Social Problems
Test Questions
Course Introduction
This course offers an in-depth exploration of major social problems affecting contemporary societies, such as poverty, inequality, crime, discrimination, substance abuse, environmental issues, and health disparities. Through sociological theories and empirical research, students will analyze the causes, consequences, and possible solutions to these issues, with special emphasis on how cultural, economic, and political factors shape social problems. The course aims to foster critical thinking and informed citizenship by encouraging students to engage in discussions and consider diverse perspectives on pressing social challenges.
Recommended Textbook
Sociology in Our Times The Essentials 8th Edition by Diana Kendall
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16 Chapters
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Page 2
Chapter 1: The Sociological Perspective and Research Process
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to feminist theorists, we live in a(n) __________, a system in which men dominate women and in which things that are considered to be "male" or "masculine" are more highly valued than those considered to be "female" or "feminine."
A)patriarchy
B)autarchy
C)matriarchy
D)monarchy
Answer: A
Q2) The first department of sociology in the United States was established at the University of Chicago, where the faculty was instrumental in starting the American Sociological Society (now known as the American Sociological Association).
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) With the increasing diversity of the population, what personal troubles and public issues do you think are most important for the U.S. society to think about?
Answer: Not Answer
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) Initially, items of __________ begin as raw materials or resources such as ore, trees, and oil. Through technology, these raw materials are transformed into usable items (ranging from books and computers to guns and tanks).
A)general culture
B)material culture
C)basic culture
D)nonmaterial culture
Answer: B
Q2) According to Williams, two of our core American values are equality and religiosity.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q3) Prescriptive norms state what behavior is appropriate or acceptable. For example, norms based on custom direct us to open a door for a person carrying a heavy load.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
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Chapter 3: Socialization
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Sample Questions
Q1) Explain psychologist Sigmund Freud's views on the conflict between individual desires and the demands of society.
Answer: According to Freud, human development occurs in three states that reflect different levels of the personality, which he referred to as the id, ego, and superego. The id is the component of personality that includes all of the individual's basic biological drives and needs that demand immediate gratification. The newborn child's personality is all id, and from birth the child finds that urges for self-gratification-such as wanting to be held, fed, or changed-are not going to be satisfied immediately. By contrast, the ego develops as infants discover that their most basic desires are not always going to be met by others. The ego is the rational, reality-oriented component of personality that imposes restrictions on the innate, pleasure-seeking drives of the id. The ego channels the desire of the id for immediate gratification into the most advantageous direction for the individual. The superego is in opposition to both the id and the ego. The superego, or conscience, consists of the moral and ethical aspects of personality. It is first expressed as the recognition of parental control and eventually matures as the child learns that parental control is a reflection of the values and moral demands of the larger society. When a person is well adjusted, the ego successfully manages the opposing forces of the id and the superego.
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Page 5
Chapter 4: Social Structure and Interaction in Everyday Life
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Sample Questions
Q1) One homeless shelter project started by college students is the
A)Homeless Project, USA.
B)Harvard Square Homeless Shelter.
C)Students for Homelessness.
D)New York Society for Homeless Assistance.
Q2) People use role exiting techniques when they do not want others to take them as the "self" implied in a particular role, especially if they think the role is "beneath them."
A)True
B)False
Q3) In Gemeinschaft societies such as the United States, a prevailing core value is that people should be able to take care of themselves. Thus many people view the homeless as "throwaways" - as beyond help or as having already had enough done for them by society.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Define social group and explain the difference between primary groups and secondary groups.
Q5) Discuss the functional and conflict views on social institutions.
Q6) Describe ethnomethodology and note its strengths.
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Groups and Organizations
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Sample Questions
Q1) All men with red hair, all people who wear glasses, all people over 6 feet tall, and all college women who belong to a sorority would be called a(n) __________.
A)clique
B)category
C)model
D)aggregate
Q2) __________ leadership provides emotional support for members.
A)Instrumental
B)Expressive
C)Relational
D)Transitional
Q3) __________ suggest that groups involve a series of power relationships whereby the needs of individual members may not be equally served.
A)Postmodern theorists
B)Functionalists
C)Conflict theorists
D)Symbolic interactionists
Q4) Discuss ingroups, outgroups, and "members only" clubs
The following are suggested areas for students to address in the essay:
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Chapter 6: Deviance and Crime
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Sample Questions
Q1) A(n) __________ sets the term of imprisonment at a fixed point of time, such as three years, for a specific offense.
A)interdependent sentence
B)determinate sentence
C)correlational sentence
D)dominate sentence
Q2) According to official statistics, Hispanic Americans are the most overrepresented racial minority group in arrest data.
A)True
B)False
Q3) A young woman graduates from high school with honors and attends a prestigious university where she completes her degree; she gets a good job; she marries and starts planning for the future. This woman's behavior illustrates __________.
A)rebellion
B)innovation
C)conformity
D)rejection
Q4) Discuss the issue of graffiti
Q5) Explain the nature of deviance and describe its most common forms.
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Chapter 7: Class and Stratification in the United States
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the social class model developed by sociologists Dennis Gilbert and Joseph Kahl, members of the __________ have earned most of their money in their own lifetime as entrepreneurs, presidents of major corporations, sports or entertainment celebrities, or top-level professionals.
A)middle-upper class
B)upper-upper class
C)upper-middle class
D)lower-upper class
Q2) According to your text, several factors have eroded the American Dream for the middle-class. Which of the following factors was not identified in the text?
A)escalating housing prices
B)blocked mobility on the job
C)the cost?of?living squeeze
D)negative media exposure
Q3) Discuss U. S. stratification in the future.
Q4) Define the official poverty line and differentiate between absolute poverty and relative poverty.
Q5) Outline sociologist Karl Marx's theory on the relationship to the means of production and apply the theory to contemporary America.
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Chapter 8: Global Stratification
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Sample Questions
Q1) Nations with high-income economies continue to dominate the world economy, despite capital flight (the movement of jobs and economic resources from one nation to another) and deindustrialization (closing plants and factories because of their obsolescence or the fact that workers in other nations are being hired to do the work more cheaply).
A)True
B)False
Q2) Describe global inequality in relation to the new international division of labor theory.
Q3) __________ are nations characterized by highly industrialized economies; technologically advanced industrial, administrative, and service occupations; and relatively high levels of national and per capita income.
A)Middle-income countries
B)Low-income countries
C)High-income countries
D)Relative-income countries
Q4) Discuss global poverty and its effects upon human development issues of life expectancy, health, and education.
Q5) Describe how global wealth and poverty are measured.
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Chapter 9: Race and Ethnicity
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Q1) Based on sociologist Robert Merton's typology of prejudice and discrimination, __________ hold personal prejudices and actively discriminate against others.
A)unprejudiced discriminators
B)prejudiced nondiscriminators
C)prejudiced discriminators
D)unprejudiced nondiscriminators
Q2) Define prejudice, discrimination and racism. What kinds of things would you recommend in order to achieve lower levels of prejudice in the U.S.?
Q3) According to sociologist Joe Feagin, indirect institutionalized discrimination takes place when a prejudiced judge may give harsher sentences to all African American defendants but may not be supported by the judicial system in that action.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The "Trail of Tears" was one of the most disastrous acts of forced assimilation that African Americans experienced in the United States.
A)True
B)False
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11
Chapter 10: Sex, Gender, and Sexuality
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Sample Questions
Q1) A male who lives as a woman, or a female who lives as a man but does not alter the genitalia is referred to as a __________.
A)hermaphrodite
B)transsexual
C)transvestite
D)homosexual
Q2) Across cultures, girls are preferred to boys, especially when the number of children that parents can have is limited by law or economic conditions.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Discuss the biological dimension of sex.
Q4) __________ refers to the means by which a society gains the basic necessities of life, including food, shelter, and clothing.
A)Technoeconomic base
B)Division of labor
C)Subsistence
D)Pastoralism
Q5) Trace gender stratification from a historical and contemporary perspective.
Q6) Discuss the issue of Islamic Feminism.
Page 12
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Chapter 11: Families and Intimate Relationships
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to sociologist Talcott Parsons, the husband/father fulfills the __________ (meeting the family's economic needs, making important decisions, and providing leadership).
A)egalitarian role
B)expressive role
C)authoritarian role
D)instrumental role
Q2) Some never-married people remain single by choice. Reasons include opportunities for a career, the availability of sexual partners without marriage, the belief that the single lifestyle is full of excitement, and the desire for self-sufficiency and freedom to change and experiment.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Females in India who choose to become a surrogate typically do so because it provides both independence and family income.
A)True
B)False
Q4) Identify transitions and problems in families.
Q5) Analyze the family from a postmodern perspective.
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Chapter 12: Education and Religion
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Sample Questions
Q1) Analyze education from the functionalist perspective.
Q2) Schools play an active part in the process of assimilation, whereby recent immigrants learn dominant values, attitudes, and behavior so that they can be productive members of society. This exemplifies the manifest function of education referred to as __________.
A)social placement
B)transmission of culture
C)social control
D)change and innovation
Q3) __________ focuses on principles such as truth, justice, affirmation of life, and tolerance for others, and its adherents seek an elevated state of consciousness in which they can fulfill their true potential.
A)Transcendent idealism
B)Simple supernaturalism
C)Animism
D)Theism
Q4) Discuss the issues of funding and racial segregation facing the United States education system.
Q5) Discuss the issue of bullying.
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Chapter 13: Politics and the Economy in Global Perspective
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Sample Questions
Q1) In dictatorships, power is gained and held by a single individual. Pure dictatorships are rare; all rulers need the support of the military and the backing of business elites to maintain their position. Dictatorships occur in nation-states with __________ political systems.
A)constitutional monarchy
B)totalitarianism
C)authoritarianism
D)democratic
Q2) Government intervention in the 1990s included billions of dollars in subsidies to farmers, tax credits for corporations, and large subsidies or loan guarantees to automakers, aircraft companies, railroads, and others. Overall, most corporations have gained much more than they have lost as a result of government involvement in the economy.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Discuss primary sector production that occurs in preindustrial economies.
Q4) State the major elements of the functionalist perspective: the pluralist model of power and political systems.
Q5) Politics, Power, and Authority
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Chapter 14: Health, Health Care, and Disability
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to __________ theorists, physicians-who hold a legal monopoly over medicine-benefit from the existing structure because they can charge inflated fees.
A)postmodernist
B)symbolic interactionist
C)conflict
D)functionalist
Q2) __________ provide, for a set monthly fee, total care with an emphasis on prevention to avoid costly treatment later.
A)Managed care programs
B)Fee-for-service
C)Health Maintenance Organizations (HMOs)
D)Third-party servers
Q3) Three states have more than 20 percent of its population not covered by health insurance. Which is not one of them?
A)Florida
B)New Mexico
C)Ohio
D)Texas
Q4) Discuss health care in the United States.
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Chapter 15: Population and Urbanization
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Sample Questions
Q1) Discuss mortality as it relates to the study of population.
Q2) __________ usually occurs as a result of political oppression, such as when Jews fled Nazi Germany in the 1930s or when Afghans left their country to escape oppression there in the late 1990s.
A)Internal migration
B)Voluntary migration
C)Involuntary migration
D)External migration
Q3) Sociologists Joe Feagin and Robert Parker asserted that urban space has an "exchange value" which refers to the profits that industrialists make from buying, selling, and developing land and buildings; and a "use value" which is the utility of space, land, and buildings for everyday life, family life, and neighborhood life.
A)True
B)False
Q4) From a global context, discuss the Marxist perspective on population growth.
Q5) Describe population growth in global context.
Q6) Discuss Herbert Gans and twenty-first century urban villagers.
Q7) Summarize urban problems in the United States.
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Q8) Describe the study of demography and define the basic demographic concepts.
Chapter 16: Collective Behavior, Social Movements, and Social Change
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Q1) Unlike the __________ behavior that is found in corporations and voluntary associations (such as labor unions), collective behavior lacks an official division of labor, hierarchy of authority, and established rules and procedures.
A)informal
B)institutional
C)organizational
D)change-based
Q2) When a society or community is unable to meet people's expectations that something should be done about a problem, tension occurs in the system. This exemplifies sociologist Neal Smelser's value-added theory condition of __________.
A)spread of a generalized belief
B)mobilization for action
C)structural strain
D)social control
Q3) Summarize the key elements of these four explanations of collective behavior: contagion theory, social unrest and circular reaction, convergence theory, and emergent norm theory.
Q4) Discuss the social constructionist theory: frame analysis.
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