CLEP INTRODUCTORY SOCIOLOGY EXAM QUESTIONS
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS GUARANTEED PASS
2025/2026
Sociological Theory - ANSWER - >a set of ideas that explains a range of
human behavior and a variety of social and societal events
Functionalist Perspective - ANSWER - >A sociological approach that
emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to
maintain its stability.
"society of a system of interrelated parts"
=family, edu, relig, polit, and econ
-durkenheim = founder (all of these work together to create balance
and order)
"we need clear cut norms to govern our behav"
without? ANOMIE
-Merton
1 Manifest functions
2 Latent functions
3 dysfunctions
Manifest functions - ANSWER - >the recognized and intended
consequences of any social pattern
,Example of manifest function - ANSWER - >the intended beneficial
consequences of the new deal
Latent functions - ANSWER - >the unrecognized and unintended
consequences of any social pattern
-unexpected detrimental effect on social institutions or society
Example of latent function of desegregation - ANSWER - >the increase
in prejudice that sometimes results from court-ordered desegregation
in public schools
Dysfunctions - ANSWER - >social patterns that have undesirable
consequences for the operation of society
-negative consequences
Conflict Persepctive - ANSWER - >approach emphasizing the role of
conflict, competition, and constraint within a society
-society is an arena of conflict and power struggles
Theme: the fight for scarce resources (money, power, fame)
founder= Marx
-believed in two social classes
"changes occure because of inequality and battles over scarce
resources"
,Symbolic Interactionist Perspective - ANSWER - >the sociological
approach that views society as the sum of the interactions of
individuals and groups
-concerned with things we attach meaning to
=key to understanding how humans view the social world
Cooley 1902
"Theory of the Looking Glass Self"
-indiv develop an image of themselves from the persepctive of others
Mead
-stressed importance of symbols, gestures, and language in
development of one's self image "sense of self is a purley socialized
concept"
-SO vs generalzed others
Quantitative Sociology - ANSWER - >statistical methods such as surveys
with large numbers of participants Qualitative sociology - ANSWER -
>seeks to understand human behavior by learning about it through in-
depth interviews, focus groups, and analysis of content sources
Sociological Perspective: Methods - ANSWER - >1. Select a topic
2. define the problem
3. review the literature
4. form a hypothesis
5. choose a research method
6. collect data
7. analyze results
8. share results
, surveys - ANSWER - >intended to ask a series of questions
-random sample
-neutral questions
-open ended questions OR close ended questions
participant observation (fieldwork) - ANSWER - >the researcher
participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in
that setting
-great way to gain good rapport
Case Study - ANSWER - >focuses on a single event
-not generalizabale to general population
Secondary Analysis - ANSWER - >Uses previous collected data
(nonreactive research)
normally longitudinal data/studies
Content Analysis - ANSWER - >a quantitative description/method
Example of contant analysis - ANSWER - >analysis of the amount of
violence in mass media such as tv shows
Experiments - ANSWER - >used to determine cause and effect
cause = independent variable
effect = dependent variable
experimental vs control group
positvie vs negative correlation
**dependent variable is influenced by another variable
WITH COMPLETE SOLUTIONS GUARANTEED PASS
2025/2026
Sociological Theory - ANSWER - >a set of ideas that explains a range of
human behavior and a variety of social and societal events
Functionalist Perspective - ANSWER - >A sociological approach that
emphasizes the way in which the parts of a society are structured to
maintain its stability.
"society of a system of interrelated parts"
=family, edu, relig, polit, and econ
-durkenheim = founder (all of these work together to create balance
and order)
"we need clear cut norms to govern our behav"
without? ANOMIE
-Merton
1 Manifest functions
2 Latent functions
3 dysfunctions
Manifest functions - ANSWER - >the recognized and intended
consequences of any social pattern
,Example of manifest function - ANSWER - >the intended beneficial
consequences of the new deal
Latent functions - ANSWER - >the unrecognized and unintended
consequences of any social pattern
-unexpected detrimental effect on social institutions or society
Example of latent function of desegregation - ANSWER - >the increase
in prejudice that sometimes results from court-ordered desegregation
in public schools
Dysfunctions - ANSWER - >social patterns that have undesirable
consequences for the operation of society
-negative consequences
Conflict Persepctive - ANSWER - >approach emphasizing the role of
conflict, competition, and constraint within a society
-society is an arena of conflict and power struggles
Theme: the fight for scarce resources (money, power, fame)
founder= Marx
-believed in two social classes
"changes occure because of inequality and battles over scarce
resources"
,Symbolic Interactionist Perspective - ANSWER - >the sociological
approach that views society as the sum of the interactions of
individuals and groups
-concerned with things we attach meaning to
=key to understanding how humans view the social world
Cooley 1902
"Theory of the Looking Glass Self"
-indiv develop an image of themselves from the persepctive of others
Mead
-stressed importance of symbols, gestures, and language in
development of one's self image "sense of self is a purley socialized
concept"
-SO vs generalzed others
Quantitative Sociology - ANSWER - >statistical methods such as surveys
with large numbers of participants Qualitative sociology - ANSWER -
>seeks to understand human behavior by learning about it through in-
depth interviews, focus groups, and analysis of content sources
Sociological Perspective: Methods - ANSWER - >1. Select a topic
2. define the problem
3. review the literature
4. form a hypothesis
5. choose a research method
6. collect data
7. analyze results
8. share results
, surveys - ANSWER - >intended to ask a series of questions
-random sample
-neutral questions
-open ended questions OR close ended questions
participant observation (fieldwork) - ANSWER - >the researcher
participates in a research setting while observing what is happening in
that setting
-great way to gain good rapport
Case Study - ANSWER - >focuses on a single event
-not generalizabale to general population
Secondary Analysis - ANSWER - >Uses previous collected data
(nonreactive research)
normally longitudinal data/studies
Content Analysis - ANSWER - >a quantitative description/method
Example of contant analysis - ANSWER - >analysis of the amount of
violence in mass media such as tv shows
Experiments - ANSWER - >used to determine cause and effect
cause = independent variable
effect = dependent variable
experimental vs control group
positvie vs negative correlation
**dependent variable is influenced by another variable
