Understanding Society Review Questions
Course Introduction
Understanding Society explores the structures, institutions, and processes that shape human behavior and social interactions. This course examines key concepts and theories from sociology, providing insight into topics such as culture, socialization, inequality, family, education, and social change. Students will critically analyze how societal norms and values influence individual and group identities, and investigate the roles of race, class, gender, and globalization in shaping contemporary social life. Through case studies and discussions, learners will develop a deeper appreciation of the complexities and dynamics that underpin the organization and development of modern societies.
Recommended Textbook
New Society 7th Edition by Robert J. Brym
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21 Chapters
2434 Verified Questions
2434 Flashcards
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Page 2
Chapter 1: Introduction to Sociology
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116 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Lisa is a sex trade worker who frequently provides her services to married men. Which theorist would argue that Lisa's role in society helps to preserve the institution of the family?
A) a feminist
B) a symbolic interactionist
C) a conflict theorist
D) a functionalist
Answer: D
Q2) Which of the following theorists hypothesized that suicide rates would be higher among the unmarried?
A) Karl Marx
B) Max Weber
C) Erving Goffman
D) Émile Durkheim
Answer: D
Q3) In Canada, the most dramatic increase in suicide rates in recent decades has been among men over 50.
A)True
B)False
Answer: False
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Chapter 2: Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) "I can't possibly wear my black pumps to the dance. The heel is clearly from 2009. What would my girlfriends think?" Which social constraint on human action is reflected in this statement?
A) functionalism
B) fashion
C) rationalization
D) consumerism
Answer: D
Q2) "I want my children to learn Italian because it is part of their culture. The educational system in Canada should provide an opportunity to learn Italian in school." Which of the following social development is reflected in this statement?
A) the rights revolution
B) the language act
C) globalization
D) the global village
Answer: A
Q3) Explain how culture can be a source of freedom, while simultaneously constraining our behaviour.
Answer: Responses will vary.
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Page 4
Chapter 3: Socialization
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Sample Questions
Q1) A social worker removes a three-year-old child from a home where the parents kept the infant in a crib covered with chicken wire. The child grunts, acts fearful, and has no language. Sociologically speaking, the child's lack of social skills supports which of the following?
A) the nurture side of the nature/nurture debate
B) the criminal nature of the parents' neglect
C) the need for screening of people who want to parent
D) the nature side of the nature/nurture debate
Answer: A
Q2) According to the text, which of the following is an agent of socialization?
A) the media
B) personality
C) genes
D) the self
Answer: A
Q3) The text mentions several forms of socialization. Aside from primary and secondary socialization, describe and explain two other forms of socialization.
Answer: Anticipatory, adult, and/or socialization in old age.
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Chapter 4: Gender and Sexuality
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the text, what effects do assumptions of heterosexuality have on gays and lesbians?
A) The assumptions have contributed to feelings of inclusiveness for homosexuals.
B) The assumptions have little effect on them because heterosexuality doesn't concern them.
C) The assumptions have enhanced the sexual pluralist perspective in Canada.
D) The assumptions reinforce negative stereotypes that result in discrimination.
Q2) Curiosity plays an important part in the initiation of the first experience of sexual intercourse in our culture.
A)True
B)False
Q3) According to the text, an attitude of sexual pluralism is growing.
A)True B)False
Q4) Your sex is dependent on what genitalia and hormones you are born with.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Explain the difference between transgendered persons and transsexuals.
Q6) Explain the difference between one's sex and one's gender.
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Chapter 5: Communication and Mass Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) When Craig is in sitting in his living room in Toronto, Jane in her living room in Winnipeg, and Tina in her bedroom in Vancouver, all watching CTV National News at 11 p.m., what form of media are they subjecting themselves to?
A) interactive media
B) streamlining media
C) targeted media
D) mass media
Q2) During a newscast about an ongoing transportation strike, Fred, a union representative, is interviewed. He explains why the union ceased negotiations and walked out on strike. What role does Fred play in the newscast?
A) He is an official news source.
B) He is an ordinary news source.
C) He is an alternative news source.
D) He is a personalized news source.
Q3) In the text, what does the acronym CMC stand for?
A) computer-mediated construction
B) computer-mediated communication
C) computer-mediated conversation
D) computer-mediated calling
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Social Stratification
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following characteristics sociologically defines a low position in the social stratification system?
A) a person who is receiving income assistance
B) a person who belongs to a racial minority group
C) someone who has little power, prestige, or wealth
D) someone who has no fixed address or residence
Q2) Give examples of why it is important to take into account the time and place in which social theory is developed.
Q3) Why did Max Weber maintain that social stratification is multidimensional?
A) because social position is based upon education and other ascribed statuses
B) because social position is based upon subjective as well as objective criteria
C) because social position is based upon personal attributes such as attractiveness
D) because social position is based upon power and prestige, in addition to wealth
Q4) About 10 percent of Canadians are classified as poor.
A)True
B)False
Q5) Identify and describe the four types of occupational mobility.
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Page 8
Chapter 7: Gender Inequality
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Sample Questions
Q1) A woman who is a nurse has three daughters, and her daughters are, respectively, a social worker, a schoolteacher, and a hair-salon manager. Which term from the text best identifies the type of work performed by all four women?
A) sex-based occupations
B) gender-typed occupations
C) female-dominated occupations
D) sex-segregated occupations
Q2) Despite decades of effort, workplaces are still highly sex segregated and this fact contributes significantly to the wage gap between men and women. Explain how sex segregation in the workplace negatively affects the earning power of women.
Q3) A competent female lawyer is passed over for a promotion that is given to an underperforming male. She notices that most of the law firm's senior partners are male, despite the fact that 30 percent of the firm's lawyers are women. What term do sociologists use to describe this circumstance?
A) only boys allowed
B) men only syndrome
C) glass ceiling effect
D) old boys' network
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Chapter 8: Race and Ethnic Relations
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116 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following supports the primordialist explanation of prejudice?
A) Humans have a natural affinity/liking for "nonfamily" members.
B) Nepotism is about playing favourites with immediate family members.
C) Prejudice is a way of maintaining the economic status hierarchy.
D) Ethnic prejudice and racism are ways of maintaining in-group solidarity.
Q2) According to the power-conflict perspective, what is racism?
A) It is the result of solidarity among minority groups, particularly recent immigrants.
B) It is a consequence of biological differences between people, regardless of economics.
C) In a capitalist society, it is an ideology justifying exploitation of minorities and immigrants.
D) It is something that will disappear as class-consciousness increases in capitalist society.
Q3) According to the text, what is the main difference between race and ethnicity?
A) Race is physical attributes; ethnicity is cultural characteristics.
B) Race is cultural characteristics; ethnicity is physical attributes.
C) People can be multiracial, but they can't be multiethnic.
D) Racial categorizations are more scientifically determined.
Q4) Define institutional racism and list the three forms that it can take.
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Chapter 9: Development and Underdevelopment
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115 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) Rather than pay Renato a high money wage, his employer gives Renato land to till for his own use. However, without a good wage, Renato does not have money to spend on manufactured goods, which then reduces the success of local small industry. This arrangement would encourage which of the following economic situations in Renato's homeland?
A) underdevelopment
B) development
C) capitalism
D) dependency
Q2) Structural adjustment programs (SAPs), sponsored by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, were introduced to assist with economic growth in the global south. What kind of successes have these programs had?
A) Growth rates in the south were higher in the decade prior to SAPs.
B) Governing structures in the developing world have strengthened.
C) Since their inception, there has been dramatic growth in countries with SAPs.
D) Civil society has improved tremendously in states with SAPs.
Q3) Review both neoliberal development strategies and Keynesian economic strategies. Then form a synthesis of both to propose your own theory of development.
Q4) Outline the basic tenets of a neoliberal approach to development.
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Chapter 10: Families
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116 Verified Questions
116 Flashcards
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which approach subscribes to the widely believed commonsense notion that the nuclear family is the best unit in which to raise children?
A) functionalism
B) social reproduction
C) Marxist-feminist
D) symbolic interactionism
Q2) Which of the following people examine the power dynamics and conflicts common within families?
A) Marxist theorists
B) symbolic interactionists
C) feminist analysts
D) family-value politicians
Q3) Sandra is in the process of divorcing her physically abusive husband and is greatly concerned about the effects that a divorce will have on their son Seth. According to social science research, what should Sandra do in order to minimize the trauma?
A) take Seth to a doctor for a prescription of antidepressants
B) move to a new city, away from all the negative reminders
C) enrol Seth in a new school that has an on-staff counselor
D) maintain Seth's routine by making as few changes as possible
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Page 12
Chapter 11: Work and Occupations
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Sample Questions
Q1) An underground miner works a schedule that the company terms a "short-change-long-change" shift rotation: four nights straight, four days off; five days straight, three days off; seven afternoons and evenings straight, two days off. What term best describes this shift rotation?
A) time-off adjustment schedule
B) nonstandard work schedule
C) round-the-clock shift schedule
D) night-evening bias schedule
Q2) Sondra was outlining to the class Weber's views on bureaucracy. Which of the following would she NOT include in her discussion?
A) Bureaucracies allow workers to handle routine situations using their own discretion.
B) Bureaucracies are the most efficient and rational forms of organization.
C) Bureaucracies involve a very complex division of labour.
D) Bureaucracies involve a clear structure and hierarchy of authority.
Q3) Apply the concepts of extrinsic and intrinsic rewards to a specific job that you, a friend, or a family member has held.
Q4) Why are some areas of expertise considered semi-professions instead of professions?
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Page 13
Chapter 12: Education
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Sample Questions
Q1) In a conversation with his mother, Abdul is pleading to be transferred to a different school, arguing that his current school racializes minority students. When asked to explain, which of the following would Abdul offer?
A) The school's curriculum specifically details how teachers intervene when racism occurs.
B) The school has policies that do not consider the disadvantages experienced by minority students.
C) The school does not have any multicultural events planned for in the curriculum.
D) Minority group students are given special status and privileges not given to other classmates, and then they are targeted by the nonminority students for being "special."
Q2) Females in Canada drop out of high school in greater numbers, graduate less often, and fail to enter universities more often in comparison with their male counterparts. A)True B)False
Q3) Discuss the three charges made by feminist critics pertaining to how education remains sexually biased in favour of men.
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14
Chapter 13: Religion
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to Weber, what influence can the moral tone that infused the rise of capitalism in Europe be traced back to?
A) the edicts of the Roman Catholic Church
B) ungodly, atheist, and material aspirations
C) the ideas of the Protestant Reformation
D) the religious persecution of the Jews
Q2) According to sociological research, which of the following would cause occasional church attendees to attend more often?
A) offering proof that God actually exists
B) a church that aims to promote world peace
C) having better relationships with family members
D) promoting greater tolerance and inclusiveness
Q3) According to the text, what would it take to get reluctant youths to attend church more often?
A) If their friends were going, they would attend too.
B) It would take a personal relationship with God.
C) It would take a powerful conversion experience.
D) They would attend if they thought it was worthwhile.
Q4) How does "deprivation" account for religiosity?
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Chapter 14: Deviance and Crime
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to Gottfredson and Hirschi, which of the following variables is the key to conformity?
A) high self-esteem
B) lack of deviant associations
C) proper early socialization
D) self-control
Q2) Jason is 18 years old and wore a shirt and tie to meet his potential new boss. However, he did not change his lime-green hair or remove his lip ring before the interview. What would his hair colour and lip ring be considered?
A) a social diversion
B) youthful deviance
C) generational deviance
D) deviant peer performance
Q3) If a researcher were to say that crime is a young person's game, what would this be about?
A) thrill-seeking adolescents
B) a correlate of crime
C) professional adult criminals
D) sociobiological determinants
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Page 16
Chapter 15: Population and Urbanization
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Sample Questions
Q1) In Thailand, the capital city of Bangkok has a population of over 8 million people, while the second largest city in this predominantly rural country is Nakhon Ratchasima with a population of less than 200 000. What is this a classic example of?
A) urban sprawl
B) underdevelopment
C) urban primacy
D) urban immigration
Q2) The Bank Act of 1871 was one of the major reasons for the concentration of the Canadian population into a few urban centres such as Toronto and Montreal.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Demography is the study of cities and urban development.
A)True
B)False
Q4) In Burgess's model, where do illegal commercial activities tend to occur?
A) central business district
B) zone of working-class homes
C) zone of transition
D) zone of better residences
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Chapter 16: Sociology and the Environment
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Sample Questions
Q1) Harold is an environmentally conscious individual, and every December would keep his exterior Christmas lights to a minimum. This year he found a half-price sale on outdoor high-efficiency LED Christmas lights, purchased 20 packages and decorated every tree and shrub in his yard. What has impacted Harold's behaviour?
A) corporate sales and greenwashing
B) the reframing of environmental issues
C) the effect known as Jevon's paradox
D) the front-of-the-mind issue of trying to out-decorate his neighbours
Q2) For decades a considerable number of Atlantic coast citizens made their living fishing cod. But in 1992, this way of life came to an abrupt halt. Why?
A) The market demand for cod had dwindled to the point where it was no longer a profitable business.
B) Advanced technologies used in cod fishing endeavours had become too expensive.
C) The federal government imposed a moratorium on cod fishing.
D) The vast majority of younger residents left in order to make higher wages in the Alberta oil industry.
Q3) What is the polluter pays principle?
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Page 18
Chapter 17: Health and Aging
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Sample Questions
Q1) "How we view the causes of health problems influences how we deal with them." Explain what this means.
Q2) Why are physicians considered to be the gatekeepers to our health-care system?
Q3) Which of the following statements about health is true?
A) Black male seniors have more chronic conditions than all other groups.
B) More senior men than women suffer from chronic conditions.
C) More senior women than men suffer from chronic conditions.
D) There are no clear trends about health related to social condition.
Q4) Some sociologists are employed by Statistics Canada, where they examine Canadian trends in our aging population. What term is used to identify the specific focus of their expertise?
A) statistics
B) numerology
C) sociology
D) demography
Q5) Discuss how gender plays a role in aging and health.
Q6) For-profit health care tends to be more expensive than universal health care.
A)True
B)False
Q7) Explain the multiple jeopardy hypothesis and utilize examples.
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Chapter 18: Politics and Social Movements
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which theory holds that social movements can emerge only when disadvantaged people can marshal the means necessary to challenge authority?
A) pluralist theory
B) resource mobilization theory
C) power balance theory
D) power elite theory
Q2) Citizens of both Canada and Sweden are legally free to vote and influence their governments, but because the working class is more powerful in Sweden, the legal right of Swedes to vote and influence governments has been turned into real political influence on a wider scale.
A)True
B)False
Q3) In 2005, Global Call to Action Against Poverty involved some 38 million people in actions to make world leaders live up to their promises to make a breakthrough on poverty. What term best identifies this organization?
A) social movement
B) collective action group
C) social justice movement
D) grassroots movement
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Page 20
Chapter 19: Globalization
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following consumption and behavioural patterns embodies unsustainable energy trade-offs?
A) eat meat and packaged foods, and drive to work
B) eat fresh fruit, and live in a condominium
C) eat grains, drink clean water, and use buses and bicycles
D) consume unsafe water, and walk to get around
Q2) Cultural imperialism is often associated with liberal values around sexuality, and with secularism.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Which of the following is true about how people live around the world?
A) Almost half the world's people live off the land and subsist mainly on what they produce.
B) Globalization has created the export of products and food to nearly 90 percent of people.
C) Because of globalization, only 20 percent of the world's people still live off the land.
D) Because of globalization, 75 percent of the world's people are wage labourers.
Q4) How does globalization affect the production and consumption of food?
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Chapter 20: Research Methods
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Sample Questions
Q1) What kind of research is Statistics Canada's national census?
A) ethnographic research
B) an experiment
C) survey research
D) a field study
Q2) Wilson, through participant observation research with rave party-goers, came to define the situation as ravers themselves defined it.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Janice walks out on her boyfriend after a six-year relationship. What topic must be studied in order to understand her motivation for this action?
A) the events the day before
B) Janice's future plans
C) the history of the relationship
D) the relationships in which Janice interacts
Q4) What is the basic logic of experimentation in science? Why don't social scientists use experiments as often as natural scientists?
Q5) Explain why and how social scientists use official statistics.
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Chapter 21: Networks, Groups, Bureaucracies, and Societies
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Sample Questions
Q1) On her first day at the company, Tara was introduced to the president, three vice-presidents, five directors, and 10 managers. The line of authority was clearly explained to her so that she would take any of her issues to a manager, who would report to a director, and so forth up the chain. According to the text, what kind of organizational structure was used by the company?
A) a presidential system
B) an authoritative proprietorship
C) an efficiency structure
D) a bureaucracy
Q2) What is the difference between formal social networks and informal social networks? Give examples of both.
Q3) Sandra needs help getting a job. According to Mark Granovetter, who of the following is most likely to be able to offer assistance?
A) Sandra's brother
B) Sandra's mother
C) Sandra's best friend
D) a friend of Sandra's best friend
Q4) Outline a comprehensive strategy for getting a job. Utilize insights gained from the text.
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