Sociology A185
Exam #1 Study Guide
Exam Information:
You will have 1 hour and 20 minutes to complete the exam. Bring a scantron form #882 and a #2 pencil.
The exam is worth a total of 50 points, and it will consist of 40 multiple choice and true/false questions (each is worth 1 point) and 2 short answer questions (each worth 5 points).
Material covered:

Textbook Chapters 1 and 2
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All lectures/PowerPoint’s
 All Films
Topics covered by Chapter / Lecture

What is the concept of free will? What are agency and structure in relation to free-will?

What are sociology and the sociological imagination?
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Is sociology simply common sense? Why or why not?

What is a social institution? What are the traditional social institutions analyzed by sociologists?
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What is culture?
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What is the difference between micro and macro sociology?
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What is a theory?
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What are some benefits of studying and adopting sociological perspective?
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What is the sociological perspective as described in our text and lecture?
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What is the difference between objectivity and subjectivity? How does this relate to social problems?

What is a social problem? What is the social problems perspective? And what is Critical
Constructionism?

What forces led to the development of sociological thought and theory?
 Who is known as the “father of sociology”

According to the textbook, which two main sociological theories does critical constructionism synthesize?

Know the basics of Functionalism, Conflict theory, Symbolic Interactionism, and Feminist Theory.
What are the main concerns of each theory? Which main theorists are associated with each theory?

What is the nature vs. nurture debate?

What are “free-will” and “human nature” philosophies as they relate to social problems? Are these sociological philosophies or non-sociological?

What is a social movement organization?
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What is ethnocentrism?
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What is media conglomeration and how can it negatively affect democracy?

What are the two basic types of economic systems?
 According to our text, are “socialism” and “capitalism” political or economic terms?

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What characterizes the wealth and income gaps in the U.S.? What are some trends associated with growing inequality between the rich and the poor in the Unites States? Be familiar with terms such as: deregulation, downsizing, outsourcing, trickle-down economics, contingency work etc.

What usually happens when capitalism and its principles are questioned?

What is democratic socialism?
 Why does Robert Heiner question American’s political freedom?
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What has happened to American job security, and when did these trends start?
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What is the general state of America’s infrastructure?
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What is the poverty line? What are relative and absolute poverty?
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What are some of the possible reasons that widespread poverty exists in America?
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What are welfare and wealthfare?
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How do U.S. rates of poverty compare to that of other industrialized nations?

What is creative destruction?
 What is deep poverty? Who are the “new homeless?”
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Why is there contempt for the poor?

What are deficiency and structural theories related to poverty?

What area in the world has the highest concentration of extreme poverty?

What is colonialism? Neo-Colonialism?
 Who are: the “downsized”?
1.
What is Critical Constructionism? What two main sociological theories does Critical Constructionism synthesize? What are the main themes of these two theories?
2.
Explain the concepts of “welfare” and “wealthfare”. Which one of these is criticized more in American society and why is this the case?
3.
How does the poverty rate in the U.S. compare to other industrialized nations? What are some of the possible reasons that poverty exists in the richest country in the world?
4.
What has happened to American job security over the last 30-40 years? Explain at least two of the trends associated with this occurrence?
5.
What is a social problem? According to our textbook, how are social problems defined. Elaborate on your answer and explain in as much detail as possible.
6.
What is the main difference between deficiency and structural theories in explaining poverty? What does each theory see as the main cause of poverty? Explain your answer in as much detail as possible?
7.
Many multinational corporations outsource jobs to third world countries? Why does the outsourcing of labor occur? When did this trend start to have a negative effect on American workers? How might a conflict theorist and functionalist theorist analyze this phenomenon differently?
8.
The American political system is theoretically democratic. Why does the author of our textbook, Robert
Heiner, argue that Americans lack political freedom in comparison to citizens of most other western, industrialized, democratic nations? Explain in as much detail as possible.