Deck 2: Studying the Family

Question 1

The Latin and Greek stems in the word sociology literally mean

A) The study of the processes of companionship.
B) The study of human kind.
C) A scientific approach to the study of people.
D) A disciplined and objective study of the human mind.
E) Lovers of wisdom.

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The assumption of objectivity in science implies that

A) Every scientific study will reveal unchanging truth.
B) Truth is whatever people think it is.
C) Scientists can prove whether or not God exists.
D) There is a truth to be discovered.
E) Self-reflection is the route to discovering truth.

Answer 2

D

Question 3

"Repetition of an experiment or procedure using the same process" is

A) Subjectivity.
B) Replication.
C) An hypothesis.
D) Positivism.
E) The anecdotal method.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

In the statement "In the United States, young married people have higher divorce rates than older married people," what is a variable?

A) Age of people.
B) Divorce rates.
C) The United States
D) All of the above
E) Only (a) and (b) above.

Question 5

Anecdotal data _____________.

A) Is widely considered a valid source of information in sociology.
B) Is relatively easy to test.
C) Can be very powerful.
D) Is usually representative of other people in the country.
E) All of the above.

Question 6

Those who see sociology as humanistic studies agree that

A) It is important for sociologists to be value free.
B) Truth resides in the object being studied.
C) Replication is an important part of sociological studies.
D) Sociologists should try to find ways of improving the human condition.
E) All of the above.

Question 7

The major advantage of controlled experiments is that

A) Large numbers of subjects can be studied.
B) Variables can be controlled and manipulated.
C) Studies are done in "real life" situations.
D) Results cannot be biased by the fact that people know they are being studied.
E) They are the most common source of information about families.

Question 8

The GSS interviews about 3,000 American households each time. The results of the questionnaire answers are analyzed using statistics. The GSS uses which method?

A) Controlled experiments.
B) Survey research.
C) Field research.
D) Unobtrusive research.
E) Program evaluation.

Question 9

Margaret Mead went to live among the Samoans for several weeks. She learned their language, observed their interactions, interviewed them, and recorded her observations. She was using what method?

A) Controlled experiments.
B) Survey research.
C) Field research.
D) Unobtrusive research.
E) Program evaluation.

Question 10

William Goode used published data on divorce rates from countries around the world. He looked for historical trends in those rates. Goode was using which method?

A) Unobtrusive research.
B) Analysis of existing statistics.
C) Field research.
D) Both (a) and (b) above.
E) None of the above.

Question 11

Properly done, program evaluation is most similar to which other method?

A) Controlled experiments.
B) Survey research.
C) Field research.
D) Unobtrusive research.
E) Content analysis.

Question 12

"The simplest functional units into which a culture is divided for purposes of analysis" are

A) Institutions.
B) Theories
C) Concepts
D) Culture traits.
E) Sub-cultures.

Question 13

Fundamental to sociological inquiry is that________.

A) People in groups are unpredictable.
B) Each person must be understood as a unique individual.
C) Social structure determines rates of events.
D) Sociological generalizations never have individual exceptions.
E) The important characteristics about people are those that are genetically inherited.

Question 14

Which of the following would probably NOT be studied by a macrosociologist?

A) Face-to-face interaction of a husband and wife.
B) Changes in divorce rates over time.
C) The effect of economic systems on average family size.
D) Comparison of suicide rates in Protestant and Catholic regions of Europe.
E) Mate-selection processes in the United States compared to those in China.

Question 15

Which of the following was NOT mentioned as a universal function of families?

A) Regulation and legitimization of reproduction.
B) Socialization of children.
C) Provide status and sense of belonging to individuals.
D) Provide economic cooperation.
E) Develop individualism and personal achievement.

Question 16

"A culture trait that has survived after its original function has disappeared" is a

A) Dysfunction.
B) Cultural survival.
C) Eufunction.
D) Retro.
E) Family value.

Question 17

The organismic analogy best applies to which theoretical perspective?

A) Conflict theory.
B) Functionalism.
C) Symbolic interactionism.
D) Developmental theory.
E) Social exchange theory.

Question 18

"The family-kin group was probably the first social institution. Then religion, politics, and education developed their own specialized institutions." This quote is referring to

A) The process of social differentiation.
B) The breakdown of the American family.
C) The process of institutionalization.
D) Socio-cultural de-evolution.
E) False teleology.

Question 19

If we divide society into groups of "haves" and "have-nots," we are probably using which theoretical perspective?

A) Symbolic interactionism.
B) Functionalism.
C) Conflict theory.
D) Developmental theory.
E) Social exchange theory.

Question 20

Which of the following was NOT listed as one of the five characteristics of feminist thought?

A) An androcentric focus.
B) Gender is a central concern of analysis.
C) Focus on social vulnerabilities and oppression of women.
D) Emphasis on praxis.
E) Distrust of the traditional model of objective science.

Question 21

"The method by which the majority of a society's members produce or develop the goods needed by the society" is the definition of

A) Ecological evolution.
B) Modes of production.
C) Functional traits.
D) Functional differentiation.
E) The political institution.

Question 22

If a society has plant cultivation, metallurgy, the plow, and use of iron, but not inanimate energy or electronic information, that society would be classified as

A) Postindustrial.
B) Industrial
C) Advanced agrarian.
D) Simple horticultural.
E) Hunting and gathering.

Question 23

A central concern in the ecological evolutionary framework is

A) Praxis.
B) Changes in technology.
C) Creation of meaning in daily interaction.
D) Finding out who the "haves" and "have-nots" are.
E) Gender differences.

Question 24

A certain scholar believes that the important thing about the traditional family is that it propagates class oppression. This scholar probably employs which theoretical perspective?

A) Ecological evolutionary.
B) Feminist thought.
C) Functionalism.
D) Conflict theory.
E) Symbolic interactionism.

Question 25

W.I Thomas said, "If men define situations as real, they are real in their consequences." The statement is associated with which theoretical perspective?

A) Developmental theory.
B) Feminist thought.
C) Functionalism.
D) Conflict theory.
E) Symbolic interactionism.

Question 26

Erving Goffman employed "the study of interaction as impression management by an actor for an audience." This is known as

A) Macrocosiological analysis.
B) Dramaturgic sociology.
C) The scripting model.
D) Social exchange theory.
E) The developmental approach.

Question 27

Which of the following is most likely to apply as a criticism of symbolic interactionism?

A) It fails to capture the richness and depth of meaning of human group behavior.
B) It doesn't put enough emphasis on broad social forces.
C) It largely ignores the concept of roles.
D) It doesn't put enough emphasis on studying face-to-face human interaction.
E) It has no application to the study of the ways families live their lives.

Question 28

One approach to studying mate selection is to explain it as social behavior based on calculation or resources, costs, and benefits of alternative actions. This approach is probably based on which perspective?

A) Functionalism.
B) Symbolic interactionism.
C) The scripting model.
D) Social exchange theory.
E) The developmental approach.

Question 29

A scholar who looks at families as homeostatic mechanisms probably adopts which perspective?

A) Conflict theory.
B) Family systems theory.
C) Social exchange theory.
D) The developmental approach.
E) The scripting model.

Question 30

According to the scripting model, what level of scripting contains institutions, roles, and norms?

A) Societal script
B) Personal script
C) Scenes.
D) Mutual script
E) Movie script.

Question 31

In what ways is sociology the same as "natural" sciences? In what ways is it different?

Question 32

Given the discussion of "precision of definition and measurement," suppose you were studying "family success." How would the use of different definitions of "family" and of "success" affect your study?

Question 33

Do you think "sociology as science" or "sociology as humanistic studies" gets better results? Why?

Question 34

Compare the uses, advantages, and disadvantages of controlled experiments, survey research, field research, unobtrusive research, and program evaluation.

Question 35

Design a study using one of the major types of research. Indicate why you selected the method you did.

Question 36

How might macrosociologists and microsociologists look at families differently?

Question 37

Which of the major types of methods are most likely to be used by a feminist scholar? Which are least likely? Why?

Question 38

What criticisms of symbolic interactionism might be made by a conflict theorist? How might the symbolic interactionist respond?