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CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER ANSWER KEYCHAPTER 1ANSWERS FOR THE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS1. b The sociological perspective is an approach to understanding human behavior byplacing it within its broader social context. (4)2 . d Sociologists consider occupation, income, education, gender, age, and race asdimensions of social location.(4)3. d All three statements reflect ways in which the social sciences are like the naturalsciences. Both attempt to study and understand their subjects objectively; both attemptto undercover the relationships that create order in their respective worlds throughcontrolled observation; and both are divided into many specialized fields. (5-7)4. c Generalization is one of the goals of scientific inquiry. It involves going beyondindividual cases by making statements that apply to broader groups or situations. (7)5. b The Industrial Revolution, imperialism, and the development of the scientific methodall contributed to the development of sociology. The fourth influence was the politicalrevolutions in America and France — there was no political revolution in Britain at thattime. (8-9)6. d Positivism is the application of the scientific approach to the social world. (9)7. d Of the four statements, the one that best reflects Herbert Spencer’s views on charityis “The poor are the weakest members of society and if society intervenes to helpthem, it is interrupting the natural process of social evolution.” While manycontemporaries of Spencer’s were appalled by his views, the wealthy industrialists foundthem attractive. (10)8. b The proletariat is the large group of workers who are exploited by the small group ofcapitalists who own the means of production, according to Karl Marx. (11)9. a Durkheim believed that social factors, patterns of behavior that characterize a socialgroup, explain many types of behavior, including suicide rates. (12)10. b In his research on suicide rates, Durkheim found that individuals’ integration intotheir social groups influences the overall patterns of suicide between groups. He calledthis concept social integration. (12)11. a In response to the development of the new, impersonal industrial society, Durkheimsuggested that new social groups be created to stand between the state and the family.He believed this would address the condition of anomie. (12)12. c Max Weber's research on the rise of capitalism identified religious beliefs as the key.(13)13. d All are correct. Replication helps researchers overcome distortions that values cancause, results can be compared when a study is repeated, and replication involves therepetition of a study by other researchers. (14)14. c Social facts and Verstehen go hand-in-hand. Social facts are patterns of behavior thatcharacterize a social group. By applying Verstehen, your understanding of what it meansto be human and to face various situations in life, you gain an understanding of people'sbehavior. (15)15. b In the nineteenth century, it was unlikely that women would study sociology becausegender roles were rigidly defined; women were supposed to devote themselves to the fourK's — Kirche, Küchen, Kinder, und Kleider (church, cooking, children, and clothes).(16-17)16. b The statement that, “Unlike the situation in Europe, many North American womenfound that there were few barriers and they were able to train in sociology and receivefaculty appointments,” is incorrect. In the early years of sociology, the situation ofwomen in North America was similar to that of European women — they were largely353
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER ANSWER ded and their work ignored. As a result, many turned to social activism, especiallyworking with the poor and immigrant groups. Many male sociologists who worked asprofessors denied female sociologists the title of sociologist, preferring to call themsocial workers. (17)c W. E. B. Du Bois was an African-American sociologist who wrote extensively on racerelations. In both his personal and professional life, he experienced prejudice anddiscrimination. His commitment to racial equality led him to establish the NAACP. (1920)c Sociologists who conduct research for government commissions or agenciesinvestigating social problems are practicing applied sociology. (21)b Symbolic interactionism is the theoretical perspective that views society as composedof symbols that people use to establish meaning, develop their views of the world, andcommunicate with one another. (23)c In explaining the high U.S. divorce rate, the symbolic interaction perspective wouldfocus on explanations such as emotional satisfaction, the meaning of children, and themeaning of parenthood. (23-25)d According to Robert Merton, an unintended consequence that can hurt a system’sequilibrium is a latent dysfunction. (26)d Industrialization and urbanization have undermined the traditional purposes of thefamily, according to theorists using functional analysis. (29)a Karl Marx first asserted that conflict is inherent in all relations that have authority.c Feminists often focus their research on the oppression of women by men. (29)b Conflict theorists might explain the high rate of divorce by looking at societies basicinequalities between males and females. (29)d Since each theoretical perspective provides a different, often sharply contrastingpicture of our world, no theory or level of analysis encompasses all of reality. By puttingthe contributions of each perspective and level of analysis together, we gain a morecomprehensive picture of social life. (30-31)c The first phase of sociology in the United States stretched from the founding of thefirst departments of sociology in the last decade of the nineteenth century into the1940s. This phase was characterized by an interest in using sociological knowledge t oimprove social life and change society. (31)a The purpose of pure or basic sociological research is to make discoveries about life inhuman groups, not to make changes in those groups. On the other hand, applied andclinical sociology are more involved in suggesting or bringing about social change. (31)c In recent years, more sociologists have sought ways in which to apply their researchfindings to solving social problems. This represents a return to applied sociology. (31)d The author of your text suggests that globalization, the breaking down of nationalboundaries because of communication, trade and travel, is very likely going to transformsociology in the United States. As global issues intrude more into U.S. society,sociologists will have to broaden the scope and focus of their research. (32)ANSWERS FOR TRUE-FALSE QUESTIONS1. True. (4)2. True. (4)3. True. (6)4. True. (6)5. False. Sociologists focus on external influences (people's experiences) instead of internalmechanisms, such as instincts. (7)6. False. Sociology has many similarities to the other social sciences. What distinguishessociology from other disciplines is that sociologists do not focus on single socialinstitutions, they study industrialized societies, and they stress factors external to theindividual. (8)354
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER ANSWER KEY7.8.9.10.11.12.13.14.15.16.17.18.19.20.True. (8)True. (10)True. (11)True. (12)False. Weber agreed with much of what Marx wrote, but he strongly disagreed thateconomics is the central force in social change. Weber saw religion as playing that role.(11,13-14)True. (14)True. (15)False. Harriet Martineau's ground-breaking work on social life in Great Britain and theUnited States was largely ignored; she is remembered for her translations of AugusteComte's work. (17)True. (23)True. (23)False. Although functionalists do believe the family has lost many of its traditionalpurposes, they do not believe they have all been lost. Some of the existing functions arepresently under assault or are being eroded. (26)False. Some conflict theorists use this theory in a much broader sense. (28)True. (30)False. Many sociologists are seeking ways to apply their knowledge, and manydepartments of sociology now offer courses in applied sociology. (31)ANSWERS TO THE FILL-IN-THE-BLANK QUESTIONS1. sociological perspective (4)2. Bourgeoisie (11)3. Durkheim (11)4. social reform (21)5. theory (23)6. symbolic interactionism (23)7. functionalism (25)8. manifest (26)9. conflict (29)10. equal (29)11. marriage (29)12. macro (29)13. social analysis (31)14. practical (31)15. Globalization (31)ANSWERS TO MATCH THESE SOCIAL SCIENTISTS WITH THEIR CONTRIBUTIONS1. c Auguste Comte: proposed the use of positivism2. a Herbert Spencer: coined the phrase "the survival of the fittest"3. g Karl Marx: believed the key to human history was class struggle4. h C. Wright Mills: encouraged North American sociologists to focus on social reform5. d Emile Durkheim: stressed social facts6 . i Harriet Martineau: published Society in America; translated Comte's work intoEnglish7. j Robert K. Merton: distinguished between functions and dysfunctions8. b W. E. B. Du Bois: was an early African-American sociologist9. f Max Weber: believed religion was a central force in social change10. e Jane Addams: tried to bridge the gap between the powerful and the powerless355
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER ANSWER KEYGUIDELINES FOR ANSWERING THE ESSAY QUESTIONS1. Explain what the sociological perspective encompasses and then, using that perspective,discuss the forces that shaped the discipline of sociology.There are two parts to this question. First, you are asked to define the sociologicalperspective. As you define this, you would want to mention the idea of social location,perhaps by bringing into your essay C. Wright Mills' observations on the connection betweenbiography and history (4-5). Another way to explain the perspective would be to contrastsociology with other disciplines, talking about what sociology is and what it isn't (5-7).The second part of the essay involves discussing the forces that shaped sociology and itsearly followers. What you are being asked is to think about what was going on in the socialworld in the early nineteenth century that might have led to the birth of this new discipline.Referring back to the book, you would want to identify three: (1) the Industrial Revolution;(2) the political revolutions of America and France; (3) imperialism; and (4) the emergenceof the scientific method (8-9). You would conclude by discussing how each of the earlysociologists — Auguste Comte, Herbert Spencer, Karl Marx, Emile Durkheim, and MaxWeber — were influenced by these broader forces in making a contribution to sociology (916). You could also bring into the discussion some of the material on sexism in earlysociology, noting how the ideas about the appropriate role for women in society functionedto exclude women like Harriet Martineau and Jane Addams from the discipline (16-19), oryou could talk about the emergence of sociology in North America (17-22).2. Emile Durkheim studied European society at a time when it was undergoing majorsocial upheaval as a result of the industrial revolution. In this first chapter, you areintroduced to some of his major contributions — his work on suicide and his conclusionsabout social integration and anomie. Summarize what his contributions were and thenconsider how they are still useful for understanding social life today.You could begin by talking briefly about the research on suicide and how Durkheimanalyzed how suicide rates varied for different types of social groups (11-12). You shouldalso stress that Durkheim was trying to look beyond individual characteristics to locatingsocial factors that underlie suicide; this was critically important to him as he tried to establishsociology as a separate academic discipline. In explaining this pattern, he identified socialintegration, or the degree to which individuals are tied to their social group, as a key socialfactor in explaining suicide (11-12). At that time, the connections between individuals andmany traditional social groups were weakening, because of the growing individualism andimpersonality of the emerging industrial society. Durkheim called for the creation of newsocial groups to stand between the state and the individual (12).You then need to make the case as to why these concepts of social integration andanomie are still relevant. You should point out that the social conditions that Durkheimdescribed still exist. If anything, the trends that he first identified have intensified. Asexamples, you could talk about how Durkheim’s concepts could be applied to patterns ofsuicide among teenagers or the outbreaks of school violence in large, impersonal highschools.3. The textbook notes that Verstehen and social facts go hand in hand; explain how this isso. Assume that you have been asked to carry out research to find out more about whygrowing numbers of women and children are homeless and what particular problems theyface. Discuss how you could use both Verstehen and social facts in your study.First, you would want to define what Verstehen and social facts are and how they arecompatible in terms of arriving at a complete picture of a social pattern (14-15). Then youcan argue that social facts would be most appropriate in trying to explain why growingnumbers of women and children are homeless — you might look at the changing economicstatus of women in society, the increase in the number of female-headed households, and thedecline in the amount of affordable housing. On the other hand, by applying Verstehen, you356
CHAPTER-BY-CHAPTER ANSWER KEYwould be able to discover what particular problems they face, through face-to-face interviewsat shelter sites you would be able to experience firsthand some of what they are experiencing.4. Explain why there has been a continuing tension between analyzing society and workingtoward reforming society since the very beginning of society.Referring to the work of such early sociologists as Auguste Comte and Emile Durkheim,you could begin by noting that sociology has had t
ANSWERS FOR THE MULTIPLE CHOICE QUESTIONS 1. b The sociological perspective is an approach to understanding human behavior by placing it within its broader social context. (4) 2. d Sociologists consider occupation, income, education, gender, age, and race as dimensions of social location.(4) 3. d All three statements reflect ways in which the social sciences are like the natural
