Sociology Trivia Questions for College Students

The term "sociology" was coined in the early 1800s by which of the following?

• AEmile Durkheim
• BRobert K. Merton
• CKarl Marx
• DAuguste Comte

Weber said that all knowledge is 'value-relevant' because:

• Aknowledge refers to people and their values
• Battempts to provide knowledge about the world are always valuable
• Csociologists like to put a value on different theories
• Dtheorists interpret the world in terms of their own values

Bernstein thought that using 'restricted codes' of language disadvantaged pupils at school because:

• Athis pattern of speech made them the target of bullying
• Bthey involved short, simple sentences with a small vocabulary
• Cthey prevented children from communicating outside of their peer groups
• Dthey referred to explicit, context independent meanings

The 'nuclear family' means:

• Aa two generation unit of parents and their children
• Ba group of people sharing living accommodation and meals
• Ca network of relatives extended within or between generations
• Dthe new family created when an adult leaves home and gets married

The Mafia is an example of:

• Awhite collar crime
• Bglobal terrorism
• Cnon-criminal deviance
• Dorganized crime

Which of the following is not a feature of globalization?

• Athe destruction of distance through communications technologies
• Bthe extended power of nation states
• Cthe stretching of social relations beyond national boundaries
• Dan increasing awareness of the world as a whole

Secularization involves the two related ideas of:

• Adistribution and distillation
• Bdisappointment and disproportion
• Cdisengagement and disenchantment
• Ddisbelief and disintegration

The term 'assets' refers to:

• Athe 'slices' of the population who own differing amounts of wealth
• Bthe culturally valued commodities and standards of living that make the poor feel relatively deprived
• Cthe flow of money a person receives from their salary or wage
• Da stock of economic resources, including land, shares and bank deposits

Lombroso claimed that:

• Ano act is intrinsically deviant
• Bbiological failings drove some people into crime
• Ccriminals were socialized into an 'underworld' of crime
• Dwomen were less likely to be arrested than men

The media-themes model of media influence claims that:

• Acontent analysis is the best way to identify the themes covered by the media
• Baudiences selectively interpret what they want to hear
• Csocial interaction reinforces the ideas and images that audiences select
• Daudiences passively absorb whatever messages they are given

The term feminization of poverty refers to:

• Awomen's increased chances of being in poverty, due to low pay and greater welfare dependency
• Bthe critical deconstruction of 'poverty' by feminist theorists
• Cthe disproportionate number of female sociologists who do research on poverty
• Dthe way in which managing a budget and avoiding poverty tends to be a woman's responsibility within the home

A social stratum is:

• Aa methodological tool used to identify a person's social class
• Bthe boundary between two levels of the social hierarchy
• Ca level in the social hierarchy, comprising people with shared life chances
• Da symbol of status, used to differentiate between social classes

In their study of depression, Brown & Harris (1978) found that:

• Aself-reported depression is highest amongst men and the relatively affluent
• Bmen and women have fairly similar levels of diagnosed depression
• Cwomen's susceptibility to stress depended on their levels of social support
• Dmen are more vulnerable to depression because of conventional gender roles

Freud's notion of the 'ego' referred to:

• Athe conscious part of the mind that regulates emotional drives on a practical, rational level
• Bthe neurotic part of the mind that longs for belonging and may suffer an inferiority complex
• Cthe self as a whole: an unstable mix of conscious and unconscious elements
• Dthe unconscious mass of instinctive drives that may be repressed

The ecological approach to urban sociology involved studying:

• Athe forms of wildlife and natural habitats that could be found on the edges of the city
• Bhow men and women used the city's public spaces differently
• Cthe way in which people organized collective protests about environmental issues
• Dhow social groups colonized different areas of the city and competed for resources

In Symbolic Interactionist theory, Mead defined the 'generalized other' as:

• Aa significant figure in early childhood who teaches us the general values of society
• Bthe group of structural theories of society that he was reacting against
• Can image of how people in the wider society might perceive our behaviour
• Dthe overall impression of ourselves that we try to give off to others

White-collar crime is low in visibility because:

• Ait goes undetected in the context of everyday business transactions
• Bthe police turn a blind eye to corporate crime
• Cthe proletariat can outsmart the bourgeoisie
• Dit involves only small amounts of money

Class segregation was apparent in mid-twentieth century Britain insofar as:

• Athe upper and middle classes dominated public space, while working class people were more home-centred
• Bthe middle classes lived in the countryside while the working class lived in the city
• Cmiddle class owner-occupiers moved into the inner city through gentrification
• Dworking class communities formed in the inner cities, while the middle classes moved out to the suburbs

Which of the following theories focuses on how society manages to carry out the activities necessary to maintain order and stability?

• AInteractionism
• BFunctionalism
• CConflict theory
• DRational-choice theory

The introduction of market principles to educational policy in the 1980s resulted in:

• Amore funding for students in higher education
• Bincreased state regulation through national testing and inspections
• Cthe delegation of power and budgetary control to LEAs
• Da reduction in parental choice of school

The alternative form of 'network organization' means that:

• Aactivities are redistributed equally between men and women
• Bbusiness transactions occur only through electronic communication
• Cthe Japanese model is applied, through lateral networks of flexible roles
• Dwork can be subcontracted out to independent suppliers and retailers

Which of the following policies did the New Labour government not pursue?

• Aparental choice of school
• Bsupporting LEAs that appeared to be failing
• Cstate regulation and control of the curriculum
• Dsetting and streaming pupils by ability

An ecclesia is:

• Aa church organized around voluntary rather than compulsory membership
• Ba hierarchy of priests or other spiritual leaders
• Ca sect or cult with a very small following
• Da religious organization that claims total spiritual authority over its members

Sociology differs from common sense in that:

• Ait is subjective and biased
• Bit focuses on the researchers' own experiences
• Cits knowledge is accumulated from many different research contexts
• Dit makes little distinction between the way the world is and the way it ought to be

Weber said that the 'spirit of capitalism' could be traced back to:

• Ainspirational Protestant groups who revived religious ideas
• BCalvinists who engaged in ascetic practices to gain signs of salvation
• Cthe movement towards religious pluralism
• Dnew religious movements who rejected traditional forms of labour

What is the name of the process by which we acquire a sense of identity and become members of society?

• AMcDonaldization
• Bcolonization
• Csocialization
• Drationalization

The print revolution of the nineteenth century resulted in:

• Amore people going to the cinema as a new leisure activity
• Bmass production, mass circulation, and the decline of serious content
• Cthe public ownership of newspapers as a shared resource
• Da reduction of 'virtual communities' on the Internet

Mulholland (1998) argued that privatization changed the relationship between companies and managers in that:

• Athe state had greater control than managers over production processes
• Bownership was transferred from small shareholders to senior managers
• Cemployment depended on performance rather than trust and commitment
• Dflexibility was reduced by the introduction of detailed daily worksheets

The 'class polarization' that Marx predicted referred to:

• Athe growth of intermediate strata in the middle classes
• Bthe tendency for the working class to live in very cold places
• Ca growing gap between rich and poor, resulting in class consciousness
• Dthe division of each social class into the more or less privileged

The theory of development which suggests that societies move from traditional to modern, industrial forms of organization is called:

• ADependency theory
• BIndustrialization theory
• CWesternization theory
• DModernization theory

The 'Great Migration' of 1916-1919 meant that Chicago became an ethnically diverse city. The consequence of this was:

• Amulticulturalism: all ethnic identities were celebrated equally
• Bmost ethnic groups were integrated into mainstream society, but the black population remained in the city's ghettos
• Cracism: the white host population were hostile and prejudiced towards migrants
• Dassimilation: all racial boundaries were dissolved by the 'ethnic melting pot'

Warner and Myrdal claimed that black former slaves were not joining the 'ethnic melting pot' of the North American cities because:

• Athey wanted to retain a strong sense of their original ethnic identity
• Bthe promise of citizenship was contradicted by continued discrimination
• Cthey were not prepared to leave the Southern states and move to North America
• Dthe white population did not believe in liberty, equality, and democracy

Theories of racialized discourse suggest that:

• Athe idea of race is socially constructed through powerful ideologies
• Bpeople choose their racial identity and this becomes fixed
• Crace relations in Britain and America can be traced back to colonial times
• Drace is an objective way of categorizing people on biological grounds

The 'new man' of the 1980s was alleged to be:

• Aopenly bisexual and proud of it
• Bsensitive, caring, and emotional
• Ca strong and dependable breadwinner
• Dladdish, aggressive, and violent

Disciplinary power was exercised in the 19th century factories by:

• Apunctuality, uninterrupted work and the threat of dismissal
• Bmaking routine tasks less monotonous
• Cthe use of corporal punishment by employers
• Dexcluding women from participating in waged labour

The tripartite system used the 11+ exam to select pupils for:

• Apolytechnics, colleges and universities
• Bpopular schools that lay outside their catchment area
• Cgrammar, technical, and secondary modern schools
• Dprivate, public and comprehensive schools

Equilibrium theories of social change emphasize

• Asecularism and mechanization
• Bstability and the structure of society
• Cglobalization
• Dindustrialization

Role-learning theory suggests that

• Awe create and negotiate our roles through interaction with others
• Bsocial roles are not fixed or stable but fluid and pluralistic
• Cwe internalise and take on social roles from a pre-existing framework
• Droles have to be learned to suppress unconscious motivations

In the context of the labour movement in the nineteenth century, 'incorporation' meant:

• Aincluding working class organizations in political bargaining and representation
• Brecruiting women into full time paid employment
• Cincluding union representatives in processes of policy decision making
• Dcreating links between the state and corporate organizations

Which of the following best describes the definition of poverty used by the United States government?

• AIt includes the value of government services, such as Medicaid or public housing, when setting the poverty line.
• BIt is based on the concept of lifestyle, and the poverty line varies according to the needs of the individual.
• CIt is based on the concept of relative deprivation, and the poverty line changes as the distribution of income changes.
• DIt specifies the poverty line at a level set in the 1960s and adjusted since to reflect inflation.

Which of the following groups or organizations can be identified as having the characteristics of a bureaucracy?

• AA book club in which books are chosen by members who take turns alphabetically to lead discussion
• BAn extended or consanguine family, including all the relatives by blood, marriage, or adoption
• CThe volunteers who gather annually to clean the neighborhood
• DThe government of a large city

Seven people standing silently while waiting for a bus at a bus stop is an example of which of the following?

• AA social category
• BA secondary group
• CA primary group
• DAn aggregate

In modern societies, social status is typically measured by a person's:

• Aage
• Bincome
• Cverbal fluency
• Doccupation

Émile Durkheim believed the primary focus of sociology should be which of the following?

• ACultural dynamics
• BClass relations
• CSocial facts
• DSocial action

Wirth (1938) said that social relationships in the urban way of life were 'segmental' because:

• Athey were based on face to face interaction with close friends and family
• Bthere were distinctive patterns of activity for each social class
• Cthey were confined to particular areas of the city
• Dpeople knew each other only through specific, situational roles, and not as whole, rounded individuals

Which of the following statements most closely corresponds with differential association theory?

• AOnce a thief, always a thief.
• BIf all of your friends jumped off a bridge, I suppose you would too.
• CYou should be proud to be a part of this organization.
• DIf the door is closed, try the window.

The concept of gemeinschaft developed by Ferdinand Tönnies describes basically the same relational characteristics as

• Aorganic solidarity
• Bgesellschaft
• Canomie
• Dmechanical solidarity

Weber defined a 'class situation' as:

• Aa person's position in the capital, product and labour markets, based on their economic resources
• Ba social group's consciousness of their status and life chances
• Cthe lifestyle of a social class, as defined by patterns of consumption
• Dthe exploitation of the working class by their capitalist employers

In the 1990 reform of the National Health Service, hospitals became:

• Aincreasingly detached from health authorities and providers of private health care
• Bless inclined to run themselves efficiently, as demand for health care was falling
• Cstate-controlled providers, dependent on funding from the central government
• Dself-governing trusts competing for purchasing contracts from health authorities

Which of the following is not identified by Fulcher & Scott as a criterion of community?

• Aa shared sense of identity and belonging together
• Bcollective action based on common interests
• Ccommon activities involving all-round relationships
• Da fixed geographical location