Deck 1: Sociology: Theory and Method

Question 1

When Juan drinks his morning coffee,he thinks about its production in Colombia,its transportation through many countries,the taxes and tariffs applied for international commerce,and the diverse array of social relations behind his drink.According to the textbook,one might say that Juan is using a ________ perspective.

A) bureaucratic
B) postmodern
C) global
D) domestic

Answer 1

C

Question 2

In America,obesity has emerged as a major public health concern.How might a sociologist using the "sociological imagination" examine obesity among teenagers?

A) by exploring the role that genetic factors play in a teenager's potential to develop obesity
B) by speaking to teenagers to understand the role that laziness plays in their eating habits
C) by examining obesity rates among teenagers and factors like social class and neighborhood conditions
D) by examining how food metabolizes in the bodies of teenagers

Answer 2

C

Question 3

What is the concept that sociologists use to understand the economic,political,and social interconnectedness of individuals throughout the world?

A) globalization
B) structuration
C) sociological imagination
D) organic solidarity

Answer 3

A

Question 4

Which phrase best represents the beliefs of Herbert Spencer?

A) "equality for all"
B) "survival of the fittest"
C) "all human history thus far is the history of class struggles"
D) "the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line"

Question 5

At the height of the most developed traditional civilizations,such as ancient Rome or preindustrial China,

A) most of the population lived in urban areas.
B) most people engaged in food production.
C) most people fell in love.
D) "falling in love" was a precondition for marriage.

Question 6

Sociologists recognize that "personal" troubles,if occurring in patterned ways and to large numbers of individuals,reflect

A) public issues.
B) individualized problems.
C) anomie.
D) organic solidarity.

Question 7

According to August Comte,what is the proper role of sociology?

A) to observe human behavior without influencing it
B) to study human society scientifically
C) to restore religion to its proper central role in human society
D) to overthrow the established social order

Question 8

Sociology was founded by thinkers who sought to understand the initial impact of transformations that accompanied

A) the domestication of animals.
B) the invention of writing.
C) the invention of the printing press.
D) industrialization in the West.

Question 9

________ invented the word sociology.

A) Karl Marx
B) Auguste Comte
C) Émile Durkheim
D) Max Weber

Question 10

Parents living in Boston noticed that many of their adolescent children regularly became distressed in early September.Based on what you know about adolescent suicides in the United States and Japan,sociologists might attempt to understand this phenomenon by looking into what?

A) parent-student communication
B) genetic predispositions to depression
C) students' experiences with bullying
D) school lunch programs in Boston

Question 11

________ refers to how human societies are reconstructed at every moment by the very "building blocks" that compose them-human beings.

A) "Survival of the fittest"
B) The materialist conception of history
C) Structuration
D) Social physics

Question 12

Kevon believes that society should be looked at like a body,with each of the parts necessary to the functioning of the whole.His ideas most closely mirror those of which theorist?

A) Karl Marx
B) Émile Durkheim
C) Harriet Martineau
D) Max Weber

Question 13

According to the textbook,________ involve(s)constructing abstract interpretations that can be used to explain a wide variety of situations.

A) factual research
B) triangulation
C) theories
D) formulating hypotheses

Question 14

Émile Durkheim believed that for a society to function and persist over time,its specialized institutions must work in harmony with each other and function as an integrated whole.He referred to this as

A) social facts.
B) social constraint.
C) ideology.
D) organic solidarity.

Question 15

Which question about the transformations that accompanied industrialization in West would a sociologist be MOST likely to explore?

A) Which marriage ideals preceded the romantic love ideal,and why did the shift occur?
B) What are key differences between an industrial economy and information economy?
C) How are ideals of romantic love connected with industrialization?
D) How do people manage workplace stress in industrial settings?

Question 16

Jenna and her family lose their home because her parents can no longer pay the mortgage during a time of economic crisis when foreclosures have become a common feature of her country.Jenna would be using a sociological imagination to think about this if she were to

A) blame her mother for not working hard enough.
B) wonder why her father does not just find a new job.
C) consider why her society allows people to be thrown out of their homes.
D) think about ways she can contribute financially to buying their house back.

Question 17

According to ________,sociology must study social facts-aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals-in order to become a science.

A) Karl Marx
B) Auguste Comte
C) Émile Durkheim
D) Max Weber

Question 18

Which of the following statements related to the development of sociology is most accurate?

A) At the start of the Industrial Revolution in Europe,sociology as a scientific discipline had been firmly established.
B) Major historical events in the late 1700s and early 1800s forced thinkers to develop new understandings of both the social and natural worlds.
C) Questions about human nature and why societies change had largely been solved by the late 1700s.
D) The scientific study of human behavior dates back to the Middle Ages.

Question 19

Tori's father loses his job during a time of economic crisis when many people are losing their jobs.Her mother is a skilled daycare worker with years of experience,but like many daycare workers,she cannot find any jobs that pay well.Sociologists would likely see the struggle of Tori's parents as

A) a personal trouble.
B) the fault of Tori's father for not providing for the family.
C) the result of a socialist economy.
D) a public issue

Question 20

Women began entering the workforce in larger numbers in the United States until it eventually became normal,altering women's structural place in society.This is an example of

A) structuration.
B) triangulation.
C) postmodernism.
D) globalization.

Question 21

Mohammed believes that studies of human behavior should focus primarily on how we construct meaning through abstract representations.His position is closest to which theoretical perspective?

A) functionalism
B) Marxism
C) symbolic interactionism
D) feminist theory

Question 22

Marxist and feminist theory often have different objects of study.Why are they both considered conflict theories?

A) They regularly contradict each other.
B) Marxists and feminists have both been historically ostracized by academia.
C) They both focus on the role of power in shaping society.
D) They are often criticized by people of color.

Question 23

Theorists of ________,such as Auguste Comte and Émile Durkheim,compared societies to the workings of a human body.

A) functionalism
B) postmodern theory
C) feminist theory
D) symbolic interactionism

Question 24

According to the textbook,George Herbert Mead reasoned that language allows us to become self-conscious beings-aware of our own individuality.This idea forms the basis of the theoretical perspective known as

A) symbolic interactionism.
B) postmodern theory.
C) feminist theory.
D) Marxism.

Question 25

Pierre prefers to think of institutions and human activities by analyzing the relationship of each individual part as it relates to the whole.His way of thinking most closely resembles which theoretical perspective?

A) functionalism
B) Marxism
C) symbolic interactionism
D) feminist theory

Question 26

Max Weber's theoretical contributions might be criticized for

A) focusing narrowly on the individual.
B) not taking into account the role of bureaucracy in modern societies.
C) ignoring large social institutions.
D) ignoring informal processes in organizations that are common in modern societies.

Question 27

One of the main ways that Karl Marx differs from Max Weber is that

A) Marx argued for a scientific study of industrial society.
B) Marx argued that industrialization could only take off in the West.
C) Marx argued that social change was prompted by economic influences as opposed to ideas or values.
D) Marx argued that class struggle causes anomie.

Question 28

Society,according to Karl Marx,was

A) a fully functioning grouping of social equals.
B) primarily divided by social class.
C) primarily divided by race.
D) made of parts working together for the benefit of the whole.

Question 29

Anita puts forward the idea that under capitalism,working people and their bosses will struggle against each other.From this struggle,a new kind of society will emerge.Her thoughts most closely mirror those of which theorist?

A) Karl Marx
B) Émile Durkheim
C) Harriet Martineau
D) Max Weber

Question 30

Maria believes that contemporary societies are primarily defined by the rise and maintenance of hierarchical bureaucratic forms of organizing large parts of social life.Her ideas most closely match with those of which theorist?

A) Karl Marx
B) Émile Durkheim
C) Harriet Martineau
D) Max Weber

Question 31

The German sociologist Max Weber was highly influential in sociology for his studies of

A) race relations.
B) gender relations.
C) bureaucracies.
D) suicide.

Question 32

One possible criticism of functionalism might be that it

A) fails to emphasize the importance of moral consensus in maintaining order and stability in society.
B) ignores society's major institutions.
C) ignores latent functions of an activity.
D) unduly stresses factors leading to social cohesion at the expense of those producing division and conflict.

Question 33

We might identify one of the latent functions of public schools as

A) providing low-cost education to the public at large.
B) teaching children skills required to function in society.
C) training children to obey authority and grow up to become obedient workers.
D) teaching children math and science.

Question 34

The ideas of Karl Marx might be criticized for what reason?

A) He had no analysis of power imbalances.
B) His focus on class conflict risked minimizing or ignoring other social divisions,such as those around race and gender.
C) His materialist conception of history relied too much on the ideas people had instead of actual social events.
D) He paid no attention to how society produced and distributed goods.

Question 35

________ argued that class struggles were what led to historical progress and development.

A) Karl Marx
B) Auguste Comte
C) Émile Durkheim
D) Max Weber

Question 36

A key difference between functionalism and conflict theory is

A) functionalism was developed at a time of great social upheaval.
B) functionalism emphasizes cooperation while conflict theory stresses competition.
C) functionalism is an example of microsociology,whereas conflict theory is an example of macrosociology.
D) functionalism stresses the importance of science in the study of sociology.

Question 37

Chris insists that any decent analysis of our social world must include investigations into the lived experiences of women.Chris's ideas match most closely with those of which theorist?

A) Karl Marx
B) Émile Durkheim
C) Harriet Martineau
D) Max Weber

Question 38

Paco has begun using symbolic interaction as a theoretical perspective to think about the role of food in religious ceremonies.What is one possible critique of this approach?

A) One cannot use symbols to study religious phenomena.
B) Symbolic communication does not matter in religious ceremonies.
C) Paco runs the risk of missing larger social context by focusing on symbolic communication.
D) Religion involves inner meaning rather than symbolic communication between people.

Question 39

Latisha believes that sociologists need to look at both how our institutions were intended to work and the unintentional effects of those institutions.According to the textbook,this is a major part of which theoretical perspective?

A) feminist theory
B) Marxism
C) symbolic interactionism
D) functionalism

Question 40

What makes a social fact a social constraint?

A) Any theory that cannot account for the social fact is proven false.
B) Any society that does not respect the social fact will not survive.
C) Any group that does not respect the social fact cannot become dominant.
D) Any person who ignores the social fact will encounter difficulty.

Question 41

After working out a design,what is the next step of the sociological research process?

A) defining the research problem
B) making the problem precise
C) reviewing the evidence
D) carrying out the research

Question 42

Camilo wants to see whether people in France react the same way to authority as people in the United States.He will likely develop what kind of research question?

A) factual question
B) comparative question
C) developmental question
D) theoretical question

Question 43

Sociologists who use ________ as a theoretical perspective argue that women's lives and experiences are central to the study of society.

A) functionalism
B) postmodern theory
C) feminist theory
D) Marxism

Question 44

Farhang begins his research knowing he wants to compare and contrast the lives of gay and straight teenagers.After some consideration,he decides that he will focus on the differences in self-esteem between gay and straight teenagers.What part of the research process is Farhang in?

A) defining the research problem
B) working out a design
C) reviewing the evidence
D) interpreting the results

Question 45

Marissa rejects the idea that we can make historical claims about society progressively developing.Her idea most mirrors which theoretical perspective?

A) functionalism
B) postmodernism
C) symbolic interactionism
D) feminist theory

Question 46

Sally has come up with an interesting research question about the behaviors of people who have just achieved what they see as major success in their lives.She finds and investigates as much existing literature on the question as she can find.What part of the research process is Sally in?

A) defining the research problem
B) working out a design
C) reviewing the evidence
D) interpreting the results

Question 47

Hunches about the nature of the problem can sometimes be turned into definite ________,or educated guesses about what is going on.

A) data
B) hypotheses
C) truth claims
D) analyses

Question 48

Janice thinks that sociology should be a science used to bring about radical social change,with particular emphasis on power and ideology.Her position most closely aligns with which theoretical perspective?

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

Question 49

What is the basic concern behind a developmental question?

A) Did this happen everywhere?
B) Has this happened over time?
C) What happened?
D) What underlies this phenomenon?

Question 50

Abbey studies how people negotiate personal space when they speak to each other in person by closely observing their behaviors.Her study is an example of

A) quantitative research.
B) microsociology.
C) macrosociology.
D) survey research.

Question 51

Which factor makes something not only a problem but also a puzzle?

A) a lack of information
B) a relevance to social policy
C) a gap in our understanding
D) a proposed solution

Question 52

Harpreet wants to research differences in attitudes toward globalization between people from the United States and Colombia.She is creating a survey instrument to give to people from both regions.What part of the research process is she in?

A) defining the research problem
B) working out a design
C) reviewing the evidence
D) interpreting the results

Question 53

Maynard believes that studying women's experiences is key to understanding modern Russia.According to the textbook,his beliefs most closely align with which theoretical perspective?

A) functionalism
B) Marxism
C) symbolic interactionism
D) feminist theory

Question 54

Adherents of ________ contend that there are no longer any "grand narratives" or overall conceptions of history or society that make any sense.

A) functionalism
B) postmodern theory
C) feminist theory
D) symbolic interactionism

Question 55

Relative deprivation theory is an example of

A) a theoretical approach.
B) a middle-range theory.
C) a narrowly focused theory like Durkheim's theory of suicide.
D) an untestable hypothesis.

Question 56

________ is the use of systematic methods of empirical investigation,the analysis of data,theoretical thinking,and the logical assessment of arguments to develop a body of knowledge about a particular subject matter.

A) Science
B) Theorizing
C) Statistics
D) Random sampling

Question 57

Jerome looks at how the global economy functions in continental free-trade zones.His studies might be described as

A) an ethnography.
B) microsociology.
C) macrosociology.
D) survey research.

Question 58

Florence is interested in researching how men's lives have changed as women have increasingly entered the workforce.What kind of research question will she be formulating?

A) factual question
B) comparative question
C) developmental question
D) theoretical question

Question 59

Dr.Jun is a sociologist studying first responders in major disasters.Why would Dr.Jun want to ask a factual question?

A) to explain why certain professionals are helpful in certain disaster situations
B) to track the growth in the first responder profession over time
C) to identify how many first responders are present at certain kinds of disasters
D) to compare first responder experiences at different types of disasters

Question 60

The study of everyday behavior in situations of face-to-face interaction is usually called

A) comparative research.
B) microsociology.
C) quantitative research.
D) macrosociology.

Question 61

Sarah has been collecting intensive interviews with women who organize in grassroots movements for wages for housework.Now she is looking over the interviews and trying to find common themes within them.What part of the research process is she in?

A) defining the research problem
B) reviewing the evidence
C) working out a design
D) interpreting the results

Question 62

From the sample sizes listed below,choose the minimum sample size that will give a very accurate indication of the attitudes and voting intentions of the entire population.

A) 2,000 to 3,000
B) 20,000 to 30,000
C) 200,000 to 300,000
D) 2 million to 3 million

Question 63

Identify which of the following research methods is qualitative.

A) An observer takes notes on the nonverbal behavior of members of a focus group for car commercials.
B) The number of people in a large gathering is recorded.
C) Each person in a sample group is recorded as being either a U.S.citizen or a citizen of another country.
D) A researcher compares countries' currency rates.

Question 64

Allen participated in religious rituals with members of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for two years.He kept field notes of his experiences,identified major themes within the notes,wrote a paper about his process and results,and submitted the paper to a major research journal.What part of the research process is he in?

A) defining the research problem
B) reviewing the evidence
C) reporting the findings
D) interpreting the results

Question 65

Max studies marriage rituals in Sweden,India,China,and South Africa to note similarities and differences in the ceremonies.His research would best be described as

A) survey research.
B) experimental research.
C) ethnography.
D) comparative research.

Question 66

Doug notices in his sample studies that marijuana users are much more likely to report using heroin than people who do not use marijuana.He concludes that marijuana must be a gateway drug-a drug that leads to the use of harder substances.What's wrong with Doug's conclusion?

A) His sample data does not demonstrate causality.
B) Marijuana users cannot be trusted to report their behavior honestly and accurately.
C) Doug could never really know without trying marijuana himself and seeing whether it leads to heroin use.
D) Marijuana users would likely be afraid of needles because they are used to smoking their drug of choice.

Question 67

Wesley conducts research that involves meeting with subjects in a controlled setting.He treats some subjects kindly but behaves rudely to others.He notes how the different groups react to his behavior to make inferences about how people react to kindness and rudeness in certain situations.His research would best be described as

A) survey research.
B) experimental research.
C) ethnography.
D) comparative research.

Question 68

If sociologists wanted to study how young people got involved in the Black Lives Matter movement,what method would they likely use?

A) Surveys,because they could link this information with social network analysis.
B) Experiments,so they could reproduce the conditions in a lab.
C) Comparative,since Black Lives Matter is a global social movement.
D) Historical,so they could rely on archival material.

Question 69

________ is when the research study ends,and the investigator discusses with the subjects their concerns and acknowledges whether strategies such as deception were used.

A) Informed consent
B) Debriefing
C) IRB review
D) Triangulation

Question 70

Jennifer wants to collect rich data about the lives of Native Americans who live on reservations.She wants to be able to not only document their lived reality but also to describe it as closely as possible.The best method of research for this kind of study would be

A) survey research.
B) experimental research.
C) ethnography.
D) comparative research.

Question 71

Identify which of the following is a major reason why sociologists would take part in efforts to achieve social change.

A) The study of what is best for society is a question only sociology can address.
B) Sociology aims to be rigorously scientific in its account of human group behavior.
C) It would be odd if,having studied a social problem,a sociologist had no opinion on the solution.
D) Because of their research methods,sociologists are able to completely remove their personal biases from their suggestions for change.

Question 72

Identify which of the following is an example of random sampling method.

A) A journalist approaches a table at a political event and asks everyone at the table their opinion of the host organization.
B) A focus group,made up of volunteers,is asked what they think of three videos promoting water conservation.
C) A health insurer uses a computer-generated random list of plan members to conduct a quality-control review.
D) An administrative assistant sends a survey about her company's new product to everyone on a subscriber's mailing list.

Question 73

Why would the development of a social movement like 2017's #MeToo Movement be incredibly difficult to study using experimental methods?

A) Experiments take too long to conduct.
B) Experiments require controlled conditions established by a researcher.
C) Sociologists who use experiments are usually more politically conservative.
D) Activists regularly refuse to participate in experiments.

Question 74

Laud Humphreys's studies on tearooms were controversial because he

A) was completely honest with his research subjects.
B) studied society to make it better.
C) used deception in his research.
D) focused on gay men.

Question 75

In two to three sentences,define sociology and how it differs from psychology.

Question 76

In a(n)________,the sociologist works or lives with members of a group,organization,or community and perhaps participates directly in its activities as part of the research process.

A) ethnographic study
B) historical/comparative study
C) survey research study
D) experiment

Question 77

Michelle has spent the past year among a subculture of twentysomethings who all listen to the same kind of music.She spends time with them,participates in their events,and observes their interactions and behaviors.All the while,she records what she witnesses in her field notebook.What kind of sociological research best describes what Michelle is doing?

A) survey research
B) experimental research
C) ethnography
D) comparative research

Question 78

What is a characteristic of fixed-choice questions?

A) They usually provide more detailed information than open-ended questions.
B) Respondents express their views in their own words.
C) They are considered qualitative data.
D) Answers are easier to compare than answers to open-ended questions.

Question 79

A(n)________ enables a researcher to test a hypothesis under highly controlled conditions established by the investigator.

A) ethnographic study
B) experiment
C) quantitative study
D) psychological method

Question 80

Elise collects data on homeless people in New York City by widely distributing structured questionnaires.What kind of sociological research best describes what she is doing?

A) survey research
B) experimental research
C) ethnography
D) comparative research