CHAPTER 1: WHAT IS SOCIOLOGY?
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. From a sociological perspective, the love you feel for a romantic partner is:
a. a natural outgrowth of sexual desire
b. universally found in all societies where men and women live in close proximity
c. a product of particular historical and social circumstances
d. limited to persons of the opposite sex
e. restricted to those persons of marriageable age
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 10 | Seagull edition page 11 TOP: The Sociological Perspective
MSC: Conceptual
2. According to the sociological perspective, people’s behavior:
a. is influenced by the social context
b. is entirely determined by the social context
c. has nothing to do with social context
d. is mostly a result of their genes
e. is mostly a result of their personality
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4 TOP: The Sociological Perspective
MSC: Applied
3. The idea of a sociological imagination originated with:
, a. Anthony Giddens
b. C. Wright Mills
c. Émile Durkheim
d. Karl Marx
e. Max Weber
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination MSC: Factual
4. What is it called when we “think ourselves away” from the familiar routine to see things in a
different, more sociological perspective?
a. romanticism
b. sociological imagination
c. multiple personality disorder
d. globalization
e. unintended consequences
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination MSC: Factual
5. The significance of a sociological imagination is that:
a. sociology should be considered a philosophy rather than a science
b. sociologists are primarily interested in predicting the future
c. sociology attempts to connect individual experiences to a conception of a larger social
structure
d. sociology is not concerned with empirical verification of theories
, e. sociologists imagine that studying sociology will lead to revolutions
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination MSC: Conceptual
6. When sociologists visit Starbucks, they witness a variety of behaviors and social relationships
that are not necessarily immediately apparent to the coffee drinkers. The ability to interpret all the
events taking place within the coffeehouse is referred to as:
a. theory
b. macrosociology
c. sociological imagination
d. sociological romanticism
e. feminism
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination MSC: Applied
7. What does the term social structure refer to?
a. any building constructed by more than one person
b. random events or actions that occur within a building or concrete structure
c. the mental state or personality of an individual
d. a regularity or pattern in people’s behavior and relationships
e. a major feature of the natural landscape
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Pages 4–5 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination | Social Structure
, MSC: Factual
8. A student who is sitting quietly in a classroom and listening to his professor lecture is likely
acting based on self-interest if he is:
a. hoping he will make a good impression on the professor so she will write him a good letter
of recommendation
b. taking good notes
c. repeating the same behavior he learned in high school
d. hoping the lecture will go faster without interruption and the class will end early
e. none of the above
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 8 | Seagull edition pages 7–8
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination | Social Structure
MSC: Conceptual
9. The norms, beliefs, and values that we learn through socialization make ________ possible:
a. globalization
b. social cohesion
c. social order
d. single world order
e. none of the above
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
REF: Page 8 | Seagull edition page 8
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination | Social Structure
MSC: Applied
MULTIPLE CHOICE
1. From a sociological perspective, the love you feel for a romantic partner is:
a. a natural outgrowth of sexual desire
b. universally found in all societies where men and women live in close proximity
c. a product of particular historical and social circumstances
d. limited to persons of the opposite sex
e. restricted to those persons of marriageable age
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 10 | Seagull edition page 11 TOP: The Sociological Perspective
MSC: Conceptual
2. According to the sociological perspective, people’s behavior:
a. is influenced by the social context
b. is entirely determined by the social context
c. has nothing to do with social context
d. is mostly a result of their genes
e. is mostly a result of their personality
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4 TOP: The Sociological Perspective
MSC: Applied
3. The idea of a sociological imagination originated with:
, a. Anthony Giddens
b. C. Wright Mills
c. Émile Durkheim
d. Karl Marx
e. Max Weber
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination MSC: Factual
4. What is it called when we “think ourselves away” from the familiar routine to see things in a
different, more sociological perspective?
a. romanticism
b. sociological imagination
c. multiple personality disorder
d. globalization
e. unintended consequences
ANS: B PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination MSC: Factual
5. The significance of a sociological imagination is that:
a. sociology should be considered a philosophy rather than a science
b. sociologists are primarily interested in predicting the future
c. sociology attempts to connect individual experiences to a conception of a larger social
structure
d. sociology is not concerned with empirical verification of theories
, e. sociologists imagine that studying sociology will lead to revolutions
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Difficult
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination MSC: Conceptual
6. When sociologists visit Starbucks, they witness a variety of behaviors and social relationships
that are not necessarily immediately apparent to the coffee drinkers. The ability to interpret all the
events taking place within the coffeehouse is referred to as:
a. theory
b. macrosociology
c. sociological imagination
d. sociological romanticism
e. feminism
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 4 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination MSC: Applied
7. What does the term social structure refer to?
a. any building constructed by more than one person
b. random events or actions that occur within a building or concrete structure
c. the mental state or personality of an individual
d. a regularity or pattern in people’s behavior and relationships
e. a major feature of the natural landscape
ANS: D PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Pages 4–5 | Seagull edition page 4
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination | Social Structure
, MSC: Factual
8. A student who is sitting quietly in a classroom and listening to his professor lecture is likely
acting based on self-interest if he is:
a. hoping he will make a good impression on the professor so she will write him a good letter
of recommendation
b. taking good notes
c. repeating the same behavior he learned in high school
d. hoping the lecture will go faster without interruption and the class will end early
e. none of the above
ANS: A PTS: 1 DIF: Medium
REF: Page 8 | Seagull edition pages 7–8
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination | Social Structure
MSC: Conceptual
9. The norms, beliefs, and values that we learn through socialization make ________ possible:
a. globalization
b. social cohesion
c. social order
d. single world order
e. none of the above
ANS: C PTS: 1 DIF: Easy
REF: Page 8 | Seagull edition page 8
TOP: The Sociological Perspective | Sociological Imagination | Social Structure
MSC: Applied
