SOC 205 Telecourse Final Exam - Winter 2006


1. Given Kornblum's and Edward Wilson's arguments regarding the evolution of human beings, how many biological races exist today?
 27
 12
 5
 3
 1
 

2. Kornblum argues that race should be understood as a
 biological concept
 social concept
 philosophical concept
 physiological concept
 

3. ------------ is an ideology based upon the belief that an observable, supposedly inherited trait, such as skin color, is a mark of inferiority that justifies discriminatory treatment of people with that trait.
 Segregation
 Prejudice
 Racism
 Self-fulfilling prophecy
 

4. Which of the following is NOT part of Herrnstein and Murray's argument in their book The Bell Curve?
 Intelligence is distributed in a 'normal' bell curve distribution
 The bell curve distribution of intelligence of Whites peaks higher than that of Blacks
 Programs like Head Start and affirmative action are doomed to failure because of the lower IQ scores of non-whites.
 The best solution to group differences in intelligence is to expand Head Start and other programs designed to make up for educational inequalities.
 

5. Herrnstein and Murray's book The Bell Curve is criticized for
 offering a new version of an old racist (and unscientific) view that racial minorities are intellectually inferior to whites
 ignoring evidence that IQ tests are biased against members of minority groups
 ignoring evidence that minority students do as well as white students when given access to quality education programs
 falsely concluding that racial inequality is not rooted in social practices, and thus correctable through social policies such as anti-discrimination legislation and affirmative action programs
 All of the above
 

6. Populations that have a sense of group identity based on a distinctive cultural pattern and, usually, a shared ancestry, are known as
 racial groups
 nations
 ethnic groups
 religious groups
 

7. Which of the following is FALSE, regarding periods of migration and settlement in the U.S.?
 In 1790, the majority of immigrants to the U.S. came from Great Britain
 In the mid to late 19th century, the largest inflows of immigrants to the U.S. came from Ireland and Germany
 The late 19th century saw the largest inflows of immigrants to the U.S. coming from Asia
 Since 1960, national quotas have been replaced with a system based on preference for skilled workers and professionals, regardless of country of origin
 

8. Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons Kornblum suggests that immigrants from the same nation or continent begin to think of themselves as a distinct ethnic group?
 They can speak the same language
 They can appreciate each other's food
 They join together to compete with other groups for housing and jobs
 They are grouped together by members of the dominant group, who often can't distinguish between them
 None of the above, since ALL are reasons that ethnic groups develop
 

9. 'People who, because of their physical or cultural characteristics, are singled out from others in the society in which they live for differential and unequal treatment, and who therefore regard themselves as objects of a collective discrimination' is the definition of
 racial groups.
 nations.
 ethnic groups.
 minority groups.
 

10. Which of the following is NOT one of the five types of 'intergroup relations' that minority groups experience?
 Genocide
 Expulsion
 Slavery
 Integration
 Assimilation
 

11. Genocide has usually been defended by arguing that
 the victims would have experienced forced assimilation and the loss of their culture, so the genocide was a form of 'mercy killing'
 the victims were less than human and in fact were dangerous parasites
 genocide was part of the 'natural selection' process
 none of the above since no one ever defends genocide
 

12. Which of the following is NOT an example of expulsion?
 Forcing Native Americans to move to reservations
 The Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882
 The segregation of African Americans in separate neighborhoods and jobs after the end of slavery
 The Internment of Japanese Americans during World War II
 

13. Approximately ----------------- million African people were captured and enslaved and shipped to the U.S. during its history of slavery.
 1/2
 1
 11
 24
 76
 

14. Which of the following theories argues that minority groups are controlled by the dominant population, their culture is destroyed, and their members are victimized by racism.
 Functionalist theory
 Interactionist theory
 Authoritarian personality theory
 Internal colonialism theory
 

15. Which of the following theories argues that racial and ethnic inequalities exist because they are beneficial to the larger society?
 Functionalist theory
 Marxist (conflict) theory
 Interactionist theory
 Authoritarian personality theory
 Internal colonialism theory
 

16. Which of the following theories argues that racial and ethnic inequalities exist because they are used by the capitalist class to manipulate and divide the working class, and thus prevent it from becoming class conscious and organizing against the capitalists?
 Functionalist theory
 Marxist (conflict) theory
 Interactionist theory
 Frustration-Aggression theory
 Internal colonialism theory
 

17. Jim Crow laws were used to promote
 anglo-conformity.
 expulsion.
 slavery.
 segregation.
 cultural pluralism.
 

18. The ----------------- Supreme Court decision ruled that 'separate but equal' doctrine was inherently unequal, and ended legally sanctioned segregation of schools and other public facilities.
 Plessy v. Ferguson
 Brown v. Board of Education
 Sexton v. Young
 Congress v. Executive Branch
 

19. Which of the following is the bigger problem today?
 A. De jure segregation
 B. De facto segregation
 C. Neither A nor B, because they are equally major problems today
 D. Neither A nor B, because both of them have been largely eliminated today
 

20. The pattern of intergroup relations in which a minority group is forced, is encouraged, or voluntarily seeks to blend into the majority population and eventually disappears as a distinct people, is known as
 migration.
 demographic transition.
 pluralism.
 assimilation.
 accommodation.
 

21. Which of the following is NOT one of the reasons that African Americans have fared much worse than European immigrants who arrived in the U.S. after them?
 African Americans have experienced far more prejudice and discrimination than other immigrant groups
 Black families have higher rates of family breakup
 The Black middle class has significantly shrunken, due to a significant decline in the percentage of Blacks attending college
 Changes in the U.S. economy, such as the decline of manufacturing jobs, have disadvantaged Blacks
 

22. Negative attitudes toward a minority or its individual members would be called
 prejudice
 discrimination
 racism
 relativism
 

23. A set of ideas based on distortion, exaggeration, and oversimplification that is applied to all members of a social category is the definition of
 stereotype
 discrimination
 prejudice
 racism
 

24. A white man marries a Hispanic woman, learns Spanish, and loves the language and the people. However, he tries to keep Hispanics out of his bar because some patrons complain about them and threaten to go elsewhere to drink. The white man in the above scenario is
 discriminating and is showing prejudiced attitudes.
 discriminating but is not showing prejudiced attitudes.
 not discriminating but is showing prejudiced attitudes.
 not discriminating and is not showing prejudiced attitudes.
 

25. ---------- refers to the systematic exclusion of people from equal access to and participation in a particular institution because of their race.
 discrimination
 institutional discrimination
 prejudice
 stereotype
 

26. Which of the following is FALSE regarding affirmative action policies?
 They are designed to correct persistent racial and ethnic inequalities.
 They are defended by liberals who believe that such policies are necessary to undo the effects of past (and present) discrimination, but are attacked by conservatives
 Most whites oppose preferential treatment in hiring and college admissions, but most blacks support these
 They have been essential to the advancement of Blacks and Latinos and women in job markets that were formerly out of bounds to them
 None of the above; ALL are TRUE
 

27. What do social scientists call the personality type that is characterized by excessive conformity, inflexibility, fearfulness, and arrogance toward persons or groups thought to be inferior?
 racist personality
 narcissistic personality
 neurotic personality
 psychotic personality
 authoritarian personality
 

28. ----------------- is a type of assimilation in which the cultural patterns of immigrants from other nations, change to become consistent with culture patterns that are historically British or British-American in origin.
 Melting pot
 Anglo-conformity
 Cultural pluralism
 Subjugation
 

29. ----------------- is the belief that culturally distinct groups can retain their communities and much of their culture even though they participate in the institutions of the larger society.
 Melting pot
 Anglo-conformity
 Cultural pluralism
 Cultural relativism
 Subjugation
 

30. When Chinese Americans began to immigrate into the United States in the mid-1800's, they
 were greeted with prejudice and discrimination
 limited themselves to living on the east coast
 took jobs away from the white population, thus creating massive unemployment
 refused to work at menial jobs
 were forced to obtain photo identification cards
 

31. According to the video, sociologists see race as a ----------------- concept.
 physical or biological
 social
 behavioral
 genetic
 

32. According to the video, the ----------------- perspective examines race and ethnicity in terms of economic and political power.
 functionalist
 conflict
 interactionist
 social psychological
 

33. Life course may be defined as the
 passage into death in the last phase of life.
 study of the aging process.
 pathway along an age-differentiated, socially created sequence of transitions.
 combination of biological and psychological factors that determine the way one will proceed during one's life.
 

34. When the roles that young people, adults, and the elderly are expected to perform contribute to inequality, the social situation is known as
 age delineation.
 age stratification.
 age strata.
 age identification.
 

35. Ceremonies that mark the transition from one phase of life to another are known as
 rites of passage.
 life course ceremonies.
 life transitions.
 rituals of life phases.
 

36. The age cohort of those born between 1945 and the early 1960s had fewer children than their parents; this is called the
 population curve.
 involution phenomenon.
 baby bust.
 baby boom.
 

37. Life expectancy is the
 average number of years that a member of a given population can expect to live beyond his or her present age.
 amount of time between birth and old age that is considered the productive phase of one's life.
 difference between average length of life and death rate in a society.
 average of the birthrates of a population subtracted from the average of the death rates of that same population.
 

38. Poverty rates among the elderly today are ------------------------ than they were in the early 20th century.
 much higher
 somewhat higher
 somewhat lower
 much lower
 

39. One impact of the growing tendency for young women and men to continue into post-secondary studies is
 a homogenization of their culture, as they tend to experience the same socialization trends in college
 the emergence of an ever-greater variety of subcultures among young people, due to the greater freedom they have to try out different identities and associate with different kinds of peer groups
 a tendency for urban youth to develop varied subcultures while rural and suburban youth tend to become more culturally homogeneous
 None of the above, since greater education has little or no effect on youth culture
 

40. 'Old people gradually withdraw from involvement in the lives of younger people and from economic and political roles.' Which theory does this statement represent?
 Activity theory
 Conflict theory
 Withdrawal theory
 Disengagement theory
 

41. Which theory states that the elderly suffer a sense of loneliness and loss when they give up their former roles, and therefore they should remain engaged in activities where they can remain active and creative?
 Activity theory
 Disengagement theory
 Role deletion theory
 Multiplicity theory
 

42. When the young are labeled as incapable of learning, they are experiencing
 age discrimination.
 age racism.
 age inequality.
 ageism.
 

43. One of the most important contributions of the hospice movement is that it provides
 a new interpretation of the bureaucratic structure of the hospital.
 proper medical coverage for the dying elderly.
 opportunities for new definitions of the dying role.
 housing for the elderly when their children cannot.
 

44. 'Older people have too much power, are responsible for their own problems and societal problems, and take too much of the national wealth.' This statement represents an
 element of discrimination against older people.
 important truth about older people.
 emerging stereotype about older people.
 estimate of the true costs of medical advances.
 

45. On average, women in the U.S. live approximately ----------------- years than men.
 twelve more
 seven more
 three more
 two less
 five less
 

46. The fastest growing segment of the U.S. population today are people
 infants
 teenagers
 young adults
 middle-aged adults
 the elderly
 

47. The 'senior boom' refers to
 the tendency for older people to dramatically change their lifestyle
 the loss of hearing many older people face
 the large increase in the population of older people in the U.S.
 the large number of older people investing in life insurance policies
 

48. According to social scientists, the concept of childhood
 has existed throughout human history
 falsely distinguishes between age cohorts of people
 didn't develop until the 17th century
 represents one of the most important difference between advanced and traditional cultures
 

49. According to the video, which of the following would be of interest to a sociologist using the conflict perspective?
 Age cohort's impact on social institutions
 Rites of passage
 Intergenerational struggle for limited resources
 All of the above
 

50. Which of the following is NOT one of the stages of aging identified by Arlie Hochschild in the video? 
 Infancy
 Childhood
 Adolescence
 Young adulthood
 
 
 
    

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