SELF-TEST- Chapter 1
Answer the following questions. Use the page numbers in parenthesis to help you find the
answers.
MULTIPLE-CHOICE QUESTIONS
1. The sociological perspective stresses the ________ in which people live. (2)
a. social contexts
b. geographic location
c. neighborhoods
d. cities
2. Income, education, gender, and race all reflect a person’s: (2)
a. personality.
b. social placement.
c. social location.
d. perspective.
3. _________ requires the development of theories that can be tested by systematic research. (3)
a. Tradition
b. Religion
c. Science
d. All of the above
4. Karl Marx did not develop the political system called: (4–5)
a. democracy.
b. social integration.
c. positivism.
d. communism.
5. According to Karl Marx, capitalists, who own the means of production, exploit the: (4)
a. bourgeoisie.
b. proletariat.
c. masses.
d. peasants.
6. According to Durkheim, the degree to which people are tied to their social group is: (5)
a. symbolic interaction.
b. social integration.
c. positivism.
d. survival fittest
7. Weber concluded that the key factor in the rise of capitalism was: (5–6)
a. social upheaval.
b. survival of the fittest.
c. religion.
d. technology.
8. Despite writing an insightful examination of the United States, Harriet Martineau’s work was
ignored because she was: (6)
a. not a real sociologist.
b. a theologian.
c. a woman.
d. working with Auguste Comte.
9. During the 1940s, the emphasis in sociology shifted from ________ in the United States. (7)
a. social reform to social theory
b. social theory to social reform
c. positivism to theory
d. theory to positivism
10. The branch of sociology that focuses on using sociology to solve problems is: (7)
a. social reform.
b. social activism.
c. applied sociology.
d. practical sociology.
11. __________________________ study the symbols people use to establish meaning and
communicate. (11)
a. Functionalists
b. Symbolic interactionists
c. Dramaturgical theorists
d. Conflict theorists
12. Society as a whole unit made up of interrelated parts that work together is the premise of:
(13)
a. symbolic interactionism.
b. functional analysis.
c. positivism.
d. conflict theory.
13. The perspective that stresses that society is composed of groups that engage in fierce
competition for scarce resources is: (15)
a. structural-functionalism.
b. conflict theory.
c. positivism.
d. symbolic interactionism.
14. Conflict theorists might explain the high rate of divorce by looking at: (15)
a. how men’s and women’s relationships have changed.
b. the role lawyers have played in society.
c. capitalism.
d. religion.
15. The focus on large-scale patterns of society is: (15)
a. the micro level of analysis.
b. the social interaction-level of analysis.
c. the macro level of analysis.
d. middle range
16. Functionalists and conflict theorists focus on: (15–16)
a. the micro level of analysis.
b. the macro level of analysis.
c. middle-range analysis.
d. feminism.
17. A precise way to measure a variable is: (18)
a. reliability.
b. validity.
c. an operational definition.
d. not possible.
18. Reliability refers to: (19)
a. the extent to which operational definitions measure what they are intended to measure.
b. the extent to which data produce consistent results.
c. the integrity of the researcher.
d. a measure of validity.
19. The method you choose when doing research depends on: (21)
a. the questions you want to answer.
b. the time you have to do research.
c. the amount of money you want to spend on the project.
d. the number of people you expect to study.
20. Which of the following can be strongly influenced by extreme scores? (21)
a. The mode
b. The median
c. The mean
d. All of the above
21. When everyone in your population has the same chance of being included in your research
study, you are conducting: (22)
a. a random sample.
b. a stratified random sample.
c. a snowball sample.
d. a biased sample.
22. If you ask respondents to choose—in regard to their education level—between (1) high
school diploma, (2) some college but no degree, and (3) college degree, you are using: (22)
a. an open-ended question.
b. a closed-ended question.
c. a neutral question
d. “b” and “c” only
23. George is interested in doing research on autoworkers. He decides to move to a working class
community and get a job on the assembly line of an auto plant so that he can experience what it
is like to be an autoworker while he is collecting his data. This type of research is referred to as:
(24)
a. secondary analysis.
b a survey.
c. an experiment.
d. participant observation.
24. The analysis of data that have already collected by other researchers is referred to as: (24)
a. surveying the literature.
b. use of documents.
c. secondary analysis.
d. replication.
25. Ethics in research condemns: (25–26)
a. falsification of results.
b. plagiarism.
c. harming those being studied.
d. all of the above.
26. Mario Brajuha refused to turn over his research notes to police because: (26)
a. he did not want to get involved.
b. he was concerned about confidentiality and anonymity of those he studied.
c. he was afraid for his life.
d. None of the above.
27. Laud Humphreys was criticized by many sociologists for being unethical because: (26)
a. he did not identify himself as a researcher to those he studied.
b. of the way he obtained addresses of those he studied.
c. he acted as a watch queen.
d. he burned his notes.
28. Max Weber believed that sociology should be: (27)
a. value laden.
b. value free.
c. religion based.
d. reliable.
29. To overcome distortions that values can cause, sociologists stress: (27)
a. validity.
b. replication.
c. random samples.
d. analysis verification.
30. Research that has no goal beyond understanding social life and testing social theories is: (27)
a. basic sociology.
b. applied sociology.
c. unobtrusive sociology.
d. none of the above.
TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS
T F 1. At the center of the sociological perspective is the question of how groups
influence people. (2)
T F 2. C. Wright Mills stressed that the sociological perspective enables us to grasp the
connection between history and biography. (2)
T F 3. Science requires the development of theories that can be tested by systematic
research. (3)
T F 4. The scientific method uses subjective, systematic observations to test theories.(3)
T F 5. Herbert Spencer’s ideas are known as social Darwinism. (4)
T F 6. Both Comte and Spencer were more social philosophers than sociologists. (4)
T F 7. Marxism is the same thing as communism. (5)
T F 8. People who are less socially integrated have high rates of suicide. (5)
T F 9. For Catholics, according to Weber, financial success was the major sign that God
was on their side. (5)
T F 10. Harriet Martineau is primarily known for her translations of Marx’s work. (6)
T F 11. Initially, the department of sociology at Chicago dominated sociology. (7)
T F 12. Jane Addams was more of a basic sociologist than a social reformer. (7)
T F 13. W. E. B. Du Bois was the first African American to earn a doctorate at Harvard. (7)
T F 14. In everyday life, we interpret what we observe by using common sense. (11)
T F 15. Functionalists believe that society is composed of parts that work together. (13)
T F 16. From the conflict perspective, the increase in divorce is a sign that marriage has
weakened. (15)
T F 17. Validity is the extent to which a researcher’s operational definitions measure what they
are intended to measure. (18)
T F 18. If you wanted to know only about certain subgroups in a research study, a stratified
random sample should be used. (22)
T F 19. Unobtrusive measures involve observing people who do not know that they are being
studied. (25)
T F 20. In an experiment, the experimental group is not exposed to the independent variable in
the study. (25)
FILL-IN QUESTIONS
1. The _____________________ stresses the social contexts in which people are immersed and
that influence their lives. (2)
2. Comte believed that the _______________________ should be applied to social life. (3)
3. ____________________ is sometimes referred to as the second founder of sociology. (4)
4. Marx said that the _________________ were the controlling class of capitalists. (4)
5. It was _______________ who said, “I am not a Marxist.”(5).
6. Early sociologists envisioned the success of _______________. (10)
7. A ______________________ is a general statement about how some parts of the world fit
together and how they work. (11)
8. The theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that people use
to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate with one another is
________________________. (11–12)
9. _________________________ analysis is a theoretical framework in which society is viewed
as composed of various parts, each with a function that contributes to society’s equilibrium. (13)
10. If an action is intended to help some part of a system, it is a ______________________
function. (13)
11. Lewis Coser pointed out that conflict is most likely to develop among people who are in
_______ relationships. (15)
12. The means by which the researcher collects data is __________________________. (18)
13. The individuals who are selected from a larger population to participate in a research
study are called a ___________________________. (22)
14. To conduct an experiment, the researcher has two groups: (1) ____________________
and (2) ______________________. (25)
15. Personal beliefs should not affect research. Research should be _______________. (27)
MATCH THESE THEORISTS/PHILOSOPHERS WITH THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS
MATCH EACH CONCEPT WITH ITS DEFINITION
1. Comte (3)
a. the Protestant ethic
2. Spencer (4)
b. positivism
3. Marx (4)
c. social Darwinism
4. Durkheim (5)
d. class conflict
5. Weber (5)
e. social integration
6. Bourgeoisie (4)
7. Protestant ethic (6)
8. Applied sociology (8)
9. Functional analysis (13)
10. Variable (18)
a. use of sociology to solve problems
b. factors that change
c. capitalists
d. society is a whole unit
e. self-denying approach to life.