Chapter 1: Introduction

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Theory helps us make sense of social life by ______.

A. connecting assorted observations and facts

B. creating a universal explanation for human behavior

C. eliminating assumptions we make about the world

D. being objective and value-free

Ans: A

2. According to the authors, facts make sense because ______.

A. they are scientifically proven

B. they are based on shared interpretations

C. they are universally accepted

D. they are in the rational, collective quadrant

Ans: B

3. According to the authors, why is it important to read original sociological writings?

A. Early sociologists wrote for a public audience and are easier to understand.

B. Students will better understand why early theorists’ ideas have been disproven.

C. Students need to grapple with theorists’ complex ideas.

D. Learning theory should be difficult and challenging.

Ans: C

4. Which of the following is true of scientific theories?

A. They cannot be applied to social life.

B. They rarely explain phenomena accurately.

C. They allow researchers to generate testable hypotheses.

D. They contain only dependent variables.

Ans: C

5. Compared to theories in the natural sciences, sociological theory is more likely to be concerned with ______.

A. creating a more equal world

B. developing a universal theory of action

C. being unbiased

D. stating precise propositions

Ans: A

6. Much of the thinking that would later shape the development of sociology began during ______.

A. the Industrial Revolution

B. the French Revolution

C. the Enlightenment

D. the Fall of Rome

Ans: C

7. The Catholic Church found many scientific ideas to ______.

A. support the existence of God

B. be true

C. reflect a literal understanding of the Bible

D. be heretical

Ans: D

8. Which of the following characterizes the Enlightenment era?

A. education

B. industry

C. reason

D. religion

Ans: C

9. Who coined the term “sociology?”

A. Émile Durkheim

B. Karl Marx

C. Max Weber

D. Auguste Comte

Ans: D

10. Whose writing was most directly informed by the economic consequences of the Industrial Revolution?

A. Emile Durkheim

B. Karl Marx

C. Max Weber

D. Auguste Comte

Ans: B

11. What social change was a primary contributor to the rise of capitalism?

A. the Enlightenment Era

B. the American Revolution

C. the Age of Reason

D. the Industrial Revolution

Ans: D

12. Which of the following individuals is a prominent counter-Enlightenment thinker?

A. Copernicus

B. Hobbes

C. Rousseau

D. Galileo

Ans: C

13. What are the two major questions with which theorists continuously grapple?

A. solidarity and isolation

B. order and action

C. power and submission

D. cognition and emotion

Ans: B

14. Which concept refers to the patterned nature of social life?

A. action

B. order

C. nonrational

D. rational

Ans: B

15. A(n) ______ perspective argues that society shapes the behaviors of everyday people.

A. individualist

B. nonrational

C. collectivist

D. rational

Ans: C

16. Which of the following would be located in the “nonrational” pole of the authors’ metatheoretical framework?

A. macro-level forces

B. subjective ideals and emotions

C. analysis of costs and benefits

D. patterns of everyday interactions

Ans: B

17. Someone who relies on external forces over internal factors would best be characterized as ______.

A. individualist

B. rational

C. collectivist

D. nonrational

Ans: B

18. According to the authors’ metatheoretical framework, acting based on norms and values would be categorized as ______.

A. rational

B. collective

C. nonrational

D. individual

Ans: C

19. According to the authors’ metatheoretical framework, using everyday behaviors to disrupt patterns of life would be categorized as ______.

A. rational

B. collective

C. nonrational

D. individual

Ans: D

20. According to Kant, what shapes moral obligations and gives rise to moral behavior?

A. religion

B. reason

C. the social contract

D. secularization

Ans: B

21. Which of the following is true of the authors’ metatheoretical framework?

A. It mirrors reality.

B. It helps compare and contrast theorists.

C. Theorists are defined by one quadrant only.

D. Theorists use it to inform their thinking.

Ans: B

22. What quadrant would someone be in if they said they stop at red lights out of habit and because one should follow the law?

A. collective nonrational

B. individual rational

C. collective rational

D. individual nonrational

Ans: A

23. If someone uses opioids because they are experiencing emotional distress, they are in which quadrant?

A. collective nonrational

B. individual rational

C. collective rational

D. individual nonrational

Ans: D

24. What is at the heart of Hobbes’s “social contract?”

A. People give up their liberty for increased security.

B. People challenge the government to maintain their liberty.

C. People give up their wants to help others.

D. People are inherently good, so they do not need government.

Ans: A

25. According to the authors, why do we need to understand the historical context in which sociologists write?

A. We can observe how sociological interests have remained similar across time.

B. We can understand how major social changes shape what sociologists focus on.

C. We need to know if sociologists were conducting scientific research.

D. We need to identify who sponsored their work.

Ans: B

True/False

1. Sociologists are primarily concerned with objectivity.

Ans: F

2. We use theories in our daily life as we try to understand the world around us.

Ans: T

3. Theory can be defined as a system of generalized statements or propositions about phenomena.

Ans: T

4. Sociologists often want to work toward a more just or equitable social order.

Ans: T

5. One problem with secondary texts is that the authors revise the original text.

Ans: T

6. Enlightenment thinkers tried to disprove the existence of God.

Ans: F

7. The family played a more prominent role in society after the Industrial Revolution.

Ans: F

8. Enlightenment thinkers perpetuated racial hierarchies through scientific racism.

Ans: T

9. Sociology reflects Enlightenment ideas while rejecting counter-Enlightenment ideas.

Ans: F

10. Rousseau emphasized that reason rather than traditions helped stabilize society.

Ans: F

11. Thinkers like Confucius and Aristotle are generally seen as early sociologists.

Ans: F

12. Struggles between Parliament and the kings were about religion, not politics.

Ans: F

13. Robespierre was a central figure in the Enlightenment.

Ans: F

14. Hobbes argued that a society will survive only when the central government has absolute authority.

Ans: T

15. Locke believed that people should be able to choose their government.

Ans: T

16. Mary Wollstonecraft is most famous for her challenges to scientific racism.

Ans: F

17. Marx, Weber, and Durkheim became seen as core sociological theorists around the 1950s.

Ans: T

18. Hobbes first advanced the idea that all people are naturally equal.

Ans: T

19. The Industrial Revolution generally improved the lives of workers.

Ans: F

20. The Industrial Revolution prompted many people to move to cities.

Ans: T

21. Most philosophers have grappled with the question of individualism versus collectivism.

Ans: F

22. Collectivism focuses on how society shapes individuals.

Ans: T

23. Theorists usually use terms like “rational” and “nonrational” in their work.

Ans: F

24. Waiting out of habit for the crosswalk sign on a deserted street would be considered nonrational.

Ans: T

25. Focusing on the role of Big Pharma in the opioid epidemic generally reflects a collective perspective.

Ans: T

Essay

1. Define theory, and explain how theories are used in science.

2. Compare and contrast sociological theories with theories from the natural sciences.

3. Why is it important to read primary works?

4. Discuss the Enlightenment and its impact on sociology.

5. How did the rise of empiricism contribute to the growth of sociology?

6. Explain the Industrial Revolution’s impact on sociology.

7. Define and explain the question of order.

8. Define and explain the question of action.

9. Explain the relationship between religion and science during the Enlightenment.

10. How did counter-Enlightenment thinkers respond to Enlightenment ideals?

11. In recent years, there has been much attention given to low voter turnout in elections. Using the authors’ metatheoretical framework, analyze why people might not vote.

12. Think about how you use social media (or not) in your daily life. Then, analyze your behaviors using the questions of order and action. How does social media impact your life? Why do you use social media a particular way?

13. Explain how to use the authors’ metatheoretical framework, and why it is helpful.

14. Explain how Enlightenment thinkers were limited or biased in their thinking.

15. Explain how premodern thinkers approached the question of order.