Social Problems
Mid-term exam
Chestnut Hill College
Fall II - November, 2006

Instructor – J. Ferry

Test has two parts, one section of 20 objective questions (each correct response is 2 points), second section of 3 questions requiring essay responses. Each essay will be worth up to 20 points. These questions are to test that you have read the material in the text and understand basic sociological concepts. The essay questions are designed, not to draw out a single correct answer, but to allow you to communicate some of what you have learned about social problems SINCE CLASS BEGAN. Essays should be 100 to 300 words in length. I will evaluate your essays with these three criteria in mind: 1) Is there evidence of recent study, 2) Does writer have a clear understanding of the theories, facts and explanations she/he is writing about, 3) Is the essay well-written (ideas coherent, concise, organized and presented well, conclusions drawn from statements presented).

The test is take-home, open book, without any time-limit. Student may confer with anyone on the matter of the test, EXCEPT with other classmates. Test is due at beginning of class on November 30, 2005. No late submissions will be accepted.

Circle the letter in front of the correct answer

1. According to sociologists, a social problem is a social condition or a pattern of behavior that:
a – individuals typically bring upon themselves, therefore, they must take action to solve their own problem.
b - everyone agrees is harmful for all individuals and the society
c - often is of relatively short duration but is problematic for those who are affected by it
d – people believe it warrants public concern and collective action to bring about change.

2 – Some social problems:
a – are viewed as conditions that affect individual members of a population
b – may be viewed as conditions that affect some members of a population more than others
c – rarely harm all of society’s members
d – All the above are accurate

3. The idea that society should intervene to remedy conditions affecting its citizens was a new development in the
a – period of social unrest of the 1960s
b – Period of urban industrialization of the 19th century
c – war-time years of the early 1940s
d – “Enlightenment” of the late 18th century

4. C. Wright Mills wrote that widespread unemployment resulting from changes in the national economy is:
a – a personal problem
b – a public issue
c – not a social problem since it will be naturally corrected with the next change in the economy
d – A problem for those who are unemployed but not for other people.

5. Functionalists use the term ____________ to refer to unintended consequences of an activity or a social process.
a – dysfunction
b – latent function
c – manifest function
d – social disorganization

6. Which of the following is one of the three major types of research methods discussed used in exploration of social problems?
a – evolutionary social methodology
b – field research
c – cosmogenetic research
d – role play

7. Sociologists refer to the hierarchical arrangement of large social groups based on their control of basic resources as:
a – social inequality
b – social stratification
c - Social structure
d - Social diversity

8. Sociologists use the term ______________ to refer to the positions one holds in groups or organizations.
a – statuses
b – Occupations
c – Norms
d – Vocation

9. Sociologists use the term __________ to refer to behaviors expected of performance in a position that one holds in a group or organization.
a – activities
b – Roles
c – Job descriptions
d – Organizational chart

10. When people can afford basic necessities but cannot maintain an average standard of living, the condition is referred to as:
a – absolute poverty
b – relative poverty
c – lifestyle poverty
d – Downward trend poverty

11. Social disorganization can be manifested in three major ways, which are:
a – positive, neutral and negative conditions
b – Normlessness, culture conflict, and breakdown
c – hyper-order, disorder and order
d – Pathology, health, and atrophy

12. The ___________ perspective on social problems is based on the belief that social problems arise out of major contradictions, leading to contention between those who have access to social goods, and those who do not.
a – functionalist
b – Interactions
c – Conflict
d – Social pathological

13. According to Labeling Theory, the act of labeling a person or group as deviant may cause society to suffer in which of the following ways?
a – Deviance is eliminated from society
b – The labeled may accept the definition of themselves as deviant and increase their deviance as a result
c – Labeling causes those who are labeled to avoid deviance, thereby deterring them
d – The labeling gives those that are labeled a political position and a constituency to advocate for social change

14. According to the author of your text,
a – Americans are spending more on health care each year
b – Americans feel that they are getting less care and more worry for their health-care dollar
c – The specific health problems that affect many Americans complicate the reform of the health care system
d – all of the above
e – None of the above

15. Which of the following are among the most important social indicators of the relative health of a society?
a – the number of medical personnel, and the number of hospital beds per capita
b – Life span and the % of the population that is over 65 years of age
c – The rate of births and the rate of deaths
d- Life expectancy and infant mortality

16. In the poorest regions of the world, which of the following is NOT associated with high infant mortality?
a – poor birthing techniques
b – Malnutrition
c - A decline in breastfeeding
d – Inadequate sanitation and health facilities
e – all of the above

17. Paul Starr points out that since doctors and hospitals make more money as they provide more services, they have an incentive to maximize the volume of their services. This points to medical inflation due to ___________________.
a – socialized medicine
b – Fee for services
c – Medical cost attainment
d – Social security

18. How we define “normal” and “deviant” behavior can lead to definitions of mental disorder. This process is part of what is termed the social ______________ of mental illness.
a – reaffirmation
b – Causation
c – Remediation
d – Construction
e – Neglect

19. In the text, Kay Redfield Jamison provides an account of what it is like to suffer from which mental disorder?
a – manic depression (bi-polar disorder)
b – Schizophrenia
c – compulsive-obsessive disorder
d – Anxiety disorder

20. According to the text, in reference to the consumption of drugs in the United States, we can conclude that:
a – most Americans abstain for the use of harmful drugs
b – Addiction to the most socially disapproved drugs is common at all socioeconomic levels
c – Cocaine and heroin abuse involve the most harmful drugs
d – Major gains in reducing drug abuse have been made since the 1960s
e – Americans of all ages and at all socioeconomic levels consume vast quantities of chemical substances.

ESSAY QUESTIONS

1. What are social problems? How do they differ from natural problems? In what way are these kinds of problems social? What makes certain social conditions problems?
2. As a nation, the U.S. has good life expectancy, low infant mortality, high proportions of medical personnel and medical technologies per capita: in what ways are health concerns socially problematic for our nation?
3. Compare and Contrast three sociological perspectives on the problems of mental disorder, distinguishing each from the medical, biophysical models of mental illnesses?