Summer 2011
Term Test 1
Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question. Indicate your answer by blacking in the relevant box on the SCANTRON sheet. Be sure to print your name and student number clearly on the answer sheet.
1. Most people agree that sociology first emerged: (pg1)
a. approximately 70 years ago, following the end of World War II
b. in the early 19th century when Max Weber invented the term sociologie about 200 years ago, *c. in response to industrialization and political upheaval
d. during the Enlightenment period in 14th century Italy
2. Present day sociology is concerned with how we know what we know, an ‘epistemological’ problem first introduced to us by: (pg2)
*a. Max Weber
b. Edward Said
c. Émile Durkheim
d. Karl Marx
3. Sociology can best be defined as: (pg3)
a. the study of human culture, beliefs, and artifacts from prehistory onward
*b. the systematic study of social behaviour, or the study of society c . the study of mental processes, especially in relation to behaviour
d. the study of general and fundamental problems in human evolution
4. Which of the following is NOT considered a principle of present-day sociology? (pg5)
a. social life is contradictory and paradoxical
b. the use of common-sense knowledge to understand the world is inadequate
c. everyone has free will, but everyone is also constrained and manipulated
*d. moral philosophy is key to social theorizing
5. With respect to the unequal distribution of social rewards, sociologists believe: (pg6)
a. people get what they deserve in life; winners deserve to win and losers to lose
b. life experiences vary by intelligence, hard work, and personal values
*c. what people get in life is largely the result of circumstances beyond their control
d. unequal patterns of opportunity have little influence on the ways people live
6. The major microanalytical approach of sociology is referred to as: (pg6)
a. structural functionalism
b. critical interpretation
c. socialization process
*d. symbolic interactionism
7. Education is intended to provide students with the knowledge, skills, and values that will help them to work effectively in society. This is an example of:(pg7)
*a. a manifest function
b. an economic function
c. a latent function
d. a cultural function
8. According to Émile Durkheim, crime: (pg7)
a. serves no function in society
b. serves a manifest function by mobilizing popular sentiment
c. serves a latent function by benefiting the lawbreaker
*d. is universal
9. According to structural functionalism: (pg7/8)
a. social problems of the modern age are due to capitalism
*b. social problems of the modern age are due to industrialization and urbanization
c. the best way to deal with social problems is to increase the pace of social change
d. Karl Marx identified the key reasons why inequality was universal
10. What sociological approach explains social problems by focusing on the failure of institutions to fulfill their roles during times of rapid change? (pg7)
a. critical theory
b. socialization process
*c. structural functionalism
d. symbolic interactionism
11. Which of the following is NOT part of the critical theory approach? (pg8)
a. there is an unequal distribution of power in society
b. the economic base is a key source of social differentiation and power
c. classes (or status groups) compete with one another for social dominance
*d. social problems of the modern age are due to industrialization and urbanization
12. Which of the following is a method proposed by critical theorists to solve social problems? (pg8)
*a. abolition of the class structure
b. decrease the pace of social change
c. strengthen social norms
d. strengthen capitalism
13. Howard Becker (1963) argues that marijuana smoking is a social problem only because influential ‘moral entrepreneurs’ make it one. This is an example of: (pg9)
a. anomie