SOC 185 (2025): Latest Exam Questions
with Detailed Correct Answers and Explanations
Sociology - ANSWERsystematic and scientific study of human society, social
structure/institutions/interactions
> social structure and change = social processes and interactions
> building blocks = interactions and behaviors of individuals
Sociological Problems - ANSWER1. social order
2. social change
3. indviduals and society
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - ANSWERthe phenomenon whereby a person's or a group's
expectation for the behavior of another person or group serves actually to bring about the
prophesied or expected behavior
, > prediction that comes true at least in part as a result of a person's belief or expectation
that said prediction would come true
Face-Saving Behavior - ANSWERErving Goffman's term for the strategies we use to
rescue our performance when we experience a potential or actual loss of face
Social Imagination: C. Wright Mills - ANSWERability to see one's society in the context
of history and culture/understand their roles in shaping the individuals
> one cannot separate history from culture or society
Social Imagination: Peter Berger - ANSWER1. view the general in the particular;
discovering each new layer changes perception of the whole
2. view the strange in the familiar; detach self from the "familiar" interpretation of human
behavior and accept "strange" notions that behavior is a production of social forces
Social Imagination: Overall - ANSWERindividuals bear responsibility of their own
behavior, but it can impact families to political structures
, Social Imagination: Helps - ANSWERavoid applying simple answers to complex issues;
encourage critical thinking to see broader picture
Theory - ANSWERa set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe,
explain, and (occasionally) predict social events.
> provides a framework in which observations may be logically ordered (= overall
perspective)
Sociology as Social Science - ANSWER> observer and observed
> unique perspective/insight
> world = laboratory
> studies = matter of interference as humans as the actors (can infer causality, but event
needs to occur)
> ensures maximum objectivity/consistency in researching problems
Sociology as Social Science: Method - ANSWER1. problem (stated to be researched)
2. background (review relevant-previous research to see what has been said)
3. testable hypothesis (unverified relationship among variables)
, 4. research design (methodology; collection/analyzation of data)
5. data collection (laying out data)
6. conclusion (report findings and offer suggestions for additional search)
Method: Additional Terms - ANSWER> empirical data = information verified through
senses and subject to observation, measurement, and replication
> variables = conditions are subject to change in response to other variables (independent
vs dependent)
General Designs - ANSWER> surveys (questioners based on a scale or range)
> existing sources (secondary analysis)
> participant observation (ethnography or field search)
Limited Experimental Design - ANSWERvariables too unpredictable since
society/culture is not fixed
Sociological Theories - ANSWERmaintain research focus and develop analytical
framework needed in order to draw conclusions from data
with Detailed Correct Answers and Explanations
Sociology - ANSWERsystematic and scientific study of human society, social
structure/institutions/interactions
> social structure and change = social processes and interactions
> building blocks = interactions and behaviors of individuals
Sociological Problems - ANSWER1. social order
2. social change
3. indviduals and society
Self-Fulfilling Prophecy - ANSWERthe phenomenon whereby a person's or a group's
expectation for the behavior of another person or group serves actually to bring about the
prophesied or expected behavior
, > prediction that comes true at least in part as a result of a person's belief or expectation
that said prediction would come true
Face-Saving Behavior - ANSWERErving Goffman's term for the strategies we use to
rescue our performance when we experience a potential or actual loss of face
Social Imagination: C. Wright Mills - ANSWERability to see one's society in the context
of history and culture/understand their roles in shaping the individuals
> one cannot separate history from culture or society
Social Imagination: Peter Berger - ANSWER1. view the general in the particular;
discovering each new layer changes perception of the whole
2. view the strange in the familiar; detach self from the "familiar" interpretation of human
behavior and accept "strange" notions that behavior is a production of social forces
Social Imagination: Overall - ANSWERindividuals bear responsibility of their own
behavior, but it can impact families to political structures
, Social Imagination: Helps - ANSWERavoid applying simple answers to complex issues;
encourage critical thinking to see broader picture
Theory - ANSWERa set of logically interrelated statements that attempts to describe,
explain, and (occasionally) predict social events.
> provides a framework in which observations may be logically ordered (= overall
perspective)
Sociology as Social Science - ANSWER> observer and observed
> unique perspective/insight
> world = laboratory
> studies = matter of interference as humans as the actors (can infer causality, but event
needs to occur)
> ensures maximum objectivity/consistency in researching problems
Sociology as Social Science: Method - ANSWER1. problem (stated to be researched)
2. background (review relevant-previous research to see what has been said)
3. testable hypothesis (unverified relationship among variables)
, 4. research design (methodology; collection/analyzation of data)
5. data collection (laying out data)
6. conclusion (report findings and offer suggestions for additional search)
Method: Additional Terms - ANSWER> empirical data = information verified through
senses and subject to observation, measurement, and replication
> variables = conditions are subject to change in response to other variables (independent
vs dependent)
General Designs - ANSWER> surveys (questioners based on a scale or range)
> existing sources (secondary analysis)
> participant observation (ethnography or field search)
Limited Experimental Design - ANSWERvariables too unpredictable since
society/culture is not fixed
Sociological Theories - ANSWERmaintain research focus and develop analytical
framework needed in order to draw conclusions from data
