Sociology for Non-Majors Exam Preparation Guide
Course Introduction
Sociology for Non-Majors offers an accessible introduction to the fundamental concepts, theories, and methods used in the discipline of sociology. Students will explore key topics such as culture, socialization, groups, social stratification, institutions, and social change, with an emphasis on understanding contemporary social issues from multiple perspectives. Designed for those without a background in sociology, the course encourages critical thinking about everyday experiences and the ways in which society shapes individuals and communities. Through discussions, readings, and practical examples, students will gain valuable insight into the dynamics of social life and the relevance of sociological perspectives in various fields.
Recommended Textbook Essentials of Sociology 4th Edition by Anthony Giddens
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16 Chapters
1239 Verified Questions
1239 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Sociology: Theory and Method
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Sample Questions
Q1) Adherents of __________ counter that there are no longer any "grand narratives," or metanarratives-overall conceptions of history or society-that make any sense.
A)functionalism
B)postmodern theory
C)feminist theory
D)Marxism
E)symbolic interactionism
Answer: B
Q2) In the midst of an economic crisis,when foreclosures have become a common feature in the country in response,Jenna and her family lose their home because her parents can no longer pay the mortgage.Sociologists would likely see this as:
A)a personal trouble
B)the fault of Jenna's father for not providing for the family
C)a socialist economy
D)a public issue
E)a problem for psychologists
Answer: D
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Chapter 2: Culture and Society
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Q1) Alice stole a bit of money from her friend Rosa to buy groceries.Rosa finds out and angrily chastises Alice for her behavior.What does this exchange demonstrate?
A)labeling theory
B)socialism
C)reinforcement of norms
D)a deviant career
E)mutual exchange
Answer: C
Q2) Jia Yin notes that in many countries,industrial development is,more or less,nonexistent.She is taking note of the:
A)Appalachian Trail
B)McDonaldization of society
C)industrializing of countries
D)developing world
E)urban core
Answer: D
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4
Chapter 3: Socialization, the Life Course, and Aging
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82 Flashcards
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Q1) Which of the following best summarizes how disengagement theory views the elderly?
A)As people age, they are more interested in watching TV than interacting with others.
B)As people age, they no longer want to participate fully in society.
C)As people age, they need to be removed from their traditional roles in order to free up those roles for the younger generation.
D)As people age, they are not given the same respect as the younger generation.
E)As people age, they are a bigger burden on society because they use more social programs.
Answer: C
Q2) For most individuals in modern society,the agent of socialization that is most responsible for their early childhood development is:
A)their preschool
B)their friends at school
C)the television
D)the family
E)the government
Answer: D
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Chapter 4: Social Interaction and Everyday Life in the Age
of the Internet
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74 Verified Questions
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Q1) Maria's friend posted an unflattering picture of her from a Halloween party on Facebook.Maria was embarrassed and quickly took it down since she is friends with many coworkers on Facebook.This is an example of:
A)impression management
B)social role management
C)inappropriate behavior
D)insecurity
E)image management
Q2) What is civil inattention? Using the example of a crowded public bus,explain how individuals on the bus might engage in civil inattention.
Q3) Civil inattention is defined as:
A)acknowledging the presence of others but avoiding interaction
B)totally ignoring the presence of others
C)acting rude and inappropriate
D)pretending you do not know someone that you have met before
E)not paying attention in class but not being disruptive
Q4) What is interactional vandalism? Give an example.Why does interactional vandalism create problems in everyday interaction and conversation?
Page 6
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Chapter 5: Groups, Networks, and Organizations
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Q1) How do the studies conducted by Solomon Asch,Stanley Milgram,and Irving Janis help us understand conformity? Pick one of these studies and explain how you think you would have responded as a subject in the study.
Q2) Tanya is the CEO of Digi-Corp,a corporation that specializes in computer software.The corporation has made a substantial profit since Tanya became CEO and hired new software designers.What type of leader is Tanya?
A)bureaucratic
B)transactional
C)transformational
D)network
E)mechanistic
Q3) When a group of people share common characteristics such as gender or ethnicity,the group is labeled a:
A)social network
B)social group
C)social category
D)social aggregate
E)society
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Chapter 6: Conformity, Deviance, and Crime
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Q1) Which theory proposes that we become deviant when exposed to a higher level of deviant persons and influences,compared to conventional influences?
A)anomie theory
B)strain theory
C)differential association theory
D)control theory
E)labeling theory
Q2) Compare and contrast labeling theory with the new criminology perspective.Which theory do you think better explains crime? Explain.
Q3) From the perspective of labeling theory,deviance is seen as:
A)a process of interaction between deviants and nondeviants
B)a set of characteristics of individuals or groups
C)freely chosen
D)a component of personality
E)an act that is universally wrong
Q4) Discuss the ways in which deviance is functional.Give examples.
Q5) What is the biological view of deviance? What are some of the weaknesses of this approach?
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Chapter 7: Stratification, Class, and Inequality
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Q1) The "super-rich" in the United States were able to accumulate vast amounts of wealth partly because globalization enabled them to:
A)use low-wage labor in other countries
B)sell products to consumers in other countries
C)make investments globally
D)all of the above
E)none of the above
Q2) In which of the following countries is the poverty rate the highest?
A)Germany
B)Norway
C)United States
D)Sweden
E)Japan
Q3) In an industrialized society,which term is most often used to analyze stratification?
A)occupation
B)slavery
C)class
D)caste
E)status
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Chapter 8: Global Inequality
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Q1) Compare and contrast the strengths and weaknesses of the four competing sociological theories that explain global inequality.
Q2) Many countries are considered newly industrialized economies (NIEs),including a handful in Eastern Asia whose growth is considered extraordinary compared to other NIEs.What are some of the problems that have accompanied NIEs in this part of the world?
Q3) Why might dependency theorists criticize modernization theory?
A)They would point out that the only way for traditional societies to develop is to shed their traditional ways.
B)They would argue that modernization theory ignores the fact that markets, if freed from state intervention, will develop any society.
C)They would point out that traditional societies are typically low income because of a history of colonialism and oppression.
D)They would suggest that in recent history, historically exploited nations have actually become the new exploiters through global welfare schemes.
E)They would assert that traditional societies should model their institutions after the United States if they want to develop.
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Chapter 9: Gender Inequality
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Q1) Researchers have found that boys are responded to positively when they act in masculine ways,but when they act in feminine ways,they are either admonished or ignored.This finding provides the most support for which approach to gender?
A)the biological approach
B)the gender socialization approach
C)the cultural approach
D)the social position approach
E)the ideological approach
Q2) In which country,of those listed below,is the difference in the hours worked each day by men and women,including housework and childcare,the lowest?
A)Mexico
B)Italy
C)India
D)United States
E)All of the countries listed above have the same difference.
Q3) Using the !Kung of the Kalahari Desert,the bacha posh in Afghanistan,and the nádleehí in Navajo culture as support,discuss how gender can be seen as a social construction.
Q4) What criticisms do black feminists make about the feminist movement?
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Chapter 10: Ethnicity and Race
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Q1) Explain the persistence of racial and ethnic inequality in the United States.Refer specifically to the perspectives of Robert Blauner,William Julius Wilson,and Douglas Massey and Nancy A.Denton in your response.Which perspective do you think best explains the persistence of racial and ethnic inequality in the United States? Explain.
Q2) In examining recent trends in global migration,Stephen Castles and Mark Miller (1993)have identified four tendencies that they claim characterize migration patterns today and that are expected to persist in the coming years.What are they? Describe them.
Q3) About what percent of the population of the United States is of Asian origin?
A)5 percent
B)10 percent
C)20 percent
D)30 percent
E)40 percent
Q4) What are three factors your textbook authors mention in explaining the historical rise of racism? In your answer,discuss Joseph Arthur de Gobineau's classification of races.
Q5) Cuban Americans are relatively more successful than Mexican Americans.How can this difference be explained?
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Chapter 11: Families and Intimate Relationships
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Q1) Which perspective has been most concerned with the domestic division of labor,unequal power relationships,and caring activities in the family?
A)functionalism
B)Marxism
C)feminism
D)symbolic interactionism
E)postmodernism
Q2) Much of the literature based on crime statistics,hospital records,and shelter administrative records indicate that spousal violence is almost exclusively man-on-woman violence.Murray Straus and his colleagues reported that equal proportions of women and men reported that they perpetrated spousal abuse.How can this discrepancy be reconciled? In your answer,discuss the work of Michael Johnson.
Q3) Does cohabitation lead to divorce? If so,explain how.
Q4) The most common type of child abuse is:
A)neglect
B)physical abuse
C)emotional maltreatment
D)sexual abuse
E)abandonment
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Chapter 12: Education and Religion
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Q1) Lorna's research shows a steady decline in participation in religious life in her small community in Texas and,thus,a decline in the social and political power of religious institutions there.Sociologists refer to this process as:
A)secularization
B)fundamentalism
C)socialization
D)role strain
E)religious economy
Q2) Adhira thinks that religion serves a function in society by cohering social groups under some common ideas and morals.Her views most closely resemble those of:
A)Émile Durkheim
B)Samuel Conklin
C)Karl Marx
D)Max Weber
E)Elizabeth Smith
Q3) What are some theories for why schooling has developed as it has in modern society?
Q4) How do religion and education act as socializing agents?
Q5) What are some arguments for privatization of the educational system?
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Chapter 13: Politics and Economic Life
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Q1) According to the text,capitalism began to spread with the growth of the Industrial Revolution in the:
A)seventeenth century
B)eighteenth century
C)nineteenth century
D)twentieth century
E)twenty-first century
Q2) Stan just turned eighteen.His parents are both fifty-five.Stan's father expresses continuing trust in government,but Stan and his mother are highly suspicious of government.According to the text,which of the following statements is most likely to be true?
A)Stan's parents are more concerned about environmental issues than their son.
B)Stan is more likely to vote than his mother.
C)Stan is more likely to vote than his father.
D)Stan is more likely to vote than both his mother and father.
E)Stan's father is more likely to vote than Stan's mother.
Q3) What are the main features of capitalism?
Q4) Using the concept of division of labor,describe the key differences in the nature of work in traditional versus modern societies.
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Chapter 14: The Sociology of the Body: Health, Illness, and Sexuality
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Q1) What is sexual orientation?
Q2) Why have some sociologists criticized Talcott Parsons's notion of the "sick role?"
A)because sociologists have long done away with the theoretical use of the term role in analysis
B)because it cannot be applied across all contexts, cultures, and historical periods
C)because functionalist approaches are no longer studied in sociology
D)because it does not capture the theoretical experience of sociologists in the academy
E)because it oversimplifies complex symbolic relationships among different languages
Q3) According to the text,which assumption below would probably NOT follow from Talcott Parsons's notion of the "sick role"?
A)A sick person should not be personally blamed for being ill.
B)A sick person should consult a physician.
C)A sick person should not have to work or go to school.
D)A sick person should stay in bed.
E)A sick person should be isolated from society.
Q4) Compare complementary and alternative medicine.
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Chapter 15: Urbanization, Population, and the Environment
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Q1) The central area of a city that is distinct from the outlying suburban areas is called:
A)midtown
B)the inner city
C)the business district
D)the intra-city
E)none of the above
Q2) According to Louis Wirth,__________ is an approach that explains how the cultural life of cities comes to dominate areas outside cities as well.
A)urbanism as a way of life
B)the ecological approach
C)the created-environment approach to urban analysis
D)collective consumption
E)the collective conscience
Q3) China is the world's most populous country,with approximately __________ people.
A)2 billion
B)1 billion
C)1.3 billion
D)2 million
E)500,000
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Chapter 16: Globalization in a Changing World
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Q1) Some sociologists,such as Juergensmeyer,believe that the biggest cultural conflicts in the twenty-first century will be between those who believe that truth is derived from __________ versus those who believe it is derived from __________.
A)religious faith; science
B)religious faith; political leadership
C)political leadership; science
D)modern state; religious faith
E)democracy; theocracy
Q2) Which perspective in the globalization debate argues that regionalization within the world economy produces less integration and that national governments continue to play a vital role in the economy?
A)the skeptics
B)the hyperglobalizers
C)the transformationalists
D)the critics
E)the anti-globalizers
Q3) According to Charles Tilly's model,what are the four main components of collective action? Provide detailed examples of each component to fully illustrate your understanding of Tilly's model.
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