Deck 1: What Is Sociology?

Question 1

The significance of a sociological imagination is that:

A) sociology should be considered a philosophy rather than a science
B) sociologists are primarily interested in predicting the future
C) sociology attempts to connect individual experiences to a conception of a larger social structure
D) sociology is not concerned with empirical verification of theories
E) sociologists imagine that studying sociology will lead to social revolutions

Answer 1

C

Question 2

What does the term social structure refer to?

A) any building constructed by more than one person
B) the random events or actions that occur within a building or concrete structure
C) the mental state or personality of an individual
D) a regularity or pattern in people's behavior and relationships
E) a major feature of the natural landscape

Answer 2

D

Question 3

Socialization is the lifelong process through which we learn all of the following EXCEPT:

A) socially acceptable behavior
B) our genetic potential
C) social norms
D) distinct sense of self
E) cultural values

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to the sociological perspective,people's behavior:

A) is mostly a result of their personality
B) is entirely determined by the social context
C) has nothing to do with social context
D) is mostly a result of their genes
E) is influenced by the social context

Question 5

The college admissions process in the United States:

A) has been shaped by social and historical forces
B) has changed little over time, although the people who apply to college have changed dramatically
C) has shifted from favoring white applicants to restricting the number of white applicants
D) is not publicly available to analyze from a sociological perspective
E) involves only the consideration of the applicant's academic merit

Question 6

Which sociological theorist first used the word sociology to describe the science that seeks to understand human behavior?

A) Auguste Comte
B) Émile Durkheim
C) Karl Marx
D) Max Weber
E) W.E.B. Du Bois

Question 7

What is it called when we "think ourselves away" from the familiar routine to see things in a sociological perspective?

A) romanticism
B) sociological imagination
C) multiple personality disorder
D) globalization
E) unintended consequences

Question 8

The idea of a sociological imagination originated with:

A) Anthony Giddens
B) C. Wright Mills
C) Émile Durkheim
D) Karl Marx
E) Max Weber

Question 9

A student who is sitting quietly in a classroom and listening to his professor lecture is likely acting based on self-interest if he is:

A) hoping he will make a good impression on the professor so she will write him a good letter of recommendation
B) sitting at the back of the room completing the homework for another class
C) repeating the same behavior he learned in high school
D) hoping the lecture will go faster without interruption and the class will end early
E) taking detailed notes

Question 10

A child's father is likely to tell the child to "say thank-you" when the child receives a gift.This is an example of:

A) social construction
B) rationalization
C) socialization
D) familial interest
E) social structure

Question 11

The early sociology theorists often differed in their analyses of social behavior and social institutions.Nevertheless,Auguste Comte,Émile Durkheim,Karl Marx,and Max Weber strove to explain the new relationships that emerged as an outgrowth of the:

A) American Revolution
B) french Revolution
C) Russian Revolution
D) Industrial Revolution
E) Postindustrial Revolution

Question 12

Which sociologist showed that social factors exert a fundamental influence on suicidal behavior?

A) Anthony Giddens
B) Émile Durkheim
C) George Herbert Mead
D) Robert K. Merton
E) W.E.B. Du Bois

Question 13

According to Émile Durkheim,sociologists must study social facts,which are:

A) the ways in which people cooperate
B) what people report as the reasons for their behavior
C) aspects of social life that shape our individual actions
D) individual opinions
E) objects in nature

Question 14

from a sociological perspective,the love you feel for a romantic partner is:

A) a natural outgrowth of sexual desire
B) universally found in all societies where men and women live in close proximity
C) a product of particular historical and social circumstances
D) limited to persons of the opposite sex
E) restricted to those persons of marriageable age

Question 15

Having a _______________ allows one to understand the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world.

A) sociological imagination
B) rational choice perspective
C) global perspective
D) feminist perspective
E) Marxist perspective

Question 16

The sociological imagination encourages us to look at the way in which an individual's life is shaped by his or her social role,class,gender,and race.This emphasis on the position a person is born into is considered:

A) a Marxist perspective
B) a deterministic framework
C) an evolutionary framework
D) a multicultural perspective
E) a biological perspective

Question 17

What did Émile Durkheim call aspects of social life that influence and shape our individual actions?

A) social structure
B) social transformation
C) romantic love
D) unintended consequences
E) social facts

Question 18

What should knowledge of society be based on according to Auguste Comte?

A) religion
B) imagination
C) scientific evidence
D) miracles
E) tradition

Question 19

The norms,beliefs,and values that we learn through socialization make _______________ possible:

A) globalization
B) power struggles
C) social order
D) a single world order
E) revolution

Question 20

When sociologists visit college campuses,they witness a variety of behaviors and social relationships that are not necessarily immediately apparent to the members of the college community.The ability to interpret all the events taking place within the campus is referred to as:

A) theory
B) macrosociology
C) feminism
D) sociological romanticism
E) sociological imagination

Question 21

Which is NOT associated with the concept of anomie?

A) being disconnected from modern social life
B) a feeling of despair
C) a feeling of aimlessness
D) a form of control of morality
E) a feeling that one's life lacks meaning

Question 22

We can say that something is socially constructed when it is based on:

A) biological context
B) genetics
C) social intelligence
D) social context
E) objects in nature

Question 23

According to Karl Marx's materialist conception of history,which of the following would be considered a source of social change in society?

A) democratic political movements
B) the relationships between the working class and the owning class
C) acceptance of new religions
D) changes in family structure
E) gender inequality

Question 24

According to Émile Durkheim,the following would gradually replace religion as the source of social cohesion in society:

A) science
B) love
C) division of labor
D) capitalism
E) anomie

Question 25

According to Émile Durkheim,societies must have organic solidarity based on cooperation and a general agreement on basic values and customs in order to:

A) persist over time
B) survive in the face of globalization
C) have a functional division of labor
D) limit social conflict
E) slow modern social development

Question 26

Émile Durkheim analyzed the social changes transforming society in his lifetime in terms of:

A) "social physics"
B) the materialist conception of history
C) the rationalization of social and economic life
D) the division of labor
E) symbolic interactionism

Question 27

According to Karl Marx,the modern era is shaped primarily by:

A) anomie
B) bureaucracy
C) division of labor
D) capitalism
E) enemies of the state

Question 28

The way in which social structure limits the range of activities and opportunities in individuals' lives is called:

A) division of labor
B) anomie
C) organic solidarity
D) rationalization
E) social constraint

Question 29

Alan Krueger and Stacy Dale found in their 2002 study comparing the average yearly income of students who had been admitted to and attended an Ivy League college with the average yearly income of students who had been admitted to but not attended an Ivy League college that:

A) attending an elite institution guarantees future success
B) the individual matters, despite an apparent disparity in opportunities between Ivy League and non-Ivy League colleges
C) highly motivated students are far less likely to succeed if they attend a non-Ivy League college
D) institutional structures are always a greater determinant of success than personal ambition
E) non-Ivy League college graduates have a significantly higher average income than graduates of Ivy League college graduates

Question 30

Karl Marx differs from Émile Durkheim in that:

A) Marx concentrated on postindustrial society as opposed to industrial society
B) Marx argued that social change is caused by economic influences as opposed to values and ideas
C) Marx argued for a social physics and scientific understanding
D) Marx argued that social change causes anomie
E) Marx argued that suicide is a social act as opposed to a personal act

Question 31

According to Émile Durkheim,society is:

A) greater than the sum of individual acts
B) equal to the sum of individual acts
C) less than the sum of individual acts
D) indivisible into individual parts
E) inconceivable as a whole

Question 32

According to Max Weber,economic factors are very important to social change in society.What other variable is involved in social change?

A) ideas and values
B) cohesion
C) government
D) the ability to accept social change
E) gender

Question 33

Organic solidarity is:

A) how society operates naturally
B) when people disagree on basic values and customs but work together anyway
C) a source of social conflict in society
D) when the institutions of society function together as a whole
E) when all members of society engage in the exact same behaviors

Question 34

According to Émile Durkheim,social structure:

A) is part of our genetic makeup
B) acts as a mechanism of social constraint
C) is primarily a function of mechanical solidarity
D) is an anomie
E) exists only in a materialist conception of history

Question 35

The economic system in which conflict is inevitable because it is in the interest of the ruling class to exploit the working class and in the interest of workers to overcome that exploitation is called:

A) socialism
B) Marxism
C) feminism
D) communism
E) capitalism

Question 36

Which theorist examined society in terms of the history of class struggles?

A) Max Weber
B) Émile Durkheim
C) George Herbert Mead
D) Karl Marx
E) Auguste Comte

Question 37

According to Émile Durkheim,the rapid process of social change gives rise to many social difficulties that he linked to:

A) anomie
B) social conflict
C) war
D) loss of social constraint
E) the economy

Question 38

In Marxian analysis,which group makes up the largest component of society?

A) ruling class
B) capitalists
C) wage workers
D) aristocracy
E) the bourgeoisie

Question 39

Which of the following was a focus of Max Weber's research?

A) class struggles
B) the influence of cultural ideas and values on social change and individual behavior
C) the superiority of Western culture
D) the sense of aimlessness provoked by modern social life
E) how the economy determined social life

Question 40

Which early theorist saw class conflict as the main source of social change?

A) Émile Durkheim
B) Harriet Martineau
C) Karl Marx
D) Max Weber
E) W.E.B. Du Bois

Question 41

Who was the first female sociologist?

A) Émile Durkheim
B) Emily Dickinson
C) Harriet Martineau
D) Jean Baudrillard
E) Maxine Weber

Question 42

Harriet Martineau is significant to sociologists today for insisting that an analysis of society must include:

A) a focus on culture
B) an examination of economic factors
C) all of society's members, including women
D) the most powerful figures in a society
E) a scientific method

Question 43

Who had the greatest influence on the theoretical approach known as symbolic interactionism?

A) Auguste Comte
B) Émile Durkheim
C) Talcott Parsons
D) Jean Baudrillard
E) George Herbert Mead

Question 44

Minzee has just been promoted to head assistant of Technology Innovations for the Department of Sociology.She now reports directly to the chairperson of the Technology Committee.Minzee is in charge of digitizing movie clips and sending them to the chairperson,who then loads the clips onto the department Web site.This chain of command is an example of:

A) capitalism
B) social structure
C) social patterns
D) bureaucracy
E) structuration

Question 45

According to Max Weber,developments in modern science,technology,and bureaucracy are examples of the general social process that focuses on social,economic,and cultural life according to the principles of efficiency and technical knowledge.He terms this approach:

A) proletariatization
B) rationalization
C) humanistic approach
D) alienation approach
E) capitalism

Question 46

In the classical period of sociology,________ were rarely allowed to hold academic positions or to do sociological research,so their contributions have been neglected.

A) men
B) frenchmen
C) Germans
D) women and minorities
E) Europeans

Question 47

With the use of Internet technology,college students are able to more efficiently register for classes,check their grades,and access course material on class Web sites.Max Weber would say that this is an example of:

A) globalization
B) capitalism
C) rationalization
D) division of labor
E) anomie

Question 48

A variety of interpretations can be made of a scene at a restaurant where two men are having lunch together,laughing,and being playful with each other.Who among the following would most likely interpret their behavior by watching for subtle signs of affection and eye contact?

A) a structural-functionalist
B) a Marxist
C) a rational choice theorist
D) a Weberist
E) a symbolic interactionist

Question 49

Max Weber argued that it is misleading to attempt to study social phenomena as we do physics or biology and that it is more encompassing to:

A) approach sociological research and understanding using science and history
B) approach sociological research and understanding by acknowledging that humans are thinking and feeling individuals who attach meaning and significance to action
C) approach sociological research and understanding by applying the scientific method vigorously and not deviating from it
D) approach sociological research and understanding using bureaucracy as a model
E) approach the discipline of sociology as if it were a religion

Question 50

This type of organization causes problems for effective democratic participation according to Max Weber:

A) government
B) capitalism
C) rationalization
D) bureaucracy
E) religion

Question 51

Who said about American society,"The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line"?

A) Émile Durkheim
B) George Herbert Mead
C) Harriet Martineau
D) Robert K. Merton
E) W.E.B. Du Bois

Question 52

Which activist sociologist connected social analysis to social reform?

A) W.E.B. Du Bois
B) Max Weber
C) Émile Durkheim
D) Robert Merton
E) George Herbert Mead

Question 53

Who was the first sociologist to look at previously ignored issues,such as domestic life and race relations?

A) Émile Durkheim
B) Emily Dickinson
C) Harriet Martineau
D) Jean Baudrillard
E) Maxine Weber

Question 54

Max Weber contended that a bureaucratic structure is the most efficient organizational type.Which of the following exemplifies a bureaucratic organization?

A) the Beta chapter of Delta Gamma sorority
B) a block party in celebration of Independence Day
C) Girl Scout Troop Number 428
D) an introductory sociology class
E) the college or university you attend

Question 55

What would a symbolic interactionist say is involved in nearly all social interactions?

A) a conflict
B) an exchange of functions
C) an exchange of symbols
D) a feeling of despair or aimlessness
E) a rational choice

Question 56

According to W.E.B.Du Bois,African Americans' sense of self and identity are greatly influenced by the experiences of slavery and,after emancipation,segregation.Du Bois labeled this experience:

A) organic solidarity
B) rationalization
C) dialectical materialism
D) double consciousness
E) race and gender lens

Question 57

According to George Herbert Mead,what separates human society from the animal kingdom?

A) the ability to interpret the natural world
B) the ability to interpret and understand symbols
C) latent functions
D) manifest functions
E) organic solidarity

Question 58

The foundational figures in sociology developed theories to address social inequality,exploitation,and stratification,but at the same time they:

A) neglected to examine industrialization
B) ignored women and minorities
C) forgot to examine values and beliefs
D) ignored the role of religion in society
E) did not pay sufficient attention to capitalism

Question 59

What played the fundamental role in developing the capitalistic outlook according to Max Weber?

A) organic solidarity
B) specialization
C) religious values
D) symbolic interaction
E) feminism

Question 60

Robert K.Merton advocated that sociologists should develop more modest theories that would not attempt to encompass all of society.He termed these types of theories:

A) macro-level theories
B) micro-level theories
C) theories of the middle range
D) rational theories
E) manifest theories

Question 61

Which theoretical perspective perceives moral consensus within society as imperative for social integration?

A) functionalism
B) Marxism
C) symbolic interactionism
D) rational choice theory
E) feminism

Question 62

If a person or group is able to make their own concerns or interests count,even if others resist,that individual or group has:

A) power
B) ideology
C) symbolism
D) relative deprivation
E) rational choice

Question 63

The social cohesion that fans feel at a baseball game when their team wins is called:

A) an intended function
B) a manifest function
C) a symbolic function
D) a latent function
E) an obvious function

Question 64

In addition to sociological analysis,Marxist sociologists believe that sociology should also include:

A) political reform
B) focus on individual behavior
C) religious analysis
D) moral analysis
E) rationalization

Question 65

Drug trafficking and other illegal activities produce jobs and income for an underclass of Americans.Illegal activity in turn produces jobs in law enforcement,corrections,and the legal system.Who might say that drug trafficking has a useful place in society?

A) capitalists
B) postmodernists
C) functionalists
D) rational choice theorists
E) bureaucrats

Question 66

Which of the following is NOT one of the manifest functions of education?

A) Learn basic skills such as reading and writing.
B) Learn the skills needed to get a job.
C) Learn analytical skills such as critical thinking.
D) Learn computer and technology skills.
E) Learn to obey authority figures.

Question 67

Which theoretical approach uses the analogy of the human body in assessing the role of each part of society in the continuation of society as a whole?

A) Marxism
B) symbolic interactionism
C) functionalism
D) feminism
E) postmodernism

Question 68

The Interstate Highway System facilitated efficient movement of traffic in and around urban areas.The decline of the central city was the _______________ consequence of the highway system.

A) obvious
B) manifest
C) intended
D) latent
E) positive

Question 69

Approaching marriage as a way to maximize self-interest is an example of analysis that uses what type of theoretical understanding?

A) Marxism
B) feminist theory
C) rational choice approach
D) functionalism
E) postmodernism

Question 70

When sociological research and analysis are framed in the context of power and inequalities,the reader can assume that the research and analysis are variations of what type of theory?

A) symbolic interactionism
B) Marxism
C) functionalism
D) rationality theory
E) postmodernism

Question 71

According to Marxist sociologists,power is always closely linked to_______________,which are used to justify the actions of those with power:

A) rational thought
B) ideologies
C) symbols
D) political systems
E) solidarity

Question 72

Behavior that is oriented toward self-interest is often called:

A) affective action
B) effective action
C) higher values
D) habit
E) instrumental or rational action

Question 73

What do Marxism and feminism have in common?

A) Both focus on inequalities and conflict as central features of modern societies.
B) Neither sees advocating social change as an appropriate activity for sociologists.
C) Both reject the idea that subordinate groups are worthy of study.
D) Women originated both frameworks.
E) Marxism and feminism neglect to address political reform.

Question 74

An ideology is:

A) a set of laws that enforce the power of one group in society
B) a set of moral codes that form social cohesion in society
C) a political system that governs in the interest of dominant groups
D) a shared set of ideas or beliefs that justify the interest of dominant groups
E) the ability of individuals or a group to achieve aims or further their interests

Question 75

How would rational choice theorists define the behavior of corporate executives who outsource many jobs to countries where the cost of labor is substantially less than in the United States?

A) instrumental behavior
B) expressive behavior
C) random behavior
D) habitual behavior
E) affective behavior

Question 76

According to Robert K.Merton,the intended consequences of an activity or institution are called:

A) latent functions
B) manifest functions
C) desired functions
D) functional
E) organic solidarity

Question 77

Which theoretical approach places gender at the core of the theory?

A) feminist theory
B) functionalist theory
C) symbolic interactionism
D) rational choice theory
E) latent theory

Question 78

When one item is used to represent another,it is labeled a(n):

A) concept
B) theory
C) ideology
D) interpretation
E) symbol

Question 79

Early sociologists stressed the importance of science and value neutrality as a focus of sociology.More recently,theoretical frameworks have emerged that are directed at political action,not just explanation.Who among the following would most likely support the belief that sociology needs to be proactive?

A) functionalist Robert K. Merton
B) symbolic interactionist George Herbert Mead
C) social physicist Auguste Comte
D) feminist sociologist Judith Lorber
E) rational choice theorist Max Weber

Question 80

A sociologist who studies gang tattoos in American society to understand the meaning they hold for the gang members would be studying these tattoos as:

A) symbols
B) artifacts
C) concepts
D) values
E) ideologies