MULTIPLE CHOICE.  Choose the one alternative that best completes the statement or answers the question.

1)According to the text, which of the following best explains social problems? 1) _______

A)people who seek self-actualization

B)problems caused by societal conditions

C)people who violate norms

D)None of the above is true.

 

2)When Adam Smith argued that an "invisible hand" regulates the economy, he was referring to 2) _______

A)free and open competition. B) government intervention.

C)consumer backlash. D) entrepreneurial wisdom.

 

3)Which of the following does not contribute to the problem of food shortages in the Third World? 3) _______

A)shrinkage of productive land

B)population growth in countries that are already poor

C)low rates of population growth

D)environmental problems such as overgrazing, air pollution and toxic chemicals

 

4)In the last stage of modern demographic transition, nations become more urban and 4) _______

A)agricultural production goes down and the birth rate increases.

B)the birth rate declines, slowing the population growth.

C)the birth rate stabilizes.

D)None of the above is true.

 

5)The saying "what goes around, comes around," applies to which possible area(s) of involvement between the U.S. and other countries? 5) _______

A)imports of produce B) arms sales

C)both A and B D) none of the above

 

6)According to the text, factors involved in the poor "breeding themselves into poverty" include all of the following except 6) _______

A)ignorance and religious superstition.

B)lack of family planning and birth control.

C)both A and B

D)Neither A nor B is true because the premise is not true.

 

7)American corporations do business with Third World countries because 7) _______

A)they are able to save money and increase their profits without regard for workers' health and safety.

B)Third World nations that purchase products dumped by U.S. companies are good sources of profit.

C)the Third World accepts toxic waste, allowing American corporations to meet EPA standards.

D)All of the above are true.

 

8)Which one of the following is not a characteristic of Third World nations? 8) _______

A)rapid population growth

B)low infant mortality rates

C)high rates of poverty, hunger, and misery

D)relative powerlessness

 

9)Beginning in the 1960s, when the U.S. and the United Nations began funding family planning programs in less developed countries, all of the following have happened except 9) _______

A)an increase in the number of women using contraception.

B)an increase in the relative poverty rate in less developed nations.

C)a decline in the number of children born in less developed nations.

D)a decrease in annual population growth.

 

10)Among the reasons Third World nations are underdeveloped is 10) ______

A)their economic domination by developed nations in the postcolonial era.

B)geography, climate, and lack of arable land and minerals.

C)a history of continuous warfare.

D)All of the above are true.

 

11)"New slavery" in the Third World results in all of the following except 11) ______

A)workers who escape to the U.S. and successfully apply for refugee status.

B)boys who are frequently forced into working on coffee or cocoa plantations.

C)girls who frequently end up as domestic workers or prostitutes.

D)women and children who end up as bonded labor in factories and sweatshops.

 

12)According to the text, wealthy nations should provide aid to developing nations with all the following provisions except 12) ______

A)that aid reaches the intended targets and not the well-off elite.

B)that governments receiving the aid have sensible and humane plans for using the new resources.

C)that it be used for truly humanitarian purposes.

D)that goods purchased with the new resources be purchased from American companies.

 

13)Which of the following is a characteristic of the systemic imperatives the authors discuss? 13) ______

A)the inertia of institutions that happens because no change is easier than change

B)the promotion of domestic tranquility by the government squelching dissidents

C)participation in the political system by those who represent a wide array of interests

D)Both A and B are true.

 

14)The consequences of corporations shifting production from the U.S. to other countries include all of the following except 14) ______

A)loss or reduction in the number of semi-skilled and unskilled jobs in the U.S.

B)multi-national corporations tend to meddle in the internal affairs of other nations.

C)accumulation of enormous power and its being wielded by gigantic multi-national corporations.

D)more equal distribution of resources and, consequently, of well-being across all groups in society.

 

15)Interlocking directorates (the linkage between corporations) take the form of 15) ______

A)individuals serving on the board of directors of two or more companies, which is a direct interlock.

B)two people who are related serving on the board of a company, creating a virtual interlock.

C)two companies each have a director on the board of a third, which creates an indirect interlock.

D)Both A and C are true.

 

16)The interests of the power elite are served in a number of ways, including all of the following except 16) ______

A)the structure of the social, economic, and political systems.

B)the elite's influence over elected and appointed government officials at all levels.

C)individual decisions made by owners of small businesses.

D)the elite's ideological control of the masses.

 

17)The principles of "trickle-down" economics are adopted by government because 17) ______

A)government officials are more likely to hear the arguments of the powerful because the weak are poorly organized.

B)government officials, who tend to come from the business class, bring a conservative ideology to office with them.

C)Both A and B are true.

D)None of the above are true.

 

18)The authors point out that the problems that exist in U.S. society largely result from 18) ______

A)the distribution of power.

B)the form the U.S. economy takes.

C)the system being undermined by those who criticize the system.

D)both A and B

 

19)The authors produce all of the following as evidence to their argument that the powerless bear the burden of carrying the cost of the system that benefits the powerful except 19) ______

A)corporations that are owned by the powerful pay more than their share of taxes, leaving the poor to provide the needed labor.

B)the poor absorb the costs of societal changes by doing the back-breaking work on government projects that most benefit the wealthy.

C)when threatened by war the government institutes a military draft through which a much greater proportion of the poor is drafted than the well-to-do.

D)a certain level of unemployment (of the poor) is maintained continuously, not just during economic downturns.

 

20)The U.S. principle of majority rule is violated by special interests that use all of the following means to accomplish their goals except 20) ______

A)slick brochures, technical reports, and expert testimony on matters of national interest.

B)secret slush funds, easy-term loans, and high-paying corporate directorships.

C)large campaign contributions to political candidates.

D)representing the interests of minority groups, the poor, and the mentally retarded.

 

21)Contributors of large sums of money to political campaigns receive which of the following benefits? 21) ______

A)access to politicians

B)influence over the positions of politicians on public issues

C)Both A and B are true.

D)None of the above are true.

 

22)The authors of the text caution against using an extreme system-blame orientation when studying social problems because 22) ______

A)it is only part of the truth.

B)it may absolve individuals from responsibility for their actions.

C)Both A and B are true.

D)None of the above are true.

 

23)Which of the following statements is accurate about sociologists doing research on social problems? 23) ______

A)Sociologists agree on a liberal agenda that sides with the disadvantaged.

B)The study of social problems cannot be value free.

C)Personal values of the researcher do not affect his/her research.

D)All of the above are true.

 

24)Our social system is rarely seen as causing social problems because of all of the following reasons except 24) ______

A)it is the powerful that shape the system and, thus, define what are considered to be social problems.

B)it is only a small percentage of the population that suffers from these problems.

C)we have a hard time questioning our cherished traditions.

D)we tend to focus on "deviants" who are seen as living inappropriately within the system.

 

25)Which of the following is not a reason that the system-blame approach should be emphasized when sociologists study social problems? 25) ______

A)Society's institutional framework is responsible for creating many social problems.

B)Accepting the system-blame perspective is a necessary first step in restructuring society along more humane lines.

C)A balance is needed since most people in our society tend to blame the individual.

D)Social systems are overlooked because they impact social problems less than other conditions.

 

26)According to sociologists, norm violators are 26) ______

A)guiltless for their actions.

B)solely responsible for their actions.

C)universally admonished.

D)the symptoms of social problems, not the cause.

 

27)Social Darwinists like William Graham Sumner would oppose social reforms like social welfare because 27) ______

A)they allow people to get money for doing nothing.

B)they are too expensive to produce viable results.

C)they perpetuate the existence of unfit groups in society who would otherwise disappear.

D)it is more effective to provide technical training for the poor

 

28)According to William Graham Sumner, the rich are successful because of 28) ______

A)their being superior.

B)a conspiracy by the powerful who keep the poor down.

C)their having worked hard.

D)All of the above are true.

 

29)Relying too heavily on a person-blame approach to social problems is a problem for all of the following reasons except 29) ______

A)society does not need to be protected from individuals who would harm society.

B)it legitimizes the right to initiate person-change rather than system-change treatment programs.

C)it directs blame at individuals and away from the system.

D)societal conditions (such as norms that are racist, sexist, or homophobic) go unchallenged.

 

30.  The story "Body Ritual Among the Nacirema" by Horace Minor illustrates

a. a little known culture in North America

b. the sociological imagination

c. looking at oneself in a new light

d. b and c

e.  all the above