Deck 9: Families

Question 1

Reverend John Smith speaks passionately from the pulpit about moral decay, the evils of women neglecting their children, and the decline of the family, urging parishioners to teach their children about the urgency of protecting the family as they know it. What kind of family is John Smith almost certainly speaking about?

A) the nuclear family
B) the traditional nuclear family
C) the extended family
D) the traditional extended family

Answer 1

B

Question 2

Ram and Padma have saved enough money for a down payment on a large suburban home with a basement suite. It has enough room for both their sons to live comfortably with their wives and small children as well, and the family shares the household tasks and earned income equitably. What type of family do these people exemplify?

A) a nuclear family
B) a traditional nuclear family
C) an extended family
D) a polygamous family

Answer 2

C

Question 3

Functionalists say that the decline of the nuclear family is responsible for increased rates of crime, illegal drug use, and poverty. Conflict theorists challenge this view, saying which of the following about the emergence of new family forms?

A) It results in an increase of spousal abuse.
B) It can improve the way people live.
C) It causes divorce rates to decline.
D) It increases the fertility rate.

Answer 3

B

Question 4

According to functionalists, which of the following is the most important function of the family?

A) emotional support
B) sexual regulation
C) socialization
D) economic cooperation

Question 5

Sandy and Lester were debating the functionalist account of marriage. Lester held that sexual relations outside the marriage undermined its role in regulating sexual reproduction. Sandy, referring to Murdock's research on preliterate societies, disagreed. Which of the following reasons support Sandy?

A) Murdock's research found that, in a very significant percentage of the societies he studied, polygamy was widely practised, showing that only in the context of sanctioned marriage relations can sexual relations by socially approved.
B) Murdock's research found that extramarital relations did not exist in preliterate societies, showing that it is only in modern societies that sexual regulation is required.
C) Murdock's research found that, in a very significant percentage of the societies he studied, extramarital sexual relations were not forbidden, supporting the position that monogamy is not an essential feature of marriage.
D) Murdock's research found that changes in religious practices associated with the scientific revolution altered the relationship between marriage and the regulation of sexuality, demonstrating that monogamy is not an essential feature of marriage.

Question 6

In what type of family do a mother, father, children, and grandparents all live in the same household?

A) a nuclear family
B) a traditional nuclear family
C) a postmodern family
D) an extended family

Question 7

Which of the following is one of the functions of the family according to the functionalist perspective?

A) assimilation
B) representation
C) socialization
D) integration

Question 8

What type of family is composed of a cohabiting man and woman who maintain a socially approved sexual relationship and have at least one child?

A) nuclear family
B) postmodern family
C) extended family
D) traditional nuclear family

Question 9

Paul lives in British Columbia in a small farming community where all men of marriageable age are encouraged to take more than one wife and produce as many offspring as God sees fit to bless them with. What type of family has Paul been encouraged to form?

A) a nuclear family
B) a traditional nuclear family
C) an extended family
D) a polygamous family

Question 10

Which of the following did Murdock define as a socially approved, presumably long-term sexual and economic union between a man and a woman?

A) family
B) marriage
C) familial bonding
D) mating

Question 11

Which of the following sociological perspectives describe the decline of nuclear family as an "unmitigated disaster"?

A) functionalism
B) feminism
C) ethnomethodology
D) symbolic interactionism

Question 12

If people worry that the family is in decline, which of the following reforms are they most likely to pressure the government for?

A) stronger penalties for criminals and young offenders
B) changes to child tax and family allowance benefits
C) changes to divorce and abortion laws
D) a return to traditional education curriculum

Question 13

According to Murdock, there is a division of labour in marriage because women are ill prepared to accomplish certain physically demanding tasks, and men possess superior strength and therefore perform physically demanding tasks. Which function of marriage does this illustrate?

A) sexual regulation
B) economic cooperation
C) socialization
D) emotional support

Question 14

Which of the following is the primary provider and ultimate authority in a traditional nuclear family?

A) the mother
B) the most senior male member of the extended family
C) the matriarch of the family line
D) the father

Question 15

Colin's grandfather has just moved in with his family. Now, in addition to his mother and step-father, he and his sister share their home with their newly widowed grandfather. What do sociologists call this kind of family arrangement?

A) a nuclear family
B) an extended family
C) a polygamous family
D) a polymorphous family

Question 16

Mary and Steve are married and have children. She does domestic work in their home while he works at an office. Which of the following types of family are they?

A) a nuclear family
B) a traditional nuclear family
C) a postmodern family
D) a global nuclear family

Question 17

Dr. Phillips explains to his Sociology of Families class that the main tasks of the family are to create the situation where couples can have socially approved sexual relations and produce children whom they will socialize into cultural norms, cooperate economically, and provide each other with emotional support. What theory does Dr. Phillips subscribe to?

A) symbolic interactionism
B) conflict theory
C) functionalist theory
D) feminist theory

Question 18

Some functionalist sociologists argue that it is important to make fundamental cultural changes to save the family. Which of the following is one of the changes they wish to make?

A) reorganize the welfare system to support all families, regardless of the number of parents present in the household
B) put less emphasis on individual interests and happiness and more on family responsibility
C) put more emphasis on individual happiness because "a happy parent is a good parent"
D) reevaluate and revise the functions of the family to better represent the issues that families face in the twenty-first century

Question 19

In the 1940s and 1950s, many sociologists and much of the Canadian public claimed which of the following was the most widespread and ideal family form?

A) the global nuclear family
B) the traditional nuclear family
C) the extended family
D) the nuclear family

Question 20

George Murdock conducted a well-known investigation of the family across a wide range of societies. Which of the following types of societies did he study?

A) preliterate societies
B) postmodern societies
C) European societies
D) nuclear societies

Question 21

Which of the following groups first put forth the idea that power differences in the relationship between men and women explain the development of diverse family forms?

A) anarchists
B) monarchists
C) neo-liberals
D) Marxists

Question 22

What term do feminist sociologists use to denote societies characterized by male dominance and norms justifying that dominance?

A) social stratification
B) matriarchy
C) gender inequality
D) patriarchy

Question 23

In most societies, marriage has traditionally been based on which of the following?

A) economic benefits and political advantage
B) love
C) the nurturing of children
D) the emotional well-being of partners

Question 24

Bernadette was doing background research for a historical drama being produced for television. The production company wanted to make the show as historically accurate as possible, and the senior writer asked her to find out about marriages in medieval France. According to the textbook, which of the following would she tell her writing team was the dominant motivation for marriage for the characters in their program?

A) religious loyalties
B) economic benefits
C) romantic feelings
D) social functions

Question 25

Marilyn and John have bought a beautiful house in the suburbs. While John works all day at an office in the city, Marilyn devotes herself to keeping the house and children scrubbed, preparing gourmet meals, wallpapering the den, ironing the household laundry, and reading books about how to keep her marriage functioning smoothly. What is Marilyn engaged in?

A) the housewife's cult
B) the domestic affair
C) the cult of the suburban life
D) the orgy of domesticity

Question 26

Trends in marriage, divorce, and childbearing in Canada show a gradual weakening of the nuclear family form in the second half of the 1800s until the mid-1940s, and then continued weakening after the 1950s. What does this phenomenon imply with respect to the immediate post-World War II period?

A) It is a radical change.
B) It is historically atypical.
C) It is cyclical.
D) It is conservative.

Question 27

Which of the following societal changes make it more likely that Samantha will demand a happy marriage and not just a useful marriage?

A) the emergence of private property in marriage
B) the introduction of the birth control pill
C) women are freer than ever to leave unhappy marriages
D) a growing trend toward marriage outside the group

Question 28

According to Friedrich Engels, the traditional nuclear family emerged as a result of which of the following?

A) the development of private property and inequalities of wealth
B) the development of communist societies
C) the development of hunting and gathering societies
D) the development of romantic love as a basis for marriage

Question 29

In eighteenth-century England, the idea that love should be an important factor in choosing a marriage partner first gained credibility. Which of the following accounts for this new understanding of marriage?

A) collectivism
B) feminism
C) liberalism and individualism
D) functionalism

Question 30

Jim's grandfather, Peter, was telling him about what life was like after World War II. It was then that he met his future wife, Jim's grandmother Alexandra. If Peter and Alexandra were like the majority of couples who married in Canada after the war, what was most likely to have been the reason they married?

A) honouring their parents' wishes
B) having many children
C) having love and companionship
D) being upwardly socially mobile

Question 31

According to the textbook, most Canadians take for granted that marriage ought to be based on which of the following?

A) parents' wishes
B) money
C) love
D) convention

Question 32

Lisbet has done a lot of research and argues with her classmates that gender inequality predates capitalism. Which theoretical perspective are her views in line with?

A) functionalism
B) Marxism
C) feminism
D) postmodernism

Question 33

What term is used for the number of divorces that occur in a year for every 1000 people in the population?

A) divorce quotient
B) median marriage quotient
C) crude divorce rate
D) marriage rate

Question 34

Which of the following perspectives defines the traditional nuclear family as the ideal?

A) postmodernism
B) functionalism
C) conflict theory
D) feminism

Question 35

Wilbur, a staunch Marxist, agrees with Engels about how society must change to usher in gender equality. What does he believe must be eliminated in order to bring about this revolution?

A) religion
B) bureaucracy
C) private property
D) money

Question 36

In the immediate post-World War II period in Canada, employment and personal income reached an all-time high, as did home ownership. Which of the following was one significant consequence of these trends?

A) an increase in divorce rates
B) a marriage avoidance reaction
C) egalitarianism in marriage
D) a marriage boom

Question 37

Friedrich Engels maintained that, once men began to build up a concentration of wealth, they became concerned with how to pass that wealth on to their legitimate sons. How did Engels believe men could safely pass their wealth on to their sons?

A) only by allowing women equal rights at work
B) only by controlling their wives sexually and economically
C) only by creating egalitarian families
D) only by shifting from capitalist to socialist economies

Question 38

What happened with marriage rates and age at first marriage during the post-World War II years?

A) They began a long-term upward trend.
B) They began a long-term downward trend
C) They experienced a short-term interruption of previous trends.
D) They experienced a continuing downward trend.

Question 39

Historically and across cultures, marriages were typically arranged by which of the following?

A) shamans and clerics
B) third parties such as parents
C) midwives
D) brides and grooms themselves

Question 40

The classic 1939 Hollywood movie Gone with the Wind was typical in endorsing which of the following views of marriage?

A) Heterogamy is prescribed by parents.
B) Strategic endogamy is necessary for happiness.
C) War is futile if soldiers are in loving marriages.
D) Romantic love and marriage are intimately linked.

Question 41

Toni was talking to her grandmother Anne about what marriage was like in earlier times. Anne said that compared to today many marriages were unhappy, and that as far as she could tell, many married women today are happier than they were in her day. According to the textbook, which of the following societal changes best explains this difference?

A) the emergence of private property in marriage
B) the introduction of the birth control pill
C) that women are freer than ever to leave unhappy marriages
D) a growing trend toward marriage outside the group

Question 42

In the 1985 amendment to Canada's Divorce Act, "marital breakdown" was defined as occurring for one of three reasons, including which of the following?

A) personal incompatibility
B) adultery by one of the spouses
C) withdrawal of support from third parties
D) the disapproval of a parent

Question 43

Compared to couples at the top end of the socioeconomic levels of Canadian society, couples belonging to a lower social class are more likely to do which of the following?

A) The couple will have fewer children.
B) The couple will have more children.
C) The couple will have a happy and stable marriage.
D) The couple will have an unhappy and unstable marriage.

Question 44

Studies reveal that if a couple is sexually compatible, they are more likely to do which of the following?

A) be unmotivated to resolve emotional issues
B) consider sexual satisfaction an unimportant part of their marriage
C) work harder to resolve other marital difficulties
D) have more heated disagreements

Question 45

What term is sometimes used by sociologists for schools, places of work, neighbourhoods, bars, and clubs?

A) marriage markets
B) heterogeneous markets
C) mobility encounters
D) outsider events

Question 46

According to the textbook, several sets of social forces influence whom people are likely to fall in love with and marry. Which of the following is one of these factors?

A) gendered preference factors
B) cosmopolitan factors
C) idiosyncratic factors
D) demographic factors

Question 47

Shoshana and Benjamin have just gotten married. How long can they look forward to being married before they can expect to feel increased pressure to divorce?

A) two years
B) five years
C) seven years
D) ten years

Question 48

Looking back at their 33 years of marriage, Tony and Heather agreed that there were certainly ups and downs as far as their marital satisfaction was concerned. Which of the following is most likely to accurately characterize the changes in their marital satisfaction?

A) Their marital satisfaction was highest after their two children left home.
B) Their marital satisfaction was lowest when their two children left home.
C) Their marital satisfaction was highest when they were first married.
D) Their marital satisfaction peaked when their children were teenagers.

Question 49

Ellen met Jerry working at a local pub and quickly discovered they both were graduate students at the same university. They dated for two years before deciding to get married. What sociological term refers to the workplace and university in this example?

A) local dating spaces
B) local dating pools
C) local marriage markets
D) local matrimony settings

Question 50

When laws make it easier to obtain a divorce so that people are free to end unhappy marriages, which of the following occurs?

A) There is an increase in the marriage rate.
B) Spousal violence increases.
C) The average level of marital happiness increases.
D) The average level of marital happiness declines.

Question 51

According to the textbook, marital stability has come to depend on having a happy marriage rather than just a useful marriage. What reason lies behind this social development?

A) Local marriage markets have become more heterogeneous.
B) Women have become more autonomous.
C) Parental influence on children has increased.
D) The marriage market has become more competitive.

Question 52

Over the past 40 years women around the world have become more independent. This has changed the expectations that many women bring to marriage. Which of the following best describes what these changed expectations mean to women?

A) They expect happiness in a marriage.
B) They are marrying less frequently than ever before.
C) They are finding work instead of staying in school.
D) They expect having more children.

Question 53

Which of the following married couples experiences the least marital satisfaction?

A) Bob and Josie, married with no children
B) Robina and Raj, married with preschool children
C) Michelle and Jake, married with primary-school-age children
D) Leo and Danielle, married with adolescent children

Question 54

Studies of the family life cycle show that marital satisfaction tends to be lowest during which of the following times?

A) when children are first born
B) when the children are teenagers
C) when boys are born instead of girls
D) when children leave the home

Question 55

Marrying outside of one's social group can sometimes be opposed by which of the following?

A) homosexuals
B) parents or community leaders
C) extramarital relations
D) immigration officials

Question 56

Which of the following has increased women's autonomy?

A) an earlier age of independence from one's birth family
B) lower rates of divorce
C) an increase in educational diversity
D) the introduction of the birth control pill

Question 57

Compared to people from majority ethnic communities and people who live in urban areas, people who are members of a small group, or a geographically dispersed one are more likely to do which of the following?

A) get divorced
B) marry inside their group
C) marry outside their group
D) stay single

Question 58

Studies of the family life cycle show that the highest levels of marital satisfaction occur during which of the following times?

A) when the wife gets control of the household
B) when the occupations of husband and wife are compatible
C) when the house is finally paid off
D) when children leave home

Question 59

Troy is deeply in love with Iman and is considering asking her to marry him. His mother is a sociologist specializing in the sociology of marriage and the family. Troy asks his mother for advice about his future with Iman. She knows that research has shown that even in a society like ours where love is the primary consideration, there are other factors involved in whether or not a marriage will last. In particular sociologists have identified what they call marriage resources as important factors to consider in marriage. In addition to being in love, which of the following should Troy and Iman consider in making their decision?

A) physical attractiveness and age compatibility
B) household advantages and sexual orientation
C) age compatibility and household advantages
D) financial assets and values

Question 60

According to the text, what topic do families quarrel about the most?

A) sexual satisfaction
B) disciplining children
C) money
D) in-laws

Question 61

What percentage of violent crime in Canada reported to police involves spousal violence?

A) 7 percent
B) 12 percent
C) 15 percent
D) 25 percent

Question 62

According to the textbook, which of the following characterize the two factors that tend to shrink the gender gap in responsibility for domestic labour?

A) ensuring near-equal earnings and accepting the value of equality
B) being childless and having a high income
C) living with an extended family and having traditional gender roles
D) being unemployed or being employed at home

Question 63

Consider the textbook's discussion of "new property." Which of the following will be most helpful for a woman after a divorce?

A) an extended health plan that includes therapy
B) half of the family furnishings and other assets
C) half of the family savings and pension
D) a dental hygienist degree

Question 64

In addition to making it easier for women to leave an unhappy marriage, which of the following has the gender revolution also done?

A) sowed the seeds of marital discontent by encouraging them to consider their own happiness first
B) given women the opportunity to work overtime and improve their economic status
C) given women the power to decide when and if to have children
D) diminished the relevance of feminism

Question 65

Why might the negative effects on children's well-being following divorce be declining over time?

A) because the number of children impacted by divorce is declining
B) because there are more supports in place for children of divorce at school
C) because there is significantly less social stigma attached to divorce
D) because parents have social supports they can turn to following divorce

Question 66

After divorce, what is the most common economic outcome for the former husband and wife?

A) The husband's income declines and the wife's increases.
B) The husband's income increases and the wife's declines.
C) The wife's income declines and then rises, while the husband's rises and then declines.
D) The wife's income rises and then declines, while the husband's declines and then rises.

Question 67

What term is commonly used to identify parents who do not provide child support after a divorce?

A) deadbeat parents
B) post-divorce delinquents
C) debt-ridden absentees
D) delinquent payables

Question 68

Sociologists studying conjugal violence among heterosexual couples have identified certain factors that are predictors for varying levels of wife abuse. Which of the following is most likely to result in lower levels of wife abuse?

A) class similarity between spouses
B) gender equality between the spouses
C) age similarity between spouses
D) ethnic similarity between spouses

Question 69

Which of the following is true because divorce is now so common?

A) Most divorces occur without emotional difficulties.
B) Divorced parents soon replace their spouse with a new partner.
C) Children rely on daycare and school for their parenting.
D) Divorce is no longer stigmatized.

Question 70

More recent sociological research on the consequences of divorce on children has begun to reexamine earlier findings which seemed to show a higher level of behavioural problems among children of divorced parents compared to children of couples who do not divorce. Which of the following is it important to keep in mind concerning these findings of behavioural and adjustment problems experienced by children of divorce?

A) They often occur among older children of divorce.
B) They often occur if the child was very young at the time of the divorce.
C) They are adopted by children with the intention of manipulating the situation for their gain.
D) They often existed before the divorce occurred.

Question 71

According to the research, which of the following children is the most likely to experience significant distress?

A) Jamie, whose parents are together and who fight viciously in front of him all the time
B) Sam, whose tense parents are planning to divorce and who keep their arguments confined to when he is not home
C) April, whose parents have been divorced since she was three and who never sees her father
D) Melody, whose parents recently divorced and have set up a schedule so that she sees each of them equally, and who are both involved with her school

Question 72

According to Arlie Hochschild, even though many women work full time in the paid labour force, they usually have to prepare meals, help with homework, and do laundry at home after work. What does Hochschild call this?

A) the double day
B) the nonstop workday
C) the third shift
D) the second shift

Question 73

According to some analysts discussed in the textbook, which of the following is needed to decrease non-payment of child support?

A) Canada needs to implement more stringent laws about enforcing payments.
B) Canada needs to implement a strategy for full employment and better-paid employment.
C) Canada needs to create a system that grants equal custody, thereby rendering payment from one parent to another irrelevant.
D) Canada needs to tighten up divorce laws, making it more difficult to obtain, thus reducing the need for child support.

Question 74

Canada's abortion rate is at about 15 per 1000 women between the ages of 15 and 44. How is this rate compared to the rates of most other countries?

A) higher than most other countries
B) rising as other countries' rates descend
C) lower than most other countries
D) falling as other countries' rates rise

Question 75

When can divorce provide a benefit for children?

A) when the father becomes the custodial parent of a son or sons
B) when there has been a high level of parental conflict during the marriage
C) when the mother becomes the custodial parent of a daughter or daughters
D) when the mother's reproductive choice was restricted during the marriage

Question 76

In the homes of married couples, men tend to do which of the following?

A) lower-stress chores
B) higher-stress chores
C) long-term projects
D) technical chores

Question 77

What are the terms used for the three main types of domestic violence?

A) argument, escalated taunting, and battery
B) heated debate, light battery, brutal battery
C) soft violence, entrapment, and battery
D) common couple violence, intimate terrorism, and violent resistance

Question 78

Which of the following married couples is most likely to share domestic responsibilities equitably?

A) Bryan and Ricardo, who have engineering degrees
B) Jyoti and Kash, who have college certificates
C) Joanie and Byron, who have high-school diplomas
D) Ricky and Bernice, who have Grade 7 and Grade 9 educations

Question 79

If abortion laws in Canada were repealed, and abortion were recriminalized, one of the consequences would be that abortions would no longer be paid for by Medicare. Some sociologists predict that under those circumstances which of the following would occur?

A) The traditional nuclear family would make a comeback.
B) Poor women and their children would suffer the most.
C) The balance of the number of male and female babies would be restored.
D) The Church would be strengthened, so violence in society would be reduced.

Question 80

Much research shows that divorce has a long-term, adverse impact on children. Why is a great deal of this research unrepresentative?

A) It is based on families that have at least one alcoholic parent.
B) It is based on families that are multiethnic.
C) It is based on families that seek psychological counselling.
D) It is based on families that have not sought clinical counselling.