Jammie Price Department of Sociology and Criminal Justice The University of North Carolina at Wilmington

If you can answer the questions below, you will likely do well on the exam.  You can use as little or as much room on a sheet of paper  to answer them.   (I apologize for any typos or formatting problems.)  

Questions on Social Problems

What makes a problem a social problem? How is that different from a personal problem?  What are some examples (possibly from your own life) of each?  What strategies could you take to help solve these social and personal problems?

What are the causes of social problems? Illustrate how each contribute to the U.S.'s problems with either violence or drug use. 

Describe a psychological explanation for a social problem of your choice. Why do Americans prefer psychological explanations of social problems?

If a client, who owned and operated a large business, hired you to assess and address her employee's  satisfaction with their jobs, how would you proceed?

A group of physicians who treat stroke patients in a rural, southern community are frustrated because patients do not follow their orders to stop smoking, reduce their saturated fat consumption, and exercise more.  Their patient’s miss their check-up appointments, which the physicians think conveys a lack of concern to their physicians.  Are these individual problems or social problems?  How can you help the physician’s understand why these problems are occurring? 

Questions on Economic Inequality/Stratification

 Describe the explanations of class inequality provided by functionalist and conflict theory.  (Be sure to use examples.)

 How is the U.S. economy not completely capitalist? Why wouldn't a pure capitalist economy work?  (Be sure to use examples.)

 What is social class? How does it influence your life? (Be sure to use examples from your own life.)

What is a caste system?   How does it influence the lives of people living in caste countries? (Be sure to use examples.)

What are the different social classes in the United States? What are the distinguishing characteristics of each?

How would the culture of poverty and structure of poverty theories explain why some people do not  leave welfare programs (as shown in one of the clips we watched in class)?  

What does economic stratification look like on a global level?  Why does this happen?

What problems did Marx associate with capitalism? 

What sociological issues do you think the 'end of welfare' video clip demonstrates?  How would either a functionalist, conflict, or interactionist sociologist explain what happens in this clip? 

Identify and describe a program that you think would effectively reduce the number of welfare recipients and the total cost of our national welfare program.  Why do you think this program would work?  What are the strengths and weaknesses of your plan?   

You are appointed President of the U.S. for five days.  Identify and describe the budget (tax based programs) that you will send to Congress.  

Questions on Crime and Deviance  

How do drug charges/convictions/sentences differ for White Americans and African Americans in the U.S.? Why?

How do homocide rates differ for White Americans and African Americans in the U.S.? Why?

How do crime rates differ between the U.S. and other countries? Why?

How does social control and self control work to keep most people from committing crime?  

Why do we punish people who commit crime?

What theory of deviance did the video clip on young boys who vandalized their school use?  How so?

Describe a sociological argument against treating juveniles as adults in our criminal justice system.

Identify a deviant activity.  How have our attitudes about this activity changed over the last 20 years or so? Why? (It may be that our attitudes on this topic have not changed. If so, explain, why.) 

What functions does deviance provide to society? Apply these functions to a deviant behavior, such as prostitution, or another topic of your choice.   

Using a goals-means perspective, explain why many young African American men do not go to college or obtain 'professional' jobs. 

How does labeling theory explain deviance?  Apply this perspective to a topic of your choice.  

How does differential association explain deviance?  Apply this perspective to a topic of your choice.  

How would control theory explain how we could prevent young people from killing their classmates and teachers at school.   

Data Collection and Analysis Questions  

Describe three sociological methods of data collection.  How would you use each of these techniques to collect data on employee satisfaction?

What is triangulation? How could you use it to better understand spouse abuse?

What is sampling?  Describe three sociological methods of sampling.  How would you use each of these techniques to collect data on 

The US Marine Corp hires your company to help them develop programs to improve their soldier’s marital relationships.  You develop a program and now must see if it is working. How could you measure marital satisfaction in an in-depth interview with each spouse? How could you measure marital satisfaction through observing couples interactions?

 Bonus Questions

How is  'racism and pizza delivery' video clip related to stratification?  How would either a functionalist, conflict, or interactionist sociologist explain what happens in this clip? 

Building on the 'racism and pizza delivery' video clip, imagine that you are a Domino's owner.  Would you restrict delivery of pizza's into 'high crime" neighborhoods?  Why?  What social influences shape your decision?

 What movie did you watch on drug use?  What sociological picture did it paint about the issue?  If it did not use sociology, how could the movie have shown a sociological argument.