SOCIOLOGY 101 UPDATED EXAM TEST PAPER QUESTIONS
AND ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔Applying sociology for the public good; especially the use of the sociological
perspective (how things are related to one another) to guide politicians and policy
makers - ✔✔public sociology
✔✔Sociologists place their observations into a conceptual framework called a
_________________. - ✔✔theory
✔✔Sociologists use three major theories: - ✔✔symbolic interactionism, functional
analysis, and conflict theory
✔✔One of the founders of symbolic interactionism, a major theoretical perspective in
sociology. He taught at the University of Chicago, where his lectures were popular.
Although he wrote little, after his death students compiled his lectures into an influential
book, Mind, Self, and Society. - ✔✔George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)
✔✔The central idea of symbolic interactionism is that symbols—things to which we
attach meaning—are the key to understanding how we view the world and communicate
with one another. Two major sociologists who developed this perspective are
_____________________. - ✔✔George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) and Charles Horton
Cooley (1864-1929)
✔✔a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that
people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate
with one another - ✔✔symbolic interactionism
✔✔We would not know to whom we ________________ and obligations, or from whom
we ___________________—two elements that lie at the essence of human
relationships. - ✔✔owe respect; can expect privileges
✔✔Not only do relationships depend on symbols but so does ____________ itself. -
✔✔society
✔✔Analyze how social life depends on the ways we define ourselves and others. They
study face-to-face interaction, examining how people make sense out of life and their
place in it. - ✔✔Symbolic interactionists
✔✔Historically in the West, marriage was based on obligation and duty. By the 1930s,
young people were coming to view marriage in a different way, a change that was
reported by sociologists of the time. In 1933, _______________ observed that people
were placing more emphasis on the personality of their potential mates. Then in 1945,
___________________ reported that people were expecting more affection,
,understanding, and compatibility from marriage. As feelings became more important in
marriage, duty and obligation became less important - ✔✔William Ogburn; Ernest
Burgess and Harvey Locke
✔✔The central idea of _________________ is that society is a whole unit, made up of
interrelated parts that work together. ______________________ (also known as
functionalism and structural functionalism) is rooted in the origins of sociology. Auguste
Comte and Herbert Spencer viewed society as a kind of living organism, similar to an
animal's body. Just as a person or animal has organs that function together, they wrote,
so does society. - ✔✔functional analysis;
✔✔a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts,
each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society's equilibrium; also known
as functionalism and structural functionalism - ✔✔functional analysis
✔✔Viewed society as being composed of many parts, each with its own function. He
said that when all the parts of society fulfill their functions, society is in a "normal" state.
If they do not fulfill their functions, society is in an "abnormal" or "pathological" state. To
understand society, then, functionalists say that we need to look at both structure (how
the parts of a society fit together to make the whole) and function(what each part does,
how it contributes to society). - ✔✔Durkheim
✔✔Spent most of his academic career at Columbia University, was a major proponent
of functionalism, one of the main theoretical perspectives in sociology. - ✔✔Robert K.
Merton (1910-2003)
✔✔Can be either manifest or latent - ✔✔Functions
✔✔If an action is intended to help some part of a system, it is a ____________ function.
- ✔✔manifest
✔✔Unintended consequences that help a system adjust. - ✔✔latent functions
✔✔Provides a third perspective on social life. Unlike the functionalists, who view society
as a harmonious whole with its parts working together, conflict theorists stress that
society is composed of groups that compete with one another for scarce resources -
✔✔Conflict theory
✔✔Founder of conflict theory, witnessed the Industrial Revolution that transformed
Europe. - ✔✔Karl Marx
✔✔A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are
competing for scarce resources - ✔✔conflict theory
, ✔✔He concluded that the key to human history is class conflict. In each society, some
small group controls the means of production and exploits those who are not in control.
In industrialized societies, the struggle is between the bourgeoisie, the small group of
capitalists who own the means to produce wealth, and the proletariat, the mass of
workers who are exploited by the bourgeoisie. The capitalists control the legal and
political system: If the workers rebel, the capitalists call on the power of the state to
subdue them. - ✔✔Karl Marx
✔✔Many sociologists extend _________________ beyond the relationship of capitalists
and workers. They examine how opposing interests run through every layer of society—
whether in a small group, an organization, a community, or an entire society. -
✔✔conflict theory
✔✔Sociologist __________________ pointed out that conflict is most likely to develop
among people who are in close relationships. - ✔✔Lewis Coser (1913-2003)
✔✔Just as ________________ examined conflict between capitalists and workers,
many feminists analyze conflict between men and women. Feminists are not united by
the conflict perspective, however. They tackle a variety of topics and use whatever
theory applies. - ✔✔Marx
✔✔A major difference between these three theoretical perspectives is their level of
analysis. Functionalists and conflict theorists focus on the ____________________;
that is, they examine large-scale patterns of society. In contrast, symbolic interactionists
usually focus on the ________________, on social interaction—what people do when
they are in one another's presence. - ✔✔macro level; macro level
✔✔An examination of large-scale patterns of society; such as how Wall Street and the
political establishment are interrelated - ✔✔macro-level analysis
✔✔An examination of small-scale patterns of society; such as how the members of a
group interact - ✔✔micro-level analysis
✔✔Communication without words through gestures, use of space, silence, and so on -
✔✔nonverbal interaction
✔✔Theory cannot stand alone. Nor can research. As sociologist __________________
(1959) argued so forcefully, theory without research is abstract and empty. But research
without theory, Mills added, is simply a collection of unrelated "facts." - ✔✔C. Wright
Mills
✔✔The Research Model - ✔✔1. Select a topic
AND ANSWERS MARKED A+
✔✔Applying sociology for the public good; especially the use of the sociological
perspective (how things are related to one another) to guide politicians and policy
makers - ✔✔public sociology
✔✔Sociologists place their observations into a conceptual framework called a
_________________. - ✔✔theory
✔✔Sociologists use three major theories: - ✔✔symbolic interactionism, functional
analysis, and conflict theory
✔✔One of the founders of symbolic interactionism, a major theoretical perspective in
sociology. He taught at the University of Chicago, where his lectures were popular.
Although he wrote little, after his death students compiled his lectures into an influential
book, Mind, Self, and Society. - ✔✔George Herbert Mead (1863-1931)
✔✔The central idea of symbolic interactionism is that symbols—things to which we
attach meaning—are the key to understanding how we view the world and communicate
with one another. Two major sociologists who developed this perspective are
_____________________. - ✔✔George Herbert Mead (1863-1931) and Charles Horton
Cooley (1864-1929)
✔✔a theoretical perspective in which society is viewed as composed of symbols that
people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, and communicate
with one another - ✔✔symbolic interactionism
✔✔We would not know to whom we ________________ and obligations, or from whom
we ___________________—two elements that lie at the essence of human
relationships. - ✔✔owe respect; can expect privileges
✔✔Not only do relationships depend on symbols but so does ____________ itself. -
✔✔society
✔✔Analyze how social life depends on the ways we define ourselves and others. They
study face-to-face interaction, examining how people make sense out of life and their
place in it. - ✔✔Symbolic interactionists
✔✔Historically in the West, marriage was based on obligation and duty. By the 1930s,
young people were coming to view marriage in a different way, a change that was
reported by sociologists of the time. In 1933, _______________ observed that people
were placing more emphasis on the personality of their potential mates. Then in 1945,
___________________ reported that people were expecting more affection,
,understanding, and compatibility from marriage. As feelings became more important in
marriage, duty and obligation became less important - ✔✔William Ogburn; Ernest
Burgess and Harvey Locke
✔✔The central idea of _________________ is that society is a whole unit, made up of
interrelated parts that work together. ______________________ (also known as
functionalism and structural functionalism) is rooted in the origins of sociology. Auguste
Comte and Herbert Spencer viewed society as a kind of living organism, similar to an
animal's body. Just as a person or animal has organs that function together, they wrote,
so does society. - ✔✔functional analysis;
✔✔a theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of various parts,
each with a function that, when fulfilled, contributes to society's equilibrium; also known
as functionalism and structural functionalism - ✔✔functional analysis
✔✔Viewed society as being composed of many parts, each with its own function. He
said that when all the parts of society fulfill their functions, society is in a "normal" state.
If they do not fulfill their functions, society is in an "abnormal" or "pathological" state. To
understand society, then, functionalists say that we need to look at both structure (how
the parts of a society fit together to make the whole) and function(what each part does,
how it contributes to society). - ✔✔Durkheim
✔✔Spent most of his academic career at Columbia University, was a major proponent
of functionalism, one of the main theoretical perspectives in sociology. - ✔✔Robert K.
Merton (1910-2003)
✔✔Can be either manifest or latent - ✔✔Functions
✔✔If an action is intended to help some part of a system, it is a ____________ function.
- ✔✔manifest
✔✔Unintended consequences that help a system adjust. - ✔✔latent functions
✔✔Provides a third perspective on social life. Unlike the functionalists, who view society
as a harmonious whole with its parts working together, conflict theorists stress that
society is composed of groups that compete with one another for scarce resources -
✔✔Conflict theory
✔✔Founder of conflict theory, witnessed the Industrial Revolution that transformed
Europe. - ✔✔Karl Marx
✔✔A theoretical framework in which society is viewed as composed of groups that are
competing for scarce resources - ✔✔conflict theory
, ✔✔He concluded that the key to human history is class conflict. In each society, some
small group controls the means of production and exploits those who are not in control.
In industrialized societies, the struggle is between the bourgeoisie, the small group of
capitalists who own the means to produce wealth, and the proletariat, the mass of
workers who are exploited by the bourgeoisie. The capitalists control the legal and
political system: If the workers rebel, the capitalists call on the power of the state to
subdue them. - ✔✔Karl Marx
✔✔Many sociologists extend _________________ beyond the relationship of capitalists
and workers. They examine how opposing interests run through every layer of society—
whether in a small group, an organization, a community, or an entire society. -
✔✔conflict theory
✔✔Sociologist __________________ pointed out that conflict is most likely to develop
among people who are in close relationships. - ✔✔Lewis Coser (1913-2003)
✔✔Just as ________________ examined conflict between capitalists and workers,
many feminists analyze conflict between men and women. Feminists are not united by
the conflict perspective, however. They tackle a variety of topics and use whatever
theory applies. - ✔✔Marx
✔✔A major difference between these three theoretical perspectives is their level of
analysis. Functionalists and conflict theorists focus on the ____________________;
that is, they examine large-scale patterns of society. In contrast, symbolic interactionists
usually focus on the ________________, on social interaction—what people do when
they are in one another's presence. - ✔✔macro level; macro level
✔✔An examination of large-scale patterns of society; such as how Wall Street and the
political establishment are interrelated - ✔✔macro-level analysis
✔✔An examination of small-scale patterns of society; such as how the members of a
group interact - ✔✔micro-level analysis
✔✔Communication without words through gestures, use of space, silence, and so on -
✔✔nonverbal interaction
✔✔Theory cannot stand alone. Nor can research. As sociologist __________________
(1959) argued so forcefully, theory without research is abstract and empty. But research
without theory, Mills added, is simply a collection of unrelated "facts." - ✔✔C. Wright
Mills
✔✔The Research Model - ✔✔1. Select a topic
