Self-Assessment
Comprehensive Exam
CHAPTERS
1–17
Take the quiz on this card to test your knowledge of the concepts
from Chapters 1–17
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
6.
7.
looks at the relationship
between individual characteristics;
examines the relationships
between institutional characteristics.
a. Microsociology; macrosociology
b. Macrosociology; microsociology
c. Metasociology; macrosociology
d. Metasociology; microsociology
Many people buy designer clothes that they can’t
afford. The clothes are an example of a status
symbol that reflects a
a. latent function.
b. manifest function.
c. dysfunction.
d. social system.
True or False. Much of contemporary
functionalism grew out of the work of Auguste
Comte and Émile Durkheim.
Alexandra notices that she tends to perform best
on tests that are given in the afternoon. She then
begins to collect data of her test performances
and asks close friends and classmates to do the
same. In trying to understand whether test scores
and test times are related, Alexandra is using
a. intuition.
b. inferences.
c. deductive reasoning.
d. inductive reasoning.
True or False. If researchers use a
nonprobability sample, they can generalize the
results to a larger population.
True or False. Correlation equals
causation.
At a party, George was eating nachos and salsa.
He took a bite of his chip and then dipped what
was left of his chip back into the large bowl of
salsa. His friend Brett gave him a disgusted look.
Which of the following did George break?
a. A more
b. A cultural universal
c. A folkway
d. A law
8. Anaz is an 8-year-old Iranian girl who loves the
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16.
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female fashions she sees in American films and
television shows. Lately she’s been questioning
why her mother wears a burka. Anaz’s
questioning of her family’s traditions could best
be explained by
a. cultural relativism.
b. multiculturalism.
c. cultural imperialism.
d. ethnocentrism.
True or False. The legal controversy over
file sharing and downloading music off the Web is
an example of cultural lag.
What are the three stages of Mead’s role-taking
theory?
a. Prework stage, work stage, postwork stage
b. Anal stage, phallic stage, postphallic stage
c. Mirror stage, active stage, passive stage
d. Preparatory stage, play stage, game stage
True or False. Charles Horton Cooley
proposed that the looking-glass self develops in
five phases.
True or False. According to Erving
Goffman, social life mirrors theatrical
performance.
Jake has a full-time course load while also
working 30 hours a week. Given the demands
of both work and school, Jake might be likely to
experience
a. role set.
b. role strain.
c. role conflict.
d. role exchange.
According to
, social interaction
is based on trying to maximize rewards for oneself
while minimizing costs.
a. ethnomethodology theory
b. feminist theory
c. conflict theory
d. social exchange theory
True or False. If we define something as
real and act on it, it can, in fact, become real. This
is known as the self-fulfilling prophecy.
Max Weber outlined the characteristics of
an efficient and productive bureaucracy.
Which of the following was NOT one of those
characteristics?
a. High degree of specialization
b. Explicit rules and regulations
17.
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19.
20.
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22.
23.
24.
25.
c. Qualifications-based employment
d. Decentralized authority
True or False. Groupthink occurs most
often when there is a diversified collection of
ideas discussed among the in-group members.
True or False. The glass ceiling refers to
organizational barriers, but not attitudes, in the
workplace.
Who of the following is most likely to be the
victim of a crime?
a. A black man
b. A black woman
c. A white man
d. A white woman
What is a fundamental question that a conflict
theorist would ask with regard to crime?
a. “Why do some people commit crimes
whereas others do not?”
b. “Why are some acts defined as criminal
whereas others are not?”
c. “Why do men commit more violent crimes
than women?”
d. “How does one’s social context impact
deviant behavior?”
True or False. Labeling theory claims that
society’s reaction to a behavior is a major factor in
defining oneself or others as deviant.
Which of the following is NOT a major structural
factor in social mobility?
a. Changes in the economy
b. Immigration patterns
c. Consumer confidence
d. Number of available positions in given
occupations
True or False. One of the criticisms of
conflict theory is that it ignores structural factors
in explaining stratification.
True or False. The Davis–Moore thesis is
a symbolic interactionist perspective.
is the belief that heterosexuality
is superior to and more natural than
homosexuality or bisexuality.
a. Heterobiology
b. Homosexism
c. Heterosexism
d. Bisexism
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26.
27.
28.
29.
30.
31.
32.
33.
Self-Assessment Comprehensive Exam
posit that gender inequality
and sexuality are socially constructed.
a. Functionalists
b. Conflict theorists
c. Feminist theorists
d. Symbolic interactionists
True or False. U.S. abortion rates have
been increasing.
What is the difference between race and
ethnicity?
a. Race is a negative term that refers to
difference; ethnicity is the politically
correct term that refers to difference.
b. Race refers to the physical characteristics
of a group of people; ethnicity refers to the
cultural heritage of a people.
c. Race refers to people around the world;
ethnicity refers only to a group of people
within a specific nation.
d. There is no difference between race and
ethnicity; the terms are synonymous.
True or False. Ethnocentrism is the
belief that one’s own racial group is naturally
inferior to others.
True or False. The lower the
educational level, the greater the likelihood
that a person will have an interracial marriage.
According to Max Weber, which one of
the following types of authority is most
characteristic of the majority of U.S. presidents?
a. Charismatic
b. Absolute
c. Traditional
d. Rational-legal
claim that the U.S. political
structure is patriarchal.
a. Functionalists
b. Conflict theorists
c. Feminist theorists
d. Symbolic interactionists
True or False. Firefighters, farmers,
and environmentalists are examples of specialinterest groups.
34. Felipe serves on the board of directors of
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several different companies. He is part of
a. an interlocking directorate.
b. a transnational corporation.
c. a conglomerate.
d. a monopoly.
True or False. Deindustrialization has
spread because of globalization.
True or False. A common criticism
of functionalist explanations of work and the
economy is that functionalists overlook macrolevel variables.
The family serves many important functions
in a society. Which of the following functions
does the family NOT serve?
a. Sexual regulation
b. Social placement
c. Peer approval
d. Economic security
Which of the following is NOT a common factor
in intimate partner violence (IPV)?
a. Income level
b. Employment status
c. Drug abuse
d. Number of children
True or False. U.S. divorce rates have
decreased since 1980.
maintain that the education
system creates and perpetuates social
inequality.
a. Functionalists
b. Conflict theorists
c. Feminist theorists
d. Symbolic interactionists
True or False. Cultural innovation is
one of the latent functions of education.
True or False. There is little basis for
claims that grade inflation is a problem in our
educational system.
Which of the following is the world’s oldest
religion?
a. Christianity
b. Judaism
c. Islam
d. Hinduism
8. c 9. True 10. d
17. False 18. False 19. a 20. b
27. False 28. b 29. False 30. False
37. c 38. d 39. True 40. b
47. False 48. False 49. b 50. True
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44. According to
45.
46.
47.
48.
49.
50.
, religion is
taught and not innate.
a. functionalists
b. conflict theorists
c. feminist theorists
d. symbolic interactionists
True or False. The Protestant work
ethic is a belief that hard work, diligence,
self-denial, frugality, and economic success will
lead to salvation in the afterlife.
Why do many feminist scholars maintain that
women suffer more problems than men when
living in urban areas?
a. Women don’t have the natural aggressive
instinct that men have.
b. Husbands tend to maintain tighter controls
over their wives in urban areas.
c. Urban areas have typically been designed
by men and for men.
d. All of the above explain why women suffer
more problems in urban areas.
True or False. Malthusian theory
claims that population growth is kept in
check and stabilizes as developing countries
experience economic and technological
development.
True or False. A sex ratio of 115 means
that there are 115 women for every 100 men in
a population.
maintains that social
movements emerge because there’s a gap
between what people have and what they
think they should have compared with other
people.
a. Mass society theory
b. Relative deprivation theory
c. Resource mobilization theory
d. New social movements theory
True or False. Environmentalism is an
example of the new social movements theory.
Answers:
1. a 2. a 3. True 4. d 5. False 6. False 7. c
11. False 12. True 13. c 14. d 15. True 16. d
21. True 22. c 23. False 24. False 25. c 26. d
31. d 32. c 33. True 34. a 35. True 36. False
41. False 42. False 43. d 44. d 45. True 46. c
Chapters 1–17
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