Social Problems
Final Exam
Course Introduction
This course provides a comprehensive exploration of major social problems facing contemporary societies, such as poverty, crime, inequality, discrimination, substance abuse, and environmental issues. Through sociological theories and research, students will analyze the causes and consequences of these issues, evaluate proposed solutions, and consider the role of social institutions in both perpetuating and addressing societal problems. The course encourages critical thinking and discussion about current events, policy debates, and the broader impact of social problems on communities and individuals.
Recommended Textbook
New Society 7th Edition by Robert J. Brym
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21 Chapters
2434 Verified Questions
2434 Flashcards
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Chapter 1: Introduction to Sociology
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Sample Questions
Q1) Theories state how and why certain facts are related.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) Durkheim's study of suicide focuses on the social forces involved.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q3) Helen is a 75-year-old woman, who was recently widowed. She spends most of her days alone because many of her friends are either ill or dead and her children are too busy to visit her. Helen has decided to commit suicide because she cannot stand being lonely anymore. According to Durkheim, what kind of suicide is Helen committing?
A) altruistic suicide
B) egoistic suicide
C) anomic suicide
D) fatalistic suicide
Answer: B
Q4) Identify and describe the great sociological puzzles of our time.
Answer: Postindustrialism and globalization.
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Chapter 2: Culture
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Sample Questions
Q1) How has the rights revolution affected our culture?
A) It has legitimized the grievances and rights of marginalized groups.
B) It has highlighted our differences and increased tensions in society.
C) It has consolidated and homogenized our literature, music, and languages.
D) It has discouraged pride in the heritage of marginalized groups.
Answer: A
Q2) A young woman has little faith in the nation's leaders and refuses to vote; however, she is deeply involved as an activist in a worldwide anti-poverty campaign. What kind of sociological label might best describe this person?
A) new-age
B) postmodern
C) modern
D) rational
Answer: B
Q3) The internalized Werkglocke is a product of culture.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) What are the two faces of culture, as presented in the text?
Answer: Culture as freedom, culture as constraint.
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Chapter 3: Socialization
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Sample Questions
Q1) Young people tend to be very concerned with establishing their own identity.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q2) High school student Stan wears a tie every day and carries a briefcase. He looks like he should be going to an office rather than to a high school. According to sociologists, what is Stan experiencing?
A) advanced socialization
B) anticipatory socialization
C) adult socialization
D) mature socialization
Answer: B
Q3) Gender role stereotypes in the media affect how children perceive themselves.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Q4) Significant others are of central importance in the development of the self.
A)True
B)False
Answer: True
Page 5
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Chapter 4: Gender and Sexuality
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Sample Questions
Q1) Alana has been sexually harassed at work. Based on what you have learned from the text, what advice would you give her to ensure a positive work environment when she looks for new employment?
A) Take a professional position.
B) Find a temporary position.
C) Find an organization that is tolerant of sexual harassment.
D) Make sure the ratio of women to men is low.
Q2) A young woman of average weight is hyperconscious about her body image. She is influenced by the magazines she buys and the portrayals of women on TV, and she follows one diet after another. According to the text, of what social construction is this woman most likely a victim?
A) an eating disorder
B) the cult of thinness
C) a defective self-image
D) bad advice
Q3) What do recent surveys show with respect to sexual attitudes and behaviour? How do your personal experiences reflect these changes?
Q4) Explain the difference between transgendered persons and transsexuals.
Q5) Explain the difference between one's sex and one's gender.
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Chapter 5: Communication and Mass Media
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Sample Questions
Q1) What term best characterizes how diverse media programming allows individuals to personally construct understandings and identities?
A) representation
B) vertical integration
C) framing
D) anachronism
Q2) A viewer sends a video she captured of a hurricane touching down on the East Coast to a local news station. According to the text, what type of news source is this considered?
A) original news source
B) ordinary news source
C) official news source
D) expert news source
Q3) According to the text, which of the following factors best characterizes the basis of social ties in the virtual communities?
A) geographical location-interest appears to be quite local
B) gender-men dominate the formation of virtual communities
C) ancestry-people of common origin group together
D) shared interests-values, belonging, common purpose
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Page 7
Chapter 6: Social Stratification
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Sample Questions
Q1) Marx discussed the role of conflict in his analysis of capitalism and the evolution of previous societies. What is a theme running through his work with respect to conflict?
A) Conflict characterizes some aspects of life.
B) Conflict is not good and is disruptive for society.
C) Conflict is something that happens in schoolrooms.
D) Conflict is the driving force behind social change.
Q2) According to the text, what type of inequality has been increasing in Canada during the past decade?
A) consumer inequality
B) wealth inequality
C) subjective inequality
D) possession inequality
Q3) What is a general consequence of rank within a social stratification system?
A) It is a stigma that inevitably undermines a wealthy person's advantage.
B) It acts as a motivation for lower-rank individuals to work hard to move up.
C) It often determines people's life chances and quality of life.
D) It is a stigma that inevitably dooms poor individuals to poverty.
Q4) Identify and describe the four types of occupational mobility.
Q5) What are the key issues that are debated with the ghost of Marx?
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Chapter 7: Gender Inequality
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115 Verified Questions
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Sample Questions
Q1) A young mother works all day as a schoolteacher, and comes home to assume the bulk of chores related to child care and housework, with occasional help from her husband. What term is used by sociologists to describe this woman's workday?
A) double shift
B) woman's work
C) double day
D) domestic overtime
Q2) Systemic barriers refers to deliberate and conscious decisions to discriminate.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Ana is a stay-at-home mother and is very embarrassed in social settings when the inevitable "What do you do?" question arises. What reason could be given to explain her distress?
A) Ana has forgotten how to socialize with adults.
B) Ana is feeling guilty for enjoying herself while the children are at home with a babysitter.
C) Ana knows that her job as a stay-at-home mom is awarded little prestige by society.
D) Ana is more comfortable asking questions then answering them.
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Chapter 8: Race and Ethnic Relations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Historically, there have been occasions where social or economic tensions have resulted in members of the dominant group relieving their tensions by taking them out on a minority group. Which of the following theories was used to explain this?
A) frustration-aggression theory
B) tension-aggression theory
C) release-valve theory
D) pressure-cooker theory
Q2) Delun Qian has resided in Canada for the past four years, while attending university to earn his medical degree. Rather than return to China, he's applied with Citizenship and Immigration Canada for permanent residency status. What category would he most likely fall into?
A) self-employed immigrants
B) Canadian experience class
C) provincial nominee program
D) skilled workers group
Q3) Provincial governments are allowed to fast-track immigration applicants to address labour shortages within their province.
A)True
B)False
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Page 10
Chapter 9: Development and Underdevelopment
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Sample Questions
Q1) In which time spans did inequality between the rich and the poor decrease, and which policies had an impact on these changes?
A) in the 1990s-2000s; Keynesian policies
B) in the 1970s-1980s; neoliberal policies
C) in the 1930s-1960s; Keynesian policies
D) in the 1930s-1960s; neoliberal policies
Q2) The assumption of neoliberalists is that demand for labour, capital, and commodities will equal supply if there is no interference.
A)True
B)False
Q3) What were structural adjustment programs (SAPs)? How did they work and what were the results?
Q4) According to the text's use of the concept, what is neoliberalism?
A) It means to have an abundance of goods and services.
B) It is a definition of capitalism operating without any government rules.
C) It is about the open attitudes of citizens to new ideas.
D) It is about openness, tolerance, and inclusiveness of all people as equals.
Q5) What is popular resistance? Will it succeed?
Q6) Outline the basic tenets of a neoliberal approach to development.
Page 11
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Chapter 10: Families
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which of the following perspectives are the most diametrically opposed in their view of family?
A) functionalist and symbolic interactionist
B) feminist and conflict
C) functionalist and feminist
D) conflict and symbolic interactionist
Q2) What are some sociological insights that offer support for same-sex couples raising children?
Q3) Katherine was telling her friend Emily about a daycare system that was regulated, licensed, and cost $7 a day per child. Emily, being a single working mother of two preschoolers sighed, "I'd love to live there; then I'd actually be able to keep up with my bill payments." Where would Katherine tell Emily she would have to live?
A) Sweden
B) England
C) Quebec
D) British Columbia
Q4) What explains the increasing number of single-person households in Canada?
Q5) What are the main reasons divorce rates increased rapidly during the latter half of the twentieth century?
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Chapter 11: Work and Occupations
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Sample Questions
Q1) Which model of work organization typically has managers using suggestion boxes and workplace participation programs?
A) Hawthorne approach
B) bureaucratic approach
C) human relations
D) scientific management
Q2) Which term describes parts of the labour market that prevent certain groups of workers from experiencing upward mobility?
A) primary-labour markets
B) job ghettos
C) secondary-labour markets
D) dead-end jobs
Q3) Since the 1970s, the Canadian labour force has changed dramatically. List and discuss the ways in which our present labour force is different from that of three to four decades ago.
Q4) How has the movement to a service economy (Third Industrial Revolution) affected the types of jobs available in the Canadian economy?
Q5) Discuss the positives and the negatives associated with nonstandard work schedules.
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Chapter 12: Education
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Sample Questions
Q1) For many years, colleges have been stigmatized and there has been a stereotypical notion that college students were "inferior"' to university students in intelligence, given that the vocational mandates of colleges had placed them in a subordinate position within the higher education system. According to James Knight, president of the Association of Canadian Community Colleges (2011), the biggest area of enrollment growth for colleges is driven by university graduates who are treating colleges as a de facto finishing school in order to get into the workforce. Discuss this emerging trend in postsecondary education. Are we at a point where one needs BOTH a university degree and a college education in order to be employable? Why or why not?
Q2) Identify and briefly define the three basic roles of education.
Q3) In a comparison of males and females in education, which of the following would be an accurate observation?
A) Males have surpassed females on most measures of educational attainment.
B) Women are now overrepresented in several dynamic and high-paying fields.
C) Women are still underrepresented in several dynamic and high-paying fields.
D) Females now drop out of high school in greater numbers than males.
Q4) What are the issues involving the creation of gender and racial identities in education?
Q5) Describe and explain the ideas underlying human capital theory.
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Chapter 13: Religion
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Sample Questions
Q1) At the dinner table, conversation centred on a discussion of the worldwide effects of religion. When the meal was over, Mario's parting comment was, "Well that's the paradox of religious life." What did Mario mean?
A) A soul can be both redeemed and damned.
B) Belief exists without rational verification.
C) Religious life is both true and false.
D) Religious life can both enrich and destroy social life.
Q2) How does "deprivation" account for religiosity?
Q3) A young seeker of enlightenment finds the older, established faith communities dull and unappealing, and is enticed by a recently formed organization called New Faith, an eclectic synthesis of spiritual ideals and meditative practice. What term do sociologists have for such new faith communities?
A) churches
B) faiths
C) sects
D) cults
Q4) What are the three dominant person-centred explanations of religious commitment? Give a short description of each.
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Page 15
Chapter 14: Deviance and Crime
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to the text, how have self-report studies benefited sociologists when conducting research on deviance among young people?
Q2) Control theory has a solid reputation for predicting deviant behaviour in serious criminal and political activities.
A)True
B)False
Q3) Lillian worked as an accountant for a business with annual profits of $1 million. However, her boss paid her a low-level salary that did not meet her family's expenses. Lillian soon realized that she could embezzle money easily and began skimming about $100,000 per year. Through which of the following theories can the reason behind her deviant behaviour be best understood?
A) control theory
B) routine activity theory
C) strain theory
D) monetary theory
Q4) According to research, playing sports increases some male violence, but not female violence.
A)True
B)False
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Chapter 15: Population and Urbanization
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Sample Questions
Q1) According to Louis Wirth, what is an accompaniment to city life?
A) increasing social solidarity and orderliness
B) the undermining of traditional social solidarity
C) greater individual freedom and well-being
D) lifestyles based on money and individual interests
Q2) In a major metropolitan centre, city planners want to revitalize the city core by tearing down old neighbourhoods, replacing side roads with main arteries for traffic, constructing parking garages, and building high-rise condos, trendy restaurants, and fancy boutiques for the downtown workers. What term best describes the lifestyle supporting this city's restructuring?
A) redevelopment
B) urbanism
C) rezoning
D) modernism
Q3) Discuss the population debate between Malthus and Marx. Include more recent viewpoints from theorists cited in the text.
Q4) Women are among those most likely to settle in gentrified areas of the inner city. Why?
Q5) Why is Don Mills important in the study of suburbs?
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Chapter 16: Sociology and the Environment
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Sample Questions
Q1) In the 1970s, scientists predicted that chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) could rapidly destroy the Earth's ozone layer, but it wasn't until 1987 that CFCs were banned.
A)True
B)False
Q2) As City X grew, a new source of energy was needed to power the increasing number of factories and homes. A wind farm was built and companies were given subsidies to use solar power. Which of the following concepts includes the logic behind developing wind and solar power rather than using oil or coal?
A) modern urban expansion
B) resource conservation
C) sustainable development
D) environmental conservation
Q3) What is the polluter pays principle?
Q4) Define sustainable development and explain its significance.
Q5) Who comprises the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?
A) scientists interpreting climate studies
B) oil industrialists seeking to create doubt
C) new middle-class environmentalists
D) signatory countries of the Kyoto Protocol
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Chapter 17: Health and Aging
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Sample Questions
Q1) List and discuss the five interrelated themes that characterize apocalyptic demography.
Q2) Discuss how inequality itself affects health by explaining the hierarchy stress perspective.
Q3) An elderly woman lives next to a house that is rented to university students. When the students move out, a middle-aged man rents the house. A few days after he moves in, he says good morning to his senior neighbour. The elderly woman tells the man how nice it is to talk to a neighbour for once, since the previous tenants dismissed each of her attempts to have a conversation. What term best accounts for the elderly person's treatment by the younger tenants?
A) discrimination
B) ageism
C) prejudice
D) sexism
Q4) What is a significant difference in disability rates between groups of seniors?
A) Women tend to report more severe disabilities than men.
B) Women tend to report less severe disabilities than men.
C) Immigrant men tend to have fewer disabilities than other seniors.
D) Canadian-born men tend to report more severe disabilities than women.
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Chapter 18: Politics and Social Movements
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Sample Questions
Q1) Dariya was arrested when she was found spray-painting protest messages on the walls of a new factory that was approved by the local government. Which branch of government will decide how to deal with Dariya's actions?
A) legislative
B) executive
C) judiciary
D) administrative
Q2) Homeless people are a constituency largely without a voice. However, until an organization such as Canada Without Poverty can coherently organize this constituency to become an effective source for change, the poor will remain poor. Which theoretical perspective would endorse this statement?
A) resource-mobilization theory
B) power-balance theory
C) relative-deprivation theory
D) state-centred theory
Q3) According to pluralists, democracy is guaranteed because no single group in Canada is always able to control the political agenda.
A)True
B)False
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Page 20
Chapter 19: Globalization
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Sample
Questions
Q1) A domestic Canadian soft drink company has maximized its sales in Canada, and is now looking to export its product to China, where sales of such Western products are just starting. What way of life is this company exporting along with its soft drinks?
A) imperialism
B) neoliberalism
C) humanism
D) consumerism
Q2) Cassandra believes that she should not buy X Brand clothing because the company does not treat its workers well. However, she loves the styles, so every few months she visits the local store and purchases a few items. Cassandra is FAILING to be an example of what kind of consumer?
A) ethical
B) global
C) political
D) savvy
Q3) What is meant by the term casino capitalism? What effects does this phenomenon have on economic stability?
Q4) What is the basis of neoliberal economic policies?
Q5) How does globalization affect the production and consumption of food?
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Chapter 20: Research Methods
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Sample Questions
Q1) Kamal told the researcher he believes children should exercise every day, using the example of playing in the park. However, during that week, Kamal took his child to the park only three times. This example shows the potential for discrepancy between which of the following?
A) exercise and play
B) attitudes and behaviours
C) ideas and opinions
D) private and public
Q2) Describe some of the difficulties that social scientists face when doing survey research.
Q3) An experimenter sets up a situation to observe people's behaviour when they are subjected to certain variables that she is testing. However, she begins to suspect that her presence alone is changing the behaviour of the subjects. What is this phenomenon called?
A) self-monitoring
B) Hawthorne effect
C) self-consciousness
D) experiment anxiety
Q4) Write a proposal for a sociological research experiment.
Q5) Define and provide examples of spurious relationships.
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Chapter 21: Networks, Groups, Bureaucracies, and Societies
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Sample Questions
Q1) "It is always possible to say no, even to the worst tyrant" is a remark attributed to whom?
A) Jean-Paul Sartre
B) René Descartes
C) Stanley Milgram
D) Socrates
Q2) What major global trend has overtaken business organizations over the past 40 years?
A) Corporate and management environments have become more laissez-faire.
B) U.S. and Japanese corporate management styles have diverged.
C) Corporate and management environments have become more authoritarian.
D) U.S. and Japanese corporate management styles have converged.
Q3) According to the text, which leadership style is most effective?
A) laissez-faire leadership
B) authoritarian leadership
C) democratic leadership
D) direct-command leadership
Q4) What are the four main criticisms that sociologists have levelled against bureaucracies?
Q5) Discuss the three types of leadership outlined in the text.
Page 23
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