Deck 1: The Sociological Imagination

Question 1

The sociological imagination is the capacity to think systematically about how the many things that we experience as personal problems are really social issues that are widely shared by others born in a similar time and social location as us.

Answer 1

True

Question 2

Social theories are typically poorly established and are not taken seriously by professional sociologists.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

Early in the twentieth century,influential economists held chairs in sociology departments.

Answer 3

True

Question 4

People who avoid formal social institutions,such as criminals,are able to completely avoid conforming to roles and norms.

Question 5

A society is a large group of people who live in the same area and participate in a common culture.

Question 6

People watching is a common way to engage our sociological imaginations.

Question 7

Sociology owes much of its philosophical basis to thinkers as diverse as Adam Smith and Karl Marx.

Question 8

Some sociologists have extended the discipline so far as to study nonhuman subjects.

Question 9

Key social identities,such as race and gender,are inflexible and do not change.

Question 10

Contemporary Internet trends,such as Facebook and online multiplayer gaming communities,are not able to be studied by sociologists.

Question 11

Recent sociologically research has discovered a link between neighborhood violence and children's school performance.

Question 12

The industrial boom of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries had little to do with the development of sociology.

Question 13

Sociologists often ask questions that many college administrators,government officials,and other similar authority figures find disquieting.

Question 14

The context in which an individual grows up has a dramatic impact on that person's life opportunities.

Question 15

Social structures are always present and never disappear,even briefly.

Question 16

Sociology has taken a long time to develop as a discipline and continues to develop in modern times.

Question 17

The agricultural economies of earlier centuries were very similar to cities that developed in the United States and in Europe from the middle of the nineteenth century onward.

Question 18

Only specially trained individuals can utilize a sociological imagination.

Question 19

Sociology is quite limited in the types of topics that sociologists can study.

Question 20

Discrimination has been almost entirely eliminated in American society.

Question 21

Facebook draws heavily on very basic sociological ideas about __________.

A)cognition
B)stereotypes
C)string theory
D)social networks

Question 22

Which of the following definitions best defines sociology?

A)Sociology is the study of the inner workings of the human mind.
B)Sociology is the application of common sense principles to our social world.
C)Sociology is the study of societies and the social worlds that individuals inhabit within them.
D)Sociology is the study of why people join groups.

Question 23

How do sociologists use a sociological imagination to challenge stereotypes?

A)A sociological imagination challenges stereotypes by proving that stereotypes benefit no one.
B)A sociological imagination challenges stereotypes by demonstrating that stereotypes have no harmful consequences.
C)A sociological imagination challenges stereotypes by raising questions about where stereotypes come from,what they are based on,who stands to benefit from them,and why they are harmful.
D)A sociological imagination challenges stereotypes by acting out stereotypes so that they can be adopted by others.

Question 24

Interdisciplinary research is next to impossible for sociologists to conduct.

Question 25

At each stage of our development,we are both __________ and __________.

A)individuals;members of a social world
B)authority figures;members of politicized bodies
C)independent;and social innocents
D)powerless;sole determiners of our own fate

Question 26

The sociological imagination is the capacity to think systematically about how the things we experience as __________ problems are really __________ issues widely shared by others.

A)personal;social
B)personal;transformative
C)extraordinary;ordinary
D)social;aspirational

Question 27

Sociologists' explanations of how the external world shapes behaviors and social outcomes are narrower than those of other disciplines.

Question 28

Social media sites like Facebook draw on the sociological idea that people are connected not only to close friends and family but to __________.

A)all people while online
B)all people at all times
C)hidden networks of people with whom they share common interests
D)visible networks of people with whom they share common attributes

Question 29

When sociologists and economists study the same subject,they almost always come to the same or similar conclusions.

Question 30

A large group of people who live in the same area and participate in a common culture is called a __________.

A)society
B)culture
C)norm
D)region

Question 31

__________ is the increased flow of goods,money,ideas,and people across national borders.

A)Free trade
B)Globalization
C)Fair trade
D)Socialization

Question 32

The borders between what is and what is not appropriate for sociologists to study are very well defined.

Question 33

Who coined the term sociological imagination?

A)C.Wright Mills
B)Emile Durkheim
C)Karl Marx
D)Auguste Comte

Question 34

Introductory courses in sociology attempt to give students the tools they need to __________.

A)follow stock market trends
B)find romantic partners
C)analyze how and why our world is the way it is
D)live peaceably with others

Question 35

Sociological concepts and theories cover a wider range of topics than other disciplines.

Question 36

People in our society tend to think of themselves in terms of their individuality,but we are also all products of our __________,such as the time and place we live and the family we were born into.

A)social contexts
B)genetic makeup
C)likes and dislikes
D)interests and skills

Question 37

According to C.Wright Mills,the sociological imagination enables us to grasp the relations between __________ in society.

A)money and power
B)biology and destiny
C)history and biography
D)students and teachers

Question 38

Why is Facebook controversial in some parts of the world?

A)It allows people of different beliefs to find and communicate with each other.
B)It prohibits people under the age of 12 from joining its community of users.
C)It makes it difficult for older people to attend social events.
D)Its terms and conditions are rarely understood by users.

Question 39

Some governments around the world have attempted to curtail the use of social media because they object to the __________.

A)exclusion of women from using social media
B)underrepresentation of American values in social media
C)anticonsumerist bias of American-based factions in social media
D)spread of antigovernment ideas and the mobilization of social movements made possible by social media

Question 40

By considering the intimate relationships between adults across societies and over time,what have sociologists concluded about marriage?

A)Marriage is always a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman.
B)Marriage is only sometimes a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman.
C)Marriage is not always a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman,but it is always monogamous.
D)Marriage is not always monogamous,but it is always a lifetime commitment between a man and a woman.

Question 41

Living in high-crime areas has obvious risks: being a victim of physical violence,for example.What is one of the more subtle risks faced by people who live in high-crime areas that is mentioned in The Social Project?

A)impaired job or school performance because of stress
B)increased forgetfulness because of rampant escapism
C)increased attention from politicians trying to court nonaffiliated voters
D)decreased access to housing that allows pets

Question 42

What can applying the sociological imagination tell us about unemployment and homelessness?

A)Homelessness and unemployment are almost always the result of individual choices.
B)Unemployment,but not homelessness,is always the result of individual choices.
C)Anyone is just as likely as another to become either unemployed or homeless.
D)Unemployment and homelessness can be due to changing social forces beyond an individual's control.

Question 43

What tools does sociology give us?

A)Sociology gives us the tools to understand and think critically and creatively about our own lives,the
Times we are living in,and why we are the way we are.
B)Sociology gives us the tools to reinforce stereotypes with concrete data.
C)Sociology gives us the tools to understand evolutionary biology.
D)Sociologists gives us the tools to understand economic theory.

Question 44

Sociologists have developed research methods in order to __________.

A)be taken seriously as scientists
B)match data to the results they expect to generate
C)develop new evidence that allows new questions to be generated
D)convince the public that their findings are plausible

Question 45

In an ongoing study of more than 2,000 young adults as they progress through college and into their postcollegiate years,sociologist Richard Arum has found that __________.

A)all graduates in the study had jobs in their fields within five years of graduation
B)college had little impact on the earnings of graduates in the study
C)24 percent of graduates in the study were back living with their parents two years after graduation
D)sociology majors were 50 percent more likely to be employed than other students in the study

Question 46

Which social context is likely to have a more significant impact on a child's life experience from birth than the others?

A)his or her parents' income and wealth
B)his or her parents' age
C)his or her parents' recycling habits
D)his or her birth order

Question 47

Why would sociologists who study academic performance be interested in the lives of college freshmen before they enter college?

A)Sociologists are particularly well equipped to study individuals' intelligence quotients and the impact of intelligence on academic performance.
B)Sociologists are particularly well equipped to study the influences of students' backgrounds-such as family influences-on academic performance.
C)Sociologists who took sociology courses in high school are particularly well equipped to study the academic performance of students entering college for the first time.
D)Students who excel academically are likely to attend schools closer to home.

Question 48

Why is the family of interest to many sociologists?

A)Government funding generously supports family research.
B)Families are a key to understanding how individuals develop.
C)Families are a new area of sociological research.
D)Families,which tend to be similar,are ideal cross-cultural subjects.

Question 49

Although psychologists and sociologists study similar subjects and phenomena,what is a significant difference in the types of questions they ask?

A)Sociologists are interested in understanding the philosophy of the individual;psychologists are interested in understanding the ideology of the individual.
B)Sociologists are interested in understanding how people think;psychologists are interested in understanding why people think.
C)Sociologists are interested in understanding the intrinsic causes of behavior;psychologists are interested in understanding the motivational effects on behavior.
D)Sociologists are interested in understanding broad social factors;psychologists are interested in understanding how individuals think.

Question 50

Why do the authors of The Sociology Project suggest that sociology can be dangerous?

A)Sociologists often talk to dangerous people.
B)Sociologists often ask hard questions of authority figures.
C)Sociologists often take immoderate risks to publish unpopular findings.
D)Sociologists often put themselves in dangerous situations for their research.

Question 51

An African American male born in the American South in 1910 faced a very different environment than the same child growing up in Atlanta today,in terms of opportunities and aspirations.Such differences underscore the __________ contexts of our lives.

A)institutional and community
B)economic and institutional
C)historical and institutional
D)social,economic,and historical

Question 52

__________ refers to any behavior,practice,or policy that harms,excludes,or disadvantages individuals based on their group membership.

A)Racism
B)Discrimination
C)Depersonalization
D)Activism

Question 53

__________ refers to the influence of society on individuals.

A)Social status
B)Social context
C)Social conditioning
D)Social mobilization

Question 54

The scope of sociological research is __________.

A)quite broad
B)highly specialized
C)tightly time bounded
D)quite limited

Question 55

Which of the following definitions best defines social theories?

A)Social theories are overarching frameworks that suggest certain assumptions about how the world works.
B)Social theories are general ideas that influence the way that sociologists conduct their research.
C)Social theories represent points of view.
D)Social theories are undeniable laws that predict how the social world works under various experimental conditions.

Question 56

Which of the following statements about social contexts would sociologists agree is true?

A)Social contexts can be easily overcome by the will of the individual.
B)Social contexts are important but ultimately cannot be used to determine anything about a child's future prospects.
C)Social contexts can sometimes be used to understand some types of group situations.
D)Social contexts can have a huge impact on where newborn infants end up in life.

Question 57

Two key components to understanding social context are __________.

A)social interaction and social structure
B)social space and social time
C)social status and social wealth
D)social power and social prestige

Question 58

Stereotypes are beliefs about members of a group that are usually __________,or at least exaggerated,but are the basis of assumptions made about individual members of a group.

A)apolitical
B)political
C)true
D)false

Question 59

What important fact about racial identity is key to understanding the social context of race?

A)Racial identity is genetically determined.
B)Racial identity is set in infants as early as three months.
C)Racial identity can change according to the kinds of institutions with which we are connected.
D)Racial identity has no significance in modern America.

Question 60

Which of the following statements about the impact of organizations on identity is true?

A)Organizations are critical to how men view themselves but not to men's views of women.
B)Organizations shape what identities are available to us.
C)Organizations provide little opportunity for social interaction among children.
D)Organizations have less impact on the identities of individuals after they reach adulthood.

Question 61

Social structure is composed of what two distinct components?

A)church and state
B)hierarchies and institutions
C)norms and mores
D)rules and laws

Question 62

Why do drug dealers and other criminals follow social rules regarding contracts?

A)Criminals fear nothing more than legal problems,which contracts help them avoid.
B)Criminals,who have extensive knowledge of the law,are obsessive about the terms of written agreements.
C)Contracts ensure that criminals are treated with respect by the courts.
D)Underground economies operate according to rules and values not that different from those of the regular economy.

Question 63

__________ refers to external forces,notably evident in the social hierarchies and institutions of society.

A)Social interaction
B)Social strategy
C)Social normative behavior
D)Social structure

Question 64

Which of the following institutions of higher learning formed the first department of sociology in the United States and remains greatly influential to this day?

A)Ohio State University
B)University of California,Berkeley
C)University of Chicago
D)University of Iowa

Question 65

Why were the rules of social interaction of special interest to first-generation artificial intelligence (AI)researchers?

A)Computer scientists dreamed of building robots that could think and perform like human beings.
B)Computer scientists found it easier to program the rules of human behavior than to make other types of computations.
C)Computer scientists were attracted to the idea of social networks from the very beginning.
D)Computer scientists recognized the importance of social interaction to daily life,making it obvious that they would quickly master the intricacies of artificial intelligence.

Question 66

__________,who founded both the first European Sociology Department and the first major European journal of sociology,is called the "father of sociology."

A)Max Weber
B)Auguste Comte
C)Claude Bordeaux
D)Emile Durkheim

Question 67

Roles are described as __________.

A)tasks we perform throughout the day to maintain our social status
B)positions within an institution or organization with specific behavioral expectations
C)parts of social institutions that go beyond the external
D)aspects of an individual's personality that confer social status

Question 68

_________,the social sciences began to settle down into organized bodies of knowledge and distinctive professional profiles.

A)In the late Middle Ages
B)Shortly after the American Revolution
C)Between 1880 and 1910
D)In the 1950s and 1960s

Question 69

Why were lines between social sciences unclear when they first developed?

A)The backgrounds of early social scientists were diverse,and they often conducted work in multiple disciplines.
B)Early social scientists,who were educated as physicians,were reluctant to leave their medical school posts.
C)Early universities were unwilling to fund the social sciences,forcing them to share resources.
D)High degrees of social cohesion among social scientists made them reluctant to split apart.

Question 70

Which of the following factors pulled people away from farms and into cities during the period of rapid industrialization more so than the others?

A)drought
B)housing
C)jobs
D)urban agriculture

Question 71

When sociologists refer to the institutions of society,they are most likely referring to __________.

A)marriage,family,or school
B)public opinion
C)social welfare programs
D)corporate takeovers

Question 72

Sociology and other social sciences began to develop __________.

A)when opportunities to make new discoveries in the physical sciences declined
B)when people abandoned religion in mass numbers,around 1960
C)after the American Revolution,when a new politically empowered populace emerged
D)when growing numbers of people began to systematically investigate how things worked in the real world

Question 73

How do people learn norms?

A)People learn norms through interactions with people whose opinions they value.
B)People learn norms by being taught them in school.
C)People learn norms through interactions with parents within the first 72 hours of life.
D)People never really learn norms.

Question 74

__________ are basic rules of society that help us know what is and is not appropriate to do in a given situation.

A)Social contexts
B)Morals
C)Norms
D)Thoughts

Question 75

Sociologists' understanding of social contexts,social interactions,and social structures teaches us that people __________.

A)typically present themselves in the same way to everyone they meet
B)often behave in highly unpredictable ways
C)never present themselves in the same way twice
D)present themselves in different ways based on the context they are in

Question 76

Why is the power of social structures most obvious to us after natural disasters?

A)Natural disasters have a distinct tendency to disrupt social structures in ways that man-made disasters do not.
B)Social structures are most obvious to us when they are absent or when they break down,as in the aftermath of a hurricane or tsunami.
C)People are grateful for social structures that are both limiting and enabling.
D)Social structures are delicate and often break down with even the slightest strain.

Question 77

__________ refers to the way people act together,including how they modify and alter their behavior in response to the presence of others.

A)Social interaction
B)Self-consciousness
C)Social structure
D)Presentation of self

Question 78

Social changes enabled by rapid industrialization affected __________.

A)individuals
B)communities
C)individuals and communities
D)neither individuals nor communities

Question 79

Social interaction is governed by a set of __________.

A)identities
B)statuses
C)norms
D)laws

Question 80

The term sociology is typically credited to __________,who first used it in 1839.

A)C.Wright Mills
B)Auguste Comte
C)Karl Marx
D)Emile Durkheim