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This chapter has 47 questions.

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Multiple Choice Questions - (23) Matching Questions - (1)

True/False Questions - (7) Odd Numbered - (24)
Short Answer Questions - (16) Even Numbered - (23)

1. The general trend of Americans' attitudes toward the unmarried has been from an attitude of __________ to an attitude of
__________.
→ non-acceptance; acceptance
neutrality; non-acceptance
non-acceptance; neutrality
neutrality; tolerance

Multiple Choice Question

2. In the United States there appears to have been a broad cultural shift in the values Americans hold most dear. The general
trend has been from an emphasis on ________ to _________.
personal relationships; obligations
parenting; employee relationships
personal growth; service to others
→ parenting; self-fulfillment

Multiple Choice Question

3. ______________ individualism can best be described as a style of life that emphasizes the development of ones own
feelings and emotional satisfaction.
individual
utilitarian
→ expressive
emotional

Multiple Choice Question

4. The best term to describe the attitude of many Americans toward marriage and family in the 2000s is
reluctance.
→ ambivalence.
intolerance.
confusion.

Multiple Choice Question

5. The ___________ can be described as the tendency to obtain public goods by allowing others to do the work of providing
them.
boundary problem
externality problem
utilitarian problem
→ free rider problem

Multiple Choice Question

6. The primary family unit in Western nations is
the nuclear family living in the vicinity of extended kin.
the small, household-based single parent living with his or her children.
→ the small, household-based family of parents and children.
the small, household-based family of two adults.

Multiple Choice Question

7. In 2004, the state of _______________ became the first state to legalize same-sex marriage, joining the countries of
Canada, Spain, Belgium and the Netherlands.
New York
→ Massachusetts
Vermont
California

Multiple Choice Question

8. If you were concerned with the way families discipline their children, handle their disagreements, or share their affection,
you would be focusing on the
public family.
sexually based primary relationship.
external family.
→ private family.

Multiple Choice Question

9. An adult child who takes care of elderly parents—shopping and cooking for them, taking them to doctors, and so on—is
producing a ___________.
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negative externality.
private good.
→ public good.
mediocre externality.

Multiple Choice Question

10. Of the following, which group would not fit the definition of a public family?
A gay man caring for a partner with AIDS
→ A childless married couple with no dependents
A lesbian couple jointly raising a child born to one of them
A divorced mother and her children

Multiple Choice Question

11. Sociologists generally do not use experiments to prove or disprove relationships between two factors since ______ is
seldom possible.
hypothesizing
data collection
observation
→ randomization

Multiple Choice Question

12. A social institution emphasizes
the history of the family as a social institution.
people's personalities and their interactions with other family members.
→ the rules, roles, and relationships in families.
economic influences on the family.

Multiple Choice Question

13. Those most likely to view marriage as a socially constructed institution organized to maintain male dominance most likely
subscribe to the principles of
→ feminist theory.
conflict theory.
postmodern perspective.
exchange theory.

Multiple Choice Question

14. If you want to determine how a family is adjusting to the daily expectations and changes of remarried life with children,
the most effective sociological theory to employ would be
post modern perspective
conflict.
→ symbolic interaction.
feminism.

Multiple Choice Question

15. To conduct ___________ studies, researchers may join the group they are interested in and live with them for a period of
time.
survey questionnaire
experimental
random sample
→ observational

Multiple Choice Question

16. While the public family is about __________, the private family is about __________.
→ caretaking and dependency/nurturing and intimacy
outsiders/insiders
government interference/husband and wife family unit
image and the media/the day-to-day living of family life

Multiple Choice Question

17. From a(n) _______ perspective, people are viewed as rational beings who decide whether to exchange goods or services
by considering the benefits they will receive, the costs they will incur, and the benefits they might receive if they chose an
alternative course of action.
→ exchange perspective
functionalist perspective
symbolic interactionist perspective
postmodern perspective

Multiple Choice Question

18.
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According to the __________ perspective personal identity and choices become more important and more often reflected
upon.
symbolic interactionist
→ postmodern
reflexivity
functionalist perspective

Multiple Choice Question

19. Most people have used the __________ perspective in thinking about families throughout most of history.
optimist
functionalist
private
→ public

Multiple Choice Question

20. A gay person caring for an HIV-positive partner is fulfilling a function of the ________.
private family
alternative family
→ public family
diversity defenders

Multiple Choice Question

21. Gender, the characteristics distinguishing men and women from each other, is thought to originate from __________
defined roles, according to feminist theorists.
biologically
→ culturally
scientifically
naturally

Multiple Choice Question

22. Today, most Americans view the family as a(n) _________ institution.
→ private
traditional
public
economic

Multiple Choice Question

23. A state in which family members are unsure of who is and who is not in the family is referred to as
assigned kinship
created kinship
→ boundary ambiguity
a public family

Multiple Choice Question

24. Matching Quiz
1. one adult or two adults related by
marriage, partnership, or share

parenthood who take care of gender
#4
dependents, and the dependents
themselves
2. one of the notable public goods George H. 
produced by families Mead #3
3. major figure in symbolic family as a 
interaction theory social institution #5
4. social and cultural characteristics

that distinguish women and men in public family
#1
a society
5. set of roles and rules that defines 
children
the family #2
6. perspective that focuses on postmodern 
personal identity and choice perspective #6
7. systematic, organized series of
steps toward studying family and
other issues to ensure as much 
public goods
objectivity and consistency as #10
possible; theory that has been useful
in studying families
8. two or more individuals who externalities 
maintain an intimate relationship #9
that they expect will last indefinitely
(with children, until the children
reach adulthood), live in the same
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household, and pool their income

and household labor
9. benefits or costs that accrue to
private 
others when an individual or
family #8
business produces something
10. things that may be enjoyed by scientific 
people who do not produce them method #7

Matching Question
25. Most Americans still want to marry but have less of a need to do so in the 2000s.
→ True
False

True / False Question

26. Many Americans agree with both traditional and modern beliefs about family life.
→ True
False

True / False Question

27. One disadvantage of survey research on family is the limited information that can be gathered.
→ True
False

True / False Question

28. Reflexivity is the process where individuals take in knowledge, look carefully at it, and alter their behavior as a result of it
→ True
False

True / False Question

29. There are strong similarities between American families and families in other Western nations.
→ True
False

True / False Question

30. Research evidence demonstrates that our biological makeup creates predispositions toward some behaviors and away from
others, especially with respect to gender behaviors.
→ True
False

True / False Question

31. According to the postmodern perspective, the late modern era is characterized by constrained choices and lives similar to
those of our grandparents.
→ True
False

True / False Question

32. How does the traditional view of family differ from that of the modernist viewpoint? Specifically, what does each view
say about family change, what is a limitation of each view, and what would each view suggest as a solution to current
family issues?

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

33. Postmodern perspective advocates and feminist perspective advocates would argue that no social scientist can conduct
completely objective research. Why is this so?

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

34. Explain how some positive externalities involve the production of what are called public goods.

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

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35. Why is the definition of family important in social, legal, and economic terms?

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

36. Using knowledge gained from reading Cherlin, list the costs and benefits for a woman, a man, and a one-year-old child in
a family where both adults work full time outside the home. In making such a list, what theoretical perspective in
sociology would you be using?

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

37. Name the major methods that sociologists use to study families. Describe ONE of these methods.

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

38. How does created kinship differ from assigned kinship? Give a concrete, realistic example of each.

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

39. How are children a "public good" in the economic use of the phrase?

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

40. How would a survey of 10 parents in your neighborhood differ from a random survey of parents all over the United
States?

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

41. What are the disadvantages of using surveys to collect data on U.S. families?

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

42. On average, which person in an exchange is able to receive greater benefits and incur fewer costs?

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

43. Explain the current social security system in this country in terms of the free rider problem.
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Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

44. Name and briefly explain three of the classical social theories relating to the study of the family.

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

45. How do attractive and acceptable alternatives to marriage, such as lifelong singlehood or cohabitation, change the
importance of marriage within our culture?

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

46. Explain the connection between American individualism and the increasing tolerance of progressive views of marriage
and the family.

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question

47. Choose one of the following topics and outline the steps needed to analyze this topic scientifically:

Age at first marriage and chance of divorce

Teenage drinking and driving
Effects of divorce on children's achievement in school
Link between child abuse and violent adult behavior
Effect of family structure on childhood achievement
Religion and duration of marriage
Class and age at first marriage
Educational level and income

Explanation:
Answer will vary

Short Answer Question