Contemporary Social Issues
Final Exam Questions
Course Introduction
This course offers an in-depth exploration of pressing social issues shaping the modern world, such as inequality, globalization, migration, environmental challenges, identity politics, and the impact of technology on society. Students will analyze these issues through multiple sociological perspectives, engage in critical discussions, and investigate the interplay between historical context and current events. By examining local and global case studies, the course encourages students to think critically about the root causes, societal implications, and possible solutions to contemporary social problems, empowering them to become informed and active participants in society.
Recommended Textbook Essentials of Sociology 9th Edition by
David B. Brinkerhoff
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Study of Society
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Q1) Explain how symbolic interactionism differs from structural functionalism and conflict theory,and why sociologists using those theories may also use symbolic interactionism.
Answer: Structural functionalism and conflict theory both focus on social structures,while symbolic interactionism focuses on the relationship between the individual and social structures and shared meanings.Symbolic interactionism may be included in order to explore the more subjective aspects of the problem under study.
Q2) Surveys using a(n)_________ design take a sample of the population at a single point in time and expect to find variability of the independent variable.A _________ design follows the same sample over a period of time.
A) cross-sectional; longitudinal
B) panel; cross-sectional
C) incidence; trend
D) fixed-point; chronological
Answer: A
Q3) What are the three major assumptions that distinguish scholars who use the structural-functional theory in their work?
Answer: An emphasis and evaluation of stability,harmony,and evolution.
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Chapter 2: Culture
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Q1) The process by which aspects of one culture or subculture enter and are incorporated into another is referred to as:
A) acculturation.
B) cultural isolation.
C) cultural diffusion.
D) technological advance.
Answer: C
Q2) Which of the following has NOT changed due to technology?
A) attitudes toward privacy
B) access to privacy
C) access to social relationships
D) attitudes toward relationships
Answer: D
Q3) What is cultural lag? Give an example.
Answer: It occurs when one part of culture changes more rapidly than another.An example is having technologies,such as cloning,without a set of values and norms to guide them.
Q4) What is sociobiology?
Answer: It is the study of the biological basis of all forms of human behavior.
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Chapter 3: Socialization
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Q1) Which of the following does NOT describe a community?
A) people who share a common space and connection to that space
B) social institutions that exist within a common space
C) people who share a common identity but are linked on the Internet
D) people who share an interest in the same hobby
Answer: D
Q2) Which of the following is an example of a significant other?
A) your mother
B) your professor
C) your employer
D) your neighbor
Answer: A
Q3) Which of the following are NOT total institutions?
A) monasteries
B) factories
C) prisons
D) mental hospitals
Answer: B
Q4) What is the most important agent of socialization?
Answer: The family is the most important agent of socialization.
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Chapter 4: Social Structure and Social Interaction
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Q1) Inequalities in hunting and gathering societies are most likely to be based on __________ statuses.
A) occupational
B) religious
C) social class
D) age and sex
Q2) A position in the social structure that a person can obtain during a lifetime is:
A) an ascribed status.
B) an achieved status.
C) an identity.
D) a distribution of power.
Q3) Define spoiled identity and describe the strategies homeless teens use to maintain their self-esteem.Give an example of each strategy.
Q4) Corporations help to fuel the behavior of college students on spring break.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is the relationship between a status and a role?
Q6) What is meant by dramaturgy?
Q7) What is a frame?
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Chapter 5: Groups, Networks, and Organizations
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Q1) Even when a person has everything they need,if they compare themselves to others who have more they may still feel unhappy and dissatisfied.This situation is known as:
A) reference overload
B) invidious envy
C) relative deprivation
D) approach-avoidance
Q2) William feels out of shape,but when he compares himself to other men his age,he realizes he is in better shape than most.William is making use of a ________ in order to evaluate himself.
A) secondary group
B) reference group
C) primary group
D) category
Q3) Intimate,face-to-face interactions are typical of:
A) primary groups.
B) secondary groups.
C) tertiary groups.
D) bureaucracies.
Q4) Discuss the criticisms of bureaucracies.
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Chapter 6: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control
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Q1) the strongest social explanation for sex differentials in crime rates is that:
A) girls are supervised more closely than boys.
B) boys are bigger in physical size.
C) boys have a biological predisposition toward aggression.
D) boys are given less freedom so are more apt to rebel.
Q2) Evaluation of newer intensive supervision probation programs indicates that they:
A) are not as effective as prison in terms of rehabilitation and deterrence.
B) reduce costs and increase the likelihood of rehabilitation when combined with drug treatment and other service.
C) only work for the most serious offenders.
D) are effective at rehabilitation, but the services required make them more costly than prisons.
Q3) In recent years,there has been a growing trend toward:
A) treating more types of deviance as legal infractions.
B) treating more types of deviance as diseases.
C) allowing fewer types of deviants to successfully claim the sick role.
D) demedicalization.
Q4) What is the basic idea behind differential association theory?
Q5) What is the difference between informal and formal social control?
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Chapter 7: Stratification
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Q1) The sum of the money and goods owned by a person at a given point of time is termed:
A) status.
B) assets.
C) wealth.
D) income.
Q2) According to structural-functional theory,stratification is necessary because:
A) people would otherwise not be motivated to work.
B) some tasks essential to society's survival require extra incentives because they are stressful and demanding.
C) social conflict is necessary in order to produce social change.
D) it provides individuals with a sense of belonging and social integration.
Q3) "Can money buy happiness?" The evidence in your text suggests that:
A) people with more money have a higher quality of life overall.
B) people with more money have more problems.
C) money has little real impact on one's quality of life.
D) social class is not very important any more in the United States.
Q4) What are the causes of poverty in America? Why does poverty continue to persist in our society?
Q5) What does socioeconomic status include?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Racial and Ethnic Inequality
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Q1) Which ethnic group is most likely to live in poverty?
A) Puerto Ricans
B) Cuban Americans
C) Japanese Americans
D) Anglo-Americans
Q2) Briefly describe double jeopardy.
Q3) The following are all factors causing prejudice discussed in your text EXCEPT:
A) socialization
B) scapegoating
C) competition for scarce resources
D) biological inheritance.
Q4) Explain what is meant by the "social construction of race and ethnicity." Give examples that demonstrate how these concepts are constructions.
Q5) Racial and ethnic hostilities are most pronounced when economic resources are __________ and majority group advantage is __________.
A) scarce; secure
B) scarce; threatened
C) abundant; secure
D) abundant; threatened
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Chapter 9: Sex,Gender,and Sexuality
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Q1) How do parents reinforce gender-stereotypical behavior in children? How do they reinforce heteronormativity?
Q2) ________ refer(s)to the normative dispositions and behavior that cultures assign to each sex.
A) Sex
B) Gender
C) Life chances
D) Conventional achievements
Q3) Starting in _____ grade,boys tend to pursue math and science courses,while girls tend to pursue classes in language and literature.
A) third
B) fifth
C) seventh
D) ninth
Q4) Which of the following would a woman be more likely to say than a man?
A) "The SUV is nicer than the sedan."
B) "I like the SUV the best."
C) "Don't you think the SUV is nicer than the sedan?"
D) "SUVs are cooler than sedans."
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Chapter 10: Health and Health Care
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Q1) All of the following are reasons that the Affordable Care Act is opposed EXCEPT:
A) fear it will cut into healthcare profits.
B) a belief that health insurance should be an individual matter.
C) a belief that some people should not have access to health insurance.
D) a belief that the act does not do enough to cover the uninsured.
Q2) females are inherently ______ than males.
A) stronger
B) weaker
C) smarter
D) less likely to survive to old age
Q3) Which of the following is an example of the health belief model?
A) A person wants to lose weight, but says they can't afford a gym membership.
B) A person needs to lose weight, but thinks that the health warnings are overblown by the media.
C) A person sees a news story about heart disease and obesity and loses 15 pounds over the next month.
D) A person who is overweight thinks they do not have a weight problem.
Q4) What is the structural-functionalist explanation for the high incomes of physicians and surgeons in the U.S.?
Q5) What are the manufacturers of illness?
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Family
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Q1) Homogamy refers to:
A) people marrying others similar to themselves.
B) people marrying others different from themselves.
C) homosexual marriages.
D) marrying on the basis of physical attractiveness.
Q2) The gradual disintegration of social norms regarding the need for and meaning of marriage is termed:
A) the deinstitutionalization of marriage.
B) the disintegration of marriage.
C) the breakdown of the family.
D) family devaluation.
Q3) Mary and Jane are both married to Paul.This is an example of:
A) monogamy.
B) serial monogamy.
C) polygamy.
D) polyandry.
Q4) All cultures discourage childbearing outside marriage.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are polygamy and monogamy?
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Education and Religion
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Q1) A functionalist would argue that schools track because:
A) it is meant to perpetuate the current system of inequality.
B) it is designed to help higher-ability students more than lower-ability students.
C) tracking disadvantages higher-ability students by holding them back.
D) it should help all types of learners learn better.
Q2) Identify three manifest functions of the education institution.
Q3) A major function of civil religion in America is to:
A) provide a source of unity and integration.
B) foster the belief in God.
C) act as a form of social control.
D) provide support for U.S. military action.
Q4) ________ refers to the competition between religious organizations to provide consumer products to create a demand for their product.
A) The Protestant ethic
B) The religious economy
C) Fundamentalism
D) Civil religion
Q5) Describe the form civil religion takes in American society.Explain the functions of civil religion.
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Chapter 13: Politics and the Economy
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Q1) Define the three types of authority identified by Weber and give an example of each within the U.S.educational system.
Q2) Margie works for a company that builds parts for cars.She is increasingly dissatisfied with her job,feeling that her supervisor offers her no opportunity to provide input about how to better perform her job.She believes that the company doesn't care about her and is just using her.Margie is experiencing:
A) autonomy.
B) alienation.
C) deskilling.
D) displacement.
Q3) A distinction between authority and coercion is that authority:
A) rests is supported by norms and values.
B) requires no power.
C) is less stable.
D) involves greater inequality of power.
Q4) Both capitalism and socialism can coexist with either an authoritarian or a democratic political system.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Population and Urbanization
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Q1) Compared to persons living in rural areas,urban dwellers:
A) are more often estranged from family and friends.
B) are more lonely and alienated in general.
C) have a more extensive kin network.
D) have similar numbers of intimate ties.
Q2) The metropolitan population refers to those who live:
A) in the central city.
B) within the city limits.
C) outside the central city, but in the balance of the county.
D) anywhere in a metropolitan county.
Q3) The fertility rate to replace a woman and her partner and to cover childhood mortality is called:
A) reverse mortality rate.
B) crude birth rate.
C) raw birth rate.
D) zero population growth
Q4) In most developing countries,high fertility rates are the primary cause of poverty.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: Social Change
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Q1) Evidence suggests that a social movement is more successful if it has:
A) no professional SMOs.
B) no indigenous SMOs.
C) both professional and indigenous SMOs.
D) only one SMO.
Q2) Apply the information on organizational structure and tactics,as well as factors determining the success or failure of social movements,to the environmental movement in the U.S.Given your analysis,what prediction do you make about the success of the movement in the future?
Q3) Nearly two-thirds of companies surveyed admit that they engage in some form electronic surveillance of their employees.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A church group regularly pickets the local Planned Parenthood office.This is an example of:
A) a riot.
B) a convergence crowd.
C) collective behavior.
D) a social movement.
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