Chapter 2: Thinking About and Researching the Social World

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. Which of these are sets of interrelated ideas that have a wide range of applications, deal with centrally important issues, and have stood the test of time?

A. social laws

B. hypotheses

C. theories

D. causes

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Theorizing the Social World

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Who coined the term sociology and was interested in developing sociology as a science?

A. Émile Durkheim

B. August Comte

C. Karl Marx

D. Max Weber

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Classical Sociological Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. Who developed a scientific and general theory but is best known for her sociological works pertaining to women and feminism?

A. Jane Addams

B. Harriet Tubman

C. Harriet Martineau

D. Karl Marx

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Classical Sociological Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. Who focused on the exploitation of workers in capitalist systems?

A. Émile Durkheim

B. Karl Marx

C. Herbert Spencer

D. W. E. B. Du Bois

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Karl Marx

Difficulty Level: Easy

5. Karl Marx observed that workers produce virtually everything but get a small portion of reward for it, while the owners do little work and make large rewards off the labor of those who work for them. What is the term for this phenomenon?

A. alienation

B. exploitation

C. ideology

D. class consciousness

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Karl Marx

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. What did Karl Marx believe would happen to capitalism eventually?

A. It would improve greatly for the workers until society reached full equality.

B. It would improve slightly so long as workers unionized.

C. It would get worse until the inequality gap led to workers overthrowing the system.

D. It would get worse until technology could replace workers, freeing them for other pursuits.

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Karl Marx

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Which term best describes the proletariat’s realization that they are being exploited?

A. double consciousness

B. class consciousness

C. sociological consciousness

D. collective consciousness

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Karl Marx

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Which of these was a main objective of Max Weber's works?

A. to analyze the relationship between workers and the owners

B. to develop theories for further study

C. to analyze the relationship between the economy and religion

D. to focus on the elements of Social Darwinism

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Max Weber

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. Which of these is the title of Max Weber's best-known piece of work?

A. The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism

B. The Communist Manifesto

C. The Origin of the Species

D. Society in America

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Max Weber

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Max Weber analyzed capitalism, but his real interest was in the increase of which of these?

A. religion

B. suicide

C. rationalization

D. alienation

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Max Weber

Difficulty Level: Medium

11. Émile Durkheim was concerned with macro-level phenomena, which he referred to as which of these?

A. bureaucracy

B. anomie

C. social facts

D. collective conscience

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Émile Durkheim

Difficulty Level: Easy

12. Which of these describes the state of people being adrift in society without clear rules?

A. exploitation

B. anomie

C. rationalization

D. disorientation

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Émile Durkheim

Difficulty Level: Medium

13. When Trevor’s computer stopped operating correctly, he called a computer repair technician to fix it. The computer repair technician depends on people like Trevor, who need computers fixed so that he can earn a livelihood. What best describes this type of relationship?

A. mechanical solidarity

B. organic solidarity

C. structured solidarity

D. integrated solidarity

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Émile Durkheim

Difficulty Level: Hard

14. Grog is a hunter in an early hunting and gathering society. Everyone in Grog’s tribe does the same basic kind of work: hunting, gathering, and cooking. Which type of solidarity would Émile Durkheim say best fits Grog’s tribe?

A. anomic solidarity

B. alienated solidarity

C. organic solidarity

D. mechanical solidarity

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Émile Durkheim

Difficulty Level: Medium

15. Early social theorist Georg Simmel described interactions in his theories by conceptualizing the dimensions of interactions as ______ and ______.

A. forms; types

B. forms; functions

C. social class; race

D. types; social facts

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Georg Simmel

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. Which of these refers to the sense of “twoness” that arises from being both American and African American?

A. double consciousness

B. double awareness

C. color line

D. dual conscience

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: W. E. B. Du Bois

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. Leon’s Facebook page is filled with photos of the many expensive and fine foods he purchases when he travels. Which of these concepts does Leon’s Facebook page exemplify?

A. alienation

B. conspicuous consumption

C. collective conscience

D. conspicuous leisure

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Thorstein Veblen

Difficulty Level: Hard

18. Sociologists who use the ______ framework focus on how societal institutions, such as our governmental system and health-care system, are necessary and essential to society.

A. conflict

B. interactionist

C. structural-functional

D. institutional

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Structural-Functionalism

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. Students learn many things at school. One of them is to develop valuable skills, such as learning to schedule their time and the significance of deadlines. What type of function would sociologists identify as describing this type of learning?

A. manifest function

B. latent function

C. dysfunction

D. ideological function

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Structural-Functionalism

Difficulty Level: Hard

20. Which theorists focus on underlying structures because they think that what happens below the surface is highly consequential to the shape of society?

A. conflict theorists

B. rational choice theorists

C. structuralists

D. critical theorists

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Structuralism

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Friedrich Engels believed that female oppression was rooted in the private property rights in capitalism. Because he drew connections between underlying systems of gender inequality and private property, Engels could be considered a ______ theorist.

A. conflict

B. structuralist

C. communist

D. postmodern

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Structuralism

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. Which theory sees society as held together by power and coercion?

A. structuralism

B. rational choice theory

C. conflict theory

D. exchange theory

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Hard

23. With which statement would Ralf Dahrendorf agree?

A. Authority resides in the past, not the present.

B. Authority resides in the societal level, not the individual level.

C. Authority resides in functions, not structures.

D. Authority resides in positions, not specific individuals.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Hard

24. Which theorists believe that culture has become more important than the economic system?

A. feminists

B. queer theorists

C. structural-functionalist theorists

D. critical theorists

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Critical Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

25. Which theory focuses on patriarchy and the problems it poses?

A. feminist theory

B. postmodernist theory

C. interactionist theory

D. queer theory

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Feminist Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. Which theory is based on the idea that there are no fixed and stable identities that determine who we are?

A. structural theory

B. conflict theory

C. interactionist theory

D. queer theory

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Queer Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

27. Which statement would critical theories of race and racism agree with?

A. Colorblindness is a good goal for the future.

B. Colorblindness is already the norm among most people in the developed world.

C. Colorblindness is a new form of racism.

D. Colorblindness has a negative impact on women.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Critical Theories of Race and Racism

Difficulty Level: Medium

28. Nan goes to Las Vegas to visit the Eiffel Tower at the Paris Las Vegas hotel and casino. This is an example of which of these concepts?

A. simulation

B. exposition

C. pastiche

D. grand narrative

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Postmodern Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. Which statement about symbols is true for a symbolic interactionist?

A. Symbols are set in stone and everyone understands them, which makes interaction predictable.

B. Symbols can be interpreted in many ways, which makes interaction fluid.

C. Symbols are used by individuals but are not used by groups.

D. Most people prefer to not use symbols in interaction.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interactionism

Difficulty Level: Medium

30. Ethnomethodologists are likely to study which of these?

A. institutions

B. individuals

C. conversations

D. global cultures

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Ethnomethodology

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. Peter and Mary have been married for several years. Peter has been unhappy for several months and is thinking about initiating a divorce. He decides to make a list of the benefits and costs of the relationship. Peter is using a form of which theory?

A. conflict theory

B. exchange theory

C. symbolic interactionist theory

D. structural-functional theory

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Exchange Theory

Difficulty Level: Hard

32. Which of the following is the premise of the rational choice theory?

A. Rewards and costs determine a person’s choices.

B. People act intentionally to achieve goals.

C. Coercion is the driving force behind all decisions.

D. Individual choices are only limited by self-generated constraints

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Rational Choice Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Sociologists use ______ and theory to form research questions.

A. public opinions

B. academic literature

C. personal experiences

D. statistics

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Scientific Method

Difficulty Level: Medium

34. The first step of the scientific method is which of these?

A. review the relevant literature

B. uncover questions in need of answers

C. develop a hypothesis

D. select a research method

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Scientific Method

Difficulty Level: Easy

35. Mary is a researcher who is conducting research on the relationship between college grades and the amount of time spent studying. She is going to conduct open-ended interviews. This is an example of which type of research method?

A. quantitative

B. qualitative

C. paradigm

D. quantifiable

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Difficulty Level: Easy

36. Maria is a researcher who wants to report the average cost of college tuition from the 1950s until present time. Which type of statistics will she use?

A. prescriptive

B. descriptive

C. inferential

D. historical

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Qualitative and Quantitative Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

37. Reynold is a sociologist whose research requires him to sell books on the street to see how people interact with street vendors. Which of these methods is Reynold enlisting?

A. participant observation

B. experiment

C. content analysis

D. netnography

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Observational Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. A sociologist who spends an extensive amount of time living in and observing an immigrant community to understand their daily activities would be using which research method?

A. netnography

B. interviews

C. ethnography

D. secondary analysis

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Ethnography

Difficulty Level: Hard

39. Which one of the following is a benefit to unstructured interviews?

A. The questions are asked in exactly the same order.

B. The responses can easily be analyzed using quantitative methods.

C. Respondents can cover issues that are meaningful to them.

D. The limits on the researchers’ reactions to answers yield less biased answers.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Types of Interviews

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. Self-administered, written sets of questions are referred to as ______.

A. questionnaires

B. descriptive surveys

C. reflections

D. samples

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Survey Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

41. A ______ sample is one in which everyone in the population has an equal chance of being selected.

A. biased

B. predictable

C. random

D. pluralized

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sampling

Difficulty Level: Easy

42. Experimentation manipulates one or more ______ variables to examine their effect on one or more ______ variables.

A. valid; reliable

B. independent; dependent

C. dependent; independent

D. qualitative; quantitative

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Experiments

Difficulty Level: Medium

43. Which of these is a disadvantage of secondary analysis?

A. A researcher must conduct face-to-face interviews, which are hard to arrange.

B. The data may not fit the researcher’s needs.

C. It is typically more time-consuming than analyzing one’s own data.

D. A researcher must conduct extensive surveys, which have low response rates.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Secondary Data Analysis

Difficulty Level: Hard

44. Which of the following statements explains the difference between history and historical–comparative sociology?

A. Historical–comparative sociology involves much more detail than historical research.

B. Sociologists are more interested in drawing firm distinctions about society than historians.

C. Historical data are more accurate than sociological data.

D. Historical researchers collect far more original historical data than sociologists.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Historical-Comparative Method

Difficulty Level: Medium

45. John, a sociologist, decides to conduct a research study examining violence in television shows for the past 5 years. This is an example of ______.

A. an observational study

B. an experiment

C. a content analysis

D. a survey

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Content Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

46. Which of the following refers to the degree to which a given question produces the same results time after time?

A. reliability

B. validity

C. authenticity

D. reality

Learning Objective: 2.4: Summarize five key issues in social research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Reliability and Validity

Difficulty Level: Medium

47. Ethics in research became a central concern at what point in history?

A. since the French Revolution in 1789

B. in 1848, after Marx released The Communist Manifesto

C. following World War II, in response to atrocities committed by the Nazis

D. in the late 1960s, when civil rights movements raised awareness on all rights issues

Learning Objective: 2.4: Summarize five key issues in social research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Research Ethics

Difficulty Level: Medium

48. Which one of the following was ethically controversial in the case of the Milgram experiment?

A. The people were recruited as a part of the study without their knowledge.

B. The people in the study were deceived into thinking they were hurting someone.

C. The people in the study were paid an excessive amount of money to participate, skewing the results.

D. The people in the study were not allowed to leave the study even after multiple requests to end their participation.

Learning Objective: 2.4: Summarize five key issues in social research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Physical and Psychological Harm

Difficulty Level: Medium

49. Laud Humphreys’s research on homosexual activities in men’s restrooms became a famous case of ethical controversy in social scientific research. What about Humphreys’s research was ethically questionable?

A. Humphreys told research participants he was a sociologist.

B. Humphreys was not gay.

C. Humphreys used license plate numbers to target their homes and interview the men without disclosing the real subject of his study.

D. Humphreys asked individuals to participate in his study.

Learning Objective: 2.4: Summarize five key issues in social research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Violation of Trust

Difficulty Level: Medium

50. Max Weber believed researchers could enlist values in the selection of the research question and in ______.

A. reporting the results

B. selecting the research participants

C. selecting the research method

D. making sense of findings

Learning Objective: 2.4: Summarize five key issues in social research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Violation of Trust | Objectivity, or “Value-Free” Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. Theories are narrowly applied interrelated ideas that change with the changing times.

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Theorizing the Social World

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Karl Marx created the communism practiced by the Soviet Union and other countries in the 20th century.

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Karl Marx

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Max Weber believed that rationalization was being replaced by capitalism.

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Max Weber

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. To Émile Durkheim, the most important social fact is class consciousness.

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Émile Durkheim

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Georg Simmel developed a micro-level theory of social interaction.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Georg Simmel

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. W. E. B. Du Bois is best known for his studies that focus on race relations.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: W. E. B Du Bois

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Jenny is most interested in spending her paycheck on designer goods and being able to show them off to her friends. Jenny is exemplifying a double consciousness.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Thorstein Veblen

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Dysfunctions are consequences that negatively affect the ability of a given system to survive, adapt, or adjust.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Structural-Functionalism

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Structuralism is more likely to focus on visible structures and structural/functionalism is more likely to focus on invisible ones.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Structuralism

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Conflict theorists focus on the power struggles that exist between different groups in society.

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Conflict Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

11. Critical theorists focus on class struggles in a capitalist economy.

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Critical Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. People who identify with all genders are known as pangender.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Queer Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

13. Colorblindness is a term used by theorists of critical theories of race and racism to describe a way of improving race relations.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Critical Theories of Race and Racism

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Ethnomethodologists are most concerned with how people experience inequality.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Ethnomethodology

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. “Hooking up” is a form of exchange according to exchange theory.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Exchange Theory

Difficulty Level: Easy

16. According to rational choice theory, people act intentionally to achieve their goals.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Rational Choice Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

17. Even though they are scientists, sociologists avoid the scientific method because it has been shown to be biased when used with humans.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Scientific Method

Difficulty Level: Hard

18. Observations are a type of qualitative research.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Observational Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

19. One challenge of netnography is the issue of informed consent.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Digital Living: Netnography

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Wendy, a sociologist, studies the use of sexuality in television shows in order to understand changing gender norms. Her research method is known as content analysis.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Content Analysis

Difficulty Level: Medium

21. Validity is the degree that a question produces the same results time after time.

Learning Objective: 2.4: Summarize five key issues in social research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Reliability and Validity

Difficulty Level: Medium

22. The three main areas of ethical concern for sociologists fall under physical and psychological harm to participants, illegal acts of researchers, and deception and violation of participant trust.

Learning Objective: 2.4: Summarize five key issues in social research.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Research Ethics

Difficulty Level: Hard

23. Max Weber claimed that all parts of sociological research should be value-free.

Learning Objective: 2.4: Summarize five key issues in social research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Objectivity, or “Value-Free” Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Identify and explain the two levels that theorists Karl Marx, Émile Durkheim, and Max Weber focused on when they analyzed society. Explain the similarities and differences of focus among them and identify and define one important concept for each theorist in your explanation.

Learning Objective: 2.1: Identify the notable contributions of the most influential classical sociological theorists.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension | Analysis

Answer Location: Theorizing the Social World

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. Discuss the differences and similarities between the structural-functionalist theoretical perspective and the conflict perspective. Be sure to enlist and define one concept for each.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Contemporary Sociological Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. How does the exchange theory help us understand how people choose a college? Compare this to how rational choice theory would explain the same thing.

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Contemporary Sociological Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Use what you know about critical theory to discuss Facebook and the culture industry. According to Ritzer, what is mass culture, and what is the culture industry? Would Facebook be considered a part of the culture industry? Having considered these arguments, do you agree or disagree that Facebook is a part of the “culture industry?”

Learning Objective: 2.2: Explain the three major categories of contemporary theories.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Critical Theory

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Identify the primary difference between qualitative and quantitative research. List one type of each research method and explain how it is collected.

Learning Objective: 2.3: Describe the scientific method and various methods of sociological research.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sociological Research

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. What caused social scientific researchers and their audiences to focus efforts on ethical data collection? Provide two examples. Then, identify the three prime areas that are of concern to sociologists today and provide a brief explanation of each area.

Learning Objective: 2.4: Summarize five key issues in social research.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Research Ethics

Difficulty Level: Hard