Contemporary Social Issues Study
Guide Questions
Course Introduction
This course explores the complex and evolving landscape of contemporary social issues affecting local, national, and global communities. Students will critically examine topics such as inequality, race and ethnicity, gender, class, health, environment, technology, and the impact of globalization. Through interdisciplinary readings, case studies, discussions, and research projects, students will gain insight into the root causes, consequences, and possible solutions to these issues, developing the analytical skills needed to engage thoughtfully and constructively with the challenges facing society today.
Recommended Textbook
The Family Diversity Inequality and Social Change 1st Edition by Philip N. Cohen
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13 Chapters
739 Verified Questions
739 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: A Sociology of the Family
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49 Verified Questions
49 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What does it mean to refer to the family connection as symbolic?
A) finding meaning in a family tie because one perceives that it has meaning B) only one member of the family tie considering it meaningful C) being able to prove that you are connected to another person through DNA testing D) the symbols used to demonstrate relationships on the DNA test
Answer: A
Q2) What are the advantages of surveys,in-depth interviews,and time-use studies? Why would sociologists choose one method over another to study families?
Answer: Surveys,in-depth interviews,and time-use studies each have advantages and challenges.One advantage of surveys is that you can collect data on a larger number of people.However,here you can gain breadth,but not necessarily depth.In-depth interviews are time intensive and likely can only be done on a small scale and provide the opposite trade-off.That is,you can achieve depth from a much smaller number of people.Time-use studies offer an intermediate solution,allowing for more depth than a survey and,with less researcher time commitment,they can be given to slightly larger groups of people.Depending on the goals of the study and the researchers' desires and available time,they may choose one or another of these options,or may join them together in a complimentary approach.
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Chapter 2: The Family in History
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50 Verified Questions
50 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A family consisting of two parents and their children,whose priorities are personal fulfillment and common affection,would be considered a:
A) modern family.
B) companionship family.
C) traditional family.
D) patriarchal family.
Answer: B
Q2) Families began having fewer children in the nineteenth century.Which of the following was NOT a contributor to this change?
A) widely available information about birth control
B) couples wanted fewer children
C) decreased infant death rate
D) couples learned how to prevent pregnancy
Answer: A
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Chapter 3: Race,Ethnicity,and Immigration
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73 Verified Questions
73 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) An ethnic group perceived to share physical characteristics is called
A) racial ethnicity
B) race
C) ethnography
D) ethnocentrism
Answer: A
Q2) At 13 percent,the proportion of U.S.residents born in another country is higher than it has been since
A) 1850
B) 1910
C) 1940
D) 2000
Answer: B
Q3) Why do some white Americans have a strong ethnic identity while others do not?
A) Higher-class whites tend to hold on more to their ethnicity.
B) Not all Europeans in the United States were automatically considered white.
C) There are low rates of intermarriage among white ethnic groups.
D) Whites have no culture.
Answer: B
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Families and Social Class
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49 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The process by which labor produces wealth that is not controlled by the laborers but by others,is called
A) employment.
B) exploitation.
C) Marxism.
D) economics.
Q2) A young adult who can provide letters of recommendation from respected community leaders who are friends with his parents is often more likely to get a desired position or admission.This is an example of
A) social capital.
B) wealth.
C) inequality.
D) class distinction.
Q3) Annette Lareau followed a handful of families in their daily lives in order to understand their
A) attitudes about social class.
B) discipline practices.
C) stress.
D) parenting practices.
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Page 6
Chapter 5: Gender
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53 Verified Questions
53 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) How are family roles or expectations differentiated by a child's gender?
Q2) How does the popularity of cosmetic surgery illustrate people's desire to enhance gender differences?
Q3) When researchers say that masculinity is socially constructed,they mean that
A) men can behave in any way they wish because they are their own bosses.
B) there are different perspectives for what it means to be a man, depending on the setting.
C) it is only through interaction with peers that men can understand how to be men.
D) once boys learn how to be masculine they will have no future need for advice.
Q4) Which of the following strategies makes women appear to be the weaker sex?
A) showing women as more broad-shouldered than men
B) photographing women to appear taller than men
C) decreasing the gap in the athletic performance of women relative to men
D) portraying husbands as taller than their wives
Q5) Expectations for men's behavior compared to women's behavior
A) permit men more freedom in clothing choices.
B) are less strictly enforced for men than for women.
C) support a narrow cultural view of masculinity.
D) promote more bullying of women compared to bullying of men.
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Chapter 6: Sexuality
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58 Verified Questions
58 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The text suggests that lower-class families do not control the sexual behavior of female teens because
A) they reject the double standard.
B) they are less concerned about morality.
C) they are less able to protect their daughters from exploitation.
D) early childbearing results in greater welfare.
Q2) Queer theory suggests that scholars and scientific researchers could best understand sexual orientation as
A) fixed and either/or.
B) fluid and diverse.
C) fixed and diverse.
D) fluid and either/or.
Q3) The relationship between an individual's education,family structure,health care,and behavior with regard to sexual activity is studied as ________ by sociologists.
A) sex education
B) inequality
C) social networks
D) social status
Q4) Summarize the role of social networks on STD rates.
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Chapter 7: Love and Romantic Relationships
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55 Verified Questions
55 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) When choosing someone to date,Lindsey prefers men who are domineering.Her lack of attraction to men who are passive represents which of the following types of challenges to partner selection?
A) cultural boundaries
B) social limits
C) arousal problems
D) internal obstacles
Q2) Compare and contrast the expectations for sexual contact that are part of the traditional dating script with the expectations for sexual contact that are inherent in hooking up.
Q3) Hypothesize how the beauty standard for females,which includes a thin waist and larger breasts,is consistent with the idea that attractiveness has some evolutionary elements.
Q4) The increase in the use of online dating websites can best be explained by A) better available technology that makes the websites more personal.
B) an increase in available services that appeal to older persons looking for dates.
C) the fact that divorced persons fear they will end up alone in old age.
D) the fact that dating sites are likely more efficient than meeting in person.
Q5) Compare and contrast the public and private aspects of dating.
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Chapter 8: Marriage and Cohabitation
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48 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Evaluate the reasoning and effectiveness of government efforts to encourage marriage among the poor.
Q2) Sociologists have objected to the market model of marriage for all of the following reasons EXCEPT:
A) potential mates may have conflicting desires.
B) this model trivializes human intimacy.
C) marriage choices are not always rational.
D) spouse decisions do not always reflect a choice from many alternatives.
Q3) The decline in marriage rates is due to:
A) increased rates of cohabitation.
B) people marrying later.
C) moral decline.
D) economic recession.
Q4) Religious endogamy has increased,in part,due to:
A) changes in behavior of fundamentalist groups.
B) ethnic assimilation of some groups, such as Jews.
C) an increase in the traditional authority of the church.
D) a decline of individualism.
Q5) Using symbolic interactionism,analyze the process of preparing for and participating in a wedding.
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Chapter 9: Families and Children
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75 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why has infertility been a source of stigma for women?
A) All women want to have kids.
B) It has been used to justify men's infidelity.
C) Men are not the cause of infertility.
D) It points to women's sexual inadequacy.
Q2) The price one pays for choosing the less lucrative available option is known as
A) high price
B) opportunity cost
C) clearance rate
D) sale option
Q3) Which group of women is most likely to have an abortion?
A) white women
B) low-income women
C) married women
D) lesbian women
Q4) A very small fraction of children (less than 1 percent)
A) suffer from childhood obesity.
B) live with their grandparents.
C) have more than two adult caregivers.
D) live in the care of same-sex couples.
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Chapter 10: Divorce,Remarriage,and Blended Families
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54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain why relationship dissolution may be a relevant term or process even when a couple was not legally married.
Q2) Consider the outcome of living together before marriage for an engaged couple.
Q3) Those who marry at 20 are about ________ times more likely to divorce than those who wait until 25.
A) two
B) three
C) four
D) five
Q4) One out of ________ children live in a blended family.
A) three
B) four
C) five
D) six
Q5) This generation has the highest divorce rate on record:
A) the "Greatest Generation"
B) Baby Boomers
C) Generation X
D) Millennials
Q6) Summarize the outcome of women working on their likelihood to file for divorce.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Work and Families
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73 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) What percentage of women with a high school education quit their jobs when they have their first child compared with those who have a college degree?
A) 1 in 2; 1 in 8
B) 1 in 12; 1 in 3
C) 3 in 5; 2 in 3
D) 1 in 8; 1 in 3
Q2) Time-use data show that married women have cut their housework time roughly in half over the last half-century,while men have
A) reduced theirs by two hours
B) remained about the same
C) added about an hour
D) doubled theirs
Q3) According to data collected from the American Time Use Survey in 2010,men and women spend an average of how much time working per day?
A) 8 hours and 20 minutes for men; 3 hours and 35 minutes for women
B) 7 hours and 30 minutes for men; 10 hours and 50 minutes for women
C) 3 hours and 50 minutes for men; 2 hours and 30 minutes for women
D) 6 hours and 40 minutes for men; 6 hours and 51 minutes for women
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Chapter 12: Family Violence and Abuse
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53 Verified Questions
53 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The effects of child abuse are often first noted
A) when the child becomes an abuser
B) in their behavior
C) by a teacher
D) as signs of PTSD
Q2) Jack and Jill live together and have a romantic relationship.Occasionally they get into screaming matches that escalate into pushing.This is considered
A) child abuse
B) elder abuse
C) intimate partner violence
D) poor communication, but not family violence
Q3) _____________ percent of male homicide victims were murdered by an intimate partner.
A) 75
B) 42
C) 26
D) 5
Q4) Consider the role of peer pressure in rape and sexual assault during college.
Q5) List the problems that are common for children who suffer abuse within their family.
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Chapter 13: The Future of the Family
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Sample Questions
Q1) The increase in longevity of the old and the need to support them after retirement is a result of
A) demographic transition
B) the population pyramid
C) age structure
D) generational bias
Q2) Approximately _____________ percent of children are living in adopted families.
A) 2
B) 5
C) 7
D) 9
Q3) Examine how a young adult moving in with his or her parents after graduating from college could be considered a middle- or upper-class privilege.
Q4) When comparing low- and high-income families,we find
A) low-income families have fewer children.
B) low-income families have more children.
C) low-income families have fewer teen pregnancies.
D) family income has no impact on family size.
Q5) Discuss the health advantages of being married.
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