TEST BANK Classical and Contemporary Sociological Theory
4th Edition
Chapter 1: Introduction
Multiple Choice
1. Theory helps us make sense of social life by ______.
A. connecting assorted observations and facts
B. creating a universal explanation for human behavior
C. eliminating assumptions we make about the world
D. being objective and value-free
Ans: A
2. According to the authors, facts make sense because ______.
A. they are scientifically proven
B. they are based upon shared interpretations
C. they are universally accepted
D. they are in the rational–collective quadrant
Ans: B
3. According to the authors, why is it important to read original sociological writings?
A. Early sociologists wrote for a public audience and are easier to understand.
B. Students will better understand why early theorists’ ideas have been disproven.
C. Students need to grapple with theorists’ complex ideas.
D. Learning theory should be difficult and challenging.
Ans: C
4. Which of the following is true of scientific theories?
A. They cannot be applied to social life.
B. They rarely explain phenomena accurately.
C. They allow researchers to generate testable hypotheses.
D. They contain only dependent variables.
Ans: C
5. Compared to theories in the natural sciences, sociological theory is more likely to be
concerned with ______.
A. creating a more equal world
B. developing a universal theory of action
C. being unbiased
A. stating precise propositions
Ans: A
6. Much of the thinking that would later shape the development of sociology began
during ______.
,A. the Industrial Revolution
B. the French Revolution
C. the Enlightenment
D. the Fall of Rome
Ans: C
7. The Catholic Church found many scientific ideas to ______.
A. support the existence of God
B. be true
C. reflect a literal understanding of the Bible
D. be heretical
Ans: D
8. Which of the following characterizes the Enlightenment era?
A. education
B. industry
C. reason
D. religion
Ans: C
9. Who coined the term “sociology?”
A. Émile Durkheim
B. Karl Marx
C. Max Weber
D. Auguste Comte
Ans: D
10. Whose writing was most directly informed by the economic consequences of the
Industrial Revolution?
A. Émile Durkheim
B. Karl Marx
C. Max Weber
D. Auguste Comte
Ans: B
11. What social change was a primary contributor to the rise of capitalism?
A. the Enlightenment Era
B. the American Revolution
C. the Age of Reason
D. the Industrial Revolution
Ans: D
12. Which of the following individuals is a prominent counter-Enlightenment thinker?
A. Copernicus
B. Hobbes
C. Rousseau
,D. Galileo
Ans: C
13. What are the two major questions with which theorists continuously grapple?
A. solidarity and isolation
B. order and action
C. power and submission
D. cognition and emotion
Ans: B
14. Which concept refers to the patterned nature of social life?
A. action
B. order
C. nonrational
D. rational
Ans: B
15. A(n) ______ perspective argues that society shapes the behaviors of everyday
people.
A. individualist
B. nonrational
C. collectivist
D. rational
Ans: C
16. Which of the following would be located in the “nonrational” pole of the authors’
metatheoretical framework?
A. macro-level forces
B. subjective ideals and emotions
C. analysis of costs and benefits
D. patterns of everyday interactions
Ans: B
17. Someone who relies on external forces over internal factors would best be
characterized as ______.
A. individualist
B. rational
C. collectivist
D. nonrational
Ans: B
18. According to the authors’ metatheoretical framework, acting based on norms and
values would be categorized as ______.
A. rational
B. collective
C. nonrational
, D. individual
Ans: C
19. According to the authors’ metatheoretical framework, using everyday behaviors to
disrupt patterns of life would be categorized as ______.
A. rational
B. collective
C. nonrational
D. individual
Ans: D
20. According to Kant, what shapes moral obligations and gives rise to moral behavior?
A. religion
B. reason
C. the social contract
D. secularization
Ans: B
21. Which of the following is true of the authors’ metatheoretical framework?
A. It mirrors reality.
B. It helps compare and contrast theorists.
C. Theorists are defined by one quadrant only.
D. Theorists use it to inform their thinking.
Ans: B
22. What quadrant would someone be in if they said they stop at red lights out of habit
and because one should follow the law?
A. collective–nonrational
B. individual–rational
C. collective–rational
D. individual–nonrational
Ans: A
23. If someone uses opioids because they are experiencing emotional distress, they are
in which quadrant?
A. collective–nonrational
B. individual–rational
C. collective–rational
D. individual–nonrational
Ans: D
24. What is at the heart of Hobbes’s “social contract?”
A. People give up their liberty for increased security.
B. People challenge the government to maintain their liberty.
C. People give up their wants to help others.
D. People are inherently good, so they do not need government.
4th Edition
Chapter 1: Introduction
Multiple Choice
1. Theory helps us make sense of social life by ______.
A. connecting assorted observations and facts
B. creating a universal explanation for human behavior
C. eliminating assumptions we make about the world
D. being objective and value-free
Ans: A
2. According to the authors, facts make sense because ______.
A. they are scientifically proven
B. they are based upon shared interpretations
C. they are universally accepted
D. they are in the rational–collective quadrant
Ans: B
3. According to the authors, why is it important to read original sociological writings?
A. Early sociologists wrote for a public audience and are easier to understand.
B. Students will better understand why early theorists’ ideas have been disproven.
C. Students need to grapple with theorists’ complex ideas.
D. Learning theory should be difficult and challenging.
Ans: C
4. Which of the following is true of scientific theories?
A. They cannot be applied to social life.
B. They rarely explain phenomena accurately.
C. They allow researchers to generate testable hypotheses.
D. They contain only dependent variables.
Ans: C
5. Compared to theories in the natural sciences, sociological theory is more likely to be
concerned with ______.
A. creating a more equal world
B. developing a universal theory of action
C. being unbiased
A. stating precise propositions
Ans: A
6. Much of the thinking that would later shape the development of sociology began
during ______.
,A. the Industrial Revolution
B. the French Revolution
C. the Enlightenment
D. the Fall of Rome
Ans: C
7. The Catholic Church found many scientific ideas to ______.
A. support the existence of God
B. be true
C. reflect a literal understanding of the Bible
D. be heretical
Ans: D
8. Which of the following characterizes the Enlightenment era?
A. education
B. industry
C. reason
D. religion
Ans: C
9. Who coined the term “sociology?”
A. Émile Durkheim
B. Karl Marx
C. Max Weber
D. Auguste Comte
Ans: D
10. Whose writing was most directly informed by the economic consequences of the
Industrial Revolution?
A. Émile Durkheim
B. Karl Marx
C. Max Weber
D. Auguste Comte
Ans: B
11. What social change was a primary contributor to the rise of capitalism?
A. the Enlightenment Era
B. the American Revolution
C. the Age of Reason
D. the Industrial Revolution
Ans: D
12. Which of the following individuals is a prominent counter-Enlightenment thinker?
A. Copernicus
B. Hobbes
C. Rousseau
,D. Galileo
Ans: C
13. What are the two major questions with which theorists continuously grapple?
A. solidarity and isolation
B. order and action
C. power and submission
D. cognition and emotion
Ans: B
14. Which concept refers to the patterned nature of social life?
A. action
B. order
C. nonrational
D. rational
Ans: B
15. A(n) ______ perspective argues that society shapes the behaviors of everyday
people.
A. individualist
B. nonrational
C. collectivist
D. rational
Ans: C
16. Which of the following would be located in the “nonrational” pole of the authors’
metatheoretical framework?
A. macro-level forces
B. subjective ideals and emotions
C. analysis of costs and benefits
D. patterns of everyday interactions
Ans: B
17. Someone who relies on external forces over internal factors would best be
characterized as ______.
A. individualist
B. rational
C. collectivist
D. nonrational
Ans: B
18. According to the authors’ metatheoretical framework, acting based on norms and
values would be categorized as ______.
A. rational
B. collective
C. nonrational
, D. individual
Ans: C
19. According to the authors’ metatheoretical framework, using everyday behaviors to
disrupt patterns of life would be categorized as ______.
A. rational
B. collective
C. nonrational
D. individual
Ans: D
20. According to Kant, what shapes moral obligations and gives rise to moral behavior?
A. religion
B. reason
C. the social contract
D. secularization
Ans: B
21. Which of the following is true of the authors’ metatheoretical framework?
A. It mirrors reality.
B. It helps compare and contrast theorists.
C. Theorists are defined by one quadrant only.
D. Theorists use it to inform their thinking.
Ans: B
22. What quadrant would someone be in if they said they stop at red lights out of habit
and because one should follow the law?
A. collective–nonrational
B. individual–rational
C. collective–rational
D. individual–nonrational
Ans: A
23. If someone uses opioids because they are experiencing emotional distress, they are
in which quadrant?
A. collective–nonrational
B. individual–rational
C. collective–rational
D. individual–nonrational
Ans: D
24. What is at the heart of Hobbes’s “social contract?”
A. People give up their liberty for increased security.
B. People challenge the government to maintain their liberty.
C. People give up their wants to help others.
D. People are inherently good, so they do not need government.
