Foundations of Social Science Exam Review
Course Introduction
Foundations of Social Science introduces students to the fundamental concepts, theories, and methodologies used to analyze human society and behavior. Covering key disciplines such as sociology, psychology, anthropology, economics, and political science, this course examines how individuals and groups interact within cultural, institutional, and historical contexts. Students will explore major social science questions, including identity formation, social structures, power dynamics, and the impact of social change, while developing critical thinking and analytical skills essential for further study in the social sciences.
Recommended Textbook
Sociology 14th Edition by John J. Macionis
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
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Sample Questions
Q1) Sarah is spending a summer living in another country where people have a way of life that differs from her own.A sociologist might expect that this experience would lead her to
A)end up with a greater understanding of both a new way of life and her own way of life.
B)accept what people in the United States call "common sense."
C)assume that people's lives simply reflect the choices they make.
D)gradually understand less and less about her own way of life.
Answer: A
Q2) Three campus roommates are talking about why they are in college.A sociological view of going to college highlights the effect of
A)only age, because college students tend to be young.
B)only class, because college students tend to come from families with above-average incomes.
C)only our place in history, because a century ago going to college was not an option for most people.
D)age, class, and our place in history, because of these are all ways in which society guides college attendance.
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: Sociological Investigation
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Sample Questions
Q1) With regard to the process of measurement, which of the following statements is true?
A)For measurement to be reliable, it must be valid.
B)For measurement to be valid, it must be reliable.
C)All measurement is both reliable and valid.
D)Measurement cannot be both reliable and valid.
Answer: B
Q2) Sociologists always achieve complete personal objectivity in their work.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Natural scientists often have an easier time than social scientists in identifying cause-and-effect relationships.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Karl Marx founded the critical orientation in sociology.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) People around the world have much the same outward appearance and wear the same clothing and bodily decoration.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q2) In general, low-income nations have cultures that value individualism and personal self-expression.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Cultural values in the United States always go together-they are all consistent with one another.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) After carefully examining National Map 3-1 on
Answer: As an AI, I don't have the ability to view or examine physical objects or images, including maps. Therefore, I'm unable to provide an answer to your question. Please provide more context or details.
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Chapter 4: Society
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain why Karl Marx believed capitalist society was irrational, while Max Weber believed it was very rational.
Q2) Which of the following is true of hunting and gathering societies?
A)Population is small; they are nomadic.
B)Population is large; they live in villages.
C)Population is small; they raise crops and animals.
D)Population is large; most people are farmers.
Q3) In describing the rationalization of society, Max Weber claimed that modern society had become
A)more religious.
B)disenchanted.
C)full of anomie.
D)less productive.
Q4) Compared to hunting and gathering societies, horticultural and pastoral societies have more productive specialization and greater social inequality.
A)True
B)False
Q5) How does Durkheim's concept of anomie differ from
Q6) What did Durkheim mean by "anomie"? How does modern society cause anomie?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Socialization
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Q1) What we know about the later lives of socially isolated children supports the findings of the Harlow's research.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Industrial societies typically define people in old age as
A)the most wise.
B)the most knowledgeable about current fashion and trends.
C)more out of touch and less socially important than younger adults.
D)All of these are correct.
Q3) The special importance of the peer group is the fact that it
A)has a greater effect than parents on children's long-term goals.
B)lets children escape the direct supervision of parents.
C)gives children experience in an impersonal setting.
D)All of these are correct.
Q4) Childhood and other stages of the life course are defined similarly in all societies.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain why George Herbert Mead's theory of self can be described as completely social.
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Chapter 6: Social Interaction in Everyday Life
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following best describes a "well-told" joke?
A)The unconventional and conventional definitions of reality are given so quickly that people will not understand the difference.
B)There is a very sharp contrast between the conventional and unconventional definitions of reality.
C)The conventional and unconventional definitions of reality are virtually the same.
D)All of these are correct.
Q2) The process by which people act and react in relation to others is called
A)social connectedness.
B)social construction.
C)social dynamics.
D)social interaction.
Q3) Which item in the following list might serve as a master status?
A)occupation
B)physical or mental disability
C)gender
D)All of these are correct.
Q4) What is nonverbal communication? How do people use it in everyday life?
Q5) Explain how emotions are guided by both biology and culture.
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Chapter 7: Groups and Organizations
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the term for group leadership that emphasizes the completion of tasks?
A)democratic leadership
B)authoritarian leadership
C)expressive leadership
D)instrumental leadership
Q2) Expressive leaders are more likely than instrumental leaders to enjoy more personal affection from group members.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Bureaucracy places more importance on personal ties than on technical competence.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are the dangers that are posed to us by the process called the "McDonaldization" of society? Develop some strategies, policies, or personal choices that might help discourage the spread of this process.
Q5) What does it mean to say that rationality may be irrational? How might Weber respond to this question?
Q6) What are the differences between categories and social groups?
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Sexuality and Society
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Sample Questions
Q1) The text suggests that the most widely contested issue involving sexuality in the United States in recent years has been
A)homosexuality and gay rights.
B)abortion.
C)prostitution.
D)teen pregnancy.
Q2) Read the four statements below.Which statement is NOT consistent with the social-conflict approach?
A)The process of reality construction is highly variable, so that one group's views of sexuality may well differ from another's.
B)Defining women in sexual terms devalues them, turning women into objects of men's interest.
C)U.S.culture often depicts sexuality in terms of sport and violence, such as when we speak of men "scoring" with women, and men "hitting on" women.
D)When police enforce laws against prostitution, the person most likely to be arrested is the female prostitute, not her male "client."
Q3) State two common myths about rape.Explain why these beliefs are wrong.
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Chapter 9: Deviance
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Sample Questions
Q1) Probation and parole are two types of community-based corrections.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Biological factors, including genetics, explain most criminal behavior.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following are functions of deviance noted by Emile Durkheim?
A)Deviance affirms cultural values and norms.
B)Responding to deviance promotes social unity.
C)Responding to deviance clarifies moral boundaries.
D)All of these are correct.
Q4) Using the terms of Robert Merton's strain theory, which of the following terms would correctly describe a gangster like Al Capone who made a lot of money breaking the law?
A)innovator
B)ritualist
C)retreatist
D)rebel
Q5) State four ways in which, according to Emile Durkheim, deviance is functional for society as a whole.
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Chapter 10: Social Stratification
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Sample Questions
Q1) State several ways in which caste and class systems differ.
Q2) The degree of status consistency is
A)greater in caste than class systems.
B)the same in all types of social stratification.
C)greater in class than caste systems.
D)greater the more productive a society is.
Q3) Max Weber said social stratification involved three distinct dimensions: economic class, social prestige, and political power.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The ending of apartheid in South Africa has led to
A)that society becoming a meritocracy.
B)little improvement for millions of poor, black people.
C)complete social mixing by people of all races.
D)the election of the first white president.
Q5) Summarize the Davis-Moore thesis.Specifically, what are the functional consequences of inequality for society as a whole? Illustrate the thesis by pointing out various jobs and the relative rewards each job commands.Conclude by noting several criticisms of the Davis-Moore thesis.
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Chapter 11: Social Class in the United States
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Sample Questions
Q1) The concept "conspicuous consumption" refers to
A)buying things that are popular with the most people.
B)buying more than what you need for the moment.
C)the practice of buying things to make a statement about one's social position.
D)acting as if one had a lower social position than is really the case.
Q2) The richest 5 percent of U.S.families own about what percentage of privately owned property?
A)2 percent
B)12 percent
C)32 percent
D)62 percent
Q3) People in the lower-upper class are sometimes said to have "old money."
A)True
B)False
Q4) Many people in this country think of the United States as a more-or-less "middle-class" society because
A)we have no history of nobility, as in Europe.
B)U.S.culture celebrates individual effort.
C)most people interact with others in similar social standing.
D)All of these are correct.
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Chapter 12: Global Stratification
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Sample Questions
Q1) Modernization theory focuses on the production of wealth, while dependency theory focuses on the distribution of wealth.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Describe the trend in global inequality over the course of the last century, especially since 1970.Based on where we have been and where we are now, predict where the world may be a century from now.What prediction would modernization theory support? What about dependency theory? How accurate do you think each prediction is? Why?
Q3) What is the difference between relative poverty and absolute poverty? Which is a more dangerous type of poverty? Why?
Q4) In low-income nations, population growth is generally very high.
A)True B)False
Q5) Modernization theory was created as a criticism of U.S.foreign policy. A)True B)False
Q6) How does neocolonialism differ from colonialism? Describe the operation of each system.
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Chapter 13: Gender Stratification
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Sample Questions
Q1) What does Naomi Wolf mean by the term "beauty myth"?
Q2) Structural-functional analysis points out that industrialization encourages
A)men to take control of the workplace.
B)growing gender equality.
C)women to have more children.
D)All of these are correct.
Q3) Based on the map and discussion in the text, in which of the following do women have the lowest social standing?
A)Europe
B)North America
C)Africa
D)South America
Q4) Radical feminists envision a world free from gender differences.Write an essay in which you imagine how such a world might operate.Would families exist? How would human reproduction occur? Do you support efforts to create this world or not? Why?
Q5) In the United States today, two-thirds of physicians are women.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What criticisms of pornography are made in the text?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Race and Ethnicity
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the importance of Sojourner Truth and Harriet Tubman in the history of African Americans?
Q2) Arab Americans come from more than twenty different nations in Northern Africa and the Middle East.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The claim that defining members of some minority as inferior will make them inferior is one application of
A)social distance research.
B)the iron law of oligarchy.
C)the Thomas Theorem.
D)authoritarian personality theory.
Q4) Why do sociologists consider the "scientific" racial types of Caucasian, Mongoloid, and Negroid to be misleading and even harmful?
A)Every society's population contains a lot of genetic mixture.
B)Various racial categories are genetically very much alike.
C)The skin color of Caucasian people ranges from very light to very dark.
D)All of these are correct.
Q5) What are WASPs? How do they differ from "white ethnics"?
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Chapter 15: Aging and the Elderly
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Sample Questions
Q1) Increasing longevity is a major factor driving up the elderly population.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Are the elderly in the United States disadvantaged? Provide data on income that answers this question.Also consider cultural patterns that contribute to ageism.In this discussion, state the points of view that suggest the elderly should or should not be considered a minority.
Q3) As the elderly population of the United States increases, the physical and social segregation of the elderly will almost certainly decline.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Disengagement theory is guided by which theoretical approach?
A)the social-conflict approach
B)the structural-functional approach
C)the symbolic-interaction approach
D)the sociobiology approach
Q5) What is caregiving? Who provides most caregiving to elderly people in the United States?
Q6) What is age stratification? What is a gerontocracy?
Page 17
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Chapter 16: The Economy and Work
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Q1) Prostitution and selling illegal drugs are typically part of the underground economy.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Dependency theorists see large corporations as
A)the key to meeting the needs of people in poor nations.
B)helping poor nations to develop local industries.
C)a major source of foreign investment for poor nations.
D)intensifying global inequality.
Q3) Combining a market-based economy with an extensive social welfare program yields what is called "welfare capitalism."
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are the three defining traits of socialism?
Q5) The concept "paraprofessional" refers to work that requires skills, but typically lacks a broad theoretical knowledge of a field.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What are the three defining traits of capitalism?
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Chapter 17: Politics and Government
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Sample Questions
Q1) In general, how does income affect the likelihood of voting in the United States?
A)Most high-income people vote; most low-income people do not.
B)People of all income levels are about equally likely to vote.
C)Most low-income people vote; most high-income people do not.
D)Higher income increases the share of people who vote among women, but not men.
Q2) Which of the following concepts refers to a political system in which a single family rules from generation to generation?
A)democracy
B)monarchy
C)totalitarianism
D)oligopoly
Q3) Which of the following statements about political parties in the United States is true?
A)Democrats have had control of Congress for more than twenty years.
B)Most people claim to be either a strong Republican or a strong Democrat.
C)National political power tends to swing from one party to the other over time.
D)The last five presidents have all been Republicans.
Q4) What is nuclear proliferation? Do you consider this process a concern? Why or why not?
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Chapter 18: Families
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Q1) Based on the text, which of the following categories of people would you expect to have the highest risk of divorce?
A)young people who marry after a short courtship
B)a couple facing a wanted and expected pregnancy
C)a couple whose parents never experienced divorce
D)All of these are correct.
Q2) What is the effect of industrialization on the number of children in a typical family?
A)Families have more children.
B)Families have the same number of children.
C)Families have fewer children.
D)Families no longer care about how many children they have.
Q3) In what specific ways does social class affect families and family life?
Q4) The family is a social institution that is found in:
A)most, but not all, societies.
B)about half of human societies in the world today.
C)only high-income nations.
D)every society.
Q5) Why do more of U.S.households contain a single person?
Q6) How does the nuclear family differ from the extended family?
Page 20
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Chapter 19: Religion
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Sample Questions
Q1) What is the distinction between the sacred and the profane?
Q2) A majority of people in which global region are Muslims?
A)North America
B)South America
C)the Middle East
D)Asia
Q3) Which of the following is a correct criticism of the structural-functional approach to religion?
A)ignoring the effects of religion in everyday life
B)ignoring how religion provides meaning in everyday life
C)ignoring religion's ability to generate social conflict
D)ignoring the positive consequences of religion for society
Q4) Which of the following is a correct example of civil religion?
A)singing patriotic song on the Fourth of July
B)tax exemptions for churches
C)the sex scandal in the Catholic church
D)high religiosity among members of sects
Q5) Charisma is a personal quality that lets someone draw others as followers.
A)True
B)False
21
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Chapter 20: Education
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Q1) Research suggests that the level of functional illiteracy in the United States may be about what share of adults?
A)about 14 percent
B)about 34 percent
C)about 54 percent
D)about 74 percent
Q2) On average, completing a college degree adds only about $50,000 to a person's lifetime earnings.
A)True
B)False
Q3) How can identifying students as "deficient" or "gifted" generate a self-fulfilling prophecy?
Q4) Research shows that, in the typical college classroom, most students are active participants who speak up.
A)True B)False
Q5) Currently, there is a surplus of teachers in the United States. A)True
B)False
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Chapter 21: Health and Medicine
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Q1) In the United States, the infant mortality rate among low-income children is about the same as the rate for the children of the wealthy.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which sexually transmitted disease infects 24 million U.S.adults
A)syphilis
B)genital herpes
C)gonorrhea
D)AIDS
Q3) What diseases were leading causes of death in the United States in 1900? What about in 2009? Describe the pattern of change.
Q4) In the United States, an important medical issue is
A)a surplus of nurses.
B)a shortage of nurses.
C)the fact that many hospitals are going bankrupt.
D)doctors making less and less money.
Q5) People with more money to spend are more likely to become obese.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 22: Population, Urbanization, and Environment
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Q1) The crude death rate is the most widely used measure of a society's population decline.
A)True
B)False
Q2) By 2012, the world is home to about how many people?
A)7 billion
B)4 billion
C)1 billion
D)700 million
Q3) What do we learn from the urban political economy approach? How does this approach differ from the "urbanism as a way of life" theory developed by Louis Wirth and others?
Q4) Which of the following concepts refers to the number of live births in a given year for every thousand people in a population?
A)fertility
B)refined birth rate
C)crude birth rate
D)fecundity
Q5) Why are environmentalists concerned about the loss of the planet's rainforests?
Page 24
Q6) What is a net migration rate? How is it calculated?
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Chapter 23: Collective Behavior and Social Movements
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Q1) Today, social movements develop around any number of A)widely held beliefs.
B)controversial public issues.
C)national goals.
D)All of these are correct.
Q2) Kai Erikson explains that disasters harm people in a way the public often fails to realize by
A)destroying property.
B)killing people.
C)breaking down people's communities.
D)None of these is correct.
Q3) What is a "disaster"? What are three types of disasters? Give an example of each.
Q4) Hula hoops, streaking, and Pokemon cards are all examples of A)fads.
B)fashion.
C)style.
D)social movements.
Q5) Based on the discussion found in the final box in the chapter
Q6) Define "fashion" and "fad" so that their differences are clear.
25
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Chapter 24: Social Change: Traditional
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Q1) Scholars who take a postmodernist approach claim that
A)in many respects, modernity has failed.
B)science holds the important answers.
C)people should be optimistic about their future.
D)All of these are correct.
Q2) Modernization typically decreases social diversity.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What demographic (population) trends are reshaping the United States?
Q4) In a sentence or two, what is the basic idea behind mass-society theory? What is one criticism of this theory?
Q5) In this essay, identify and discuss several causes of social change, including cultural processes
Q6) Mass-society theory offers a criticism of modern society as having
A)become less and less affluent.
B)pushed minorities to the margins.
C)become an impersonal mass of socially rootless people.
D)All of these are correct.
Q7) In a sentence or two, what is the basic idea behind class-society theory? What is one criticism of this theory?
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