Unit 1: Social Problems- Personal Troubles or Public Issues?

Our explanations of social problems, for the most part, are based on all the following except:

• life experiences
• exhaustive review of the literature
• good guesses
• opinions

Earl was fired as a golf course supervisor. Using his sociological imagination, he might conclude that:

• he is a lousy employee
• he was not given a second chance
• his city and/or state is experiencing high levels of unemployments
• he was not the best choice for the position in the first place

A social problem is a social condition or pattern of behavior that has _______ consequences for ________.

• positive; non-conforming members of society
• negative; our social world
• positive; individuals
• negative; individuals, our social world, or our physical world

The underlying causes within society are called ________.

• Manifest functions
• Latent functions
• Functionalism
• Feminist Theory

Theories with a macro level of analysis focus on the _____ level whereas theories with a micro level of analysis focus on the _____ level. 

• individual; societal
• individual; individual
• societal; societal
• societal; individual

Functionalism sees society as being made up by several organs or social structures. These social structures are often referred to as social institutions. Which of the following is not considered a social institution?

• family
• urbanization
• education
• religion

Which of the following statements is accurate about the feminist perspective?

• it was established as a theoretical perspective in the early 1920's
• it focuses exclusively on issues related to gender
• it has historically been critical of existing social arrangements
• both a and c are correct

The interactionist perspective focuses on:

• social conflict
• functions of social institutions
• language, words, and symbols
• a macro level analysis of society

The theory that we learn about our identity by interacting with others best fits which paradigm?

• functionalism
• selfish
• contagion
• symbolic interactionism

The expected outcome of police force is to lower crime. As a result, a lower rate of crime is an example of a(n) ______ function.

• manifest
• mechanical
• latent
• organic