Deck 1: The Sociological Perspective

Question 1

The phrase "survival of the fittest" was coined by

A) Charles Darwin.
B) Herbert Spencer.
C) Auguste Comte.
D) Karl Marx.

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Human relationships are examined by

A) the social sciences.
B) natural science.
C) all science.
D) mathematics.

Answer 2

A

Question 3

Using _____, Comte applied the scientific method to the social world.

A) negativism
B) positivism
C) natural science
D) anthropology

Answer 3

B

Question 4

_____ focuses on politics and government.

A) Political science
B) Anthropology
C) Psychology
D) Economics

Question 5

Xavier did research in organic chemistry. He was a chemist, but in a broader sense, he was a(n)

A) social scientist.
B) natural scientist.
C) organic chemist.
D) anthropologist.

Question 6

The corners in life that people occupy because of their place in a society are referred to as

A) social location.
B) social affiliation.
C) social empowerment.
D) dominant groups.

Question 7

_____ is the study of society and human behavior.

A) Natural science
B) Science
C) Psychology
D) Sociology

Question 8

Durkheim's concept of _____ refers to the degree to which people are tied to their social groups.

A) social integration
B) revolution
C) conflict theory
D) religion

Question 9

The difference between sociologists and anthropologists is that

A) sociologists must have an advanced degree.
B) "anthropologist" is the more old-fashioned term for "sociologist."
C) sociologists focus mainly on industrialized societies.
D) sociologists focus mainly on primitive societies.

Question 10

The _____ uses objective, systematic observations to test theories.

A) naturalistic method
B) common-sense method
C) scientific method
D) research-free technique

Question 11

Our ancestors

A) lived in a global village.
B) perceived the world beyond their communities only dimly.
C) lived in big cities.
D) bought all of their food even though they raised and sold crops.

Question 12

Which of the social sciences concentrates on a single social institution?

A) Economics
B) Anthropology
C) Psychology
D) Political Science

Question 13

Auguste Comte is credited as being the founder of

A) sociology.
B) economics.
C) modern science.
D) political science.

Question 14

The social science closely related to sociology, which traditionally focuses on tribal peoples, is

A) economics.
B) political science.
C) psychology.
D) anthropology.

Question 15

The first goal of science is to

A) contradict previous research.
B) explain why something happens.
C) prove why "common sense" is right.
D) stick with the individual case rather than the broader group or situation.

Question 16

Karl Marx believed that the engine of human history is

A) democracy.
B) communism.
C) reconciliation.
D) class conflict.

Question 17

The _____ perspective emphasizes the social contexts in which people live.

A) societal
B) sociological
C) natural sciences
D) ethnocentric

Question 18

The _____, according to Marx, were the exploited workers who did not own the means of production.

A) capitalists
B) communists
C) proletariat
D) fascists

Question 19

After a sociologist has achieved the generalization goal of science, the next goal is to

A) publish.
B) predict.
C) explain.
D) question the findings.

Question 20

A group of people who share a culture and a territory is known as a(n)

A) global group.
B) extended family group.
C) society.
D) global village.

Question 21

In _____, symbols are the key to understanding how we look at the world and communicate with one another.

A) functional analysis
B) symbolic interactionism
C) conflict theory
D) order theory

Question 22

According to Max Weber, the central force in social change is

A) economics.
B) politics.
C) religion.
D) tradition.

Question 23

Talcott Parsons was influential in

A) shifting sociology from reform to theory.
B) warning Americans about the power elite.
C) developing concrete models for social change.
D) shifting sociology from theory to reform.

Question 24

_____ meanings are how people interpret their situation in life, what they are doing, and what is happening to them.

A) Subjective
B) Overt
C) Objective
D) Core

Question 25

With basic sociology, the goal of analyzing some aspect of society is that of

A) making changes.
B) gaining knowledge.
C) solving problems.
D) getting grants.

Question 26

Why do women not figure more prominently among early sociologists?

A) There were no female early sociologists.
B) Once sociology became a recognized academic discipline, men designated the women-who were activists-as social workers, not sociologists.
C) In no field has sexism been more evident than in sociology.
D) The field of sociology seemed neither rigorous enough nor relevant enough to attract women.

Question 27

The _____ examined by sociologists are recurring characteristics or events.

A) individual motivations
B) patterns of behavior
C) nonsocial forces
D) rationales

Question 28

E. B. Du Bois

A) was primarily a novelist.
B) collected and interpreted the work of others rather than making original contributions.
C) became a revolutionary Marxist and moved to Ghana.
D) had the good fortune to grow up in an era virtually free of racism.

Question 29

_____ harnesses the sociological perspective for the benefit of the public.

A) Basic sociology
B) Experimental sociology
C) Classical sociology
D) Public sociology

Question 30

What does the German word Verstehen mean?

A) To explain
B) To investigate
C) To understand
D) To reject

Question 31

Constance, a sociologist, found a piece of research performed by another sociologist intriguing. It looked at the impact of learning new activities on the aging process. When she read the results, which were reported in a journal she read, she saw that the number of people studied had been very small. But the report itself was well written and enthusiastic. Much as Constance was excited by the findings, she wondered if bias might have affected them. Things looked just a little bit too good. The way to check this would be to _____ the study.

A) demand that the author defend
B) denounce
C) replicate
D) ask colleagues about

Question 32

When did sociology first take root in the United States?

A) 1750s
B) 1890s
C) 1930s
D) 1990s

Question 33

Early sociologist and social reformer Jane Addams

A) fought against the American Civil Liberties Union.
B) won the Nobel Prize for Peace.
C) married W. E. B. Du Bois.
D) never joined the American Sociological Society.

Question 34

More babies are delivered by cesarean section on Tuesdays than on any other day for the convenience of the

A) doctors.
B) patients.
C) babies.
D) midwives.

Question 35

Who is the audience for basic sociology?

A) Policy makers
B) Clients
C) Fellow sociologists and anyone interested
D) All social and natural scientists

Question 36

Perhaps ahead of the times, _____ warned of the dangers of the coalescing of interests of the top leaders of business, politics, and the military.

A) Talcott Parsons
B) Ernest Burgess
C) Jane Addams
D) C. Wright Mills

Question 37

The work of W. E. B. Du Bois, an African American,

A) formed an important part of the foundations of sociology from the earliest times.
B) has been ignored until the present.
C) was rejected by the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP).
D) is being rediscovered and discussed by contemporary sociologists.

Question 38

Rather than Weber's Verstehen, Durkheim stressed

A) nicht Verstehen.
B) social facts.
C) research into dreams.
D) emotion.

Question 39

One of the sociologists who developed symbolic interactionism is

A) George Herbert Mead.
B) Auguste Comte
C) Robert Merton
D) Herbert Spencer

Question 40

Max Weber said that sociology should be

A) class conscious.
B) biased.
C) guided by personal values.
D) value free.

Question 41

Capitalism becoming the world's dominant economic system is known as

A) the globalization of capitalism.
B) symbolic interactionism.
C) increasing isolationism.
D) the advance of democracy.

Question 42

The sociological perspective that focuses on the micro level is

A) symbolic interactionism.
B) functional analysis.
C) anthropology.
D) conflict theory.

Question 43

In the eyes of _____, society is a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together.

A) symbolic interactionists
B) conflict theorists
C) functionalists
D) George Herbert Mead

Question 44

_____ is the breaking down of national boundaries because of advances in communications, trade, and travel.

A) Conflict theory
B) Globalization
C) Verstehen
D) Focusing on the macro level

Question 45

Charles was studying symbolic interactionism in his sociology class. Charles was surprised to find that sociologists who took this viewpoint thought that having love as the main reason to get married

A) prevents spouses from blaming each other.
B) weakens marriage.
C) makes divorce all but impossible.
D) strengthens marriage.

Question 46

Very broadly, where did Weber believe that capitalism was more likely to flourish?

Question 47

Robert Merton used the term _____ for the harmful consequences of people's actions.

A) function
B) dysfunction
C) latent function
D) balancing function

Question 48

Face-to-face interaction is the focus of analysis in

A) symbolic interactionism.
B) conflict theory.
C) any sociological viewpoint.
D) functional analysis.

Question 49

Who was the founder of conflict theory?

A) Robert Merton
B) George Herbert Mead
C) Max Weber
D) Karl Marx

Question 50

Discuss feminists and conflict theory.

Question 51

In _____, the focus is on the struggle for scarce resources by different groups in society.

A) functional analysis
B) classical sociology
C) conflict theory
D) symbolic interactionism

Question 52

Describe the three historical phases of sociology.

Question 53

How do sociologists differ from psychologists?

Question 54

Applying symbolic interactionism, as divorce became more common, divorce became

A) more stigmatized.
B) a symbol of failure.
C) associated with new beginnings.
D) a symbol of success.

Question 55

Give two ways that social research can be used. Since which way of the two is preferable is under debate, do you have a preference? What is it, and why?