INTRODUCTION TO SOCIOLOGY (SOC110)

MIDTERM EXAM

Professor: M. SÁNCHEZ.

SECTION A. Multiple Choice Questions. (50 pts.)

Choose the correct option, and write the corresponding letter in the underlined space.

1. Wright Mills once said that sociologists need to develop a sociological to study how society affects
individuals.

a. Culture
b. Imagination
c. Method
d. Tool

2. A sociologist defines society as a group of people who reside in a defined area,

share a culture, and who:

a. Interact
b. Work in the same industry
c. Speak different languages
d. Practice a recognized religion

3. Which of the following best describes sociology as a subject?

a. The study of individual behavior

b. The study of cultures
c. The study of society and social interaction
d. The study of economics

4. Which of the following was a topic of study in early sociology?

a. Astrology
b. Economics
c. Physics
d. History.

5. Which founder of Sociology believed societies changed due to class struggle?

a. Spencer
b. Plato
c. Marx
 d. Compte

6. Weber believed humans could not be studied purely objectively because they were influenced by .

a. Drugs
b. Their culture
c. Their genetic map
d. The researcher

7. The first step of the scientific method is .

a. Collect and analyze data

b. Summarize the articles
c. Ask a question about a topic
d. Create a hypothesis

8. A measurement is considered if it actually measures what it is intended to measure, according to the

topic of the study.

a. Reliable
b. Sociological
c. Valid
d. Quantitative

9. Sociological studies test relationships in which change in one causes change in another.

a. Test subject
b. Variable
c. Behavior
d. Operational definition

10. Which materials are considered secondary data?

a. Photos and letters given to you by another person

b. Books and articles written by other authors about their studies
c. Information that you have gathered and now have included in your results
d. Responses from participants whom you both surveyed and interviewed

11. Which best describes the results of a case study?

a. It produces more reliable results than other methods because of its depth
b. Its results are not generally applicable
c. It relies solely on secondary data analysis
d. All of the above

12. To study the effects of fast food on lifestyle, health, and culture, from which group would a researcher ethically be
unable to accept funding?

a. A fast-food restaurant
b. A nonprofit health organization
c. A private hospital
d. A governmental agency like Health and Social Services

13. The irrational fear or hatred of another culture is called:

 a. Ethnocentrism
b. Xenophobia
c. Ethnophobia
d. Xenophile

14. The belief that one’s culture is inferior to another culture is called:

a. Ethnocentrism
b. Nationalism
c. Imperialism
d. Xenocentrism

15. Must cultures have been found to identify laughter as a sign of humor, joy, or pleasure.

Laughter is an example of:

a. Relativism
b. Ethnocentrism
c. Xenocentrism
d. Universalism

16. The terms and are often used interchangeably, but have nuances that differentiate
them.

a. Imperialism and relativism

b. Society and ethnocentrism
c. Ethnocentrism and xenocentrism
d. Culture and society

17. A nation’s flag is an example of:

a. A folkway
b. A symbol
c. A value
d. All of the above

18. The notion that people cannot feel or experience something that they do not have a word for can be explained by:

a. Linguistics
b. Ethnographic imagery
c. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
d. Bilingualism

19. The Ku Klux Klan is an example of what part of culture?

a. Counterculture
b. Pop culture
c. Subculture
d. Multiculturalism

20. Which of the following fictional societies is an example of a pastoral society?

a. The Deswan people, who live in small tribes and base their economy on the production and trade of textiles
 b. The Rositian clan, a small community of farmers who have lived on their family’s land for centuries
c. The Hunti, a wandering group of nomads who specialize in breeding and training horses
d. The Amaganda, an extended family of warriors who serve a single noble family

21. Which of the following occupations is a person of power most likely to have in an information society?

a. Coal miner
b. Software engineer
c. Sharecropper
d. Children’s book author

22. Organic solidarity is most likely to exist in which of the following societies?

a. Hunter-gatherer
b. Feudal
c. Industrial
d. Agricultural

23. The concept of the iron cage was popularized by .

a. Émile Durkheim
b. Friedrich Engels
c. Karl Marx
d. Max Weber

24. Émile Durkheim’s ideas can best be described as: .

a. Functionalist
b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interactionism
d. Rationalist

25. According to Peter Berger and Thomas Luckmann, society is based on: .

a. Status
b. Habitual actions
c. Role performance
d. Institutionalization

SECTION B. ESSAY. (50 pts.)

You have to write an essay in which you compare the two main perspectives on culture studied in class: The
functionalist perspective and the Conflict perspective. (300 words, at least)
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