Sociology Perspective and Method
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
1. According to sociologists, human behavior reflects our personal “free will.”
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 2)
2. Sociology is defined as the systematic study of human society.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 2)
3. Sociologists focus only on unusual patterns of behavior.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; pages 2-3)
4. Using the sociological perspective, we would conclude that people’s lives are
mostly a result of what they decide to do.
(APPLY; answer: F; pages 2-4)
5. College students in the U.S. tend to come from families with above-average
incomes.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 4)
6. Durkheim documented that categories of people with weaker social ties have
lower suicide rates.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 5)
7. In the United States, African Americans have a higher suicide rate than whites.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 5)
8. People with lower social standing are usually more likely to see the world from a
sociological perspective than people who are well off.
(APPLY; answer: T; page 5)
9. In the United States, men have a higher suicide rate than women.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 5)
10. A global perspective has little in common with a sociological perspective.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: F; pages 6-7)
11. U.S. sociologist C. Wright Mills argued that times of social crisis foster
widespread sociological thinking.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 6)
12. C. Wright Mills claimed that, most of the time, people must learn to take
responsibility for their own problems.
(REMEMBER; answer: F: page 6)
,13. Studying other societies is a good way to learn about our own way of life.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 8)
14. Societies around the world are more interconnected than ever before.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 8)
15. Based on the work of Barbara Ehrenreich, who tried to live by working at low-
wage jobs, we should expect most people in such jobs to be able to move ahead to
better paying work.
(APPLY; answer: F; page 10)
16. Sociological research may be interesting, but it is of little use in shaping public
policy, including legislation.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 8)
17. The sociological perspective reveals the truth of the “common sense” beliefs we
tend to take for granted.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 8)
18. Understanding how society operates benefits only the most privileged people.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 9)
19. Sociology is useful training for any job that involves working with people.
(REMEMBER; T; page 9)
20. Revolutionary changes in European societies sparked the development of
sociology.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 10)
21. The term “sociology” was coined by Emile Durkheim in 1898.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 11)
22. As a discipline, sociology first took root in France, Germany, and England.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 11)
23. Ancient philosophers, including Plato, were primarily interested in imagining the
“ideal” society rather than studying society as it really is.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 11)
24. The last of Comte’s three stages is the metaphysical stage, in which people know
the world in terms of God’s will.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 11)
25. Among all academic disciplines, sociology is one of the youngest.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 11)
, 26. Auguste Comte was a positivist who believed that there were laws of society in
the same way that there are laws of physics that describe the operation of the
natural world.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: T; page 11)
27. The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that society reflected the basic
goodness of human nature.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 11)
28. W.E.B. Du Bois translated the writings of Auguste Comte from French into
English.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 14)
29. Sociologists test their theories by gathering facts in order to confirm, reject, or
modify them.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 11)
30. The structural-functional, social-conflict, and symbolic-interaction approaches are
three basic theoretical approaches in sociology.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; pages 11-12)
31. According to Robert K. Merton, social patterns are always good and have the
same effect on all members of a society.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: F; page 13)
32. Rarely are people aware of all the functions of any social structure.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 12)
33. To say that a social pattern is “dysfunctional” means that it has more than one
function for the operation of society.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: F; page 13)
34. Keeping young people out of the labor market is one latent function of higher
education.
(APPLY; answer: T; page 13)
35. The manifest functions of our society’s reliance on personal automobiles include
tens of thousands of deaths each year in traffic accidents.
(APPLY; answer: F; page 13)
36. The goal of the structural-functional approach is not simply to understand how
society operates, but to reduce social inequality.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: F; pages 12-13)
TRUE/FALSE QUESTIONS
1. According to sociologists, human behavior reflects our personal “free will.”
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 2)
2. Sociology is defined as the systematic study of human society.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 2)
3. Sociologists focus only on unusual patterns of behavior.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; pages 2-3)
4. Using the sociological perspective, we would conclude that people’s lives are
mostly a result of what they decide to do.
(APPLY; answer: F; pages 2-4)
5. College students in the U.S. tend to come from families with above-average
incomes.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 4)
6. Durkheim documented that categories of people with weaker social ties have
lower suicide rates.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 5)
7. In the United States, African Americans have a higher suicide rate than whites.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 5)
8. People with lower social standing are usually more likely to see the world from a
sociological perspective than people who are well off.
(APPLY; answer: T; page 5)
9. In the United States, men have a higher suicide rate than women.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 5)
10. A global perspective has little in common with a sociological perspective.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: F; pages 6-7)
11. U.S. sociologist C. Wright Mills argued that times of social crisis foster
widespread sociological thinking.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 6)
12. C. Wright Mills claimed that, most of the time, people must learn to take
responsibility for their own problems.
(REMEMBER; answer: F: page 6)
,13. Studying other societies is a good way to learn about our own way of life.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 8)
14. Societies around the world are more interconnected than ever before.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 8)
15. Based on the work of Barbara Ehrenreich, who tried to live by working at low-
wage jobs, we should expect most people in such jobs to be able to move ahead to
better paying work.
(APPLY; answer: F; page 10)
16. Sociological research may be interesting, but it is of little use in shaping public
policy, including legislation.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 8)
17. The sociological perspective reveals the truth of the “common sense” beliefs we
tend to take for granted.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 8)
18. Understanding how society operates benefits only the most privileged people.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 9)
19. Sociology is useful training for any job that involves working with people.
(REMEMBER; T; page 9)
20. Revolutionary changes in European societies sparked the development of
sociology.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 10)
21. The term “sociology” was coined by Emile Durkheim in 1898.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 11)
22. As a discipline, sociology first took root in France, Germany, and England.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 11)
23. Ancient philosophers, including Plato, were primarily interested in imagining the
“ideal” society rather than studying society as it really is.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 11)
24. The last of Comte’s three stages is the metaphysical stage, in which people know
the world in terms of God’s will.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 11)
25. Among all academic disciplines, sociology is one of the youngest.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 11)
, 26. Auguste Comte was a positivist who believed that there were laws of society in
the same way that there are laws of physics that describe the operation of the
natural world.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: T; page 11)
27. The English philosopher Thomas Hobbes believed that society reflected the basic
goodness of human nature.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 11)
28. W.E.B. Du Bois translated the writings of Auguste Comte from French into
English.
(REMEMBER; answer: F; page 14)
29. Sociologists test their theories by gathering facts in order to confirm, reject, or
modify them.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 11)
30. The structural-functional, social-conflict, and symbolic-interaction approaches are
three basic theoretical approaches in sociology.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; pages 11-12)
31. According to Robert K. Merton, social patterns are always good and have the
same effect on all members of a society.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: F; page 13)
32. Rarely are people aware of all the functions of any social structure.
(REMEMBER; answer: T; page 12)
33. To say that a social pattern is “dysfunctional” means that it has more than one
function for the operation of society.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: F; page 13)
34. Keeping young people out of the labor market is one latent function of higher
education.
(APPLY; answer: T; page 13)
35. The manifest functions of our society’s reliance on personal automobiles include
tens of thousands of deaths each year in traffic accidents.
(APPLY; answer: F; page 13)
36. The goal of the structural-functional approach is not simply to understand how
society operates, but to reduce social inequality.
(UNDERSTAND; answer: F; pages 12-13)
