Question 1

Which of the following is NOT a characteristic of a good sociological question?

Accepted Answer

A) The question asks why a condition exists. 
B) The question asks about the social rather than the individual aspects of a problem. 
C) The question asks how a condition is distributed in a society. 
D) The question asks what action is necessary to eliminate a condition that is unrelated to policy questions. 
E) The question asks whether a condition affects some people more than others.

Question 2

Which of the following is NOT one of the major stages that most social problems seem to go through,as identified by Spector and Kitsuse?

Accepted Answer

A) legal invasion 
B) problem definition 
C) legitimacy 
D) re-emergence of demands 
E) rejection and institution building

Question 3

Which classic figure from early sociology made major contributions to the conflict perspective on social problems?

Accepted Answer

A) Herbert Spencer 
B) Karl Marx 
C) Max Weber 
D) Emile Durkheim 
E) William I.Thomas

Question 4

According to value-conflict theory,a common approach to solving social problems involves __________.

Accepted Answer

A) strengthening the police so that they may detect more crime and punish wrongdoers 
B) finding ways to facilitate negotiation and compromise between and among groups 
C) altering the ways that prisons rehabilitate prisoners 
D) finding ways to radically restructure social institutions 
E) altering the basic values of society

Question 5

In a social experiment,one group is exposed to "treatment." This is called the __________ group.

Accepted Answer

A) treated 
B) control 
C) experimental 
D) controlled 
E) experienced

Question 6

In his investigation,"Becoming a Marijuana User," Howard Becker employed __________ as a research method.

Accepted Answer

A) social practice experimental research 
B) participant survey research 
C) demographic study 
D) library research 
E) participant observation field research

Question 7

In a social experiment,one group is "left alone," that is,not exposed to "treatment." This is called the __________ group.

Accepted Answer

A) control 
B) natural 
C) isolated 
D) experimental 
E) neutral

Question 8

Social disorganization can be manifested in three major ways,which are__________.

Accepted Answer

A) positive,negative,and neutral conditions 
B) normlessness,culture conflict,and breakdown 
C) rootlessness,anomalies,coping,and disorder 
D) hyper-order,disorder,and order 
E) pathology,health,and atrophy

Question 9

You are interested in how stable social arrangements become disorganized and how this affects the amount of rule violation.Which basic approach to social problems would you use? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of You are interested in how stable social...

Question 10

In his classic study of marijuana use,"Becoming a Marijuana User," Howard Becker demonstrated that __________.

Accepted Answer

A) marijuana is a substance that "hooks" users physiologically when they try it 
B) most drug use initially occurs when an isolated individual tries the substance while alone 
C) social interaction must occur for the new user to define and then to experience the appropriate feelings 
D) unlike public perceptions of jazz musicians,marijuana use was not discovered in this group 
E) marijuana use inevitably leads to heroin use despite the environments in which use occurs

Question 11

Which classic figure from early sociology does your text use to exemplify the functionalist perspective on social problems?

Accepted Answer

A) Herbert Spencer 
B) Karl Marx 
C) Max Weber 
D) Emile Durkheim 
E) William I.Thomas

Question 12

Sociologists use the term __________ to refer to behaviors expected of performance in a position that one holds in a group or organization.

Accepted Answer

A) activities 
B) roles 
C) statuses 
D) demands 
E) requirements

Question 13

Your text illustrates the definition of a social problem with two examples: opium use in China and women's lack of the right to vote in the United States until 1920.These examples demonstrate that __________.

Accepted Answer

A) an existing social condition becomes a social problem when it is redefined as a problem that must be solved 
B) minorities,such as drug users and women,often cause social problems 
C) drug use and lacking the right to vote are social problems,no matter where they occur 
D) social problems occur everywhere 
E) communists can solve social problems

Question 14

Your text illustrates the three basic perspectives on social problems by showing how they explain the problem of __________.

Accepted Answer

A) unemployment 
B) mental illness 
C) criminal deviance 
D) suicide 
E) poverty

Question 15

You are interested in how social movements are organized to bring about change that enlarges the opportunities available to the poor.Which basic approach to social problems would you use? Why?

Accepted Answer

The answer of You are interested in how social movements...

Question 16

In the late 1800s and early 1900s,functionalist theories regarded criminal deviance as a form of social__________.

Accepted Answer

A) pathology 
B) dissensus 
C) conflict 
D) instability 
E) consensus

Question 17

Which of the following is NOT a sociological question?

Accepted Answer

A) Why are increasing numbers of women becoming single mothers? 
B) What mental and moral characteristics caused a particular woman to become poor? 
C) Why is it that women who are born into poor and minority families are more likely to become single mothers? 
D) Does homelessness make it more difficult for women and children to take productive roles in society? 
E) Why are an increasing number of single mothers becoming homeless?

Question 18

According to the functionalist perspective,the Ten Commandments,the Golden Rule,the Bill of Rights,and the teachings of all the world's religions are examples of sets of rules that __________.

Accepted Answer

A) accept that deviance is natural 
B) recognize that societies are fundamentally corrupt 
C) specify how people should behave in different social roles 
D) specify conduct for dysfunctional individuals within a society 
E) disrupt a society's order

Question 19

Drug addicts may possess illegal drugs - an act that is criminal.To maintain their "habit," addicts may commit crimes in order to maintain their supply of drugs.This type of crime is categorized as __________ deviance.

Accepted Answer

A) unnecessary 
B) criminalized 
C) stress-related 
D) habitual 
E) secondary

Question 20

Social __________ are formal procedures designed to remedy social problems.

Accepted Answer

A) solutions 
B) structures 
C) changes 
D) stratifications 
E) policies

Exam 1: Sociological Perspective on Social Problems