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Test Bank for Sociology A Global Perspective 8th Edition by Ferrante

Chapter 1
The Sociological Imaginatition
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Sociology is the scientific study of
a. human activity in society.
b. mental processes.
c. people.
d. multiple personalities.
ANS: A SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new
2. From a sociological point of view, a ________ is the day-to-day activities from birth to
death that make up a person’s life.
a. social fact
b. sociological imagination
c. biography
d. autobiography
ANS: C SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new; study guide
3. Emile Durkheim defined social facts as
a. census statistics.
b. having the remarkable property of existing outside the individual.
c. fundamentally psychological.
d. things we know to be true.
ANS: B SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: knowledge
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4. Only when people _________________ do they come to know the power of social facts.
a. grow older
b. cooperate
c. comply
d. rebel against the established ways of doing things
ANS: D SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: comprehension
5. Durkheim wrote that he was not forced to speak French or to use the legal currency, but
it was impossible for him to do otherwise. Durkheim was writing about
a. mechanical solidarity.
b. social relativity.
c. social facts.
d. social interaction.
ANS: C SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: application
6. Durkheim wrote, “Even when, in fact, I can struggle free from these rules and
successfully break them, it is never without being forced to fight against them.” This
statement is a reference to
a. mechanical solidarity.
b. social relativity.
c. social facts.
d. social interaction.
ANS: C SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: application
7. “Because I refuse to shave under my arms, I have to pay a price. On a personal level, this
price was my mother’s hostility. On a public level, the price is dealing with the stares of
strangers.” This statement illustrates
a. mechanical solidarity.
b. social relativity.
c. the power of social facts.
d. the idea of double consciousness.
ANS: C SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: application
2

8. A woman writes, “I can’t be anything but what my skin color tells people I am. I am
black because I look black. It does not matter that my family has a complicated
biological heritage.” She is writing about the power of
a. social facts.
b. troubles.
c. the sociological imagination.
d. rationalization.
ANS: A SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: application SOURCE: study guide
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9. An American traveling to Ghana, Africa, on business notices that the “men, including
the men I was with, hold hands. One day one of the men I was with took my hand as we
walked. In order not to offend him, I took his hand in mine.” The American is responding
to a(n)
a. trouble.
b. issue.
c. social fact.
d. traditional action.
ANS: C SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: application
10. Sociologists argue that people fall in love
a. when they experience a violent, irresistible attraction to another person.
b. only once in the course of a lifetime.
c. when certain conditions are met.
d. with people like themselves.
ANS: CSEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: comprehension
11. In examining patterns of courtship and marriage, sociologists would emphasize which of
the following in shaping a couple’s decision to marry?
a. the personalities of the couples
b. the importance of love
c. personal preferences
d. social considerations such as age, sex, race, income, etc.
ANS: D SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: knowledge SOURCE: new
12. Peter L. Berger equates the sociologist with
a. a curious observer who, walking down the neighborhood streets of a large city, is
fascinated with what he or she cannot see taking place behind the building walls.
b. an Internal Revenue Service auditor.
c. a judge giving instructions to a jury.
d. a talk show host interviewing guests.
ANS: A SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: knowledge
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13. Peter Berger argues that the logic of sociology presupposes a measure of suspicion
about the way in which human events are officially interpreted by authorities. This
suspicion speaks to __________, which defines the sociological consciousness.
a. solidarity
b. the debunking motif
c. rationalization
d. false consciousness
ANS: B SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: comprehension
14. “The fascination of sociology lies in the fact that its perspective makes us see in a new
light the very world in which we have lived all our lives.” This vision of sociology can be
attributed to
a. Peter Berger.
b. Emile Durkheim.
c. C. Wright Mills.
d. W.E.B. DuBois.
ANS: A SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: knowledge
15. The number of mobile phones per 1,000 people in the U.S. has increased steadily each
year since the introduction of the mobile phone in 1985. A sociologist studying these
rates would
a. agree that mobile phones are necessary.
b. think about the forces behind this increase in mobile phone use.
c. contemplate the individual reasons for owning a mobile phone.
d. wonder how cell phone manufacturers keep up with demand.
ANS: B SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: comprehension SOURCE : new; study
guide
16. Currents of opinion are broadly reflected in
a. personal biographies.
b. rates summarizing various behaviors.
c. advertisements.
d. newspaper headlines.
ANS: B SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: comprehension SOURCE : new; study
guide
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17. Suicide rates represent one example of what Durkheim would call
a. social statics.
b. toubles.
c. social dynamics.
d. currents of opinion.
ANS: D SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: application SOURCE : new
18. The quality of mind that enables us to connect seemingly impersonal and remote
historical forces to the most basic incidents of an individual’s life is
a. the sociological imagination.
b. the structure of opportunities.
c. independent thinking.
d. common sense.
ANS: A SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: knowledge
19. The payoff for those who possess _____________ is that they can understand their
inner life in terms of institutional arrangements and larger historical forces.
a. the sociological imagination
b. common sense
c. independent thinking
d. a sense of self
ANS: A SEC: The Sociological Imagination TYP: knowledge
20. A trouble is
a. an issue.
b. deeply and significantly social.
c. caused by character flaws.
d. outside an individual’s control.
ANS: C SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: knowledge
21. Unemployment is a(n) __________ when it results from corporate downsizing.
a. issue
b. trouble
c. private matter
d. social fact
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ANS: A SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: application
22. Which of the following explanations would someone use to explain an issue?
a. “She had the opportunity but didn’t take it.”
b. “He is lazy.”
c. “There is a flaw or breakdown in an institutional arrangement.”
d. “She didn’t try very hard in school.”
ANS: C SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: application SOURCE: study guide
23. When in a nation of 50 million employees, 15 million are unemployed, that is
a. an issue.
b. a trouble.
c. a series of private troubles.
d. a result of basic character flaws.
ANS: A SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: application
24. The high school dropout rate in the United States is greater than 25 percent. C. Wright
Mills would classify this situation as
a. a trouble.
b. an issue.
c. value-rational action.
d. a social fact.
ANS: B SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: application SOURCE: study guide
25. The obesity rate in the United States is greater than 30 percent. According to Mills, the
key to resolving this issue involves focusing on
a. the character flaws of the 92 million plus Americans who are obese.
b. ways to increase the motivation of obese Americans.
c. understanding the underlying social forces that contributed to the current
obesity rate.
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d. greater awareness of nutritional guidelines.
ANS: C SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: application SOURCE: new
26. The resolution of an issue involves changing
a. institutions.
b. individual character.
c. motivation level.
d. human nature.
ANS: A SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: comprehension
27. The sociologist __________ is associated with the concepts “troubles” and “issues.”
a. Karl Marx
b. Robert K. Merton
c. C. Wright Mills
d. Emile Durkheim
ANS: C SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: knowledge
28. Sociologists do not define the cause of unemployment simply in terms of individual
shortcomings because
a. profit-generating strategies include laying off employees.
b. people may decide to quit their jobs.
c. employees have the power to stay if they really want to.
d. most people are good workers.
ANS: A SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: comprehension
29. Which one of the following is not a characteristic of an issue?
a. An issue is a public matter.
b. An issue is caused by flaws in institutional structures.
c. The cause of an issue can be traced to personal weaknesses.
d. Issues transcend the life of any one individual.
ANS: C SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: comprehension
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30. Sociologist C. Wright Mills believed that people, in order to gain some sense of control
over their lives, need
a. to keep up with the news.
b. regular breaks from their hectic schedule.
c. a quality of mind to help them grasp the interplay between their biographies and
institutional arrangements.
d. to take personal responsibility for their actions.
ANS: C SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: knowledge
31. The sociological imagination allows a person to
a. see the connection between self and immediate relationships.
b. distinguish between mechanical and organic solidarity.
c. see that problems can be solved by changing the character of the individual.
d. make a distinction between troubles and issues.
ANS: D SEC: Troubles and Issues TYP: comprehension SOURCE: study guide
32. The addition of external sources of power from burning coals and oil to hand tools and
modes of transportation is
a. standardization.
b. affective action.
c. modernization.
d. mechanization.
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
33. The __________ refers to a time of the most rapid colonial expansion in history.
a. Age of Reason
b. Age of Imperialism
c. Middle Ages
d. European Century
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
9

34. The period in history known as the Age of Imperialism (1880-1914)
a. was one of the most peaceful periods in modern history.
b. represents the most rapid colonial expansion in history.
c. preceded the period in history known as the Industrial Revolution.
d. corresponds with the Cold War between the United States and the former Soviet
Union.
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
35. One fundamental feature of the Industrial Revolution is
a. craftsmanship.
b. solidarity.
c. manual labor.
d. mechanization.
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
36. The Industrial Revolution transformed the nature of work in which one of the following
ways?
a. Machine production was replaced by hand production.
b. People now could say, “I made this; this is a unique product of my labor.”
c. Products became standardized, and workers performed specific tasks in the
production process.
d. The workers’ power over the production process increased dramatically.
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension SOURCE: study guide
10

37. “Within a few decades, a social order that had existed for centuries vanished, and a new
one, familiar in its outline to us in the twentieth century, appeared.” This assessment
applies to which historical event?
a. European colonization
b. the Industrial Revolution
c. the Cold War
d. the emergence of sociology
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
38. The early sociologists spent most of their professional life attempting to understand the
consequences of which one of the following events?
a. World War I
b. World War II
c. the Industrial Revolution
d. the Enlightenment
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
39. The name sociology and the corresponding academic discipline was born during the
a. American Revolution.
b. Civil War.
c. Vietnam era.
d. Industrial Revolution.
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge SOURCE: study guide
40. Who invented the term sociology?
a. Auguste Comte
b. Emile Durkheim
c. Max Weber
d. Karl Marx
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
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41. In addition to the Industrial Revolution, which one of the following helps to explain the
emergence of sociology as a discipline?
a. mechanization
b. the widespread acceptance of the scientific method
c. the Age of Imperialism
d. rationalization
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
42. Auguste Comte defined sociology as the scientific study of the collective and cumulative
results of the human intellect. The words collective and cumulative suggest that
sociology involves the study of
a. people and history.
b. social and psychological forces.
c. social interactions across cultures and throughout time.
d. the mind and body.
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
43. The Communist Manifesto is associated with
a. W.E.B. DuBois.
b. Karl Marx.
c. Emile Durkheim.
d. Max Weber.
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
44. Marx’s legacy has been obscured by
a. his inability to accurately describe capitalism.
b. a personality disorder.
c. the failure of Communism.
d. the fact that he published in German (not English).
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge SOURCE: study guide
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45. The Communist Manifesto begins with the line
a. “A specter is haunting Europe—the specter of Communism.”
b. “Workers of all countries, unite.”
c. “I am not a Marxist.”
d. “The global economy is restless, anxious, and competitive.”
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
46. Karl Marx described capitalism in all but which one of the following ways?
a. a boundless thirst
b. a werewolf-like hunger
c. socially conscious
d. blood-sucking
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
47. With mechanization, the rise of two distinct classes emerged. The one that owns the
means of production is called
a. the proletariat.
b. the bourgeoisie.
c. socialists.
d. communists.
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
48. According to Karl Marx, the character of class conflict is shaped directly and profoundly
by
a. social facts.
b. solidarity.
c. the means of production.
d. sociological imagination.
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
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49. Land, tools, equipment, factories, modes of transportation, and labor are
a. owned by the proletariat.
b. part of the means of production.
c. essential for providing services.
d. owned by the intellectual classes.
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application SOURCE: study
guide
50. In his writings, Karl Marx expressed profound moral outrage over the plight of the
a. bourgeoisie.
b. middle class.
c. proletariat.
d. intellectual class.
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
51. Marx believed that ________ was the first economic system that could maximize the
immense productive potential of human labor and ingenuity.
a. capitalism
b. socialism
c. communism
d. democracy
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
52. Durkheim observed that as a society industrialized,
a. class conflict increased.
b. value-rational action guided behavior.
c. the means of production shaped life chances.
d. ties that bound individuals to one another changed in profound ways.
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
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53. _________________ is the author of Suicide.
a. Emile Durkheim
b. Karl Marx
c. W.E.B. DuBois
d. Max Weber
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
54. From a sociological perspective, suicide is
a. an act of intentionally killing oneself.
b. the result of personal disappointment and sorrow.
c. self-hatred actualized.
d. the severing of relationships.
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge SOURCE: study guide
55. The term ___________________ describes a state in which ties attaching individuals to
others in the society are weak.
a. egoistic
b. altruistic
c. anomic
d. fatalistic
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application
56. ___________________ suicide occurs when people kill themselves because they have
been cast into a lower status.
a. Egoistic
b. Altruistic
c. Anomic
d. Fatalistic
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ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application
57. ___________________ suicide occurs when individuals kill themselves because they
see their futures as hopelessly blocked.
a. Egoistic
b. Altruistic
c. Anomic
d. Fatalistic
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application
58. When people commit __________ suicide, it is on behalf of the group they love more
than themselves.
a. egoistic
b. altruistic
c. anomic
d. fatalistic
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application SOURCE: study guide
17

59. When people are cast into a lower status, they must reduce their requirements, restrain
their needs, and practice self-control. This situation describes a(n) ______ situation.
a. egoistic
b. altruistic
c. anomic
d. fatalistic
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application
60. During World War II, Japanese pilots committed suicide by flying small planes into
targets. This suicide would qualify as
a. egoistic.
b. altruistic.
c. anomic.
d. fatalistic.
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application
61. A quilt maker may work years creating a one-of-a-kind object from fabrics saved or
purchased and then give it to a special person. Weber would classify the quilt maker’s
actions as driven by
a. rationalization.
b. specialization.
c. an emotion, such as love, loyalty, or revenge.
d. value-rational motives.
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application
62. Max Weber focused on the Industrial Revolution and its effect on
a. the means of production.
b. social actions.
c. ties that bind individuals to one another.
d. the color line.
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
18

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63. Weber maintained that with industrialization, behavior was less likely to be guided by
__________ and more likely to be instrumental-rational.
a. efficiency or expediency
b. subjective meaning
c. tradition or emotion
d. rational thought
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
64. Max Weber maintained that the sociologist’s task was to focus on
a. social facts.
b. social action.
c. the broad reasons people pursue goals.
d. debunking “reality.”
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
65. If an individual pursues a college degree because everyone in his or her family going
back five generations is college-educated, the action can be classified as
a. traditional.
b. affectional.
c. value-rational.
d. instrumental rational
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application SOURCE: study guide
66. If an individual pursues college for the love and pleasure of learning, the action is
a. traditional.
b. affectional.
c. value-rational.
d. instrumental.
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application
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67. If an individual pursues a college degree taking the easiest classes and paying people to
write essays and papers, the action is classified as
a. traditional.
b. affectional.
c. value-rational.
d. instrumental rational.
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application
68. W.E.B. DuBois coined the phrase
a. the “ties that bind people to one another.”
b. the “strange meaning of being black.”
c. the “means of production.”
d. the “course and consequences of social action.”
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge SOURCE: study
guide
69. ________________ is the sense of always looking at one’s self through the eyes of
others and of measuring one’s soul by the tape of a world that looks on in amused
contempt and pity.
a. The sociological imagination
b. A trouble
c. An issue
d. Double consciousness
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
70. W.E.B. DuBois described the American Negro as “two souls, two thoughts, two
unreconciled strivings; two warring ideals in one dark body, whose dogged strength
alone keep its from being torn asunder.” DuBois was describing
a. the sociological imagination.
b. a trouble.
c. an issue.
d. double consciousness.
22

ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: application
23

71. W.E.B. Dubois traced the _________ to the scramble for Africa’s resources, beginning
with the slave trade.
a. color line
b. double consciousness
c. troubles
d. disenchantment
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
72. DuBois wrote that the world was able “to endure this horrible tragedy by deliberately
stopping its ears and changing the subject in conversation.” The tragedy was
a. the scramble for Africa’s resources, including the slave trade.
b. double consciousness.
c. mechanization, which left people without jobs.
d. the carnage of World War I and World War II.
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
73. Which one of the following classical sociologists is credited with founding Hull House?
a. Karl Marx
b. Jane Addams
c. Emile Durkheim
d. W.E.B. DuBois
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new
74. ______________ is first-hand knowledge gained by living and working among those
being studied.
a. Solidarity
b. Social research
c. Sympathetic knowledge
d. Double consciousness
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new; study
guide
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75. Jane Addams maintained that Hull House
a. was overall a failed experiment in social engineering.
b. could not address the needs of the working poor.
c. Was analogous to a community college.
d. was the equivalent of an applied university.
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new
76. If scientists discover how to control the aging mechanisms and human life expectancy
increases to 150 years, the category of people best able to give insights about the
consequence of this change would be
a. the early sociologists.
b. those born after this discovery is made.
c. those who live both before and after the discovery.
d. those born a century or more after the discovery.
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension
77. Who believed that the sociologist’s task is to study social facts?
a. Karl Marx
b. Emile Durkheim
c. Jane Addams
d. W.E.B. DuBois
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge SOURCE: study guide
78. Which sociologist believed that every historical period is characterized by a system of
production that gives rise to specific types of confrontation between an exploiting and
an exploited class?
a. Karl Marx
b. Max Weber
c. Jane Addams
d. W.E.B. DuBois
25

ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
79. Which sociologist maintained that the sociologist’s task is to analyze and explain the
course and the consequences of social action?
a. Emile Durkheim
b. Max Weber
c. Jane Addams
d. W.E.B. DuBois
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge SOURCE: study guide
80. Which sociologist recommended that “Knowing one another better reinforces the
common connection of people such that the potential for caring and empathetic moral
actions increase”?
a. Karl Marx
b. Emile Durkheim
c. Max Weber
d. Jane Addams
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge SOURCE: new;
study guide
81. Who maintained that “The problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color
line”?
a. Karl Marx
b. Max Weber
c. Jane Addams
d. W.E.B. DuBois
ANS: D SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
26

82. “The workers have nothing to lose but their chains; they have a whole world to gain.
Workers of all countries unite.” These famous lines were expressed by
a. Karl Marx.
b. Emile Durkheim.
c. Max Weber.
d. W.E.B. DuBois.
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge
83. _________ argued that capitalism has unleashed “wonders far surpassing Egyptian
pyramids, Roman aqueducts, and Gothic cathedrals.”
a. Karl Marx
b. Max Weber
c. Jane Addams
d. W.E.B. DuBois
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: knowledge SOURCE: study guide
84. In analyzing the mobile phone, Emile Durkheim would most likely focus on
a. the potential of the mobile phone to strengthen and cultivate ties by allowing
people to connect 24/7.
b. the means of production as it relates to wireless phones.
c. the ways in which people embrace or reject mobile phones as a way of achieving
goals.
d. the ‘scramble’ for the resources needed to produce mobile phones and the ways
in which non-European labor is exploited in the process.
ANS: A SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new
85. In analyzing the mobile phone, Max Weber would most likely focus on
a. the potential of the mobile phone to strengthen and cultivate ties by allowing
people to connect 24/7.
b. the means of production as it relates to wireless phones.
c. the ways in which people embrace or reject mobile phones as a way of achieving
goals.
d. the ‘scramble’ for the resources needed to produce mobile phones and the ways
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in which non-European labor is exploited in the process.
ANS: C SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new
86. In analyzing the mobile phone, Karl Marx would most likely focus on
a. the potential of the mobile phone to strengthen and cultivate ties by allowing
people to connect 24/7.
b. the means of production as it relates to wireless phones.
c. the ways in which people embrace or reject mobile phones as a way of achieving
goals.
d. the ‘scramble’ for the resources needed to produce mobile phones and the ways
in which non-European labor is exploited in the process.
ANS: B SEC: The Industrial Revolution TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new
87. Which one of the following assumptions corresponds to a global perspective?
a. Social interaction stops at national borders.
b. Globalization is a relatively new phenomenon.
c. Local events shape the individual biography.
d. Globally established social arrangements that we never see deliver products and
services.
ANS: D SEC : Global Perspective TYP: comprehension
88. The situation in which social activity transcends national borders and in which one
country’s problems are part of a larger global situation is known as
a. global dependency.
b. globalization.
c. global interdependence.
d. global perspective.
ANS: C SEC : Global Perspective TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new
28

89. Which one of the following statements would be most likely to convince an employer of
the worth of a sociology degree?
a. “I like people, and sociology is about people.”
b. “I want to work with people. That is why I majored in sociology.”
c. “I didn’t have to take a statistics course.”
d. “Among other things, a degree in sociology helps me to identify and project
population trends.”
ANS: D SEC: Why Study Sociology? TYP: application
90. The distinctiveness of the sociological perspective lies with its focus on
a. suicide.
b. the individual.
c. social forces.
d. troubles.
ANS: CSEC: Why Study Sociology? TYP: comprehension
91. The sociological perspective offers but which one of the following analytical skills?
a. The ability to anticipate intended and unintended consequences of policies,
practices, and technologies
b. The ability to use the methods of social research to recognize and provide useful
information
c. The ability to focus on the individual without regard to the social context
d. The ability to avoid using superficial knowledge or personal bias as a basis for
making decisions and recommendations that affect others.
ANS: C SEC: Why Study Sociology? TYP: comprehension SOURCE: new
True/False Questions
1. The mobile phone has made communication easier, but has changed little about the
way people relate to one another.
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ANS: False SEC: The Sociological Imagination SOURCE: new
2. The power of social facts is evident only when people resist them.
ANS: True SEC: The Sociological Imagination SOURCE: new
3. The quality of mind that allows people to see how remote and impersonal social forces
shape their life story or biography is known as sympathetic knowledge.
ANS: False SEC: The Sociological Imagination SOURCE: new
4. Sociologists study rates (of marriage, mobile phone ownership, savings, etc) to
understand the social pressures forcing people to behave or think in certain ways.
ANS: True SEC: The Sociological Imagination SOURCE: new; study guide
5. Sociologists maintain that love is a violent, irresistible emotion that strikes someone at
random.
ANS: False SEC: The Sociological Imagination SOURCE: study guide
6. Sociologists view the emotion of love as irrelevant in explaining why people marry.
ANS: False SEC: The Sociological Imagination
7. From a sociological perspective, high unemployment can be solved by changing the
negative attitudes of the unemployed.
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ANS: False SEC: The Sociological Imagination SOURCE : study guide
8. From a sociological perspective, the obesity rate in the United States is directly tied to
individual motivation and desire to lose weight.
ANS: False SEC: The Sociological Imagination SOURCE: new
9. Sociologist C. Wright Mills argues that most people cannot or do not want to see how
their successes connect to others’ failures.
ANS: True SEC: Troubles and Issues SOURCE: study guide
10. Issues can only be resolved by addressing the social forces that created them.
ANS: True SEC: Troubles and Issues SOURCE: new
11. The connection between troubles and issues is evident when a seemingly personal
problem would not exist if the person lived in another time in history or another place
in the world.
ANS: True SEC: Troubles and Issues SOURCE: new; study guide
12. Industrialization changed the nature of work, but little else.
ANS: False SEC: The Industrial Revolution SOURCE: new
31

13. The most fundamental feature of industrialization was mechanization.
ANS: True SEC: The Industrial Revolution
14. The changes triggered by the Industrial Revolution are incalculable.
ANS: True SEC: The Industrial Revolution SOURCE: study guide
15. Sociology emerged as an effort to understand the immeasurable effects of the Industrial
Revolution on human life across the globe.
ANS: True SEC: The Industrial Revolution
16. Emile Durkheim invented the term sociology.
ANS: False SEC: The Industrial Revolution
17. The forces that cause societies to change are known as social dynamics
ANS: False SEC: The Industrial Revolution SOURCE: new
18. In a capitalist system, the search for profit drives global expansion.
ANS: True SEC: The Industrial Revolution
19. For Marx, conflict prevents social change.
32

ANS: False SEC: The Industrial Revolution
20. In analyzing suicide rates, Durkheim emphasized the personal situation of the victim.
ANS: False SEC: The Industrial Revolution SOURCE: study guide
21. Durkheim was able to describe a central emotional quality common to all suicides.
ANS: False SEC: The Industrial Revolution
22. Max Weber was preoccupied with the “strange meaning of being black” in America.
ANS: False SEC: The Industrial Revolution
23. Max Weber maintained that the sociologist’s task was to study social action.
ANS: True SEC: The Industrial Revolution
24. DuBois believed that the problem of the twentieth century was the problem of the
color line.
ANS: True SEC: The Industrial Revolution SOURCE: study guide
25. DuBois’ preoccupation with the “strange meaning of being black” was no doubt affected
by the fact that he was of French, African, and Dutch descent.
33

ANS: True SEC: The Industrial Revolution
26. Globalization is a relatively new phenomenon, which can be traced to the 1990s.
ANS: False SEC: Global Perspective SOURCE: study guide
27. Globalization only has economic implications.
ANS: False SEC: Global Perspective SOURCE : new
28. The characteristic that distinguishes sociology from other disciplines is the perspective
sociologists employ in studying any topic.
ANS: True SEC: Why Study Sociology? SOURCE: new
29. An understanding of the sociological perspective offers few ‘real world’ benefits.
ANS: False SEC: Why Study Sociology? SOURCE: new
30. A degree in sociology leads to very few career tracks.
ANS: False SEC: Why Study Sociology? SOURCE: study guide
34

Concept Application (also in study guide)
Consider the concepts listed below. Match one or more of the concepts with each scenario.
Explain your choices.
a. Anomic
b. Double consciousness
c. Troubles/Issues
d. Social fact
e. Currents of opinion
Scenario 1
“A 4-year-old Texas boy is being taught in isolation from the rest of his classmates—
and faces an even harsher punishment—for not cutting his hair to conform to the school
district’s grooming code. Taylor Pugh now works one-on-one with a teacher’s aide during the
school day at his pre-kindergarten; the suburban Dallas district says next week he’ll be
working alone at a desk in a school office. School rules say hair can’t extend below the
earlobes and must be kept out of boys’ eyes; the district offered to lift the isolation that
Taylor’s faced since November if he keeps it in tight braids. The family’s tried that in the past,
his father contends, and it caused Taylor’s scalp to break and bleed. In any case, Delton
Pugh, who’s looking for a lawyer, tells the Morning News, “there is no reason he should have
to cut his hair.” (McCahill 2010)
ANS: C, D SOURCE: New
Scenario 2
“Celebrities aren’t the only ones giving their babies unusual names. Compared with
decades ago, parents are choosing less common names for kids, which could suggest an
emphasis on uniqueness and individualism, according to new research. Essentially, today’s
kids (and later adults) will stand out from classmates. For instance, in the 1950s, the average
first-grade class of 30 children would have had at least one boy named James (top name in
1950), while in 2013, six classes will be necessary to find only one Jacob, even though that
was the most common boys’ name in 2007. The researchers suspect the uptick of unusual
baby names could be a sign of a change in culture from one that applauded fitting in to
today’s emphasis on being unique and standing out.” (Bryner 2010)
35

ANS: E SOURCE: New
Scenario 3
“Excerpts from a suicide letter suggest that Kevin Morrissey, a 51-year-old Berkeley
man, killed his family in a murder-suicide this week because he was at a “financial breaking
point” as the family skin-care business failed and because he found other work opportunities
“unattractive” (Rayburn and Hill 2007).
ANS: A
Scenario 4
“Black Soldiers in Jim Crow Texas introduces readers to African American soldiers
who were assigned to one of four black regiments (9th and 10th Cavalries and 24th and 25th
Infantries). Not only did these men bear arms and fight gallantly in the Spanish-American
War, but at times, they used their military weapons in struggles for racial equality in the
United States as well. More than three decades after the Emancipation Proclamation, black
soldiers grew intolerant of ‘racial slurs, refusal of service at some businesses, and
harassment.’ Texas’s ‘lower-status Hispanics, the bulk of the population…shared southern
white prejudice against blacks. The war with Spain in 1898,’ Christian asserts, ‘acted as a
catalyst that converted impatience into retaliation. The United States bestowed six Medals
of Honor and twenty-six Certificates of Merit on their members, and all four regiments
inspired laudatory press coverage.’ Yet these men faced the indignities of racism when
serving at military installations in the United States” (Moore 1996:478).
ANS: B
Scenario 5
On the progressive care unit where she works, nurses regularly have five or more patients.
Over the years, hospital procedures with which nurses assist have become more
complicated, and patients are sicker. Brandon said there are not always enough nurses to go
around. “You get your running shoes on, take off, and go,” Brandon said. “The current
nursing shortage is just beginning in Wyoming,” said Julie Cann-Taylor, registered nurse and
36

director of critical care at the hospital. “There had been a nursing vacancy rate of 3 to 4
percent at the hospital for years, but it jumped to 7 percent last fall,” she said. Matt Kaiser,
director of human resources at the hospital, said there are about 40 registered nurse
positions available, creating a vacancy rate of about 11 percent (Rupp 2007).
ANS: C
Short Essay Questions
1. Why focus on mobile phones in a chapter introducing sociology as a discipline?
ANS: Will vary
2. What is sociology? What do sociologists study?
ANS: Will vary
3. What is the sociological imagination?
ANS: Will vary
4. Durkheim maintains that the sociologist’s task is to study social facts. What are social
facts? When do people experience the power of social facts?
ANS: Will vary
5. What are currents of opinion? What does studying rates of behavior reveal?
ANS: Will vary
37

6. In the classic book Invitation to Sociology, Peter L. Berger presents sociology as a
form of consciousness. Explain.
ANS: Will vary
7. In studying patterns of courtship and marriage, what would sociologists emphasize?
ANS: Will vary
8. Peter Berger maintains that a “debunking motif” defines the sociological
consciousness. Explain.
ANS: Will vary
9. Distinguish between troubles and issues. Give an example of how a personal
problem is connected to some larger social force.
ANS: Will vary
10. What major historical event shaped the discipline of sociology? Why?
ANS: Will vary
11. How did the Industrial Revolution affect the nature of work and social interaction?
ANS: Will vary
12. Who was Auguste Comte? What is he known for?
ANS: Will vary
38

13. Explain the law of three stages.
ANS: Will vary
14. If Comte were alive today what features of the mobile phone would he emphasize?
ANS: Will vary
15. For which writing is Marx most famous? What were the key points of that writing?
ANS: Will vary
16. Who are the bourgeoisie and the proletariat? How are they connected to the means
of production?
ANS: Will vary
17. How does the capitalist system promote change?
ANS: Will vary
18. If Marx were alive today, how would he write about mobile phones?
ANS: Will vary
19. What is solidarity?
ANS: Will vary
20. How did Durkheim define suicide?
ANS: Will vary
39

21. Distinguish between egoistic, altruistic, anomic, and fatalistic suicide.
ANS: Will vary
22. If Durkheim were alive today, how would he write about mobile phones?
ANS: Will vary
23. What is social action? What are the four types? Give an example of each.
ANS: Will vary
24. If Weber were alive today, how would he write about mobile phones?
ANS: Will vary
25. Explain the phrase “strange meaning of being black.” What life experience may have
influenced DuBois’ preoccupation with this phrase?
ANS: Will vary
26. According to DuBois, how did the color line come into being?
ANS: Will vary
27. If DuBois were alive today, how would he write about mobile phones?
ANS: Will vary
28. What is double consciousness?
40

ANS: Will vary
29. Who is Jane Addams? What contributions did she make to sociology?
ANS: Will vary
30. If Addams were alive today, how would she write about mobile phones?
ANS: Will vary
31. What are the four positions on globalization?
ANS: Will vary
32. Describe three assumptions that underlie the global perspective.
ANS: Will vary
33. Imagine that you majored in sociology. How would you explain the usefulness of the
sociological perspective? What skills would you bring to the workplace?
ANS: Will vary
Comprehensive Essay Questions
1. Think about a problem or challenge you are facing or have faced or one that someone
close to you is facing or has faced. Describe that problem or challenge: (1) as if it were
an issue and (2) as if it were a trouble.
41

ANS: Will vary
2. Durkheim defines social facts as ideas, feelings, and ways of behaving that possess the
remarkable property of existing outside the consciousness of the individual. Explain.
Give two examples of social facts.
ANS: Will vary
3. Why is the Industrial Revolution considered pivotal to the development of sociology as a
discipline?
ANS: Will vary
Chapter 2
Theoretitical Perspectitives and Methods of Social Research
Multiple-Choice Questions
1. Which one of the following is a false statement regarding the relationship between
theory and research?
a. Theory inspires research.
b. Research inspires theory creation.
c. Theory is used to interpret research findings.
d. Theory comes before research.
ANS: D SEC: Why Focus On TYP: comprehension
42

2. Sociologists view theory and research as
a. interdependent.
b. independent.
c. separate but equal.
d. unrelated.
ANS: ASEC: Why Focus On TYP: comprehension
3. A __________ is a framework for thinking about what is going on in the world around
us.
a. fact
b. theoretical perspective
c. concept
d. method of research
ANS: B SEC: Why Focus On TYP: knowledge SOURCE: new; study guide
43

4. A _________ is the contribution a part makes to order and stability within the society.
a. dysfunction
b. façade of legitimacy
c. symbol
d. function
ANS: D SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: comprehension
5. _______ are consequences disruptive to the system or to some segment of society.
a. Functions
b. Dysfunctions
c. Facades of legitimacy
d. Symbols
ANS: B SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: comprehension
6. _______ use the human body as an analogy for society.
a. Conflict theorists
b. Symbolic interactionists
c. Functionalists
d. Action theorists
ANS: C SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: comprehension SOURCE : new
7. From a purely functionalist perspective, sports teams
a. divide the community and benefit team owners.
b. foster a sense of belonging to a school, city, or country associated with them.
c. direct fans’ attention away from the real issues a city faces.
d. are ultimately a drain on the economy.
ANS: B SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: comprehension
8. According to functionalists, poverty exists because
44

a. the poor lack skills to do better.
b. it contributes in some way to the stability of the overall society.
c. the poor lack the drive to do better.
d. somebody has to be on the bottom.
ANS: B SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: comprehension SOURCE: study guide
9. “Poor people often ‘volunteer’ for over-the-counter and prescription drug tests.” From a
functionalist perspective, this statement is describing
a. a façade of legitimacy.
b. the negotiated order.
c. a function of poverty.
d. human nature.
ANS: C SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application SOURCE : new
10. ______ means anticipated or intended.
a. Latent
b. Manifest
c. Function
d. Dysfunction
ANS: B SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: comprehension
11. _____ means unanticipated or unintended.
a. Latent
b. Manifest
c. Function
d. Dysfunction
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: comprehension
12. A community celebration provides an occasion to plan activities with family and friends.
45

This represents a
a. manifest function.
b. latent function.
c. manifest dysfunction.
d. latent dysfunction.
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
13. Community-wide celebrations have the unintended consequence of breaking down
barriers across neighborhoods. Such a consequence is known as a
a. manifest function.
b. latent function.
c. manifest dysfunction.
d. latent dysfunction.
ANS: B SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
14. Which one of the following is a latent or unexpected function of community-wide
celebrations (as discussed in the textbook)?
a. The celebration functions as a marketing and public relations event for the
corporate sponsors.
b. The celebration provides an occasion to plan activities with friends.
c. Community celebrations give a visible role to public transportation systems.
d. The celebration unifies the community through a shared experience.
ANS: C SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
15. Sometimes community-wide celebrations have the unexpected consequence of turning
into an occasion in which people drink too much alcohol and miss work or class the next
day as a result. This represents a __________ of the community-wide celebration.
a. latent dysfunction
b. latent function
c. manifest function
d. facade of legitimacy
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application SOURCE: new; study guide
46

16. Traffic jams, closed streets, piles of garbage, and shortages of clean public toilets are
some of the anticipated disruptions to order and stability that accompany communitywide
celebrations. These kinds of disruptions are known as
a. manifest dysfunctions.
b. latent functions.
c. manifest functions.
d. latent dysfunctions.
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
17. A functionalist would ask which one of the following questions about the border
fences?
a. Why do border fences exist on the border, and what anticipated and
unanticipated consequences do they have for American and Mexican societies?
b. Who benefits from the border fences, and at whose expense?
c. Does everyone in the U.S. and Mexico see the border fence in the same way?
d. Do taxpayers want border fences?
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
47

18. The border barriers were built with the expectation that the crime rate along the border
would drop. This is a
a. manifest function.
b. latent function.
c. manifest dysfunction.
d. latent dysfunction.
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
19. As one might expect, forcing the undocumented to enter the U.S. through inhospitable
terrain resulted in increased fatalities. This is a
a. manifest function.
b. latent function.
c. manifest dysfunction.
d. latent dysfunction.
ANS: C SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
20. A unanticipated consequence of the border barriers is that ranchers, farmers, and sport
fishers are denied access to the Rio Grande River. This is a
a. manifest function.
b. latent function.
c. manifest dysfunction.
d. latent dysfunction.
ANS: D SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
21. An unintended outcome of the barriers is a border fence that doubles as a volleyball
net. This is a
a. manifest function.
b. latent function.
c. manifest dysfunction.
d. latent dysfunction.
ANS: B SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
48

22. As might be expected, the border fence forces undocumented entries away from
secured urban areas to less populated unsecured areas and through rough terrain and
climates, giving Border Patrol agents a strategic advantage. This is a
a. manifest function.
b. latent function.
c. manifest dysfunction.
d. latent dysfunction.
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application SOURCE: new
23. As expected, the construction of border barriers has led to an increase in illicit
businesses that facilitate undocumented immigrants’ entry into the United States. This
is a
a. manifest function.
b. latent function.
c. manifest dysfunction.
d. latent dysfunction.
ANS: C SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application SOURCE: new
24. Which one of the questions listed below is a conflict theorist most likely to ask?
a. How is social order possible?
b. How do meanings change over time?
c. How does a part contribute to societal stability?
d. Who benefits from a particular pattern or social arrangement, and at whose
expense?
ANS: D SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: comprehension
25. The question “Who benefits from a particular pattern or social arrangement?” is of
most interest to a(n)
a. functionalist.
b. conflict theorist.
49

c. symbolic interactionist.
d. action theorist.
ANS: B SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: comprehension SOURCE: Study guide
26. Conflict theorists maintain that exploitation by the dominant group is disguised by the
a. proletariat.
b. means of production.
c. façade of legitimacy.
d. bourgeoisie.
ANS: C SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: comprehension
27. A woman argues that the low salary she pays someone from Mexico to watch her
children is fair because “she got paid more than she would have gotten paid in Mexico.”
Conflict theorists call this line of reasoning
a. cultural relativity.
b. the facade of legitimacy.
c. a latent function.
d. class consciousness.
ANS: B SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: application
28. An employer tells workers “if you aren’t happy with the pay and working conditions
here, go work somewhere else! It’s a free country.” Conflict theorists call this line of
reasoning
a. cultural relativity.
b. sympathetic knowledge.
c. the façade of legitimacy.
d. good business practice.
ANS: C SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: application SOURCE : new; study guide
50

29. Which one of the following concepts applies to the façade of legitimacy?
a. complete analysis
b. well-documented and supported assertions
c. misleading arguments
d. strong premises
ANS: C SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: comprehension
30. In analyzing the construction of 700 miles of border barriers along the U.S.–Mexican
border, conflict theorists would point out all but which one of the following facts:
a. The barriers secure a border that separates a high-wage and low-wage economy.
b. The barriers have resulted in an overall drop in crime rate along the border.
c. The barriers are just one of many measures that the United States has put in
place over time to control the flow of low-wage undocumented labor from
Mexico, but not eliminate it.
d. The barriers serve as a potent political symbol used to convey the illusion that
United States is in control of its borders during a time of almost intolerable
economic uncertainty.
ANS: B SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: knowledge SOURCE : new
31. Conflict theorists argue that __________________ benefit least from the barrier
construction and stepped-up border security.
a. undocumented workers
b. American consumers
c. American employers
d. private contractors
ANS: A SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: comprehension
32. Who is most likely to ask “how do people involved in interaction ‘take account of what
each other is doing or is about to do” and then direct their own conduct accordingly?”
a. functionalists
b. conflict theorists
c. symbolic interactionists
d. classic theorists
51

ANS: C SEC: Symbolic Interaction TYP: application SOURCE: new
33. _____ consist(s) of situations in which two people communicate, interpret, and respond
to each other’s words and actions.
a. Symbols
b. Social interaction
c. The façade of legitimacy
d. Functions
ANS: B SEC: Symbolic Interaction TYP: comprehension SOURCE : study guide
34. A _________________ is any kind of physical phenomenon—a word, object, color, or
sound—to which people assign a name, meaning, or value.
a. value
b. preconception
c. symbol
d. observation
ANS: C SEC: Symbolic Interaction TYP: comprehension
35. ________ maintain that people must share a symbol system if they are to communicate
with one another.
a. Functionalists
b. Conflict theorists
c. Symbolic interactionists
d. Social action theorists
ANS: C SEC: Symbolic Interaction TYP: comprehension
36. Myra is from Mexico but is now a U.S. citizen. She speaks both Spanish and English, but
speaks only English in public because she imagines people will think she an
undocumented immigrant if she speaks in Spanish. Symbolic interactionists would call
52

this
a. symbolism.
b. self preservation.
c. the negotiated order.
d. self awareness.
ANS: D SEC: Symbolic Interaction TYP: application SOURCE: new
37. Within a classroom, it is expected that teachers stand at the front of the room and
lecture while students sit at desks, pay attention, take notes and raise their hands to ask
questions. However, on the first day of class, Professor Smith tells her students that
they are free to ask questions at any point without raising their hands. Symbolic
interactionists would call this
a. symbolism.
b. self preservation.
c. the negotiated order.
d. self awareness.
ANS: C SEC: Symbolic Interaction TYP: application SOURCE: new
38. Which one of the following topics would be of greatest interest to a symbolic
interactionist?
a. unintended disruptions to order and stability associated with the construction of
border fences
b. expected disruptions to order and stability associated with the construction of
border fences
c. the ways in which American consumers and employees benefit from low wage
labor of undocumented immigrants
d. strategies undocumented immigrants use to escape detection when passing
through official border crossings
ANS: D SEC : Symbolic Interaction TYP: application SOURCE : study guide
39. Which one of the following questions about undocumented immigration from Mexico
to the U.S. would be of most interest to a conflict theorist?
a. How does undocumented immigration contribute to order and stability in Mexico
53

and the U.S.?
b. Who benefits from the existence of undocumented immigration, and at whose
expense?
c. Does everyone in the U.S. and Mexico see undocumented immigration in the
same way?
d. Why doesn’t the U.S close its borders to foreign workers?
ANS: B SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: application SOURCE: study guide
40. Which one of the following questions about undocumented immigration from Mexico
to the U.S. would be of most interest to a functionalist?
a. How does undocumented immigration contribute to order and stability in Mexico
and the U.S.?
b. Who benefits from the existence of undocumented immigration, and at whose
expense?
c. Does everyone in the U.S. and Mexico see undocumented immigration in the
same way?
d. Why doesn’t the U.S close its borders to foreign workers?
ANS: A SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: application
41. Which one of the following questions about undocumented immigration from Mexico
to the U.S. would be of most interest to a symbolic interactionist?
a. How does undocumented immigration contribute to order and stability in Mexico
and the U.S.?
b. Who benefits from the existence of undocumented immigration, and at whose
expense?
c. How do undocumented immigrants come to interact with potential employers?
d. Why doesn’t the U.S close its borders to foreign workers?
ANS: C SEC : Symbolic Interaction TYP: application
42. ________________ is most likely to state that the construction of barriers along the
border had the unanticipated effect of creating a Border Patrol Search, Trauma, and
Rescue Team that responds to all incidents involving people in distress.
a. Functionalism
54

b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interaction
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application
43. ________ would emphasize that without some shared meanings, encounters with
others would be very confusing.
a. Functionalism
b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interaction
ANS: C SEC: Symbolic Interaction TYP: application
44. The construction of border fences is associated with an overall drop in crime rate. This
finding is one associated with
a. functionalism.
b. conflict theory.
c. symbolic interaction.
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application SOURCE: study guide
45. Many unauthorized immigrants manage to blend in with the crowds passing through
official ports of entry. This finding is one associated with
a. functionalism.
b. conflict theory.
c. symbolic interaction.
ANS: C SEC: Symbolic Interaction TYP: application
46. _____________ would point out that American politicians, employers, and defense
contractors benefit from the barriers along the U.S.-Mexican border at the expense of
low-wage laborers from Mexico.
a. Functionalism
55

b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interaction
ANS: B SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: application SOURCE: new
47. _____________ would argue that “the real purpose of the fence construction is to
prevent the free movement of labor from a low wage economy into a high wage one.”
a. Functionalism
b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interaction
ANS: B SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: application SOURCE: new
48. _______________ would ask “how does undocumented immigration contribute to
order and stability in Mexico and the U.S.?”
a. Functionalism
b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interaction
ANS: A SEC: Functionalist Theory TYP: application SOURCE: new
49. _________________ would ask “who benefits from the existence of undocumented
immigration, and at whose expense?”
a. Functionalism
b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interaction
ANS: B SEC: Conflict Theory TYP: application SOURCE: new
50. __________________ would ask “how do undocumented immigrants come to interact
with potential employers?”
a. Functionalism
b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interaction
56

ANS: C SEC: Symbolic Interaction TYP: application SOURCE: new
51. Which one of the following statements best describes how the three perspectives
should be viewed?
a. A single perspective can give us a complete picture of a process or an event.
b. Most sociologists maintain that one perspective only should be adopted when
analyzing an issue.
c. The three perspectives should be viewed as opposing viewpoints.
d. We can gain greater understanding of a process or an event if we examine it from
the point of view of more than one perspective.
ANS: D SEC: Critique of Theories TYP: application
52. Which one of the following statements represents a criticism of the functionalist
perspective?
a. It is too liberal.
b. It focuses on the “small stuff.”
c. It offers no technique for determining the “overall net effect.”
d. It focuses on the “have nots.”
ANS: C SEC: Critique of Theories TYP: comprehension SOURCE: study guide
53. A major criticism of the conflict theory is that it
a. overemphasizes the stability and order that exist in a society.
b. presents a simplistic view of the relationship between dominant and subordinate
groups.
c. focuses too strongly on consumer groups, citizen groups, and the worker’s ability
to promote change.
d. understates the tensions and divisions that exist in society.
57

ANS: B SEC: Critique of Theories TYP: comprehension
54. One strength of the ___________________ perspective is that it offers a balanced view
that includes intended and unintended consequences related to order and disorder.
a. functionalist
b. conflict
c. symbolic interaction
d. sociological
ANS: A SEC: Critique of Theories TYP: comprehension
55. One strength of the ___________________ perspective is that it forces us to look
beyond popular justifications and explore questions about whose interests are being
protected and promoted and at whose expense.
a. functionalist
b. conflict
c. symbolic interaction
d. sociological
ANS: B SEC: Critique of Theories TYP: comprehension
56. One weakness of the ___________________ perspective is that specific observations
are difficult to generalize.
a. functionalist
b. conflict
c. symbolic interaction
d. sociological
ANS: C SEC: Critique of Theories TYP: comprehension
58

57. One strength of the ___________________ perspective is that it encourages first-hand,
extensive observation of an issue.
a. functionalist
b. conflict
c. symbolic interaction
d. sociological
ANS: C SEC: Critique of Theories TYP: comprehension
58. _______________ is a fact-gathering and fact-explaining enterprise governed by strict
rules.
a. Research
b. Theory
c. Sociological theory
d. A perspective
ANS: A SEC: Methods of Social Research TYP: comprehension
59. Sociologists adhere to the scientific method, which means that they acquire data
through
a. testing.
b. surveys.
c. observation.
d. personal interviews.
ANS: C SEC: Methods of Social Research TYP: comprehension
60. Which one of the following assumptions applies to the scientific method?
a. Knowledge is always subjective.
b. Research findings can be manipulated to advance a good cause.
c. Truth is confirmed through faith.
59