Sociology of Social Problems Review
Questions
Course Introduction
Sociology of Social Problems explores the origins, development, and consequences of various social issues affecting societies today. The course examines how problems such as poverty, crime, inequality, discrimination, and environmental challenges are socially constructed and understood within different cultural and historical contexts. Students analyze the roles of individuals, groups, and institutions in both contributing to and addressing these issues, drawing on classical and contemporary sociological theories. Through critical investigation, the course encourages students to think about potential solutions, public policies, and the impact of social movements aimed at alleviating social problems.
Recommended Textbook
Introduction to Social Problems 10th Edition by Thomas J. Sullivan
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15 Chapters
600 Verified Questions
600 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Approaches to the Study of Social Problems
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40 Verified Questions
40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Martin is conducting a research on more effective ways to control foot-and-mouth disease in animals.He has developed a detailed research design,and it has been reviewed by other experts.He has also conducted the necessary experiments and drawn inferences from the resulting data.Based on the systematic steps followed by researchers while conducting a scientific study,which of the following should be done next?
A)The experts should review the research design to make sure the researcher has used the most modern and effective methods for studying the problem.
B)Martin should publicly disseminate his research and its results through publication in a book or professional journal.
C)Martin should formulate the research problem and review it for its feasibility.
D)The experts should review if the conclusions made are accurate and warranted.
Answer: D
Q2) How can one establish causality between two factors?
Answer: One can infer causality from the observation of associations or correlations between things in the world.If changes in one factor are regularly associated with changes in the other factor,then the first factor may be causing those changes.
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Concentration of Power: Economic and Political Institutions
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to investment firms,how can workers' pension funds be used to empower them?
Answer: Workers can be empowered by investing their pension funds.This approach takes advantage of the fact that workers have available a substantial amount of capital,mostly in the form of the billions of dollars in their pension funds.Much of this money is invested in purchasing the stocks of corporations,which means that the workers who own these pension funds are part owners of those corporations.Investment firms now use this worker's capital as a lever to insist that corporations support worker and family-friendly policies.
Q2) The ________ refers to the relationship between the armed forces that want to purchase weapons and the corporations that produce the weapons.
A)pluralist model
B)military-industrial complex
C)world-system theory
D)medical-industrial complex
Answer: B
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4
Chapter 3: Family-Related Problems
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the interactionist perspective,the form of family that is right for a society depends on ________.
A)the society's population
B)social definition
C)the type of governance
D)religious beliefs
Answer: B
Q2) One of the reasons for the declining role of parents in deciding their children's marriage is a(n)________.
A)decreasing importance for kinship in modern societies
B)decreasing faith in religion
C)decreasing economic independence of children
D)increasing importance for the family as a social institution
Answer: A
Q3) Which of the following is a similarity between serial monogamy and polygamy?
A)Both allow a person to have more than one spouse in their entire lifetime.
B)Both are legal in the United States.
C)Both deny women the right to remarry,while men are allowed to remarry.
D)Both allow a person to have multiple spouses at the same time.
Answer: A
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Chapter 4: Health and Illness
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Sample Questions
Q1) ________ diseases progress over a long period of time and often exist long before they are detected.
A)Chronic
B)Acute
C)Epidemic
D)Endemic
Q2) How did Reagan's administration policy contribute to the delay in attacking acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS)?
Q3) Why are savings through automation not as easy to achieve in the health field as in other industries?
Q4) According to the conflict perspective,the health-care system in the U.S.is characterized by ________.
A)equal distribution of available medical services
B)competition between various interest groups for their fair share of resources
C)an ideal state in which each person receives exactly the services he or she needs
D)a state that is preferred and necessarily beneficial to all
Q5) What are the problems resulting from the free market and profit-making nature of the U.S.health-care system?
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Chapter 5: Education, Science, and Technology
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Why is appropriate technology considered a solution to problems associated with modern technology?
A)It makes possible an enormous increase in human productivity and a highly specialized division of labor.
B)It does not alienate people and returns the control of technology to the hands of individuals.
C)It opens the door to eliminating characteristics deemed socially undesirable by those in positions of power.
D)It completely eliminates large-scale technology.
Q2) Saul,a genetic engineer,takes a portion of DNA from a bacterial family and combines it with the DNA of a virus to observe the characteristic of the bacteria in the virus.Which of the following genetic engineering processes is seen in the given scenario?
A)gene splicing
B)mechanization
C)cybernation
D)gene culturing
Q3) Explain how school systems vary in the United States and other countries in terms of the centrality of the planning and decision making.
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Chapter 6: Poverty
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Sample Questions
Q1) Poverty among the elderly in the United States is much higher in figures for ________.
A)Hispanic American elders
B)Asian elders
C)African American men
D)American Indian men
Q2) The relative definition of poverty states that ________.
A)the poor in the United States are worse off today than they were 55 years ago
B)the poor in the United States are identified as those who are permanently and unwillingly poor
C)poverty has become less chronic
D)poverty has become less dysfunctional
Q3) Mark believes that his friend Timothy,an African American,is poor because of the cultural orientation of his people.Which of the following sociological perspectives on poverty is shown in the given scenario?
A)functionalist perspective
B)behavioral perspective
C)conflict perspective
D)interactionist perspective
Q4) Explain why social mobility in the United States is mostly short range.
Page 8
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Chapter 7: Race and Ethnic Relations
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to functionalists,ethnocentrism is functional because it ________.
A)teaches various groups to live in harmony with each other
B)produces loyalty,cohesiveness,and strong group ties
C)supports and helps to establish pluralism
D)helps to reduce intolerance toward other communities
Q2) How does socialization contribute to the legitimization of prejudice and discrimination?
Q3) Kiara is a member of an interest group that provides education to poor and underprivileged children.The group consists of members of various communities and races.Kiara likes to work with her group,and it gives her a sense of belonging.She also identifies herself with the group,and it increases her sense of self-worth.This group is an example of a(n)________.
A)ethnic group
B)minority group
C)in-group
D)racial group
Q4) Based on the study of sociologists Joe Feagin and Melvin Sykes,why are whites less likely to hire African Americans?
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Page 9
Chapter 8: Gender,Sexual Orientation, and Social Inequality
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Clara is sexually attracted to other females.Therefore,Clara is ________.
A)heterosexual
B)a transgender
C)gay
D)a lesbian
Q2) Which of the following statements represents the argument of functionalists on the criteria for allocating jobs today?
A)It is more practical to assign tasks based on individual abilities.
B)It is better to assign complex problem-solving tasks to men.
C)It is appropriate to assign tasks based on the physical strength of individuals.
D)It is preferable to assign simple,straightforward tasks to women.
Q3) Discuss the attitudes of people toward homosexuality in the United States.
Q4) Summarize the patterns of female gender inequality across nations in the world.
Q5) What are the reasons for the emergence of gay communities?
Q6) Sociological theories of homosexuality suggest that ________.
A)sexual orientation does not involve biological predisposition
B)labeling people as homosexuals does not influence their sexual identity
C)all people engaging in homosexual acts consider themselves to be homosexuals
D)homosexuality can be the result of learning through interaction with others
Page 10
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Chapter 9: Age and Social Inequality
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is true of the differences between industrial societies and preindustrial societies?
A)People in preindustrial societies were paid much more than their counterparts in industrial societies.
B)People in preindustrial societies joined the adult world of work earlier than their counterparts in industrial societies.
C)People in preindustrial societies were asked to leave the workforce much earlier than their counterparts in preindustrial societies.
D)People in preindustrial societies were allowed more education time than their counterparts in industrial societies.
Q2) A ________ is a succession of statuses and roles that people in a particular society experience in a fairly predictable pattern as they grow older.
A)life course
B)lifeline
C)lifestyle
D)life span
Q3) What is the role of biology in the life course of humans?
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Chapter 10: Crime and Delinquency
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following is a Part II offense?
A)embezzlement
B)burglary
C)arson
D)motor vehicle theft
Q2) Who are likely to be victims of crime?
Q3) Which of the following measures is shown to be effective at reducing crime?
A)intensive police patrols of crime "hot spots"
B)neighborhood watch programs
C)arresting juveniles for minor offenses
D)longer prison sentences
Q4) Which of the following is an argument in favor of legalizing victimless crimes?
A)It would result in an increase in the price of drugs.
B)It would lead to an admission that the justice system is effective in controlling these crimes.
C)It would result in lesser secondary crime.
D)It would lead to a decrease in white-collar crimes.
Q5) According to research studies,what law enforcement measures are effective in reducing crime?
Page 12
Q6) What are the arguments in favor of legalizing victimless crimes?
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Chapter 11: Alcohol and Other Drugs
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Sample Questions
Q1) ________ ,the most common substitute for drugs,is a synthetic opiate that is prescribed for addicts who enroll in government-sponsored treatment programs.
A)Morphine acetate
B)Methadone
C)Thebaine
D)Oripavine
Q2) Which of the following is a myth about drug abuse in the United States?
A)Alcohol abuse is the most severe drug problem in the United States.
B)Heavy use of heroin clouds judgment and reduces inhibitions.
C)Heroin addicts are as likely to be high on alcohol as heroin when they commit crimes.
D)Drug use problem was a more serious issue in the past century compared to present times.
Q3) How does a person's sex influence alcoholism?
Q4) Narcotics impact a person by _________.
A)stimulating the nervous system
B)increasing the levels of heart activity
C)being mildly addictive
D)producing drowsiness and mood changes
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Chapter 12: Prostitution, Pornography, and the Sex Trade
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the ________ subculture,male prostitutes engage in prostitution as a way achieving sexual gratification as well as making money.
A)juvenile-delinquent
B)retreatist
C)peer-delinquent
D)gay
Q2) Tobias,a businessman,visits a brothel.After a brief discussion with Angela,the madam at the brothel,Tobias decides to hire the services of Megan,an escort aged 17,over Serena,a 26-year-old escort at the brothel.Which of the following statements supports Tobias's decision to hire the services of Megan over Serena?
A)Serena is more likely to be working for a pimp.
B)Megan is more likely to be a crack addict.
C)Megan is less likely to be infected with the AIDS virus.
D)Serena is less likely to allow the use of a birth-control device.
Q3) Compare the functionalist and the conflict perspectives on prostitution,pornography,and sexual deviance.
Q4) What is cam modeling? How does it work?
Q5) What is Internet prostitution? What are its advantages and disadvantages?
Q6) Why are some people in favor of legalizing prostitution?
Page 14
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Chapter 13: Population Growth and Urbanization
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Sample Questions
Q1) What was the purpose of the defensible space strategy developed by sociologists and urban planners?
Q2) Which of the following is true of the transitional stage of demographic transition?
A)It is characterized by high birthrates and high death rates,resulting in a population that grows slowly,if at all.
B)The falling death rates occur because of improvements in lifestyle resulting from industrial development.
C)The decline in the birthrate was a response to the impact of industrialization on cultural values regarding childbearing.
D)It is characterized by low birthrates and low death rates,resulting in a roughly stable population with little growth.
Q3) ________ refers to programs to increase home ownership by private citizens in certain neighborhoods by selling them houses at little or no cost.
A)Urban renewal
B)Urban homesteading
C)Demographic transition
D)Suburbanization
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Chapter 14: Environmental Problems
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) A person looking at environmental problems from a conflict perspective is likely to believe that ________.
A)a highly technological social organization is always dysfunctional
B)environmental problems arise because of the way in which resources are distributed
C)high technology and environmental preservation are at odds with one another
D)decisions that affect the environment are made on the basis of maintaining a balance in an ecosystem
Q2) Which of the following statements disproves the myth that American Indians were the first environmentalists?
A)They always exploited their environment before the Europeans got into the act.
B)They worked hard to protect those resources in large supply and took a wasteful approach toward those that they believed to be in short supply.
C)They caused an increase in the carrying capacity of their ecosystem for a prolonged period of time.
D)They sometimes slaughtered buffalos,eating the best meat and taking the hides but leaving the rest to decompose.
Q3) Why is it that the hydrologic cycle is no longer able to fully cleanse water?
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Violence, War, and Terrorism
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40 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Research on gun control in the U.S.has shown that ________.
A)it is particularly effective in preventing collective violence
B)it is only effective in reducing the overall amount of violence in society
C)it has a very modest impact on the amount of violence in society
D)it is effective in reducing people's tolerance toward public dissent
Q2) Anna,a sociologist,is of the opinion that media constitute an independent institutional force in society with its own agenda.She is most likely to agree with the notion that the ________.
A)media can choose not to broadcast any images rather than giving a one-sided portrayal
B)media are always exploited by politicians and terrorists in pursuit of their goals
C)media portrays true facts about an event and not those that are considered marketable
D)media can be thought of as contested territory that is battled over by various groups
Q3) What are the three ways in which television encourages people toward violence?
Q4) What happens when structured preconditions cause people to be frustrated?
Q5) What are the structural preconditions for violence? When do they exist?
Q6) What is the effect of war on a nation's economy?
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