Sociology Final Exam
Which of the following best describes sociology as a subject?
a. The study of individual behavior
b. The study of cultures
c. The study of society and social interaction
d. The study of economics - answersc. The study of society and social interaction
C. Wright Mills once said that sociologists need to develop a sociological __________
to study how society affects individuals.
a. culture
b. imagination
c. method
d. tool - answersb. imagination
A sociologist defines society as a group of people who reside in a defined area, share a
culture, and who:
a. interact
b. work in the same industry
c. speak different languages
d. practice a recognized religion - answersa. interact
Seeing patterns means that a sociologist needs to be able to:
a. compare the behavior of individuals from different societies
b. compare one society to another
c. identify similarities in how social groups respond to social pressure
d. compare individuals to groups - answersc. identify similarities in how social groups
respond to social pressure
Which of the following was a topic of study in early sociology?
a. Astrology
b. Economics
c. Physics
d. History - answersb. Economics
Which founder of sociology believed societies changed due to class struggle?
a. Emile Comte
b. Karl Marx
c. Plato
d. Herbert Spencer - answersb. Karl Marx
,The difference between positivism and antipositivism relates to:
a. whether individuals like or dislike their society
b. whether research methods use statistical data or person-to-person research
c. whether sociological studies can predict or improve society
d. all of the above - answersc. whether sociological studies can predict or improve
society
Which would a quantitative sociologists use to gather data?
a. A large survey
b. A literature search
c. An in-depth interview
d. A review of television programs - answersa. A large survey
Weber believed humans could not be studied purely objectively because they were
influenced by:
a. drugs
b. their culture
c. their genetic makeup
d. the researcher - answersb. their culture
Which of these theories is most likely to look at the social world on a micro level?
a. Structural functionalism
b. Conflict theory
c. Positivism
d. Symbolic interactionism - answersd. Symbolic interactionism
Who believed that the history of society was one of class struggle?
a. Emile Durkheim
b. Karl Marx
c. Erving Goffmann
d. George Herbert Mead - answersb. Karl Marx
Who coined the phrase symbolic interactionism?
a. Herbert Blumer
b. Max Weber
c. Lester F. Ward
d. W. I. Thomas - answersa. Herbert Blumer
A symbolic interactionist may compare social interactions to:
a. behaviors
b. conflicts
c. human organs
d. theatrical roles - answersd. theatrical roles
Which research technique would most likely be used by a symbolic interactionist?
a. Surveys
,b. Participant observation
c. Quantitative data analysis
d. None of the above - answersb. Participant observation
Kenneth and Mamie Clark used sociological research to show that segregation was:
a. beneficial
b. harmful
c. illegal
d. of no importance - answersb. harmful
Studying sociology helps people analyze data because they learn:
a. interview techniques
b. to apply statistics
c. to generate theories
d. all of the above - answersd. all of the above
Berger describes sociologists as concerned with:
a. monumental moments in people's lives
b. common everyday life events
c. both a and b
d. none of the above - answersc. both a and b
A measurement is considered ______ if it actually measures what it is intended to
measure, according to the topic of the study.
a. reliable
b. sociological
c. valid
d. quantitative - answersc. valid
Sociological studies test relationships in which change in one ______ causes change in
another.
a. test subject
b. behavior
c. variable
d. operational definition - answersc. variable
In a study, a group of 10-year-old boys are fed doughnuts every morning for a week and
then weighed to see how much weight they gained. Which factor is the dependent
variable?
a. The doughnuts
b. The boys
c. The duration of a week
d. The weight gained - answersd. The weight gained
Which statement provides the best operational definition of "childhood obesity"?
, a. Children who eat unhealthy foods and spend too much time watching television and
playing video games
b. A distressing trend that can lead to health issues including type 2 diabetes and heart
disease
c. Body weight at least 20% higher than a healthy weight for a child of that height
d. The tendency of children today to weigh more than children of earlier generations -
answersc. Body weight at least 20% higher than a healthy weight for a child of that
height
Which materials are considered secondary data?
a. Photos and letters given to you by another person
b. Books and articles written by other authors about their studies
c. Information that you have gathered and now have included in your results
d. Responses from participants whom you both surveyed and interviewed - answersb.
Books and articles written by other authors about their studies
What method did researchers John Mihelich and John Papineau use to study
Parrotheads?
a. Survey
b. Experiment
c. Web Ethnography
d. Case study - answersc. Web Ethnography
Why is choosing a random sample an effective way to select participants?
a. Participants do not know they are part of a study
b. The researcher has no control over who is in the study
c. It is larger than an ordinary sample
d. Everyone has the same chance of being part of the study - answersd. Everyone has
the same chance of being part of the study
What research method did John S. Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd mainly use in their
Middletown study?
a. Secondary data
b. Survey
c. Participant observation
d. Experiment - answersc. Participant observation
Which research approach is best suited to the scientific method?
a. Questionnaire
b. Case study
c. Ethnography
d. Secondary data analysis - answersa. Questionnaire
The main difference between ethnography and other types of participant observation is:
a. ethnography isn't based on hypothesis testing
b. ethnography subjects are unaware they're being studied
Which of the following best describes sociology as a subject?
a. The study of individual behavior
b. The study of cultures
c. The study of society and social interaction
d. The study of economics - answersc. The study of society and social interaction
C. Wright Mills once said that sociologists need to develop a sociological __________
to study how society affects individuals.
a. culture
b. imagination
c. method
d. tool - answersb. imagination
A sociologist defines society as a group of people who reside in a defined area, share a
culture, and who:
a. interact
b. work in the same industry
c. speak different languages
d. practice a recognized religion - answersa. interact
Seeing patterns means that a sociologist needs to be able to:
a. compare the behavior of individuals from different societies
b. compare one society to another
c. identify similarities in how social groups respond to social pressure
d. compare individuals to groups - answersc. identify similarities in how social groups
respond to social pressure
Which of the following was a topic of study in early sociology?
a. Astrology
b. Economics
c. Physics
d. History - answersb. Economics
Which founder of sociology believed societies changed due to class struggle?
a. Emile Comte
b. Karl Marx
c. Plato
d. Herbert Spencer - answersb. Karl Marx
,The difference between positivism and antipositivism relates to:
a. whether individuals like or dislike their society
b. whether research methods use statistical data or person-to-person research
c. whether sociological studies can predict or improve society
d. all of the above - answersc. whether sociological studies can predict or improve
society
Which would a quantitative sociologists use to gather data?
a. A large survey
b. A literature search
c. An in-depth interview
d. A review of television programs - answersa. A large survey
Weber believed humans could not be studied purely objectively because they were
influenced by:
a. drugs
b. their culture
c. their genetic makeup
d. the researcher - answersb. their culture
Which of these theories is most likely to look at the social world on a micro level?
a. Structural functionalism
b. Conflict theory
c. Positivism
d. Symbolic interactionism - answersd. Symbolic interactionism
Who believed that the history of society was one of class struggle?
a. Emile Durkheim
b. Karl Marx
c. Erving Goffmann
d. George Herbert Mead - answersb. Karl Marx
Who coined the phrase symbolic interactionism?
a. Herbert Blumer
b. Max Weber
c. Lester F. Ward
d. W. I. Thomas - answersa. Herbert Blumer
A symbolic interactionist may compare social interactions to:
a. behaviors
b. conflicts
c. human organs
d. theatrical roles - answersd. theatrical roles
Which research technique would most likely be used by a symbolic interactionist?
a. Surveys
,b. Participant observation
c. Quantitative data analysis
d. None of the above - answersb. Participant observation
Kenneth and Mamie Clark used sociological research to show that segregation was:
a. beneficial
b. harmful
c. illegal
d. of no importance - answersb. harmful
Studying sociology helps people analyze data because they learn:
a. interview techniques
b. to apply statistics
c. to generate theories
d. all of the above - answersd. all of the above
Berger describes sociologists as concerned with:
a. monumental moments in people's lives
b. common everyday life events
c. both a and b
d. none of the above - answersc. both a and b
A measurement is considered ______ if it actually measures what it is intended to
measure, according to the topic of the study.
a. reliable
b. sociological
c. valid
d. quantitative - answersc. valid
Sociological studies test relationships in which change in one ______ causes change in
another.
a. test subject
b. behavior
c. variable
d. operational definition - answersc. variable
In a study, a group of 10-year-old boys are fed doughnuts every morning for a week and
then weighed to see how much weight they gained. Which factor is the dependent
variable?
a. The doughnuts
b. The boys
c. The duration of a week
d. The weight gained - answersd. The weight gained
Which statement provides the best operational definition of "childhood obesity"?
, a. Children who eat unhealthy foods and spend too much time watching television and
playing video games
b. A distressing trend that can lead to health issues including type 2 diabetes and heart
disease
c. Body weight at least 20% higher than a healthy weight for a child of that height
d. The tendency of children today to weigh more than children of earlier generations -
answersc. Body weight at least 20% higher than a healthy weight for a child of that
height
Which materials are considered secondary data?
a. Photos and letters given to you by another person
b. Books and articles written by other authors about their studies
c. Information that you have gathered and now have included in your results
d. Responses from participants whom you both surveyed and interviewed - answersb.
Books and articles written by other authors about their studies
What method did researchers John Mihelich and John Papineau use to study
Parrotheads?
a. Survey
b. Experiment
c. Web Ethnography
d. Case study - answersc. Web Ethnography
Why is choosing a random sample an effective way to select participants?
a. Participants do not know they are part of a study
b. The researcher has no control over who is in the study
c. It is larger than an ordinary sample
d. Everyone has the same chance of being part of the study - answersd. Everyone has
the same chance of being part of the study
What research method did John S. Lynd and Helen Merrell Lynd mainly use in their
Middletown study?
a. Secondary data
b. Survey
c. Participant observation
d. Experiment - answersc. Participant observation
Which research approach is best suited to the scientific method?
a. Questionnaire
b. Case study
c. Ethnography
d. Secondary data analysis - answersa. Questionnaire
The main difference between ethnography and other types of participant observation is:
a. ethnography isn't based on hypothesis testing
b. ethnography subjects are unaware they're being studied
