Ch01
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. From a sociological perspective, what we think, how we feel, and what we say and do are shaped by our
social interactions.
True False
2. Since sociological research is scientific in nature, it is seldom applied to the practical matters of everyday
life.
True False
3. The collection of census and national statistical data used to determine federal and state policies on
health, education, and housing is collected primarily through telemarketing private businesses.
True False
4. Recent data show that more than 18 percent of America's children live in poverty.
True False
5. Most African Americans are not poor with more than 75 percent of African Americans living above the
poverty line.
True False
6. Elliot Liebow's classic study of low-income urban black men offers a fine example of how sociological
research is limited to gathering only superficial understandings of social problems like poverty.
True False
7. Elliot Liebow's study of streetcorner men demonstrated how sociological research can help us to see
beyond the stereotyped images of African American men.
True False
8. The sociological imagination was a concept developed by C. Wright Mills that helps us to understand
how the creativity of the average American can help us to overcome social obstacles.
True False
9. The sociological imagination allows us to realize the connection between our personal problems and the
public issues of our time.
True False
10. Microsociology involves the detailed study of what people say, do, and think moment-by-moment in their
everyday lives.
True False
11. Macrosociology focuses on the up-close and personal events of human beings in their private worlds.
True False
12. C. Wright Mills is credited as the founder of sociology.
True False
13. English sociologist Harriet Martineau was an ardent defender of women's rights who supported the idea
of making the study of society a scientific enterprise.
True False
14. Herbert Spencer was an English sociologist who argues that society was like a human organism because
it was made up of many interrelated parts.
True False
,15. John D. Rockefeller emphasized the role of class conflict in the formation of history.
True False
16. Marx's perspective is called dialectical materialism.
True False
17. Emile Durkheim was a French psychologist who promoted the idea that suicide was brought on by the
mental illness of the individuals committing the act.
True False
18. Sociologist Max Weber used verstehen to identify the significance of understanding the subjective
meanings people attach to their behavior.
True False
19. Ideal type is a concept that portrays the most valuable characteristics of phenomena, such as
bureaucracies and capitalism.
True False
20. One of the most important contributions of sociologist Max Weber is his insistence on maintaining
a "value-free" approach to the discipline.
True False
21. While early American sociology was often optimistic and rooted in a belief in progress, the work of
W.E.B. Du Bois helped to promote the need for radical changes in society, particularly the need to
eliminate racial inequality.
True False
22. The founders of Hull House in Chicago, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr, are credited with
assisting the urban poor in that city and developing case studies and demographic mapping as research
procedures.
True False
23. During the early twentieth century, Chicago sociologists trained an estimated half of the sociologists in
the world.
True False
24. Three influential frameworks – critical theory, feminism, and socialism – stand out in contemporary
sociology.
True False
25. The more recent developments in feminist theory grew out of an awareness that the social experience of
gender is not universal.
True False
26. Postmoderism is a sociological framework based on an inherent trust in science and objectivity as
potential solutions to social problems.
True False
27. Manifest functions are those consequences that are neither intended nor recognized.
True False
28. Power is the ability to control the behavior of others, even it is against their will.
True False
29. Symbolic interactionists say we experience the world as an objective reality.
True False
30. A primary goal of sociology is to understand what causes such social phenomena as racism and
crime.
True False
,31. An independent variable is a variable that is affected.
True False
32. Individual behaviors and environmental factors cause approximately 70 percent of the premature deaths
in the United States.
True False
33. Researchers frequently introduce a change into the control group.
True False
34. A stratified random sample provides less precision than a pure random sample.
True False
35. The first step in the scientific method is determining a research design.
True False
36. The scientific study of social interactions and of social organization is called
A. psychology.
B. sociology.
C. sociometry.
D. socialism.
37. The ways we think, feel, and act are
A. shaped by our interaction with others.
B. largely determined by our genes.
C. mainly a result of our unique individuality, rather than of society.
D. largely determined by our genes and mainly a result of our unique individuality, rather than of society
are correct.
38. A 2002 study showed _________ was a major contributor to death and disease around the world?
A. smoking
B. practicing unsafe sex
C. eating improperly
D. All of the choices are correct.
39. The "sociological perspective" points out that
A. we have absolutely no control over our individual behavior.
B. there is scientific agreement that the subconscious is the principal source of behavioral motivation.
C. as we look beyond outer appearances at what lies beneath, we encounter new levels of social reality.
D. written rules and regulations are the unquestionable roots of behavior.
40. Elliot Liebow's study of streetcorner men in Washington, D.C., found that
A. the conventional stereotypes of such people were accurate.
B. their lifestyles were surprisingly middle class.
C. these men believed that success was inevitable.
D. many of our stereotyped images of people are wrong or inaccurate.
41. A majority of Liebow's "streetcorner men" were
A. drug addicts and AIDS carriers.
B. unemployed.
C. employed.
D. white derelicts.
42. The "sociological imagination" allows us to explore the relationship between personal problems and
A. social and historical events.
B. the global climate.
C. genetic heritage.
D. the psyche.
, 43. C. Wright Mills noted that
A. one's personal troubles and public issues are intertwined.
B we cannot simply look to the "personal character" of individuals to explain changes in their lives, such
. as employment circumstances.
C. the social forces of life play a large role in determining our life experience.
D. All of the choices are correct.
44. When sociologists investigate the "big picture" of social groups and societies, they are said to be
engaging in
A. microsociology.
B. macrosociology.
C. ethnomethodology.
D. nonscientific research.
45. Microsociology is the study of
A. the family in America.
B. large-scale, long-term social processes.
C. up-close and personal studies of people in real-life settings.
D. cultures and societies.
46. _________________ is commonly credited with being the founder of sociology.
A. Max Weber
B. Emile Durkheim
C. Harriet Martineau
D. Auguste Comte
47. __________ involves aspects of social life that have to do with order, stability, and social organization
that allow societies and groups to hold together and endure.
A. Social dynamics
B. Organic solidarity
C. Social statics
D. Mechanical solidarity
48. __________ refers to processes of social life that pattern institutional development and have to do with
social change.
A. Social dynamics
B. Social statics
C. Organic solidarity
D. Mechanical solidarity
49. The origins of sociology are linked to
A. the French Revolution.
B. the Industrial Revolution.
C. Neither of the choices are correct.
D. the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution are correct.
50. Auguste Comte and Harriet Martineau both presented sociology as a
A. component of the liberal arts.
B. science.
C. religion.
D. philosophy of humanism.
51. Herbert Spencer viewed society as a system, having important similarities with
A. a biological organism.
B. a finely tuned automobile.
C. a modern factory.
D. a jigsaw puzzle.
Student: ___________________________________________________________________________
1. From a sociological perspective, what we think, how we feel, and what we say and do are shaped by our
social interactions.
True False
2. Since sociological research is scientific in nature, it is seldom applied to the practical matters of everyday
life.
True False
3. The collection of census and national statistical data used to determine federal and state policies on
health, education, and housing is collected primarily through telemarketing private businesses.
True False
4. Recent data show that more than 18 percent of America's children live in poverty.
True False
5. Most African Americans are not poor with more than 75 percent of African Americans living above the
poverty line.
True False
6. Elliot Liebow's classic study of low-income urban black men offers a fine example of how sociological
research is limited to gathering only superficial understandings of social problems like poverty.
True False
7. Elliot Liebow's study of streetcorner men demonstrated how sociological research can help us to see
beyond the stereotyped images of African American men.
True False
8. The sociological imagination was a concept developed by C. Wright Mills that helps us to understand
how the creativity of the average American can help us to overcome social obstacles.
True False
9. The sociological imagination allows us to realize the connection between our personal problems and the
public issues of our time.
True False
10. Microsociology involves the detailed study of what people say, do, and think moment-by-moment in their
everyday lives.
True False
11. Macrosociology focuses on the up-close and personal events of human beings in their private worlds.
True False
12. C. Wright Mills is credited as the founder of sociology.
True False
13. English sociologist Harriet Martineau was an ardent defender of women's rights who supported the idea
of making the study of society a scientific enterprise.
True False
14. Herbert Spencer was an English sociologist who argues that society was like a human organism because
it was made up of many interrelated parts.
True False
,15. John D. Rockefeller emphasized the role of class conflict in the formation of history.
True False
16. Marx's perspective is called dialectical materialism.
True False
17. Emile Durkheim was a French psychologist who promoted the idea that suicide was brought on by the
mental illness of the individuals committing the act.
True False
18. Sociologist Max Weber used verstehen to identify the significance of understanding the subjective
meanings people attach to their behavior.
True False
19. Ideal type is a concept that portrays the most valuable characteristics of phenomena, such as
bureaucracies and capitalism.
True False
20. One of the most important contributions of sociologist Max Weber is his insistence on maintaining
a "value-free" approach to the discipline.
True False
21. While early American sociology was often optimistic and rooted in a belief in progress, the work of
W.E.B. Du Bois helped to promote the need for radical changes in society, particularly the need to
eliminate racial inequality.
True False
22. The founders of Hull House in Chicago, Jane Addams and Ellen Gates Starr, are credited with
assisting the urban poor in that city and developing case studies and demographic mapping as research
procedures.
True False
23. During the early twentieth century, Chicago sociologists trained an estimated half of the sociologists in
the world.
True False
24. Three influential frameworks – critical theory, feminism, and socialism – stand out in contemporary
sociology.
True False
25. The more recent developments in feminist theory grew out of an awareness that the social experience of
gender is not universal.
True False
26. Postmoderism is a sociological framework based on an inherent trust in science and objectivity as
potential solutions to social problems.
True False
27. Manifest functions are those consequences that are neither intended nor recognized.
True False
28. Power is the ability to control the behavior of others, even it is against their will.
True False
29. Symbolic interactionists say we experience the world as an objective reality.
True False
30. A primary goal of sociology is to understand what causes such social phenomena as racism and
crime.
True False
,31. An independent variable is a variable that is affected.
True False
32. Individual behaviors and environmental factors cause approximately 70 percent of the premature deaths
in the United States.
True False
33. Researchers frequently introduce a change into the control group.
True False
34. A stratified random sample provides less precision than a pure random sample.
True False
35. The first step in the scientific method is determining a research design.
True False
36. The scientific study of social interactions and of social organization is called
A. psychology.
B. sociology.
C. sociometry.
D. socialism.
37. The ways we think, feel, and act are
A. shaped by our interaction with others.
B. largely determined by our genes.
C. mainly a result of our unique individuality, rather than of society.
D. largely determined by our genes and mainly a result of our unique individuality, rather than of society
are correct.
38. A 2002 study showed _________ was a major contributor to death and disease around the world?
A. smoking
B. practicing unsafe sex
C. eating improperly
D. All of the choices are correct.
39. The "sociological perspective" points out that
A. we have absolutely no control over our individual behavior.
B. there is scientific agreement that the subconscious is the principal source of behavioral motivation.
C. as we look beyond outer appearances at what lies beneath, we encounter new levels of social reality.
D. written rules and regulations are the unquestionable roots of behavior.
40. Elliot Liebow's study of streetcorner men in Washington, D.C., found that
A. the conventional stereotypes of such people were accurate.
B. their lifestyles were surprisingly middle class.
C. these men believed that success was inevitable.
D. many of our stereotyped images of people are wrong or inaccurate.
41. A majority of Liebow's "streetcorner men" were
A. drug addicts and AIDS carriers.
B. unemployed.
C. employed.
D. white derelicts.
42. The "sociological imagination" allows us to explore the relationship between personal problems and
A. social and historical events.
B. the global climate.
C. genetic heritage.
D. the psyche.
, 43. C. Wright Mills noted that
A. one's personal troubles and public issues are intertwined.
B we cannot simply look to the "personal character" of individuals to explain changes in their lives, such
. as employment circumstances.
C. the social forces of life play a large role in determining our life experience.
D. All of the choices are correct.
44. When sociologists investigate the "big picture" of social groups and societies, they are said to be
engaging in
A. microsociology.
B. macrosociology.
C. ethnomethodology.
D. nonscientific research.
45. Microsociology is the study of
A. the family in America.
B. large-scale, long-term social processes.
C. up-close and personal studies of people in real-life settings.
D. cultures and societies.
46. _________________ is commonly credited with being the founder of sociology.
A. Max Weber
B. Emile Durkheim
C. Harriet Martineau
D. Auguste Comte
47. __________ involves aspects of social life that have to do with order, stability, and social organization
that allow societies and groups to hold together and endure.
A. Social dynamics
B. Organic solidarity
C. Social statics
D. Mechanical solidarity
48. __________ refers to processes of social life that pattern institutional development and have to do with
social change.
A. Social dynamics
B. Social statics
C. Organic solidarity
D. Mechanical solidarity
49. The origins of sociology are linked to
A. the French Revolution.
B. the Industrial Revolution.
C. Neither of the choices are correct.
D. the French Revolution and the Industrial Revolution are correct.
50. Auguste Comte and Harriet Martineau both presented sociology as a
A. component of the liberal arts.
B. science.
C. religion.
D. philosophy of humanism.
51. Herbert Spencer viewed society as a system, having important similarities with
A. a biological organism.
B. a finely tuned automobile.
C. a modern factory.
D. a jigsaw puzzle.
