, Henslin, Essentials of Sociology, 11/e
Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective
1.1 True/False Questions
1) The corners of life that people occupy such as jobs, income, education, gender, age, and race are referred to as the social
imperative.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 2
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.1 Explain why both history and biography are essential for the sociological perspective.
Topic/A-head: The Sociological Perspective
2) Applying the scientific method to the social world is called empiricism.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 4
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
3) Herbert Spencer believed the most capable and intelligent members of a society would survive while the weak and "less
fit" would die, thus improving society, in a master plan that he called "survival of the fittest."
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 5
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
4) Karl Marx thought of himself as a classical sociologist, a label that greatly influenced his theories on class conflict.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 5
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
5) Emile Durkheim identified the degree of social integration as the primary variable to explain different rates of suicide
within different European nations.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 6
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
6) According to Max Weber, the "sign" Calvinists looked for as an indication they were saved was their successful
investment in capital.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 7
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
7) Frances Perkins, a sociologist, won the Nobel Prize for her work with the homeless in Hull-House.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 8, 11
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.3 Trace the development of sociology in North America and explain the tension between objective analysis and social
reform.
Topic/A-head: Sociology in North America
Copyright © 2015, 2013, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1
, Henslin, Essentials of Sociology, 11/e
8) Despite her acclaimed research on social life, until recently Harriet Martineau was best known for translating Comte's
works on sociology into English.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 8
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.3 Trace the development of sociology in North America and explain the tension between objective analysis and social
reform.
Topic/A-head: Sociology in North America
9) Booker T. Washington was the first African American to earn a doctorate degree from Harvard University.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 8
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.3 Trace the development of sociology in North America and explain the tension between objective analysis and social
reform.
Topic/A-head: Sociology in North America
10) C. Wright Mills urged American sociologists to concentrate on social reform, developing the concept of the power elite to
illustrate how top leaders of business, politics, and the military were an imminent threat to American freedom.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 11
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.3 Trace the development of sociology in North America and explain the tension between objective analysis and social
reform.
Topic/A-head: Sociology in North America
11) According to the principles of symbolic interactionism, symbols not only allow relationships to exist, they also allow
society to exist.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 13-14
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.4 Explain the basic ideas of symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.
Topic/A-head: Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
12) Sociologists who use the functionalist perspective stress how industrialization and urbanization have undermined the
traditional functions of the family.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 16
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.4 Explain the basic ideas of symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.
Topic/A-head: Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
13) Sociologist Lewis Coser pointed out that conflict is most likely to develop among people who are in close relationships.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 18
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.4 Explain the basic ideas of symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.
Topic/A-head: Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
14) Commonsense ideas are the best topics to choose for sociological research, because they represent "what everyone
knows."
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 20
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.5 Explain why common sense can’t replace sociological research.
Topic/A-head: Doing Sociological Research
15) The first step in the research model is to formulate a hypothesis.
Copyright © 2015, 2013, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 2
, Henslin, Essentials of Sociology, 11/e
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 20
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.5 Explain why common sense can’t replace sociological research.
Topic/A-head: Doing Sociological Research
16) When an instrument measures what it is intended to measure, it is considered to possess the quality of reliability.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 21
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.5 Explain why common sense can’t replace sociological research.
Topic/A-head: Doing Sociological Research
17) The individuals that are intended to represent the population to be studied are referred to as the sample.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 24
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.6 Know the main elements of the 7 research methods: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis,
analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.
Topic/A-head: Research Methods (Designs)
18) The mean is commonly the most representative measure of the average when comparing scores in a distribution.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 24
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.6 Know the main elements of the 7 research methods: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis,
analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.
Topic/A-head: Research Methods (Designs)
19) A multiple-choice exam is an example of a test structure composed of closed-ended questions.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 25
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.6 Know the main elements of the 7 research methods: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis,
analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.
Topic/A-head: Research Methods (Designs)
20) "Research bias" and "research fraud" are concepts that can be used interchangeably because they are virtually identical.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 26
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.6 Know the main elements of the 7 research methods: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis,
analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.
Topic/A-head: Research Methods (Designs)
21) In order to establish rapport with a sample while researching sensitive and personal issues, the researcher should begin by
asking emotional and personal questions so he or she can relate to the respondents.
Copyright © 2015, 2013, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3
Chapter 1 The Sociological Perspective
1.1 True/False Questions
1) The corners of life that people occupy such as jobs, income, education, gender, age, and race are referred to as the social
imperative.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 2
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.1 Explain why both history and biography are essential for the sociological perspective.
Topic/A-head: The Sociological Perspective
2) Applying the scientific method to the social world is called empiricism.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 4
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
3) Herbert Spencer believed the most capable and intelligent members of a society would survive while the weak and "less
fit" would die, thus improving society, in a master plan that he called "survival of the fittest."
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 5
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
4) Karl Marx thought of himself as a classical sociologist, a label that greatly influenced his theories on class conflict.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 5
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
5) Emile Durkheim identified the degree of social integration as the primary variable to explain different rates of suicide
within different European nations.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 6
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
6) According to Max Weber, the "sign" Calvinists looked for as an indication they were saved was their successful
investment in capital.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 7
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.2 Trace the origins of sociology, from tradition to Max Weber.
Topic/A-head: Origins of Sociology
7) Frances Perkins, a sociologist, won the Nobel Prize for her work with the homeless in Hull-House.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 8, 11
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.3 Trace the development of sociology in North America and explain the tension between objective analysis and social
reform.
Topic/A-head: Sociology in North America
Copyright © 2015, 2013, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1
, Henslin, Essentials of Sociology, 11/e
8) Despite her acclaimed research on social life, until recently Harriet Martineau was best known for translating Comte's
works on sociology into English.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 8
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.3 Trace the development of sociology in North America and explain the tension between objective analysis and social
reform.
Topic/A-head: Sociology in North America
9) Booker T. Washington was the first African American to earn a doctorate degree from Harvard University.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 8
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.3 Trace the development of sociology in North America and explain the tension between objective analysis and social
reform.
Topic/A-head: Sociology in North America
10) C. Wright Mills urged American sociologists to concentrate on social reform, developing the concept of the power elite to
illustrate how top leaders of business, politics, and the military were an imminent threat to American freedom.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 11
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.3 Trace the development of sociology in North America and explain the tension between objective analysis and social
reform.
Topic/A-head: Sociology in North America
11) According to the principles of symbolic interactionism, symbols not only allow relationships to exist, they also allow
society to exist.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 13-14
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.4 Explain the basic ideas of symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.
Topic/A-head: Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
12) Sociologists who use the functionalist perspective stress how industrialization and urbanization have undermined the
traditional functions of the family.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 16
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.4 Explain the basic ideas of symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.
Topic/A-head: Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
13) Sociologist Lewis Coser pointed out that conflict is most likely to develop among people who are in close relationships.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 18
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.4 Explain the basic ideas of symbolic interactionism, functional analysis, and conflict theory.
Topic/A-head: Theoretical Perspectives in Sociology
14) Commonsense ideas are the best topics to choose for sociological research, because they represent "what everyone
knows."
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 20
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.5 Explain why common sense can’t replace sociological research.
Topic/A-head: Doing Sociological Research
15) The first step in the research model is to formulate a hypothesis.
Copyright © 2015, 2013, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 2
, Henslin, Essentials of Sociology, 11/e
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 20
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.5 Explain why common sense can’t replace sociological research.
Topic/A-head: Doing Sociological Research
16) When an instrument measures what it is intended to measure, it is considered to possess the quality of reliability.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 21
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.5 Explain why common sense can’t replace sociological research.
Topic/A-head: Doing Sociological Research
17) The individuals that are intended to represent the population to be studied are referred to as the sample.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 24
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.6 Know the main elements of the 7 research methods: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis,
analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.
Topic/A-head: Research Methods (Designs)
18) The mean is commonly the most representative measure of the average when comparing scores in a distribution.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 24
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.6 Know the main elements of the 7 research methods: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis,
analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.
Topic/A-head: Research Methods (Designs)
19) A multiple-choice exam is an example of a test structure composed of closed-ended questions.
Answer: TRUE
Diff: 1 Page Ref: 25
Skill Level: Know the Facts
LO: 1.6 Know the main elements of the 7 research methods: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis,
analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.
Topic/A-head: Research Methods (Designs)
20) "Research bias" and "research fraud" are concepts that can be used interchangeably because they are virtually identical.
Answer: FALSE
Diff: 2 Page Ref: 26
Skill Level: Understand the Concepts
LO: 1.6 Know the main elements of the 7 research methods: surveys, participant observation, case studies, secondary analysis,
analysis of documents, experiments, and unobtrusive measures.
Topic/A-head: Research Methods (Designs)
21) In order to establish rapport with a sample while researching sensitive and personal issues, the researcher should begin by
asking emotional and personal questions so he or she can relate to the respondents.
Copyright © 2015, 2013, 2011 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 3
