Sociology Test Bank QUESTIONS AND CORRECT ANSWERS
Sociology Test Bank
Chapter 1
Multiple Choice
1. As defined by C. Wright Mills, which of the
... [Show More] following “enables us to grasp history and biography and the relations between the two within society”?
a. formal sociology
b. sociological imagination
c. microsociology
d. macrosociology
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 5
TOP: Factual OBJ: Sociological Imagination
2. Feeling discomfort about rural Chinese society, where many generations of a family sleep in the same bed, is known as:
a. xenophobia.
b. Verstehen.
c. social identity.
d. social ecology.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 6–7
TOP: Applied OBJ: Sociological Imagination
3. How does the textbook author use dialogue from Pulp Fiction, in which the characters discuss how in Holland people put mayonnaise on their french fries?
a. to introduce the sociology of film
b. to explain the sociological imagination
c. to explain social institutions
d. to define formal sociology
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 7
TOP: Applied OBJ: Sociological Imagination
4. A female manager is attempting to climb her way to the top of the corporate ladder. She works as hard, if not harder, than her male colleagues, but nothing she seems to do helps her advance. She begins to notice that males are being promoted, but females tend to be overlooked for advancements. The realization that many women in her circumstance are experiencing the same discrimination is an example of:
a. anomie.
b. Verstehen.
c. sociological imagination.
d. social cohesion.
ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: Page 5
TOP: Applied OBJ: Sociological Imagination
5. Sociologists and economists have shown that the benefits of higher education include higher median incomes for college graduates. This is known as:
a. educational investment. b. the returns to schooling.
c. study hard or be poor.
d. get an education; get a job.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 8
TOP: Factual OBJ: Returns to Schooling
6. After doing some sociological math, what is the net difference between the annual earnings of the average high school versus college graduate?
a. about $5,000 per year
b. about $10,000 per year c. about $15,000 per year
d. about $50,000 per year ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: Page 9
TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Returns to Schooling
7. According to Randall Collins’s (1979) research, the expansion of higher education is:
a. mainly caused by the globalization of capitalism.
b. likely caused by less-prepared high school students entering college. c. a result of credentialism and expenditures on formal education.
d. a result of increasing governmental interference in educational funding.
ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: Page 11 TOP: Factual OBJ: Credentialism
8. According to research used to question credentialism, what might it cost to buy a college diploma online? a. $29.95
b. $99.99
c. $250.00
d. at least $1,000
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 11 TOP: Factual OBJ: Credentialism
9. In today’s society, Randall Collins might suggest that getting a “piece of paper” is more important to many than actually having the knowledge to do a job. He calls the priority placed on formal education:
a. secondary education. b. credentialism.
c. normlessness.
d. xenophobia.
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 11 TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Credentialism
10. All of the following are examples of social institutions used to prevent websites from undermining colleges’ degree-conferring abilities EXCEPT:
a. copyright law.
b. police forces.
c. employers. d. families.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 11
TOP: Factual OBJ: Social Institutions
11. Which of the following is defined as a set of stories embedded within a social network about the standard ways a society meets its needs?
a. a social identity b. a social institution
c. a theory
d. anomie
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 12 TOP: Factual OBJ: Social Institutions
12. The author of your text states that the most age-segregated social institution in our society is:
a. a hospital.
b. a mental institution.
c. a prison.
d. a four-year college.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 12
TOP: Factual OBJ: Social Institutions
13. A family, as a group of people living together sharing individual stories, makes up a(n): a. social institution.
b. conflict institution.
c. anomic institution.
d. creative institution.
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 13
TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Social Institutions
14. The Phillip Morris Company changed its name to Altira in an attempt to start a new:
a. line of cigarettes.
b. defense against law suits. c. social identity.
d. multinational company.
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 13 TOP: Factual OBJ: Social Identity
15. The “grand narrative” that constitutes a social identity:
a. is nothing more than a sum of individual stories told between pairs of individuals.
b. remains the same throughout time.
c. can only be defined by the individual him- or herself.
d. is best displayed online on MySpace and Facebook.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 13 TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Social Identity
16. As a formal field, sociology is a relatively discipline, as discussed in Chapter 1.
a. old
b. established c. young
d. conservative
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 15
TOP: Factual OBJ: Early Sociological Theory
17. Who was the author of the first methods book in the discipline of sociology?
a. Emile Durkheim b. Harriet Martineau
c. Jane Addams
d. Max Weber
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 18
TOP: Factual OBJ: August Comte and Harriet Martineau
18. In the book How to Observe Morals and Manners, the institution of marriage is criticized as: a. based on an assumption of the inferiority of women.
b. based on an assumption of the inferiority of men.
c. reinforcing compulsory heterosexuality.
d. perpetuating social class stratification.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 18
TOP: Factual OBJ: August Comte and Harriet Martineau | Feminist Theory
19. Which of the following sociologists developed the theory of positivism? a. Auguste Comte
b. Emile Durkheim
c. Karl Marx
d. Max Weber
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 15 TOP: Factual OBJ: Positivism
20. Positivism is best defined as:
a. the idea that we can scientifically and logically study social institutions and the individuals within them.
b. the effect of religion on social institutions and the individuals within them.
c. the study of the symbolic interactions between social institutions and the individuals within them.
d. the relationship between scientific and religious social institutions.
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 16 TOP: Factual OBJ: Positivism
21. According to Comte, positivism arose out of a need to make sense of the social order in a time of declining religious authority.
a. scientific b. moral
c. rational
d. economic
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 16 TOP: Factual OBJ: Positivism
22. The person that is often considered to be the founding father of positivism is: a. Émile Durkheim.
b. Karl Marx.
c. Georg Simmel.
d. George Herbert Mead.
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 23 TOP: Factual OBJ: Positivism
23. All of the following are known as the three epistemological stages of human society, as explained by Comte, EXCEPT:
a. the theological stage.
b. the metaphysical stage.
c. the scientific stage.
d. the post-scientific stage.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Pages 16–17
TOP: Factual OBJ: Epistemological Stages
24. Which of the three historical epistemological stages of human society did Comte explain was highlighted by Enlightenment thinking such as Rousseau’s, Mill’s, and Hobbes’s beliefs in biological causes for human behavior?
a. the theological stage b. the metaphysical stage
c. the scientific stage
d. the post-scientific stage
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 17
TOP: Factual OBJ: Epistemological Stages
25. Which of the three historical epistemological stages of human society did Comte claim was characterized by the development of social physics to explain human behavior?
a. the theological stage
b. the metaphysical stage c. the scientific stage
d. the post-scientific stage
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 17
TOP: Factual OBJ: Epistemological Stages
26. Which of the three historical epistemological stages did Comte argue would explain human society by consulting the Bible or other religious texts?
a. the theological stage
b. the metaphysical stage
c. the scientific stage
d. the post-scientific stage
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 16
TOP: Factual OBJ: Epistemological Stages
27. Which of the following are known as “the founding fathers of the sociological discipline”?
a. Comte, Martineau, and Marx
b. Martineau, Addams, and Weber
c. Durkheim, Marx, and Weber
d. Cooley, Park, and Mead
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 18
TOP: Factual OBJ: Classical Sociology
28. Which of the following founders of sociology is known, in part, for having his writings become the basis of Communism?
a. Auguste Comte
b. Émile Durkheim c. Karl Marx
d. Max Weber
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 19
TOP: Factual OBJ: Karl Marx
29. To Marx, conflict between a small number of capitalists and a large number of workers would divide society. He referred to this large number of workers as:
a. employees. b. proletariat.
c. subordinates.
d. slaves.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 20
TOP: Factual OBJ: Karl Marx
30. Karl Marx would argue that the types of social institutions in a society were the result of the economic makeup of that society. Max Weber, however, argued that:
a. there are no social institutions in a society.
b. there are multiple influences (e.g., religion) on how social institutions are created.
c. social institutions are not influenced by the economy, but by the individuals in them.
d. the epistemological stage of that society influenced the social institutions.
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 21
TOP: Applied OBJ: Karl Marx | Max Weber
31. Who criticized Marx for focusing exclusively on economics and social class as explanations for human behavior, and advocated sociological analyses that allowed for multiple influences?
a. Auguste Comte
b. Harriet Martineau
c. Georg Simmel d. Max Weber
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 21
TOP: Factual OBJ: Max Weber
32. Who wrote The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism?
a. Karl Marx
b. Georg Simmel
c. Harriet Martineau d. Max Weber
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 21
TOP: Factual OBJ: Max Weber
33. The author of The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism argued that sociologists should study social behavior from the perspective of the people engaging in it. This is known as:
a. functionalism.
b. historical materialism.
c. xenophobia. d. Verstehen.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 21
TOP: Factual OBJ: Verstehen
34. Max Weber would say we need to understand, from their perspective, not from our own, why many generations of Chinese sleep together in rural China. He called this:
a. anomie.
b. normlessness. c. Verstehen.
d. positivism.
ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: Page 21 TOP: Applied OBJ: Verstehen
35. Which of the following is the study of social meanings that emphasizes subjectivity in understanding human behavior?
a. interpretive sociology
b. formal sociology
c. social ecology
d. positivism
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 21
TOP: Factual OBJ: Interpretive Sociology
36. The Division of Labor in Society was the first of many sociological contributions from:
a. Auguste Comte. b. Émile Durkheim.
c. Karl Marx.
d. Max Weber.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 22 TOP: Factual OBJ: Émile Durkheim
37. According to the theory of social solidarity, the division of labor in a society helps to determine:
a. the sociological contribution of individuals.
b. the way urbanism affects the cohesion of individuals.
c. the way social cohesion among individuals is maintained.
d. the way social norms are created and maintained.
ANS: C DIF: Difficult REF: Pages 22–23 TOP: Factual OBJ: Émile Durkheim
38. Which of the following sociologists wrote Suicide in 1897?
a. Auguste Comte b. Émile Durkheim
c. Karl Marx
d. Max Weber
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 23
Chapter 2
Multiple Choice
1. The two broad approaches social scientists use to gather data about the social world are:
a. deductive and inductive.
b. qualitative and quantitative.
c. implicit and explicit.
d. correlational and causal.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Pages 42–43
TOP: Factual OBJ: Research Methods
2. A sociologist’s subject matter presents some difficult research problems of a kind that natural scientists rarely have to deal with. Which of the following does NOT describe such a problem?
a. A sociologists is part of the very subject he or she is studying.
b. For ethical reasons, it is not permissible to do particular kinds of studies on people.
c. It is possible to have completely controlled experiments to delineate cause and effect relationships.
d. The causes of social behavior are usually multiple, complex, and intricate.
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 67
TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Research Methods
3. Norm is interested in whether pet owners are more likely than those who do not own pets to have healthier lifestyles (excercise regularly, drink moderately, refrain from nicotine use, etc.). By comparing the numbers he gathers on both groups, Norm will most likely be using what particular research method?
a. quantitative
b. inductive
c. deductive
d. qualitative
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 42
TOP: Applied OBJ: Quantitative Research
4. The research method that uses statistical analysis to describe the social world is:
a. qualitative research. b. quantitative research.
c. deductive research.
d. inductive research.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 42
TOP: Factual OBJ: Quantitative Research
5. What type of research describes people’s behavior in rich detail and focuses on the meanings people give to their actions?
a. inductive research b. qualitative research
c. quantitative research
d. deductive research
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 43
TOP: Factual OBJ: Qualitative Research
6. Elizabeth would like to conduct a study to determine how women define spousal abuse and the meanings they attach to their abuse. What research method will Elizabeth most likely use?
a. quantitative
b. inductive c. qualitative
d. deductive
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 43 TOP: Applied OBJ: Qualitative Research
7. If Kate begins her research with a theory, then forms hypotheses and makes some observations, what method is she using?
a. independent
b. dependent
c. inductive d. deductive
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 43
TOP: Applied OBJ: Deductive Approach
8. Which of the following describes the deductive approach to research?
a. A researcher makes some observations, and based on these observations develops a theory.
b. A researcher develops some hypotheses to explain a correlation observed between two variables.
c. A researcher starts with a theory, forms hypotheses, makes observations, and then analyzes the data.
d. A researcher develops some hypotheses that lead to a theory about human behavior.
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 43 TOP: Factual OBJ: Deductive Approach
9. Which approach to sociological research starts with empirical observations and then works to form a theory?
a. statistical
b. observational c. inductive
d. deductive
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 43
TOP: Factual OBJ: Inductive Approach
10. Paula begins to notice there are patterns to where people sit on the bus, and that these patterns differ depending on whether the rider is male or female. Based on these observations she generates larger ideas (theories) about why men and women differ. This is an example of which kind of research approach?
a. deductive b. inductive
c. quantitative
d. a case study
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 43 TOP: Applied OBJ: Inductive Approach
11. Which of the following is an example of a correlation?
a. People who work harder have higher income.
b. People with better health work harder.
c. The more income a person makes, the easier it is to retire.
d. People with higher levels of income tend to enjoy better overall health.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 44 TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Correlation
12. A correlation is:
a. a change in one variable that is caused by another. b. a simultaneous change in two variables.
c. a relationship between two moderating variables.
d. a relationship between cause and effect.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 44 TOP: Factual OBJ: Correlation
13. When one factor is said to influence another factor, we refer to this as:
a. correlation.
b. association. c. causation.
d. mediation.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 46
TOP: Factual OBJ: Causality
14. All of the following are factors needed to establish causality EXCEPT:
a. correlation.
b. time order.
c. ruling out alternative explanations. d. panel study results.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 46
TOP: Factual OBJ: Causality
15. Which of the following is more difficult to do in social science research?
a. to say that two things change at the same time
b. to establish that something is the cause of something else
c. to argue that two things are related
d. to propose a relationship between two variables
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 46 TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Causality
16. Martine is a sociologist who thinks that A is causing B, when in fact, B is causing A. She needs to be careful to not make the mistake known as:
a. operationalization. b. reverse causality.
c. deduction.
d. induction.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 47
TOP: Applied OBJ: Reverse Causality
17. In establishing causation, it helps to know which variable precedes the other in time. If not, it is easy to make a mistake involving:
a. reverse causality.
b. spurious causality.
c. alternative explanations.
d. time order.
ANS: A DIF: Difficult REF: Page 47 TOP: Factual OBJ: Reverse Causality
18. Andy hypothesized that the stress created during economic downturns would increase the probablility of spousal abuse. Stress would be considered the variable, and spousal abuse would be considered the
variable.
a. dependent; independent
b. key; affected
c. moderating; dependent d. independent; dependent
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 48 TOP: Applied OBJ: Variables
19. Professor Clayton hypothesizes that travel to other countries increases students’ abilities to do well in advanced sociology classes. Which variable is the independent variable?
a. Professor Clayton
b. travel to other countries
c. other cultures
d. students’ abilities
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 48 TOP: Applied OBJ: Variables
20. Factors that affect the relationship between an independent and dependent variable are known as:
a. operationalized variables. b. moderating variables.
c. mediating variables.
d. spurious variables.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 49
TOP: Factual OBJ: Variables
21. A variable that is thought to be influenced by another variable is known as the: a. dependent variable
b. independent variable
c. key independent variable
d. spurious variable
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 48
TOP: Factual OBJ: Dependent Variables
22. A variable that is thought to cause a change in another variable is called the:
a. dependent variable. b. independent variable.
c. spurious variable.
d. intervening variable.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 48
TOP: Factual OBJ: Independent Variables
23. A testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables is called a(n):
a. operationalization.
b. reliability. c. hypothesis.
d. natural experiment.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 48
TOP: Factual OBJ: Hypothesis
24. To define a term (or variable) in such a way so that it can be examined and measured is the process known as:
a. survey construction.
b. hypothesizing.
c. causal connection. d. operationalization.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 48
TOP: Factual OBJ: Operationalization
25. If Jose’s study measures religiosity by the number of hours people spend in organized religous activities, while Deidra’s study measures religiosity by whether people agree or disagree that religion plays an important part in their life, Jose and Deidra:
a. will not be able to compare their research findings. b. operationalize their concepts of religion differently.
c. have different hypotheses about the role of religion in their study.
d. have very different independent and dependent variables.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 48 TOP: Applied OBJ: Operationalization
26. When a researcher is successful at measuring what (s)he intends to measure, this is called: a. validity.
b. reliability.
c. response rate.
d. generalizability.
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 50
TOP: Factual OBJ: Validity
27. In her study, Darby is using church membership as an indicator of how religious a person is. She discovers that some “very religious” people rarely attend church. Darby may conclude that:
a. religiosity is a dependent variable.
b. her measure of religiosity lacks validity.
c. church attendance is a reliable indicator.
d. there is reverse causality between church attendance and religion.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 50 TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Validity
28. A standard yardstick measures 36 inches, but Sarah is using a “faulty” yardstick (one that measures 40 inches long) to measure the campers in her youth group. Sarah will not get a(n) indication of height, but she will have a(n) measure of height.
a. reliable; valid
b. consistent; accurate c. valid; reliable
d. accurate; generalizable
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Page 50 TOP: Applied OBJ: Validity | Reliability
29. The likelihood that a researcher will obtain the same result using the same measures the next time she or he tests a hypothesis is:
a. validity. b. reliability.
c. response rate.
d. generalizability.
ANS: B DIF: Easy REF: Page 50
TOP: Factual OBJ: Reliability
30. The more consistent the results given by repeated measurements, the higher the of the measurement procedure (and vice versa).
a. reliability
b. validity
c. efficiency
d. responsiveness
ANS: A DIF: Easy REF: Page 50
TOP: Factual OBJ: Reliability
31. The extent to which a researcher can claim that his or her findings explain a larger population than was studied is known as:
a. validity.
b. reliability.
c. responsiveness. d. generalizability.
ANS: D DIF: Easy REF: Page 50
TOP: Factual OBJ: Generalizability
32. Based on the results of a representative sample of students at his high school, Jack claims that “the majority of high school students today believe premarital sex is wrong.” Jack may be “speaking beyond his data” since the results he obtained may not easily translate to the attitudes of other high school students across the United States. This concern addresses the study’s:
a. validity.
b. generalizability.
c. reliability.
d. reflexivity.
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 50 TOP: Applied OBJ: Generalizability
33. If Sandra wants to generalize the findings of her study to another (possibly larger) population, it is important that the people in her study be:
a. randomly selected from the populaton she wants to generalize to.
b. varied in their characteristics so that there will be no problems.
c. aware of her intentions, so the study will be valid and reliable. d. representative of the group(s) she wants to generalize to.
ANS: D DIF: Moderate REF: Page 50 TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Generalizability
34. Because they are an accessible population, sociologists sometimes use undergraduate students in their research. In relation to the concept of generalizability in science, this tendency could represent a potential defect in research because:
a. college undergraduates do not have the right to refuse without suffering negative consequences.
b. the experiences of college undergraduates do not provide a legitimate empirical resource.
c. college undergraduates are not a subset of the general population. d. college undergraduates are not typical of the public at large.
ANS: D DIF: Difficult REF: Page 53
TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Generalizability
35. Ethnographer Mitchell Duneier spent five years hanging out with booksellers on the streets of Manhattan. His role as both researcher and participant provides a great example of the importance of:
a. maintaining firm boundaries between the role of researcher and the role of participant.
b. staying true to the ethical principles of the scientific method in our research.
c. critically assessing how our role as reseachers may affect the people we study.
d. maintaining distance from those we study so that our results are not contaminated.
ANS: C DIF: Moderate REF: Pages 51, 54 TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Researcher’s Role
36. What is the meaning of the term “white coat” effects in social research?
a. the structuring of a research project to maintain total anonymity
b. the impact researchers may have on the people/relationships they study
c. the change in subject’s behavior when researchers wear white coats
d. when researchers “put on the charm” to get compliance from their subjects
ANS: B DIF: Moderate REF: Page 50 TOP: Factual OBJ: Experimenter Effects
37. If Juanita practices in her research, she carefully considers how her role as researcher may affect those that she studies (the researched).
a. reflexivity
b. selective attention
c. empathy
d. common sense
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 50 TOP: Factual OBJ: Reflexivity
38. Which of the following is true regarding value judgments made by sociologists conducting research?
a. It is possible for a sociologist to remain value-free.
b. It is not important for a sociologist to remain value-free.
c. Value judgments and subjectivity lead to better research.
d. Every sociologist makes some value judgments, even about the problems and topics he or she chooses to study.
ANS: D DIF: Difficult REF: Page 54
TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Value Judgments in Research
39. Perhaps the most important outcome of feminist methodology is that:
a. it provides new and unique techniques for gathering data.
b. the focus on women’s experiences, in addition to men’s experiences, has increased the generalizability of the research.
c. it has created new jobs for women in research.
d. it prioritizes women and girls over men and boys.
ANS: B DIF: Difficult REF: Page 54
TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Feminist Methodology
Chapter 3
Multiple Choice
1. The word culture derives from the Latin word colere, which means:
a. a cult.
b. an ideology. c. to cultivate.
d. a plan of action.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 73
TOP: Factual OBJ: Culture
2. Which of the following was a poet and cultural critic who defined culture as the pursuit of perfection and broad knowledge of the world, in contrast to narrow self-centeredness and material gain?
a. Matthew Arnold
b. Émile Durkheim
c. Dalton Conley
d. Karl Marx
ANS: A DIF: Moderate REF: Page 75 TOP: Factual OBJ: Culture
3. Culture can be said to be anything but:
a. behavior.
b. psychology. c. nature.
d. symbols.
ANS: C DIF: Easy REF: Page 73
TOP: Conceptual OBJ: Culture
4. Culture tends to be:
a. stable. b. relative.
c. concrete.
d. within the person’s personality. [Show Less]