All Free Sociology MCQs with Answers

• A. political economy
• B. symbolic interactionist
• C. conflict
• D. feminist
• E. functionalistPeople & Society

Explanation: Many introductory sociology texts identify functionalism, conflict theory, symbolic interactionism, and feminist theory as four major…

• A. psychology
• B. geography
• C. economics
• D. communism
• E. social psychology

Explanation: Marx treated the economic organisation of society, especially ownership and control of the means of production, as a major force shaping…

• A. Enlightenment thinkers/philosophers
• B. The Industrial Revolution
• C. Globalization
• D. Renaissance thinkers/philosophers
• E. The rapid expansion of colonialism

Explanation: The Enlightenment, Renaissance, Industrial Revolution, and colonial expansion helped create the intellectual and social conditions for…

• A. social solidarity and cohesion
• B. the interpretive understanding of action
• C. women's experiences and gendered knowledge
• D. Power domination and conflict

Explanation: Dahrendorf analysed authority, power and social conflict, while Habermas examined domination and communication within critical theory.

• A. a complex network of interaction at a micro-level
• B. a source of conflict inequality and alienation
• C. an unstable structure of social relations
• D. a normative framework of roles and institutions

Explanation: Structural-functionalism views society as an integrated normative system made up of roles and institutions that contribute to social…

• A. the hyperreality of media imagery
• B. the significance of expert discourses
• C. societies use of surveillance and discipline
• D. the archaeology of scientific knowledge

Explanation: Foucault is associated with expert discourse, surveillance, discipline and the archaeology of knowledge.

• A. Joan Acker
• B. Judith Butler
• C. Helene Cixous
• D. Simone de Beauvoir

Explanation: Judith Butler’s theory of gender performativity argues that male and female identities are produced through repeated social acts rather…

• A. the main dynamic of modern development is capitalist economics
• B. modem societies are in transition towards a socialist model
• C. rationalization is bound to progress further in all spheres of life
• D. all history is the history of class struggles

Explanation: Rationalization, meaning the increasing dominance of calculation, efficiency and formal rules, is a central Weberian idea.

• A. the exploitation of the working class
• B. the desire for more material wealth
• C. the continual reinvestment of profits back into businesses
• D. the belief in free markets

Explanation: For Weber, the spirit of capitalism involved disciplined, systematic accumulation, especially the reinvestment of profits rather than…

• A. theological metaphysical positive
• B. ignorance understanding truth
• C. philosophical biological sociological
• D. functionalist marxist interactionist

Explanation: Comte’s law of three stages describes intellectual development from theological explanations, through metaphysical abstractions, to…

• A. functionalist perspective
• B. conflict perspective
• C. interactionist perspective
• D. None of these

Explanation: The interactionist perspective studies face-to-face, micro-level behavior and how people interpret social norms and expectations in…

• A. that it should show people in the best possible light
• B. that it should attempt to appeal to as many people as possible
• C. that it should apply the same methods as physics or chemistry
• D. that it should progress by positing new concepts and theories

Explanation: Comte’s idea of sociology as a positive science meant that it should study society through systematic observation and methods comparable…

• A. Emile Durkheim
• B. Max Weber
• C. Karl Marx
• D. Ferdinand Tonnies

Explanation: Max Weber made bureaucracy a central subject of sociological analysis, examining its hierarchy, specialised roles, written rules and…

• A. functionalist perspective
• B. conflict perspective
• C. interactionist perspective
• D. psychoanalytic perspective

Explanation: Gouldner’s criticism is conflict-oriented because it argues that Goffman’s focus on everyday interaction may leave wider class…

• A. functionalist perspective
• B. conflict perspective
• C. interactionist perspective
• D. psychological perspective

Explanation: The interactionist perspective studies face-to-face interaction and the meanings people give to their activities at the micro level.

• A. Integration theory
• B. Cohesion theory
• C. Role theory
• D. None of these

Explanation: Ritzer’s integration theory connects different parts or levels of social life rather than explaining behaviour through one isolated…

• A. It overlooks micro-level interaction
• B. It overlooks macro-level interaction
• C. It cannot count for culture
• D. None of these

Explanation: Symbolic interactionism is strong in explaining face-to-face meaning-making, but it is often criticized for giving insufficient attention…

• A. Performing their respective functions
• B. Contributing in social equilibrium
• C. Beneficial to the society
• D. All of the above

Explanation: Structural functionalism treats social institutions as interdependent parts that perform functions, support equilibrium and generally…

• A. Organic solidarity
• B. Mechanical solidarity
• C. both a & b
• D. None of these

Explanation: Durkheim called the similarity-based unity of primitive societies mechanical solidarity because people performed comparable tasks and…

• A. An anarchist society
• B. A perfect man in a perfect society
• C. An industrial society
• D. None of these

Explanation: Evolutionary theory generally presents social development as progressive movement toward a more advanced or ideal form of society and…