Social Problems
Pre-Test Questions
Course Introduction
This course offers an in-depth exploration of contemporary social problems, analyzing their causes, consequences, and potential solutions through a sociological lens. Students will examine issues such as poverty, inequality, crime, drug abuse, discrimination, environmental challenges, and health disparities. The course encourages critical thinking about how social institutions, cultural values, and public policies contribute to the persistence of these problems, and how collective action and social change can address them. Through case studies, discussions, and research, students will develop an understanding of the complexities surrounding social issues in both local and global contexts.
Recommended Textbook
Social Problems 13th Edition by D.
Stanley Eitzen
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19 Chapters
1521 Verified Questions
1521 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: The Sociological Approach to Social Problems
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A __________ is a representative part of a population that sociologists use to answer sociological questions.
Answer: sample
Q2) The analysis of social problems relies on __________.
A) politicians
B) reliable data
C) public opinion
D) media representations
Answer: B
Q3) Social Darwinism is a theoretical perspective that is often used to argue in __________ of government social programs (such as those that increase welfare to the poor).
Answer: support
Q4) According to the sociological perspective,norm violators are __________.
A) solely responsible for their actions
B) universally criticized
C) the symptoms of social problems, not the cause
D) guiltless for their actions
Answer: C
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Chapter 2 Wealth and Power: The Bias of the System
AMultiple-Choice
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The bailout of airlines by Congress shortly after the terrorist attacks of September 2001,without similar relief to fired airline workers,represents an example of a
A) government subsidy
B) trickle-down solution
C) congressional gerrymander
D) congressional filibuster
Answer: A
Q2) According to your text,Adam Smith would __________.
A) be against competition
B) not recognize capitalism in America today
C) not believe in the free market
D) approve of socialism
Answer: B
Q3) Four or fewer companies control at least 60 percent of the light bulb market in the United States,which demonstrates a __________.
Answer: shared monopoly
Q4) The __________ are the people who occupy the most influential roles in society.
Answer: power elite
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Chapter 3: World Population and Global Inequality
AMultiple-Choice
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) __________ contributes to the problem of food shortages in the developing world.
A) Low rates of air pollution
B) Shrinkage of productive land
C) Low infant mortality rates
D) Slow population growth
Answer: B
Q2) Although microcredit programs have helped many poor families,__________.
A) they do not help the societal poverty rate
B) rural farmers are excluded from loan program
C) city dwellers are excluded from the loan program
D) individuals are excluded from the benefits
Answer: A
Q3) __________ is the worst epidemic in human history.
A) Influenza
B) HIV/AIDS
C) Malaria
D) Tuberculosis
Answer: B
Q4) Debt bondage is most common in __________.
Answer: South Asia
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Chapter 4: Threats to the Environment
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Sociologists argue that most environmental problems are socially created.
A)True
B)False
Q2) According to the text,one effective alternative for a plan to solve our environmental crisis is the government __________.
A) increasing its relationship with lobbyists
B) tolerating pollution from only a select group of companies
C) seeing pollution as a "necessary evil" to maintaining capitalism
D) enacting laws carrying severe criminal and cival penalties for harming the environment
Q3) Which of the following is a major contributor to the deforestation of tropical rainforests?
A) Damage by wildlife
B) Lumber and mining companies
C) Local tribes using timber for construction
D) Global warming
Q4) The U.S.economic system of __________ depends on the maximization of profits and the minimization of costs.
Q5) A movement known as __________ works to improve environments for communities.
6
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Chapter 5 Demographic Changes in the United States: The
Browning and Graying of Society
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) One of the major forces behind the aging of the U.S.population is __________.
A) increased fertility rates
B) increasing numbers of children in the total population
C) the lack of medicine to increase longevity
D) the baby boom generation reaching old age
Q2) If the Latino population continues to grow substantially,__________.
A) California will be majority White
B) racism will be over by 2025
C) Whites may be a racial minority by 2042
D) President Obama will be given a third term
Q3) The state that is most impacted by immigration is __________.
A) Florida
B) California
C) Texas
D) New York
Q4) How are immigration and agency related?
Q5) What are some of the reasons that will cause the senior citizen population to increase by the year 2030?
Q6) Why are elderly women more likely than men to live alone as widows?
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Chapter 6 Problems of Place: Urban Suburban and Rural
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Twelfth-graders in rural America use cocaine,inhalants,and alcohol in higher rates than their urban counterparts.
A)True
B)False
Q2) Deindustrialization has __________.
A) decreased good-paying jobs
B) decreased unemployment in central cities
C) encouraged corporations to relocate to Northeastern cities
D) increased the standard of living for millions of workers
Q3) A jobs/housing mismatch occurs when __________.
A) landlords do not hire their residents for jobs in the area
B) residents do not make enough money to stay in their current jobs
C) central-city residents cannot reach jobs on the urban fringe because of transportation issues
D) people you work with will not visit you because they fear your neighborhood
Q4) "Redlining" refers to the practice of making loans to minorities in certain areas knowing they will more likely default and leave behind good investment opportunities for lenders.
A)True
B)False
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Poverty
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A standard of living below the minimum needed for the maintenance of adequate diet,health,and shelter,known as __________,is a significant social problem even in wealthy countries.
A) old poor
B) new poor
C) working poor
D) poverty
Q2) The census generally __________ the number of poor.
Q3) "Social Darwinism" refers to the theory that the poor are poor because
A) societal structures limit their opportunities
B) they are unfit
C) they are subject to institutional discrimination
D) they are discriminated against
Q4) The number of those who are severely poor __________.
A) is on the rise
B) is on the decline
C) has stayed the same since 1979
D) is lower in the United States than any other country
Q5) Why is it difficult to determine the exact number of people in poverty?
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Chapter 8: Racial and Ethnic Inequality
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80 Verified Questions
80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) At least __________ college students are targets of racially motivated assaults each year.
A) 50
B) 500
C) 5,000
D) 500,000
Q2) As more minorities enter high-status jobs,they are confronted by new forms of discrimination in the form of the "job ceilings" that limit their access to top-level jobs.
A)True
B)False
Q3) By 2004,U.S.schools were finally less segregated than they were in the days of Brown v.Board of Education.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Discuss the historical processes that have led to the current position of Native American Indians in American society.
Q5) At least __________ hate crime(s)occur(s)on a college campus every day.
Q6) Explain the differences in White and minority income.
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Chapter 9: Gender Inequality
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) __________ are still oppressed by religious institutions.
Q2) "Gender" refers to patterns of difference and domination through distinctions between women and men that organize the social world.
A)True
B)False
Q3) The use of "guys" to refer to groups of mixed gender people is an example of __________ language which perpetuates male dominance.
A) trivializing
B) sexualizing
C) ignoring
D) policing
Q4) Women are still oppressed by __________.
A) the social sciences
B) social locations
C) social movements
D) social institutions
Q5) Describe the history of feminism in the United States.
Q6) Gender inequality is financially __________ for men.
Q7) Discuss gender bias in the media.
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Chapter 10: Sexual Orientation
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The media and other cultural outlets support __________,which normalizes heterosexuality while putting down homosexuality and other forms of sexual expression.
Q2) What religious organization endorsed a boycott against a company perceived as favorable toward gay rights?
A) The Southern Baptist Convention
B) Young Religious Leaders Network
C) The United Church of Christ
D) The Emerging Church
Q3) What percentage of lesbian,gay,bisexual,or transgendered youth do not feel safe in school?
A) 100
B) Over 60
C) About 42
D) About 15
Q4) How is homophobia considered to be a form of ideological oppression? In what ways is this similar to other types of persecution?
Q5) Gay couples live in over __________ percent of the counties in the United States.
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Disability and Ableism
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Erving Goffman described __________ as a spoiled identity with negative consequences.
Q2) The fact that a Black disabled woman experiences her oppression differently than a White disabled man reflects the matrix of __________.
A) disability
B) handicap
C) domination
D) oppression
Q3) The __________ approach to disability defines disability in terms of some physiological impairment,either mental or physical,such as an inability to walk or function with adequate mental capacity due either to genetics or accident.
A) social
B) medical
C) paralegal
D) parasocial
Q4) Mary lost her arm as a result of a mountaineering accident and her brother John was born with mental retardation.Of Mary and John,__________ is likely to be more stigmatized in American society.
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Crime and Justice
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) The case of the Jena Six is an example of __________.
A) racial profiling
B) a racially biased justice system
C) mandatory sentencing
D) determinate sentencing
Q2) Mary was caught gambling and smoking marijuana.She argues that her actions were only affecting her and not harming others because she was engaging in __________,but she served jail time anyway because the state argued that it has a right to uphold the morals of its citizens who are opposed to Mary's activities.
A) a victimless crime
B) secondary deviance
C) organized crime
D) white-collar crime
Q3) Corporate or __________ crime is not punished by society in direct proportion to the costs of the crimes.
Q4) Bernie Madoff ran a securities fraud known as a(n)__________.
Q5) The __________ has the highest proportion of its citizens jailed at any time of any country.
Q6) Discuss the problems with the statistics provided by the Uniform Crime Reports.
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Drugs
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81 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) __________ is another name for methamphetamine.
A) Coke
B) Crank
C) Crack
D) Coco
Q2) Marijuana,despite conflicting research evidence,is a __________ drug,which means it has a high potential for abuse and no accepted medical use.
A) gateway
B) cultural
C) Schedule 1
D) psychoactive
Q3) At one point in our nation's history,alcohol was classified as a __________ and outlawed.
A) narcotic
B) psychoactive drug
C) gateway drug
D) cultural drug
Q4) __________ is a colorless,odorless liquid that can produce amnesia.
Q5) Amphetamines are __________ drugs that are sometimes used by athletes.
Page 15
Q6) How do cultural factors and interest groups affect our drug policies?
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Chapter 14: The Economy and Work
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Gerald is a freelance artist who works from home.He is referred to as a(n)__________ employee.
A) independent
B) self-sufficient
C) contingent
D) primary sector
Q2) Efforts to increase worker efficiency by breaking down work into very specialized tasks and working with an assembly line production mentality is central to the concept of __________.
A) sweatshops
B) the dual labor market
C) scientific management
D) capital flight
Q3) Along with wage stagnation in the United States,the output of American workers has declined.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Describe Taylorization and discuss the effect it has on the plight of American workers.
Q5) Centralized planning is a component of __________.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Families
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80 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Unemployment and financial instability put __________ at risk of abuse.
A) parents
B) women
C) men
D) children
Q2) Many of the arrangements involved in __________ family life are much the same as those that have been used by the poor all along.
A) industrial
B) modern
C) postmodern
D) premodern
Q3) Mary's family is a __________ because both of her parents work for pay outside of the home.
A) modern family
B) postmodern family
C) household
D) dual-worker family
Q4) Why is it difficult to determine the precise amount of child abuse and neglect? Explain.
Q5) Many immigrants who have come to the United States have come in __________.
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Chapter 16: Education
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Sample Questions
Q1) Local control of education is often a social problem because of __________.
A) the relationship between national tax revenues and the quality of education
B) the underrepresentation on school boards of business leaders
C) the lack of standardized curriculum
D) a preoccupation with conformity
Q2) No Child Left Behind requires states to establish standards in __________.
A) math
B) theater
C) music
D) physical education
Q3) "Sifting" and "sorting" are techniques used to ensure that the most able students are identified and provided resources with which to attain the highest of educational goals.
A)True
B)False
Q4) There are approximately __________ schools in the United States.
Q5) In what ways are K-12 schools not truly cost-free? What forces would have to come together to ensure a K-12 education that is truly free of charge?
Q6) In the past,the school year was developed around the __________ calendar.
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Chapter 17: The Healthcare System
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Sample Questions
Q1) Martin has been dealing with hospital bills and paperwork from a recent emergency room visit.His paperwork is mounting and is routinely mishandled and lost in the system.He supports a __________ plan which would greatly reduce administrative costs and complexity.
A) fee for service
B) employer supported insurance
C) single-payer
D) electronic medical records
Q2) __________ is a strategy used by for-profit hospitals to optimize profits.
A) Avoiding locating hospitals in high-income areas
B) Locating in states and neighborhoods with well-insured populations
C) Maintaining money-making facilities like emergency rooms, neonatal units, etc.
D) Using online systems like WebMD instead of real-life physicians
Q3) Black women are __________ likely than their white counterparts to be diagnosed with breast cancer.
Q4) Poor pregnant women going without prenatal care is an example of the way that __________ impacts health care.
Q5) What are the components of a single-payer plan like Canada's that many find appealing?
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Chapter
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Sample Questions
Q1) When assessing the success or failure of a war effort,it is important to look down the line.Ten years after the war in Iraq began the Sunnis and the Shiites are __________,which is having a major __________ effect on the rest of the world.
A) at civil war; negative
B) at civil war; positive
C) at peace; negative
D) at peace; positive
Q2) Many in the United States support continued military spending based at least in part by the idea that our vast military superiority discourages our enemies from attacking.This is known as __________.
A) the Bush doctrine
B) the Cold War
C) peace through strength
D) a conflict of interest
Q3) The USA PATRIOT Act __________.
A) was enacted on the five-year anniversary of 9/11
B) allows greater reach of law enforcement and more oversight
C) allows citizens to be incarcerated on suspicion alone
D) justified the Iraq war
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Page 20
Chapter 19: Progressive Plan to Solve Social Problems
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Sample Questions
Q1) Sociologists are rejected by those in power largely because they do not use mathematical models to test their theories.
A)True
B)False
Q2) In general,the American infrastructure can be considered __________.
A) in excellent shape
B) in need of extensive repair
C) to be failing
D) nonexistent
Q3) Because of how societies are organized,even if some of the arrangements result in social problems,they can't be changed to reduce or eliminate those problems.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In a process called __________,the current Congress wants to return most social programs back to the states.
Q5) Is a progressive social policy possible? What would it take to implement? What would have to be overcome?
Ideal
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