Chapter 1: Discover Sociology

Test Bank

Multiple Choice

1. What is the term for the idea that human behavior is fundamentally shaped by social relations?

a. social curiosity

b. social behaviorism

c. social embeddedness

d. social structure

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Sociology and the Curious Mind

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Your sociology professor states that economic and political behavior are shaped by social relations. Which term best captures your professor’s statement?

a. social structure

b. social embeddedness

c. social curiosity

d. social behaviorism

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Sociology and the Curious Mind

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. Which sociologist developed the concept of the sociological imagination?

a. W. E. B. Du Bois

b. Karl Marx

c. C. Wright Mills

d. Max Weber

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

4. C. Wright Mills developed the concept of ______ to recognize connections between personal troubles and public issues.

a. the sociological imagination

b. double consciousness

c. social conflict

d. social structure

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Which sociological concept seeks to uncover the relationship between personal troubles and public issues?

a. social conflict

b. gender awareness

c. class consciousness

d. sociological imagination

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. The ability of individuals and groups to make social changes on a small and large scale is known as ______.

a. structure

b. agency

c. power

d. social control

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

7. Which of the following is most closely associated to the concept of free will?

a. structure

b. agency

c. critical thinking

d. sociological imagination

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Which of the following is the best example of agency?

a. a student’s socioeconomic position

b. the quality of a student’s public high school

c. a student’s race or ethnicity

d. a student’s ability to advocate for himself or herself

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Hard

9. Social patterns that impose obstacles on us or afford us opportunities are referred to as ______.

a. structure

b. institutions

c. free will

d. socialization

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Which of the following is the best example of structure?

a. President Biden voicing his concerns about climate change

b. a women’s rights activist marching in a protest

c. a transgender teenager coming out to their friends and family

d. laws against women’s entry into higher education and the paid labor force in the early 1900s

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Hard

11. Which statement describes the relationship between agency and structure?

a. It is one-sided; agency influences structure.

b. It is one-sided; structure enables or constrains agency.

c. It is reciprocal; they both have an effect on one another.

d. It is nonexistent; there is no relationship between the two.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

12. A first-generation college student from a low-income family experiences a class structure that is known as ______.

a. constraining

b. enabling

c. advantaged

d. alienating

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Hard

13. ______ is a central part of U.S. culture in which people tend to believe that each person creates his or her life’s path and largely disregards the social context in which this happens.

a. Imagination

b. Individualism

c. Collectivism

d. Racism

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

14. Which concept refers to the ability to evaluate claims about truth by using reason and evidence?

a. critical thinking

b. sociological imagination

c. deduction

d. common sense

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Easy

15. Which of the following is a characteristic of critical thinking?

a. recognizing weak arguments

b. using anecdotal evidence

c. relying on intuitive thought

d. accepting common truisms

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

16. Critical thinking rejects statements that lack support of which type of evidence?

a. sociological

b. empirical

c. anecdotal

d. circumstantial

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Easy

17. A major task of sociological inquiry is to acknowledge ______.

a. all arguments

b. opinions

c. inconvenient facts

d. falsehoods

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

18. You are conducting a study on the effectiveness of a new cancer-fighting drug. Which of the following pieces of data would be an “inconvenient fact”?

a. Study participants found the drug easy to take.

b. Study participants reported increased energy.

c. The drug proved effective in lab trials.

d. The drug had harmful side effects.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Hard

19. Critical thinking requires which of the following?

a. accepting all arguments as equally valid

b. being open-minded

c. rejecting inconvenient facts

d. understanding something is true because it is consistent with our beliefs

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

20. Evan is in the process of selecting medical coverage. Which of the following reflects the use of critical thinking?

a. He goes with the coverage he has had in the past out of convenience.

b. He takes the recommendation of a friend who is in good health.

c. He chooses the most popular coverage option.

d. He examines all options prior to making a decision.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Hard

21. Amina rides the NYC subway for the first time and her train breaks down. She tweets about the dismal state of public transportation in New York. Although her frustration is understandable, which of the following rules of critical thinking has she broken?

a. be willing to ask any question, no matter how difficult

b. be willing to admit when you are wrong or uncertain about your results

c. avoid anecdotal evidence

d. think about the assumptions and biases—including your own—that underlie all studies

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Hard

23. Aadesh is passionate about politics and plans on conducting research about a political topic. Which rule of critical thinking should he specifically keep in mind?

a. be willing to ask any question, no matter how difficult

b. back up your arguments with evidence

c. think logically, and be clear

d. think about the assumptions and biases—including your own—that underlie all studies

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Hard

22. What does being a critical consumer of information entail?

a. rejecting information posted on social media

b. paying attention to the sources of information we encounter

c. seeking out sources of information that rely on anecdotal evidence

d. avoiding sources of information that tackle controversial topics

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

23. When and where did modern sociological concepts and research methods emerge?

a. in the 19th century in Russia

b. in the early 20th century in the United States

c. in the early 18th century in China

d. in the 19th century in Europe

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Development of Sociological Thinking

Difficulty Level: Easy

26. Which of the following are considered Enlightenment ideals?

a. equality, liberty, and human rights

b. hard work, prosperity, and power

c. atheism, critical thinking, and logic

d. individualism, intelligence, and intuition

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Development of Sociological Thinking

Difficulty Level: Easy

24. Profit-driven manufacturing based in factories replaced small-scale production due to ______.

a. urbanization

b. the scientific revolution

c. the industrial revolution

d. the Enlightenment

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Birth of Sociology: Science, Progress, Industrialization, and Urbanization

Difficulty Level: Easy

25. What effect did industrialization have on cities?

a. It fostered community values in cities.

b. It improved the quality of life in cities.

c. It encouraged people to move away from cities.

d. It fostered the growth of cities.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Birth of Sociology: Science, Progress, Industrialization, and Urbanization

Difficulty Level: Medium

26. Accepted social behaviors and beliefs are commonly referred to as ______.

a. norms

b. anomie

c. social status

d. attitudes

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Urbanization: The Population Shift Toward Cities

Difficulty Level: Easy

27. What do people experience when they lose sight of the shared rules and values that give order and meaning to their lives?

a. social confusion

b. positivism

c. attitudes

d. anomie

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Urbanization: The Population Shift Toward Cities

Difficulty Level: Easy

28. Durkheim argued that industrialization would have which of the following effects?

a. It would reinforce shared culture and norms.

b. It would cause people to feel less confused and anxious.

c. It would increase anomie.

d. It would make city populations more homogenous.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Urbanization: The Population Shift Toward Cities

Difficulty Level: Medium

29. Who coined the term sociology?

a. Auguste Comte

b. Harriet Martineau

c. Émile Durkheim

d. Max Weber

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Easy

30. Which concept refers to the way society is held together?

a. social dynamics

b. social rules

c. social interactions

d. social statics

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Easy

31. What is the name for laws that govern social change?

a. social statics

b. social dynamics

c. social status

d. social facts

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Easy

32. According to Auguste Comte, what does it mean for sociology to be a positivist discipline?

a. It is based on abstract speculations.

b. It requires a sociological imagination.

c. It refutes critical thinking.

d. It is based on facts alone.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

33. Auguste Comte argued that society goes through three stages: theological, ______, and positivist.

a. patriarchal

b. industrial

c. metaphysical

d. scientific

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Easy

34. Harriet Martineau believed for a society to evolve, it must ensure social ______.

a. dynamics

b. cohesion

c. statics

d. justice

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

35. Émile Durkheim believed that social facts can only be explained by ______.

a. anomie

b. other social facts

c. social justice

d. the sociological imagination

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

36. Émile Durkheim established the first rules for conducting sociological research and examined the impact of modern society on social ______.

a. solidarity

b. justice

c. dynamics

d. rules

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

37. One of Émile Durkheim’s primary concerns was how modern society would be held together without which type of solidarity?

a. normative

b. mental

c. mechanical

d. physical

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

38. Karl Marx believed that human history should be understood as the product of which concept?

a. social cohesion

b. class conflict

c. anomie

d. revolution

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

39. Karl Marx condemned the ______’s exploitation of the working class.

a. anomie

b. proletariat

c. Verstehen

d. bourgeoisie

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

40. Karl Marx made which of the following predictions?

a. The bourgeoisie would grow considerably in size.

b. The ownership of the means of production would become less concentrated.

c. Capitalism would ultimately lead to a devaluing of technology.

d. Class inequality would ultimately disappear and be replaced by a utopia of equality.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

41. What is the name for the method that Weber used to understand the meaning of what people say and do?

a. social facts

b. rationality

c. anomie

d. Verstehen

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Easy

42. According to Max Weber, which type of systems produce bureaucracies?

a. traditional efficient

b. informal cohesive

c. formal rational

d. interpretive informal

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

43. Which of the following did Max Weber predict?

a. the irrational consequences of the bureaucratization of society

b. the humanization of modern bureaucracies

c. the customer-focused orientation of modern bureaucracies

d. the informal rationality of the bureaucratization of society

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

44. Robert Ezra Park pioneered the study of which of the following?

a. social cohesion and class conflict

b. feminism and intersectionality

c. formal rationality and bureaucracies

d. urban sociology and race relations

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significant Founding Ideas in U.S. Sociology

Difficulty Level: Easy

45. Which of the following is true of W. E. B. Du Bois?

a. He was a civil rights leader who condemned segregation and the racism of America.

b. He wrote about collective consciousness, an inescapable awareness of being an individual within a society of individuals.

c. His ideas were often considered preposterous by other sociologists at the time of his writing.

d. His ideas are presently considered outdated and have been debunked by modern sociologists.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Significant Founding Ideas in U.S. Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

46. Why did it take so long for the work of W. E. B. Du Bois to be accepted in the sociological community?

a. His ideas were considered pseudoscientific.

b. His ideas were considered too simple.

c. His ideas were considered unoriginal.

d. His ideas were considered too radical.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Significant Founding Ideas in U.S. Sociology

Difficulty Level: Medium

47. Which sociologist coined the term double consciousness?

a. Robert Ezra Park

b. W. E. B. Du Bois

c. Charlotte Perkins Gilman

d. Robert K. Merton

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significant Founding Ideas in U.S. Sociology

Difficulty Level: Easy

48. Which sociologist authored the Yellow Wallpaper (1892), a story that highlights women’s lack of autonomy in marriage?

a. Jane Addams

b. Mary Wollstonecraft

c. Charlotte Perkins Gilman

d. Harriet Martineau

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significant Founding Ideas in U.S. Sociology

Difficulty Level: Easy

49. Robert K. Merton is best known for which of the following?

a. his theory of deviance, his work on the sociology of science, and his iteration of the distinction between latent and manifest functions

b. his pioneering work on urban sociology and race relations

c. his description of the sociological imagination, the imperative in sociology to see the connection between private and public issues

d. his theories of social and economic organization

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significant Founding Ideas in U.S. Sociology

Difficulty Level: Easy

50. C. Wright Mills was primarily inspired by which of the following sociologists?

a. Robert K. Merton

b. W. E. B. Du Bois

c. Karl Marx

d. Max Weber

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Significant Founding Ideas in U.S. Sociology

Difficulty Level: Easy

51. Which sociologist pioneered the study of Chicago neighborhoods, thereby helping to create the field of community studies?

a. W. E. B. Du Bois

b. Jane Addams

c. C. Wright Mills

d. Robert K. Merton

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Women in Early Sociology

Difficulty Level: Easy

52. Which of the following best describes a sociological theory?

a. the obvious and intended functions of a phenomenon or institution

b. a logical, rigorous framework for the interpretation of social life

c. a law that governs social change

d. a quality of a group that is external to the individual, yet constrains their thinking and behavior

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: What Is Sociological Theory?

Difficulty Level: Easy

53. Which two theoretical perspectives are macrolevel paradigms?

a. social conflict theory and symbolic interactionism

b. symbolic interactionism and structural functionalism

c. social conflict theory and structural functionalism

d. social imagination theory and symbolic interactionism

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Sociological Theory?

Difficulty Level: Medium

54. What is the key question posed by the functionalist perspective?

a. What are the functions of an institution or phenomenon that are not recognized or expected?

b. Who benefits from the way social institutions and relationships are structured? Who loses?

c. What purpose does a particular institution, phenomenon, or social group serve for the maintenance of society?

d. How do people acquire a sense of who they are through interaction with others?

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Sociological Theory?

Difficulty Level: Medium

55. Talcott Parsons argued that men were socialized into instrumental roles to be rational workers, whereas women were socialized into expressive roles to be emotional and sensitive caretakers. Which perspective does this statement reflect?

a. symbolic interactionism

b. the social conflict paradigm

c. structural functionalism

d. sociological imagination

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Functionalist Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Medium

56. Which of the following is a critique of structural functionalism?

a. It emphasizes conflict and competition.

b. It seeks to explain the functions of various social structures.

c. It recognizes manifest functions as well as latent functions.

d. It justifies inequality in society.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Functionalist Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Medium

57. Which of the following is a latent function of war?

a. to vanquish an enemy

b. to defend territory

c. to increase profits of military contractors

d. to expand territory

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Functionalist Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Hard

58. How would Merton most likely view the rise in popularity of a mayor after a natural disaster that injured hundreds?

a. as a manifest function based on his duty to care for the residents

b. as a manifest function based on his hard work and care for the injured

c. as a latent function based on his intention of keeping everyone safe

d. as a latent function based on his hard work to keep everyone safe

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Functionalist Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Hard

59. Elementary schools serve as childcare institutions, thereby allowing parents to participate in the workforce. Which perspective does this statement reflect?

a. symbolic interactionism

b. social conflict theory

c. structural functionalism

d. feminism

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Functionalist Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Hard

60. Which statement best captures how Marx viewed power?

a. The wealthy act to maintain power.

b. The working class has the highest population and most power.

c. The proletariat holds most power and wealth through inheritance.

d. The bourgeoisie and proletariat have the same amount of power.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Social Conflict Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Medium

61. Which of the following depicts a characteristic of class conflict?

a. conflict among workers for more overtime

b. companies competing with each other over profit

c. capitalists preventing workers from becoming wealthy

d. the proletariat maintaining their current wealth and power

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Social Conflict Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Hard

62. How would a conflict theorist explain the marginalization of female and Black sociologists?

a. as a lack of education and scientific knowledge

b. as an historical legacy of discrimination based on gender and race

c. as an economic need for women to remain in the home

d. as a failure of women to seek positions of power

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Social Conflict Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Hard

63. Conservative politicians oppose gun control reform because they receive contributions from wealthy progun lobbyists. Which perspective does this statement reflect?

a. symbolic interactionism

b. social conflict paradigm

c. structural functionalism

d. sociological imagination

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Social Conflict Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Hard

64. Which of the following is a characteristic of symbolic interactionism?

a. It is a macrolevel paradigm that focuses on power.

b. Many of the ideas originated with Auguste Comte.

c. Structural context is considered more important than microlevel processes.

d. People understand themselves through their interaction with others.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interactionism

Difficulty Level: Medium

65. Which perspective focuses on the labels and meanings we place on things such as the wink of an eye?

a. feminism

b. social conflict paradigm

c. structural functionalism

d. symbolic interactionism

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Symbolic Interactionism

Difficulty Level: Medium

66. Which of the following is characterized as an ability to succeed with plans in spite of resistance by others?

a. power

b. anomie

c. inequality

d. social facts

Learning Objective: 1.5: Identify the three main themes of this book.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Power and Inequality

Difficulty Level: Easy

67. According to the concept of intersectionality, which of the following people would experience oppression in both gender and racial realms?

a. white man

b. white woman

c. Black man

d. Black woman

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

68. How has globalization impacted social diversity?

a. Greater contact leads to greater diversity.

b. Competition for trade has led to ethnocentrism.

c. Differences become more pronounced as nationalism increases.

d. Groups become more polarized.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Identify the three main themes of this book.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization and Diversity

Difficulty Level: Medium

True/False

1. The sociological imagination helps us examine history and biography together.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

2. Agency can transform structure.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Easy

3. The choices we make as individuals have no effect on larger economic, political, and cultural structures.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. For critical thinking, it is important to avoid sensitive subjects and debates.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Critical thinkers examine common knowledge rather than accepting it as fact.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Easy

6. Karl Marx believed that capitalism would disappear and be replaced by an egalitarian society.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Gilman and Weber were sociologists who coined the term double consciousness.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Easy

8. Latent functions and manifest functions yield the same outcomes in institutions.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: The Functionalist Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Easy

9. Symbolic interactionism is a microlevel paradigm.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Symbolic Interactionism

Difficulty Level: Easy

10. Ethnocentrism is a world view that regards different societies as equal.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Identify the three main themes of this book.

Cognitive Domain: Knowledge

Answer Location: Globalization and Diversity

Difficulty Level: Easy

Short Answer

1. Explain the concept of the sociological imagination. How does the private trouble of a college student who fails to secure a paid internship relate to public issues?

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Hard

2. Discuss the bootstrap mentality and why it is a misnomer in the United States.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

3. One of the rules of critical thinking is to think about the assumptions and biases that may underlie a study. Imagine that you were raised in a household with two parents and are conducting a study that examines the merits of the traditional nuclear family. Identify how your own assumptions and biases might come into play.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

4. Discuss why anecdotal evidence should be avoided when using critical thinking skills.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. How is the work of sociologist W.E.B. Dubois relevant in the contemporary Black Lives Matter movement?

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Hard

6. Identify and define Comte’s three stages of society.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

7. Discuss the views of Harriet Martineau on women’s experience in marriage and enslaved Black people in the United States.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Explain the difference between mechanical and organic solidarity.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Medium

9. In what way is functionalism considered conservative?

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: The Functionalist Perspective

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Define power and inequality. Explain the relationship between the two.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Identify the three main themes of this book.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Power and Inequality

Difficulty Level: Medium

Essay

1. Define agency and structure as sociological concepts and explain the differences between them. Describe the relationship between agency and structure.

Learning Objective: 1.1: Describe the sociological imagination.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Sociological Imagination

Difficulty Level: Medium

2. Imagine that you know that a fellow student, who is passionate about pets, intends to conduct a sociological study about the pros and cons of pet ownership. Suppose your fellow student doesn’t apply the following critical thinking rules: the assumptions and biases rule, and the anecdotal evidence rule. Describe what would happen with your fellow student’s study and why these rules are important.

Learning Objective: 1.2: Understand the significance of critical thinking in the study of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Critical Thinking

Difficulty Level: Hard

3. Define the term bureaucracy and explain why fast-food restaurants such as McDonald’s and Burger King can be considered bureaucracies.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Nineteenth-Century Founders

Difficulty Level: Hard

4. Discuss how the Enlightenment, the industrial revolution, and urbanization each played a role in the development of sociological thinking.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: The Development of Sociological Thinking

Difficulty Level: Medium

5. Assess the relationship between urbanization and capitalism. Include a brief discussion of Marx’s ideas about capitalism.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Urbanization: The Population Shift Toward Cities

Difficulty Level: Medium

6. Define the terms anomie and norms and explain the relationship between the two concepts. Discuss how the coronavirus pandemic and its restrictions may lead to anomie.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: Urbanization: The Population Shift Toward Cities

Difficulty Level: Hard

7. Explain the difference between a macrolevel paradigm and a microlevel paradigm and provide an example of each.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: What Is Sociological Theory?

Difficulty Level: Medium

8. Discuss the historical marginalization of women sociologists and sociologists of color—in particular, African Americans—in the field of sociology. Discuss how a conflict theorist might explain this marginalization.

Learning Objective: 1.3: Trace the historical development of sociological thought.

Cognitive Domain: Application

Answer Location: The Social Conflict Paradigm

Difficulty Level: Hard

9. Explain Max Weber’s concept ‘Verstehen’. Explain how this concept contributed to one of the theoretical paradigms with sociology.

Learning Objective: 1.4: Identify key theoretical paradigms in the discipline of sociology.

Cognitive Domain: Analysis

Answer Location: Symbolic Interactionism

Difficulty Level: Medium

10. Define globalization. Describe three elements of globalization.

Learning Objective: 1.5: Identify the three main themes of this book.

Cognitive Domain: Comprehension

Answer Location: Globalization and Diversity

Difficulty Level: Medium