Contemporary Social Issues
Test Questions
Course Introduction
This course explores a range of pressing social issues facing societies today, such as inequality, discrimination, poverty, environmental challenges, globalization, and the impact of technology. Through interdisciplinary readings, case studies, and critical discussions, students will analyze the causes, consequences, and potential solutions to these contemporary problems. The course also examines how social policies and cultural attitudes shape public debates and personal experiences, encouraging students to develop informed perspectives and consider their roles as engaged citizens in addressing complex social challenges.
Recommended Textbook
Readings for Sociology 7th Edition by Garth
Massey
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
8 Chapters
284 Verified Questions
284 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/3875
Page 2
Chapter 1: The Study of Sociology
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
43 Verified Questions
43 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/77219
Sample Questions
Q1) The sociologist Berger describes is a person who is:
A) committed to changing the world
B) easy to get along with and much admired
C) curious about everything people do
D) unlikely to vote, but knows a lot about voters and voting behavior
Answer: C
Q2) "The __________ requires us, above all, to think ourselves away from the familiar routine of our daily lives in order to look at things anew," write Anthony Giddens and Mitchell Duneier
A) sociological imagination
B) Protestant ethic
C) research process
D) universal perspective
Answer: A
Q3) Kelman and Hamilton's analysis invokes the sociological dimensions of:
A) culture shock and linguistic misunderstanding
B) regionality and demographic shift
C) the target and the context of the violence
D) status and stratification
Answer: C
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 3
Chapter 2: Culture and Society
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
27 Verified Questions
27 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/77220
Sample Questions
Q1) The code of the streets applies to whom?
A) police and social workers who try to help solve urban problems
B) a small portion of inner-city youth
C) anyone who wants to be successful
D) women (and a few men) who have lost hope of ever having a family and a home
Answer: B
Q2) Pollan believes that Americans spend too much time and effort:
A) seeking out the best restaurants and the most fashionable kinds of foods available
B) trying to grow their own food because they distrust what is sold in grocery stores
C) fixing food that can be prepared better by professionals-in cafes and restaurants and in packaged meals
D) worrying about what they eat, causing them to fall prey to eating fads and diet schemes
Answer: D
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
4
Chapter 3: Growing up Social
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
24 Verified Questions
24 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/77221
Sample Questions
Q1) In explaining why they played or currently play sports, Messner found that many males say:
A) "It just comes naturally"
B) "My mom wants [or wanted] me to"
C) "Being an athlete gives [or gave] me social respect and status"
D) "It keeps [or kept] me out of trouble"
Answer: A
Q2) Allison Pugh's study, "Care and Belonging in the Market," examines:
A) Wall Street and other big business centers where corporate executives are faced with the challenge of either pursuing profits or doing the right thing for the community and society
B) the role of colleges and universities that train people in caring professions such as nursing
C) the transformation of the global economy from the production of goods to the provision of services that require much more interpersonal contact and effective communication
D) the way purchased objects connect (i.e. define the relationship between) people who have, give, or receive them, often at the expense of other kinds of relationships
Answer: D
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Social Interaction and Identity
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
31 Verified Questions
31 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/77222
Sample Questions
Q1) The "facts" of this storyare:
A) Kip Rhinelander was a wealthy white male and Alice Jones was a working-class African American female
B) Kip Rhinelander was the false identity of a man who pretended to be a great athlete and Alice Jones was an heiress who pretended to be poor
C) Kip Rhinelander was a married man who wanted to marry Alice Jones for her money
D) The "facts" are hopelessly lost and can never be known
Q2) The personal care Julia Twigg describes in "Body and Bathing" is about:
A) married couples who enjoy bathing together or giving each other baths
B) caregivers who help older people in their home
C) the history of cleanliness
D) power; children refuse to take baths, reject many foods, and speak in slang in order to exert independence from their parents
Q3) Goffman argues that one's face is:
A) rarely shown to others. Rather, we present a "mask" over our face
B) a positive image
C) the difficulties and obstacles in our life
D) one's pride and self-confidence
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 5: Social Inequality and Labor
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
54 Verified Questions
54 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/77223
Sample Questions
Q1) According to Ehrenreich:
A) most people in the low-wage economy steal from their employers and/or lie about their hours, resulting in a much higher net income than they would otherwise receive B) only a small minority of people in the low-wage economy are actually trying to support themselves or their families on their income alone
C) it is nearly impossible to live on a minimum- or low-wage income, even if you work full time
D) the combination of welfare payments and unreported, untaxed income allows "poor people" to live quite comfortably
Q2) What two approaches does Wilson use in order to understand the problems of inner-city black males?
A) examination of cultural and social structural factors
B) post-industrial theory and feminist theory
C) organizational rationality and political economy
D) historical path-dependency (events could not have unfolded otherwise) and social psychology
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 6: Social Control and Organizational Power
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
23 Verified Questions
23 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/77224
Sample Questions
Q1) From a sociological and particularly a functionalist perspective, Glennon's account of the process of producing potatoes for french fries demonstrates:
A) system dysfunction, especially in the bankruptcy of small farmers across the nation
B) the serendipity of unanticipated consequences leading to beneficial outcomes
C) the unanticipated consequences (latent functions) of a consumer preference, well beyond anything producers have anticipated
D) how information and power/control flow both up and down the social system
Q2) Feagin and Parker discuss an axis or "complex" composed of:
A) military, political, and industrial elites
B) urban, rural, and suburban voters
C) technology, economics, and social values
D) automobile, oil, and rubber (tire) companies
Q3) Glennon reports the following water problem:
A) the threat to trout fishing on the Straight River
B) the increasing amount of toxic chemicals in shallow wells where potatoes are grown
C) the loss of water in the aquifer that feeds the Straight River
D) All of the above are water problems cited by Glennon
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 8
Chapter 7: Social Institutions
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
58 Verified Questions
58 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/77225
Sample Questions
Q1) Gupta reports that the most cherished ideal of the Indian family system is:
A) support of one's parents in their old age
B) to marry one's cousin, preferably the child of one's mother's sister
C) to achieve a higher education, get a better job, and earn more money than one's parents
D) loyalty to and involvement with one's family of orientation
E) All of the above are described by Gupta as Indian family ideals
Q2) According to Bellah and his co-authors:
A) Americans have a higher level of religious practices than people in other industrial nations
B) fewer Americans than ever before attend church or express a religious preference
C) the aging American population is turning away from religion while youth are embracing it in huge numbers
D) Americans would be more religious if there were fewer churches and denominations with competing and conflicting belief systems
E) All of the above are discussed in the essay by Bellah et. al
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
9
Chapter 8: Social Change
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
24 Verified Questions
24 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/77226
Sample Questions
Q1) According to Pardo, minority neighborhoods and communities are more likely to be:
A) eligible for education grants and funding to build schools
B) crime-ridden and sites where illegal activities proliferate
C) located near toxic waste dumps and hazardous waste landfills
D) highly intolerant of the dominant group in U.S. society-i.e., whites of European origin
Q2) Mothers of East Los Angeles was composed predominately of:
A) Mexican Americans
B) African Americans
C) working-class and poor whites
D) immigrants from Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, and the Philippines
Q3) Edward Walker's "Industry-Driven Activism" describes the sociological phenomenon of:
A) deviant behavior
B) corporate organization
C) entrepreneurial innovation
D) social movements
E) the military-industrial complex
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 10