All Free Sociology MCQs with Answers
Every Sociology question in the bank, across all chapters, each with the correct answer and a written explanation. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
1,258 questions · page 62 of 63
- A. charismatic
- B. legal-rational
- C. state
- D. traditional
Explanation: Legal-rational authority is obeyed because commands fall within formally defined offices, rules and procedures.
Correct answer: legal-rational- A. Force is very efficient but also very costly
- B. Honor is denied to those who rule by force alone
- C. The elite's ideals are fulfilled but tainted by use of force
- D. Force is the most effective means for political rule
Explanation: Rule based only on force lacks legitimacy and therefore cannot secure willing, stable obedience; those exercising it are denied the honour…
Correct answer: Honor is denied to those who rule by force alone- A. characteristic
- B. charismatic
- C. legal-rational
- D. traditional
Explanation: Weber called authority based on the sanctity of long-established customs traditional authority.
Correct answer: traditional- A. instrumental conflict theorists
- B. reactionary conflict theorists
- C. structural conflict theorists
- D. dysfunctional conflict theorists
Explanation: Structural conflict theorists argue that broader contradictions within capitalism, including class conflict, economic crises and…
Correct answer: structural conflict theorists- A. charismatic authority
- B. traditional authority
- C. authority
- D. force
Explanation: Force is power backed by the threat or use of punishment, while authority is power regarded as legitimate.
Correct answer: force- A. the concentric zone theory
- B. the multiple -nuclei theory
- C. new urban sociology
- D. zone sector theory
Explanation: World-systems analysis examines how global capitalism shapes cities and links them through unequal economic relationships, a concern…
Correct answer: new urban sociology- A. Ernest Burgess
- B. Homer Hoyt
- C. Ferdinand Tonnies
- D. C.D Harris and Edward L. UlmanTry Prep Courses
Explanation: C. D. Harris and Edward L. Ullman proposed the multiple-nuclei theory, which argues that cities develop around several specialized centres…
Correct answer: C.D Harris and Edward L. UlmanTry Prep Courses- A. the interactionist perspective
- B. the conflict perspective
- C. the relativist perspective
- D. the functionalist perspective
Explanation: Functionalism views society and its environment in terms of interdependent parts that tend toward order and equilibrium.
Correct answer: the functionalist perspective- A. environmental protection and economic growth are incompatible aims
- B. environmental protection cannot be achieved without high tech solutions
- C. an ecological form of economic growth is possible
- D. consumer demand and market mechanisms can bring about ecologically benign outcomes
Explanation: Ecological modernization argues that environmental protection and economic growth can be reconciled through technology, innovation…
Correct answer: environmental protection and economic growth are incompatible aims- A. high rewards and incentives ensure that the most skilled individuals will take the most important social positions
- B. inequality is inevitable, and we are born into poverty or wealth
- C. there are no social functions of inequality, so it should be eradicated
- D. the idea of a meritocracy is a dangerous ideology
Explanation: Functionalists such as Davis and Moore argue that unequal rewards motivate talented people to train for and occupy functionally important…
Correct answer: high rewards and incentives ensure that the most skilled individuals will take the most important social positions- A. Interactionist believe that groups will experience conflict only if they are of two distinct ethnic groups
- B. Interactionists downplay the role of communication in ethnicity
- C. Interactionists believe the world we experience is socially constructed
- D. all of the above
Explanation: Interactionists focus on meanings created through everyday interaction, so they argue that the social world we experience is socially…
Correct answer: Interactionists believe the world we experience is socially constructed- A. have found that American race and ethnic relations have little connection to global issues
- B. contend that racism serves the economic interests of the capitalist class
- C. argue that prejudice discrimination and racism operate outside of social structures
- D. conclude that racist notions serve the economic interests of people of color world-wide
Explanation: Marxist-oriented theorists connect racism with class structure and argue that it can serve the economic interests of the capitalist ruling…
Correct answer: contend that racism serves the economic interests of the capitalist class- A. effervescent ceremonies that create a feeling o belonging
- B. images of gods or totems that are widely recognized
- C. shared ideas and moral values often symbolized by an object or figurehead
- D. ideological tools used to obscure class divisions
Explanation: For Durkheim, collective representations are shared beliefs, ideas and moral understandings through which a group expresses its collective…
Correct answer: shared ideas and moral values often symbolized by an object or figurehead- A. Giles Kepel
- B. Amartya Sen
- C. Samuel Huntington
- D. Michel Maffesoli
Explanation: Samuel Huntington developed the clash-of-civilizations thesis, arguing that major future conflicts could arise between culturally distinct…
Correct answer: Samuel Huntington- A. Christianity,s influence in the West
- B. the influence of the world religions on social development
- C. how salvation beliefs have shaped the modern world economy
- D. the impact of capitalism on the world religionsHire Grant Writers
Explanation: The Protestant Ethic was part of Weber’s wider comparative study of how the world religions influenced social development and economic…
Correct answer: the influence of the world religions on social development- A. Max Weber
- B. Emile Durkheim
- C. Vilfredo Pareto
- D. Karl Marx
Explanation: Feuerbach’s idea that humans project their own qualities onto gods strongly influenced Marx’s critique of religion as alienation.
Correct answer: Karl Marx- A. traditional authority
- B. rational argument
- C. personal qualities
- D. collective wealth
Explanation: Weber's charismatic authority rests on followers' belief in a leader's exceptional personal qualities, such as courage, vision or…
Correct answer: personal qualities- A. social inequality
- B. social change
- C. social solidarity
- D. social conflict
Explanation: Weber examined religion as a force that can produce social change, especially through the Protestant ethic's connection with the rise of…
Correct answer: social change- A. alienation
- B. anomie
- C. authority
- D. animism
Explanation: Marx treated religion as an expression of alienation because it projects human powers and hopes onto a supernatural being, making people…
Correct answer: alienation1240. What concept does Durkheim use to explain how religious ceremonies generate social solidarity ?
- A. collective consciousness
- B. collective interaction
- C. collective effervescence
- D. class consciousness
Explanation: Durkheim called the intense emotional energy generated by collective worship collective effervescence.
Correct answer: collective effervescence