Contemporary Social Issues
Midterm Exam
Course Introduction
Contemporary Social Issues examines the pressing challenges and debates affecting societies in the 21st century, such as inequality, globalization, social justice, environmental concerns, immigration, and the impact of technology. Students will explore how cultural, political, and economic factors shape these issues, drawing on current events, media coverage, and academic research. The course encourages critical thinking and informed discussion, equipping students with the analytical tools necessary to understand root causes, evaluate policy responses, and consider the roles and responsibilities of individuals and communities in fostering social change.
Recommended Textbook
SOC 4th edition by Nijole V. Benokraitis
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Thinking Like a Sociologist
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is an accurate definition of sociology?
A) Sociology is the enigmatic study of social interaction at the micro level.
B) Sociology is the enigmatic study of psychological interactions of people with their society.
C) Sociology is the enigmatic study of phenomenal changes that occur in a society.
D) Sociology is the systematic study of human behavior in society.
E) Sociology is the systematic study of physiological changes that people encounter in a society.
Answer: D
Q2) _____ coined the term sociology and is often described as the "father of sociology."
A) Auguste Comte
B) Émile Durkheim
C) Karl Marx
D) Charles Wright Mills
E) Max Weber
Answer: A
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Chapter 2: Examining Our Social World
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain independent, dependent, and control variables.
Answer: An independent variable is a characteristic that has an effect on the dependent variable, the outcome.A control variable is a characteristic that is constant and unchanged during the research process.Please see the section "The Scientific Method" for more information.
Q2) _____ is a relationship in which one variable is the direct consequence of another.
A) Correlation
B) Castigation
C) Causation
D) Cognition
E) Cohesion
Answer: C
Q3) Which of the following is true of sociological research?
A) It is based on a handing down of customs from generation to generation.
B) It is a socially accepted source of information.
C) It is misleading and wrong at a macro level.
D) It is based on tradition and authority.
E) It helps explain why people behave as they do.
Answer: E
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain culture shock.
Answer: People who travel to other countries often experience culture shock-confusion, disorientation, or anxiety that accompanies exposure to an unfamiliar way of life.Culture shock affects some people more than others, but the most stressful changes involve differences of food, clothes, punctuality, ideas about what offends people, language, the general pace of life, and a lack of privacy.Please see the section "Some Cultural Variations" for more information.
Q2) Ethnocentrism is the belief that cultural values and norms benefit some members of society more than others.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Symbolic interactionists offer a systematic framework that explains how people create and shape culture or develop shared meanings of reality.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Socialization
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Q1) In _____, parents focus on their own needs rather than those of the children, spend little time interacting with the children, and know little about their interests or whereabouts.
A) uninvolved parenting
B) permissive parenting
C) authoritative parenting
D) indulgent parenting
E) authoritarian parenting
Q2) In the second resocialization step, the staff in total institutions tries to build a new identity that conforms to the institution's expectations.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The unsuccessful sex reassignment of David Reimer supports the argument that:
A) genetics influences human behavior.
B) social isolation can have dramatic and lasting effects.
C) humans are influenced by their environment.
D) the first few years of life are crucial to development.
E) emotional attachment is more crucial than food.
Q4) Describe the key elements of the two types of socialization theories.
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Chapter 5: Social Interaction in Everyday Life
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Q1) Jane was unhappy with her marriage and decided to get a divorce from her husband.Which of the following coping strategies did Jane use to deal with the role conflict she faced?
A) Denying that there's a problem
B) Compromising
C) Exiting roles
D) Compartmentalizing roles
E) Setting priorities
Q2) Which of the following statements is true about a master status?
A) It is usually not apparent.
B) It usually makes the biggest impression.
C) It usually does not affect others' perceptions.
D) It is always achieved.
E) It is always ascribed.
Q3) Which of the following is true of a status set?
A) It changes only with significant effort.
B) It changes only during childhood.
C) It is achieved during adulthood.
D) It changes throughout a person's life course.
E) It is set at birth and cannot be changed.
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Chapter 6: Social Groups, Organizations, and Social Institutions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Briefly describe the views expressed in conflict theory.
Q2) Rachel's friends from her biology class, with whom she interacts with only in school, form her secondary group.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What was the conclusion of Philip Zimbardo's experiment?
Q4) A dyad is the most cohesive of all groups.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Symbolic interaction ignores:
A) the role an individual's perception plays in shaping group dynamics.
B) the importance of interpersonal relationships among employees.
C) the fact that people's outcomes depend on how coworkers and bosses interpret the same behavior.
D) the macro-level factors that exploit workers and consumers.
E) the preference of individuals to make choices and mold their own identities instead of being manipulated.
Q6) Solomon Asch's research demonstrated the power of groups over individuals.
A)True
B)False Page 8
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Page 9
Chapter 7: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control
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Q1) Which of the following is true of white-collar crimes?
A) They cause significant public harm.
B) They are not as serious as property crimes.
C) They involve a lot of violence.
D) They are primarily middle-class crimes.
E) They are not lucrative as most offenders are caught easily.
Q2) Aaron and his friends engage in illegal activities online.They sell cars online for a full or partial payment, but they not deliver the vehicle.At times, they also ask for the Social Security Numbers of unassuming buyers in the pretense of verifying their credibility.In this case, Aaron and his friends are engaged in _____.
A) computer crime
B) victimless crime
C) blue-collar crime
D) corporate crime
E) organizational crime
Q3) White-collar crimes do not involve violence.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Deviance is accompanied by social stigmas.Justify this statement.
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Chapter 8: Social Stratification: United States and Global
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Q1) Identify an accurate statement about intergenerational mobility.
A) It provides little chance for advancement.
B) It refers to the passing down of wealth from the older generations to the younger generations.
C) It is the difference between the wealth, prestige, and power of the older generations as compared with that of the younger generations.
D) It is movement up or down the class hierarchy relative to the position of one's parents.
E) It is movement up or down the class hierarchy over one's lifetime.
Q2) Which of the following is a criticism of the feminist theory?
A) It does not explain why so many women succeed despite patriarchal barriers.
B) It exaggerates the existence and effects of economic inequality.
C) It ignores the efforts of government programs.
D) It exaggerates the effects of structural factors on social mobility.
E) It ignores the effects of corporate welfare on working women in rich countries.
Q3) Briefly describe the features of the working class of America.
Q4) Define socioeconomic status.Briefly describe the characteristics of the upper class and the middle class of America.
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11
Chapter 9: Gender and Sexuality
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Q1) Discuss the views in favor of and against abortion.
Q2) Which of the following country's parliament recently, and unanimously, passed a law that bans lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, and transgender relationships and forbids distributing material on gay rights?
A) Russia
B) China
C) Saudi Arabia
D) Indonesia
E) Afghanistan
Q3) Aditi, a 22-year-old, married a boy chosen by her parents.She had never met the boy before, but agreed to the marriage out of respect for her parents' wishes.This scenario is an example of a(n) _____.
A) outdated marriage
B) child marriage
C) arranged marriage
D) religious marriage
E) forced marriage
Q4) Briefly explain the factors that shape one's sexual orientation.
Q5) Describe occupational sex segregation.
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Chapter 10: Race and Ethnicity
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Q1) Discuss the symbolic-interactionist perspective on racial-ethnic inequality.
Q2) _____ refers to marriage or sexual relations between a man and a woman of different races.
A) Ethnocentrism
B) Pluralism
C) Genocide
D) Miscegenation
E) Acculturation
Q3) Which of the following statements is true of U.S.racial and ethnic diversity?
A) The number of Americans who identify themselves as being of two or more races is projected to decrease.
B) The foreign-born population in the United States is expected to shrink by 2050.
C) By 2025, more than 70 percent of the U.S.population is projected to be white.
D) The multiracial population in the United States is increasing.
E) The United States is the least multicultural country in the world.
Q4) Discuss the contact hypothesis.
Q5) Discuss the functionalist perspective on racial-ethnic inequality.
Q6) What is a minority? Discuss the characteristics of a minority.
Q7) Describe genocide.Provide historical examples of genocide.
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Chapter 11: The Economy and Politics
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Q1) _____ is an economic system based on private ownership of property and competition in producing and selling goods and services.
A) Communism
B) Anarchism
C) Totalitarianism
D) Socialism
E) Capitalism
Q2) A major reason for deindustrialization is that, beginning in the early 1960s, employers easily replaced workers with the lowest skill levels with automation.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Briefly describe totalitarianism.
Q4) Which of the following is a reason for the failure of communism?
A) Widespread corruption
B) Intense competition
C) Excessive focus on profit
D) Private ownership of means of production
E) Presence of oligopolies
Q5) Describe the key characteristics of a pluralist model.
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Chapter 12: Families and Aging
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Sample Questions
Q1) Mary, a Catholic, is in a romantic relationship with Aaron, a Protestant.They plan on getting married.Mary's family is not happy about her relationship with Aaron because her family has a cultural practice of marrying only Catholics.This practice of marriage followed by Mary's family is an example of _____.
A) exogamy
B) endogamy
C) polyandry
D) misandry
E) bigamy
Q2) _____ refers to living with different sexual partners over time.
A) Serial cohabitation
B) Convenient cohabitation
C) Premarital cohabitation
D) Polygyny
E) Polyandry
Q3) Intimate partner violence (IPV) occurs exclusively among current spouses.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Briefly describe marriage.
Page 15
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Chapter 13: Education and Religion
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Q1) In the context of higher education, which of the following statements best describes affirmative action?
A) It refers to the emphasis on certificates or degrees to show that people have certain skills, educational attainment levels, or job qualifications.
B) It refers to school practices that transmit nonacademic knowledge, values, attitudes, norms, and beliefs.
C) It refers to a system that rewards people because of their individual accomplishments.
D) It refers to the process of assigning students to specific educational programs and classes on the basis of test scores, previous grades, or perceived ability.
E) It refers to admission policies that provide equal access for groups, particularly women and minorities that have been historically excluded or underrepresented.
Q2) Discuss the characteristics of a church.
Q3) Discuss the various factors which indicate that religion is flourishing in the U.S.
Q4) Discuss the feminist perspective on religion.Support your answer with examples.
Q5) Discuss the issues faced in postsecondary educational institutions.
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Page 16
Chapter 14: Health and Medicine
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Sample Questions
Q1) In late 2013, Latinos were the most likely to have health insurance.
A)True
B)False
Q2) High-income populations have high infant mortality rates.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is true of the high-income population when compared with the low-income population?
A) They have shorter insurance plans.
B) They have higher incidences of stillbirth.
C) They spend lesser on health care.
D) They have lower rates of diabetes.
E) They have longer life spans.
Q4) _____ believe that illness and disease are socially constructed.
A) Feminists
B) Symbolic interactionists
C) Conflict theorists
D) Functionalists
E) Fundamentalists
Q5) Explain Parsons' concept of sick role.
Page 17
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Chapter 15: Population, Urbanization, and the Environment
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Q1) _____ emphasize gender-related constraints.
A) Feminist theories
B) Symbolic interaction theories
C) Functionalist theories
D) Economic theories
E) Conflict theories
Q2) The _____ is a community of living and non-living organisms that share a physical environment.
A) stratosphere
B) ecosystem
C) exurb
D) topography
E) microclimate
Q3) A population pyramid is a graphic depiction of a population's total fertility rate over a decade.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What is the feminist perspective on gender roles and safety?
Q5) Describe the concept of edge cities and exurbs.
Q6) Explain the effects of pollution on the ecosystem.
Page 18
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Chapter 16: Social Change: Collective Behavior, Social Movements, and Technology
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Q1) Critically evaluate the convergence theory of collective behavior.
Q2) The _____ proposes that crowds consist of like-minded people who deliberately assemble in a place to pursue a common goal.
A) contagion theory
B) convergence theory
C) emergent norm theory
D) structural strain theory
E) value-added theory
Q3) Critically evaluate the mass society theory and new social movements theory.
Q4) Nina is part of a group that was formed to prevent cruelty toward animals.They organize fund raisers, promote vegetarianism, and conduct stage protests against organizations that test products on animals.Which of the following social movements best describes the social act of Nina and her group?
A) Resistance social movement
B) Alternative social movement
C) Revolutionary social movement
D) Reformative social movement
E) Redemptive social movement
Q5) Examine the disadvantages of 3-D printing technology.
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