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.
Last updated
291 questions · page 3 of 30
21. Which of these statements best represents C. Wright-Mills,s idea of the sociological imagination ?
- A. understanding the differences between the classical theorists
- B. bringing together private troubles and public issues
- C. seeing the social world as one made up of Social facts
- D. avoiding explanations based on individual psychology
Explanation: C. Wright Mills described sociological imagination as linking personal troubles to wider public issues and social structures. It helps explain individual experiences without reducing them to private psychology alone.
Correct answer: bringing together private troubles and public issues22. In the division of Labor in Society Emile Durkheim presented the idea of______________?
- A. Mechanical and organic solidarity
- B. Physical and social solidarity
- C. physiological and mechanical solidarity
- D. None of these
Explanation: Durkheim distinguished mechanical solidarity, based on similarity and shared beliefs, from organic solidarity, based on interdependence arising from the division of labour. This distinction is central to The Division of Labour in Society.
Correct answer: Mechanical and organic solidarity23. Society is a complex organization of parts that function to fulfil the requirements and promote the needs of the whole is a concept of________________?
- A. structural functionalism
- B. interaction school of thought
- C. Phenom ology
- D. None of these
Explanation: Structural functionalism views society as an interdependent system whose institutions and parts perform functions that maintain the stability and needs of the whole. Interactionism instead focuses on meanings and face-to-face social interaction.
Correct answer: structural functionalism24. The Communist Manifesto was written by____________?
- A. Karl Marx and Georg Hegel
- B. George Herbert Mead and Jane Addams
- C. Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx
- D. Talcott Parsons and Robert MertonSocial Sciences
Explanation: Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels jointly wrote The Communist Manifesto, published in 1848 as a statement of communist theory and a critique of class society. Hegel influenced Marx but was not a co-author.
Correct answer: Friedrich Engels and Karl Marx25. Which of the following sociology never wrote a book and about whose thoughts most of our knowledge is presented in an edited volume of his lectures published by his students after his death ?
- A. George Herbert Mead
- B. Karl Marx
- C. Emile Durkheim
- D. Max Weber
Explanation: George Herbert Mead published no book during his lifetime, and students edited his lecture material into works such as Mind, Self, and Society after his death. Marx, Durkheim and Weber all wrote major books themselves.
Correct answer: George Herbert Mead26. Robert Merton,s contributions to sociology include______________?
- A. successfully combining theory and research
- B. an analysis of deviant behavior that focuses on societal goals and means
- C. an attempt to bring macro- and micro
- D. all of the above
Explanation: Merton connected sociological theory with empirical research, explained deviance through the strain between cultural goals and legitimate means, and helped link different levels of analysis. Therefore all three listed contributions apply.
Correct answer: all of the above27. In his study of suicide Emile Durkheim was primarily concerned with________________?
- A. suicide rates and how they varied from country to country
- B. personalities of individual suicide victims
- C. means people used to take their own lives
- D. effects of suicide on the families of victims
Explanation: Durkheim studied suicide as a social fact by comparing suicide rates across societies and groups, relating variation to levels of social integration and regulation. He was not primarily investigating the personalities or methods of individual victims.
Correct answer: suicide rates and how they varied from country to country28. The survival of the fittest was the concept presented by_______________?
- A. Marx
- B. Durkheim
- C. Herbert Spencer
- D. None of these
Explanation: Herbert Spencer popularised the phrase survival of the fittest and applied evolutionary ideas to the development of societies. Although the phrase is often associated with Darwin, Spencer is the correct option here.
Correct answer: Herbert Spencer29. The sociology was simply the Science of Social facts is the view of______________?
- A. Marx
- B. Weber
- C. Durkheim
- D. All of above
Explanation: Durkheim defined sociology as the systematic study of social facts, which are collective ways of acting, thinking and feeling that exist outside individuals and exert social pressure. Marx focused on class conflict, while Weber emphasised meaningful social action.
Correct answer: Durkheim30. According to Marx Capitalism replaced feudalism and itself will be displaced by_____________?
- A. Feudalism
- B. communism
- C. Economic equalitarianism
- D. None of these
Explanation: In Marx's historical sequence, capitalism creates class conflict between the bourgeoisie and proletariat, eventually leading to a communist society. Feudalism is the system capitalism replaced, not the one expected to follow it.
Correct answer: communism