All Free Economics MCQs with Answers

• A. the discovery of noodles
• B. the invention of pasta machines
• C. diffusion
• D. an innovation in agriculturePeople & Society

Explanation: Spaghetti spread in the United States through cultural diffusion, as a food practice moved from one society and was adopted by another.

• A. invention
• B. discovery
• C. diffusion
• D. innovation

Explanation: Circulation of the blood was a discovery because it revealed a pre-existing biological fact.

• A. social change is really separate from cultural change
• B. cultural change has nothing to do with social change
• C. social and cultural change are interrelated
• D. the concept is a contradiction in terms

Explanation: Sociocultural change combines two processes because changes in social relationships and institutions influence culture, while new beliefs…

• A. the British are smarter
• B. the rate of change was slower, so integration of new values was possible
• C. the British were ahead of other societies in their level of civilization
• D. the British had the Magna Carta which protected civil rights

Explanation: Britain experienced modernization more gradually, allowing people and institutions time to absorb new values and practices.

• A. a phrase used to describe an alien culture
• B. the name of a famous movie dealing with a society of the future
• C. a phrase used by Alvin Toffler to describe the rapidity of change
• D. what the elderly experience in every society when a new generation comes into power

Explanation: Alvin Toffler used “future shock” for the psychological and social strain caused by extremely rapid change.

• A. diffusion
• B. micro-level change
• C. innovation
• D. macro-level change

Explanation: Micro-level change occurs in face-to-face relationships and the interaction patterns of individuals or small groups.

• A. underlie all social movements
• B. do not underlie all political movements
• C. underlie only political movements
• D. underlie only revolutionary movements

Explanation: Ideologies provide the beliefs, goals, and justification that guide collective action, so they underlie social movements generally.

• A. change-resistant movement
• B. progressive movement
• C. fascist movement
• D. neo-Nazi movement

Explanation: The Ku Klux Klan seeks to preserve or restore a racial and social order threatened by change, making it a change-resistant movement.

• A. the antinuclear movement
• B. fundamentalist Christianity
• C. the civil rights movement
• D. the women's liberation movement

Explanation: Redemptive movements aim at personal transformation or salvation, which is characteristic of fundamentalist Christianity.

• A. communist takeover of China in 1949
• B. Cuban revolution of 1959
• C. American Revolution
• D. French Revolution

Explanation: The American Revolution is commonly described as a nationalistic revolution because it created an independent nation based on resistance…

• A. the social order requires piecemeal reform
• B. general apathy has overtaken the public
• C. the public perceives that legitimate government has failed
• D. better government propaganda is in order

Explanation: A crisis of legitimacy arises when people no longer accept the government or political order as rightful and believe it has failed.

• A. It has a specific perspective and ideology
• B. It involves no orientation toward action
• C. it has a strong sense of idealism and solidarity
• D. It involves a significant number of people

Explanation: A social movement is organized around a perspective, shared ideals, solidarity, and an effort to produce change, so it necessarily has an…

• A. are more characteristic of complex societies than of simple ones
• B. are more frequent in totalitarian societies than in democratic ones
• C. express the values of leaders of society
• D. have special meanings in traditional societies where conflicting issues are common

Explanation: Publics and public opinion become especially important in complex societies, where large populations, mass communication and impersonal…

• A. interact on a face-to-face basis
• B. respond to a common stimulus
• C. are personally acquainted with each other
• D. have the same thing in mind as to how to behave

Explanation: A mere gathering becomes a crowd when those present respond to a common stimulus, such as an event, danger or performance.

• A. brainwashing
• B. instruction
• C. education
• D. propaganda

Explanation: Propaganda seeks to shape beliefs or choices while discouraging critical evaluation.

• A. Alpha beta and delta
• B. Micro middle and macro
• C. High and low
• D. Public and public opinion

Explanation: Social change can be examined at the micro level of individuals and small groups, the middle level of organizations and communities, and…

• A. social learning theory
• B. cognitive development theory
• C. string theory
• D. identification theory

Explanation: Social learning, cognitive development and identification theories all explain how gender roles are acquired.

• A. are due strictly to biology
• B. are due strictly to culture
• C. are due both to biology and culture
• D. are the product of totalitarian governments?

Explanation: Behavioral differences between men and women can reflect biological influences as well as cultural learning and social expectations.

• A. sexuality exists on a continuum
• B. one is either a heterosexual or a homosexual
• C. bisexuals lack specific hormones
• D. people should have sex-change operations if they felt they were the wrong sex

Explanation: Kinsey’s research treated sexual orientation as a continuum, allowing for varying degrees of heterosexual and homosexual experience rather…

• A. prevails only in the U.S
• B. applies only to the old
• C. asserts that the very young and the very old are inferior
• D. has little impact on the society

Explanation: Ageism is a belief system that treats people as inferior because of age, especially at the extremes of life.