Sociology Test 3 (180 Questions) | Family, Education, Aging & Religion

This document is a comprehensive and well-organized Test 3 exam study guide containing approximately 180 questions with correct answers, designed for university-level Sociology courses. It provides a detailed and exam-aligned overview of key sociological institutions and life-course processes, with a strong emphasis on family structures, education systems, aging, and religion. The material is presented in a concise question–answer format, making it highly effective for focused revision, concept clarification, and exam preparation. The family section explores marriage patterns and household organization, including endogamy and exogamy, nuclear and extended families, residence patterns, family systems (patriarchal, matriarchal, egalitarian), and forms of marriage such as monogamy, serial monogamy, and polygamy. Contemporary issues such as cohabitation, non-marital childbearing, single-parent households, and remarriage trends are analyzed using both micro-level and macro-level explanations. The document also provides in-depth coverage of aging and the life course, examining functionalist, conflict, feminist, and symbolic interactionist perspectives. Key concepts include retirement, activity theory, continuity theory, ageism, inequality in later life, gendered aging, and critiques of each theoretical approach. These sections highlight how social structure, resources, and identity shape the experience of aging. Education is another major focus, with thorough discussion of schooling as a social institution. The guide explains functionalist views of education’s manifest and latent functions, conflict theory perspectives on inequality, the achievement gap, double segregation, hidden curriculum, credentialism, privilege, and tracking. Feminist and symbolic interactionist approaches are also addressed, including labeling, self-fulfilling prophecy, gender differences in education, and critiques of each framework. In addition, the document examines religion in society, covering sacred versus profane, religiosity, spirituality, secularization, fundamentalism, civil religion, and types of religious organizations such as churches, denominations, sects, and new religious movements. Functionalist, conflict, feminist, and symbolic interactionist theories of religion are presented alongside critiques, allowing students to compare how different sociological perspectives explain belief systems, inequality, social cohesion, and conflict. This document is particularly relevant for: Students enrolled in introductory or intermediate Sociology courses Undergraduate students preparing for Test 3, midterms, or cumulative exams Sociology, social science, education, and human services majors Students seeking a clear, theory-based review of family, education, aging, and religion Learners needing an exam-aligned synthesis of sociological perspectives Keywords: sociology, family, marriage, cohabitation, aging, ageism, education, achievement gap, hidden curriculum, credentialism, religion, secularization, functionalism, conflict theory, feminist theory, symbolic interactionism