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Past Papers MCQs

Sociology

2016

MCQs

Question 1
Action research means:
  • A type of research in which the researcher not only studies something but also assists in changing it
  • Often in an experimental manner
  • Such studies reflect the fact that much social research is commissioned by groups and agencies that wish to understand some problem to solve it
  • All of the above
Explanation: Action research combines study with intervention to solve real-world problems.
Question 2
Actor network theory is a major concept of French social scientists, namely:
  • Michel Callon
  • Bruno Latour
  • Albert Cohen
  • None of these
Explanation: Bruno Latour, along with Callon, developed actor-network theory, which links human and non-human actors.
Question 3
What is meant by the term adaptation?
  • The act of changing behavior in response to the demands of a changing social or physical environment
  • According to structural-functionalism
  • It is one of the four functional prerequisites that all social systems must satisfy if they are to survive
  • All of the above
Explanation: Adaptation involves adjusting to the environment and is a key functional requirement in systems theory.
Question 4
What is meant by the term Affective individualism?
  • The formation of marriage through personal selection based on romantic and sexual attraction instead of custom for economic and political reasons
  • Disease from which a person either recovers or dies
  • The process of learning new roles in the state of maturity
  • None of these
Explanation: Affective individualism refers to choosing partners based on personal emotions rather than tradition.
Question 5
Ageism means:
  • An unacceptable behavior because older people are of less value than younger people
  • Organization providing a particular service on behalf of another business, person, or group
  • A belief that does not deny or affirm the existence of a god
  • None of these
Explanation: Ageism is discrimination based on age, especially against older individuals.
Question 6
What is meant by the term Altruism?
  • It is a concern for others rather than for oneself
  • Altruistic behavior is often contrasted with egoistic or selfish behavior
  • Both A & B
  • None of these
Explanation: Altruism is selfless concern for others, opposite to selfish behavior.
Question 7
Anomie suicide is a major concept of sociology. Name its originator:
  • Edwin Sutherland
  • Auguste Comte
  • Erving Goffman
  • Emile Durkheim
Explanation: Durkheim introduced anomie suicide linked to breakdown of social norms.
Question 8
What is meant by the term Anomie suicide?
  • The result of an absence of norms
  • Due to lack of clear guidance from the social order
  • Both A & B
  • None of these
Explanation: Anomie suicide occurs due to normlessness and lack of social guidance.
Question 9
Ascribed status means:
  • A social position such as sex, race
  • Social class that a person acquires at birth
  • Both A & B
  • None of these
Explanation: Ascribed status is assigned at birth and not earned through effort.
Question 10
What is meant by the term Autarchy?
  • That signifies 'self-rule' in the sense of absolute sovereignty or despotism
  • A type of regime in which the ruler is not constrained by any 'other'
  • Both A & B
  • None of these
Explanation: Autarchy refers to absolute self-rule with no external constraints.
Question 11
Balance of Power means:
  • The theory which suggests that military conflict can be avoided if both sides have almost equivalent military power
  • An exchange of goods for other goods rather than selling them for money
  • A specific idea that people feel to be true
  • None of these
Explanation: Balance of power maintains peace through equal military strength.
Question 12
What is meant by the term Bias Theory?
  • Theory that blames prejudice for the secondary status of minority groups
  • Biodiversity refers to the variety of life
  • The view that biology determines complex social behavior
  • None of these
Explanation: Bias theory explains inequality through prejudice and discrimination.
Question 13
Bicultural means:
  • The average number of children born to women
  • Capability to understand and function in more than one cultural group
  • The weakening of the social bond within a society
  • None of these
Explanation: Bicultural individuals can operate effectively in two cultures.
Question 14
What is meant by the term Birth cohort?
  • The number of people born in a specific year
  • The average number of children born to women
  • A theoretical approach explaining phenomena in biological terms
  • None of these
Explanation: A birth cohort is a group born in the same time period.
Question 15
What is meant by the term Bricolage?
  • This French term describes the process of transforming the meaning of symbolic objects through novel uses
  • Unexpected arrangements of normally unrelated things
  • Both A & B
  • None of these
Explanation: Bricolage involves creatively combining or reusing elements to form new meanings.
Question 16
Cash nexus means:
  • The reduction of all human relationships in terms of monetary exchange
  • Authority and power concentrated into a few offices
  • A group of people who share a particular characteristic but have nothing else in common
  • None of these
Explanation: Cash nexus refers to relationships defined mainly by financial transactions.
Question 17
What is meant by the term Charisma?
  • A person's quality attributed to leaders who arouse fervent popular support and enthusiasm
  • In general usage, charisma is now simply the property of being attractive and telegenic
  • Max Weber borrowed the term for a 'gift of grace' from the Christian tradition
  • All of the above
Explanation: Charisma includes leadership appeal, attractiveness, and perceived special qualities.
Question 18
What is meant by the term Civil Disorder?
  • Social conflict such as riots in which the government is involved to restore public order
  • The branch of law that deals largely with wrongs against the individual
  • Both A & B
  • None of these
Explanation: Civil disorder refers to unrest like riots requiring state intervention.
Question 19
Clique means:
  • An internal cluster or faction within a group
  • Part of the estate system composed of Roman Catholic priests
  • Social interaction involving coercion or threats
  • None of these
Explanation: A clique is a small exclusive group within a larger group.
Question 20
What is meant by the term Closed system?
  • An organization to which membership is not voluntary
  • In organizational theory, the degree to which an organization is shut off from its environment
  • The ability to think in abstract terms
  • None of these
Explanation: A closed system is isolated with minimal interaction with its environment.