WGU C273 INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY
OA PRACTICE EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS CERTIFICATION
EVALUATION SET
●● What is the best summary of George Herbert Mead's theory of social
interactions?
Answer: No one is born knowing how to communicate with one another,
and people have to learn what symbols mean and how to use them.
Explanation: Mead's theory about social interactions and symbols
created the basis for symbolic interactionism.
●● How might a functionalist classify the popularity and prominence of
football in American society?
Answer: Football is almost a religious institution that uses rituals to
reinforce common American values, such as competition, and it serves
as an outlet for aggression in order to help maintain social cohesion.
Explanation: A functionalist would say that football serves a specific
purpose in society in order to help it better function.
●● Why are operational definitions of variables necessary for research?
,Answer: Variables need established operational definitions so that they
can be measured and the data can be analyzed.
Explanation: Operational definitions of variables are necessary in
research so that the variables can be measured and the data can be
analyzed.
●● A researcher tests a sample of elementary school children in the
United States on their reading abilities and also counts the number of
books in their homes. He finds that those children who have books in
their home have better reading skills. What is this an example of?
Answer: correlation
Explanation: Although the researcher found that owning more books is
related to better reading ability, this does not mean that one causes the
other; they are simply correlated. Perhaps wealthier families can both
afford to buy more books and give their children other advantages that
improve reading.
●● Which of the following is an advantage of field research?
Answer: It can offer a lot of detail about a topic.
Explanation: Field research can lack breadth, it can be very time-
consuming, and different researchers might draw different conclusions
about what they observed, but unlike other research methods, it offers
detail about the situation.
,●● If you wanted to compare the attitudes of Virginia residents towards
gun control with the attitudes of Oregon residents, which research
method would you choose?
Answer: survey
Explanation: Surveys are useful for gleaning information from large
groups of people and drawing specific comparisons between
respondents.
●● The ability to recognize the societal forces that influence individual
behavior and attitude is known as __________.
Answer: sociological imagination
Explanation: Sociological imagination requires one to widen his or her
perspective to understand the social forces that shape behavior and
attitudes.
●● The requirement that all participants in a study be aware of potential
risks is known as __________.
Answer: informed consent
Explanation: Informed consent requires that participants in a study are
aware of all of the potential risks that could result from their
participation in a study.
, ●● A sociologist analyzing the language of job ads from the early
twentieth century looking for gender bias would be an example of which
type of research?
Answer: content analysis
Explanation: Analyzing the language of job ads would be a type of
content analysis.
●● Luciana is a sociologist who studies the experience of first-
generation Latinx families in St. Louis. She is asked by a non-profit to
consult on how to decrease the stigmatization faced by prisoners upon
their release from prison. What ethical issue does Luciana potentially
face?
Answer: expertise
Explanation: Luciana does not have experience studying the prison
population. If she does not explain what her area of expertise is to the
non-profit, she might illegitimately benefit from her status as a
sociologist without the necessary experience.
●● Auguste Comte employed which of the following philosophical
systems which studied society through a scientific lens?
Answer: positivism
OA PRACTICE EXAM 2026 QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS CERTIFICATION
EVALUATION SET
●● What is the best summary of George Herbert Mead's theory of social
interactions?
Answer: No one is born knowing how to communicate with one another,
and people have to learn what symbols mean and how to use them.
Explanation: Mead's theory about social interactions and symbols
created the basis for symbolic interactionism.
●● How might a functionalist classify the popularity and prominence of
football in American society?
Answer: Football is almost a religious institution that uses rituals to
reinforce common American values, such as competition, and it serves
as an outlet for aggression in order to help maintain social cohesion.
Explanation: A functionalist would say that football serves a specific
purpose in society in order to help it better function.
●● Why are operational definitions of variables necessary for research?
,Answer: Variables need established operational definitions so that they
can be measured and the data can be analyzed.
Explanation: Operational definitions of variables are necessary in
research so that the variables can be measured and the data can be
analyzed.
●● A researcher tests a sample of elementary school children in the
United States on their reading abilities and also counts the number of
books in their homes. He finds that those children who have books in
their home have better reading skills. What is this an example of?
Answer: correlation
Explanation: Although the researcher found that owning more books is
related to better reading ability, this does not mean that one causes the
other; they are simply correlated. Perhaps wealthier families can both
afford to buy more books and give their children other advantages that
improve reading.
●● Which of the following is an advantage of field research?
Answer: It can offer a lot of detail about a topic.
Explanation: Field research can lack breadth, it can be very time-
consuming, and different researchers might draw different conclusions
about what they observed, but unlike other research methods, it offers
detail about the situation.
,●● If you wanted to compare the attitudes of Virginia residents towards
gun control with the attitudes of Oregon residents, which research
method would you choose?
Answer: survey
Explanation: Surveys are useful for gleaning information from large
groups of people and drawing specific comparisons between
respondents.
●● The ability to recognize the societal forces that influence individual
behavior and attitude is known as __________.
Answer: sociological imagination
Explanation: Sociological imagination requires one to widen his or her
perspective to understand the social forces that shape behavior and
attitudes.
●● The requirement that all participants in a study be aware of potential
risks is known as __________.
Answer: informed consent
Explanation: Informed consent requires that participants in a study are
aware of all of the potential risks that could result from their
participation in a study.
, ●● A sociologist analyzing the language of job ads from the early
twentieth century looking for gender bias would be an example of which
type of research?
Answer: content analysis
Explanation: Analyzing the language of job ads would be a type of
content analysis.
●● Luciana is a sociologist who studies the experience of first-
generation Latinx families in St. Louis. She is asked by a non-profit to
consult on how to decrease the stigmatization faced by prisoners upon
their release from prison. What ethical issue does Luciana potentially
face?
Answer: expertise
Explanation: Luciana does not have experience studying the prison
population. If she does not explain what her area of expertise is to the
non-profit, she might illegitimately benefit from her status as a
sociologist without the necessary experience.
●● Auguste Comte employed which of the following philosophical
systems which studied society through a scientific lens?
Answer: positivism
