CLEP Sociology Practice Test

The tendency for women or minorities to experience difficulty in climbing the corporate ladder to positions of greater responsibility is known as the:

Glass Ceiling

The act of disengaging from a self-identifying role is called:

Role Exit

Jon thinks that Indian food is stinky and smelly, and probably won't taste good. After he tries some however, he finds that it is actually quite tasty! What is this an example of?

Prejudice

The gradual acceptance of a new way of doing things in society is known as:

Institutionalization

Alex is the Chief of Police in a small town and he knows his son has been vandalizing stores. On one hand, Alex is responsible for bringing the vandal to justice. On the other, Alex wants to protect his son. Alex is experiencing which of the following?

Role Conflict

Which sociologist developed the concept of the dependency ratio?

Thomas Malthus

Which of the following countries has the greatest number of deaths per capita?

South Africa (followed closely by Russia and Ukraine)

The "looking glass self," which describes the image we have of ourselves based on how we believe others to perceive us, was first suggested by:

Charles Cooley

The Halo Effect is best summarized as:

A bias in which judgement of a person's character or quality of work is influenced by other unrelated things.

The development of stem cell technology showed a number of significant benefits for medicine, but resulted in disagreement over the ethical nature of the treatments. Eventually however, stem cell research has become more accepted. This phenomenon is called:

Cultural Lag

If a defendant in court does not wish to plead guilty or not guilty, he or she can also plead:

No Contest or nolo contendre

The cultural concept of a 'salad bowl' is different from the 'melting pot' idea in that:

Cultures remain distinct and not fully integrated.

James notices that the cool kids at school all wear berets. The next day, James goes to school wearing a beret. What kind of behavior is this?

Anticipatory Socialization

In the social sciences, two predominant factors are argued to shape human behavior. They are:

Action and Agency

The principle that church and state affairs should be separate is also known as:

Secularism

John is conducting some research for a sociology project, and he is handing out a list of questions to a number of students on his campus. John is conducting:

Survey Research

What is an inverted population?

A population in which the elderly outnumber the young.

Many economists are worried because the dependency ratio in japan is growing higher and higher. The dependency ratio is:

The ratio of people not in the workforce to the people in the work force.

In sociological terms, what is the second shift?

The time a woman spends at home after her normal job.

In an experiment, the dependent variable will change depending on:

The independent variable

Which of the following is not a Primary sector of the economy?

Cell phone manufacturing

If you were to conduct a research project on the number of immigrants in a city, which of the following would be the most appropriate?

Survey Research

According to Erving Goffman, which of the following statements best describes our social identity?

A resource which people are able to use or manipulate given the social situation.

Recidivism is defined as:

The continual repetition of undesirable behavior despite having been punished for it.

Suppose that Maria has worked at a company for 20 years, and done an excellent job. However, she has not been promoted past the level of middle management, whereas many of her other male coworkers have reached vice president or director positions. Maria is experiencing the:

Glass Ceiling

In some neighborhoods, a general increase in affluence and change in real estate and businesses will push out the lower income classes. This is called:

Gentrification

Amy and Manuel are married have two children. What is this an example of?

A nuclear family

One of the reasons it is difficult for poor countries to exit poverty and become industrialized is called:

Dependency Theory

Cultural Pluralism is best defined as:

The maintenance of a unique cultural identity by a smaller culture within a larger society.

Roughly what percent of the United States is considered upper class?

2%

An egalitarian view is best described as:

The idea that all people have equal opportunities and rights.

The Hayeaters rather dislike the Bonebiters, but they are the only two tribes on the island. Thus, they have decided that they will share a stream in the middle of the island without fighting. This is called:

Accomodation

Max consistently attempts to gain a better deal for himself and to maximize his own opportunities. Max's social value orientation would be considered as what?

Pro-self

Which of the following is not a trait of a pre-modern society?

Democratic government

Which of these countries is a peripheral nation?

Hungary

Which of the following is an example of forced migration?

Jim leaves Ireland and moves to the United States because of a famine.

C. Wright Mills was a prominent sociologist who authored which book?

The Power Elite

What is social functionalism?

The view that social structure should be regarded as a whole.

Ethnocentrism is most closely defined as:

The judgement of other cultures by a person's own cultural standards.

Karl Marx coined the phrase "opiate of the masses". This opiate that he refers to is:

Religion

Secularization refers to:

The shift of society from religious values to nonreligious values.

What is a plea bargain?

An agreement in which a person admits guilt in return for concessions from the prosecutor.

Which of the following is not one of the modes of adaptation to anomie as defined by Merton?

Teacher

In the United States, the most commonly practiced form of marriage is:

Monogamy

Exogamy is also known as:

Outbreeding

In Karl Marx's theory on social stratification, how many social classes are there?

2

If something is a taboo, what does that mean?

A social more that is considered repugnant to violate.

Which of the following is a member of your extended family?

Cousin

In the Hindu caste system, people are given an ascribed status. What is the sociological term for the opposite ascribed status?

Achieved Status

Which of the following sociologist coined the term dramaturgy?

Erving Goffman

What is the manifest function of education?

To provide students with information that will help in their career.

Who was the author of The Wealth of Nations, and was a significant influence to early sociology?

Adam Smith

Tom is in a big crowd of protesters, and the crowd gets violent, smashing cars, and windows. Tom decides to participate, because he feels he cannot be identified and he is a member of a large group. This is called:

Contagion Theory

Differential association theory explains that criminals learn criminal behavior through:

Interaction with others

Ben is a nurse, and was recently promoted to head of the nurse department, although he requested that he not be promoted so he could spend more time with his family. Ben just got:

A ride on the glass escalator

Which of the following is not a secondary relationship group?

Family Members

Which of the following is necessary for a research study to be valid?

Participants must be chosen randomly.

Which of the following is not a social institution?

Movies

Which of the following is not one of the major types of society?

Agrarian

Which of the following is true of conflict theory?

Social stratification exist due to the ability of individuals or groups who have power to exploit others.

Which of the following best describes cultural assimilation?

Merging of a person's language or culture into another ethnic group.

Which of the following is not a social theory?

Postsyllogism

A student wants to study the habits of high school students in regards to watching television. She contacts 300 students from high schools around the nation. These 300 students are the:

Sample

Value Neutrality is the concept that sociologists should remove personal bias as much as possible in their research. This concept was developed by:

Weber

In the theory of convergence for modernism, what will occur as more and more countries become modern?

They will develop similar traits and customs.

Gemeinschaft is best described as:

A close sociological community that has similar morals and goals.

Approximately what proportion of people lived in poverty in the United States according to the US Census Bureau 2012?

16%

The use of multiple research methods to confirm a result is known as:

Triangulation

What is a structured aspect in sociology?

A regulated or rigid cultural tradition.

The approximate proportion of white Americans currently living in the United States is:

60%

In the United States, the poverty line for a family of 2 people is considered to an income lower than what?

$15,000 per year

According to some studies, in the United States, approximately how much more do men earn than women on average?

20%

The mixed culture seen in the United States is an example of sociologic phenomena known as what?

Amalgamation

Which of the following is the correct sociological definition of 'minority'?

A group who are singled out for physical or cultural characteristics, resulting in discrimination by a dominant group.

Charlie is African-American, and he was recently refused enrollment at a local university for reasons he believes were based on discrimination. This sort of discrimination is called:

Institutional discrimination

Objective knowledge should be free from all of the following except for:

Facts

According to functionalism, conformity is a major type of social interaction and involves:

Acceptance of social roles in order to cooperate.

Social Darwinism is a concept that is based off of Charles Darwin's concept of what?

Survival of the fittest

In the United States, which of the following pairs of ethnic groups have the lowest intermarriage rate?

African American and White

Which of the following is an example of altruism?

Sam takes extra time out of his day to tutor elementary schoolers.

In the United States, which age demographic is currently growing at the fastest rate?

65+

Richard is working with a group of students on a project. The group is trying to decide which theory is correct for their project, and Richard and another student decide to agree with the rest of the group to avoid further argument. This phenomenon is called:

Groupthink

Which of the following is an example of a system using ascribed status?

Caste System

Who is the author of 'Rules of the Sociological Method', and one of the primary sociologist attributed to establishing sociology as an academic discipline?

Emile Durkheim

Which of the following markets is an example of an oligopoly in the United States?

Cell phone providers

Which of the following is not considered a typical pink collar job?

Lawyer

Which of the following is an example of qualitative sociological data?

The child described his bullying experience as mostly physical in nature.

50 years ago, the idea of women working as doctors and lawyers was not widely accepted. However, today it is commonplace and encouraged. This is an example of:

Social migration

Talcott Parsons developed the idea of 'sick role', which is a concept in which:

Those who are sick fall into a patterned social role of being sick.

Interpretive sociology, derived from the work of Max Weber, is better known as:

Verstehen

The point at which a deviant identity is internalized into a self-concept is called:

Secondary deviance

Which of the following is not an example of an industrialized nation?

Ghana

Approximately what proportion of the global population is in poverty?

25%

What is the double consciousness, as stated by W.E.B. Dubois?

A difficulty of reconciling with an African Heritage while having grown up in European culture and education.

Gordon Marshall developed a theory of city and environmental development that predicts the location of people of different social status. This is called the:

Concentric zone theory

Which of the following best describes social stratification?

The classification of people into different groups based on socio-economic conditions.

Which of the following is an example of a social stigma?

A large scar

A marriage in which a single woman has multiple husbands is called a:

Polyandrous marriage

The lack of social norms or social contract between an individual and society is referred to as:

Anomie

Scientist set up an experiment, in which two tested groups are the same except for a change that the scientists have introduced into one of the groups. The changed group is called the:

Experimental group