Deck 1: What Is Sociology?

Question 1

Sociological knowledge of the world is different from the knowledge we gain through everyday observation because

A) we use social scientific methods to make sociological observations
B) sociological knowledge can always be measured quantitatively
C) we revise our knowledge gained from everyday observation when we encounter new facts, but we don't revise sociological knowledge
D) everyday observation is methodical, whereas sociological observation is haphazard

Answer 1

A

Question 2

"Society" includes any relationships between human beings in which there is

A) socially meaningful interaction
B) physical contact
C) a shared language
D) shared values

Answer 2

A

Question 3

French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858-1917) argued that sociology should focus on the discovery of

A) social facts
B) social actions
C) social relationships
D) social problems

Answer 3

A

Question 4

German sociologist Max Weber (1864-1920) argued that sociology should focus on understanding

A) social facts
B) social actions
C) social relationships
D) social problems

Question 5

American sociologist Albion Small (1854-1926) argued that sociology could help us understand

A) social problems
B) social facts
C) social relationships
D) solutions to personal problems

Question 6

Sociologist C. Wright Mills argued that sociology could help us live better lives by

A) showing us that living in peace with others is impossible
B) showing us that individuals can do anything they put effort into, despite social forces
C) showing us that individuals are helpless in the face of social forces
D) showing us how our individual problems are connected to larger social issues

Question 7

Sociologists are interested in social facts, social actions, and social relationships because they believe that

A) individual actions are shaped by larger social phenomena
B) external forces alone, not how people respond to them, shape human lives
C) individual actions, not larger social forces, determine human outcomes
D) our individual experiences are so unique that it is almost impossible to find patterns in them

Question 8

When sociologists say that sociology is based on systematic research, they mean

A) they base their conclusions on inferences and hypothetical situations
B) they study individuals, not groups
C) they seek to find fact-based explanations of the social world as it really exists
D) they all use the same research method to make observations

Question 9

Sociologists can say that they hope to empower people to make positive change in the world because they believe that sociology

A) can convince individuals to change and, if enough individuals change, society will change
B) undermines freedom by teaching people that they are influenced by social forces
C) gives people a false but motivating sense of their own individual power in the face of overwhelming social forces
D) helps people understand the world, including social facts, actions, and relationships, more deeply and thus identify problems and solutions to them more clearly

Question 10

The moral perspective on sociology is distinguished by other approaches in its belief that sociology should

A) be morally neutral
B) adopt the moral framework of the majority of the people in a society
C) be a force for good
D) give more weight to the morality of those with less power in a society

Question 11

When sociologists argue that sociology can make the world a better place, they mean all of the following EXCEPT

A) increasing empathy and understanding
B) increasing equality
C) challenging structures of domination
D) promoting socialism as a system of government

Question 12

When sociologist C. Wright Mills said that the sociological imagination "enables us to grasp history and biography and the relation between the two in society," he meant that sociology

A) is a subfield of history
B) requires us to imagine things that may not have happened
C) is the study of how individuals contribute to history
D) is the effort to understand our individual stories within a larger historical frame

Question 13

William Julius Wilson's 1987 book The Truly Disadvantaged examined how

A) welfare policies affected poverty among people of color
B) cuts to welfare benefits harmed poor single mothers
C) conservative politicians promised tax cuts in exchange for cuts to welfare benefits that helped poor people
D) structural changes in gender, class, and race relationships contributed to poverty among African Americans living in inner cities

Question 14

During what time period did sociology develop as an academic discipline?

A) Late 18^th century
B) Early 19^th century
C) Late 19^th century
D) Middle 20^th century

Question 15

As a social science, sociology argues that humans make better choices when they accurately understand the facts of social life, and yet

A) gathering accurate information is difficult
B) most people do not want to learn accurate information
C) accuracy is a matter of opinion
D) methods for gathering accurate information are intuitive, not something that can be taught

Question 16

Dr. Kendig and Dr. Kulkarni are both surveying teens about their use of tobacco. Dr. Kendig includes questions about vaping, cigarette smoking, and chewing tobacco in her survey. Dr. Kulkarni only asks about cigarette smoking. Dr. Kendig's research findings show a higher rate of tobacco use among teens compared to Dr. Kulkarni's research. The differences in their findings illustrates the point that

A) how you define a problem determines what facts you collect as you study it
B) research findings are inherently subjective
C) the personal interests of researchers have undue influence over their results
D) data are unstable and cannot be measured accurately

Question 17

Why do sociologists value thoughtful research methods so much?

A) New ways of measuring well-understood data confirms previous research.
B) Unless research methods are innovative, they may not be appreciated by other sociologists.
C) Methods that are imprecise are less likely to produce accurate data.
D) Sociologists compete with each other to develop ever more precise methods.

Question 18

Sociological knowledge is different from everyday knowledge in that

A) sociology does not ignore information that challenges our assumptions
B) in everyday observations, people tend to seek information that challenges their assumptions
C) sociology confirms our biases
D) everyday knowledge is collected systematically

Question 19

Sociology is different from other social sciences in that it

A) produces only quantitative information-that is, things that are expressed in numbers
B) examines the relationships between different social institutions
C) focuses very narrowly on a limited set of topics
D) seeks narrow explanations of social phenomena that can't be applied to other situations

Question 20

Why do sociologists collect data about historical trends?

A) To explore how famous people in history responded to the social crises of their time
B) To understand how structural patterns change over time
C) To explain how social issues change from society to society
D) To demonstrate that the study of history remains important

Question 21

Why can't sociologists rely on their personal observations when drawing conclusions about society?

A) Personal observations cannot produce the quantitative data that sociology demands.
B) Research indicates that sociologists are more biased than other people.
C) Personal observations are not systematic.
D) Sociologists are less likely than others to recognize their prejudices.

Question 22

Level of analysis refers to

A) the time frame of the trends that sociologists study
B) the size and scale of the objects that sociologists study
C) the depth of description that sociologists use to detail the objects they study
D) the willingness of sociologists to admit their own biases

Question 23

What level of analysis studies large-scale structural patterns and historical trends?

A) "Public issue" sociology
B) Microsociology
C) Intermediate analysis
D) Macrosociology

Question 24

What level of analysis studies individual and small group interactions?

A) "Public issue" sociology
B) Microsociology
C) Intermediate analysis
D) Macrosociology

Question 25

What level of analysis examines specific institutions?

A) "Public issue" sociology
B) Microsociology
C) Intermediate analysis
D) Macrosociology

Question 26

A sociologist is interested in studying how fathers support breastfeeding mothers. She invites heterosexual couples with a nursing baby into her office to observe their interactions. What level of analysis is she conducting?

A) "Public issue" sociological
B) Microsociological
C) Intermediate sociological
D) Macrosociological

Question 27

As "the Greatest Generation"-those who witnessed World War II-passes away, the U.S. is seeing a massive transfer of wealth as their children and grandchildren inherit their money and property. Dr. Alvarez wants to study the impact of these inheritances on the larger U.S. economy. What level of analysis is she conducting?

A) "Public issue" sociological
B) Microsociological
C) Intermediate sociological
D) Macrosociological

Question 28

Dr. Kelvin is interested in how families negotiate the process of settling a will for a deceased member. He recruits 10 families, which each agree to let him observe their process of reading the will of a recently deceased loved one and interviewing them about their response to it. What level of analysis is he conducting?

A) "Public issue" sociological
B) Microsociological
C) Intermediate sociological
D) Macrosociological

Question 29

A megachurch is located in a suburban neighborhood. Because roughly 7,000 people attend services each week, traffic in the neighborhood is a nuisance to those living there. The church is seeking city permission to expand its parking lot and city financial investment to increase the number of lanes on the road leading to the church-decisions that members of the local neighborhood association fear will lead to even more traffic. The city has hired a sociologist to study the situation and offer a recommendation. What level of analysis is the sociologist conducting?

A) "Public issue" sociological
B) Microsociological
C) Intermediate sociological
D) Macrosociological

Question 30

Sociologists argue that the divorce rate is a "public issue" because

A) it is shaped by factors beyond individual partners' choices, such as the state of the economy
B) divorce is inherently bad for people and thus creates human suffering
C) public policy should make it harder to get a divorce
D) divorcing couples rarely consider the impact of their divorce on the public sphere

Question 31

When sociologists argue that people seek a "shared definition of the situation," they mean

A) much of our attention and energy in social situation is spent figuring out the rules, how to follow them, and how to bend them to our advantage
B) because the rules in most social situations are unclear, people must work together to explicitly define them
C) we fight about what is "common courtesy," which takes our attention away from more important social problems
D) the rules in any given social situation are determined by those people with the least amount of social power

Question 32

Mauricio is an automobile mechanic. Next week, he is meeting in person a woman he has been flirting with online. Because he does not want her to focus on his job as a mechanic, he is careful this week to wear gloves while at work, to prevent oil from staining his hands. Mauricio is engaging in what behavior?

A) Impression management
B) Level of analysis
C) Deceit
D) Confirmation bias

Question 33

J.K. Rowling, when submitting her first drafts of the Harry Potter books to publishers, chose to disguise her gender by using initials rather than her first name-Joanne-because she was concerned that publishers might reject a story about a boy wizard if they knew it was written by a woman. Rowling's fears illustrate what sociological principle?

A) Everyday social interactions can recreate patterns of inequality.
B) People are aware of their confirmation biases.
C) People can overcome prejudice if they try.
D) The negative impact of implicit biases-prejudices we have without recognizing them-is overstated.

Question 34

Which of the following is a tenet of macrosociological approaches to understanding the opportunities and challenges people face?

A) The opportunities and challenges we face in life are provided to us based on our own abilities.
B) The opportunities and challenges we face in life are entirely out of our control.
C) The opportunities and challenges we are given in life are shaped by our society.
D) The opportunities and challenges we are given in life are fully of our own making.

Question 35

Which of the following is NOT a topic on which macrosociologists would focus their work?

A) How economic factors such as international trade increase or decrease the chance of two nations in conflict moving to war
B) How warfare affects the mental health of individual soldiers
C) The environmental impact of bombing on the agricultural output of a nation
D) How journalistic coverage of a war shapes how members of Congress allocate funds for warfare

Question 36

Which of the following statements are true about the relationship between micro- and macrosociological approaches?

A) They are interchangeable.
B) One yields quantitative data (data in numbers) and the other yields qualitative data (data in words).
C) They complement each other.
D) They conflict with each other.

Question 37

Institutions help stabilize a society because they

A) are unquestioned and uncontested by members of a society
B) do not vary from society to society
C) are unchanging over time
D) provide rules for behavior and define relationships

Question 38

Sociologically, the word institutions has two definitions. Among the following, which is one of them?

A) The gestures and symbols that people exchange in building positive relationships with each other
B) The rules about how individuals should be punished for behavior that violates society's rules
C) A society's values about what is good and should be reproduced
D) Specific organizations with a domain that uphold the rules of how a society works

Question 39

Which of the following is an example of an institution?

A) The family
B) Support for animal rights
C) Sadness
D) The high school drop-out rate

Question 40

Which of the following is an example of how an institution serves as a gatekeeper?

A) A new state law demands that all public high school students must complete an internship in a local business in order to graduate.
B) The pair of shoes that you would like to buy is too expensive for your budget, so you choose a cheaper pair.
C) You embezzle money from your company and are sentenced to jail for your crime.
D) You have engaged in a street fight that has left you bleeding from a cut in your face. You call an Uber to take you home from the fight, but he driver refuses to let you into his car because he does not want you to bleed onto the seats.

Question 41

Because institutional gatekeepers tend to reward privilege

A) inequality decreases
B) people come to appreciate the privileges they have
C) those who already have privileges tend to accrue more
D) those who are disadvantaged have a fair opportunity to get ahead

Question 42

The feeling of belonging and connection we feel with others who we think of as "like us" is called

A) Power
B) Privilege
C) Structure
D) Solidarity

Question 43

Nationalism is a form of solidarity that can be dangerous because it

A) helps people bond around national symbols, such as the national flag
B) gives people a sense of pride about their nation's history
C) leads to an increase in taxes
D) defines immigrants within the nation as threatening to the nation and thus encourages other people to treat them violently

Question 44

In what way can solidarity act as a force for social good?

A) By promoting competition among members of the same group
B) By promoting competition among people of different groups
C) By promoting cooperation among people of different groups
D) By promoting cooperation among people of the same group

Question 45

In what way can solidarity damage social relationships?

A) By fostering conflict with those who are within your group
B) By fostering conflict with those who are outside your group
C) By fostering cooperation with those within your group
D) By opening the definition of who is within your group to too many people

Question 46

Which of the following is an example of solidarity?

A) When members of an anti-gay church show up at a local high school football game to protest the inclusion of a gay athlete on the team, every student in the school showed up to counter-protest, arguing that an attack on one of them was an attack on all of them.
B) When telecommunication workers went on strike, many of the employees in the office refused to participate in the picket and went to work rather than joining in the strike.
C) After her elderly father passed away, Cynthia received a card from the funeral home expressing their sympathy for her loss.
D) After Jack was confronted by his co-workers about his drinking while on the job, he insisted that such behavior was "no big deal" because "lots of people in other cultures drink while at work."

Question 47

Power usually operates

A) via violence
B) via threats of violence
C) via physical force
D) without bodily coercion or the threat of it

Question 48

Annette is not interested in politics, but her husband Greg is. She has very limited exposure to media about politics, arguing that it is the job of the husband to make decisions about how the wife should vote. She votes for the candidates whom Greg tells her to vote for. Greg is exercising power over his wife in which way?

A) A cultural tradition about gender
B) A cultural tradition about the importance of voting
C) A cultural tradition about media
D) A cultural tradition about emotional abuse

Question 49

Social relationships in which one person or group is able to influence others, either directly or indirectly, is characterized by

A) solidarity
B) privilege
C) structure
D) power

Question 50

Which of the following statements about the relationship between power and resistance is true?

A) People often resist feeling and being powerless.
B) History shows that nonviolent resistance to violent power is futile.
C) People with power are always more popular than people resisting it.
D) The exercise of power rarely produces resistance.

Question 51

If you oppose the exercise of others' power over you, you are engaging in

A) resistance
B) solidarity
C) privilege
D) contingency

Question 52

The uneven distribution of social resources is termed

A) structure
B) confirmation bias
C) inequality
D) privilege

Question 53

Inequality has existed in all societies, though

A) societies may differ in who is treated unequally.
B) some societies have achieved equality
C) all societies take similar measures to undo it
D) the same strategies for addressing it work even in very different societies

Question 54

When advantages in life flow to people at the top of a social hierarchy, they are experiencing

A) conflict
B) solidarity
C) privilege
D) contingency

Question 55

How do people with privilege often protect their belief that they earned their good fortune in life?

A) Refusal to watch televised news or read a newspaper
B) Social integration, which allows them to meet people who are disadvantaged and pass negative judgments on their situation
C) Social isolation, which prevents them from seeing people without such advantages
D) Disengagement from politics due to cynicism

Question 56

Which of the following is evidence that social life on our planet is increasingly interconnected?

A) The birth rate for Muslims in the U.S. is higher than the birth rate for people of most other religions.
B) Prejudice against immigrants in the U.S. has increased since 2016.
C) Most Americans believe it is important to stand for the national anthem while attending sporting events where it is played.
D) For most Americans, most of the consumer goods in their household are made abroad.

Question 57

The interconnection of social life on the planet is termed

A) globalization
B) localization
C) parochialism
D) cosmopolitanism

Question 58

The seen and unseen regular, organized patterns of social life are termed

A) social structure
B) inequality
C) contingency
D) sociological imagination

Question 59

Openness in social life produced by human choices and actions is termed

A) contingency
B) solidarity
C) power
D) privilege

Question 60

Your city government is currently hiring people to work on each of the four projects below. If they can hire only one sociologist, which job should they hire the sociologist to do?

A) Counting how many migratory birds fly through the city during a period of time in order to understand how a new high-rise building might impact their migration patterns
B) Taking a census of how many youth are loitering in the public parks each day in order to assess if there is a need for a youth drop-in center
C) Measuring what percent of the content of the city's garbage is recyclable in order to recommend a new system of sorting recyclables from trash
D) Measuring how much litter is left in the city's central park each day in order to determine the correct number of trash cans that should be placed in the park