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clep sociology test

  1. Which of the following are always members of a
    person’s family of orientation?
    (A) Spouse(s)
    (B) Son(s) and daughter(s)
    (C) Parent(s)
    (D) Aunt(s) and uncle(s)
    (E) Grandparent(s)
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • The family of orientation is the family into which a person is born.
  2. A family unit that is composed of relatives in
    addition to parents and children who live in the
    same household is
    (A) a disjointed kinship
    (B) an extended family
    (C) a nuclear family
    (D) a conjugal family
    (E) a modern family
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • The nuclear family is composed of parent(s) and children only. The extended family includes other relatives.
  3. The concurrent marriage of a person of one sex
    (male or female) with two or more members of
    the opposite sex (male or female) is known as
    (A) polygamy
    (B) civil union
    (C) polyandry
    (D) group marriage
    (E) polygyny
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Polygamy can be a marriage of one man with more than one woman, or one woman with more than one man.
  4. The practice of marrying within one’s own social
    group or category is
    (A) exogamy
    (B) homology
    (C) heterogamy
    (D) endogamy
    (E) monogamy
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Endogamy is the tendency for most people in a group to marry others who are like themselves.
  5. The social institution that ensures the maintenance
    of society through the production, distribution,
    and consumption of goods and services is
    (A) work
    (B) the economy
    (C) politics
    (D) the power elite
    (E) education
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • The economy is a critically important social institution that directly affects all other social institutions.
  6. Tangible objects that are necessary or desired are
    referred to as
    (A) products
    (B) materials
    (C) goods
    (D) assets
    (E) services
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • The buying and selling of goods is a key part of the economy.
  7. Steel workers who process metal ore are engaged
    in what kind of production?
    (A) Primary sector
    (B) Secondary sector
    (C) Tertiary sector
    (D) Quarterly sector
    (E) Terminal sector
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Secondary sector production involves the processing of primary sector raw materials, in this case ore, into finished goods.
  8. Private ownership of the means of production,
    from which personal profits can be derived
    through market competition and without government
    intervention, is characteristic of
    (A) capitalism
    (B) socialism
    (C) imperialism
    (D) mercantilism
    (E) democracy
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Capitalist economies are based on private property and the pursuit of wealth.
  9. The means through which power is acquired and
    exercised by some people and groups is
    (A) government
    (B) the economy
    (C) politics
    (D) the military
    (E) family
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Groups and individuals seek political power in order to control access to scarce resources.
  10. Power that people accept as legitimate rather
    than coercive is known as
    (A) control
    (B) leverage
    (C) authority
    (D) political influence
    (E) militarism
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • People view those with authority as having the right to exercise power
  11. According to Max Weber, power legitimized on
    the basis of a leader’s exceptional personal
    qualities is what kind of authority?
    (A) Charismatic
    (B) Traditional
    (C) Coercive
    (D) Rational-legal
    (E) Influential
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Examples of charismatic leaders are Mohandas Gandhi, Benito Mussolini, Martin Luther King Jr., and John F. Kennedy.
  12. Which of the following provides U.S. citizens a
    voice in their government through elected
    representatives who serve as bridges between the
    citizenry and the government?
    (A) Direct participatory democracy
    (B) Representative democracy
    (C) Full voting rights
    (D) A separation of powers
    (E) The media
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Federal, state, and local officials are charged with representing the views of their constituents.
  13. Which of the following is NOT a manifest
    function of education?
    (A) Socialization
    (B) Transmission of culture
    (C) Production of social networks
    (D) Social control
    (E) Change and innovation
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Manifest functions are intended and overtly recognized by the participants of a social unit.
  14. “Proper” attitudes toward education, socially
    approved dress and manners, knowledge about
    books, art, music, and other forms of high and
    popular culture are all examples of
    (A) cultural mystique
    (B) the proper social grace
    (C) accumulated social wisdom
    (D) cultural capital
    (E) cultural materialism
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Persons who possess more cultural capital are able to gain greater access to the dominant class.
  15. Assignment of students to specific courses and
    educational programs based on their test scores,
    previous grades, or both is
    (A) age grading
    (B) intelligence grouping
    (C) tracking
    (D) ability integration
    (E) nepotism
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Research has shown that tracking affects students’ academic achievement and their choice of careers.
  16. The type of social arrangement in which people
    are able to gain higher positions based on their
    intellectual and educational credentials rather
    than through the influence of personal contacts is
    (A) a tracking orientation
    (B) a credentialist orientation
    (C) a meritocracy
    (D) an educational bureaucracy
    (E) a spoils system
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Education provides one of the most important credentials for use in the job market.
  17. Which of the following is Emile Durkheim’s
    term for those aspects of life that are extraordinary
    or supernatural?
    (A) Profane
    (B) Spiritual
    (C) Sacred
    (D) Magical
    (E) Special
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Examples of sacred objects are the Christian cross, a national flag, and a mosque.
  18. Belief in a single supreme being or God who is
    responsible for significant events such as the
    creation of the world is
    (A) transcendent idealism
    (B) monotheism
    (C) polytheism
    (D) unit theism
    (E) Zen
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Christianity, Judaism, and Islam are all monotheistic religions because followers worship only one God.
  19. The study of the causes and distribution of
    health, disease, and impairment throughout a
    population is
    (A) social epidemiology
    (B) social welfare
    (C) social engineering
    (D) social biology
    (E) health demography
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Social epidemiologists examine disease agents, the environment, and the human host.
  20. According to Talcott Parsons, each of the following
    applies to persons who play the sick role,
    EXCEPT
    (A) they are not responsible for their condition
    (B) they are temporarily exempt from their normal roles and obligations
    (C) they must seek medical help if their condition is serious
    (D) they must want to get well
    (E) they are blamed for their own illness
    • The correct answer is (E).
    • People who are viewed as sick are temporarily absolved of their responsibilities and duties due to circumstances that are perceived by society as beyond their control.
  21. All of the following are factors that have eroded
    the American Dream for the middle class,
    EXCEPT
    (A) escalating housing prices
    (B) blocked mobility on the job
    (C) the cost-of-living squeeze
    (D) a decline in the quality of medical services
    (E) the need for a college degree as an entrylevel job requirement
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Over the past several decades, there has been an increase in the quality of medical services, although the lack of universal health care does not make these advances available to all.
  22. Who are the working poor?
    (A) People who live from just above to just below the poverty line
    (B) Seldom-employed individuals who are caught in long-term deprivation because of low education, low employability, low income, and low self-esteem
    (C) Skilled and semi-skilled machine operators
    who work in factories and elsewhere
    (D) Those who live on the margins of society, are frequently homeless, and have little hope for the future
    (E) People who make $50,000 a year or less
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Members of the working poor typically hold poorly paid unskilled or service sector jobs that offer little economic security.
  23. Which of the following BEST expresses the
    functionalist explanation of social inequality?
    (A) Powerful people are able to shape and distribute the rewards, resources, privileges, and opportunities in society.
    (B) Positions that are most important for the survival of society must be filled by the most qualified people, who are highly rewarded.
    (C) The presence of inequality in a society does not serve as a motivating force for people.
    (D) The core values of society support social inequality. (E) Most inequality is the result of patriarchy.
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • In order to motivate people to undergo the arduous training needed to become a physician, the financial rewards for physicians must be high.
  24. Powerful individuals and groups use ideology to
    maintain their favored positions at the expense of
    others, according to what theoretical perspective?
    (A) Functionalist
    (B) Conflict
    (C) Symbolic interactionist
    (D) Psychological
    (E) Differential association
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • According to conflict theorists, ideology is a means of encouraging members of society to believe that the status quo is acceptable and desirable.
  25. The hierarchical arrangement of large social
    groups based on their control over basic resources
    is
    (A) social distinction
    (B) invidious distinctiveness
    (C) social stratification
    (D) social layering
    (E) sociobiology
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Social stratification determines which groups are allowed to gain access to wealth, power, and prestige.
  26. According to Karl Marx, which of the following
    statements about capitalists is NOT true?
    (A) They own the means of production.
    (B) They control the means of production.
    (C) They exploit the workers.
    (D) They are vulnerable to displacement by machines or cheap labor.
    (E) They achieve wealth through capital.
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • It is the workers, not the capitalist owners, who are at risk of displacement by machines or cheap labor.
  27. Large computer software corporations are
    representative of twenty-first century capitalism,
    which increasingly is based on
    (A) heavy industry
    (B) information technology
    (C) “smokestack” industries
    (D) narrow national interests
    (E) abolishment of private property
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Computer software corporations deal with information, unlike corporations in heavy industry that were dominant in earlier times.
  28. According to Max Weber, individual power
    depends on a person’s position within
    (A) primary groups
    (B) bureaucracies
    (C) family structures
    (D) kinship networks
    (E) religious groups
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Weber believed that social power in modern societies is held by bureaucracies.
  29. For the upper class, wealth most often is the
    result of
    (A) job training
    (B) hard work
    (C) inheritance
    (D) education
    (E) salaries and benefits
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Research has shown that those who inherit wealth are often three or four generations removed from the person who initially amassed the wealth.
  30. Which of the following categories of people has
    the highest net worth overall?
    (A) Divorced persons
    (B) Separated persons
    (C) Single persons
    (D) Married persons
    (E) Persons under age 30
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Overall, married individuals have a higher net worth than unmarried individuals.
  31. According to Karl Marx’s theory of class relations,
    (A) the bourgeoisie consists of those who must
    sell their labor to those who own the means
    of production
    (B) the proletariat consists of those who own
    the means of production
    (C) class relationships involve inequality and
    exploitation
    (D) wealth, prestige, and power are all important
    in determining a person’s class position
    (E) class inequality is a recent historical development
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • According to Marx, exploitation results when capitalists pay workers less than the resale value of the goods that the workers produce.
  32. Karl Marx’s term for government, schools,
    churches, and all other social institutions that
    produce and disseminate ideas that perpetuate
    the existing system of exploitation is society’s
    (A) substructure
    (B) superstructure
    (C) ecostructure
    (D) basic structure
    (E) class structure
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • According to Marx, the economy is the base upon which the superstructure of the other social institutions is erected.
  33. In Max Weber’s stratification typology, which
    class consists of skilled, semiskilled, and unskilled
    workers?
    (A) The working class
    (B) The middle class
    (C) The divisional class
    (D) The lower-middle class
    (E) The pink-collar class
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Weber divided members of social classes into those who live off their investments and those, like the working class, who live off wage labor.
  34. The respect or regard with which a person is
    regarded by others is
    (A) wealth
    (B) power
    (C) status
    (D) authority
    (E) prestige
    • The correct answer is (E).
    • Prestige should not be confused with status, which is a socially defined characteristic such as age, sex, or race.
  35. Which of the following factors is NOT a contributor
    to the global feminization of poverty?
    (A) Poor women worldwide do not have access
    to commercial credit.
    (B) Poor women continue to be trained in low
    wage jobs.
    (C) The income gap between men and women
    continues to grow in low–income nations as
    well as in some developing nations.
    (D) High-income nations are importing poor
    women to their countries to provide them
    better paying jobs and marketable training.
    (E) Poor women do not have the additional time
    to devote to income-producing work.
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Women and children are disproportionately affected by poverty in low-income economies.
  36. All of the following statements regarding contingent
    work are true, EXCEPT that it
    (A) is part-time and temporary
    (B) is found in colleges and universities
    (C) is found in the federal government and in
    the health care field
    (D) often involves subcontracting
    (E) offers advantages to workers but can be
    detrimental to employers
    • The correct answer is (E).
    • The opposite is true. By hiring contingent workers, employers are able to cut costs. However, contingent workers have low pay and little job security.
  37. The process by which some characteristics of a
    profession are eliminated is
    (A) autonomy
    (B) specialized training
    (C) occupational recognition
    (D) deprofessionalization
    (E) retraining
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Pharmacists used to prepare drug formulas in the store. For the most part, this is now done in the factories of the pharmaceutical companies
  38. Negotiations between employers and labor union
    leaders on behalf of workers are referred to as
    (A) a lockout
    (B) mediation
    (C) binding arbitration
    (D) agency shop tactics
    (E) collective bargaining
    • The correct answer is (E).
    • Collective bargaining allows unionized workers to speak with a unified voice when negotiating with employers over terms and conditions of employment.
  39. All of the following are shared by members of
    the same ethnic groups, EXCEPT
    (A) unique cultural traits
    (B) a feeling of ethnocentrism
    (C) a common educational level
    (D) territoriality
    (E) a common language
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Educational levels vary within each ethnic group.
  40. What do sociologists term a group that is
    advantaged and has superior resources and rights
    within a society?
    (A) Majority
    (B) Minority
    (C) Superior
    (D) Powerful
    (E) Social class
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • The majority group is dominant in a particular society, while subordinate groups are dominated by the majority.
  41. A negative attitude based on faulty generalizations
    about members of selected racial, ethnic, or
    other groups is referred to as
    (A) redlining
    (B) discrimination
    (C) prejudice
    (D) racism
    (E) hate crime
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Prejudice is an attitude that may or may not result in discrimination, which is a behavior
  42. A football coach is happy to work with African- American players, but feels that white fans will accept only a certain percentage of people of
    color on the team, thus affecting his hiring practices. According to sociologist Robert Merton, this coach is
    (A) an unprejudiced nondiscriminator
    (B) an unprejudiced discriminator
    (C) a prejudiced nondiscriminator
    (D) a prejudiced discriminator
    (E) an inclusive nondiscriminator
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Merton’s analysis suggests that prejudice and discrimination often occur together, but sometimes people and groups can engage in one without engaging in the other.
  43. At birth, male and female infants are distinguished by the genitalia used in the reproductive process, which are referred to as
    (A) gonads and fallopian tubes
    (B) primary sex characteristics
    (C) secondary sex characteristics
    (D) biological tendencies
    (E) tertiary sex characteristics
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Primary sex characteristics are the biological sex organs, while secondary sex characteristics are sexrelated physical traits other than the sex organs, such as wider hips in women and beards in men.
  44. Preference for emotional sexual relationships with members of the opposite sex (heterosexuality), the same sex (homosexuality), or both sexes
    (bisexuality) is one’s
    (A) feelings
    (B) behavior
    (C) identification
    (D) gender
    (E) orientation
    • The correct answer is (E).
    • Research suggests that sexual orientation may have both biological and social origins.
  45. The culturally and socially constructed differences between females and males found in the meanings, beliefs, and practices associated with
    “femininity” and “masculinity” are known as
    (A) gender
    (B) sex
    (C) primary sexual identifiers
    (D) secondary sexual identifiers
    (E) behaviorism
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Gender is a social definition, while sex is a biological fact
  46. In the United States, males traditionally are expected to demonstrate aggressiveness, whereas females are expected to be passive and nurturing, which illustrates the concept of
    (A) sexual identity
    (B) gender identity
    (C) gender role
    (D) biological role
    (E) correct behavior
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Gender roles are attitudes, behavior, and activities that are socially defined as appropriate for each sex and are learned through the socialization process.
  47. What is the name used for bar graphs divided into five-year age cohorts, with the left side depicting the number or percentage of males in
    each age bracket and the right side providing the same information for females?
    (A) Demographic diagrams
    (B) Population pyramids
    (C) Ecological portraits
    (D) Actuarial graphs
    (E) Age predictions
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Population pyramids are useful tools for demographers in comparing the population composition of one society with another.
  48. An estimate of the average lifetime in years of people born in a specific year is
    (A) life span
    (B) cohort projection
    (C) life prospects
    (D) life projection
    (E) life expectancy
    • The correct answer is (E).
    • Life expectancy is much higher in the high-income nations of the world than in the low-income nations, where higher infant mortality rates greatly reduce life expectancy.
  49. All of the following statements regarding the relationship between age and poverty in the United States are true, EXCEPT
    (A) older persons are at a much greater risk of
    living in poverty than are children
    (B) older women are twice as likely to be poor
    as older men
    (C) older Latinos/as and African-Americans are
    much more likely to live below the poverty
    line than are non-Latino/a whites
    (D) about 46 percent of all African-American
    children under age 6 lived in poverty in 1993
    (E) children as a group are poorer now than they
    were at the beginning of the 1980s
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Children are at a much greater risk of poverty than older persons.
  50. Illnesses that are long-term or lifelong and that develop gradually or are present from birth are known as
    (A) acute illnesses
    (B) chronic illnesses
    (C) medical illnesses
    (D) temporary illnesses
    (E) sick roles
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Chronic illnesses are long-term, whereas acute illnesses occur suddenly and their effects are often immediate.
  51. According to Ferdinand Tönnies, Gemeinschaft refers to
    (A) a traditional society in which social relationships are based on personal bonds of friendship and kinship and on intergenerational stability
    (B) a large, urban society in which social bonds are based on impersonal and specialized relationships, with little long-term commitment
    to the group or consensus on values
    (C) a traditional society in which social relationships have come to be based on corporate procedures
    (D) a post-industrial social order in which
    traditionalism has been restored
    (E) postmodern societies of the future
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Tönnies’ gemeinschaft/gesellschaft typology refers to the level of social solidarity in a community.
  52. The United States has a larger homeless population today than in earlier times because of
    (A) higher rates of mental illness and deinstitutionalization
    (B) a significant increase in alcoholism and drug addiction
    (C) changes in structural factors in society
    (D) more people who are unwilling to work
    (E) problems in the U.S. educational system
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • One type of structural factor that affects homelessness is the economy, in particular the availability of jobs.
  53. What is Emile Durkheim’s term for the social cohesion found in industrial societies, in which people perform very specialized tasks and feel
    united by their mutual dependence?
    (A) Mechanical solidarity
    (B) Status-oriented bonding
    (C) High-technology bonding
    (D) Organic solidarity
    (E) Bodily solidarity
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • For Durkheim, organic solidarity is the “glue” that holds complex societies together.
  54. The “old boy network” is an example of
    (A) laws regulating corporations
    (B) social deviance
    (C) a social network
    (D) a fast food chain
    (E) a commodity chain
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Traditionally, the “old boy network” provided jobs to friends, family, and fellow alumni of the elite, mostly white, Protestant, male schools of the Northeast. Women, people of color, and ethnic minorities were excluded from the benefits of the “old boy network.”
  55. The subfield of sociology that examines population size, composition, and distribution is
    (A) social ecology
    (B) gerontology
    (C) social psychology
    (D) social dynamics
    (E) demography
    • The correct answer is (E).
    • Demographic analysis is a part of many sociological studies because population changes affect all aspects of social life.
  56. A group of people who live in a specified geographic area are referred to as
    (A) nomads
    (B) clients
    (C) protesters
    (D) a population
    (E) a sample
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Changes in populations occur as a result of fertility, mortality, and migration.
  57. The actual level of childbearing of an individual or a population is referred to as
    (A) reproduction
    (B) fecundity
    (C) fertility
    (D) fruitfulness
    (E) preparation
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • The primary factor affecting the fertility of a society is the number of women of childbearing age.
  58. The number of people living in a specific geographic area (for example, people per square mile) is
    (A) a distribution
    (B) migration
    (C) emigration
    (D) a neighbor Index
    (E) density
    • The correct answer is (E).
    • Density is much greater in urban areas than in rural areas.
  59. According to urban sociologists, a city is
    (A) a metropolitan region
    (B) a relatively dense and permanent settlement of people
    (C) a census category
    (D) a suburban or rural area
    (E) better organized than a rural region
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Today, 50 percent of the world’s population lives in cities.
  60. The subfield of sociology that examines social relationships and political and economic structures in the city is
    (A) urban planning
    (B) zoning
    (C) urban sociology
    (D) urban psychology
    (E) urbanology
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Urban sociologists study cities, whereas rural sociologists examine relationships and structures in less densely populated areas.
  61. The study of the relationship between people and their physical environment is known as
    (A) demography
    (B) urban sociology
    (C) human ecology
    (D) physical sociology
    (E) geology
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • The human ecology approach was used by University of Chicago sociologists who studied the city during the early decades of the twentieth century.
  62. In Herbert Gans’ typology of urban dwellers, those who live in tightly knit neighborhoods that resemble small towns are
    (A) cosmopolites
    (B) ethnic villagers
    (C) yuppies
    (D) buppies
    (E) natives
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Some ethnic villagers are recent immigrants who feel most comfortable living among people of their own group.
  63. What is the term that sociologists use for the situation where the number of low-income neighborhood residents increases and they begin
    to spill over into adjacent middle-class neighborhoods, which causes the middle class to move out, thus expanding the base or sector of low income housing?
    (A) Capital investment
    (B) Concentric zone development
    (C) An enterprise zone
    (D) The invasion-succession cycle
    (E) Forced integration
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • The invasionsuccession cycle results as groups gain upward social mobility and move from central cities.
  64. A continuous concentration of two or more cities and their suburbs that have grown until they form an interconnected urban area is a
    (A) megalopolis
    (B) central metropolitan area
    (C) census district
    (D) suburban complex
    (E) coastal area
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • The East Coast of the United States contains a number of megalopolises.
  65. What is the term used to describe the situation where banks have policies of refusing to make loans for housing and businesses to persons
    residing in low-income or blighted communities?
    (A) Capital investment
    (B) Space allocation
    (C) Concentric zone development
    (D) Redlining
    (E) Zoning
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • The term redlining refers to drawing a line on a map, and denying loans to persons on the “wrong” side of the line.
  66. A group to which a person does NOT belong and toward which the person may feel a sense of competitiveness or hostility is
    (A) an in-group
    (B) an out-group
    (C) a secondary group
    (D) a reference group
    (E) a family of orientation
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • All groups set boundaries by distinguishing between insiders and outsiders.
  67. A reference group is a group
    (A) that strongly influences members’ behavior and social attitudes
    (B) to which a person belongs and with which the person feels a sense of identity
    (C) that strongly influences a person’ s behavior and social attitudes, regardless of whether that individual is an actual member
    (D) that consists of two or more people who interact frequently and share a common identity
    (E) that actively recruits new members
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Individuals often behave like members of a reference group in order to become a member of it.
  68. Which of the following concepts is illustrated by the fact that a successful college president need not be effective in designing the college’s
    promotional brochures and a successful corporate executive need not be able to program the department’s computer system?
    (A) Technological employment
    (B) Hierarchy of needs
    (C) Goal displacement
    (D) Division of labor
    (E) Human relations
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • In a bureaucracy, each person performs a specialized task, and is responsible for the correct performance of that task.
  69. Systematic practices developed by social groups to encourage conformity to social norms are referred to as mechanisms of social
    (A) retaliation
    (B) emphasis
    (C) control
    (D) deviance
    (E) status
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Social control may be internal (socialization) or external (sanctions).
  70. According to Robert Merton’s strain theory, what occurs when people accept society’s goals but adopt disapproved means for achieving them?
    (A) Conformity
    (B) Innovation
    (C) Rebellion
    (D) Ritualism
    (E) Retreatism
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Merton’s theory suggests that some crime is caused by society failing to provide a legal means for all to succeed.
  71. The statement “The greater the degree of social harm, the more the offender should be punished” reflects the principle of
    (A) retribution
    (B) social protection
    (C) rehabilitation
    (D) deterrence
    (E) restitution
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Retribution is based on the idea that the punishment should fit the crime. More serious crimes should receive more serious sanctions.
  72. An organized group that acts consciously to promote or resist change through collective action is
    (A) a revolution
    (B) a civil disobedience group
    (C) a social movement
    (D) an interest collectivity
    (E) a plurality
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • An example is the U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the twentieth century.
  73. Movements seeking to bring about a total change in society are referred to as
    (A) revolutionary
    (B) reform
    (C) religious
    (D) alternative
    (E) incremental
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • For example, terrorist organizations often seek revolutionary change.
  74. People who are satisfied with their present condition are LESS likely to seek social change, according to the theory of
    (A) value-added
    (B) resource mobilization
    (C) functionalist
    (D) relative deprivation
    (E) symbolic interactionist
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • As peoples’ expectations rise, they become dissatisfied if they believe they are not receiving their fair share, or if they think that change is not occurring quickly enough.
  75. Voluntary, often spontaneous activity that is engaged in by a large number of people and that typically violates dominant group norms and
    values is
    (A) social change
    (B) organizational behavior
    (C) institutional behavior
    (D) collective behavior
    (E) conformity
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Collective behavior can take various forms, including crowds, mobs, riots, panics, fads, fashions, and public opinion.
  76. A relatively large number of people who are in one another’s immediate vicinity is termed a
    (A) mass
    (B) critical mass
    (C) category
    (D) crowd
    (E) reference group
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • A crowd is distinct from a mass, which is a number of people who share an interest in a specific idea or issue but who are not in one another’s immediate vicinity.
  77. The situation in which a teenage boy receives advice from his older sister about how to act on a first date is an example of
    (A) sociobiology
    (B) acculturation
    (C) socialization
    (D) high self-esteem
    (E) deskilling
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Socialization is the lifelong process of social interaction through which individuals acquire a self-identity and the physical, mental, and social skills needed for survival in society.
  78. What is Charles Horton Cooley’s term for the way in which a person’s sense of self is derived from the perceptions of others?
    (A) Development of personality
    (B) The “looking-glass” self
    (C) The “I” and the “me”
    (D) The human psyche
    (E) The “window of life”
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • According to Charles Horton Cooley, people see themselves as they perceive others see them.
  79. The process by which a person mentally assumes the role of another person in order to understand the world from that person’s point of view is
    referred to as
    (A) generalized others
    (B) role-taking
    (C) significant others
    (D) self-concept
    (E) switching
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Children often engage in role-taking as they act out adult roles such as mother or teacher.
  80. According to sociologists, what account(s) for virtually all patterns of human behavior?
    (A) Technology
    (B) Medical advancements
    (C) Culture
    (D) Values
    (E) Genes
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Human behavior patterns are primarily learned through the socialization process, which is culture-specific.
  81. Traditions, beliefs, language, and philosophies are all examples of
    (A) material culture
    (B) cultural universals
    (C) cultural values
    (D) nonmaterial culture
    (E) value judgments
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Nonmaterial culture consists of abstract or intangible human creations, while material culture consists of tangible human creations.
  82. According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
    (A) language is a given
    (B) language precedes thought
    (C) language is not related to categories of thought
    (D) all of the world’s languages view the world in a similar way
    (E) animals have complex language ability
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, languages provide mental categories that determine how speakers of each language think.
  83. The complex framework of societal institutions and the social practices that make up a society and organize and establish limits on individual
    behavior are referred to as
    (A) social interaction
    (B) structurally patterned behavior
    (C) social structure
    (D) group interaction
    (E) social control
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Social structure provides the link between individuals and the society of which they are a part.
  84. Any physical or social attribute or sign that so devalues a person’s social identity that it disqualifies that person from full social acceptance is a
    (A) norm
    (B) value
    (C) status
    (D) stigma
    (E) meritocracy
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • Stigma is part of the process of social marginalization that distinguishes between persons who are insiders and those who are outsiders.
  85. Which of the following is an ascribed status?
    (A) Astronomer
    (B) Violinist
    (C) Female
    (D) College graduate
    (E) Grandparent
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • Ascribed statuses are attributes that are conferred at birth.
  86. The scholar Auguste Comte
    (A) is considered to be the founder of sociology
    (B) conducted the first scientific research in sociology
    (C) coined the phrase “survival of the fittest”
    (D) co-authored the text Social Injustice
    (E) is best known for his study of suicide
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • French philospher Auguste Comte (1798-1857) described sociology as a new science that would engage in the study of society.
  87. According to sociologist C. Wright Mills, the ability to see the relationship between individual experiences and the larger society is referred to as (A) the conflict perspective
    (B) symbolic interaction
    (C) reality perception
    (D) the sociological imagination
    (E) the scientific vision
    • The correct answer is (D).
    • The sociological imagination helps us to distinguish between personal troubles, which affect an individual, and public issues, which affect large numbers of people or an entire society.
  88. The first U.S. departments of sociology were established at
    (A) Columbia University and Spellman College
    (B) Harvard University and Yale University
    (C) University of Chicago and Atlanta University
    (D) Howard University and Brown University
    (E) Princeton University and the University of Texas
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • With its beginnings in the 1890s, sociology is one of the newest disciplines in the U.S. college and university curriculum.
  89. George Herbert Mead is one of the founders of the
    (A) conflict perspective
    (B) symbolic interaction perspective
    (C) functionalist perspective
    (D) feminist perspective
    (E) social control perspective
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Symbolic interactionism suggests that society is the sum of face-to-face interactions of individuals and groups.
  90. Which of the following was NOT an accomplishment of sociologist W.E.B. Du Bois?
    (A) He utilized sociology as a method of social reform.
    (B) He helped to found the NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People).
    (C) He conducted a classical sociological study called The Philadelphia Negro: A Social Study.
    (D) He founded the second department of sociology in the United States.
    (E) He founded the first college for white women in the United States.
    • The correct answer is (E).
    • W.E.B. Du Bois (1868-1963) was an influential sociologist at Atlanta University, an historically African- American institution.
  91. The extent to which a study or research instrument yields consistent results is
    (A) reliability
    (B) the hypothesis
    (C) theory
    (D) a hunch
    (E) intuition
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • A measure is reliable if it gives the same result each time it is used.
  92. The process of systematically collecting information for the purpose of testing an existing theory or generating a new idea is
    (A) research
    (B) polling
    (C) surveying
    (D) data gathering
    (E) spin
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Modern science is based on theory and research.
  93. Any concept with measurable traits or characteristics that can change or vary from one person, time, situation, or society to another is a
    (A) hypothesis
    (B) variable
    (C) problem
    (D) research design
    (E) trait
    • The correct answer is (B).
    • Examples of important sociological variables are age, sex, race, educational level, and income.
  94. If depression is assumed to be caused by loss of employment, then depression is treated here as
    (A) the dependent variable
    (B) an inductive variable
    (C) the independent variable
    (D) a quantitative research variable
    (E) a negative variable
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • One can think of the dependent variable as the “effect” and the independent variable as the “cause.”
  95. The research method in which the goal is scientific objectivity and the focus is on numerical data is known as
    (A) quantitative analysis
    (B) qualitative analysis
    (C) random variation
    (D) secondary analysis
    (E) the margin of error
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Sociological research may be quantitative or qualitative, depending on the topic of study and the demands of the research design.
  96. In order for societies to produce social change and a better society, Karl Marx believed which of the following was necessary?
    (A) Class conflict
    (B) Economic conflict
    (C) Social conflict
    (D) Environmental conflict
    (E) Functional imperatives
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • Marx believed that history is a struggle between dominant and subordinate social classes.
  97. The role of a health club or golf club as a meeting ground for people seeking new business contacts is an example of
    (A) a dialectical function
    (B) a manifest function
    (C) a latent function
    (D) a dysfunction
    (E) an opportunistic function
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • A latent function is an unintended or hidden function of an institution or organization.
  98. Which of the following sociological perspectives views society as a system in which each part contributes to the survival of the entire system?
    (A) Functionalist perspective
    (B) Conflict perspective
    (C) Interactionist symbolic perspective
    (D) Postmodern perspective
    (E) Feminist perspective
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • The basic functional component parts of society are social institutions such as family, education, religion, law, and the economy.
  99. Which sociological perspective would study how educational institutions help to maintain the privilege of some groups, while keeping others in a lower position?
    (A) Conflict perspective
    (B) Functionalist perspective
    (C) Symbolic interactionist perspective
    (D) Feminist perspective
    (E) Rational choice perspective
    • The correct answer is (A).
    • The conflict perspective sees social groups as engaged in a continuous struggle for access to, and control of, scarce resources.
  100. The symbolic interactionist approach views society as
    (A) the result of biological evolution
    (B) the result of class conflicts in society
    (C) being determined by social interaction and communication
    (D) complex systems, composed of specialized interdependent parts
    (E) having a limited lifespan in terms of time
    • The correct answer is (C).
    • To symbolic interactionists, society is created anew out of face-to-face social interactions between individuals.
Author
rebma85
ID
10554
Card Set
clep sociology test
Description
100 questions
Updated

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