Deck 1: Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and Method

Question 1

Sociology is defined as the:

A) study of individuals in society.
B) study of people in groups.
C) study of people and events you may not have heard of before.
D) study of social patterns.
E) systematic study of human society.

Answer 1

systematic study of human society.

Question 2

From a sociological perspective, which of the following is true regarding the decision about whom to marry?

A) It is a personal choice that impacts one's life.
B) It illustrates the importance of luck in our everyday choices.
C) It illustrates how our lives are influenced by sheer chance combined with free will.
D) It shows us how similar people's lives are.
E) It demonstrates that our social world guides our actions and life choices.

Answer 2

It demonstrates that our social world guides our actions and life choices.

Question 3

The statement that "our social world guides our actions and life choices in much the same way that the seasons influence our clothing"describes:

A) the fact that humans rely on "free will" in all their choices.
B) the essential principle of sociology.
C) the fact that sociologists understand the present and the future only in terms of what history tells them.
D) the fact that people from countries around the world make essentially identical life choices.
E) the fact that our destiny is determined at birth.

Answer 3

the essential principle of sociology.

Question 4

What discipline may be described as the systematic study of human society?

A) sociology
B) social philosophy
C) psychology
D) international relations
E) political science

Question 5

When Peter Berger characterized the sociological perspective as "seeing the general in the particular,"he meant that sociology helps us:

A) see general patterns in the behaviour of particular people.
B) see that people are rather particular about their behaviours.
C) make generalizations about individuals' particular habits.
D) recognize that society has the same effect on all categories of people.
E) identify exceptional people.

Question 6

When we say that using the sociological perspective amounts to "seeing the strange in the familiar,"we mean that sociologists:

A) focus on the bizarre elements of society.
B) work to avoid the idea that we live our lives only in terms of what we decide.
C) understand that individuals' explanations for their behavioural choices are sufficient for our understanding of why people do the things they do.
D) understand that even people who are familiar to us often have some very strange habits.
E) are good at identifying what is strange and unusual.

Question 7

From a sociological perspective, one of the most significant factors that determines the number of children a woman bears is:

A) genetics.
B) free choice.
C) economic opportunities.
D) intelligence.
E) personality characteristics.

Question 8

You are asked to report on suicide rates in France in the 1800s. Which author's writings should you consult?

A) Robert K. Merton
B) Emile Durkheim
C) Auguste Comte
D) Talcott Parsons
E) Jean-Jacques Rousseau

Question 9

Which of the following did Durkheim believe to be a key factor in explaining why some categories of people had higher rates of suicide than others?

A) social disintegration
B) exclusivity
C) intelligence
D) relativity
E) social integration

Question 10

If the results of Durkheim's study of suicide hold true for people in Canada today, the typical person committing suicide would be:

A) a wealthy and unmarried Protestant male.
B) a poor and unmarried Catholic male.
C) a poor and married Catholic female.
D) a wealthy and unmarried Protestant female.
E) a poor and widowed Catholic of either gender.

Question 11

Suicide rates for people in Canada show that:

A) males have the highest suicide rates.
B) females have the highest suicide rates.
C) there are no differences between the suicide rates of males and females.
D) the difference between men and women have diminished in the past 30 years.
E) higher levels of social integration are associated with higher suicide rates.

Question 12

The sociological term for the state of being set apart as an "outsider"is referred to as:

A) social reactivity.
B) exclusivity.
C) social marginality.
D) redundancy.
E) relativity.

Question 13

C. Wright Mills would say that sociological awareness is/was greatest:

A) during periods of peace and prosperity.
B) during the Great Depression of the 1930s.
C) in non-election years.
D) in stable households.
E) at the start of the new millennium.

Question 14

What is the term for nations characterized by a standard of living about average for the world as a whole?

A) global village
B) high-income
C) low-income
D) economic tigers
E) middle-income

Question 15

What is the term for nations with a low standard of living in which most people are poor?

A) global village
B) high-income
C) low-income
D) middle-income
E) economic tigers

Question 16

As a sociologist, you wish to study population trends in the low-income countries. What region in the global village should you focus upon?

A) Central Europe
B) Africa
C) Pacific Islands
D) Latin America
E) Southern Europe

Question 17

As the job market changes in Canada, it is important to remember that:

A) the jobs in our future will hinge on global understanding.
B) the U.S.A. will always have the world's best economy.
C) we have far too few service jobs in Canada.
D) industrialization will lead to full employment.
E) industrialization will lead to equality.

Question 18

Which of the following is true regarding the importance of a global perspective?

A) Since the U.S.A. is economically strongest, Americans need not consider the international economy.
B) Global understanding is critical because economic conditions in Canada are related to the economic conditions elsewhere.
C) Since over one-half of the other nations in the global village are economically dependent, Canada can make independent decisions that will affect it beneficially.
D) New jobs in less economically developed countries depend on the continuing economic strength of an independent Canada.
E) By studying other societies, we learn little about ourselves.

Question 19

If one adopts the sociological perspective, one:

A) will be a more valued member of society.
B) will value commonly held assumptions.
C) will challenge commonly held beliefs.
D) will stimulate social revolution.
E) will encourage acceptance of social norms.

Question 20

Sociologists work in which of the following areas?

A) therapy
B) arts and culture
C) public policy
D) sex work
E) business

Question 21

As a discipline, sociology first took root in:

A) Africa.
B) Europe.
C) North America.
D) East Asia.
E) South America.

Question 22

Sociology arose in which of the following sets of societies?

A) Europe
B) Mediterranean coastal nations
C) Africa
D) East Asia
E) North America

Question 23

Which of the following are social changes that led to the development of the sociological perspective?

A) social consensus
B) cottage industries
C) military conquest
D) political stability
E) industrial economy

Question 24

Where would a sociological perspective likely to be developed and flourish?

A) in socially stable areas
B) in areas experiencing social problems, or significant social changes
C) in wealthy communities
D) in isolated villages
E) in areas experiencing social continuity

Question 25

The sociological perspective was developed in areas where:

A) traditional social patterns were undisrupted.
B) rural areas "pulled" workers from urban areas.
C) towns predominated over cities.
D) the greatest changes were taking place.
E) most people were relatively rich.

Question 26

Which of the following is related to the rise of the new science of sociology?

A) globalization
B) the development of sociobiology
C) acceptance of psychology
D) political change
E) enhanced personal consciousness

Question 27

August Comte coined the term ________ to refer to the study of society.

A) social science
B) sociology
C) social statistics
D) social dynamics
E) social ecology

Question 28

Which of the following describes the major goal of pioneers of sociology such as Comte and Durkheim?

A) to set up a system in which they can control social patterns and events
B) to imagine what the "ideal society" would be
C) to understand how society actually operates
D) to stop the continual change experienced by societies and discover how to maintain a societal status quo
E) to eliminate inequality

Question 29

According to Comte, society was seen as an expression of God's will in the ________ stage of social development.

A) theological
B) metaphysical
C) scientific
D) post-industrial
E) post-modern

Question 30

According to Comte, society was viewed as natural instead of supernatural in the ________ stage of social development.

A) theological
B) metaphysical
C) scientific
D) post-industrial
E) postmodern

Question 31

According to Comte's approach, the work of Galileo and Newton reflects the ________ stage of societal development.

A) theological
B) metaphysical
C) scientific
D) post-industrial
E) post-modern

Question 32

Since the emergence of sociology as an academic discipline, contemporary sociologists realize that human behaviour is:

A) far more complex than natural phenomena.
B) somewhat more complex than natural phenomena.
C) less complex than natural phenomena.
D) best studied using non-scientific approaches.
E) more easily explained by rigid "laws of society" than originally thought possible.

Question 33

Sociologists are unable to develop "laws of society"that would allow them to predict all human behaviour because:

A) human behaviour is both imaginative and spontaneous.
B) sociologists place more emphasis on changing society than on understanding society.
C) sociology has only been an accepted academic discipline for about 20 years, and more knowledge must be gained.
D) sociologists have lost touch with people.
E) sociologists do not have appropriate methods available

Question 34

Theories are:

A) static.
B) tested through research.
C) by definition, accurate.
D) a product of very recent times.
E) controlled.

Question 35

When we relate the trend of high divorce and single-parent families to increases in violence, we have constructed a ________ of violence.

A) theory
B) concept
C) supposition
D) precept
E) paradigm

Question 36

What are the major components of the structural-functional approach?

A) social statistics
B) social formation
C) social functions
D) social structure
E) social strata

Question 37

Social structures have consequences for the operation of society as a whole. What is the term for these consequences?

A) social structure
B) social dynamics
C) social functions
D) social dysfunctions
E) social co-operation

Question 38

Which sociologist contributed to the structural-functional approach?

A) Auguste Comte
B) Karl Marx
C) Jane Addams
D) W.E.B. Du Bois
E) Nellie McClung

Question 39

The text describes the main point of using the structural-functional approach as:

A) learning how people find meaning in behaviour.
B) understanding "what makes society tick."
C) bringing about needed social change.
D) determining the cause of conflict in society.
E) understanding the functions of biology in society.

Question 40

Herbert Spencer thought society has much in common with:

A) small groups.
B) primitive tribes.
C) the human brain.
D) the human body.
E) the highway system.

Question 41

Canada's system of higher education serves to provide young people with skills and information needed to perform jobs. This is an example of a/an:

A) manifest function.
B) latent function.
C) dynamic function.
D) dysfunction.
E) overt function.

Question 42

Unintended consequences of the social structure are called:

A) manifest functions.
B) latent functions.
C) static functions.
D) dysfunctions.
E) covert functions.

Question 43

In some ways, university serves as a "marriage broker,"bringing heterosexual young people together. This is an example of a:

A) manifest function.
B) latent function.
C) dynamic function.
D) dysfunction.
E) covert function.

Question 44

What is the term for a social pattern that may disrupt the operation of society?

A) manifest functions
B) latent functions
C) covert function
D) social dysfunctions
E) overt operations

Question 45

Air pollution is an undesirable product of the Canadian reliance on automobiles. This is an example of a/an:

A) covert function.
B) social consequence.
C) social dysfunction.
D) social function.
E) overt operation.

Question 46

The statement that social patterns benefit some people while depriving others expresses one of the insights of the:

A) structural-functional approach.
B) social-conflict approach.
C) social-interaction approach.
D) social-organization approach.
E) symbolic-organization approach.

Question 47

A high school student is assigned to the vocational track because, according to the guidance counsellor, it would best fit her abilities. The fact that this is likely to perpetuate the student's low-income status would be emphasized by:

A) social-conflict theorists.
B) structural-functional theorists.
C) social integration theorists.
D) social Darwinists.
E) Robert Merton.

Question 48

Du Bois's work to raise the standing of Afro-North American people closely follows the approach to social problems that would be taken by:

A) Herbert Spencer.
B) Talcott Parsons.
C) Emile Durkheim.
D) Robert Merton.
E) Karl Marx.

Question 49

Who would chastise modern sociologists for theorizing about the world, but failing to change it?

A) Herbert Spencer
B) Talcott Parsons
C) Emile Durkheim
D) Robert Merton
E) Karl Marx

Question 50

The scholar who translated the writings of Auguste Comte from French into English and revealed the evils of slavery was:

A) Jane Addams.
B) John Watson.
C) Karl Marx.
D) Harriet Martineau.
E) W.E.B. Du Bois.

Question 51

The sociological pioneer who was a supporter of suffrage for women and petitioned the government of Canada to include women in the definition of person was:

A) Nellie McClung.
B) Harriet Martineau.
C) Helen Abell.
D) Doris Anderson.
E) Emily Starr.

Question 52

The fact that the works of Martineau, McClung, and Du Bois were kept at the margins of sociology due to the widespread belief in the inferiority of women and racialized groups illustrates:

A) the role of biology in shaping social history.
B) the role of economic inequality in the history of sociology.
C) the lack of sophisticated thought in early social history.
D) the role of societal forces in shaping the history of sociology itself.
E) the inability to ignore social forces that characterizes early societies.

Question 53

Which of the following is a criticism of the social-conflict approach?

A) It underemphasizes how shared values unify members of a society.
B) The paradigm, as it pursues political goals, can claim scientific objectivity.
C) The social-conflict approach paints society in narrow strokes.
D) It overemphasizes how shared values and interdependence can unify members of a society.
E) It views society in terms of specializations.

Question 54

The U.S. sociologist who believed sociologists should try to solve social problems, who studied the black community, and who served as a founding member of the NAACP was:

A) Martin Luther King, Jr.
B) Harriet Martineau.
C) W.E.B. Du Bois.
D) John Watson.
E) Nellie McClung.

Question 55

The ________ approaches view societies in broad terms.

A) social-interaction
B) structural-functional
C) social-statistics
D) social-organization
E) social-feminist

Question 56

Which orientation is concerned with broad social structures that shape society as a whole?

A) multi-level
B) micro-level
C) macro-level
D) symbolic-interaction
E) social-organization

Question 57

Which orientation utilizes a close-up focus on social interaction in specific situations?

A) multi-level
B) micro-level
C) macro-level
D) symbolic-interaction
E) social-conflict

Question 58

The ________ approach is a framework for building theory that sees society as the product of the everyday interactions of individuals.

A) macro-level
B) micro-level
C) symbolic-interaction
D) social-conflict
E) structural-functional

Question 59

Select the framework that assumes society is nothing more than the shared reality that people construct as they interact with one another.

A) structural-functional approach
B) social-conflict approach
C) symbolic-interaction approach
D) social-organization approach
E) multi-level

Question 60

Which of the following is a manifest function of sports?

A) They create conflict among players.
B) They foster social relationships.
C) They generate many jobs.
D) They encourage pro-social attitudes.
E) They are a way to provide physical conditioning.

Question 61

Sports are a way to establish new relationships, which is:

A) unimportant in Canada.
B) a dysfunction of sports.
C) a manifest function of sports.
D) a latent function of sports.
E) a misattributed function of sports.

Question 62

Which sociologist greatly influenced the development of the symbolic-interaction approach?

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

Question 63

Which sociological approach tends to ignore the importance of larger social structures in society?

A) structural-functional approach
B) social-conflict approach
C) symbolic-interaction approach
D) social-organization approach
E) multi-level approach

Question 64

________ is a logical system that bases knowledge on direct, systematic observation.

A) Faith
B) Expert pronouncement
C) Consensus
D) Analogy
E) Science

Question 65

Which of the following is true?

A) About 67 percent of Canada's wealth is controlled by the wealthiest 20 percent of the population.
B) People marry because they are in love.
C) Most poor people ignore opportunities to work.
D) Differences in the social behaviours of males and females reflect "human nature."
E) Canada is a middle-class society in which most people are more or less equal.

Question 66

You are asked to measure the age of respondents to your survey. As soon as you apply the measure to each case, you have changed your concept "age"to a:

A) theory.
B) hypothesis.
C) variable.
D) research method.
E) paradigm.

Question 67

What is the term for a concept that has a value that changes from case to case?

A) conceptualization
B) measurement
C) operationalization
D) variable
E) paradox

Question 68

You are asked to determine the value of a variable in a specific case. What task have you been assigned?

A) conceptualization
B) measurement
C) operationalization
D) constructing a composite
E) theorizing

Question 69

In a study investigating social class, a researcher assigns higher scores to participants with higher incomes. In doing so, the researcher is ________ social class.

A) conceptualizing
B) randomizing
C) measuring
D) theorizing
E) constructing

Question 70

Specifying exactly what is to be measured in assigning a value to a variable is called:

A) conceptualizing.
B) measuring.
C) constructing.
D) randomizing.
E) operationalizing.

Question 71

Here is a series of numbers: 1, 2, 2, 3, 7. What is the mode?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 5
E) 6

Question 72

Here is a series of numbers: 1, 2, 2, 3, 7. What is the mean?

A) 1
B) 2
C) 3
D) 5
E) 7

Question 73

You have achieved the quality of consistency in measurement for your study. Your study now has:

A) reliability.
B) repeatability.
C) validity.
D) measurement congruence.
E) correlation.

Question 74

A sociologist wants to do research using peoples' marital status to measure their satisfaction with life. He or she should be concerned that this measure may lack:

A) reliability.
B) validity.
C) relativity.
D) congruency.
E) face reliability.

Question 75

Higher education causes greater earnings over a lifetime. In this example, "higher education"is:

A) an independent variable.
B) a dependent variable.
C) a random variable.
D) a spurious variable.
E) a congruent variable.

Question 76

A relationship by which two (or more) variables change together is called:

A) a coalition.
B) a variation.
C) measurement congruence.
D) a replication.
E) a correlation.

Question 77

An apparent, although false, association between two (or more) variables caused by some other variable is termed a:

A) negative correlation.
B) specious association.
C) scientific control.
D) spurious correlation.
E) positive correlation.

Question 78

To be certain of a real cause-and-effect relationship, a researcher must show:

A) that the dependent variable occurs before the independent variable in time.
B) that the two variables are correlated.
C) total neutrality.
D) that the correlation is spurious to some extent.
E) that a third variable is involved in the relationship.

Question 79

Personal neutrality in conducting research is referred to as:

A) objectivity.
B) distancing.
C) subjectivity.
D) alienation.
E) sublimation.

Question 80

According to Max Weber, social researchers should strive to be:

A) subjective.
B) value-free.
C) concerned about social welfare.
D) selective about their reporting of facts.
E) goal-oriented.