Deck 1: The Sociological Imagination

Question 1

The sociological imagination is the capacity to think systematically about the things we experience so that we no longer make faulty generalizations about individuals based on what we think we know about the groups they are members of. In other words, the sociological imagination helps us challenge __________.

A) stereotypes
B) discrimination
C) institutions
D) psychology

Answer 1

A

Question 2

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

Answer 2

C

Question 3

The scope of sociological research is __________.

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

Answer 3

A

Question 4

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 5

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 6

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 7

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 8

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 give us the tools to understand economic theory.

Question 9

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 10

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 11

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 almost 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 12

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 13

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 14

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

A) products of our historical context
B) members of politicized bodies
C) social innocents
D) sole determiners of our own fate

Question 15

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 16

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 by Pat Sharkey?

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 17

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 18

__________ 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 19

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 20

Social interaction is governed by a set of __________.

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

Question 21

It is easy to see the importance of social interaction when we __________.

A) violate society's rules
B) reject social sanctions
C) destroy social hierarchies
D) reject social science

Question 22

__________ 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 23

Sociologists define roles as __________.

A) the tasks that we perform for our job
B) a character that we construct for stage performance
C) a person's personality trait
D) biologically predetermined

Question 24

You are taking your first sociology course in the fall. About halfway through the semester, you go home for Thanksgiving. At Thanksgiving dinner, you plan to conduct an impromptu sociological experiment by violating some social norms. Which of following actions could you potentially take?

A) You eat your dinner and make polite dinner conversation with your family.
B) You help to make dinner and serve the guests as well.
C) You eat your dinner with your hands, even the mashed potatoes.
D) You excuse yourself from the table after dessert to answer your cell phone.

Question 25

You are a first-year student at a major university. Which of the following describes a social context that could have a major positive impact on your academic success?

A) After college, you plan on being a teacher. For this reason, you take your education very seriously.
B) You went to a high school that did not offer many Advanced Placement courses.
C) Your parents were not rich, but they were able to hire summer tutors for you when you were in high school.
D) You are a perfectionist in all things. You always study very hard and have no intention of graduating with less than a perfect 4.0.

Question 26

__________, 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 27

Which of the following statements is true of urban environments that developed from the middle of the nineteenth century onward?

A) Cities had high rates of poverty.
B) Housing was relatively inexpensive.
C) Factory wages were fair.
D) Crime and violence were rare.

Question 28

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 29

Why is it sometimes difficult for sociologists to define sociology in short, simple terms?

A) Unlike other social scientists, sociologists do not use mathematical models to solve problems.
B) Unlike other social scientists, sociologists do not have an established set of ideas that make up their theoretical core.
C) Unlike other social scientists, sociologists do not define themselves according to a specific institution or area of life.
D) Unlike other social scientists, sociologists do not publish their own academic journals.

Question 30

Among the social sciences, sociology is the discipline most concerned with __________.

A) the way the psyche develops in early childhood
B) how different units of analysis-from individual to group to institution to global society-link up to and mutually influence one another
C) predicting the future of humanity
D) accurately assessing the failures of twentieth-century regimes

Question 31

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 are born knowing norms.

Question 32

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 33

Which of the following accurately connects the effect communities have on people's life pathways?

A) Living around people who encourage a child to be confident leads to children who are more ambitious in life.
B) Living in a safe neighborhood has very little effect on children's school performance.
C) Living in a dangerous neighborhood encourages a child to leave that neighborhood by doing well in school.
D) Living in a dangerous neighborhood has very little effect on a child's future employment.

Question 34

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 35

Sociology laid the groundwork for which of the following academic disciplines?

A) Latino/a studies and industrial relations
B) philology and theosophy
C) history and psychology
D) anthropology and computer science

Question 36

Karen operates a clothing store. Last summer she hired a young man to work at her store. He was frequently late and did not work particularly hard when he did show up. Karen now feels that most young men do not have the work ethic necessary to meet her demands. Her belief that young men are lazy is an example of __________.

A) racism
B) sexism
C) discrimination
D) a stereotype

Question 37

Imagine that you are a sociology student in the early twentieth century at the University of Chicago. You are trying to come up with an idea for a research project that you can easily conduct without leaving the city. Which of the following projects best embodies the sociological imagination?

A) You think the tenant in the apartment across the hall is stealing your clothes from the laundry room. You plan to hide in the laundry room to catch him in the act to figure out why he is a thief.
B) You suspect your older brother has some serious mental problems. You want to show him a series of ink blots and ask him what he thinks they look like. In this way, you will try to gain new insight into his mental health needs.
C) The sidewalk outside your dormitory is cracked and many people have injured themselves on it. You decide to organize volunteers so that you can repair the damage.
D) You have observed that the police force is made up almost entirely of a certain immigrant group. You want to interview members of that community and police officers to find out why this group might be drawn to police work.

Question 38

How is a sociological study of the family more likely to differ from a psychological study of the family?

A) Psychological studies tend to focus on relationships; sociological studies tend to focus on individuals.
B) Psychological studies tend to study the minds of individuals in a family; sociological studies tend to study families within their larger social contexts.
C) Psychological studies tend to focus on context; sociological studies tend to focus on content.
D) Psychological studies tend to be large scale; sociological studies tend to be smaller in scale.

Question 39

__________, 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 40

John is taking an introductory sociology class. As a result, he is conscious of his environment and carefully thinks about what he sees rather than jumping to quick conclusions. He notices a homeless man on his way to class every day. Using his sociological imagination, what might John conclude about this man's circumstances?

A) John reacts with frustration. He considers the homeless man's situation as a personal problem. The man, obviously, is lazy and chooses not to work.
B) John reacts with indifference. Although he would not make the same choice, the homeless man, obviously, has chosen to live off handouts rather than work.
C) John reacts with sympathy. He considers the social circumstances that may have drawn the homeless man into poverty. He wonders why so many people are unemployed. He concludes that, being in a period of social change, where globalization and other factors are restructuring our economic lives, the homeless man has lost his housing along with his job.
D) John is sympathetic and inclined to believe that substance abuse is a disease. The homeless man, obviously, is an alcoholic, but his particular disease-alcoholism-is a personal, not a social, issue.

Question 41

In what different ways do we characterize ourselves in social settings?

Question 42

Urban areas have a population density of at least __________ people per square mile.

A) 250
B) 500
C) 750
D) 1,000

Question 43

The fields of research on the social world of human beings are best defined as __________.

A) the social sciences
B) biology
C) physics
D) history

Question 44

You, a sociology student, are approached by an anthropology student who would like to work with you. How should you respond to this offer to participate in an interdisciplinary study?

A) Since sociology is a broad discipline that shares much theory and many research methods with anthropology, interdisciplinary study is very much possible. Accept.
B) Sociology is a very narrow field of study with very specific research methodologies. A project with an anthropologist just doesn't make sense. Decline.
C) Historical contexts and the nature of modern universities prevent sociologists from interacting effectively with anthropologists. Decline.
D) The project may work, but it is likely that you will come into conflict with your partner for theoretical reasons. This conflict could make the project very difficult to finish. Decline.

Question 45

How does the neighborhood we live in shape our social development?

Question 46

How does the time and place we are born into influence us and our behavior? Give an example.

Question 47

Although there is much common ground between sociology and economics, practitioners of the two disciplines often come to very different conclusions. Explain why this occurs.

Question 48

A large group of people who live in the same area and participate in a common set of norms and rules for social interaction is best known as a __________.

A) society
B) social structure
C) neighborhood
D) role set

Question 49

It is the late nineteenth century. Robert is a young man who is fascinated by the social world. He is particularly interested in studying the problems of cities and their inhabitants, including the lives of new residents migrating to cities from farms and from abroad. He is familiar with an emerging discipline called sociology and wants to conduct field research as part of his university coursework in the city where he is being educated. What school should Robert contact to gain information about this new field of study?

A) Hanover College, in Hanover, Indiana
B) the University of Kansas, in Lawrence, Kansas
C) the University of Chicago, in Chicago, Illinois
D) the University of Georgia, in Athens, Georgia

Question 50

After Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, there were reports of increased criminal activity and looting. Looters broke into electronics stores and stole merchandise, and increasing numbers of violent attacks exceeded all police efforts to keep the rising levels of violence in check. How would a sociologist explain these phenomena?

A) Urban residents, viewing the chaos in the streets in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, altered their behaviors to conform to the norms of a new social reality.
B) In the absence of social structures to put limits on their behavior, the criminal members of any society view times of crisis as opportunities to mobilize large numbers of people to engage in criminal behaviors unimpeded.
C) In the absence of social structures, rules are unclear, and everyone has to improvise.
D) People always choose to act as criminals when they know police officers are not watching them.

Question 51

You are a social scientist in the mid-nineteenth century. You want to study the forces in society that are driving social change. What human subjects are you most likely to study?

A) farmers who live in rural Iowa
B) shrimpers who live in Louisiana
C) factory workers who live in New York City
D) members of the U.S. Army

Question 52

Industrialization is characterized by the decline of __________.

A) farming and the growth of factories
B) factories and a return to farming
C) farming and the growth of technology
D) factories and an increase in environmentalism

Question 53

Thomas is a heavy smoker. Although no signs prohibiting smoking are visible in his college classroom, he chooses not to smoke and instead chews gum until the class is over. Thomas is abiding by the social __________, or rules, of the classroom.

A) norms
B) hierarchies
C) roles
D) structures