SOCA 101- WVU Brewster exam 2
Questions with Detailed Rationales
2026-2027 Updated.
Organizations in which people are forced to give unquestioned obedience to authority - Answer
coercive organizations
2. These theories assume that human beings can revert to herd-like behaviors when they come
together in large crowds.
a. Rise-and-fall Theories
b. Cyclical Theories
c. Contagion Theories
d. Social Learning Theories - Answer c. contagion theories
3. What is meant by the "looking-glass self"?
a. We evaluate ourselves based on how we think we appear to others.
b. Our self-image is heavily, and often negatively, influenced by the media.
c. We shape ourselves to fit into certain reference groups.
d. We "perform" our day-to-day behavior like an actor on a stage. - Answer a. we evaluate
ourselves based on how we think we appear to others
6. This perspective sees social change as the inherent result of divergent and perhaps
irreconcilable social group interests and contradictory goals of social relationships.
a. Functionalist
b. Conflict
c. Symbolic Interactionist
d. Feminist - Answer b. conflict
15. ____ deviance is behavior that violates laws; ____ deviance is behavior that breaks
customary practices.
a. Formal; informal
b. Informal; formal
c. Primary; secondary
,d. Secondary; primary
e. Formal; secondary - Answer c. primary; secondary
16. ____ is the spontaneous and unstructured behavior of a large number of people.
a. A social movement
b. Collective behavior
c. Mass hysteria
d. Panic
e. A riot - Answer b. collective behavior
20. Abigail wants to be a nurse after she graduates from college. She has joined the Young
Nurses Club on campus and volunteers at Community Hospital after class. For Abigail, nurses are
a/n
a. primary group.
b. secondary group.
c. reference group.
d. in-group.
e. out-group. - Answer c. reference group
21. ____ groups meet our expressive (or emotional) needs; ____ groups meet our instrumental
(or task-oriented) needs.
a. In; out
b. Out; in
c. Secondary; primary
d. Primary; secondary
e. Primary; in - Answer d. primary; secondary
22. Which of the following is a characteristic of deviance?
a. Can encompass criminal and noncriminal actions
b. Only applies to teenagers and young adults
c. Is only based on legal judgments, does not include moral stances
d. Excludes things such as medical conditions, illnesses, and physical abnormalities - Answer a.
can encompass criminal and noncriminal acts
25. "Police officers cannot ticket you for driving five miles over the speed limit." This is an
example of a
, a. fad.
b. fashion.
c. gossip.
d. rumor.
e. mob. - Answer d. rumor
26. The FBI's ____ include(s) crimes which have been reported to the police.
a. Shelter Surveys
b. Uniform Crime Report
c. National Crime Victimization Surveys
d. Universal Crime Survey
e. Police Report - Answer b. uniform crime report
27. Family and close friends are examples of
a. in-groups.
b. primary groups.
c. out-groups.
d. secondary groups.
e. benchmark groups. - Answer b. primary groups
28. According to Merton, Americans are taught to strive towards the "American Dream" of
economic success. He called these aspirations
a. institutionalized goals.
b. institutionalized means.
c. cultural strain.
d. cultural means.
e. cultural goals. - Answer a. institutionalized goals
29. Which theory is best represented by the following statement? "A social movement will
succeed if it can develop an organization and leadership to advance its cause."
a. mass society theory
b. relative deprivation theory
c. resource mobilization theory
d. new social movements theory
e. convergent theory - Answer c. resource mobilization theory
Questions with Detailed Rationales
2026-2027 Updated.
Organizations in which people are forced to give unquestioned obedience to authority - Answer
coercive organizations
2. These theories assume that human beings can revert to herd-like behaviors when they come
together in large crowds.
a. Rise-and-fall Theories
b. Cyclical Theories
c. Contagion Theories
d. Social Learning Theories - Answer c. contagion theories
3. What is meant by the "looking-glass self"?
a. We evaluate ourselves based on how we think we appear to others.
b. Our self-image is heavily, and often negatively, influenced by the media.
c. We shape ourselves to fit into certain reference groups.
d. We "perform" our day-to-day behavior like an actor on a stage. - Answer a. we evaluate
ourselves based on how we think we appear to others
6. This perspective sees social change as the inherent result of divergent and perhaps
irreconcilable social group interests and contradictory goals of social relationships.
a. Functionalist
b. Conflict
c. Symbolic Interactionist
d. Feminist - Answer b. conflict
15. ____ deviance is behavior that violates laws; ____ deviance is behavior that breaks
customary practices.
a. Formal; informal
b. Informal; formal
c. Primary; secondary
,d. Secondary; primary
e. Formal; secondary - Answer c. primary; secondary
16. ____ is the spontaneous and unstructured behavior of a large number of people.
a. A social movement
b. Collective behavior
c. Mass hysteria
d. Panic
e. A riot - Answer b. collective behavior
20. Abigail wants to be a nurse after she graduates from college. She has joined the Young
Nurses Club on campus and volunteers at Community Hospital after class. For Abigail, nurses are
a/n
a. primary group.
b. secondary group.
c. reference group.
d. in-group.
e. out-group. - Answer c. reference group
21. ____ groups meet our expressive (or emotional) needs; ____ groups meet our instrumental
(or task-oriented) needs.
a. In; out
b. Out; in
c. Secondary; primary
d. Primary; secondary
e. Primary; in - Answer d. primary; secondary
22. Which of the following is a characteristic of deviance?
a. Can encompass criminal and noncriminal actions
b. Only applies to teenagers and young adults
c. Is only based on legal judgments, does not include moral stances
d. Excludes things such as medical conditions, illnesses, and physical abnormalities - Answer a.
can encompass criminal and noncriminal acts
25. "Police officers cannot ticket you for driving five miles over the speed limit." This is an
example of a
, a. fad.
b. fashion.
c. gossip.
d. rumor.
e. mob. - Answer d. rumor
26. The FBI's ____ include(s) crimes which have been reported to the police.
a. Shelter Surveys
b. Uniform Crime Report
c. National Crime Victimization Surveys
d. Universal Crime Survey
e. Police Report - Answer b. uniform crime report
27. Family and close friends are examples of
a. in-groups.
b. primary groups.
c. out-groups.
d. secondary groups.
e. benchmark groups. - Answer b. primary groups
28. According to Merton, Americans are taught to strive towards the "American Dream" of
economic success. He called these aspirations
a. institutionalized goals.
b. institutionalized means.
c. cultural strain.
d. cultural means.
e. cultural goals. - Answer a. institutionalized goals
29. Which theory is best represented by the following statement? "A social movement will
succeed if it can develop an organization and leadership to advance its cause."
a. mass society theory
b. relative deprivation theory
c. resource mobilization theory
d. new social movements theory
e. convergent theory - Answer c. resource mobilization theory
