Sociology Answers
Sociology is the systematic study of society, social groups, and institutions; how people interact, form identities, and distribute power and resources. It investigates culture, norms, inequality, race, gender, class, family, religion, work and technology, using theory and research methods to explain patterns and change. Insights help design policy, improve organizations, and foster inclusion by revealing the social forces shaping everyday life. It asks not just what occurs but why and for whom. Please note that the questions require knowledge and not all questions are the same difficulty level. Ready for my sociology answers?
Multiple choice: The sociological imagination primarily involves the ability to connect:
A) Personal troubles to individual flaws only
B) Personal troubles to public issues and social structures
C) Biology to chemistry
D) Psychology to neuroscience
Correct answer: B) Personal troubles to public issues and social structures
Explanation: The sociological imagination links individual experiences with broader social forces.
Short answer: Define culture in one clear sentence.
Correct answer: Culture is the learned set of beliefs, values, norms, symbols, and practices shared by a group and passed from one generation to the next.
Explanation: Culture is not innate; it is socially transmitted meaning and behavior.
Fill in: Norms are rules for behavior, while __________ are shared ideas about what is good and desirable.
Correct answer: values
Explanation: Values guide judgments about worth, and norms guide actions.
True or False: Ethnocentrism is the practice of evaluating another culture by the standards of that culture itself.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Ethnocentrism judges another culture by one’s own standards; cultural relativism uses the other culture’s standards.
Multiple choice: Which method best captures naturalistic, in-depth understanding of a social setting?
A) Laboratory experiment
B) Survey with closed questions only
C) Ethnography with participant observation
D) Content analysis of laws only
Correct answer: C) Ethnography with participant observation
Explanation: Ethnography involves immersion to observe and interpret meanings in context.
Short answer: State the difference between independent variable and dependent variable.
Correct answer: The independent variable is manipulated or considered a cause; the dependent variable is the outcome that may change in response.
Explanation: Causal models specify predictors and outcomes.
Fill in: A sample that gives each member of the population an equal chance of selection is a __________ sample.
Correct answer: random
Explanation: Random sampling reduces systematic selection bias.
True or False: Correlation by itself proves causation in sociological research.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Correlation may be due to causation, coincidence, or a third variable.
Multiple choice: Which ethical principle requires researchers to disclose risks and obtain voluntary agreement?
A) Deception without limit
B) Informed consent
C) Mandatory participation
D) Public shaming
Correct answer: B) Informed consent
Explanation: Participants must be informed and free to choose.
Short answer: Define operationalization.
Correct answer: Operationalization is the process of turning a concept into measurable indicators or procedures.
Explanation: Clear measures allow reliable and valid data collection.
Fill in: Reliability refers to consistency of measurement, while __________ refers to accuracy of measuring what is intended.
Correct answer: validity
Explanation: Reliable tools can be invalid; valid tools must be consistent and accurate.
True or False: A spurious relationship is a false association produced by an unmeasured third variable.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: A third variable can create or hide associations.
Multiple choice: Which research design best isolates causal effects in a controlled setting?
A) Cross-sectional survey
B) Field ethnography
C) Laboratory or field experiment with comparison groups
D) Historical narrative
Correct answer: C) Laboratory or field experiment with comparison groups
Explanation: Experiments use control and manipulation to infer causality.
Short answer: Define content analysis in one sentence.
Correct answer: Content analysis is a systematic coding and interpretation of texts, media, or artifacts to identify patterns and meanings.
Explanation: It quantifies or interprets cultural products.
Fill in: In mixed methods research, investigators integrate quantitative data and __________ data to enrich findings.
Correct answer: qualitative
Explanation: Combining numbers with narratives can improve understanding.
True or False: Socialization ends at adulthood.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Socialization continues across the life course as roles change.
Multiple choice: Which agent of socialization most directly transmits the hidden curriculum?
A) Family only
B) Peer group only
C) School
D) Media only
Correct answer: C) School
Explanation: Schools teach implicit norms such as punctuality and obedience.
Short answer: Define role conflict.
Correct answer: Role conflict occurs when expectations from two or more roles clash, making it hard to meet all demands.
Explanation: Incompatible role requirements produce strain.
Fill in: When expectations within a single role are difficult to meet, the person experiences role __________.
Correct answer: strain
Explanation: Strain arises from competing demands within one role.
True or False: A status that is assigned at birth and usually involuntary is called an achieved status.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: That is an ascribed status; achieved status is earned.
Multiple choice: Which concept refers to groups that are small, close, and enduring with strong emotional ties?
A) Secondary groups
B) Primary groups
C) Bureaucracies
D) Crowds
Correct answer: B) Primary groups
Explanation: Primary groups involve intimate, face-to-face interaction.
Short answer: Define bureaucracy according to key features.
Correct answer: A bureaucracy is a formal organization with hierarchy, rules, division of labor, impersonality, and merit-based advancement.
Explanation: These features aim for efficiency and predictability.
Fill in: The “iron law of oligarchy” claims that organizations tend toward rule by a small __________.
Correct answer: elite
Explanation: Power centralizes among leaders over time.
True or False: Strong social ties always spread new information more effectively than weak ties.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Weak ties often bridge different networks and spread novel information.
Multiple choice: Which theoretical perspective views society as a system of interrelated parts working to maintain stability?
A) Symbolic interactionism
B) Conflict theory
C) Structural functionalism
D) Exchange theory
Correct answer: C) Structural functionalism
Explanation: Functionalism emphasizes cohesion, functions, and equilibrium.
Short answer: State the main idea of conflict theory.
Correct answer: Conflict theory argues that social life is shaped by competition over resources and power, producing inequality and change.
Explanation: It highlights domination and conflict between groups.
Fill in: Symbolic interactionism focuses on the creation of meaning through everyday __________.
Correct answer: interaction
Explanation: Shared symbols and definitions guide action.
True or False: Anomie refers to strong regulation and clear norms.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Anomie is normlessness or weak regulation.
Multiple choice: Which term refers to behavior that violates a social norm?
A) Culture
B) Deviance
C) Role
D) Status
Correct answer: B) Deviance
Explanation: Deviance is defined by norm violation, not inherent qualities.
Short answer: Explain labeling theory in one sentence.
Correct answer: Labeling theory holds that deviance results partly from societal reactions and labels that alter self-identity and opportunities.
Explanation: Labels can become self-fulfilling.
Fill in: According to strain theory, deviance may occur when there is a gap between cultural goals and legitimate __________.
Correct answer: means
Explanation: Limited access to means can prompt innovation or deviance.
True or False: Social control theory proposes that stronger social bonds can reduce deviance.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: Attachment and commitment constrain rule-breaking.
Multiple choice: Which term describes formal penalties used to enforce norms?
A) Folkways
B) Sanctions
C) Values
D) Symbols
Correct answer: B) Sanctions
Explanation: Sanctions can be positive or negative, formal or informal.
Short answer: Define social stratification.
Correct answer: Social stratification is the structured ranking of categories of people based on unequal access to resources, power, and prestige.
Explanation: It is a layered system of inequality.
Fill in: A system where status is fixed at birth with little mobility is a __________ system.
Correct answer: caste
Explanation: Caste systems restrict social movement.
True or False: Intergenerational mobility refers to movement within a single person’s lifetime only.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Intergenerational mobility compares positions of parents and children.
Multiple choice: Which concept refers to total assets minus debts?
A) Income
B) Wealth
C) Wage
D) Salary
Correct answer: B) Wealth
Explanation: Wealth measures net worth, distinct from income flow.
Short answer: Define meritocracy.
Correct answer: Meritocracy is a system in which advancement is based on ability and effort rather than birth or connections.
Explanation: It assumes equal opportunity and fair competition.
Fill in: The idea that multiple social categories combine to shape advantage and disadvantage is called __________.
Correct answer: intersectionality
Explanation: Intersecting identities produce unique experiences.
True or False: Prejudice is a behavior, while discrimination is an attitude.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Prejudice is an attitude; discrimination is behavior.
Multiple choice: Which term describes a group that shares a cultural heritage such as language or tradition?
A) Race
B) Ethnicity
C) Class
D) Caste
Correct answer: B) Ethnicity
Explanation: Ethnicity is linked to shared culture and ancestry.
Short answer: Define assimilation in one sentence.
Correct answer: Assimilation is the process by which a minority group adopts the dominant culture’s patterns, sometimes losing distinct identity.
Explanation: It involves cultural and often structural integration.
Fill in: Viewing one’s own culture as the center and superior to others is __________.
Correct answer: ethnocentrism
Explanation: Ethnocentrism can distort understanding of difference.
True or False: Gender refers only to biological attributes.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Gender includes social roles, identities, and expectations.
Multiple choice: Which concept refers to the unequal distribution of power and resources between genders?
A) Gender socialization
B) Gender stratification
C) Gender identity
D) Gender expression
Correct answer: B) Gender stratification
Explanation: Stratification denotes patterned inequality by gender.
Short answer: Define social construction of reality.
Correct answer: Social construction is the process by which people collectively create and sustain meanings, categories, and institutions that seem natural.
Explanation: Reality is negotiated through interaction and institutions.
Fill in: Families, schools, media, and peers are primary agents of __________.
Correct answer: socialization
Explanation: They transmit culture and roles.
True or False: The nuclear family is the only universal family form.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Family forms vary widely across cultures and history.
Multiple choice: Which function of education involves transmitting basic norms and values?
A) Manifest function: socialization
B) Latent function: matchmaking
C) Latent function: childcare
D) Dysfunction: inequality
Correct answer: A) Manifest function: socialization
Explanation: Formal schooling teaches cultural knowledge and norms.
Short answer: Define hidden curriculum.
Correct answer: Hidden curriculum consists of informal lessons in discipline, hierarchy, and expectations learned at school outside the formal syllabus.
Explanation: It shapes behavior and attitudes.
Fill in: The view that health and illness are influenced by social factors is called social __________.
Correct answer: epidemiology
Explanation: It studies how social conditions affect health patterns.
True or False: Secularization refers to increasing religious influence over public life.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Secularization is the declining social power of religious institutions.
Multiple choice: Which type of authority is based on legal rules and procedures?
A) Traditional authority
B) Charismatic authority
C) Legal-rational authority
D) Familial authority
Correct answer: C) Legal-rational authority
Explanation: Legitimacy rests on formal rules, not personal traits.
Short answer: Define civil society in one sentence.
Correct answer: Civil society is the realm of voluntary associations, organizations, and networks between the state, market, and family.
Explanation: It includes groups that voice interests and build social capital.
Fill in: The process by which everyday life becomes organized around efficiency, calculability, predictability, and control is called __________.
Correct answer: McDonaldization
Explanation: These principles extend rationalization into many spheres.
True or False: Mass media only reflect society and never shape it.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Media both mirror and influence beliefs and behaviors.
Multiple choice: Which term refers to the spread of cultural traits across societies?
A) Cultural diffusion
B) Cultural lag
C) Cultural capital
D) Social capital
Correct answer: A) Cultural diffusion
Explanation: Diffusion occurs through travel, trade, media, and migration.
Short answer: Define cultural capital in simple terms.
Correct answer: Cultural capital is cultural knowledge, skills, habits, and credentials that can yield social advantage.
Explanation: It can affect education and status.
Fill in: The resources embedded in social networks and relationships are called social __________.
Correct answer: capital
Explanation: Social capital includes trust, norms, and ties.
True or False: Urbanization is the movement of people from cities to rural areas in large numbers.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Urbanization is movement to cities and growth of urban life.
Multiple choice: The demographic transition model links declining birth and death rates to:
A) War cycles
B) Industrialization and development
C) Seasonal climate change
D) Short-term fashion trends
Correct answer: B) Industrialization and development
Explanation: Economic and social changes alter fertility and mortality.
Short answer: Define gentrification.
Correct answer: Gentrification is the process by which investment and higher-income residents move into lower-income urban areas, raising costs and often displacing current residents.
Explanation: It changes neighborhood demographics and housing markets.
Fill in: The worldwide interconnectedness of economies, cultures, and populations is called __________.
Correct answer: globalization
Explanation: Globalization involves flows of goods, people, information, and ideas.
True or False: Collective behavior refers to structured, long-lived organizations only.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: It includes spontaneous group actions like crowds and fads.
Multiple choice: Which factor is central to the resource mobilization approach to social movements?
A) Random chance
B) Availability of money, organization, and networks
C) Individual charisma only
D) Natural disasters
Correct answer: B) Availability of money, organization, and networks
Explanation: Movements need resources and coordination.
Short answer: Define framing in the context of social movements.
Correct answer: Framing is the strategic construction of meanings that interpret problems, identify causes, and propose solutions to mobilize supporters.
Explanation: Frames align grievances with action.
Fill in: A temporary, unregulated gathering that acts in a common focus is a __________.
Correct answer: crowd
Explanation: Crowds are short-lived forms of collective behavior.
True or False: Moral panic describes a widespread, disproportional public reaction to a perceived social threat.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: Media and authorities can amplify fear beyond actual risk.
Multiple choice: Which concept describes the process by which nonmedical problems become defined and treated as medical issues?
A) Secularization
B) Medicalization
C) Urbanization
D) Rationalization
Correct answer: B) Medicalization
Explanation: Social issues can shift into medical categories.
Short answer: Define digital divide.
Correct answer: The digital divide is unequal access to information and communication technologies, often along lines of income, geography, and education.
Explanation: Unequal access can widen inequalities.
Fill in: The practice of interpreting events through preexisting beliefs and selecting stories to influence perception is media __________.
Correct answer: framing
Explanation: Framing shapes how audiences understand issues.
True or False: Stigma refers to a deeply discrediting attribute that reduces a person from whole to tainted in others’ eyes.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: Stigma alters social identity and treatment.
Multiple choice: Which group is characterized by large size, impersonal ties, and goal orientation?
A) Primary group
B) Secondary group
C) Kinship group
D) Clique
Correct answer: B) Secondary group
Explanation: Secondary groups are formal and task-focused.
Short answer: Define reference group.
Correct answer: A reference group is any group that people use as a standard to evaluate themselves, their behavior, or their aspirations.
Explanation: It provides norms for comparison.
Fill in: The expectation that illness exempts one from normal roles but requires seeking help is the __________ role.
Correct answer: sick
Explanation: The sick role pairs rights with obligations.
True or False: Deviance is the same in all societies and time periods.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Norms and definitions of deviance are socially and historically variable.
Multiple choice: Which concept refers to the process by which behaviors once seen as deviant become normalized?
A) Destigmatization
B) Anomie
C) Socialization
D) Diffusion without change
Correct answer: A) Destigmatization
Explanation: Changing norms can reduce stigma and reclassify behaviors.
Short answer: Define social distance.
Correct answer: Social distance is the perceived closeness or remoteness between social groups that can shape interaction, trust, and prejudice.
Explanation: It influences inclusion and exclusion.
Fill in: A widely shared emotional reaction that spreads rapidly through a population is a collective __________.
Correct answer: effervescence
Explanation: The term highlights shared emotional energy.
True or False: Cultural lag occurs when technology changes faster than norms and institutions adjust.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: Institutions may respond slowly to new conditions.
Multiple choice: Which statement best defines social capital?
A) Money in banks
B) The value of social networks, trust, and norms that enable coordination
C) Total years of schooling
D) Government bonds
Correct answer: B) The value of social networks, trust, and norms that enable coordination
Explanation: Social capital facilitates cooperation and access to resources.
Short answer: Define status set.
Correct answer: A status set is the collection of all statuses that a person occupies at a given time.
Explanation: People hold multiple positions simultaneously.
Fill in: When behavior is guided by rules and calculation over tradition and emotion, this is social __________.
Correct answer: rationalization
Explanation: Rationalization organizes life around efficiency and control.
True or False: High culture and popular culture always have identical audiences and functions.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: They often serve different groups and purposes, though boundaries can blur.
Multiple choice: Which concept refers to learning how to behave in a new role or situation after major life changes?
A) Primary socialization
B) Resocialization
C) Groupthink
D) Diffusion
Correct answer: B) Resocialization
Explanation: New norms and identities are learned in new settings.
Short answer: Define groupthink.
Correct answer: Groupthink is faulty group decision making that arises from pressure for consensus, leading to suppressed dissent and poor evaluation of alternatives.
Explanation: It thrives under cohesion without critical norms.
Fill in: The process by which people manage impressions to control how others see them is called impression __________.
Correct answer: management
Explanation: Individuals use symbols and scripts to guide others’ views.
True or False: A folkway is a norm with strong moral significance whose violation brings severe sanctions.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: That describes a more; folkways are everyday customs with mild sanctions.
Multiple choice: Which process describes persistent negative treatment of a group by institutions, not just individuals?
A) Individual prejudice
B) Institutional discrimination
C) Cultural relativism
D) Assimilation
Correct answer: B) Institutional discrimination
Explanation: Policies and practices can create systematic disadvantage.
Short answer: Define social change in one sentence.
Correct answer: Social change is a transformation over time in culture, institutions, and patterns of social behavior.
Explanation: It ranges from gradual shifts to rapid transformations.
Fill in: The tendency to favor one’s own group over others is called in-group __________.
Correct answer: bias
Explanation: In-group bias shapes perception and treatment.
True or False: A status that dominates all others in shaping a person’s identity is called a master status.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: A master status can overshadow other positions.
Multiple choice: Which concept refers to unequal access to technology and digital skills?
A) Cultural lag
B) Digital divide
C) Anomie
D) Mechanical solidarity
Correct answer: B) Digital divide
Explanation: Differential access can intensify inequality.
Short answer: Define mechanical solidarity according to Emile Durkheim.
Correct answer: Mechanical solidarity is social cohesion based on similarity and shared beliefs, typical of small, traditional societies.
Explanation: In such societies, division of labor is limited.
Fill in: In complex societies, cohesion based on interdependence from specialized work is called __________ solidarity.
Correct answer: organic
Explanation: Organic solidarity arises from division of labor.
True or False: Max Weber identified traditional, charismatic, and legal-rational types of authority.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: These ideal types describe different sources of legitimacy.
Multiple choice: Which stage is first in many models of social movement development?
A) Bureaucratization
B) Decline
C) Emergence
D) Institutionalization
Correct answer: C) Emergence
Explanation: Movements often begin with awareness and initial organization.
Short answer: Define urban ecology.
Correct answer: Urban ecology studies how social and spatial processes shape the distribution of people and activities within cities.
Explanation: It links environment and social organization.
Fill in: The process of adopting elements of another culture while retaining one’s original culture is __________.
Correct answer: acculturation
Explanation: Assimilation involves deeper absorption; acculturation allows retention.
True or False: A social role is the position a person holds; a status is the expected behavior in that position.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Status is the position; role is the expected behavior.
Multiple choice: Which choice best defines a subculture?
A) The culture of the entire society
B) A group with distinct patterns that exist within a larger culture
C) A group that rejects and actively opposes the dominant culture
D) A small clique without norms
Correct answer: B) A group with distinct patterns that exist within a larger culture
Explanation: Subcultures have unique traits but are part of the wider society.
Short answer: Define social integration.
Correct answer: Social integration is the degree to which people are connected to social networks and institutions.
Explanation: Integration affects cohesion and well-being.
Fill in: The belief that society is held together by shared values and consensus is the __________ perspective.
Correct answer: functionalist
Explanation: Functionalists stress order and stability.
True or False: According to exchange theory, social interaction involves costs and rewards that influence behavior.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: People seek to maximize rewards and minimize costs.
Multiple choice: Which concept names the process of defining and ranking occupations by esteem and respect?
A) Economic capital
B) Status attainment
C) Occupational prestige
D) Relative deprivation
Correct answer: C) Occupational prestige
Explanation: Prestige reflects social evaluations of work.
Short answer: Define relative deprivation.
Correct answer: Relative deprivation is the feeling of disadvantage that arises when people compare themselves to others who are perceived as better off.
Explanation: It can motivate protest or change.
Fill in: The perception that one’s own group has been wronged and deserves redress is grievance __________.
Correct answer: consciousness
Explanation: Shared grievances can mobilize collective action.
True or False: Population aging has no sociological consequences for families or care systems.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Aging affects work, health care, and intergenerational support.
Multiple choice: Which statement best describes socialization through media?
A) Media only entertain, not educate
B) Media transmit norms, values, and identities through content and framing
C) Media are separate from social life
D) Media influence only children
Correct answer: B) Media transmit norms, values, and identities through content and framing
Explanation: Media shape meaning as agents of socialization.
Short answer: Define agency in one sentence.
Correct answer: Agency is the capacity of individuals to act independently and make choices within social constraints.
Explanation: It balances with structure in sociological analysis.
Fill in: When a society moves from agricultural to industrial and then to service-based production, it undergoes economic __________.
Correct answer: transformation
Explanation: Production shifts alter class and life chances.
True or False: A stereotype is an oversimplified belief about a group that can persist even when contradicted by evidence.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: Stereotypes are resistant to change and can feed prejudice.
Multiple choice: Which concept refers to learning the norms and behaviors associated with aging roles?
A) Anticipatory socialization
B) Age stratification socialization
C) Life course socialization
D) Gerotranscendence only
Correct answer: C) Life course socialization
Explanation: Socialization continues as people enter new age-based roles.
Short answer: Define sanction and give one example.
Correct answer: A sanction is a reaction to behavior that enforces norms; for example, praise for helping or a fine for speeding.
Explanation: Sanctions can be positive or negative.
Fill in: A learned, socially shared symbol that stands for something else is a __________.
Correct answer: sign
Explanation: Symbols carry meaning that guides interaction.
True or False: Structural inequalities can persist even without individual intent to discriminate.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: Institutional rules and histories can reproduce inequality.
Multiple choice: Which concept refers to feeling disconnected from one’s work, products, or fellow workers?
A) Alienation
B) Integration
C) Enchantment
D) Acculturation
Correct answer: A) Alienation
Explanation: Alienation is common in highly rationalized settings.
Short answer: Define social norm.
Correct answer: A social norm is a shared expectation for behavior that guides what people should or should not do in a situation.
Explanation: Norms are enforced through sanctions.
Fill in: The measurable number of live births per woman over her lifetime is the total __________ rate.
Correct answer: fertility
Explanation: Fertility is a key demographic measure.
True or False: Education always reduces inequality.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Education can reduce or reproduce inequality depending on access and structure.
Multiple choice: Which process spreads cultural elements rapidly through digital networks?
A) Slow diffusion only
B) Viral diffusion
C) Mechanical solidarity
D) Estate stratification
Correct answer: B) Viral diffusion
Explanation: Digital platforms enable fast, wide sharing.
Short answer: Define symbolic boundary.
Correct answer: A symbolic boundary is a conceptual distinction that separates people into groups and shapes inclusion and exclusion.
Explanation: Boundaries organize identities and relations.
Fill in: The informal, often invisible barriers that limit advancement for some groups in organizations are called the __________ ceiling.
Correct answer: glass
Explanation: Barriers can be cultural, structural, or network-based.
True or False: Network closure always increases innovation.
Correct answer: False.
Explanation: Closure can build trust, but open networks foster novelty.
Multiple choice: Which term refers to the tendency to associate with similar others?
A) Heterophily
B) Homophily
C) Random mixing
D) Triadic closure only
Correct answer: B) Homophily
Explanation: Similarity shapes tie formation and information flow.
Short answer: Define deviance amplification.
Correct answer: Deviance amplification is a process where reactions to deviance increase the very behavior they aim to control.
Explanation: Stigmatizing responses can escalate problems.
Fill in: The patterned, organized ways a society meets basic needs are called social __________.
Correct answer: institutions
Explanation: Institutions include family, education, religion, and economy.
True or False: A counterculture is a subculture that opposes important aspects of the dominant culture.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: It rejects core values or practices of the mainstream.
Multiple choice: Which concept explains how everyday routines become taken for granted and unquestioned?
A) Externalization only
B) Habitualization and institutionalization
C) Sudden revolution
D) Pure chance
Correct answer: B) Habitualization and institutionalization
Explanation: Repetition stabilizes patterns that later appear natural.
Short answer: Define life chances.
Correct answer: Life chances are the opportunities people have to improve their quality of life, shaped by social position and resources.
Explanation: Position influences health, education, and mobility.
Fill in: The expectation to fit multiple valued roles perfectly at the same time creates the __________ ideal.
Correct answer: impossible role
Explanation: Competing ideals can set unattainable standards.
True or False: Social facts are ways of acting, thinking, and feeling external to the individual and endowed with coercive power.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: Emile Durkheim used the concept to define sociology’s subject.
Multiple choice: Which concept refers to the spread of norms or innovations through network paths?
A) Structural holes
B) Diffusion
C) Bureaucracy
D) Organic solidarity
Correct answer: B) Diffusion
Explanation: Diffusion travels across ties and through bridging nodes.
Short answer: Define symbolic interactionism in one sentence.
Correct answer: Symbolic interactionism studies how people create shared meanings through interaction and how these meanings shape behavior.
Explanation: Micro-level processes build social reality.
Fill in: The systematic study of population size, composition, and distribution is __________.
Correct answer: demography
Explanation: Demography analyzes births, deaths, and migration.
True or False: Social research that includes community members in defining problems and methods is participatory research.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: It shares power and increases relevance.
Multiple choice: Which classical thinker focused on class conflict as the engine of social change?
A) Emile Durkheim
B) Max Weber
C) Karl Marx
D) Georg Simmel
Correct answer: C) Karl Marx
Explanation: Marx emphasized class struggle over resources and power.
Short answer: Define ideal type as used by Max Weber.
Correct answer: An ideal type is an analytical construct that emphasizes key features of a social phenomenon to aid comparison and explanation.
Explanation: It is a heuristic, not a perfect description.
Fill in: Georg Simmel highlighted the importance of group size, noting that a two-person group is a __________ and a three-person group is a __________.
Correct answer: dyad; triad
Explanation: Size changes dynamics, stability, and coalitions.
True or False: Auguste Comte coined the term sociology and promoted a scientific approach to society.
Correct answer: True.
Explanation: Comte advocated positivism and systematic study.
choice: Which statement best captures the sociological perspective on common sense?
A) Common sense is always accurate
B) Common sense is sufficient for explanation
C) Common sense can be misleading and should be tested with systematic evidence
D) Common sense makes research unnecessary
Correct answer: C) Common sense can be misleading and should be tested with systematic evidence
Explanation: Sociology evaluates claims with methods and data.
