Deck 1: Understanding Social Problems

Question 1

A problem that can be explained in terms of the qualities of the individual is called a(n) _____.

Answer 1

personal problem

Question 2

A problem whose causes and solutions lie outside the individual and the immediate environment is called a(n) _____.

Answer 2

social problem

Question 3

There are three major theoretical perspectives in sociology. They are structural functionalism, conflict theory, and _____.

Answer 3

symbolic interactionism

Question 4

A sociological theory that focuses on social systems and how their interdependent parts maintain order is called _____.

Question 5

A theory that focuses on contradictory interests, inequalities between social groups, and the resulting conflict and change is called _____.

Question 6

A theory that focuses on the interaction between individuals, the individual's perception of situations, and the ways in which social life is constructed through interaction is called _____.

Question 7

A(n) _____ is the behavior associated with a particular position in the social structure.

Question 8

A(n) _____ is the arrangement of society into groups that are unequal with regard to such resources as wealth, power, and prestige.

Question 9

A predisposition about something in one's environment is called a(n) _____.

Question 10

A set of ideas that explain or justify some aspect of social reality is called a(n) _____.

Question 11

Social problems can be manifested at multiple levels of social life. They can be manifested at the individual level, the group level, and the _____.

Question 12

The process of carefully attending to spoken or written information in order to evaluate its validity is called _____.

Question 13

The tendency to overgeneralize, that is to use one, two, or three cases to support an entire argument, is called _____.

Question 14

The _____ is the argument that things could not have worked out any other way than the way they did.

Question 15

A tactic among debaters is to attack the opponent personally when they can't support their position by reason, logic, or facts. This is called the _____.

Question 16

When a person uses conclusions to support the assumptions that where necessary to make the conclusions, it is an example of the _____.

Question 17

In the context of critical thinking, _____ is the process of defining what is abstract as something concrete.

Question 18

The fallacy of authority means _____.

Question 19

The assertion that what is true of the part is necessarily true of the whole is called _____.

Question 20

_____ is designed to gain information about so­cial problems so that one can have a valid understanding of them and employ realistic efforts in resolving them.

Question 21

The variables in an experiment that are manipulated to see how they affect changes in the other variables are called _____.

Question 22

The variables in an experiment that are influenced by the independent variables are called _____.

Question 23

A problem that can be explained in terms of the qualities of an individual is called a(n) _____.

A) personal problem
B) social problem
C) institutional problem
D) societal problem

Question 24

A problem that has causes and solutions which lie outside an individual and the immediate environment is called a(n) _____.

A) personal problem
B) social problem
C) institutional problem
D) societal problem

Question 25

Which famous sociologist referred to personal problems as the "personal troubles of milieu"?

A) Robert Merton
B) Emile Durkheim
C) Max Weber
D) C. Wright Mills

Question 26

Which famous sociologist referred to social problems as the "public issues of social structure"?

A) Robert Merton
B) Emile Durkheim
C) Max Weber
D) C. Wright Mills

Question 27

If a problem is defined as personal, _____ are employed to cope with the problem.

A) individual strategies
B) collective strategies
C) societal strategies
D) professional strategies

Question 28

A social problem is defined as a condition or pattern of behavior that:

A) validates some other condition or pattern of behavior.
B) is caused, facilitated, or prolonged by factors that operate at a single level of social life.
C) is defined as compatible with the desired quality of life.
D) requires social action to be resolved.

Question 29

A sociological theory that focuses on social systems and how their interdependent parts maintain order is called _____.

A) structural functionalism
B) conflict theory
C) symbolic interactionism
D) cultural theory

Question 30

A theory that focuses on contradictory interests, inequalities between social groups, and the resulting conflict and change is called _____.

A) structural functionalism
B) conflict theory
C) symbolic interactionism
D) cultural theory

Question 31

A sociological theory that focuses on the interaction between individuals, an individual's perception of situations, and the ways in which social life is constructed through interaction is called _____.

A) structural functionalism
B) conflict theory
C) symbolic interactionism
D) cultural theory

Question 32

In structural functionalism, a problem involves a system of interdependent parts, including shared expectations about behavior called _____.

A) norms
B) roles
C) contradictions
D) values

Question 33

The behavior associated with a particular position in the social structure is called a(n) _____.

A) norm
B) role
C) expectation
D) function

Question 34

Things that are preferred because they are defined as having worth are called _____.

A) attitudes
B) ideologies
C) beliefs
D) values

Question 35

The arrangement of society into groups that are unequal with regard to such valued resources as wealth, power, and prestige is called _____.

A) a stratification system
B) culture
C) society
D) intuition

Question 36

Which of the following is true according to the symbolic interactionist approach in sociology?

A) A problem involves a system of interdependent parts, including institutions, norms, roles, and values.
B) Contradictions and inequalities exist between the parts of a social system and generate conflict between groups.
C) A pattern of inequality of wealth, power, and prestige exists in all societies.
D) The perspectives of individuals, including their attitudes and ideologies, are important components of the social system.

Question 37

A set of ideas that explain or justify some aspect of social reality is called _____.

A) an attitude
B) an ideology
C) a value
D) a role

Question 38

Which of the following is an assumption of the structural functionalist approach in sociology?

A) Society is an integrated system of interdependent parts, bound together by shared values and norms.
B) Society is a system of diverse groups, with conflicting values and interests, vying with each other for power, wealth, and other valued resources.
C) Society is an arena of interacting individuals who behave in accord with their definitions of situations and who create shared meanings as they interact.
D) Society is a system of the perspectives of individuals, including their attitudes and ideologies.

Question 39

How does the conflict theory explain social problems generally?

A) Problems occur when patterns of social interaction alter the social structural factors.
B) A situation or form of behavior becomes a problem when people define it as such.
C) Problems are the result of dominance over, and exploitation of, some groups by others.
D) Problems arise out of social disorganization, a state in which consensus about norms has broken down.

Question 40

How does structural functionalism explain poverty?

A) The upper and middle classes oppress and exploit the poor and create ideologies that blame the poor and justify their poverty.
B) Political, economic, and educational institutions are not functioning adequately, so that old arrangements are obsolete before new arrangements are in place.
C) Poverty became a social problem in the United States when people accepted that people remain poor when they define their poverty as the result of their own deficiencies.
D) Upper- and middle-class lawmakers regularly support corporate welfare but reject such welfare ideas for the poor as a guaranteed minimum annual income.

Question 41

The _____ uses three broad categories: basic human needs (such as nutrition, medical care, and sanitation); foundations of well-being (health, environmental quality, access to basic knowledge and information); and opportunity (personal rights and freedom, tolerance, access to advanced education).

A) World Values Survey
B) World Happiness Report
C) Human Development Index
D) Social Progress Index

Question 42

The idea of the globalization of the economy would be measured at what level of social life?

A) individual level
B) group level
C) societal level
D) global level

Question 43

The process of carefully attending to spoken or written information in order to evaluate its validity is called _____.

A) the fallacy of dramatic instance
B) the fallacy of thinking
C) critical thinking
D) scientific methodology

Question 44

The tendency to overgeneralize, that is to use one, two, or three cases to support an entire argument, is called _____.

A) the fallacy of dramatic instance
B) the fallacy of thinking
C) critical thinking
D) scientific methodology

Question 45

The _____ is the argument that things could not have worked out any other way than the way they did.

A) fallacy of dramatic instance
B) fallacy of thinking
C) fallacy of retrospective determinism
D) fallacy of misplaced concreteness

Question 46

In the context of critical thinking, which of the following is true of the fallacy of retrospective determinism?

A) It is the tendency to overgeneralize, to use one, two, or three cases to support an entire argument.
B) It asserts that what happened historically had to happen, and it had to happen just the way it did.
C) It is an idea, a way of thinking about a particular collectivity of people.
D) It attributes the cause of a particular problem to society and denies individual responsibility.

Question 47

In the context of critical thinking, the _____ is the tendency to make something abstract into something definite.

A) fallacy of dramatic instance
B) fallacy of retrospective determinism
C) fallacy of personal attack
D) fallacy of misplaced concreteness

Question 48

A tactic among debaters is to attack the opponent personally when they can't support their position by reason, logic, or facts. This is called the _____.

A) fallacy of personal attack
B) fallacy of misplaced concreteness
C) fallacy of dramatic instance
D) fallacy of appeal of prejudice

Question 49

In the context of critical thinking, the _____ is the tendency of debaters to use popular preconceptions or passions to convince others of the correctness of their position.

A) fallacy of retrospective determinism
B) fallacy of misplaced concreteness
C) fallacy of dramatic instance
D) fallacy of appeal to prejudice

Question 50

When a person uses conclusions to support the assumptions that were necessary to make the conclusions, it is an example of _____.

A) the fallacy of circular reasoning
B) the fallacy of appeal to prejudice
C) the fallacy of misplaced concreteness
D) the fallacy of personal attack

Question 51

The fallacy of authority means _____.

A) an illegitimate appeal to authority
B) observing an experiment
C) conducting an experiment for yourself
D) giving a lecture on research that you have conducted

Question 52

The assertion that what is true of the part is necessarily true of the whole is called _____.

A) the fallacy of non sequitur
B) the fallacy of personal attack
C) the fallacy of composition
D) the fallacy of appeal to prejudice

Question 53

The term "non sequitur" means _____.

A) "to speak the truth"
B) "it does not follow"
C) "it is a given"
D) "it is not possible"

Question 54

In the context of critical thinking, the _____ is defined as something that does not follow logically from what has preceded it.

A) fallacy of non sequitur
B) fallacy of authority
C) fallacy of composition
D) fallacy of appeal to prejudice

Question 55

A method of research in which a sample of people are interviewed or given questionnaires in order to get data on some phenomenon is called _____.

A) an experiment
B) a survey
C) a record study
D) an observational study

Question 56

Your position in the social system based on economic resources, power, education, prestige, and life style is called your _____.

A) cultural position
B) role
C) inherited status
D) socioeconomic status

Question 57

A _____ is any trait or characteristic that varies in value or magnitude.

A) social trait
B) phenomenon
C) role
D) variable

Question 58

A statistical method for determining the probability that research findings occurred by change is called _____.

A) the mean
B) a test of reliability
C) a test of significance
D) regression analysis

Question 59

The organization of data to show the number of times each item occurs in a distribution is called _____.

A) the mean
B) the frequency distribution
C) the median
D) the range

Question 60

The _____ is the score in a distribution which has half of the scores above it and half of the scores below it.

A) mode
B) mean
C) median
D) range

Question 61

The variable in an experiment that is manipulated to see how it effects changes in the other variable is called _____.

A) the dependent variable
B) the independent variable
C) the control variable
D) the spurious variable

Question 62

A problem that can be explained in terms of the qualities of an individual is called a social problem.

Question 63

A problem whose causes and solutions lie outside the individual and the immediate environment is called a social problem.

Question 64

The famous sociologist Kai Erickson referred to personal problems as the "personal troubles of milieu."

Question 65

The famous sociologist C. Wright Mills referred to social problems as the "public issues of social structure."

Question 66

There are three major theoretical perspectives in sociology. They are structural functionalism, conflict theory, and symbolic interactionism.

Question 67

A sociological theory that focuses on social systems and how their interdependent parts maintain order is called structural functionalism.

Question 68

A theory that focuses on contradictory interests, inequalities between social groups, and the resulting conflict and change is called structural functionalism.

Question 69

A theory that focuses on the interaction between individuals, the individual's perception of situations, and the ways in which social life is constructed through interaction is called symbolic interactionism.

Question 70

A symbolic interactionist approach would stress the fact that people learn criminal behavior by communicating with, and accepting for themselves the perspective of, others who approve of such behavior.

Question 71

A status is the behavior associated with a particular position in the social structure.

Question 72

A stratification system is the arrangement of society into groups that are unequal with regard to such resources as wealth, power, and prestige.

Question 73

Social problems can be manifested at multiple levels of social life. They can be manifested at the individual level, the group level, and the cultural level.

Question 74

The idea of the globalization of the economy would be measured at the global level of social life.

Question 75

The process of carefully attending to spoken or written information in order to evaluate its validity is called critical thinking.

Question 76

The tendency to overgeneralize, that is to use one, two, or three cases to support an entire argument, is called the fallacy of dramatic instance.

Question 77

The fallacy of dramatic instance is the argument that things could not have worked out any other way than the way they did.

Question 78

A tactic among debaters is to attack the opponent personally when they can't support their position by reason, logic, or facts. This is called the fallacy of personal attack.

Question 79

When a person uses conclusions to support the assumptions that where necessary to make the conclusions, it is an example of the fallacy of appeal to prejudice.

Question 80

The most common research method used in sociology is research experiments.