General Sociology Practice Exam
Course Introduction
General Sociology provides a comprehensive introduction to the systematic study of human society, social behavior, and social institutions. The course explores key sociological theories, concepts, and methods used to analyze the patterns and dynamics of social life. It covers topics such as culture, socialization, social groups, inequality, deviance, and the impact of social change on individuals and communities. Students will develop critical thinking skills to better understand how social forces shape individual experiences and societal trends, preparing them to engage thoughtfully with contemporary social issues.
Recommended Textbook
Essentials of Sociology 9th Edition by
David B. Brinkerhoff
Available Study Resources on Quizplus
15 Chapters
2023 Verified Questions
2023 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/study-set/478
Page 2
Chapter 1: The Study of Society
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8781
Sample Questions
Q1) The belief that the social world can be studied with the same scientific accuracy and assurance as the natural world is known as:
A) relativism.
B) cause and effect.
C) methodology.
D) positivism.
Answer: D
Q2) Max Weber developed which approaches for sociology?
A) value-free stance
B) positivism and theories of statics and dynamics
C) adaptation and evolution
D) economic determinism and the dialectic
Answer: A
Q3) Which of the following is a manifest dysfunction of proms?
A) building school spirit
B) teachers and students bonding by complaining about prom to one another
C) highlighting economic divisions between students
D) angry students vandalizing the school
Answer: C
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 3
Chapter 2: Culture
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
134 Verified Questions
134 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8782
Sample Questions
Q1) Sociologists say that culture is a social product.What does this mean?
A) Cultural diversity is not the product of isolated gene pools, but is learned and changed through social interaction.
B) Culture is a material commodity shared by all members of a society.
C) Culture is determined by biological instincts.
D) Culture cannot be understood or known by any individual. It can only be experienced collectively.
Answer: A
Q2) Betty has just taken a position with a different corporation.She is quite frustrated because workers in her new office have a different approach than what she is used to.Her co-workers use terms that she has not heard before and have their own ways of dividing the work and covering for each other.Betty is reacting to:
A) a subculture.
B) cultural diffusion.
C) a counterculture.
D) changing mores.
Answer: A
Q3) What is sociobiology?
Answer: It is the study of the biological basis of all forms of human behavior.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 4
Chapter 3: Socialization
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8783
Sample Questions
Q1) According to the text,what is the role of nature in the development of human beings?
A) Nature determines who a person will become.
B) Nature gives humans potentials, but is not enough for their development.
C) Nature plays no significant role in human development.
D) Human beings are able to develop quite normally without "nurture"; "nature" is most important.
Answer: B
Q2) Studies of children in orphanages who received little nurturing find that if they are adopted into good homes,they:
A) are able to catch up with children their age physically and mentally.
B) will regain any lost cognitive abilities.
C) eventually achieve the same mental abilities as other children, but are not adept at socializing with others.
D) still experience learning and thinking difficulties, and have difficulty forming relationships.
Answer: D
Q3) What is the most important agent of socialization?
Answer: The family is the most important agent of socialization.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 5
Chapter 4: Social Structure and Social Interaction
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8784
Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is an example of how identity issues are a hidden agenda in interaction?
A) A teacher asks a student, "What is your religion?"
B) An interviewer asks a respondent, "What is your income level?"
C) A male lawyer asks a female lawyer, "How do you, as a woman, feel about this case?"
D) A female patient in a hospital requests a female doctor.
Q2) After framing an encounter and defining what is going on,the second question individuals must resolve is:
A) What is the purpose of this interaction?
B) Is this situation problematic or routine?
C) Which identities pertain to this particular situation?
D) Why am I doing this?
Q3) Social structures are found at all levels of society.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are spoiled identities?
Q5) From the perspective of the sociology of everyday life,every social encounter is potentially problematic.Explain why this is and how the potential problems are resolved.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 6
Chapter 5: Groups, Networks, and Organizations
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8785
Sample Questions
Q1) Critics of bureaucracy believe that the multiple layers of authority make the organization:
A) impersonal.
B) irrational.
C) antidemocratic.
D) overly efficient.
Q2) The stress on rules,hierarchies,and impersonal relationships within a bureaucracy:
A) can sharply reduce cohesion within an organization.
B) increases cohesion within an organization.
C) decreases worker turnover rates.
D) increases member satisfaction because everyone knows what is expected of them.
Q3) From the point of view of society,primary groups serve:
A) as agents of social control.
B) to accomplish specific tasks like building a house.
C) to provide emotional support and a sense of belonging.
D) as comparison groups for members of society.
Q4) Name the four types of processes that occur regularly in human relationships.
Q5) List three characteristics of bureaucracies outlined by Weber.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 7
Chapter 6: Deviance, Crime, and Social Control
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8786
Sample Questions
Q1) Studies of crime prevention indicate that:
A) the length of sentences given for various crimes is a good deterrent for future crime.
B) the length of the sentence is a good predictor of how prevalent the crime is.
C) the certainty of getting caught is a better deterrent than lengthy sentences.
D) prisons are more important than law enforcement within the criminal justice system.
Q2) What is the basic concern of labeling theory as it relates to crime and deviance?
Q3) What is the difference between informal and formal social control?
Q4) When society punishes offenders to avenge the victim and society as a whole,this is called:
A) reformation.
B) retribution.
C) retaliation.
D) specific deterrence.
Q5) Explain the concept of medicalization.
Q6) What is meant by the statement that deviance is relative?
Q7) What is white-collar crime?
Q8) What is anomie?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 8
Chapter 7: Stratification
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8787
Sample Questions
Q1) Income inequality in the United States:
A) has declined over the past decade.
B) is less pronounced than in all other industrialized.
C) is similar to that in Sweden.
D) has steadily increased since 1970.
Q2) Sociologists call the ability to influence or force others to do what one wants them to do,regardless of their own wishes:
A) prestige.
B) power.
C) stratification.
D) caste.
Q3) The major ideology that justifies inequality in the U.S.is termed:
A) liberalism.
B) the American Dream.
C) conservativism.
D) imperialism.
Q4) What is meant by the concept of "culture of poverty"?
Q5) Explain the underlying causes of the rise in Islamic terrorism.
Q6) What does socioeconomic status include?
Q7) What is the American Dream? How is it related to social inequality?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 9
Chapter 8: Racial and Ethnic Inequality
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8788
Sample Questions
Q1) A __________ group is a group that is culturally,economically,and politically subordinate.
A) majority
B) minority
C) ethnic
D) racial
Q2) Discuss how the election of Barack Obama illustrates how much prejudice has declined in the United States,yet how important it still is.
Q3) When acting on the belief that a situation exists results in it becoming real,this is called:
A) institutionalized racism.
B) a self-fulfilling prophecy.
C) discrimination.
D) scapegoating.
Q4) Name three indicators that suggest that Native Americans are the most disadvantaged ethnic group in the United States.
Q5) Summarize William Julius Wilson's position on race and ethnicity.Why do most sociologists disagree with Wilson?
Q6) What is the difference between race and ethnic group?
Page 10
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 9: Sex,Gender,and Sexuality
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8789
Sample Questions
Q1) In a study of women at gyms,after being told by trainers that they could lift weights without fear because they would not "bulk up," it was discovered that:
A) nearly all the women began strenuous weightlifting programs.
B) most women did not lift weights at all or limited their weightlifting.
C) by the end of two years a majority of the women had developed fairly defined muscles.
D) the women were not really afraid of "bulking up."
Q2) According to ________,a gender-based division of labor is actually good because it protects the family unit from having unnecessary competition between the man and the woman in the household.
A) structural-functionalism
B) symbolic interactionism
C) conflict theory
D) sociobiology
Q3) In studying the differences between male and female interaction,we see that:
A) men take up more speaking time than women.
B) women interrupt men more often than men interrupt women.
C) women take up more speaking time than men.
D) women are less likely to smile.
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Page 11
Chapter 10: Health and Health Care
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8790
Sample Questions
Q1) Today,the strongest opposition to national health insurance comes from:
A) the wealthy and middle-class people with insurance.
B) the pharmaceutical and health insurance companies.
C) the American tax payers.
D) labor unions.
Q2) Which of the following would NOT be an example of a manufacturer of illness?
A) cigarette companies
B) food processors
C) the American Medical Association
D) the automobile industry
Q3) Which of these people is most likely to experience depression?
A) Melinda, a single woman with no children who is a corporate attorney
B) James, a married man who recently received a promotion at work but is struggling to work up the corporate ladder
C) Dianne, who does not work and has three small children at home and a demanding husband who expects the home to be perfect
D) Betsy, a recent retiree who is volunteering for several agencies and traveling a great deal
Q4) Why might women get sicker but men die quicker?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 12
Chapter 11: Family
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8791
Sample Questions
Q1) In 2009,what percentage of children was born to single mothers?
A) 13%
B) 21%
C) 28%
D) 38%
Q2) Propinquity influences marital choice at least in part because:
A) the more you interact with others, the more positive your attitudes towards them become.
B) physical attractiveness becomes less important at close distances.
C) absence makes the heart grow fonder.
D) people tend to marry people who are like them in personality.
Q3) Describe the contemporary transition to adulthood.How has this transition changed in the last generation?
Q4) Which of these statements best describes the cultural shift in views of marriage?
A) "I am looking for my soul mate."
B) "If it doesn't work out, we can always divorce."
C) "Marriage is just a piece of paper."
D) "I can't afford to get married."
Q5) What does the research reveal regarding the effects of day care on children?
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 13
Chapter 12: Education and Religion
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8792
Sample Questions
Q1) Research indicates that holding students back may result in reducing their academic performance and increasing their likelihood of dropping out.
A)True
B)False
Q2) What is credentialism?
Q3) Why do schools use tracking? Compare and contrast the structural-functional and the conflict theory point of view.
Q4) Wan Cho recently immigrated to the United States. She looks forward to sending her children to school because there they will learn what it is to be "American." This is an example of which function of education?
A) reproducing social inequality
B) social control
C) socialization
D) training and development
Q5) Islam encompasses about __________ the world's population.
A) one-fifth
B) two-fifths
C) three-fifths
D) four-fifths
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above. Page 14
Chapter 13: Politics and the Economy
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8793
Sample Questions
Q1) Over the last fifty years,the fastest growing production sector is the _________ production sector.
A) primary
B) secondary
C) tertiary
D) corporate
Q2) Members of which of these racial-ethnic groups are LEAST likely to vote:
A) non-Hispanic white
B) Hispanic American
C) African American
D) Asian American.
Q3) Give one example of each of the three sectors of production in preindustrial and postindustrial societies.
Q4) Only factory workers are affected by the loss of American jobs to locations overseas.Professionals are protected by the type of work that they do.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Under what conditions is democracy most successful?
Q6) What does the text suggest is the lesson of the crisis in the U.S.economy?
Page 15
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 14: Population and Urbanization
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
135 Verified Questions
135 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8794
Sample Questions
Q1) What is the economic impact of immigration to the U.S.?
A) Immigrants take away jobs from citizens and negatively impact the economy.
B) Immigrants have no impact on the economy of the U.S.
C) Immigrants may depress the wages of the least educated Americans in low-skill jobs.
D) There is no research on the economic impact of immigrants.
Q2) In Ghana,women who cannot bear children:
A) have a higher status than women who do.
B) must adopt them.
C) are at risk of divorce or abandonment.
D) are executed.
Q3) Discuss the relationship between women's status and roles in society and fertility rates.
Q4) The movement of people from rural areas and small towns into cities is termed: A) suburbanization.
B) urbanization.
C) consolidation.
D) metropolitanization.
Q5) What is the structural-functional view of urbanization?
Q6) What are three problems associated with the growth of suburbs?
Page 16
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.
Chapter 15: Social Change
Available Study Resources on Quizplus for this Chatper
134 Verified Questions
134 Flashcards
Source URL: https://quizplus.com/quiz/8795
Sample Questions
Q1) Which theory of social movements suggests that social movements develop when individuals who experience deprivation pull together the resources they need to mobilize for action?
A) bloc mobilization theory
B) resource mobilization theory
C) solid state theory
D) relative-deprivation theory
Q2) A social movement is defined as:
A) a crowd of people who are all contesting the same vague norms.
B) a collection of people in the same place at the same time.
C) a group of people who come together spontaneously in situations of unclear, vague or inadequate norms.
D) individuals, groups, and organizations united by a common desire to change social institutions, attitudes, or ways of life.
Q3) What are the four possible outcomes of social movement activities?
Q4) Compare the structural functional and the conflict perspectives on technological change.
Q5) What is the basic foundation of relative-deprivation theory?
Q6) What is a normal accident?
17
To view all questions and flashcards with answers, click on the resource link above.