Understanding Society
Chapter Exam Questions
Course Introduction
Understanding Society offers an introduction to the fundamental concepts, theories, and methods used in the study of human societies. By exploring topics such as social structures, culture, inequality, institutions, and social change, the course encourages students to critically examine how individual lives are shaped by broader social forces. Emphasis is placed on developing sociological thinking and applying analytical perspectives to contemporary social issues, fostering a deeper appreciation of the complexity and diversity of human social life.
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Experience Sociology 2nd Edition by David Croteau
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2
Chapter 1: Sociology in a Changing World
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Q1) Which theoretical perspective argues that social structure is maintained by those with power to maintain the values and ideals of dominant groups?
A)symbolic interactionist theory
B)conflict theory
C)feminist theory
D)structural-functionalist theory
Answer: B
Q2) In order to understand our lives,sociologists would argue that we need to
A)examine the contexts in which we live.
B)explore the motives behind our actions.
C)examine the way we interact with others.
D)explore the ways in which other people live.
Answer: A
Q3) Which of the following is NOT a manifest function of attending college?
A)to become prepared to enter the workforce
B)to earn a college degree
C)to learn how to live independently
D)All these answers are correct.
Answer: C
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Page 3
Chapter 2: Understanding the Research Process
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Q1) Sociologists evaluate research by asking all of the following questions EXCEPT
A)What is the sample?
B)What theory informed this research?
C)What data was used?
D)Who paid for this research?
Answer: D
Q2) What is the second step in the sociological research process?
A)Consider the ethical problems present in your question.
B)Decide what type of methods you will use.
C)Develop a specific research question.
D)Explore the topic to find similar studies.
Answer: C
Q3) An experiment is any research that collects data for analysis.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Q4) The final step in the research process is to analyze your data.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
Page 4
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Chapter 3: Culture
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Q1) People attending a college football game are participating in an example of A)popular culture.
B)high culture.
C)ideal culture.
D)cultural diversity.
Answer: A
Q2) What did Samuel Huntington view as the fundamental difference among the "civilizations" he described?
A)socioeconomic standing
B)political structure
C)racial differences
D)religious beliefs
Answer: D
Q3) Why are the issues of abortions and gay marriage so contentious in the United States,as compared to other industrialized nations?
A)People enjoy debating these issues.
B)The high level of religiosity in the U.S.tends to influence political debates.
C)There are many politicians who try to make these issues contentious.
D)Americans try too hard to separate issues of church and state.
Answer: B
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Chapter 4: Social Structure
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Q1) Which of the following is NOT true about social structures?
A)Social structures are persistent routines within society,but they do evolve.
B)Friendship groups as well as the economy are both examples of social structures.
C)Social structures are static across cultures.
D)Social structures and their routines aid in social stability.
Q2) Weber believed that as modern life progresses,the social world will become increasingly complex,which will lead people to act increasingly emotional as a coping mechanism.
A)True
B)False
Q3) How can both an organization and a conversation be social structures?
A)Both rely on routines and recurring patterns of behavior to function smoothly.
B)Each has hard and fast rules that govern how they unfold.
C)Each is very informal and relies on the creativity of the participants to function smoothly.
D)Both always rely on formalized written rules.
Q4) Social statuses are the expectations associated with various social roles.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 5: Power
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Q1) What does it mean to say a category is "socially constructed"?
A)It is dependent upon a society's definition.
B)It is continually revised.
C)It is changeable.
D)All these answers are correct.
Q2) Which system accomplishes the LEAST inequality?
A)capitalism
B)communism
C)state socialism
D)democratic socialism
Q3) A system of inequality is not viable without
A)political power.
B)economic domination.
C)authority.
D)a justifying ideology.
Q4) The major source of presidential campaign contributions is A)corporations.
B)average Americans.
C)anonymous online donors.
D)foreign donors.
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Chapter 6: Socialization
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Q1) What was the major finding from the research done in the early 1990s on children living in Romanian orphanages?
A)They developed as well as other children because they received enough nourishment.
B)They developed emotional trauma because they moved from one orphanage to another.
C)They developed emotional trauma because they were often abused by their caregivers.
D)They had physical and cognitive trauma due to receiving little social stimulation.
Q2) Which of the following statements accurately describes socialization?
A)A small amount of socialization occurs outside of the family.
B)Socialization is a lifelong process.
C)Socialization is the same in every culture.
D)A "sense of self" is forged before socialization begins in earnest.
Q3) Learning the ways of society is known as
A)transformational learning.
B)behavior modification.
C)socialization.
D)child rearing.
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8
Chapter 7: Interaction, Groups, and Organizations
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Q1) How does a master status differ from other social statuses?
A)A master status is the status with the least social significance.
B)Master statuses are social statuses that men hold within a society.
C)A master status is the status with the most social significance.
D)It is the social status that an individual feels is the least consequential.
Q2) A sociologist is mapping out who knows each other in her sociology class.Jill knows Paul and Mike.Mike knows Isaiah,who knows Catherine and Juan.Juan knows Paul as well.The sociologist is looking at the ________ present in her classroom.
A)out-groups
B)in-groups
C)social networks
D)social circuits
Q3) Which of the following would be a secondary relationship?
A)a family going on vacation
B)store clerks helping a customer choose a smart phone
C)a friend helping another friend move
D)a group of college friends having dinner
Q4) One example of a dyad is a married couple who are also business partners.
A)True
B)False
Page 9
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Chapter 8: Deviance and Social Control
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Q1) Some people hope that marijuana will soon be legal.They hope for the ________ of marijuana.
A)marketization
B)decriminalization
C)monetization
D)distribution
Q2) An ex-convict has a difficult time finding employment because his criminal record has become his
A)master status.
B)secondary deviance.
C)internalized self.
D)designation as abnormal.
Q3) Within the nudist community,wearing no clothes whenever possible is an example of what type of behavior?
A)positive deviance
B)deviance
C)overconformity
D)conformist behavior
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Chapter 9: Class and Global Inequality
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Q1) Karl Marx described what group as the "proletariat"?
A)the lower class
B)the upper class
C)the capitalist class
D)the working class
Q2) A country redesigned its tax policy so that the tax rate was reduced for individuals earning larger amounts of money.For example,a household making $50,000 a year would pay 23 percent in taxes while a household making $200,000 would pay 23 percent taxes only on the first $150,000 of their income and no taxes on the income above $150,000.This is called
A)liberal taxation.
B)regressive taxation.
C)conservative taxation.
D)progressive taxation.
Q3) What is the best match to Karl Marx's term "bourgeoisie"?
A)middle class
B)working class
C)capitalist class
D)upper class
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Chapter 10: Race and Ethnicity
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Q1) Why is Switzerland considered a pluralistic society?
A)Though it has multiple cultures,they all enjoy equal social standing and coexist on equal terms.
B)It has only one homogeneous culture,dating back many centuries.
C)Its relative isolation,thanks to the mountains that surround it,means it has not experienced an influx of people from other cultures.
D)Its location in the center of western Europe has made it a "crossroads" for centuries,resulting in toleration of "outside" cultures.
Q2) In the 1800s,what system was created to give whites advantages over native Mexicans?
A)a closed school system
B)a racial caste system
C)a social class system
D)a system of desegregation
Q3) Darker skin inhibits the skin's ability to produce ________ from sunlight.
A)vitamin B<sub>12</sub>
B)melatonin
C)melanin
D)vitamin D
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Chapter 11: Gender and Sexuality
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Q1) Human rights activists view female genital cutting as a form of violence against women.
A)True
B)False
Q2) According to Joan Huber,what is the main reason for the pervasiveness of patriarchy?
A)Men refuse to share power with women.
B)Men are physically stronger than women.
C)Women are more tied to reproduction.
D)Women benefit from patriarchal arrangements.
Q3) An individual can have a gender expression that does not match his or her biological sex.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What term refers to the increasing similarities in how men and women view what is appropriate sexual behavior for men and women?
A)the sexual revolution
B)the sexual double standard
C)gender convergence
D)sexual convergence
Page 13
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Chapter 12: Family and Religion
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Q1) Which American political party was increasingly supported by Christian fundamentalists beginning in the 1970s?
A)the Republicans
B)the Democrats
C)the Tea Party
D)the Green Party
Q2) All of the following are trends occurring in many parts of the world EXCEPT
A)people spend fewer years of their lives being married.
B)women are waiting longer to marry.
C)open-mate selection is shrinking.
D)families are smaller.
Q3) Ultimately,what is the meaning of "family"?
A)culture
B)the family itself
C)sociology and other,similar disciplines
D)blood relations
Q4) The family is a key social institution.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 13: Education and Work
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Q1) Kevin's family moves and he attends a new high school.His new school stresses fitting in with the school environment,which includes creativity,close relationships between students and teachers,and respect for others.Kevin's new teachers comment on how well he is fitting in.What type of conformity is being rewarded in this scenario?
A)moral conformity
B)cultural conformity
C)behavioral conformity
D)All these answers are correct.
Q2) In a credentialized society,which group would have exclusive access to the most rewarded and prestigious jobs?
A)the most highly educated
B)men
C)those from the most elite economic backgrounds
D)the oldest
Q3) There is little difference across workplace cultures in the United States.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 14: Media and Consumption
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Q1) How are media and consumer culture related?
A)The media present cultural representations.
B)The media promote consumer culture through advertisements.
C)They are not related;they are different institutions.
D)Consumer culture is shrinking but media are expanding.
Q2) A media company acquires a film production company,a film editing firm,and a film distribution firm.By owning different stages of movie making,the company is ________ integrated.
A)vertically
B)upwardly
C)horizontally
D)diagonally
Q3) Consumer culture is a key factor in environmental destruction.
A)True
B)False
Q4) What influences how active audiences interpret media images?
A)class
B)race/ethnicity
C)gender
D)All these answers are correct.
Page 16
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Chapter 15: Communities, the Environment, and Health
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Q1) Which combination best describes what sociologists mean by a "community"?
A)place,relationships,and identity in common
B)neighborhood,address,and social class in common
C)race,neighborhood,and food in common
D)religion,church,and belief in common
Q2) The individualized approach to environmental threats has ________ environmental problems.
A)alleviated most B)solved some C)contributed to more D)had no impact on
Q3) According to Emile Durkheim,homogeneous rural communities typically exhibit close social ties and limited individuality.This is characteristic of ________ solidarity. A)rural
B)social
C)organic
D)mechanical
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Chapter 16: Politics and the Economy
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Q1) Which of the following describes voter turnout in the United States as compared to that in other countries?
A)It is among the lowest in the Western industrialized democracies.
B)It is on par with other Western industrialized democracies.
C)It is among the highest in the Western industrialized democracies.
D)None of these answers is correct.
Q2) Which theory suggests that power is concentrated in the hands of a small dominant group?
A)power elite theory
B)pluralist theory
C)elitist theory
D)domination theory
Q3) Unlike the George W.Bush campaigns,the 2008 Obama presidential campaign was funded primarily by small donors pledging online contributions.
A)True
B)False
Q4) The United States has always kept a large military force.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 17: Social Change: Globalization, Population, and Social Movements
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Q1) Which area of the world is experiencing the highest death rate?
A)South America
B)Europe
C)Africa
D)Asia
Q2) Western Protestant evangelicals have successfully exported their beliefs and religious practices to many countries around the world.This is an example of
A)cultural globalization.
B)a global social movement.
C)a transnational church.
D)neoconservatism.
Q3) In contemporary pro-democracy movements around the world,which strategy used by a government to suppress movements would be most effective?
A)show of force
B)limitation of Internet access
C)mass arrests and incarceration
D)threat of violence
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