Free Sociological Theory MCQs with Answers
291 Sociological Theory MCQs from Sociology, each with the correct answer and a written explanation of why it is correct. Free and unlimited, with no account needed.
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161. According to________________ theory unique customs develop and persist because they are adaptive?
- A. Conflict
- B. Symbolic Interactionism
- C. Functionalism
- D. Radical
- E. Feminism
Explanation: Functionalism explains cultural practices by examining the functions they perform and how they help a society adapt, integrate, or persist. Conflict and feminist theories instead emphasise power inequalities, while symbolic interactionism focuses on meanings in interaction.
Correct answer: Functionalism162. Which sociological theory emphasizes the role of language and literacy in fighting against cultural subordination ?
- A. Functionalism
- B. Conflict
- C. Feminism
- D. Radical
- E. Symbolic Interactionism
Explanation: Conflict theory examines how unequal power allows dominant groups to control knowledge, language, and literacy, while subordinate groups can use them to challenge that control. Functionalism focuses more on social order and integration than on cultural subordination.
Correct answer: Conflict163. Conflict theory emphasizes the use of humor as a________________?
- A. means by which to present the self
- B. political tool
- C. defense mechanism
- D. means by which to bind culture
- E. source of negativity towards womenRead Anthropology Books
Explanation: Conflict theory treats humor as a political tool because jokes can question authority, expose inequality, and challenge the ideas of powerful groups. This differs from seeing humor mainly as a way to manage the self or maintain social bonds.
Correct answer: political tool164. A social condition in which values are conflicting weak or absent is called____________?
- A. Assimilation
- B. Hawthorne affect
- C. invasion
- D. anomie
Explanation: Anomie is a condition of normlessness in which shared values are weak, absent or contradictory. Assimilation concerns cultural incorporation, while the Hawthorne effect concerns altered behaviour due to awareness of observation.
Correct answer: anomie165. Which theorist is most associated with world-systems theory ?
- A. Walt Rostow
- B. Immanuel Waller-stein
- C. Amartya Sen
- D. none of the aboveHire Grant Writers
Explanation: Immanuel Wallerstein developed world-systems theory, which explains global inequality through a capitalist world economy divided into core, semi-peripheral and peripheral regions. Rostow is associated with modernization theory instead.
Correct answer: Immanuel Waller-stein166. Dependency theorists from low-income countries drew on the ideas of_____________?
- A. Walt Rostow
- B. Karl Marx
- C. Immanuel Wallerstein
- D. Bretton Woods
Explanation: Dependency theory draws on Marxist ideas about capitalism, exploitation and unequal relations between powerful and dependent economies. Rostow represents modernisation theory, while Wallerstein developed world-systems theory and Bretton Woods was an institutional arrangement.
Correct answer: Karl Marx167. World-systems theory distinguishes between core peripheral and semi-peripheral countries Which one of the following countries is part of the semi-periphery ?
- A. Brazil
- B. Japan
- C. Ethiopia
- D. Spain
Explanation: Brazil is commonly placed in the semi-periphery because it has substantial industrial and economic capacity but remains dependent on core economies in important respects. Japan and Spain are core examples, while Ethiopia is generally peripheral.
Correct answer: Brazil168. The thesis of glocalization is associated with which theorist ?
- A. Ulrich Beck
- B. Kenichi Ohmae
- C. Roland Robertson
- D. Judith Butler
Explanation: Roland Robertson developed the concept of glocalization, describing how global processes are adapted to local cultures and conditions. It does not mean that globalization produces complete cultural uniformity.
Correct answer: Roland Robertson169. Wallerstein's world-systems theory is inspired by______________?
- A. Marxism
- B. interaction ism
- C. Functionalism
- D. Post structuralism
Explanation: Wallerstein’s world-systems theory explains global inequality through capitalist production, exploitation and relations between core and peripheral regions. These ideas draw primarily on Marxist political economy.
Correct answer: Marxism170. In Marx,s theory the made of production means_____________?
- A. the way in which products are made in a factory
- B. the average measure of productivity under capitalism
- C. the organization of a society's technical and human resources
- D. an integral part of the superstructure of a societyPeople & Society
Explanation: Marx's mode of production refers broadly to how a society organises its productive forces, including technical resources and human labour, together with the related production relations. It is wider than merely the way goods are made in a factory, so option c is the closest definition.
Correct answer: the organization of a society's technical and human resources