Question 1

Kinship ties matter a great deal to Native Americans. What is surprising about marriage within this group?
A) They continue to marry strictly within their own ethnic group.
B) They have a higher rate of intermarriage than any other racial or ethnic group.
C) They have gradually moved away from the idea of marriage as a viable institution.
D) They have passed laws that ban marriage with those who are not Native American.

Accepted Answer

Native Americans have a higher rate of intermarriage than any other racial or ethnic group, which may come as a surprise to some. This is partly due to a relatively small population and the historic practice of inter-tribal trade and alliances through marriage. It is also due to the fact that many Native Americans no longer live exclusively on reservations or within their own tribal communities, increasing opportunities for interaction with other racial and ethnic groups.

Question 2

Which of the following best characterizes the family in the United States today?
A) It is about the same as it was during the previous 50 years.
B) It is headed by a female single parent who works outside the home.
C) The husband is employed and the wife stays home with the children.
D) It has only one parent, or both the husband and wife are employed.

Accepted Answer

Today, families in the United States consist of a variety of structures, but the most common include those with only one parent, or both the husband and wife are employed. These structures have become more prevalent in recent years due to changes in societal norms and financial pressures. The traditional structure of a husband who is employed and a wife who stays at home with the children has become less common.

Question 3

Whereas earlier schools of thought focused on the family as a unit, feminist thinkers instead considered the:
A) family as a political creation
B) functional value of various family forms
C) dynamics between people within families
D) socializing role played by various family members

Accepted Answer

Feminist thinkers often focus on the dynamics between people within families, examining power relations, gender roles, and individual experiences within the family structure.

Question 4

Betty Friedan is an icon in the second women's movement in the United States. In her widely read book The Feminine Mystique, what is she talking about when she refers to "the problem with no name"?
A) the boredom of housewives
B) domestic violence
C) the wage gap between men and women
D) the pressures on males who are sole breadwinners

Accepted Answer

In The Feminine Mystique, Betty Friedan describes "the problem with no name" as the sense of dissatisfaction and emptiness felt by many middle-class housewives who had been taught that their primary role was to be a wife and mother. She argued that this sense of confinement and lack of fulfillment was not understood or acknowledged by society at large, hence the label "the problem with no name."

Question 5

A sociologist studies the history of the American family, focusing on the "sexual double standard." Which question focuses on the sexual double standard?
A) How did men explain their desire for personal sexual promiscuity while demanding strict sexual loyalty from their wives?
B) What coping mechanisms did mothers use to both grieve frequent child deaths and delight in their living children?
C) How did religious understandings of conception harmonize with or conflict with scientific views of human reproduction?
D) What did sexuality mean during childhood as compared with adulthood?

Accepted Answer

The question specifically asks about the "sexual double standard," which refers to the unequal and hypocritical expectations placed on men and women regarding sexual behavior. Choice A directly addresses this topic by examining how men justified their own promiscuity while demanding fidelity from their wives. The other choices do not pertain to the sexual double standard.

Question 6

The trend toward marriage at a later age is unmistakable, and scholars have suggested many reasons for this. How has the increase in women's participation in the labor force along with career establishment played a role in accelerating this trend?
A) The decreased economic independence of women has improved men's economic position and their desirability as mates.
B) Increasing numbers of women are taking jobs once held by men, making it difficult for men to find work.
C) There has been a decrease in the number of marriageable women because of women's disinterest in marriage.
D) The increased economic independence of women has helped foster a deterioration in men's economic position and their desirability as mates.

Accepted Answer

The increased economic independence of women has helped foster a deterioration in men's economic position and their desirability as mates. As more women enter the workforce and establish successful careers, this creates a smaller pool of women who are available and interested in marrying men who may not be as economically successful. This has contributed to men delaying marriage and seeking to establish their own careers before settling down.

Question 7

Annette Lareau found that children of middle-class parents tended to have a sense of entitlement while those of lower-class families tended to have a sense of constraint. Her work attributes different child-rearing practices to differences in:
A) race
B) ethnicity
C) social class
D) marital status

Accepted Answer

Annette Lareau's work focused on the differences in child-rearing practices among families of different social classes, specifically with regard to middle-class and lower-class families. Therefore, the correct choice is social class. The other options (race, ethnicity, marital status) are not directly related to Lareau's research findings.

Question 8

Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas researched low-income women and nonmarital childbirth in Philadelphia and in Camden, NJ. Another sociologist repeats their research in Chicago and finds very similar results. What is a comment that low-income women in Chicago might often make to the researcher?
A) "I can earn my own income, so I don't need to marry."
B) "I was married once, and it didn't work out, so I'd rather be a single parent than try again."
C) "Marriage is important and valuable, but for me, marriage would probably make life worse."
D) "I need to prioritize caring for my child over building a relationship with the child's father."

Accepted Answer

This response aligns with Edin and Kefalas' research that found low-income women prioritizing stability and avoiding potential negative outcomes, such as domestic violence, that marriage can bring. This response also aligns with the findings in Chicago by the repeated sociologist research, indicating the likelihood of a similar cultural mindset among low-income women in different cities.

Question 9

What piece of legislation enacted in 1996 provided states the power to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages from other states and defined marriage as between one man and one woman? In fact, parts of this particular legislation were later found to be unconstitutional and subsequently changed the cultural landscape of marriage in the United States.
A) Marriage Matters Act
B) Marriage Freedom Act
C) Civil Union Act
D) Defense of Marriage Act

Accepted Answer

The Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA) was enacted in 1996 and provided states the power to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages from other states and defined marriage as between one man and one woman. Parts of this legislation were later found to be unconstitutional, including the portion that denied federal benefits to same-sex married couples, leading to cultural shifts in the recognition of same-sex marriages throughout the United States.

Question 10

One of the major arguments that opponents of same-sex marriage have tried to advance is that childbearing and child rearing are crucial to the preservation of the family. What does the data on same-sex households reveal quite clearly in the matter of children in same-sex households?
A) Any children in a same-sex household are adopted.
B) Almost no same-sex couples have children.
C) About 20 percent of same-sex couples have children.
D) Same-sex households with children are much less stable than opposite-sex couples.

Accepted Answer

The data on same-sex households reveals that about 20 percent of same-sex couples have children. This contradicts the argument that childbearing and child rearing are crucial to the preservation of the family, as same-sex couples are capable of successfully raising children. It also suggests that denying same-sex marriage deprives these couples of the legal and social benefits that can support the wellbeing of their families.

Question 11

Feminist sociologists and feminist approaches to the sociology of the family have made important contributions to our understanding of the family. Which of the following issues is embedded within a feminist analysis of the family?
A) the way that the instrumental and affective roles work together for family stability
B) the extent to which personalities are supported and kept healthy in marriages
C) the virtue of nuclear families for handling the demands of industrial society
D) the time demand imposed by the emotional labor that is expected from women

Accepted Answer

Feminist analysis of the family typically focuses on the ways in which women's work and experiences are devalued and made invisible within the family. This includes the concept of "emotional labor," which refers to the expectation that women will constantly manage the emotional needs of others within the family. This can be time-consuming and often goes unrecognized as work. Therefore, the time demand imposed by emotional labor that is expected from women is embedded within a feminist analysis of the family. Answers A, B, and C do not reflect the core concerns of feminist sociology.

Question 12

The tendency to romanticize the idea of family has included ideas about children and childhood. What would historical research lead us to predict about the lives of children in premodern United States or Europe?
A) They worked at an early age or left the family at an early age to do domestic work for others.
B) They were treasured and treated as angels or cherubs.
C) The vast majority of them experienced a great deal of permanence and stability.
D) Most of them lived in fairly large households with extended family.

Accepted Answer

Historical research suggests that children in premodern United States or Europe often had to work at an early age, either in the family's household or in fields or factories. Children were also sometimes sent away from their families to do domestic work for others. Childhood was not seen as a period of leisure or innocence, but rather as a time to learn adult responsibilities.

Question 13

Scholars have shown that the nature of the family in premodern times was very impermanent. What is one of the likely reasons that this was true?
A) There was a very low rate of child mortality, which allowed children to live to adulthood with their families.
B) There was a very high rate of women dying in childbirth, which led to children becoming mother figures to others in the home.
C) The overall rate of marriage was far lower than it is today.
D) There was a high rate of overall mortality, which tended to dissolve family structures more frequently.

Accepted Answer

Premodern times were characterized by high mortality rates due to wars, disease, famine, and natural disasters. This tended to dissolve family structures more frequently as parents and children died, leaving surviving family members to form new households. Additionally, premodern societies had less stable economic conditions, which also contributed to more impermanent family structures.

Question 14

Functionalism describes the functional value of social roles. This theory describes, in traditional families, the husband as breadwinner, which is the ________ role, whereas the wife manages the home and children in the ________ role.
A) instrumental; affective
B) paternal; maternal
C) primary socializing; secondary socializing
D) stabilizing; nurturing

Accepted Answer

Functionalism theory emphasizes the functional value of social roles. The husband, as a breadwinner, has an instrumental role, which means he is responsible for providing economic support. On the other hand, the wife's role is to manage the home and children, which is an affective role that involves nurturing and maintaining social bonds. Therefore, the best answer is A, as it correctly identifies the instrumental and affective roles of husband and wife in traditional families. The other options are incorrect either because they use outdated terms (paternal and maternal) or are not directly related to the functional value of social roles in families.

Question 15

What do we call marriage formed through personal selection and based on affection or love?
A) family arrangement
B) affective individualism
C) the feminine mystique
D) extended family

Accepted Answer

Affective individualism is the term used to describe marriage formed through personal selection and based on affection or love. Family arrangement refers to marriages arranged by families based on factors like wealth, social status, and family connections. The feminine mystique is a term used to describe the cultural beliefs and expectations about women's roles in society. Extended family refers to a family unit that includes multiple generations or extended relatives living together.

Question 16

Feminist scholars who analyze the family often refer to the second shift. Which of the following scenarios best captures the meaning of this phrase?
A) A female social worker returns home from work to drive her children to soccer practice, prepares dinner, and completes a load of laundry.
B) A male truck driver works through the night to ensure that his truck arrives at the proper location at the designated time.
C) A woman works two jobs to support her children, unemployed husband, and aging parents.
D) A divorced man works two jobs to pay for child support, alimony, and nursing home fees for his parents.

Accepted Answer

The second shift refers to the unpaid work that primarily falls on women after they come home from their paid employment, such as housework, childcare, and eldercare. Option A best captures this phenomenon as the female social worker is not only working at her job but also performing several unpaid tasks at home. The other options do not involve unpaid work that falls primarily on women.

Question 17

Which woman is experiencing what Betty Friedan termed "the feminine mystique"?
A) A young woman displays her sexuality beautifully and in public in a way that mystifies onlookers.
B) A housewife feels lost and bored in the drudgery of housework and child care.
C) A mother somehow manages to "do it all."
D) A woman never tells her age and never shares her sexual past with her current partner.

Accepted Answer

Betty Friedan's concept of "the feminine mystique" refers to the societal pressure placed on women to find fulfillment solely through domestic duties and motherhood. In this scenario, the housewife feels lost and bored in her role as caregiver and homemaker, which aligns with Friedan's concept. The other options do not necessarily relate to this specific idea.

Question 18

If sociologists' predictions come true, what will Asian American families look like in the future, and why?
A) They will be more distinctive according to Asian American subcultures (Korean American, Vietnamese American, and so on) due to American pluralism.
B) They will have more blended families and more divorce due to exposure to U.S. media.
C) They will look more like white families due to acculturation.
D) They will retain features of American traditional families from the early twentieth century due to compatibility with traditional Asian norms.

Accepted Answer

Acculturation often leads immigrant families to adopt the cultural norms and practices of the dominant society, which in the U.S. context, means that Asian American families may increasingly resemble white American families over time.

Question 19

A sociologist observes that couples today express a desire for equality and symmetry, but in reality, women still do much more housework than men. If the sociologist develops this observation into a research study, which theoretical perspective is most directly related to the topic?
A) functional
B) postmodern
C) feminist
D) affective individualist

Accepted Answer

The feminist theoretical perspective is most directly related to the topic because it focuses on issues of gender inequality and the ways in which society structures relationships and roles, including the distribution of housework between men and women.

Question 20

The long history of "family" and the family as a unit has been a major obstacle for those seeking marital bliss as same-sex couples. Worldwide, changes have been substantial in the past decade. Today, same-sex marriages:
A) are legally recognized in only one nation in South America
B) are legal in most countries in the world
C) have experienced increasing support in the United States and abroad
D) are not legal in any country besides the United States

Accepted Answer

Same-sex marriages have experienced increasing support in the United States and abroad. While it is true that same-sex marriages are legally recognized in only one nation in South America (Uruguay), and legal in most countries in the world (29 as of 2021), the statement that same-sex marriages have experienced increasing support in the United States and abroad is the most accurate statement. While there is still much work to be done, many countries and societies around the world have made significant progress in recognizing and accepting same-sex marriages.

Quiz 15: Families and Intimate Relationships

Kinship ties matter a great deal to Native Americans. What is surprising about marriage within this group?

Which of the following best characterizes the family in the United States today?

Whereas earlier schools of thought focused on the family as a unit, feminist thinkers instead considered the:

Betty Friedan is an icon in the second women's movement in the United States. In her widely read book The Feminine Mystique, what is she talking about when she refers to "the problem with no name"?

A sociologist studies the history of the American family, focusing on the "sexual double standard." Which question focuses on the sexual double standard?

The trend toward marriage at a later age is unmistakable, and scholars have suggested many reasons for this. How has the increase in women's participation in the labor force along with career establishment played a role in accelerating this trend?

Annette Lareau found that children of middle-class parents tended to have a sense of entitlement while those of lower-class families tended to have a sense of constraint. Her work attributes different child-rearing practices to differences in:

Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas researched low-income women and nonmarital childbirth in Philadelphia and in Camden, NJ. Another sociologist repeats their research in Chicago and finds very similar results. What is a comment that low-income women in Chicago might often make to the researcher?

One of the major arguments that opponents of same-sex marriage have tried to advance is that childbearing and child rearing are crucial to the preservation of the family. What does the data on same-sex households reveal quite clearly in the matter of children in same-sex households?

Feminist sociologists and feminist approaches to the sociology of the family have made important contributions to our understanding of the family. Which of the following issues is embedded within a feminist analysis of the family?

The tendency to romanticize the idea of family has included ideas about children and childhood. What would historical research lead us to predict about the lives of children in premodern United States or Europe?

Scholars have shown that the nature of the family in premodern times was very impermanent. What is one of the likely reasons that this was true?

Functionalism describes the functional value of social roles. This theory describes, in traditional families, the husband as breadwinner, which is the role, whereas the wife manages the home and children in the role.

What do we call marriage formed through personal selection and based on affection or love?

Feminist scholars who analyze the family often refer to the second shift. Which of the following scenarios best captures the meaning of this phrase?

Which woman is experiencing what Betty Friedan termed "the feminine mystique"?

If sociologists' predictions come true, what will Asian American families look like in the future, and why?

A sociologist observes that couples today express a desire for equality and symmetry, but in reality, women still do much more housework than men. If the sociologist develops this observation into a research study, which theoretical perspective is most directly related to the topic?

The long history of "family" and the family as a unit has been a major obstacle for those seeking marital bliss as same-sex couples. Worldwide, changes have been substantial in the past decade. Today, same-sex marriages: