Question 1

To identify cause-and-effect relationships, it is usually necessary to exercise experimental control of variables.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 2

The ideal of objectivity means that a researcher

Accepted Answer

A)  must not care personally about the topic being studied. 
B)  must study issues that have no particular value to society as a whole. 
C)  must try to be personally neutral about the outcome of the research. 
D)  must carry out research that will encourage desirable social change.

Question 3

Robert Merton explained that what is functional for one category of a society's population

Accepted Answer

A)  will always be functional in the future. 
B)  is unlikely to change over time. 
C)  may not be functional for another category. 
D)  is typically functional for everyone.

Question 4

The social-conflict approach might lead a sociologist to highlight

Accepted Answer

A)  how people present themselves to others at school 
B)  how schooling prepares people for jobs. 
C)  the meanings people attach to schooling. 
D)  income differences among young people in high school.

Question 5

According to Comte, the kind of thinking favored by people such as Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, becomes widespread during the__________  of societal development.

Accepted Answer

A)  post-scientific stage 
B)  scientific stage 
C)  metaphysical stage 
D)  theological stage

Question 6

The "Seeing Sociology in the News" article in Chapter 1 ("Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and Method") reports that in a bad economy, laid-off workers

Accepted Answer

A)  are leaving this country for developing nations. 
B)  are likely to commit crimes. 
C)  are flocking to community colleges. 
D)  are likely to experience marital conflict.

Question 7

People of all races and class positions have had the same opportunities to participate in sports.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 8

Identify the three sociologists below who played a part in the development of sociology's structural- functional approach.

Accepted Answer

A)  Harriet Martineau, Robert Merton, W. E. B. Du Bois 
B)  Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Auguste Comte 
C)  Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Emile Durkheim 
D)  Auguste Comte, Karl Marx, W. E. B. Du Bois

Question 9

In the United States, women have a higher suicide rate than men.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Question 10

Three roommates are in their dorm room sharing a late-night discussion about why they are in college. Which of the following statements about attending college best represents using the sociological perspective?

Accepted Answer

A)  Attending college is a goal for people all over the world. 
B)  College is not necessary preparation for every type of work. 
C)  Both age and class have a lot to do with which people are enrolled in college. 
D)  Colleges try to attract intelligent students.

Question 11

More than 1.5 million immigrants enter the United States each year and many (including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gloria Estefan) have become famous. These facts support the conclusion that

Accepted Answer

A)  the world's nations are increasingly interconnected. 
B)  other nations have little effect on life in rich countries such as the United States. 
C)  people around the world share little in terms of their ways of life. 
D)  people are as likely to leave the United States as to enter the United States.

Question 12

Which of the following people had an important influence on the development of the social-conflict approach?

Accepted Answer

A)  Talcott Parsons 
B)  Karl Marx 
C)  Emile Durkheim 
D)  Herbert Spencer

Question 13

We would expect the sociological perspective to be most likely to develop in a place that was

Accepted Answer

A)  experiencing many social changes. 
B)  very traditional. 
C)  small and socially isolated. 
D)  very poor.

Question 14

Which of the following is a social-conflict approach that deals with inequality between women and men?

Accepted Answer

A)  feminism and the gender-conflict approach 
B)  the race-conflict approach 
C)  the structural-functional approach 
D)  the symbolic-interaction approach

Question 15

Which of the following statements is TRUE about positivist sociology?

Accepted Answer

A)  It favors quantitative data. 
B)  It seeks to bring about desirable social change. 
C)  It favors qualitative data. 
D)  It focuses on the meaning people attach to behavior.

Question 16

If marginality encourages sociological thinking, we would expect people in which category listed below to make the most use of the sociological perspective?

Accepted Answer

A)  people of color 
B)  the wealthy 
C)  politicians 
D)  the middle class

Question 17

Building social relationships would be a __________ of sports.

Accepted Answer

A)  dysfunction 
B)  counter-function 
C)  latent function 
D)  manifest function

Question 18

What is the term for a basic image of society that guides thinking and research?

Accepted Answer

A)  theory 
B)  theoretical approach 
C)  hypothesis 
D)  social fact

Question 19

Which theoretical approach is closest to that taken by early sociologists Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim?

Accepted Answer

A)  social exchange approach 
B)  social-conflict approach 
C)  symbolic-interaction approach 
D)  structural-functional approach

Question 20

The sociological perspective reveals the truth of the "common sense" beliefs we tend to take for granted.

Accepted Answer

A) True 
 B)False

Exam 1: Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and Method

To identify cause-and-effect relationships, it is usually necessary to exercise experimental control of variables.

The ideal of objectivity means that a researcher

Robert Merton explained that what is functional for one category of a society's population

The social-conflict approach might lead a sociologist to highlight

According to Comte, the kind of thinking favored by people such as Thomas Edison, the inventor of the light bulb, becomes widespread during the__________ of societal development.

The "Seeing Sociology in the News" article in Chapter 1 ("Sociology: Perspective, Theory, and Method") reports that in a bad economy, laid-off workers

People of all races and class positions have had the same opportunities to participate in sports.

Identify the three sociologists below who played a part in the development of sociology's structural- functional approach.

In the United States, women have a higher suicide rate than men.

Three roommates are in their dorm room sharing a late-night discussion about why they are in college. Which of the following statements about attending college best represents using the sociological perspective?

More than 1.5 million immigrants enter the United States each year and many (including Arnold Schwarzenegger and Gloria Estefan) have become famous. These facts support the conclusion that

Which of the following people had an important influence on the development of the social-conflict approach?

We would expect the sociological perspective to be most likely to develop in a place that was

Which of the following is a social-conflict approach that deals with inequality between women and men?

Which of the following statements is TRUE about positivist sociology?

If marginality encourages sociological thinking, we would expect people in which category listed below to make the most use of the sociological perspective?

Building social relationships would be a __________ of sports.

What is the term for a basic image of society that guides thinking and research?

Which theoretical approach is closest to that taken by early sociologists Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim?

The sociological perspective reveals the truth of the "common sense" beliefs we tend to take for granted.