Deck 2: Social Science Philosophy and Methods

Question 1

The United States' newly-formed universities emphasized all of the following values except:

A) professionalism
B) secularism
C) scientism
D) religiosity

Answer 1

religiosity

Question 2

Dr. John Money may have committed gross errors in handling the case of Bruce Reimer, but Money took responsibility for his mistakes by apologizing publically for them.

Answer 2

False

Question 3

The Agricultural revolution occurred right around the year 1750.

Answer 3

False

Question 4

The Catholic church's problems over Galileo's scientific discoveries illustrate the limitations of common-sensical thinking in understanding the world around us.

Question 5

When social scientists apply the scientific method, data gathering precedes the research design which in turn precedes the formation of an hypothesis.

Question 6

In chapter two which is used to support the synthesis approach to a roomy definition of the social sciences, one that includes both social scientism and social humanism?

A) Frank Lloyd Wright's masterpiece called "Fallingwater"
B) the 1960s' twins case
C) the case of Anastasia Romanov
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 7

Despite the ferocity of the Crusades, one irony of these bitter struggles was that they allowed the Muslim world to transfer elements of Greek Rationalism which eventually flourished in Europe during the Renaissance.

Question 8

Facts relate most directly to "what-type" questions, while theories relate most directly to "why-type" questions.

Question 9

The qualities of verification, system, and generality relate most directly to:

A) science
B) humanism
C) feudalism
D) common sense

Question 10

A social scientist interested in studying public attitudes in the U.S. concerning the issue of abortion would be most likely to use the research design known as:

A) experimental design
B) participant observation
C) content analysis
D) survey research

Question 11

Identify the matching of a social science and its area of interest which is INCORRECT.

A) anthropology - individual motivation
B) political science - power and authority
C) sociology - group behavior
D) geography - spatial analysis

Question 12

Despite significant differences in content and method between the various social sciences, they ultimately share a common interest in understanding human behavior.

Question 13

The case study known as the "twins case" relating to changing sexual identity shows that:

A) authority figures are not necessarily trustworthy
B) research on the topic of sexual identity was and is) rudimentary at best
C) nature is as crucial in determining human sexual identity as is nurture
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 14

Aesthetic appreciation, experiential insight, moral issues, and an interest in values all constitute the stuff of:

A) social humanism
B) social scientism
C) rationalism
D) behaviorism

Question 15

Contrasts between social scientism and social humanism include all of the following EXCEPT:

A) quantitative versus qualitative
B) detached versus engaged
C) value-neutral versus value-laden
D) U.S.-based versus European-based
E) objective versus empirical

Question 16

Which set of disciplines does NOT fit in with the natural sciences?

A) physics, chemistry, biology
B) astronomy, physics, geology
C) geography, astronomy, physics
D) geology, biology, chemistry
E) none of the above

Question 17

Which situation discussed here illustrates the need for critical thinking skills:

A) the ethics of cloning humans
B) the case of Janet Reimer's attempts to help her son Bruce
C) the Catholic church's reaction to Galileo's scientific work
D) all of the above
E) none of the above

Question 18

Name the form of economic system which best characterized the Middle Ages:

A) socialism
B) feudalism
C) capitalism
D) communism
E) anarchism

Question 19

What is known as the Gilded Age in U.S. history came in the early 1900s after viable social sciences had been established.

Question 20

According to the classification used in this textbook, the modern discipline of history is included with the humanities.

Question 21

The wonders of modern scientific research have proven that Anastasia, the youngest of Tsar Nicholas II's four daughters, did indeed escape when the rest of the royal family was assassinated by the Communists in 1918.

Question 22

The author advocates a synthesis approach to resolving the long-standing battle between social scientism and social humanism in the social sciences.

Question 23

The Stanley Milgram experiment concluded that Germans are vastly more obedient to authority figures than are the more independent residents of the United States.

Question 24

The main goal of case studies in the social sciences is to unearth every possible historical fact about an important event.