SOCIOLOGY 1301 FINAL EXAM | REAL EXAM QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS PLUS RATIONALES |
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTION.
Question 1
Who is credited with coining the term "Sociology" and is often considered the founding father of
the discipline?
A) Karl Marx
B) Emile Durkheim
C) Max Weber
D) Auguste Comte
E) Herbert Spencer
Correct Answer: D) Auguste Comte
Rationale: Auguste Comte first used the term "sociology" in 1838 to describe a new way of
looking at society. He believed that society could be studied using the same scientific
methods as the natural sciences, a philosophy known as positivism.
Question 2
What common interest did the "classical" sociologists Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max
Weber share?
A) The promotion of religious expansion
B) Explaining the misery and chaos lurking within modern society
C) The development of early computer technology
D) The study of ancient hunter-gatherer linguistics
E) The biological evolution of human physical traits
Correct Answer: B) Explaining the misery and chaos lurking within modern society
Rationale: All three thinkers were deeply concerned with the transition from traditional to
modern industrial society. Marx focused on class misery, Durkheim on the breakdown of
social ties (anomie), and Weber on the "iron cage" of bureaucracy.
Question 3
In the sociological research process, what is the correct sequence of steps?
A) Generalization, analysis, observation, hypothesis
B) Hypothesis testing, observation, analysis, generalization
C) Observation, hypothesis testing, analysis of data, generalization
D) Analysis, observation, generalization, hypothesis
E) Hypothesis, generalization, observation, analysis
Correct Answer: C) Observation, hypothesis testing, analysis of data, generalization
Rationale: The scientific method in sociology begins with identifying a problem or observing
a phenomenon, forming a testable prediction (hypothesis), collecting and analyzing data,
and finally drawing broader conclusions or generalizations.
Question 4
Which phenomenon describes when research subjects change their behavior simply because they
know they are being observed?
, Page 2
A) The Looking Glass effect
B) The Placebo effect
C) The Hawthorne effect
D) The Thomas Theorem
E) The Double-Blind effect
Correct Answer: C) The Hawthorne effect
Rationale: Discovered during studies at Western Electric’s Hawthorne plant, researchers
found that workers’ productivity increased not because of physical changes to their
environment, but because they felt important and noticed by the observers.
Question 5
Individuals who feel that their biological sex does not match their internal gender identity and
deviate from the binary system are referred to as:
A) Miscegenated
B) Transgendered
C) Heteronormative
D) Ascribed
E) Polytheistic
Correct Answer: B) Transgendered
Rationale: Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity or behavior
does not abandon the social expectations typically associated with the sex they were
assigned at birth.
Question 6
What is the definition of "miscegenation"?
A) The study of population growth
B) The mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, or sexual relations
C) The process of losing one's cultural identity
D) A form of institutional racism found in schools
E) The transition from rural to urban living
Correct Answer: B) The mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, or
sexual relations
Rationale: Historically used in a legal context to prevent interracial intimacy, miscegenation
refers to the biological and social blending of different racial categories.
Question 7
Arlie Hochschild’s "Second Shift" theory describes which of the following situations?
A) Men taking on extra hours at work to support the family
B) Women coming home from a professional job to perform a "second shift" of domestic chores
C) The transition from manufacturing jobs to service jobs
D) Children working in factories during the industrial revolution
E) A person working two different full-time jobs
, Page 3
Correct Answer: B) Women coming home from a professional job to perform a "second
shift" of domestic chores
Rationale: Hochschild found that even when women work full-time outside the home, they
still perform the vast majority of housework and childcare, leading to a "speed-up" of
family life and significant role conflict.
Question 8
Which theoretical perspective is most likely to focus on the day-to-day communication and
symbols used between a husband and wife?
A) Functionalism
B) Conflict Theory
C) Symbolic Interactionism
D) Modernization Theory
E) Dependency Theory
Correct Answer: C) Symbolic Interactionism
Rationale: Symbolic Interactionism is a micro-level theory that examines how individuals
create and maintain social reality through face-to-face interaction and the interpretation of
symbols/language.
Question 9
Which theoretical perspective emphasizes the role of power, coercion, and dominance in
producing social order?
A) Functionalism
B) Conflict Theory
C) Symbolic Interactionism
D) Demographic Transition Theory
E) Cyclical Theory
Correct Answer: B) Conflict Theory
Rationale: Conflict theory, heavily influenced by Karl Marx, views society as a struggle
between groups for limited resources. Social order is maintained not by consensus, but by
the power of dominant groups over subordinate ones.
Question 10
Specific cultural expectations for how to behave in a given situation are known as:
A) Roles
B) Statuses
C) Norms
D) Taboos
E) Folkways
Correct Answer: C) Norms
Rationale: Norms are the rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a group or
society. They provide the "script" for social interaction.
, Page 4
Question 11
According to William Graham Sumner, general standards of behavior adhered to by a group (like
table manners) are called:
A) Mores
B) Taboos
C) Folkways
D) Laws
E) Sanctions
Correct Answer: C) Folkways
Rationale: Folkways are "light" norms. Breaking them might result in a weird look or a
minor social correction, but they are not considered morally significant.
Question 12
Strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior and carry more weight than folkways are
called:
A) Folkways
B) Mores
C) Roles
D) Achieved statuses
E) Stratification
Correct Answer: B) Mores
Rationale: Mores (pronounced mor-ays) are essential to the core values of a group. Violating
mores (such as committing adultery) usually brings about strong social disapproval.
Question 13
What is the strictest form of social norm, the violation of which is considered revolting and
unthinkable?
A) Mores
B) Folkways
C) Taboos
D) Laws
E) Sanctions
Correct Answer: C) Taboos
Rationale: Taboos are the most powerful norms. Examples include incest or cannibalism;
the mere thought of violating them causes extreme social revulsion.
Question 14
The expected behavior associated with a given status in society is defined as:
A) A Norm
B) A Role
C) A Value
D) A Sanction
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTION.
Question 1
Who is credited with coining the term "Sociology" and is often considered the founding father of
the discipline?
A) Karl Marx
B) Emile Durkheim
C) Max Weber
D) Auguste Comte
E) Herbert Spencer
Correct Answer: D) Auguste Comte
Rationale: Auguste Comte first used the term "sociology" in 1838 to describe a new way of
looking at society. He believed that society could be studied using the same scientific
methods as the natural sciences, a philosophy known as positivism.
Question 2
What common interest did the "classical" sociologists Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max
Weber share?
A) The promotion of religious expansion
B) Explaining the misery and chaos lurking within modern society
C) The development of early computer technology
D) The study of ancient hunter-gatherer linguistics
E) The biological evolution of human physical traits
Correct Answer: B) Explaining the misery and chaos lurking within modern society
Rationale: All three thinkers were deeply concerned with the transition from traditional to
modern industrial society. Marx focused on class misery, Durkheim on the breakdown of
social ties (anomie), and Weber on the "iron cage" of bureaucracy.
Question 3
In the sociological research process, what is the correct sequence of steps?
A) Generalization, analysis, observation, hypothesis
B) Hypothesis testing, observation, analysis, generalization
C) Observation, hypothesis testing, analysis of data, generalization
D) Analysis, observation, generalization, hypothesis
E) Hypothesis, generalization, observation, analysis
Correct Answer: C) Observation, hypothesis testing, analysis of data, generalization
Rationale: The scientific method in sociology begins with identifying a problem or observing
a phenomenon, forming a testable prediction (hypothesis), collecting and analyzing data,
and finally drawing broader conclusions or generalizations.
Question 4
Which phenomenon describes when research subjects change their behavior simply because they
know they are being observed?
, Page 2
A) The Looking Glass effect
B) The Placebo effect
C) The Hawthorne effect
D) The Thomas Theorem
E) The Double-Blind effect
Correct Answer: C) The Hawthorne effect
Rationale: Discovered during studies at Western Electric’s Hawthorne plant, researchers
found that workers’ productivity increased not because of physical changes to their
environment, but because they felt important and noticed by the observers.
Question 5
Individuals who feel that their biological sex does not match their internal gender identity and
deviate from the binary system are referred to as:
A) Miscegenated
B) Transgendered
C) Heteronormative
D) Ascribed
E) Polytheistic
Correct Answer: B) Transgendered
Rationale: Transgender is an umbrella term for people whose gender identity or behavior
does not abandon the social expectations typically associated with the sex they were
assigned at birth.
Question 6
What is the definition of "miscegenation"?
A) The study of population growth
B) The mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, or sexual relations
C) The process of losing one's cultural identity
D) A form of institutional racism found in schools
E) The transition from rural to urban living
Correct Answer: B) The mixing of different racial groups through marriage, cohabitation, or
sexual relations
Rationale: Historically used in a legal context to prevent interracial intimacy, miscegenation
refers to the biological and social blending of different racial categories.
Question 7
Arlie Hochschild’s "Second Shift" theory describes which of the following situations?
A) Men taking on extra hours at work to support the family
B) Women coming home from a professional job to perform a "second shift" of domestic chores
C) The transition from manufacturing jobs to service jobs
D) Children working in factories during the industrial revolution
E) A person working two different full-time jobs
, Page 3
Correct Answer: B) Women coming home from a professional job to perform a "second
shift" of domestic chores
Rationale: Hochschild found that even when women work full-time outside the home, they
still perform the vast majority of housework and childcare, leading to a "speed-up" of
family life and significant role conflict.
Question 8
Which theoretical perspective is most likely to focus on the day-to-day communication and
symbols used between a husband and wife?
A) Functionalism
B) Conflict Theory
C) Symbolic Interactionism
D) Modernization Theory
E) Dependency Theory
Correct Answer: C) Symbolic Interactionism
Rationale: Symbolic Interactionism is a micro-level theory that examines how individuals
create and maintain social reality through face-to-face interaction and the interpretation of
symbols/language.
Question 9
Which theoretical perspective emphasizes the role of power, coercion, and dominance in
producing social order?
A) Functionalism
B) Conflict Theory
C) Symbolic Interactionism
D) Demographic Transition Theory
E) Cyclical Theory
Correct Answer: B) Conflict Theory
Rationale: Conflict theory, heavily influenced by Karl Marx, views society as a struggle
between groups for limited resources. Social order is maintained not by consensus, but by
the power of dominant groups over subordinate ones.
Question 10
Specific cultural expectations for how to behave in a given situation are known as:
A) Roles
B) Statuses
C) Norms
D) Taboos
E) Folkways
Correct Answer: C) Norms
Rationale: Norms are the rules of behavior that are considered acceptable in a group or
society. They provide the "script" for social interaction.
, Page 4
Question 11
According to William Graham Sumner, general standards of behavior adhered to by a group (like
table manners) are called:
A) Mores
B) Taboos
C) Folkways
D) Laws
E) Sanctions
Correct Answer: C) Folkways
Rationale: Folkways are "light" norms. Breaking them might result in a weird look or a
minor social correction, but they are not considered morally significant.
Question 12
Strict norms that control moral and ethical behavior and carry more weight than folkways are
called:
A) Folkways
B) Mores
C) Roles
D) Achieved statuses
E) Stratification
Correct Answer: B) Mores
Rationale: Mores (pronounced mor-ays) are essential to the core values of a group. Violating
mores (such as committing adultery) usually brings about strong social disapproval.
Question 13
What is the strictest form of social norm, the violation of which is considered revolting and
unthinkable?
A) Mores
B) Folkways
C) Taboos
D) Laws
E) Sanctions
Correct Answer: C) Taboos
Rationale: Taboos are the most powerful norms. Examples include incest or cannibalism;
the mere thought of violating them causes extreme social revulsion.
Question 14
The expected behavior associated with a given status in society is defined as:
A) A Norm
B) A Role
C) A Value
D) A Sanction
