Deck 1: A Sociology of the Family

Question 1

What does it mean to refer to the family connection as symbolic?

A) finding meaning in a family tie because one perceives that it has meaning
B) only one member of the family tie considering it meaningful
C) being able to prove that you are connected to another person through DNA testing
D) the symbols used to demonstrate relationships on the DNA test

Answer 1

A

Question 2

The institutional arena is governed by

A) the law.
B) accepted rules of interaction.
C) government definitions of family.
D) the head of household.

Answer 2

B

Question 3

What is the term for a social position that is accompanied by acceptable patterns of behavior?

A) a role
B) the family arena
C) head of household
D) consensus

Answer 3

A

Question 4

According to the reading,why is it important for children to know the difference between family and nonfamily?

A) If they did not know the difference, they would not know who should take them home from school.
B) Knowing the difference is important for forming attachment and constructing personal identities.
C) Knowing the difference is important for legal cases.
D) It is important so that they know who they must provide with birthday gifts.

Question 5

Which of the following is NOT a familial relationship recognized by the census?

A) family by birth
B) personal family
C) married family
D) adopted children

Question 6

The author says that it is challenging to define family because

A) who counts as family is defined by the law.
B) people who are related are family.
C) no one has defined family before.
D) different people and cultures use different definitions.

Question 7

Which of the following is an example of a legal family?

A) a family friend who you call "auntie," who also considers herself part of your family
B) your best friend
C) your little sister
D) your family pet

Question 8

In which of the following cases would the census include all members in the count of a family?

A) two unmarried people with a roommate
B) two married people with two college-age children who live on campus
C) two married people and their legally adopted child living in the same household
D) two married people with two children and their family friend who they consider an aunt, all living in the same household

Question 9

Based on the example of Vy Higginsen and Marion West provided,West and Higginsen might have been searching to uncover their genealogical ties to

A) increase the guest list at their family reunion.
B) better understand their own lives.
C) create their larger family tree and examine their family ties.
D) find out whether they have family members who were colonial settlers.

Question 10

Which of the following is an example of a family tie formed by legal recognition?

A) a family friend who you refer to as "auntie"
B) your parents
C) adoptive parents
D) a coworker who you see on a daily basis

Question 11

In which family issue does the state directly intervene?

A) the personal family
B) the legal family
C) the family as an institution
D) market

Question 12

Which of the following is the sociological definition of family?

A) Families are "groups of related people, bound by connections that are biological, legal, or emotional."
B) Families are "the people to whom we feel related and who we expect to define us as members of their family as well."
C) The family is "a group of people that lives and eats separately from other groups."
D) The family is "the place where family matters take place."

Question 13

Which of the following is an example of a personal family?

A) a family friend who you call "auntie," but who does not consider herself part of your family
B) a stepchild who considers him- or herself part of the family and whose stepparent considers the stepchild part of the family
C) your best friend, who also considers you his or her best friend
D) your family pet

Question 14

In which institutional arena does wealth accumulation take place?

A) the state
B) the market
C) the family
D) symbolic interaction

Question 15

Appropriate parental discipline is decided by

A) permit approval.
B) a formal legal proceeding.
C) common cultural understandings.
D) the child.

Question 16

When giving a reason for missing a meeting,a staff member lets her boss know that she is unavailable because her grandmother is in the hospital.The boss accepts this as an excusable absence because

A) family commitments are privileged.
B) the staff member shows she cares about her grandmother.
C) the boss also has a grandmother.
D) the staff member is a single mother.

Question 17

Which of the following is an example of a family tie formed by emotional connections?

A) a family friend who you refer to as "auntie"
B) your parents
C) adopted parents
D) a coworker who you see on a daily basis

Question 18

How did the United States v.Windsor ruling change the legal definition of marriage?

A) The ruling supported the earlier Defense of Marriage Act.
B) It specified that even couples legally married in their states could not have federal recognition of their marriage.
C) The ruling resulted in the federal government recognizing all legal marriages performed in states.
D) It required all states to perform same-sex marriage.

Question 19

Which of the following is an example of a biological family tie?

A) a family friend who you refer to as "auntie"
B) your parents
C) your neighbors
D) a coworker who you see on a daily basis

Question 20

Based on the reading,Cohen says that marriage is a contentious term because

A) legal recognition carries rights and responsibilities granted by the government.
B) it does not have a clear definition.
C) defining marriage is important so that children can know who their parents are.
D) marriage is a right for everyone.

Question 21

What theoretical perspective does the following statement represent? Family structure includes the progression from childhood to adulthood,which must be understood in a social and historical context.

A) demographic perspective
B) life course perspective
C) modernity
D) symbolic interaction

Question 22

Through what expression do structural functionalists determine meaning?

A) actions
B) words
C) ideas
D) emotions

Question 23

What theoretical perspective does the following statement represent? Family behavior and household structures contribute to larger population processes in many important ways.

A) demographic perspective
B) life course perspective
C) modernity
D) symbolic interaction

Question 24

What theoretical perspective does the following statement represent? Family structure is socially constructed.

A) consensus
B) feminism
C) structural functionalism
D) symbolic interaction

Question 25

Which of the following examples provides evidence that the role of the state is changing?

A) the growth of public services in health care and education
B) the weakening of marriage
C) changes in market activity
D) inequality in family definitions

Question 26

What theoretical perspective does the following statement represent? It is critical to understand the process by which individuality changed personal and institutional relations.

A) demographic perspective
B) life course perspective
C) modernity
D) symbolic interaction

Question 27

Which of the following is an example of a cohort?

A) a family with two children
B) baby boomers who all experienced the JFK assassination
C) siblings
D) a large group of pen pals

Question 28

Describe how you would use genealogical approaches to explore three elements of your background.

Question 29

What theoretical perspective does the following statement represent? Society is the "collective expression of shared norms and values."

A) consensus
B) conflict
C) exchange
D) symbolic interaction

Question 30

Which of the following is an example of correlation?

A) Kids who sleep with a night-light more often turn out to be nearsighted in adulthood.
B) Children are often nearsighted.
C) A family includes siblings who are both nearsighted.
D) A family includes siblings who are both farsighted.

Question 31

What constitutes the breadwinner-homemaker family as traditionally understood in early sociological theory?

A) either parent employed to support 2.5 children
B) an employed father, a mother without employment, and their children
C) an employed mother, a father without employment, and their children
D) two employed parents and their children

Question 32

What theoretical perspective does the following statement represent? The roles of men and women are part of an "unstable system ripe for . . .change."

A) consensus
B) conflict
C) structural functionalism
D) symbolic interaction

Question 33

A longitudinal survey is one that is sent

A) each year to a different group of high school students.
B) to 12th graders in the same high school each year.
C) only once to a group of 8th, 10th, and 12th graders.
D) to the same people every five years.

Question 34

In which institutional arena does facilitation of divorce take place?

A) the state
B) the market
C) the family
D) symbolic interaction

Question 35

What is the difference between random selection and nonrandom selection?

A) Random selection ensures that there is a large number of people selected, but nonrandom selection does not.
B) Nonrandom selection ensures that each person in the sample has the same likelihood of being chosen, while random selection does not.
C) Random selection is more regionally diverse than nonrandom sampling.
D) Random selection ensures that each person in the population has the same likelihood of being chosen, while nonrandom selection does not.

Question 36

What theoretical perspective revolves around people's ability to enact social roles based on the expectations of others?

A) conflict
B) feminism
C) modernity
D) symbolic interaction

Question 37

What theoretical perspective does the following statement represent? Individuals and groups with different resources,strengths,and weaknesses enter into mutual relationships to maximize their own gains.

A) structural functionalism
B) conflict
C) exchange
D) symbolic interaction

Question 38

What is the benefit of time-use studies?

A) They allow researchers to collect detailed information on how families spend their time.
B) They allow researchers to collect survey data.
C) They are a substitution for in-depth interviews that give researchers the same data.
D) They replace large, national studies.

Question 39

What is one of the ways that sociologists attempt to reduce bias in their studies?

A) collecting their own data
B) writing their own survey questions
C) using publicly funded nationally representative studies
D) using data from newspapers

Question 40

What theoretical perspective does the following statement represent? Studies of birth,death,and migration should occur at the population level to help us better understand families.

A) demographic perspective
B) life course perspective
C) modernity
D) symbolic interaction

Question 41

How have theoretical approaches to understanding the family shaped the sociological understanding of family over time?

Question 42

When it comes to understanding families,how are structural functionalists and conflict theoretical perspectives different? Based on what you read in the chapter,contrast how the two theories might explain the rise of the breadwinner-homemaker family.

Question 43

Compare and contrast the personal family,the legal family,and the family as an institutional arena.Give examples of each.

Question 44

Describe three significant contributions of feminist theory to sociologists' understanding of contemporary families.

Question 45

What are some of the strategies sociologists use to avoid bias in their research?

Question 46

What are the advantages of surveys,in-depth interviews,and time-use studies? Why would sociologists choose one method over another to study families?

Question 47

Based on what you have learned about the authority of the family,explain why teachers are allowed to exert corporal punishment on students,and discuss an argument families might make against the use of corporal punishment in schools.

Question 48

The definition of family has changed over time as a result of legal,cultural,and institutional shifts.Discuss two ways that the definition of family has changed over time and include which factors created this change.

Question 49

Using the concepts of biological and symbolic family ties,explain how you know who to call your "family."