem with a household income slightly above poverty level.John's family makes $150,000 a year.Who would be most likely to study Marie and John's individual attitudes and behavior?

A) symbolic interactionist
B) conflict theorist
C) structural functionalist
D) social theorist

Question 51

A sociologist approaching the study of domestic violence from a _________ perspective might be interested in how boys are socialized to consider aggression a natural part of being male and that translates into aggression in their intimate relationships.

A) conflict theory
B) structural-functional
C) symbolic interaction
D) sociobiology

Question 52

Conflict theorists primarily want to know how social structures:

A) give some people unequal access to scarce resources.
B) contribute to the maintenance of society.
C) evolve and become patterned regularities of society.
D) contribute to meeting individual needs through competition.

Question 53

Sociology differs from other methods of acquiring knowledge in that it:

A) requires empirical evidence.
B) is systematic.
C) is divorced from common sense.
D) is modern.

Question 54

What would a sociologist need to be convinced that religious intermarriage increases the likelihood of divorce?

A) know a couple who divorced because of religious differences
B) see data showing that couples where the partners are from difference religious backgrounds have higher divorce rates
C) a good argument that makes common sense for why religious differences lead to divorce
D) get married to someone with religious views different from their own to see if conflict arises

Question 55

Structural-functional analysis tends to call structures that preserve the status quo _________ and those that challenge the status quo as _________.

A) functions; dysfunctions
B) dysfunctions; functions
C) undesirable; desirable
D) operational structures; disruptive structures

Question 56

If a symbolic interactionist analyzed the Super Bowl,s/he would probably focus on:

A) what meanings the individual players assign to winning or losing.
B) differences in the organization of the two teams.
C) conflict between owners, managers, and players over salary.
D) evolution and change within each team's structure.

Question 57

Which theoretical perspective is most likely to focus on how inequality,competition,tension,and antagonisms in the social structure are likely to create pressures for social change?

A) structural?functional theory
B) symbolic interaction theory
C) conflict theory
D) value-free sociology

Question 58

Symbolic interaction theory addresses:

A) social change produced through competition and conflict.
B) how social organization results from interaction.
C) the importance of social activism to produce social change.
D) the creation and communication of the shared meanings associated with human acts.

Question 59

One of the major premises underlying symbolic interactionism is that:

A) the social structure determines human behavior.
B) rules and regulations guide society.
C) shared symbolic meanings grow out of human interaction.
D) some actions have fixed and non-negotiable meanings.

Question 60

According to Kingsley Davis,a manifest function of prostitution is that it:

A) provides a sexual outlet for men who cannot compete in the marriage market.
B) protects the bargaining position of married women.
C) increases sexual crimes of violence.
D) keeps many women off the streets.

Question 61

When gathering data,the cause is known as the _________ and the effect is known as the _________.

A) dependent variable; independent variable
B) operation definition; variable
C) independent variable; dependent variable
D) variable; operation definition

Question 62

The scientific process can BEST be viewed as:

A) an arrow that goes straight from hypothesis to data to generalization.
B) a frame which allows us to better see the meaning of data.
C) a precision instrument which allows us to separate theory from fact.
D) a wheel that moves continuously from theory to data and back again.

Question 63

Alan and Wayne hypothesize that high school-age boys who have jobs after school will have lower grades.The dependent variable in their study is:

A) employment status.
B) grades in school.
C) kind of school attended.
D) sex.

Question 64

_________ are characteristics that vary across individuals or groups.

A) Variables
B) Differentials
C) Probabilities
D) Generalizations

Question 65

The exact procedures we use to describe how a variable is to be measured are called:

A) analysis decisions.
B) operational definitions.
C) measurement theory.
D) classification schemes.

Question 66

A correlation between two variables tells us:

A) that one variable causes the other.
B) why the relationship exists.
C) which variable is more important than the other.
D) that there is an empirical relationship between the two variables.

Question 67

The research process usually follows which order?

A) stating the problem, gathering the data, finding patterns, generating theory
B) gathering data, finding patterns, stating the problem, generating theory
C) finding patterns, stating the problem, generating theory, gathering data
D) gathering data, generating theory, finding patterns, stating the problem

Question 68

Goldilocks finds that there is a positive correlation between the presence of baby bears and her level of comfort.This means that:

A) there is an empirical relationship between the two variables.
B) Goldilocks is afraid of bears.
C) the presence of baby bears causes Goldilocks to feel comfortable.
D) there is a cause-effect relationship between the two variables, but we cannot be sure which causes which.

Question 69

The variable in a hypothesis that precedes or causes a change in the other variable in the hypothesis is called the _________ variable.

A) sample
B) dependent
C) independent
D) causal

Question 70

A theory:

A) is fully supported by empirical evidence.
B) is beyond empirical test.
C) goes beyond the facts currently at hand.
D) is only based on common sense and opinions.

Question 71

According to your text,sociology:

A) is not much different from common sense.
B) is the only way to understand human behavior.
C) almost always contradicts common sense conclusions.
D) critically examines common sense explanations of human social behavior.

Question 72

A researcher expects to find an empirical relationship between the amount of time young children spend in daycare and their emotional security.Her statement that "young children who spend their early years in daycare are more emotionally secure than those that stay at home with a parent" is her:

A) hypothesis.
B) assumption.
C) theory.
D) operational definition.

Question 73

The most difficult task in sampling is:

A) getting an accurate list of the population under study.
B) introducing a control variable.
C) interpreting frequencies.
D) interviewing people.

Question 74

All of the following are drawbacks of experiments EXCEPT:

A) they may be unethical.
B) subjects often behave differently in an experiment.
C) since they occur in unnatural environments, it is difficult to generalize from them.
D) they are unable to explore cause and effect.

Question 75

The two major goals of research are:

A) description and prediction.
B) generalization and description.
C) control and prediction.
D) description and explanation.

Question 76

Which of the following is an example of a hypothesis?

A) Men should share in household chores.
B) You can catch more flies with honey than you can with vinegar.
C) The meek shall inherit the earth.
D) Learning should be fun.

Question 77

Which of the following is an operational definition?

A) Intelligence is defined as the ability to make sense out of your environment.
B) Ambition is defined as the desire to excel.
C) Education is defined as completed years of formal schooling.
D) Social class is defined as one's ranking in the stratification hierarchy.

Question 78

You have been asked to help draw a sample of students with the object being to evaluate a newly proposed grading system.Which statement would you want to guide your sample selection?

A) With a population of 25,000 students, a sample of 25 is okay.
B) Since seniors are more experienced, only include seniors in the sample.
C) Randomly select a sample of 500 students from all students affected by the new grading system.
D) A random sample of 500 students from among those taking a sociology course will be used.

Question 79

The research process that starts with data and builds into theories is called:

A) deduction.
B) survey research.
C) correlation.
D) induction.

Question 80

Sylvia draws a sample from a complete list of individuals over the age of 65 who are members of Ravenna Presbyterian Church in Pacific City.Her results can be generalized to:

A) all Presbyterians.
B) all members of Ravenna Presbyterian.
C) all older members of Ravenna Presbyterian.
D) the individuals she studies.