Midterm Review
Family Sociology
Midterm Exam







The Midterm exam WILL BE ON CANVAS
Midterm will be listed under Quizzes
THE EXAM WILL OPEN from Thursday at 10:00 A.M.
until Friday, at 3:00 P.M.
Once you log on you will have one hour and 30
min. to complete
If the exam freezes, you have one extra
attempt, a third freeze, you will need to e-mail
me to ununlock.
Jot down your test answers on paper or type
into Word as a backup
Don’t try to save or back track!
Midterm Exam
 40ish
multiple choice questions (2
or 3 points each)
 The last 7 questions are on 3-4
charts (also multiple choice)
 Print out the ppt file “Charts for
Midterm Print out Before Exam”
posted on wiki.”
 This file is under in the Lecture
Slides in PowerPoint folder on the
wiki
Midterm Exam
 This
review includes review of some
lectures and readings information as
well as multiple choice questions
similar to those that will be on the
exam
 The answers to the multiple choice
questions will appear with a click in
View slideshow mode.
 So view this as a slideshow, and then
you can quiz yourself
MANY QUESTIONS ARE IN THE
FOLLOWING FORMAT

Make sure you read the question carefully to
see if you should be choosing the statement
that is FALSE!
According to the lecture on cohabitation, which of the
following statements is FALSE?
A) African Americans have higher rates of cohabitation
than whites
B) 67% of Americans cohabit prior to marriage today.
C) About 3 in 10 cohabitors marry within 5 years.
D) Women who receive alimony or welfare are more
likely to cohabit rather than marry so they can keep
these benefits.
Answer: C

Helpful Hints for studying
 Review
all PowerPoint lectures slides
 Review
all assignments and
comments
 Make
sure you have completed all
the assigned reading!
Midterm Review
 1.
A ________ is a major sphere
of social life with a set of beliefs
and rules that is organized to
meet human needs.
 A. social institution
 B. social norm
 C. social rule
 D. social organization
 Answer: A
Midterm Review
 2.
Give an example of a macro
level analysis:
 1. Examining large scale changes
such as the increase in married
women’s employment rate in U.S.
 2.Comparing divorce rates in two
countries
Midterm Review
3. Briefly define and distinguish
between the terms sex and gender
 Sex refers to the biological
characteristics such as reproductive
organs, sex chromosomes, hormones,
that distinguish males and females
 Gender refers to the cultural or social
characteristics that distinguish men
and women

 4.
Midterm Review
How has sexuality changed
over time?
 A. sex has become separated
from marriage.
 B. the sex specialization
marriage model has become
more common.
 C. People are more private about
their sexual choices and identity
 D. None of the above
Midterm Review





5. According to the article by Hymowitz, “The New
Girl Order,” the “Sex and the City” lifestyle, is
going global.
What three demographic changes are at the core of this
lifestyle shift?
First, women—especially, but not only, in the
developed world—are getting married and having
kids considerably later than ever before.
Second, young people, particularly women, are
enrolling in colleges and universities at
unprecedented rates. Between 1960 and 2000, the
percentages of 20-, 25-, enrolled in school
urbanization. more than doubled in the U.S.
Third, urbanization -- women more likely to live on
their own in cities after finishing school and before
getting married.
Midterm Review






6. Briefly describe the main ideas of the gender
perspectives
Operates at both macro and micro level
Central concept is gender—the social and cultural
characteristics that distinguish women and men in
society.
Oriented toward power in relationships.
Feminist theory argues that differences between men
and women are socially constructed to maintain
power of men over women.
Emphasizes culture, rather than biology.
Midterm Review
7. According to sociologists, race is
defined as ___________
while ethnicity refers
to_________________
 Race: groups with a common set of
physical features that distinguishes
them from other groups
 Ethnicity: A population that shares a
cultural heritage or common ancestry
 Ethnic groups have a sense of
brotherhood or sisterhood maintained
within the larger culture
Midterm Review

A.
B.
C.
D.

8. Recent data and research on women in
paid work and the government show
that the percentage of women in the Senate is
rapidly increasing.
that men have experienced an increase in their
rate of unemployment, while women have seen
an decrease in their rate of unemployment.
that employment among teenage girls has sharply
decreased during the economic downturn.
All of the above.
Answer: B
Midterm Review
9. Briefly distinguish between the
macro and micro levels of analysis in
sociological inquiry


Analysis at the macro level focuses on
large-scale institutions, structures,
and processes; comparisons between
entire societies
Analysis at the micro level examines
interaction between individuals and
small groups like families
Midterm Review
10. As you learned from Assignment #3,
in contrast to structural functionalist theory
-- which views society as a system of
interacting parts that act in harmony -conflict theory
A. views society as a set of social institutions with
specific functions
B. focuses on power differences between the haves
and have nots
C. focuses on gender differences
D. None of the above
Answer: B
Midterm Review
11. The new discourse on gay families
emerges from the same cultural trends
that have led to the weakening of
marriage as a social institution including
A. the increased focus on adolescence as a separate
stage of life.
B. the rise of individualism (focus on me).
C. the separation of sex from marriage
D. B & C
Answer D: Both B & C
Midterm Review
 12.
Why do LGBT &Q couples seek to get
married?
A. Married couples are more likely to have children than
gay couples
B. Benefits are automatically given to married couples
such as inheritance and health insurance for spouses
C. Married couples more likely to afford to buy a house
together
D. All of the above.
Answer is B
Midterm Review






13. Which of the following statements about how
families have changed over time is FALSE?
A. While the power of marriage over people's lives
has weakened, 90 percent of whites and 75 percent
of African Americans will eventually marry.
B. Images of the happy, nuclear family of the 1950s
are largely myths.
C. Families today are similar to those in the past in
which three generations lived together for long
periods of time.
D. Families are adapting to demographic and social
changes, but remain a strong influence over the lives
of adults and children.
Answer C
Midterm Review






14. According to the lecture on Demographic
Trends, which of the following statements is
TRUE?
A. Cohabitation is on the rise in the United
States.
B. Men live longer than women
C. Divorce rates have been increasing over the
past ten years
D. More than 45% of adults over age 25 have
a college degree in the U.S.
Answer A
Midterm Review
15. What are the approximate percentages of Non
Hispanic Whites, Non Hispanic Blacks, Asians,
Native Americans, and Hispanics living in the
U.S.?





Non-Hisp African-American:
Non-Hisp White:
Asian-American:
Native American:
Hispanic/Latino:
14.6 %
(Race)
75.0 %
(Race)
4.3 %
(Race)
.9 %
(Race)
16.3 % (Ethnicity)
Midterm Review
16. What are two reasons that sociologists
argue that race is socially constructed?
 While racial characteristics are biological in
origin, the interpretation of those
characteristics may vary
 Choice of racial characteristics that are
emphasized is subjective
 Racial definitions varies over time –from on
historic period to another
 Racial definitions vary across space - from
one society to the next
Midterm Review
17. What racial-ethnic group has the highest
percentage of children living in two-parent,
intact families and why?
 Asian Americans
 Because they are more likely to be newer
immigrants who are coming from a more
traditional culture, country
 Divorce is less acceptable and more
recently legalized in Asian countries
compared to the U.S.
Midterm Review






18. Which of the following statements best
describes the field of family sociology?
A. Family sociology focuses on how social
institutions like the economy, government, and
religion, influence family behavior, actions, and
choices.
B. Family sociology examines how social class,
race/ethnicity, and culture largely affect
individual and family outcomes.
C. Family Sociology examines how the
interaction of individuals and families influence
economic and social change.
D. All of the above
Answer D
Midterm Review
 19.
What is the average age at
marriage for women and for men
today?
 Women: 26
 Men: 28
 Make sure to note the chart
Midterm Review
20. What is the trend in the following rates,
since 1980?
 Teen pregnancy rate:


Divorce rate:
leveled off and slightly declining
Women’s labor force participation rate:
Fertility rate:
 decline(from 1.9 to 1.7 children per
woman)

Midterm Review
21. According to the article by Hymowitz about
“The New Girl Order? Which of the following
changes have been spreading from the U.S. to
Europe? Hint: Think Sex & the City
 A. More women are becoming educated and
focusing on careers before marrying
 B. More women are remaining single longer and
living in urban areas.
 C. The increasing privacy surrounding marriage
and sex.
 D. A & B


Answer D) Both A & B
Using the Previous chart
22.From 1995 to 2010, which family type
is expected to see the largest decrease?
 A. Single mothers with children.
 B. Single fathers without children.
 C. Two-parent households with
children.
 D. married couple households with no
children.
 Answer C
Midterm Review
23. According to the reading in the Risman text: The
Picture Perfect American Family: These Days it
Doesn't Exist, by Andrew Cherlin, which of the
following is TRUE?
A. contemporary marriage has become more
focused on the emotional rewards of family life,
compared to bringing home a paycheck or raising
children.
B. the two-parent, breadwinner-homemaker
marriage reaches its peak in the 1950s.
C. families are more diverse than in the past
evidenced by the diversity in the political
candidates in the 2010 presidential election.
D. All of the above.
 Answer D
Midterm Review
24. The U.S. Bureau of the Census has collected
data for the 2010 Census. What is the difference
between a Census of the U.S. and national
survey of the U.S. like the National Survey of
Families and Households (NSFH)?
A. A Census is not representative of the entire U.S.
population, while a national survey is.
B. A national survey is not representative of the
entire U.S. population, while a Census is.
C. A survey is based on a sample drawn from the
U.S. national population, while a Census attempts
to collect data from EVERY American.
D. None of the above.
Answer C
Midterm Review
25. According to the article by Smock & Manning
in your Reisman textbook on on cohabitation:
A. Cohabitation is no longer a rare phenomenon as
it was three decades ago
B. Cohabitation has become an integral part of the
courtship process.
C. Among couples who began a relationship
between 1997 and 2001, 68 % of them began
their relationship by cohabiting compared with
just 32 % who began them by marrying.
D) All of the above
 Answer D

Midterm Review
 And
don’t forget, Family Sociologists
argue that:
 Love
 Sexual Identity
 Race
 Sex
 Are all socially constructed – or
socially created through daily
interactions within our culture
Extra Credit
 What
is Professor Gager’s favorite
TV show that depicts changing
relationships and trends?
 Sex
and the City!