Principles of Sociology Exam Practice Tests
Course Introduction
Principles of Sociology introduces students to the fundamental concepts, theories, and methods used in the systematic study of society and human behavior. The course explores key sociological topics such as culture, socialization, institutions, inequality, and social change, providing an understanding of how individuals and groups interact within social structures. Emphasis is placed on the development of critical thinking skills as students analyze contemporary social issues and apply sociological perspectives to real-world situations.
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Sociology 14th Edition by John J. Macionis
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2
Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective
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Sample Questions
Q1) Among all academic disciplines, sociology is one of the youngest.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Which theoretical approach claims that it is not so much what people do that matters as much as what meaning they attach to their behavior?
A)structural-functional approach
B)social-conflict approach
C)symbolic-interaction approach
D)social-exchange approach
Answer: C
Q3) The meaning people find in competitive sports would be one focus of a symbolic-interaction approach.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Sociology is useful training for any job that involves working with people.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 2: Sociological Investigation
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Sample Questions
Q1) The ability to neutralize the effect of one variable in order to assess the relationship between two other variables is called
A)making the correlation spurious.
B)making the correlation reliable.
C)control.
D)causing the correlation.
Answer: C
Q2) If you were to conduct sociological research that closely follows the logic of science, which research method would you most likely use?
A)interviews
B)the experiment
C)questionnaires
D)participant observation
Answer: B
Q3) Sociologists always achieve complete personal objectivity in their work.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 3: Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) Symbols allow people to make sense of their surroundings.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) The United States is the most _______ of all countries.
A)multicultural
B)culturally uniform
C)slowly changing
D)nonmaterial
Answer: A
Q3) Cultural change is set in motion in three general ways.What are they?
A)invention, discovery, and diffusion
B)invasion, invention, and experiment
C)immigration, imagination, and innovation
D)adaptation, integration, and immigration
Answer: A
Q4) Afrocentrism refers to the dominance of European cultural patterns.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 4: Society
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Sample Questions
Q1) How did Weber describe the thought patterns of the members of traditional societies?
A)People look open-mindedly to the future.
B)People pass the same values and beliefs from generation to generation.
C)People live in the present, paying little attention to the past or the future.
D)People strive to be more and more productive.
Q2) In hunting and gathering societies
A)men and women do almost entirely the same tasks.
B)men hunt animals while women gather vegetation.
C)women hunt animals while men gather vegetation.
D)men and women work together as hunters.
Q3) The first type of society to generate a material surplus was
A)hunting and gathering.
B)horticultural and pastoral.
C)agrarian.
D)industrial.
Q4) Gerhard Lenski claims that the invention of horticultural or pastoral technology is a clear case of societal progress towards a better way of life.
A)True
B)False
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Socialization
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Sample Questions
Q1) A college is a good example of a total institution.
A)True
B)False
Q2) According to Carol Gilligan, the self-esteem of girls increases steadily through the teenage years.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In the United States, old age is generally thought to begin at about the age of sixty-five.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Carol Gilligan extended Kohlberg's research, showing that
A)girls and boys typically assess situations as right and wrong using different standards.
B)girls are more interested in right and wrong than boys are.
C)boys are more interested in right and wrong than girls are.
D)the ability to assess situations as right and wrong typically develops only as young people enter the teenage years.
Q5) Cite several ways in which the family is central to the process of socialization.
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Chapter 6: Social Interaction in Everyday Life
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Sample Questions
Q1) The Thomas theorem states that
A)a role is as a role does.
B)people rise to their level of incompetence.
C)situations defined as real are real in their consequences.
D)people know the world only through their language.
Q2) The term "master status" refers to being the best in one's occupational field.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Rebuilding relationships with people who knew you in an earlier period of life is a common experience for those who are undergoing which of the following?
A)role conflict
B)role strain
C)role ambiguity
D)role exit
Q4) The global map in this chapter of the text shows that, in general, when a nation's income level is low, the share of housework for women increases.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Identify several ways gender affects personal performances.
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Chapter 7: Groups and Organizations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following concepts refers to a social group that people use as a point of reference in making evaluations or decisions?
A)peer group
B)reference group
C)out-group
D)dyad
Q2) "Groupthink" is a form of social conformity in groups.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The boundary that distinguishes members from nonmembers is clearer in secondary groups than in primary groups.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In principle, bureaucratic organizations pay little attention to
A)formal policies.
B)completing tasks efficiently.
C)tradition.
D)the technical competence of members.
Q5) What are the important differences between primary and secondary groups?
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Chapter 8: Sexuality and Society
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Sample Questions
Q1) The baby boom generation-people born between 1946 and 1964-became the first cohort in U.S.history to grow up with the idea that sex was part of everyone's life, married or not.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Sexual attraction to someone of the same sex is called
A)heterosexuality.
B)bisexuality.
C)homosexuality.
D)asexuality.
Q3) Criticism of the social-conflict approach's view of sexuality would include the fact that
A)sexuality is not a power issue for everyone.
B)U.S.society has taken many steps to reduce gender inequality.
C)gay people have made significant strides towards greater opportunity and social acceptance.
D)All of these are correct.
Q4) Why do some people consider prostitution to be a victimless crime? Can you provide arguments against this position?
Q5) What are the traits of the campus culture of "hooking up"?
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Deviance
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following concepts refers to "the recognized violation of cultural norms"?
A)deviance
B)crime
C)legal infraction
D)juvenile delinquency
Q2) The concept of due process refers to
A)the criminal justice system operating within the bounds of the law.
B)the idea that people get what they deserve.
C)the process of plea bargaining.
D)the obligation of all citizens to report crime.
Q3) What concept did Erving Goffman use to refer to a powerful and negative label that greatly changes a person's self-concept and social identity?
A)a deviant ritual
B)a degradation ceremony
C)a secondary identity
D)stigma
Q4) Identify four justifications for punishment.Do you think punishment accomplishes each of these goals? Why or why not?
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11
Chapter 10: Social Stratification
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Sample Questions
Q1) Based on what you have read, as the United States develops a postindustrial economy, economic inequality is
A)likely to disappear.
B)decreasing.
C)holding at about the same level.
D)increasing.
Q2) According to Karl Marx, social stratification in a capitalist society always involves A)class conflict.
B)negotiation and compromise leading to stability.
C)the abolition of work itself.
D)All of these are correct.
Q3) Ideology refers to ideas that support social stratification.
A)True
B)False
Q4) 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.
Q5) Explain how social stratification shapes patterns of social interaction.
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Chapter 11: Social Class in the United States
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following factors affects social position in the United States?
A)the family a person is born into
B)a person's race
C)a person's gender
D)All of these are correct.
Q2) According to Lisa Keister's research, which of the following statements is correct?
A)Social mobility has never existed in the United States.
B)Social mobility is the same for people at all levels of the wealth hierarchy.
C)Social mobility is lowest for people in the middle of the wealth hierarchy.
D)Social mobility is lowest for people at the top and the bottom of the wealth hierarchy.
Q3) 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.
Q4) Give three examples each of blue-collar jobs and white-collar jobs.
Q5) Look at the "Seeing Sociology in Everyday Life" photo essay on
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Chapter 12: Global Stratification
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Sample Questions
Q1) Wallerstein pointed to several factors that cause dependency among low-income nations.Which of the following is a factor that Wallerstein did NOT claim to be a cause of dependency?
A)narrow, export-oriented economies
B)lack of integration into the world economy
C)lack of industrial capacity
D)foreign debt
Q2) Modernization theory claims that
A)poor nations can never become rich in today's world.
B)the main causes of poverty involve culture and technology.
C)the main causes of poverty involve multinational corporations.
D)most poor nations were richer in the past.
Q3) Describe the distribution of income for the world as a whole.
Q4) Colonialism and neocolonialism both refer to a situation where one country politically rules or controls another country.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Global income is divided more equally than income within the United States.
A)True
B)False
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Gender Stratification
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Sample Questions
Q1) Employed married women do less housework than employed married men.
A)True
B)False
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) Which type of feminism accepts the basic organization of U.S.society, but seeks to give women the same rights and opportunities as men?
A)liberal feminism
B)socialist feminism
C)radical feminism
D)All of these are correct.
Q4) What does the research by Margaret Mead in New Guinea lead us to conclude about gender?
Q5) On average, males are both taller and heavier than females.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What is the importance of the term "glass ceiling"?
Page 15
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Chapter 14: Race and Ethnicity
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Sample Questions
Q1) Define race and ethnicity.How do they differ?
Q2) Assimilation refers to the process by which A)people become more tolerant of minorities.
B)minorities gradually adopt patterns of the dominant culture.
C)all minority categories become more equal in social standing.
D)people regain their lost cultural heritage.
Q3) Which of the following concepts refers to biological reproduction by people of different racial categories?
A)assimilation
B)racial typology
C)pluralism
D)miscegenation
Q4) When did slavery of African Americans begin in the United States? When was it outlawed?
Q5) Of all categories of Asian Americans, Japanese Americans have the highest average income.
A)True
B)False
Q6) When did slavery begin in the United States? When was it outlawed?
Q7) 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) Read the four terms below.Which of them is NOT one of the stages in the dying process described by Elisabeth Kübler-Ross?
A)denial
B)intervention
C)negotiation
D)acceptance
Q2) The concept of "gerontology" refers to
A)estimating people's life expectancy.
B)a medical specialty dealing with old people.
C)the study of aging and the elderly.
D)a treatment that restores vitality to seniors.
Q3) In hunting and gathering societies, older members are considered to be a valuable resource to the group.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What is the poverty rate among elderly people in the United States? How has it changed in recent decades?
Q5) How do modern societies separate death from life?
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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Sample Questions
Q1) Read the four descriptions below.Which of them DOES NOT apply to a profession?
A)having theoretical knowledge of a field
B)working for a large, well-established company
C)having authority over clients
D)professing a community, rather than an individual, orientation
Q2) A recent trend in the United States is a steady rise in the share of small businesses owned by women.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Conglomerates are giant corporations composed of many smaller corporations.
A)True
B)False
Q4) A corporation is an organization with a legal existence apart from that of its members.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Socialism is also called a "laissez-faire" economic system.
A)True
B)False
Q6) What is a social institution? What is the economy?
Page 18
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Chapter 17: Politics and Government
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Sample Questions
Q1) About how much money does the world as a whole spend annually for military purposes?
A)$15 million
B)$150 million
C)$15 billion
D)$1.5 trillion
Q2) People with lower social standing in the United States tend to be _____ on social issues and _____ on economic issues.
A)conservative; conservative
B)liberal; liberal
C)liberal; conservative
D)conservative; liberal
Q3) The concept of "government" refers to the formal organization that directs the political life of a society.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Nuclear proliferation is the process by which the two superpowers engage in an arms race.
A)True
B)False
Page 19
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Chapter 18: Families
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Sample Questions
Q1) A social-exchange analysis of family life is likely to consider
A)how families keep society as a whole operating.
B)how families perpetuate social inequality.
C)how individuals select partners who offer about as much as they do to the relationship.
D)how families regulate sexual activity.
Q2) What is family violence? What laws have been enacted in order to address this problem?
Q3) In the United States, two-thirds of the children under the age of five of working mothers receive care at a day-care facility.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What are three tasks of the family, according to the structural-functional approach? Why do some analysts claim that the family is the "backbone of society"?
Q5) Sociologists tell us that families in the United States are diverse.Exactly how are they diverse? Describe differences in marriage and family life that are linked to
Q6) Identify at least four factors that are related to the high divorce rate in the United States.
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Chapter 19: Religion
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Sample Questions
Q1) Read the four statements below.Which of the four is NOT a trait of religious fundamentalism?
A)endorsing conservative political goals
B)seeking the personal experience of God's presence
C)interpreting religious texts literally
D)accepting religious pluralism
Q2) A church is a type of social organization that is well integrated into the larger society.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Religion is a social institution that is best defined as involving A)beliefs and practices concerning what is sacred.
B)ideas about good and evil.
C)a series of beliefs about creation.
D)norms about how to live.
Q4) Secularization refers to which of the following?
A)the historical importance of religion in people's lives
B)the historical increase in the importance of the sacred
C)the historical decline in the importance of the sacred
D)the historical concern of the church with social change
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Chapter 20: Education
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Sample Questions
Q1) The fact that, historically, schooling has been mostly for elites is evident in the fact that the word "school" has the same root as the Greek word for A)"learning."
B)"wisdom."
C)"leisure."
D)"elder."
Q2) There has been significant grade inflation during the last several decades. A)True
B)False
Q3) In the United States today, what percentage of people over the age of twenty-five have earned a four-year college degree?
A)30 percent
B)50 percent
C)75 percent
D)90 percent
Q4) What are four societal functions of schooling?
Q5) What percentage of U.S.adults are high school graduates? College graduates? How have these percentages changed over the last century?
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Chapter 21: Health and Medicine
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Sample Questions
Q1) In much of the world, illness and poverty form a vicious circle, with each increasing the other.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Which of the following is the most common way people in the United States pay for medical care?
A)private insurance programs
B)the government's universal health care program
C)HMOs
D)Medicare and Medicaid
Q3) In his structural-functional analysis, Talcott Parsons claimed that society responds to illness by
A)punishing ill people.
B)withholding treatment to those who need it most.
C)using the "sick role" to relieve ill people of many daily responsibilities.
D)forcing people, sick or not, to perform important work.
Q4) Describe the reasons for the shortage of nurses in the United States.
Q5) Describe several reasons for the shortage of nurses in the United States.
Q6) How does holistic medicine differ from scientific medicine? What are the advantages of each approach?
Page 23
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Chapter 22: Population, Urbanization, and Environment
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following accounts for most water use in the world today?
A)industry
B)agriculture
C)households
D)water parks, golf courses, and other recreational settings
Q2) What are the four stages in demographic transition theory? Apply this theory to the population history of the United States.
Q3) In general, the way of life of people living in low-income nations causes much more harm to the environment than the way of life of people living in high-income nations does.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The average life expectancy for U.S.children born today is about sixty years.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What is "environmental racism"?
Q6) What is a net migration rate? How is it calculated?
Q7) Sex ratios are usually greater than 100 because men typically outlive women.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 23: Collective Behavior and Social Movements
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Q1) Mass behavior is defined as collective behavior
A)in the form of a riot or a mob.
B)involving people in a crowd.
C)among people spread over a wide geographic area.
D)involving powerful emotions.
Q2) The political economy approach to social movements is closely linked to which of the following social thinkers?
A)Max Weber
B)Neil Smelser
C)Karl Marx
D)Thorstein Veblen
Q3) Identify at least three of the social movements mentioned in the chapter.Using one or more theories of social movements, provide an explanation for the emergence of each.Can you identify stages in each social movement? If so, what are they?
Q4) Collective behavior is generally easy to explain.
A)True
B)False
Q5) What are three reasons that collective behavior is difficult to study?
Q6) Define "fashion" and "fad" so that their differences are clear.
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Chapter 24: Social Change: Traditional
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Q1) Write a one-sentence statement of the prospects for positive social change in poor nations according to each of the two theoretical approaches: modernization theory and dependency theory.
Q2) The class-society theory of modernity is derived largely from the social-conflict approach of Karl Marx.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Modern people, claims mass-society theory, tend to develop tradition-directed personalities and hold to conventional ways of life.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Durkheim's greatest concern about modern societies focused on A)a rise of anomie.
B)increasing personal choice.
C)increasing productive specialization.
D)increasing personal privacy.
Q5) Develop an essay that highlights various qualities of modern societies following
Q6) What is "postmodernity"? What are the criticisms made of our society?
Q7) What are Peter Berger's four major characteristics of modernization?
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