Test Bank Docx Ch.1 What Is Sociology? Concise Edition

1) Sociological knowledge of the world is different from the knowledge we gain through everyday observation because

a. we use social scientific methods to make sociological observations.

b. sociological knowledge can always be measured quantitatively.

c. we revise our knowledge gained from everyday observation when we encounter new facts, but we don’t revise sociological knowledge.

d. everyday observation is methodical, whereas sociological observation is haphazard.

Feedback: Sociological knowledge is generated through social scientific methods of observation, is open to revision based on new data, and yields both quantitative and qualitative information.

Page reference: See subsection “Sociology and Everyday Knowledge.”

2) French sociologist Émile Durkheim (1858–1917) argued that sociology should focus on the discovery of social

a. facts.

b. actions.

c. relationships.

d. problems.

Feedback: Durkheim focused on how social facts, external to people, shaped their lives.

Page reference: See section “What is Sociology?”

3) German sociologist Max Weber (1864–1920) argued that sociology should focus on understanding social

a. facts.

b. actions.

c. relationships.

d. problems.

Feedback: Weber’s focus on how people, through their social actions, created meaning in their world.

Page reference: See section “What is Sociology?”

4) American sociologist Albion Small (1854–1926) argued that sociology could help us understand

a. social problems.

b. social facts.

c. social relationships.

d. solutions to personal problems.

Feedback: Albion focused on how group relationships shape our lives.

Page reference: See section “What is Sociology?”

5) Sociologist C. Wright Mills argued that sociology could help us live better lives by showing us

a. that living in peace with others is impossible.

b. that individuals can do anything they put effort into, despite social forces.

c. that individuals are helpless in the face of social forces.

d. how our individual problems are connected to larger social issues.

Feedback: Mills argued for a connection between individual and social problems.

Page reference: See subsection “The Sociological Imagination.”

6) Sociologists are interested in social facts, social actions, and social relationships because they believe that

a. individual actions are shaped by larger social phenomena.

b. external forces alone, not how people respond to them, shape human lives.

c. individual actions, not larger social forces, determine human outcomes.

d. our individual experiences are so unique that it is almost impossible to find patterns in them.

Feedback: Sociologists think that studying social facts, actions, and relationships will help us better understand the relationship between individuals’ experiences and the larger social world, including how social factors impact our individual lives.

Page reference: See section “What is Sociology?”

7) When sociologists say that sociology is based on systematic research, they mean they

a. base their conclusions on inferences and hypothetical situations.

b. study individuals, not groups.

c. seek to find fact-based explanations of the social world as it really exists.

d. all use the same research method to make observations.

Feedback: Sociologists are social scientists, meaning that they follow the scientific process, including using consistent, valid methods of observation, to understand the social world. They may use different methods to do this, ranging from ethnography to surveys, but their goal is to support their conclusion with facts, not guesses.

Page reference: See section “What is Sociology?”

8) Sociologists can say that they hope to empower people to make positive change in the world because they believe that sociology

a. can convince individuals to change and, if enough individuals change, society will change.

b. undermines freedom by teaching people that they are influenced by social forces.

c. gives people a false but motivating sense of their own individual power in the face of overwhelming social forces.

d. helps people understand the world, including social facts, actions, and relationships, more deeply and thus identify problems and solutions to them more clearly.

Feedback: Sociologists are hopeful about humans and believe that the more we understand about our complex societies, the better equipped we are to define and solve problems.

Page reference: See section “What is Sociology?”

9) The moral perspective on sociology is distinguished by other approaches in its belief that sociology should

a. be morally neutral.

b. adopt the moral framework of the majority of the people in a society.

c. be a force for good.

d. give more weight to the morality of those with less power in a society.

Feedback: Sociology practices from this perspective argue that understanding social facts alone is inadequate, and that the job of sociology is to use them to make the world better.

Page reference: See subsection “The Sociological Imagination.”

10) When sociologists argue that sociology can make the world a better place, they mean all of the following except which statement?

a. Understanding sociology increases empathy and understanding.

b. Understanding sociology increases equality.

c. Understanding sociology challenges structures of domination.

d. Understanding sociology promotes socialism as a system of government.

Feedback: While sociology can take politics as its object of study, it does not, as a discipline, promote a particular system of government as the best for all people in all situations.

Page reference: See section “What is Sociology?”

11) When sociologist C. Wright Mills said that the sociological imagination, “enables us to grasp history and biography and the relation between the two in society,” he meant that sociology

a. is a subfield of history.

b. requires us to imagine things that may not have happened.

c. is the study of how individuals contribute to history.

d. is the effort to understand our individual stories within a larger historical frame.

Feedback: The field of sociology is concerned with the relationship between individuals’ lives and our collective social experiences. A central question of sociology is: how do larger social and historical forces shape individuals’ experiences?

Page reference: See subsection “The Sociological Imagination.”

12) William Julius Wilson’s 1987 book The Truly Disadvantaged examined how

a. welfare policies affected poverty among people of color.

b. cuts to welfare benefits harmed poor, single mothers.

c. conservative politicians promised tax cuts in exchange for cuts to welfare benefits that helped poor people.

d. structural changes in gender, class, and race relationships contributed to poverty among African Americans living in inner cities.

Feedback: Wilson’s work challenged “culture of poverty” explanations for high rates of poverty among African Americans living in inner cities by arguing that changes to the economy, women’s entrance into the workforce, and wealthier African Americans’ migration from cities to suburbs contributed to urban poverty.

Page reference: See section “What is Sociology?”

13) As a social science, sociology argues that humans make better choices when they accurately understand the facts of social life, and yet

a. gathering accurate information is difficult.

b. most people do not want to learn accurate information.

c. accuracy is a matter of opinion.

d. methods for gathering accurate information are intuitive, not something that can be taught.

Feedback: Sociology uses methodical, systematic observation and measurement techniques to collect facts, but it also recognizes that achieving this goal is difficult.

Page reference: See subsection “The Discipline of Sociology.”

14) Dr. Kendig and Dr. Kulkarni are both surveying teens about their use of tobacco. Dr. Kendig includes questions about vaping, cigarette smoking, and chewing tobacco in her survey. Dr. Kulkarni only asks about cigarette smoking. Dr. Kendig’s research findings show a higher rate of tobacco use among teens compared to Dr. Kulkarni’s research. The difference in their findings illustrates the point that

a. how you define a problem determines what facts you collect as you study it.

b. research findings are inherently subjective.

c. the personal interests of researchers have undue influence over their results.

d. data are unstable and cannot be measured accurately.

Feedback: Because the researchers define the word “tobacco” differently, they are measuring different things, and will therefore reach different conclusions.

Page reference: See subsection “The Discipline of Sociology.”

15) Sociological knowledge is different from everyday knowledge in that

a. sociology does not ignore information that challenges our assumptions or beliefs.

b. in everyday observations, people tend to seek information that challenges their assumptions.

c. sociology confirms our biases.

d. everyday knowledge is collected systematically.

Feedback: Sociology challenges us to think critically and measure accurately, even if doing so results in upsetting our previously held assumptions.

Page reference: See subsection “Sociology and Everyday Knowledge.”

16) Sociology is different from other social sciences in that it

a. produces only quantitative information—that is, things that are expressed in numbers.

b. examines the relationships between different social institutions.

c. focuses very narrowly on a limited set of topics.

d. seeks narrow explanations of social phenomena that can’t be applied to other situations.

Feedback: Sociology produces both quantitative and qualitative information on a variety of topics related to social life—from crime to politics to economics to health to religion and more—in order to understand patterns in social life that we can expect to see in new situations. Sociology is distinct in that it examines how social institutions relate to each other—for example, how religion affects education, or how politics impacts crime.

Page reference: See subsection “Sociology and Everyday Knowledge.”

17) Why do sociologists collect data about historical trends?

a. To explore how famous people in history responded to the social crises of their time

b. To understand how structural patterns change over time

c. To explain how social issues change from society to society

d. To demonstrate that the study of history remains important

Feedback: Sociologists seek to explain how societies change over time, which requires understanding history.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

18) Why can’t sociologists rely on their personal observations when drawing conclusions about society?

a. Personal observations cannot produce the quantitative data that sociology demands.

b. Research indicates that sociologists are more biased than other people.

c. Personal observations are not systematic.

d. Sociologists are less likely than others to recognize their prejudices.

Feedback: When we make personal observations, we are observing only what is in our own lives—but this does not give us a larger picture of a social trend. Only by systematically observing beyond our own experiences can we see a bigger picture.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

19) Level of analysis refers to the

a. time frame of the trends that sociologists study.

b. size and scale of the objects that sociologists study.

c. depth of description that sociologists use to detail the objects they study.

d. willingness of sociologists to admit their own biases.

Feedback: Sociologists study social patterns that occur in all sizes of social relationships—from dyads to international relations.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

20) What level of analysis focuses on large-scale structural patterns and historical trends?

a. “Public issue” sociology

b. Microsociology

c. Institutional level

d. Macrosociology

Feedback: As the prefix macro- suggests, large-scale structural patterns, like changes in the economy, are studied at the level of macrosociology.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

21) What level of analysis focuses on individual and small group interactions?

a. “Public issue” sociology

b. Microsociology

c. Institutional level

d. Macrosociology

Feedback: As the prefix micro- suggests, microsociology focuses on relationships among individuals and small groups.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

22) What level of analysis examines specific institutions?

a. “Public issue” sociology

b. Microsociology

c. Institutional

d. Macrosociology

Feedback: Intermediate (also called institutional) analysis focuses on specific institutions. These are larger than small groups but smaller than structures.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

23) A sociologist is interested in studying how fathers support breastfeeding mothers. She invites heterosexual couples with a nursing baby into her office to observe their interactions. What level of analysis is she conducting?

a. “Public issue” sociological

b. Microsociological

c. Institutional level

d. Macrosociological

Feedback: Research that focuses on individuals and small groups—such as families—is microsociological.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

24) As “the Greatest Generation”—those who witnessed World War II—passes away, the US is seeing a massive transfer of wealth as their children and grandchildren inherit their money and property. Dr. Alvarez wants to study the impact of these inheritances on the larger US economy. What level of analysis is she conducting?

a. “Public issue” sociological

b. Microsociological

c. Institutional level

d. Macrosociological

Feedback: The macro level focuses on large-scale concerns, such as economic change.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

25) Dr. Kelvin is interested in how families negotiate the process of settling a will for a deceased member. He recruits 10 families, which each agree to let him observe their process of reading the will of a recently deceased loved one and interviewing them about their response to it. What level of analysis is he conducting?

Feedback: Microsociological analysis focuses on small groups, including families.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

a. “Public issue” sociological

b. Microsociological

c. Institutional level

d. Macrosociological

26) A megachurch is located in a suburban neighborhood. Because roughly 7,000 people attend services each week, traffic in the neighborhood is a nuisance to those living there. The church is seeking city permission to expand its parking lot and city financial investment to increase the number of lanes on the road leading to the church—decisions that members of the local neighborhood association fear will lead to even more traffic. The city has hired a sociologist to study the situation and offer a recommendation. What level of analysis is the sociologist conducting?

a. “Public issue” sociological

b. Microsociological

c. Institutional level

d. Macrosociological

Feedback: The two groups here are large—a suburban neighborhood association and a megachurch—so it is not a microsociological problem. It is also not a problem of structures. Instead, it is a problem of institutions.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

27) Sociologists argue that the divorce rate is a “public issue” because

a. it is shaped by factors beyond individual partners’ choices, such as the state of the economy.

b. divorce is inherently bad for people and thus creates human suffering.

c. public policy should make it harder to get a divorce.

d. divorcing couples rarely consider the impact of their divorce on the public sphere.

Feedback: Something can be both a “private trouble”—something that hurts us in our personal lives—and a “public issue,” which is when that private trouble is shaped by social factors outside of our personal lives. Divorce is a personal decision, but when we study patterns in divorce, we see that factors such as income, mental illness and health, and religion shape those patterns.

Page reference: See section “Levels of Analysis.”

28) When sociologists argue that people seek a “shared definition of the situation,” they mean

a. much of our attention and energy in social situations is spent figuring out the rules, how to follow them, and how to bend them to our advantage.

b. because the rules in most social situations are unclear, people must work together to explicitly define them.

c. we fight about what is “common courtesy,” which takes our attention away from more important social problems.

d. the rules in any given social situation are determined by those people with the least amount of social power.

Feedback: The people in any given social situation must have some common understanding of the situation in order to move through it—even though they may also try to reshape that understanding to benefit themselves.

Page reference: See subsection “Microsociology.”

29) Mauricio is an automobile mechanic. Next week, he is meeting in-person a woman he has been flirting with online. Because he does not want her to focus on his job as a mechanic, he is careful this week to wear gloves while at work, to prevent oil from staining his hands. Mauricio is engaging in what behavior?

a. Impression management

b. Level of analysis

c. Deceit

d. Confirmation bias

Feedback: We engage in impression management when we try to control how others see us by presenting ourselves to them in a way that evokes the response we want from them.

Page reference: See subsection “Microsociology.”

30) Which of the following is a tenet of macrosociological approaches to understanding the opportunities and challenges people face?

a. The opportunities and challenges we face in life are provided to us based on our own abilities.

b. The opportunities and challenges we face in life are entirely out of our control.

c. The opportunities and challenges we are given in life are shaped by our society.

d. The opportunities and challenges we are given in life are fully of our own making.

Feedback: Macrosociologists are concerned with how societies shape the opportunities and challenges of the individuals within those societies.

Page reference: See subsection “Macrosociology.”

31) Which of the following is not a topic on which macrosociologists would focus their work?

a. How economic factors such as international trade increase or decrease the chance of two nations in conflict moving to war

b. How warfare affects the mental health of individual soldiers

c. The environmental impact of bombing on the agricultural output of a nation

d. How journalistic coverage of a war shapes how members of Congress allocate funds for warfare

Feedback: Macrosociologists study structural problems and relationships—those that affect people by shaping the structures of social life.

Page reference: See subsection “Macrosociology.”

32) Institutions help stabilize a society because they

a. are unquestioned and uncontested by members of a society.

b. do not vary from society to society.

c. are unchanging over time.

d. provide rules for behavior and define relationships.

Feedback: Institutions define us in relation to each other and provide us with rules for getting along. For example, adult children are expected to show their parents respect, which our society defines as speaking politely, caring for them as they age, and, when relevant, deferring to their advice.

Page reference: See subsection “Institutional Perspectives.”

33) Sociologically, the word institutions has two definitions. Which is one of them?

a. The gestures and symbols that people exchange in building positive relationships with each other

b. The rules about how individuals should be punished for behavior that violates society’s rules

c. A society’s values about what is good and should be reproduced

d. Specific organizations with a domain that uphold the rules of how a society works

Feedback: Institutions are both the coordinated activities of many different kinds of organizations in a domain AND the specific institutions within a domain.

Page reference: See subsection “Institutional Perspectives.”

34) Which of the following is an example of an institution?

a. The family

b. Support for animal rights

c. Sadness

d. The high school drop-out rate

Feedback: The family is one of the most important institutions that sociologists study, for it provides a person’s initial knowledge of the rules of society and offers our first definition of relationships to each other.

Page reference: See subsection “Institutional Perspectives.”

35) Which of the following is an example of how an institution serves as a gatekeeper?

a. A new state law demands that all public high school students must complete an internship in a local business in order to graduate.

b. The pair of shoes that you would like to buy is too expensive for your budget, so you choose a cheaper pair.

c. You embezzle money from your company and are sentenced to jail for your crime.

d. You have engaged in a street fight that has left you bleeding from a cut in your face. You call an Uber to take you home from the fight, but the driver refuses to let you into his car because he does not want you to bleed onto the seats.

Feedback: When institutions create barriers to resources that are necessary for people to succeed in a society, that is gatekeeping. Expensive shoes are not a necessary resource. If you embezzle, you are responsible for being denied freedom. And not being given a ride home from a fight is not a denial of resources.

Page reference: See subsection “Institutional Perspectives.”

36) The feeling of belonging and connection we feel with others who we think of as “like us” is called

a. power.

b. privilege.

c. structure.

d. solidarity.

Feedback: Solidarity is our sense of unity with others who share some characteristics with us that we deem important—whether those are gender, religious identity, nationality, or something else.

Page reference: See section “Thinking Relationally: The Paired Concepts.”

37) Social relationships in which one person or group is able to influence others, either directly or indirectly, is characterized by

a. solidarity.

b. privilege.

c. structure.

d. Power.

Feedback: Power is the ability to influence others, directly or indirectly, in a social relationship.

Page reference: See section “Thinking Relationally: The Paired Concepts.”

38) The uneven distribution of social resources is termed

a. structure.

b. confirmation bias.

c. inequality.

d. privilege.

Feedback: The uneven distribution of social resources is the definition of inequality.

Page reference: See section “Thinking Relationally: The Paired Concepts.”

39) When advantages in life flow to people at the top of a social hierarchy, they are experiencing

a. conflict.

b. solidarity.

c. privilege.

d. contingency.

Feedback: Privilege is defined as the distribution of advantages in life to people who already have power.

Page reference: See section “Thinking Relationally: The Paired Concepts.”

40) Openness in social life produced by human choices and actions is termed

a. contingency.

b. solidarity.

c. power.

d. privilege.

Feedback: Openness in social life produced by human choices and actions is the definition of contingency.

Page reference: See section “Thinking Relationally: The Paired Concepts.”