Test your basic knowledge |

CLEP Sociology

Subjects : clep, humanities
Instructions:
  • Answer 50 questions in 15 minutes.
  • If you are not ready to take this test, you can study here.
  • Match each statement with the correct term.
  • Don't refresh. All questions and answers are randomly picked and ordered every time you load a test.

This is a study tool. The 3 wrong answers for each question are randomly chosen from answers to other questions. So, you might find at times the answers obvious, but you will see it re-enforces your understanding as you take the test each time.
1. A kinship system that favors the relatives of the father.






2. According to George Herbert Mead - the sum total of people's conscious perceptions of their own identity as distinct from others.






3. A term used by George Herbert Mead to refer to the child's awareness of the attitudes - viewpoints - and expectations of society as a whole that a child takes into account in his or her behavior.






4. Use of a church - primarily Roman Catholicism - in a political effort to eliminate poverty - discrimination - and other forms of injustice evident in a secular society.






5. Families in which there is only one parent present to care for children.






6. A negative attitude toward an entire category of people - such as a racial or ethnic minority.






7. Sociological investigation that concentrates on large-scale phenomena or entire civilizations.






8. An abstract system of word meanings and symbols for all aspects of culture. It also includes gestures and other nonverbal communication.






9. The variable in a causal relationship that is subject to the influence of another variable.






10. The systematic study of the biological bases of social behavior.






11. A hypothesis concerning the role of language in shaping cultures. It holds that language is culturally determined and serves to influence our mode of thought.






12. The tendency of workers in a bureaucracy to become so specialized that they develop blind spots and fail to notice obvious problems.






13. Another name for labeling theory.






14. Social control carried out by people casually through such means as laughter - smiles - and ridicule.






15. A term coined by Robert N. Butler to refer to prejudice and discrimination against the elderly.






16. Behavior that occurs when work benefits are made contingent on sexual favors (as a 'quid pro quo') or when touching - lewd comments - or appearance of pornographic material creates a 'hostile environment' in the workplace.






17. The use or threat of violence against random or symbolic targets in pursuit of political aims.






18. A printed research instrument employed to obtain desired information from a respondent.






19. The standards of acceptable behavior developed by and for members of a profession.






20. Another name for the classical theory of formal organizations.






21. Unreliable generalizations about all members of a group that do not recognize individual differences within the group.






22. The practice of placing students in specific curriculum groups on the basis of test scores and other criteria.






23. A sociological approach that assumes that social behavior is best understood in terms of conflict or tension between competing groups.






24. A violation of criminal law for which formal penalties are applied by some governmental authority.






25. A set of expectations of people who occupy a given social position or status.






26. A married couple and their unmarried children living together.






27. A social ranking based primarily on economic position in which achieved characteristics can influence mobility.






28. In Harold D. Lasswell's words - 'who gets what - when - and how.'






29. Two unrelated adults who have chosen to share one another's lives in a relationship of mutual caring - who reside together - and who agree to be jointly responsible for their dependents - basic living expenses - and other common necessities.






30. Salaries and wages.






31. The social institution through which goods and services are produced - distributed - and consumed.






32. A Marxist theory that views racial subordination in the United States as a manifestation of the class system inherent in capitalism.






33. Fear of and prejudice against homosexuality.






34. A speculative statement about the relationship between two or more variables.






35. Research that relies on what is seen in the field or naturalistic settings more than on statistical data.






36. A theory developed by Robert Merton that explains deviance as an adaptation either of socially prescribed goals or of the norms governing their attainment - or both.






37. An invisible barrier that blocks the promotion of a qualified individual in a work environment because of the individual's gender - race - or ethnicity.






38. The conscious feeling of a negative discrepancy between legitimate expectations and present actualities.






39. A condition in which members of a society have different amounts of wealth - prestige - or power.






40. The ordinary and commonplace elements of life - as distinguished from the sacred.






41. A term used by sociologists to describe the willing exchange among adults of widely desired - but illegal - goods and services.






42. A component of formal organization in which rules and hierarchical ranking are used to achieve efficiency.






43. A theory of urban growth that views growth as emerging from many centers of development - each of which may reflect a particular urban need or activity.






44. A sociological approach that generalizes about fundamental or everyday forms of social interaction.






45. A term used by Max Weber to refer to people who have the same prestige or lifestyle - independent of their class positions.






46. An awareness of the relationship between an individual and the wider society.






47. An increase in the lowest level of education required to enter a field.






48. An approach to urbanization that considers the interplay of local - national - and worldwide forces and their effect on local space - with special emphasis on the impact of global economic activity.






49. A study - generally in the form of interviews or questionnaires - that provides sociologists and other researchers with information concerning how people think and act.






50. A term coined by Erving Goffman to refer to institutions that regulate all aspects of a person's life under a single authority - such as prisons - the military - mental hospitals - and convents.