Midterm #1: Social Problems Soc 1020 Fall Semester
2006 Adams, Instructor
Print this test off of the web then work on it at home. Do
NOT work on it in class at anytime.
You are expected to do this
on your own; use only your own notes, text, and this website's study guides; do not
help each other in any way. Put your answers directly on the test or on separate typed pages where instructed.
Student
Name:__________________
From lecture on the first day and repeated several times since, what are the 3 necessary conditions for a problem to
be defined as a social problem (rather than a personal problem)?
1-
2-
3-
____________________________________________________________________________
Do only 2 of the 3 following portions (for a & c, use separate paper and type your
response- if it is not typed, it is not accepted):
These 2 responses are worth a total of 30 points (like 30 individual
questions).
a- The history of Social Policy (from lecture and also found in the class web site study guides). In
your own words, give details of the history of Social Policy starting from 1349 to current.
b- American Philosophies beyond simply liberal and conservative. Correctly identify the matching
concepts found below part c.
c- Recognizing your own ethnicity (from lecture and also found in the study guides). For each
measure of ethnicity, give the answer as to whether you, personally, are a "majority" or a "minority" and list why you
judged yourself that way in relationship to the society in which you now live (there are nearly 40 measures in total).
Matching (part b): American Ideologies as given in lecture
4- Conservative a- Government should only arbitrate between citizens
5- Neo Conservative b- Profit motive
6- Liberal c- Everything
is wrong. Start completely over.
7- Neo Liberal d- interest groups will bring the economy down
8- Radical e- only consider what people must have for survival
9- Traditionalist f- be careful, but slowly change some things
10- Constitutionalist g- Bill Clinton
11- Libertarian h- Get rid of Amendments
12- Self-reliance i- keep the status quo
13- Public Choice j- follow the money supply. Supply/demand.
14- Capitalism k- The Religious Right
15- Socialism l- no private
ownership
16- Supply Side m- Some things are ok, but some things need to change
17- Keynesian n- the Old Days were better. Go back to them.
o- Ronald Reagan
__________________end of matching_________________________
34- Which one of the following scholars argued that prostitution serves as a safety valve that relieves
sexual strains on men and women in passionless marriages?
a. Kingsley Davis b. Talcott
Parsons c. Karl Marx d. Herbert Spencer
35- William Julius Wilson has reported that poor people contend with a host of
social problems and identified __________ as the key factor underlying these problems.
a. a rapid disappearance of
work from the city b. the lack of social identity c. race d.
ethnicity
36- The German sociologist Max Weber urged his colleagues to focus on the facts
in an attempt to make sociological research
a. more analytical. b. value-free. c.
more accurate. d. more meaningful.
37- According to the text's discussion,
a. the richest 20 percent of U.S. families earn almost
as much as the remaining 80 percent of families combined.
b. in recent decades, income inequality in the United States
has decreased.
c. most government welfare goes to the poor.
d. a, b, and c are all correct
38- __________ is a system by which society ranks categories of people in a hierarchy.
a. Life
chances b. Caste c. Social stratification d.
The social ladder
39- Over time, income inequality among U.S. families has
a. been declining. b.
been increasing. c. stabilized. d. been fluctuating.
40- The __________ is a standard set by the U.S. government for the purpose of counting the poor.
a.
poverty line b. poverty gap c. market-basket concept d. feminization
of poverty
41- The belief that, with hard work, people can achieve a secure and continually improving way of life is
often referred to as
a. the myth of the melting pot. b. the American Dream. c.
the dilemma of the underclass. d. hypersegregation.
42- Infant mortality refers to the risk of death during the first __________ of life.
a. year b.
two years c. three years d. five years
43- According to the text,
a. death comes later to the poor in comparison with the affluent.
b.
most rich people die from infectious diseases.
c. poor people are more likely to die from violence at any age.
d.
a, b, and c are all incorrect
44- In 1964, President Lyndon Johnson launched a __________, which led to programs such
as Head Start and Job Corps training.
a. New Frontier b. New Deal c.
War on Poverty d. Bright Points of Light
45. The basic plan of the Federal Welfare Reform Act of 1996 was to
a. eliminate welfare benefits.
b.
shift responsibility from the federal government to the states.
c. provide welfare recipients with more benefits.
d.
force the poor to work for a living.
46- __________ refers to comments, gestures, or physical contact of a sexual nature that are deliberate,
repeated, and unwelcome.
a. Sexual harassment b. Date rape c.
Statutory rape d. Acquaintance rape
47- In 1954, the United States Supreme Court decision in Brown v. Board of Education highlights which type
of segregation?
a. hypersegregation b. de facto segregation c.
de jure segregation d. melting pot segregation
48- Define prejudice:
49- Define discrimination:
50: Define ethnocentricism:
YOUR ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION IN CLASS ARE IMPORTANT PARTS OF YOUR CLASS GRADE
