,CHAPTER 1: THE STUDY OF SOCIETY
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Sociologists are most inclined to explain behavior in terms of:
a. individual personality characteristics.
b. roles and social structures.
c. the biological differences between people.
d. individual attitudes.
ANS: B REF: 2 OBJ: 1.1
2. Sociology is defined in your text as the systematic study of:
a. mental cognition.
b. the biological difference between individuals.
c. human social interaction.
d. individual human behavior.
ANS: C REF: 2 OBJ: 1.1 KEY: WWW
3. A _____ is the expected performance of someone who occupies a specific position in a society.
a. role c. social structure
b. status d. sociological imagination
ANS: A REF: 2 OBJ: 1.1
4. The ability to see the intimate realities of our own lives in the context of common social structures is
what C. Wright Mills refers to as:
a. common human drama. c. the sociological imagination.
b. the family. d. a social script.
ANS: C REF: 2 OBJ: 1.1
5. Public issues are different from personal troubles in that issues affect a:
a. few people and require personal adjustments.
b. few people and require structural adjustments.
c. large number of people and require personal adjustments.
d. large number of people and require structural adjustments.
ANS: D REF: 3 OBJ: 1.1
6. According to C. Wright Mills, the difficulties that John and Mary experience in their marriage
represent a personal trouble. The fact that 250 out of every 1000 marriages ends in divorce, within
the first 4 years, however, is:
a. a public issue. c. a latent dysfunction of marriage.
b. a sign of moral collapse. d. meaningless.
ANS: A REF: 3 OBJ: 1.1
7. According to your text, what distinguishes social sciences from fields such as journalism, medicine or
the law?
a. Social sciences are interested in human behavior.
b. Social sciences use a critical and systematic examination of evidence before reaching any
conclusion.
, c. Social sciences try to approach each research question from a position of moral neutrality.
d. Social science is interested in society, not individuals.
ANS: B REF: 5 OBJ: 1.2
8. The social sciences rely on empirical research. This means that they:
a. are very philosophical.
b. are less scientific that other fields such as journalism and medicine.
c. are based on systematic examination of evidence.
d. use research methods that are very different from those used in the sciences.
ANS: C REF: 5 OBJ: 1.2 MSC: NEW
9. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the emergence of sociology as a field of study?
a. political changes c. economic change
b. changing gender roles d. intellectual upheavals
ANS: B REF: 5 OBJ: 1.3
10. Which of these conditions contributed to the early development of sociology?
a. a period of stability that gave people time to reflect about society.
b. changes brought by the industrial revolution.
c. the need for reconstruction in the South following the Civil War.
d. social and economic prosperity in Europe and America.
ANS: B REF: 5 OBJ: 1.3
11. The credit for founding the discipline of sociology is given to:
a. Thomas Hobbes. c. Auguste Comte.
b. Emile Durkheim. d. Herbert Spencer.
ANS: C REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4
12. According to Comte, understanding society requires recognizing forces for stability and order, as well
as change. Today sociologists refer to these using the term:
a. social structure and social process.
b. continuity and change.
c. social conflict and social order.
d. symbolic interaction and social interaction.
ANS: A REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4 KEY: WWW
13. The belief that the social world can be studied with the same scientific accuracy and assurance as the
natural world is known as:
a. relativism. c. methodology.
b. cause and effect. d. positivism.
ANS: D REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4
14. Spencer believed:
a. the environment will adapt to society.
b. there is one best way to organize society.
c. society is an adaptation to its environment.
d. all parts of society work separately.
ANS: C REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4
, 15. One of Spencer’s contributions to sociology was:
a. his model for understanding changing exploitative labor laws.
b. his study of the unfair treatment of women.
c. that he cautioned sociologists to put aside their biases, opinions, and wishes when
conducting research.
d. his development of the concept of economic determinism.
ANS: C REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4
16. All of the following theoretical ideas are associated with Karl Marx EXCEPT:
a. positivism.
b. economic determinism.
c. dialectic.
d. capitalism as a source of conflict and inequality.
ANS: A REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
17. Karl Marx’s two lasting contributions to sociology are:
a. value free and symbolic sociology.
b. positivism and theories of statics and dynamics.
c. theories of cultural adaptation and cultural evolution.
d. the theory of economic determinism and the theory of the dialectic.
ANS: D REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
18. The idea that the economy provides the foundation on which all other social and political arrangements
are built is referred to as:
a. second order economics. c. capitalism and free enterprise.
b. economic determinism. d. the dialectic.
ANS: B REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
19. Rajiv is 30 years old and farms a small piece of land. Farming is the only trade he knows. He would
like to marry Seshi, but does not because his parents own the land he tills and they do not like her.
This is an example of:
a. the dialectic. c. economic determinism.
b. positivism. d. interfering parents.
ANS: C REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
20. The dialectic refers to:
a. the gradual and inevitable evolution of society.
b. the exploitation of the working class.
c. social change as a product of contradictions and conflicts between parts of society.
d. analyzing the functions of social order.
ANS: C REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
21. Many, if not most, sociologists agree with Marx’s idea that:
a. social scientists should also be social activists.
b. conflicts between workers and capitalists will lead to socialism.
c. revolution by the masses is the way to bring about desired change.
d. economic relationships and conflicts are important to understanding social relationships.
ANS: D REF: 8 OBJ: 1.4
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Sociologists are most inclined to explain behavior in terms of:
a. individual personality characteristics.
b. roles and social structures.
c. the biological differences between people.
d. individual attitudes.
ANS: B REF: 2 OBJ: 1.1
2. Sociology is defined in your text as the systematic study of:
a. mental cognition.
b. the biological difference between individuals.
c. human social interaction.
d. individual human behavior.
ANS: C REF: 2 OBJ: 1.1 KEY: WWW
3. A _____ is the expected performance of someone who occupies a specific position in a society.
a. role c. social structure
b. status d. sociological imagination
ANS: A REF: 2 OBJ: 1.1
4. The ability to see the intimate realities of our own lives in the context of common social structures is
what C. Wright Mills refers to as:
a. common human drama. c. the sociological imagination.
b. the family. d. a social script.
ANS: C REF: 2 OBJ: 1.1
5. Public issues are different from personal troubles in that issues affect a:
a. few people and require personal adjustments.
b. few people and require structural adjustments.
c. large number of people and require personal adjustments.
d. large number of people and require structural adjustments.
ANS: D REF: 3 OBJ: 1.1
6. According to C. Wright Mills, the difficulties that John and Mary experience in their marriage
represent a personal trouble. The fact that 250 out of every 1000 marriages ends in divorce, within
the first 4 years, however, is:
a. a public issue. c. a latent dysfunction of marriage.
b. a sign of moral collapse. d. meaningless.
ANS: A REF: 3 OBJ: 1.1
7. According to your text, what distinguishes social sciences from fields such as journalism, medicine or
the law?
a. Social sciences are interested in human behavior.
b. Social sciences use a critical and systematic examination of evidence before reaching any
conclusion.
, c. Social sciences try to approach each research question from a position of moral neutrality.
d. Social science is interested in society, not individuals.
ANS: B REF: 5 OBJ: 1.2
8. The social sciences rely on empirical research. This means that they:
a. are very philosophical.
b. are less scientific that other fields such as journalism and medicine.
c. are based on systematic examination of evidence.
d. use research methods that are very different from those used in the sciences.
ANS: C REF: 5 OBJ: 1.2 MSC: NEW
9. Which of the following is NOT a reason for the emergence of sociology as a field of study?
a. political changes c. economic change
b. changing gender roles d. intellectual upheavals
ANS: B REF: 5 OBJ: 1.3
10. Which of these conditions contributed to the early development of sociology?
a. a period of stability that gave people time to reflect about society.
b. changes brought by the industrial revolution.
c. the need for reconstruction in the South following the Civil War.
d. social and economic prosperity in Europe and America.
ANS: B REF: 5 OBJ: 1.3
11. The credit for founding the discipline of sociology is given to:
a. Thomas Hobbes. c. Auguste Comte.
b. Emile Durkheim. d. Herbert Spencer.
ANS: C REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4
12. According to Comte, understanding society requires recognizing forces for stability and order, as well
as change. Today sociologists refer to these using the term:
a. social structure and social process.
b. continuity and change.
c. social conflict and social order.
d. symbolic interaction and social interaction.
ANS: A REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4 KEY: WWW
13. The belief that the social world can be studied with the same scientific accuracy and assurance as the
natural world is known as:
a. relativism. c. methodology.
b. cause and effect. d. positivism.
ANS: D REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4
14. Spencer believed:
a. the environment will adapt to society.
b. there is one best way to organize society.
c. society is an adaptation to its environment.
d. all parts of society work separately.
ANS: C REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4
, 15. One of Spencer’s contributions to sociology was:
a. his model for understanding changing exploitative labor laws.
b. his study of the unfair treatment of women.
c. that he cautioned sociologists to put aside their biases, opinions, and wishes when
conducting research.
d. his development of the concept of economic determinism.
ANS: C REF: 6 OBJ: 1.4
16. All of the following theoretical ideas are associated with Karl Marx EXCEPT:
a. positivism.
b. economic determinism.
c. dialectic.
d. capitalism as a source of conflict and inequality.
ANS: A REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
17. Karl Marx’s two lasting contributions to sociology are:
a. value free and symbolic sociology.
b. positivism and theories of statics and dynamics.
c. theories of cultural adaptation and cultural evolution.
d. the theory of economic determinism and the theory of the dialectic.
ANS: D REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
18. The idea that the economy provides the foundation on which all other social and political arrangements
are built is referred to as:
a. second order economics. c. capitalism and free enterprise.
b. economic determinism. d. the dialectic.
ANS: B REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
19. Rajiv is 30 years old and farms a small piece of land. Farming is the only trade he knows. He would
like to marry Seshi, but does not because his parents own the land he tills and they do not like her.
This is an example of:
a. the dialectic. c. economic determinism.
b. positivism. d. interfering parents.
ANS: C REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
20. The dialectic refers to:
a. the gradual and inevitable evolution of society.
b. the exploitation of the working class.
c. social change as a product of contradictions and conflicts between parts of society.
d. analyzing the functions of social order.
ANS: C REF: 7 OBJ: 1.4
21. Many, if not most, sociologists agree with Marx’s idea that:
a. social scientists should also be social activists.
b. conflicts between workers and capitalists will lead to socialism.
c. revolution by the masses is the way to bring about desired change.
d. economic relationships and conflicts are important to understanding social relationships.
ANS: D REF: 8 OBJ: 1.4
