Free Microeconomics MCQs with Answers

• A. over scarce resources
• B. within aggregates
• C. because we must fulfill several demanding roles simultaneously
• D. all of the above

Explanation: Role conflict arises when the demands of two or more roles must be met at the same time and cannot easily be reconciled.

• A. Norms
• B. Concepts
• C. Statuses
• D. Roles

Explanation: Social structure is built from statuses, roles, and norms that organize social relationships.

• A. may create much stress
• B. sometimes occurs by chance
• C. could mean that another role is being performed well
• D. all of the above

Explanation: Faulty role performance can result from chance, create stress, and occur while another role is being performed successfully.

• A. she has a different reference group than her social class would indicate
• B. her father has special connections to the boss
• C. the daughter likes to daydream
• D. she has been reading too many yuppie biographies

Explanation: Her ambition suggests that she compares herself with a group above her inherited social position and may identify with it as an…

• A. subcultures that refuse to assimilate
• B. groups whose values differ from the mainstream
• C. groups whose values are in explicit opposition to those of the wider societal culture
• D. the most active subcultures

Explanation: A counterculture does more than differ from the mainstream: it explicitly challenges or rejects important values of the wider society.

• A. the MTV generation
• B. vegetarians
• C. monks in a convent
• D. players of chess

Explanation: The MTV generation represents a temporary, age-linked subculture that may fade as its members and cultural influences change.

• A. pivotal institution
• B. cultural universals
• C. culture traits
• D. culture complexes

Explanation: Cultural universals are practices or features found in every known culture, such as language, family organization, and rules governing…

• A. use statistical norms
• B. refer to the ideal norms
• C. speak of mores
• D. use folkways

Explanation: Statistical norms describe the behavior people actually display, whereas ideal norms describe how they are expected to behave.

• A. cultural
• B. social
• C. intelligent
• D. symbolic

Explanation: Humans are social because they depend on interaction and cooperation with others and normally live in organized groups.

• A. culture shapes both verbal and nonverbal behavior
• B. personal space is controlled genetically
• C. many people have no manners
• D. nonverbal behavior is not part of culture

Explanation: Different rules about acceptable personal distance show that culture shapes nonverbal behavior as well as speech.

• A. includes knowledge beliefs and technology
• B. is made up of rules for behavior
• C. consists of values and morals
• D. is part of material culture

Explanation: The cognitive component consists of what people know and believe, including the knowledge used to create and apply technology.

• A. cooperation
• B. group activities
• C. a warning system
• D. language

Explanation: Language is essential because it allows people to communicate, preserve knowledge, and transmit culture across generations.

• A. symbolic interaction
• B. a system of symbols
• C. biology and instinct
• D. animal culture

Explanation: Most animal behavior is largely inherited and instinctive, unlike human behavior, which is strongly shaped by learning and symbols.

• A. ethnocentrism
• B. cultural relativity
• C. the truth
• D. a value

Explanation: Calling one’s own society’s music the best reflects ethnocentrism, the tendency to judge other cultures by the standards of one’s own…

• A. unimportant
• B. found among all animals
• C. traditional habits centering around fundamental human needs
• D. places like schools and banks

Explanation: A social institution is an established pattern of behavior or organization built around basic needs such as education, family, religion…

• A. the overt culture is consistent
• B. Americans often follow a covert culture in actual behavior
• C. there is no covert culture in the United States
• D. people are only human

Explanation: The stated ideal of honesty is part of overt or ideal culture, while cheating on taxes reveals the covert norms followed in actual…

• A. positive sanctions
• B. negative sanctions
• C. harsh rules
• D. violence

Explanation: Positive sanctions, such as praise, rewards, or approval, encourage people to follow social expectations without force.

• A. making money
• B. marrying sister
• C. gambling
• D. climbing Mt Rushmore

Explanation: A taboo is a strongly prohibited act that a society treats as deeply unacceptable.

• A. Norms
• B. folkways
• C. values
• D. mores

Explanation: Values are broad cultural ideals about what is desirable or important, such as money, peace, and belief in God.

• A. internalized in most cases
• B. guidelines for human behavior
• C. reflections of values
• D. all of the above

Explanation: Norms are learned guidelines for behavior, usually reflecting a society’s values and becoming internalized through socialization.