1. Which of the following is not a feature of a kinship system?
a. Who is permitted to marry whom
b. How property is passed on
c. How power is distributed
d. Who cares for children
2. In the United States, interracial marriage is:
a. illegal.
b. declining for all social groups.
c. increasing, but infrequent.
d. common among the lower classes only.
3. Betty lives with her husband, their daughter, and her grandchildren. Betty lives in a(n)_____family.
a. matrilineal
b. extended
c. nuclear
d. patrilocal
4. Which major event led to the emergence of the nuclear family in the United States?
a. The American Revolution
b. The Industrial Revolution
c. The Civil Rights Movement
d. World War II
5. _____families may find it necessary for all family members to work so as to meet the financial needs of the household.
a. Migrant
b. Poor
c. Extended
d. Fictive
6. According to functionalists, families serve all of the following basic social needs, except:
a. socializing the young.
b. providing education to members.
c. providing physical care for members.
d. regulating sexual activities.
7. Unlike _____, _____see the gender division of labor as being based on stereotypes about men’s and women’s
roles.
a. functionalists; conflict theorists
b. conflict theorists, symbolic interactionists
c. feminists, symbolic interactionists
d. functionalists; feminists
8. _____is concerned with how people define and negotiate family relationships.
a. Functionalism
b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interaction theory
d. Feminism
9. The major cause of marital disruption today is:
a. death of the wife.
b. death of the husband.
c. divorce.
d. remarriage.
10. Approximately _____of children live with one parent in the US.
a. one-fifth
b. one-fourth
c. one-third
d. one-half
11. The number of single-father households is _____and are _____likely than single-mother families to experience
severe economic problems.
a. increasing; more
b. increasing; less
c. decreasing; more
d. decreasing; less
12. Mrs. Thompson often feels like there is too much to do and too little time to do it. She is experiencing:
a. parenthood.
b. a commuter marriage.
c. social speedup.
d. role stress.
13. An individual’s ability to influence decision-making within a marriage is largely established through:
a. social class.
b. religion.
c. the length of the marriage.
d. the amount of money one earns.
14. Since 1960, the rate of divorce has _____, although it has _____since 1980.
a. tripled; increased
b. doubled; increased
c. been cut in half; declined
d. doubled; declined
15. The Barkers liv e in the U.S. Which of the following is true about their child care options?
a. The family leave policies in U.S. cover all families
b. The family leave policies in U.S. cover most family expenses
c. The family leave costs are reasonable for most families
d. The family leave policies in U.S. do not address ongoing needs for child care
16. Estimates of the extent of domestic violence are unreliable because:
a. most cases go unreported.
b. most victims are in shelters.
c. most victims are children.
d. most cases are not severe enough to report.
17. Which of the following best describes the maternity leave benefits in U.S.?
a. Maternity leave benefits are supportive of working class families
b. Maternity leave benefits are comparatively better support than developing nations
c. Maternity leave benefits are unsupportive of families
d. Maternity leave benefits are in the middle of all countries in terms of support
18. When Bob is engaged in work that sustains life such as elder and child maintenance he is doing _____.
a. nonwage labor
b. care work
c. public labor
d. non labor work
19. Elderly care in the modern family is best characterized by _____.
a. a diversity of experiences due to family size and variation
b. a standard cultural approach
c. a dependency on governmental support
d. all of the above
20. Religious extremist movements:
a. are highly patriarchal.
b. are typically Christianity-based.
c. include violence in most cases.
d. assume a demonic nature of individuals.
21. Sects are:
a. fundamentalist organizations.
b. offshoots of establishes churches.
c. followers of charismatic leaders.
d. devoted to a specific cause.
22. The Shakers were formed by breaking away from the Quakers. They are an example of a:
a. charismatic leader.
b. church.
c. cult.
d. sect.
23. Religion has been the basis for social movement activity in which major social movement?
a. Gay Rights Movement
b. Civil Rights Movement
c. Equal Rights Movement
d. Church versus State Movement
24. Othermothers are a unique form of an extended family that reflects the specific experience of _____.
a. African American women
b. Caribbean women
c. Latin American women
d. European women
25. Barbara is a very close family friend of a Chicano family –she is actually considered part of the family. Barbara may
be considered:
a. an othermother.
b. compadrazgo.
c. fictive kin.
d. extended family.
26. Which of the following statements is false about contemporary American families?
a. There are fewer births today than in the past.
b. The number of single-parent households has increased dramatically.
c. Childbearing occupies a smaller percentage of parents‘ adult lives than earlier.
d. Married-couple families have become the minority form of the family.
27. The stepfamilies that are often created by divorce and remarriage:
a. rarely involve stepchildren.
b. receive a great deal of institutional support.
c. take many different forms today.
d. utilize existing social norms and institutional support to help them through conflict.
28. Because of the rise in divorce and remarriage, stepfamilies have become fairly common in the U.S. Despite how
common stepfamilies have become,:
a. there is still little institutional support for stepfamilies.
b. the number of children in stepfamilies is declining.
c. the legal status of the nonresidential parent is not well understood.
d. the percent of stepmothers remains low.
29. Studies of gay and lesbian couples have found that:
a. gay and lesbian partners tend to be more flexible and less gender-stereotyped in their household roles than
heterosexual couples.
b. money has a strong influence on who has the most power in gay and lesbian households.
c. lesbian parents lack any type of social support in the LGBTQ community.
d. children raised by gay parents are more likely to be gay themselves.
30. According to the U.S. Census Bureau (2010), about _____percent of the population over the age of 15 has never
been married.
a. 25
b. 15
c. 31
d. 66
31. Research on cohabitation has found that:
a. the likelihood of cohabitation is greatest among suburban residents.
b. current research finds that couples report little difference in the quality of marriage.
c. cohabitation is decreasing as younger people are returning to traditional values.
d. few cohabiting households have children.
32. The likelihood of divorce is greater for couples who:
a. marry young.
b. have two incomes.
c. do not have children.
d. are White.
33. The Jones’ divorce was less likely to be negative on their children because _____.
a. they used lawyers
b. they went through long debates involving the children
c. they remained amicable
d. they involved their children in financial solutions
34. Sociological studies of patterns of family violence have found that:
a. violence in lesbian and gay relationships is as common as in heterosexual relationships.
b. the most common form of child abuse is neglect.
c. most perpetrators of elder abuse are men.
d. overall, violence in families has been declining.
35. Religiosity is measured by sociologists using all of the following, except:
a. by asking about people’s religious beliefs.
b. surveying people about their membership in religious organizations.
c. asking how often people attend religious services.
d. collecting information through the Census.
36. Durkheim’s emphasis on rituals and shared meanings fits with which type of sociological theory?
a. Conflict theory and functionalism
b. Functionalism and symbolic interactionism
c. Symbolic interactionism and conflict theory
d. Exchange theory and functionalism
37. It is the belief of _____ that religion was developed by the oppressed to relieve their distress.
a. functionalism
b. conflict theory
c. symbolic interaction theory
d. social exchange theory
38. In the U.S., social factors are correlated with religious identification. For example,:
a. older people are more likely than younger people to express no religious preference.
b. those in higher income brackets are most likely to identify as Jewish or Catholic than those in the lower
income brackets.
c. fundamentalist Protestants are most likely to have the highest incomes.
d. Asian Americans are the most likely racial-ethnic group to say that religion is very important in their lives.
39. Which of the following is nota critical function of churches for African Americans?
a. Churches provide a defense against the damage caused by racism
b. Churches provide a source of social and community services
c. Churches act as community centers and political units for their members
d. Churches function as an educational tool for urban youth
40. Which of the following is not part of the sociological definition of family?
a. A social unit of those related through marriage, ancestry or adoption
b. A group that is committed to maintaining the group over time
c. A social unit related by blood and bound together by love
d. A group that engages in economic cooperation
41. A pattern of relationships that define people’s family relationships to one another is the definition of a(n) _____.
a. institution
b. relational network
c. kinship system
d. social organization
42. Within the U.S., polygamy:
a. is widely practiced among Mormons.
b. is illegal.
c. is legal for some Native American groups.
d. does not exist.
43. What type of marriage is most common in the U.S. today?
a. Serial monogamy
b. Monogamy
c. Polygamy
d. polygyny
44. In some societies a married couple is expected to move in with the husband’s family. This is called a _____
system.
a. patrilineal
b. matrilineal
c. patrilocal
d. matrilocal
45. What is the general pattern for marriage within the U.S.?
a. Marriages are across social classes as often as within the same social class.
b. Most people marry someone who shares similar social characteristics.
c. Americans marry without regard to race or class.
d. People in the U.S. tend to marry people whom they think will help them achieve a higher social class.
46. Which of these is the best definition of extended family?
a. A network of parents, children and other relatives who form a family unit
b. A set of relatives who live together in the same residence
c. A group of people who are related to each other by “blood” or ancestry
d. Grandparents, parents, and children of the same lineage
47. Prior to industrialization,:
a. the nuclear family was the cultural ideal in the U.S.
b. the household was the center for production and distribution of goods.
c. men were responsible for economic life and women were responsible for domestic life.
d. men worked in wage labor outside the home, and women and children labored at home.
48. What impact did industrialism have on the families in the U.S.?
a. It brought more production work into the household.
b. It created an economy based on cash instead of domestic production.
c. Small family businesses took the place of production for household use only.
d. Women were able to earn as much or more than men for the first time.
49. The family wage system:
a. paid men more than women based on the assumption that they were the breadwinner.
b. was based on the assumption that all members of the family would need to work in wage labor.
c. forced all women to work outside of the home.
d. made families more self-sufficient.
50. Historically, family structure in the U.S.:
a. has been essentially the same for all social classes and racial-ethnic groups.
b. has remained strongly nuclear, despite varying social conditions for different groups.
c. has been shaped by slavery, migration, poverty, and laws that impeded family formation.
d. has been unaffected by public policies.
51. _____ are particularly interested in the way in which families create stability by teaching people the norms and
values of society.
a. Functionalists
b. Conflict theorists
c. Symbolic interactionists
d. Exchange theorists
52. During periods of rapid social change, families experience social disorganization and this creates social problems.
This is part of the _____ view of families.
a. functionalist
b. conflict theory
c. symbolic interactionist
d. exchange theory
53. According to _____,the family is an institution that reinforces and supports power relations in society.
a. functionalism
b. conflict theory
c. symbolic interaction theory
d. exchange theory
54. _____ theorists view families as essential to maintaining inequality in society.
a. Functionalist
b. Conflict
c. Symbolic interaction
d. Social exchange
55. _____ theorists argue that families serve to socialize children into being obedient workers and good consumers
to fit the needs of capitalism.
a. Functionalist
b. Conflict
c. Symbolic interaction
d. Social exchange
56. The theoretical perspective that is most concerned with the fact that families are gendered institutions that reflect
the gender hierarchies in society is _____.
a. functionalism
b. exchange theory
c. symbolic interaction theory
d. feminist theory
57. _____focuses on the processes through which people learn social identities through their connections with others in
a family.
a. Functionalism
b. Conflict theory
c. Symbolic interaction theory
d. Feminist theory
58. From a(n) _____ perspective, married couples create for themselves an identity that is influenced by the
definitions others in society have of marriage, in addition to their own definitions.
a. functionalism
b. conflict theory
c. symbolic interactionist
d. exchange theory
59. In addition to the high divorce rate, the other primary cause of female single-parent households is:
a. the high rate of pregnancy among unmarried teens.
b. the death of a spouse.
c. having a spouse who is incarcerated.
d. the high unemployment rates for men.
60. Sociologists have found that most of the problems faced by households headed by women are primarily the
result of:
a. the absence of male authority figures.
b. the threat of poverty that is connected with being a single mother.
c. the psychological pressure of heading a household.
d. excess media attention that creates the perception of a problem.