CHAPTER 1: Sociology: Theory and Method
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. Sociology is the scientific study of:
a. human groups
b. politics
c. economics
d. geography
Answer: A
2. From a sociological perspective, romantic love is:
a. dependent on sexual compatibility
b. natural and universal in human life
c. shaped by social and historical influences
d. limited to persons of the opposite sex
Answer: C
3. What is it called when we “think ourselves away” from the familiar routine in order to see
things in a broader context?
a. romanticism
b. sociological imagination
c. multiple personality disorder
d. globalization
Answer: B
4. Who developed the concept of the sociological imagination?
a. Anthony Giddens
b. C. Wright Mills
c. Émile Durkheim
d. Karl Marx
Answer: B
5. When a sociologist visits a coffee house, he or she is able to identify a variety of behaviors
and interactions among patrons within a broad context. The ability to interpret the events
taking place within the coffee house is referred to as:
a. overintellectualizing
b. empirical investigation
c. sociological imagination
d. macrosociology
Answer: C
6. The sociological imagination allows people to understand that:
a. universal emotions determine all human behavior
b. human behavior is random and unstructured
c. personal feelings may be shaped by social context
d. history shapes sociological theory
Answer: C
7. People’s lives are increasingly linked to those of other people around the world. This
process of social change creating connections between a local setting and the rest of the
world is called:
a. socialization
b. communism
c. functionalism
d. globalization
Answer: D
8. According to the sociological perspective, human behavior:
a. is influenced by social context
b. is entirely determined by the social context
c. has nothing to do with social context
d. is mostly a result of genetic characteristics
Answer: A
9. What is the meaning of “social structure”?
a. any building constructed by more than one person
b. events that occur within a public space
c. the emotional state of an individual
d. regularity in people’s behavior and relationships
Answer: D
10. The two-way process by which people shape their social world through individual actions
and are themselves reshaped by society is called:
a. sociological imagination
b. structuration
c. socialism
d. globalization
Answer: B
11. ________ shows what events have occurred; ________ explains why the events have
occurred.
a. Theory; factual research
b. Factual research; theory
c. Sociology; psychology
d. Psychology; sociology
Answer: B
12. Sociologists must begin their studies with:
a. theory
b. factual research
c. social structure
d. interpretation
Answer: A
13. Which of the following was an important factor behind the emergence of sociological
thinking?
a. political oppression
b. religious freedom
c. natural sciences
d. historical events
Answer: D
14. The field of sociology developed as a result of changes brought about by the:
a. American Revolution
b. French Revolution
c. European Revolution
d. Industrial Revolution
Answer: D
15. The field of sociology originated in ______ in ________.
a. 500 years B.C.E.; China
b. first century, C.E.; Rome
c. early nineteenth century; France
d. early twentieth century; United States
Answer: C
16. Which theorist first used the term “sociology” to describe a science that interprets,
predicts, and controls human behavior?
a. Auguste Comte
b. Émile Durkheim
c. Karl Marx
d. Max Weber
Answer: A
17. According to Auguste Comte, the knowledge of society is based on:
a. religious beliefs
b. imagination
c. scientific evidence
d. traditions
Answer: C
18. According to Émile Durkheim, society is:
a. greater than the sum of its parts
b. equal to the sum of its parts
c. less than the sum of its parts
d. indivisible into individual parts
Answer: A
19. What did Émile Durkheim call aspects of social life that shape individual actions?
a. social structure
b. social transformation
c. social facts
d. unintended consequences
Answer: C
20. According to Émile Durkheim, all parts of society must work in harmony as an integrated
whole in order to function over time. He called this social cohesion:
a. mechanical solidarity
b. organic solidarity
c. solidarity integration
d. cohesive solidarity
Answer: B
21. Which sociologist showed that social factors exert a fundamental influence on suicidal
behavior?
a. Anthony Giddens
b. Émile Durkheim
c. George Herbert Mead
d. Robert Merton
Answer: B
22. What behavior did Émile Durkheim analyze within a sociological context?
a. shoplifting
b. suicide
c. schizophrenia
d. drug addiction
Answer: B
23. Which early theorist saw class conflict as the main source of social change?
a. Émile Durkheim
b. Harriet Martineau
c. W.E.B. Du Bois
d. Karl Marx
Answer: D
24. According to Karl Marx, the modern era is shaped primarily by:
a. anomie
b. bureaucracy
c. capitalism
d. globalization
Answer: C
25. Karl Marx’s ideas influenced:
a. Émile Durkheim
b. governments across the world
c. religion
d. Auguste Comte
Answer: B
26. The economic system that is directed at earning a profit for a few people, selling products
to many people, and keeping workers’ wages low is called:
a. socialism
b. Marxism
c. capitalism
d. communism
Answer: C
27. What did Max Weber believe strongly influenced the rise of capitalism?
a. organic solidarity
b. religion
c. feminism
d. symbolic interaction
Answer: B
28. Max Weber contended that a bureaucratic structure is the most efficient organizational
type. Which of the following exemplifies a bureaucratic organization?
a. a local college alumni chapter
b. a Fourth of July block party
c. a hospital
d. a cooking class
Answer: C
29. Very few________ were given the opportunity to become professional sociologists in the
late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries.
a. men
b. social scientists
c. minorities
d. Americans
Answer: C
30. Who wrote “The nursery, the boudoir, and the kitchen are all excellent schools in which
to learn the morals and manners of a people”?
a. Émile Durkheim
b. Emily Dickinson
c. Harriet Martineau
d. Jean Baudrillard
Answer: C
31. According to W.E.B. Du Bois, African Americans were forced to see themselves only
through the eyes of others. He called this:
a. organic solidarity
b. rationalization
c. postmodernism
d. double consciousness
Answer: D
32. Who commented on U.S. race relations: “The problem of the twentieth century is the
problem of the color line”?
a. W.E.B. Du Bois
b. George Herbert Mead
c. Harriet Martineau
d. Robert Merton
Answer: A
33. Which theorist developed the sociological perspective known as symbolic interactionism?
a. Auguste Comte
b. Émile Durkheim
c. Jean Baudrillard
d. George Herbert Mead
Answer: D
34. According to symbolic interactionists, what is involved in nearly all social interactions?
a. class conflict
b. an exchange of functions
c. an exchange of symbols
d. a feeling of despair or aimlessness
Answer: C
35. Two men are having lunch together, laughing and being playful with one another. Which
of the following would analyze their relationship by looking for clues to interpret their
behavior?
a. a structural-functionalist
b. a Marxist
c. a postmodernist
d. a symbolic interactionist
Answer: D
36. Which sociological perspective uses the analogy of the human body in analyzing the role
each part of society plays to maintain order and stability?
a. Marxism
b. symbolic interactionism
c. functionalism
d. postmodernism
Answer: C
37. Who was particularly influential in the development of functionalism?
a. C. Wright Mills
b. George Herbert Mead
c. W.E.B. Du Bois
d. Robert K. Merton
Answer: D
38. Which sociological perspective considers consensus among the members of society as
imperative for social equilibrium?
a. symbolic interactionism
b. functionalism
c. feminism
d. postmodernism
Answer: B
39. A parent might say to a child standing on a chair, “Don’t stand on the chair because you
may fall and hurt yourself.” What is the latent function of this statement?
a. The child will fall off of the chair if he or she looses his or her balance.
b. The child will understand the consequences of standing on the chair.
c. The child will get down from the chair.
d. The child will continue to stand on the chair.
Answer: B
40. The Interstate Highway System facilitated an efficient movement of traffic in and around
urban areas. The decline of the central city was the ________ consequence of the highway
system.
a. obvious
b. manifest
c. intended
d. latent
Answer: D
41. Which of the following best describes a latent function of September 11, 2001?
a. More Americans watched national news broadcasts.
b. More Americans finally understood the geography of the Middle East.
c. More Americans recognized the impact of international events on their everyday lives.
d. More Americans supported the federal government’s decision to enter war.
Answer: C
42. Shared beliefs that serve to justify the actions of dominant groups are called:
a. symbols
b. social facts
c. ideologies
d. bureaucracies
Answer: C
43. How does Marxism differ from other sociological perspectives such as functionalism and
symbolic interactionism?
a. Marxism is not concerned with political reform.
b. Marxism places greater emphasis on class conflict, power, and ideology.
c. Marxism distinguishes between manifest and latent functions.
d. Marxism emphasizes the study of language in the analysis of the world.
Answer: B
44. The ability of individuals to further their own interests even when others resist is called:
a. power
b. ideology
c. symbolism
d. capitalism
Answer: A
45. What sociological perspective can be used to analyze the behavior of union workers who
picket a corporation that only gives salary increases to its executives?
a. Marxism
b. postmodernism
c. feminism
d. anomie
Answer: A
46. What do Marxism and feminism have in common?
a. Both link sociological theory and political reform.
b. Neither considers the sociologist as an advocate for social change.
c. Both reject the idea that subordinate groups are worthy of study.
d. Women originated both frameworks.
Answer: A
47. Which sociological perspective focuses on the intersection of gender, class, and race?
a. functionalism
b. capitalism
c. symbolic interactionism
d. feminism
Answer: D
48. Which sociological perspective suggests that the grand narratives once thought to guide
social progress no longer make any sense?
a. functionalism
b. Marxism
c. feminism
d. postmodernism
Answer: D
49. Postmodernists believe that:
a. society is governed by history
b. society is highly pluralistic
c. the world is destined to be socialist
d. economic forces shape society
Answer: B
50. According to Jean Baudrillard, meaning is created in the postmodern world by:
a. images in the media
b. religion
c. class consciousness
d. latent functions
Answer: A
51. Which of the following most closely resembles the ideas of a postmodernist?
a. “Sociology is a field that produces a knowledge of society based on scientific evidence.”
b. “Sociologists must study social life with the same objectivity as scientists study the natural
world.”
c. “Sociologists should understand that our subjectivities are continuously being transformed
because the world is in a state of flux.”
d. “The goal of sociology should be to study the class conflicts between the workers and the
owners of the means of production.”
Answer: C
52. Which of the following are more narrowly focused efforts to explain particular social
conditions or events?
a. symbols
b. facts
c. theories
d. functions
Answer: C
53. Some sociological theories are directed at understanding wide-ranging social structures
and relationships; other theories are more narrowly focused; still other theories are directed at
what Robert Merton referred to as the middle range. Which of the following exemplifies a
theory of the middle range?
a. a historical assessment of social and economic changes
b. an analysis of the contributions of institutions to the function of a social system
c. an understanding of the significance of symbols in social communication
d. the ways in which people evaluate their social position relative to other people
Answer: D
54. When sociologists conduct research, they should:
a. be dispassionate about the subject they are studying
b. use theory to guide their research
c. avoid the application of theoretical perspectives in analyzing data
d. reject data that contradict their hypothesis
Answer: B
55. The study of everyday behavior in face-to-face interaction is called:
a. microsociology
b. macrosociology
c. political science
d. empirical investigation
Answer: A
56. Analysis of large-scale social systems is called:
a. microsociology
b. macrosociology
c. political science
d. empirical investigation
Answer: B
57. Which of the following is an example of microsociology?
a. studying the social interactions in a coffee shop
b. developing the organizational chart for a large corporation
c. outlining the interrelationships between political and economic institutions
d. observing the hierarchical structure within a university
Answer: A
58. Which of the following would be the best way to study the political system?
a. comparative questions
b. microsociological analysis
c. theoretical questions
d. macrosociological analysis
Answer: D
59. Sociology involves systematic methods of empirical investigation, the analysis of data,
theoretical thinking and the logical assessment of arguments to develop a body of knowledge;
therefore, it is a:
a. symbol
b. religion
c. fact
d. science
Answer: D
60. Which of the following would be an area of research that particularly interests
sociologists?
a. the construction of highway infrastructure
b. the voting patterns in the 2008 presidential election
c. the development of artificial intelligence
d. the rules of the National Football League
Answer: B
61. Research questions that draw comparisons between different human societies are called:
a. factual
b. comparative
c. theoretical
d. developmental
Answer: B
62. What kind of research question is the following: “How many households in the United
States are comprised of two or more unmarried adults living together?”
a. factual
b. comparative
c. developmental
d. theoretical
Answer: A
63. What type of research question examines the frequency of unmarried couple households
in the past three censuses?
a. factual
b. comparative
c. developmental
d. theoretical
Answer: C
64. ________ questions require the collection of facts; ________ questions require an
explanation of facts.
a. Empirical; theoretical
b. Empirical; comparative
c. Theoretical; empirical
d. Theoretical; comparative
Answer: A
65. What kind of research question is posed by a study comparing the patterns of inheritance
among the Rockefeller family during the early twentieth century and the patterns of
inheritance among the Kennedy family in the latter part of the twentieth century?
a. empirical
b. comparative
c. developmental
d. theoretical
Answer: C
66. How does the research of sociologists differ from that of physicists?
a. Physicists are real scientists, whereas sociologists are pundits with graduate degrees.
b. There is little difference in the research processes employed by physicists and sociologists.
c. Physicists study particles, but sociologists study people’s emotions and behaviors.
d. Physicists are usually employed by private corporations, but sociologists work only at
universities.
Answer: B
67. All research begins with a:
a. hypothesis
b. conclusion
c. research design
d. research problem
Answer: D
68. Good research seeks to:
a. fill a gap in understanding
b. disprove previously posed theories
c. promote one sociological perspective over another
d. make certain that the data support the theory
Answer: A
69. Good sociological research should begin with a:
a. puzzle-solving research question
b. thorough review of evidence
c. careful review of relevant literature
d. precise research method
Answer: A
70. Once a researcher has identified a research problem, he or she then:
a. formulates a hypothesis
b. reviews existing evidence
c. interprets research results
d. determines an appropriate research method
Answer: B
71. Which step in the research process may involve formulation of a definite hypothesis?
a. defining the research problem
b. reviewing the available evidence
c. making the problem precise
d. developing an appropriate research design
Answer: C
72. What is the final step in a research project?
a. developing a hypothesis
b. interpreting the results
c. developing an appropriate research design
d. reporting the findings
Answer: D
73. Before a researcher publishes his or her findings, he or she must:
a. determine what questions about his or her study remain unanswered
b. dispute existing theories that contradict his or her own
c. decide which data to exclude from his or her report of findings
d. ensure that his or her findings are more widely accepted than those of other researchers
Answer: A
74. Which research method provides a firsthand account of a particular group, organization,
or community?
a. ethnography
b. survey
c. comparative
d. experiment
Answer: A
75. Which of the following is an advantage of fieldwork as a research method?
a. It provides more in-depth information about social processes than other methods.
b. It enables data collection on large numbers of individuals.
c. It allows the researcher to control the influence of specific variables.
d. It is easier for subsequent researchers to repeat.
Answer: A
76. One of the most difficult aspects of fieldwork is:
a. selecting a random sample
b. gaining the trust of the study subjects
c. finding sufficient archival sources
d. writing the standardized questionnaire
Answer: B
77. Which research method would be best to use if one wants a large, representative sample
of people’s attitudes toward an issue?
a. ethnography
b. survey
c. life history
d. experiment
Answer: B
78. What would be the best research method for studying how residents in a gated community
feel about racial desegregation?
a. participant observation
b. comparative research
c. historical analysis
d. surveys
Answer: D
79. Which type of survey questions provide respondents a fixed range of possible responses?
a. fieldwork
b. experimental
c. standardized
d. open-ended
Answer: C
80. Which type of survey questions enable respondents to answer in their own words?
a. historical analysis
b. experimental
c. standardized
d. open-ended
Answer: D
81. What is a pilot study?
a. a study in which the researcher takes part in the activities of the group being studied
b. a trial run of a survey to identify and to revise potential problems with a survey
questionnaire
c. a study of a proportion of cases drawn from the larger population
d. a study that ensures that every member of a population has the same probability of being
included
Answer: B
82. A ________ is a smaller proportion of a larger group selected for study.
a. population
b. control group
c. sample
d. standardized group
Answer: C
83. In order for a sample to accurately reflect the characteristics of the study population, it
must be:
a. representative
b. random
c. diverse
d. historical
Answer: A
84. A sample that ensures that every member of the population has an equal chance of being
selected is called a:
a. standardized sampling
b. controlled sampling
c. random sampling
d. representative sampling
Answer: C
85. What research method tests hypotheses under highly controlled conditions?
a. fieldwork
b. experiment
c. survey
d. historical analysis
Answer: B
86. Sociologists engage in historical analysis because:
a. a time perspective is frequently needed to make sense of a research problem
b. sociology is not intended to study the modern world
c. other research methods are inadequate
d. a good sociologist must also be a good historian
Answer: A
87. If you are studying women’s magazines dated from the Suffrage Amendment until the end
of World War II to identify the changes in articles about working women, you are conducting
a(n):
a. experiment
b. random sample
c. oral history
d. historical analysis
Answer: D
88. Studying a period of the recent past by interviewing people who witnessed events makes
use of:
a. participant observation
b. random sampling
c. oral history
d. surveys
Answer: C
89. The use of two or more methods of research to supplement and to produce more reliable
data is called:
a. standard deviation
b. correlation coefficient
c. triangulation
d. open-ended surveying
Answer: C
90. In sociological research, various ways of calculating averages are called:
a. correlations
b. controls
c. measures of central tendency
d. standard deviations
Answer: C
91. The measure of how much one variable relates to another in a consistent way is the:
a. correlation coefficient
b. measure of central tendency
c. standard deviation
d. standard of conformity
Answer: A
92. If you add all the numbers in a series of data and then divide by the number of cases, you
have calculated the:
a. mean
b. median
c. mode
d. correlation coefficient
Answer: A
93. What is the mean of the following series of numbers: 0, 1, 3, 5, 6?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 5
d. 15
Answer: B
94. What is the most frequent figure in a series of numbers called?
a. mean
b. median
c. mode
d. standard deviation
Answer: C
95. What is the mode of the following series of numbers: 1, 1, 2, 6?
a. 1
b. 2
c. 6
d. 10
Answer: A
96. What is the median of the following series of numbers: 1, 3, 6?
a. 1
b. 3
c. 5
d. 10
Answer: B
97. What do statisticians call the middle number in a series?
a. mean
b. median
c. mode
d. correlation coefficient
Answer: B
98. What calculation gives a researcher a good idea of the range of a set of figures?
a. mean
b. median
c. mode
d. standard deviation
Answer: D
99. If two variables were completely correlated, their correlation coefficient would be:
a. 0
b. 1
c. 10
d. 100
Answer: B
100. Which of the following statistical terms refers to the average?
a. mean
b. mode
c. median
d. standard deviation
Answer: A
101. What should be your first step when reading a table?
a. Consider what conclusions may be drawn from the data.
b. Read the footnotes because they contain the most important information.
c. Read the full title because it is the researcher’s attempt to describe the data in the table.
d. Identify the units used in the table such as percentages, averages, or other measures.
Answer: C
102. To gather data on the “tearoom trade” (anonymous homosexual encounters in men’s
public restrooms), Laud Humphreys acted as a lookout for his subjects, but also
surreptitiously noted license-plate numbers and addresses. The next year, he interviewed a
sample of his subjects in their homes, claiming to be performing a survey. Why do many
sociologists consider this research method to be unethical?
a. It involves deception.
b. It put Humphreys at risk for retaliation.
c. It investigated an extremely sensitive subject.
d. It could have damaged his subjects’ lives.
Answer: D
TRUE/FALSE
1. All known human societies associate romantic love with marriage.
Answer: False
2. With a sociological imagination, one sees personal troubles, such as divorce, in terms of
larger public issues.
Answer: True
3. As individuals, we create and change the structures within our social world. In turn, we are
influenced and affected by those same structures.
Answer: True
4. People today live practically the same way they have for the last 10,000 years—in large
industrialized towns and cities.
Answer: False
5. Karl Marx urged sociologists to “study social facts as things.”
Answer: False
6. Manifest functions are results of an activity that participants are not aware of and did not
intend.
Answer: False
7. Feminism is a major, influential movement within sociology today.
Answer: True
8. Fortunately, sociology has avoided the kinds of quarrels and debates that characterize other
sciences.
Answer: False
9. Theoretical debate in sociology is a sign of its weakness as a science.
Answer: False
10. Microsociology and macrosociology are interdependent.
Answer: True
11. The results of sociological research often challenge our commonsense beliefs.
Answer: True
12. All sociological research projects must follow the same steps precisely.
Answer: False
13. A disadvantage of participant observation is that only small groups or communities can be
studied this way.
Answer: True
14. In order to study the homeless, you must actually live among them.
Answer: False
15. The only valid way to study a large population is to include every member of the
population in the study group.
Answer: False
16. Historical analysis often uses sources like newspapers and contemporary descriptions to
supplement the subject’s account.
Answer: True
17. The only way to calculate an average in statistics is to divide the total of a series of
numbers by the number of cases.
Answer: False
18. No harm can come to subjects as a result of completing a questionnaire.
Answer: False
19. Securing informed consent from research subjects makes it easier for sociologists to
establish rapport with their subjects and get work done.
Answer: False
Test Bank for Essentials of Sociology
Anthony Giddens, Mitchell Duneier, Richard P Appelbaum, Deborah Carr
9780393932379, 9780393674088, 9780393937459, 9780393918830
