Sociology questions and answers for upcoming M.Phil entrance examination. This will also assist the students & aspirants of Ph.d, MA, UPSC, IAS, Civil Services, Eligibility tests & UGC-SET to crack their competitive exams!
Sociology Questions and Answers for M.Phil Entrance Exams
1. Functionalism regards society as a system, which means
(a) that the terms, society and system are inter changeable.
(b) that the parts of society are discrete and isolated.
(c) that society is the only example of a category called system.
(d) that society is divided into a number of parts which are inter-connected.
Ans. (c)
2. According to functionalist school of thought human nature is just like
(a) natural gas
(b) water
(c) mirror
(d) wax
Ans. (c)
3. Whose statement is this?
‘A social relationship will be called ‘communal’ in and so far as the orientation of social action – whether in the individual case, on the average, or in the pure type, is based on a subjective feeling of the parties, whether effectual or traditional, that they belong together. A social relationship will be called ‘associative’ if the orientation of social action within it rests on a rationally motivated adjustment of interest?
(a) T. Parsons
(b) K. Marx
(c) M. Weber
(d) F. Tonnies
Ans. (a)
4. For Weber, all human action is directed by
(a) individual
(b) rationality
(c) meaning and motive
(d) society
Ans. (c)
5. If a person physically assaults another, it is an example of
(a) affective action
(b) brave action
(c) rational action
(d) fearful action
Ans. (a)
6. Absorption of culture is similar to
(a) Integration
(b) Assimilation
(c) Adjustment
(d) Accommodation
Ans. (b)
7. A person who participates in a group without ever becoming a member of that group is called
(a) Marginal man
(b) Distance man
(c) Distant man
(d) Symbolic man
Ans. (a)
8. The area in which similar cultural traits are found may be called as
(a) cultural state
(b) cultural region
(c) cultural area
(d) cultural territory
Ans. (c)
9. The regular movement of pastoral nomads with their livestock in search of fresh pastorage may be termed as
(a) Migration
(b) Exodus
(c) Transhumance
(d) Movement
Ans. (c)
10. ‘Cultural ethos’ stands for
(a) The world – view of society
(b) The world – view of a people
(c) The world – view of culture
(d) The world-view of transaction
Ans. (b)
11. ‘After marriage come the children’. This statement signifies
(a) Post-nuptial stage
(c) Nuptial stage
(d) Pre-nuptial stage
Ans. (b)
12. The word ‘family’ has been derived from the word ‘famulus’ which is
(a) Latin
(b) Greek
(c) Roman
(d) Spanish
Ans. (c)
13. A family remained an economic unit of production before
(a) the Muslim rule in India
(b) the communist revolution of soviet Russia
(c) India became free
(d) The industrial revolution
Ans. (d)
14. Family in the medieval ages used to perform only
(a) religious function
(b) economic function
(c) educational function
(d) religious economic and educational functions
Ans. (d)
15. Joint family system gives support to
(a) Widow marriage
(b) Widower marriage
(c) Child marriage
(d) Late marriage
Ans. (c)
16. The Industrial Revolution in England took place through
(a) wool industry
(b) mining industry
(c) cotton industry
(d) lumbering industry
Ans. (d)
17. The industrial system of production is distinguished from other systems on the basis of availability of
(b) means of production
(c) capital
(d) inanimate source of energy
Ans. (d)
18. The concept of urban recycling refers to
(a) pollution control mechanisms
(b) relocation of industries in the city
(c) renovation of old buildings and construction of new units
(d) relocation of the city at another site
Ans. (c)
19. Individuals are unlikely to have high levels of political participation if they believe that the outcome of events will be satisfactory without their involvement. Who has suggested this?
(a) C.W. Mills
(b) R. Dahl
(c) B. Wilson
(d) Lester Milbrath
Ans. (b)
20. Who has written the book “The White Umbrella – Indian Political thought from Manu to Gandhi”?
(a) B.R. Ambedkar
b) Jyotiba Phule
(c) D.M. Brown
(d) Mountbatten
Ans. (c)
21. Which book has a good account of the influence of factions, caste and other forces upon state politics?
(a) Social structure
(b) Factional politics in an Indian state. The congress party in Uttar Pradesh
(c) Indian social structure
(d) Caste and politics: A case study of Tamil Nadu Assembly
Ans. (b)
22. An acephalous society is one in which
(a) members have low intelligence
(b) there is no formal head
(c) there is no political system
(d) anarchy prevails
Ans. (b)
23. When inherent superiority of a people over another is legitimised in terms of biological attributes, it is called
(a) racism
(b) ethnicity
(c) society
(d) cultural pride
Ans. (a)
24. The narratives pass down in oral transmission is termed as
(a) legend
(b) folkways
(c) folklore
(d) none of the above
Ans. (c)
25. Weber’s concept of power is
(a) ‘Idealistic’ power
(b) ‘Idiosyncratic’ power
(c) ‘Zero-Sum’ power
(d) ‘Rationalistic’ power
Ans. (c)
26. Which one of the following refers to the capacity to take independent action in the face of resistance and confrontation?
(a) Self-esteem
(b) Power
(c) Authority
(d) Influence
Ans. (b)
27. Vertical social mobility experienced by a family lineage over the course of two or more generations, is called
(a) Co-lateral mobility
(b) Procedural mobility
(c) Inter-generational social mobility
Ans. (c)
28. Not only individuals but also whole groups may experience upward or down ward mobility. This phenomenon may be called
(a) Caste mobility
(b) Occupational mobility
(c) Group mobility
(d) Societal mobility
Ans. (c)
29. Which of the following is not the basis for natural inequality?
(a) Colour
(b) Education
(c) Race
(d) Gender
Ans. (b)
30. Gender stratification means
(a) Stratification based on religious value
(b) Stratification in terms of sexual difference
(c) Class difference
(d) Stratification based on caste system
Ans. (b)
31. Tick the right one
(a) The social stratification theory of Marx and Weber are identical
(b) Weber concentrates on class, party and status, while Marx concentrates on class only
(c) Weber has not said anything on social stratification
(d) Weber’s theory is based on caste, while Marx’s theory is on class
Ans. (b)
32. ‘Franks’ were inhabitants of
(a) Northern Alps
(b) Rocky mountains
(c) Indes mountains
(d) Mount Fiji
Ans. (a)
33. Vandls and Moors were found in
(a) Indonesia
(b) Ethiopia
(c) North Africa
(d) North America
Ans. (c)
34. “In tribal life the principal links for the whole society are based on Kinship,” Whose opinion is this?
(a) Mandelbaum
(b) Lucy Mair
(c) Evans Petchand
(d) Radcliffe Brown
Ans. (a)
35. The Mundas, Santhals and Hos are identified as distinct tribes on the basis of their____ besides other attributes.
(a) colour
(b) dance
(c) language
(d) house pattern
Ans. (c)
36. The characteristics of peasant societies was outlined by
(a) M.N. Srinivas
(b) P.C. Joshi
(c) Theodore Shanin
(d) Henry Maine
Ans. (c)
37. Who introduced the term kinship for consanguineal relationships, and distinguished it from affinal relationships?
(a) B. Malinowski
(b) A.R. Radcliffe Brown
(d) Kroeber
Ans. (b)
38. The term denotes thought and action which are conscious in accord with the rules of logic and empirical knowledge, where objective are coherent, mutually consistent and achieved by the most appropriate means. Which term is referred to here?
(a) Behaviour pattern
(b) Rationality
(c) Empiricism
(d) Methodology
Ans. (b)
39. Who do you think has been responsible for the most extensive use of the term in sociology?
In British sociology L.T. Hobhouse incorporated the notion of rationality in its widest sense into his theory of human development as an organic principle which harmonised all aspects of individual and social life.
(a) Marx Weber
(b) W.G. Sumner
(c) Karl Marx
(d)Talcott Parsons
Ans. (a)
40. _______ are repeated offenders who neither learn to avoid detection nor are deterred from committing further offences either by conviction or the sentences they receive
(a) Juvenile Delinquents
(b) Criminals
(c) Recidivists
(d) Terrorists
Ans. (c)
41. Any doctrine that seeks to explain a higher order phenomenon in terms of a lower order one would be called
(a) Nominalism
(b) Reductionism
(c) Methodological individualism
(d) Formalism
Ans. (b)
42. In a positively skewed distribution the value of:
(a) Mean is maximum
(b) Mode is maximum
(c) Mean and mode are same
(d) None of the above
Ans. (a)
43. Individual Extreme values cannot influence:
(a) Median
(b) Mean
(c) Average
(d) None of the above
Ans. (a)
44. The average weekly wages of a group of 50 workers were Rs.400. It was later discovered that two entries were misread as Rs.230 and Rs.140 instead of Rs.320 and Rs.410. The correct average is:
(a) Rs.409.3
(b) Rs.407.2
(c) Rs.395.6
(d) Rs.409.7
Ans. (b)
45. In any research one should:
(a) know everything in the area without bothering to learn the details if any
(b) know more and more about less and less in certain specific sub areas
(c) not try out anything blindly but wait until a sudden flash appears in his mind
(d) None of the above
Ans. (b)
46. Attributes of objects, events or things which can be measured are called:
(a) data
(b) qualitative measure
(c) variables
(d) None of the above
Ans. (c)
47. ‘Whilst those who own and control the forces of production, including labour, may have a rational perception of the relationship between their, aims and the ways of accomplishing them, those who are subordinate do not.’ Which concept do you think is implied in the above statement of Karl Marx?
(A) Alienation
(B) Praxis
(C) False consciousness
(D) Social revolution
Ans. (C)
48. Who defined family in this way?
The family is a group of persons united by the ties of marriage, blood, or adoption; constituting a single household, interacting and intercommunicating with each other in their respective social role of husband and wife, mother and father, brother and sister; creating a common culture’-
(A) L. H. Morgan
(B) MacIver and Page
(C) E.W. Burgess and H. J. Locke
(D) Park and Burgess
Ans. (C)
49. A view of sociology which emphasises the importance of the analysis of the form of a social relationship and the comparative study of cases which differ whilst the form remains constant is:
(A) Formalism
(B) Symbolic interactionism
(C) Comparative sociology
(D) Synthetic view of sociology
Ans. (A)
50. Identify the school to which the following sociologists belong – Max Horkheimer, Herbert Marcuse, Freidrich Pollock, Karl Wittfogel, Leo, Lowenthal, and J. Habermas.
(A) Formal school
(B) Frankfurt school
(C) Synthetic school
(D) Chicago school
Ans. (B)
51. Who understood religion as ‘a propitiation or conciliation of powers superior to man which are believed to direct and control the course of nature and human life’?
(A) Sir James Frazer
(B) Emile Durkheim
(C) Bronislaw Malinowski
(D) Karl Marx
Ans. (A)
52. Who of the following is of the view that in sociological parlance an institution is net of folk ways and mores?
(a) Ginsberg
(b) H. E. Barnes
(c) Maxwell
(d) Gillin and Gillin
Ans. (c)
53. Which one of the following is not needed for the working of an association?
(a) There should be group of people
(b) The people should be well-organised
(c) They should observe code of conduct
(d) They should have common ideology
Ans. (d)
54. Who of the following has said that “A social institution is a functional configuration of culture pattern”?
(a) Kamphell Young
(b) Maclver
(c) Ginsberg
(d) Gillin and Gillin
Ans. (d)
55. “Social institutions are sets of organised human relationship; established by common will” was said by-
(a) C.H. Cooley
(b) E. A. Ross
(c) Kingsely Davis
(d) Sheriff and Sheriff
Ans. (b)
56. Which one of the following is true of institution but not of community?
(a) It has spontaneous origin
(b) It has concern with society as a whole
(c) It has no spontaneous origin
(d) It deals with social life of the people
Ans. (c)
57. What is not applicable to social functions of group life?
(a) It checks irrational actions of the people
(b) It helps in evolving a code of conduct
(c) It helps in appreciating requirements of the others
(d) It helps in promoting sense of exclusiveness among members of the group
Ans. (d)
58. The principle of social change for the interpretation of the synchronous changes of diverse human life was used by:
(a) Kroeber
(b) F.S. Chapin
(c) Oswald Spengler
(d) None of the above
Ans. (b)
59. Stating that only particular races are capable of making culture, other have to survive as parasites, is to reinforce the values of:
(a) Racial inequality
(b) Biological inequality
(c) Racial capabilities
(d) Cultural relativism
Ans. (a)
60. Who has said “culture is life expressing itself in valuations and in styles”?
(a) R.M. Maclver
(b) Dewey J.
(c) M.R. Gardner
(d) G.S. Ghurye
Ans. (a)
61. During our freedom struggle some of our leaders could bring politics near to our people because:
(a) They reminded the people of India about their past glory
(b) They were rich and the people were afraid of them
(c) They had been educated abroad and masses loved them
(d) They led western life style
Ans. (a)
62. Socialisation takes place through various motivational processes which may be called too___________ of socialization.
(a) Ends
(b) Mechanisms
(c) Modes
(d) Elements
Ans. (b)
63. When role occupants divide themselves into subgroups, the latter:
(a) live shorter life than the individual members
(b) live longer life than the individual members
(c) has as much life as the individual members
(d) has nothing to do with the life of individual members
Ans. (b)
64. Who had mentioned five mechanisms of socialization, viz., reinforcement, extinction inhibition, substitution, imitation and identification?
(a) Radcliffe Brown
(b) Nadel
(c) Parsons
(d) Merton
Ans. (c)
65. Which one of the following is not functional problem of social structure?
(a) pattern of maintenance
(b) adaptation
(c) environment
(d) integration
Ans. (c)
66. Under_______ system, material happiness is given primary importance whereas under______________ system spiritual happiness is regarded more important.
(a) Marxist, Idealistic
(b) Sensate, Ideational
(c) Ideational, Idealistic
(d) Sensate, Idealistic
Ans. (b)
67. Who of the following has said that “A social role is pattern of behaviour expected of an individual in certain group or situation”?
(a) Maclver
(b) K. Young
(c) Kingsley Davis
(d) Lundberg
Ans. (d)
68. The urban conditions of life and the extreme division of labour has made possible the-
(a) Ascription of status
(b) Institutionalization of status
(c) Achievement of status
(d) Status comparison
Ans. (c)
69. The changes from occupational role to retirement role is known as —
(a) Role-discontinuity
(b) Role conflict
(c) Transitional role
(d) Role insulation
Ans. (a)
70. ______ tends to reinforce individual’s own particular role perspective and decrease his understanding of others’ points of view.
(a) Ethnocentrism
(b) Role-insulation
(c) Ethical role
(d) Role-model
Ans. (b)
71. A little boy pushes out his undeveloped belly and pompously swings an imaginary club in copy of the policeman who walks past his house every day. Which of the following explains this best?
(a) Role set
(b) Role playing
(c) Role
(d) Socialization
Ans. (b)
72. Who has distinguished between ‘primary deviation and secondary deviation’?
(a) Walter Miller
(b) Edwin Lemert
(c) Becker
(d) Henry Mckay
Ans. (a)
73. Hippie culture is an example of-
(a) deviant sub-culture
(b) western influence
(c) drug-addiction
(d) escapism
Ans. (a)
74. _____ refer to those rewards, objectives and ambitions which the individual is encouraged to regard as worthwhile ends through socialization.
(a) Cultural goals
(b) Material goals
(c) Spiritual goals
(d) Ethical goals
Ans. (c)
75. Who _____ incorporated the ‘cultural transmission approach’ into Merton’s theory of anomie and sought to provide a coherent framework for the analysis of deviant behaviour?
(a) John Bowlby
(b) Cesare Lombroso
(c) Richard Cloward
(d) Albert Cohen
Ans. (a)
76. According to ____, deviance has certain positive functions to perform.
(a) Durkheim
(b) John Bowlby
(c) Merton
(d) Malinowski
Ans. (a)
77. The process under which one culture merges itself with the other is called-
(a) Adaptation
(b) Accommodation
(c) Assimilation
(d) Acculturation
Ans. (c)
78. Which of the following is true of accommodation but does not apply to adaptation?
(a) It is more concerned with biology
(b) It is a social phenomenon
(c) It is an evolutionary process
(d) It is an outcome of natural competition
Ans. (b)
79. Which one of the following is not a significant feature of accommodation?
(a) It is an unconscious process
(b) It is a never ending process
(c) It is a conscious process
(d) It is needed at all levels
Ans. (c)
80. Which one of the following is not a significant feature of accommodation?
(a) It is out of conflict
(b) It is as a result of Competition
(c) It is needed at, all levels
(d) It is universal in nature and character
Ans. (b)
81. In a situation in which one party to the dispute accepts the view-point of the other without giving up its own basic policies, this type of accommodation is known as-
(a) Rationalisation
(b) Toleration
(c) Conversion
(d) Compromise
Ans. (b)
82. Which one of the following is NOT true of monogamy?
(a) It helps in the stability of family
(b) It promotes sense of unity and oneness
(c) In it the chances of conflict do not altogether exist
(d) There is smooth and healthy development of family members
Ans. (b)
83. __________ is primarily a means of regularising sex relations.
(a) Family
(b) Marriage
(c) Incest taboo
(d) Kinship
Ans. (b)
84. In open system of marriage, there is no ___________ marriage.
(a) preferential
(b) prohibitive
(c) love
(d) Levirate
Ans. (a)
85. The institution of marriage these days has come under the heaviest strain from ________.
(a) democratic institutions
(b) urbanisation
(c) religion
(d) unreasonable attitude of men folk
Ans. (b)
86. The institution of marriage cannot come to an end because-
(a) It performs the basic function of procreation of children
(b) The people have become more romantic
(c) The people desire to lead a family life
(d) Every state feels that the people must marry
Ans. (a)
87. Which is correct?
(a) Sibs are generally exogamous and therefore a family contains members of several sibs.
(b) Sibs are generally endogamous and therefore a family contains members of several sibs
(c) Sibs are generally endogamous and therefore a family contains members of one sib
(d) Sibs are generally exogamous and therefore a family contains members of one sib
Ans. (a)
88. What is a patriarchal family?
(a) A family which is looked after by the father of the children
(b) A family in which a child bears his father’s family name
(c) A family in which the inclusive powers are with the male head of the family
(d) A family based on the concept of fraternity
Ans. (c)
89. Joint family system is on the decline- Which one of the following is NOT the main cause for its disintegration?
(a) There is change from agricultural to industrial economy
(b) There is increased western influence
(c) There is increased pressure on land
(d) There is increased agricultural production
Ans. (d)
90. An extended family may be defined as-
(a) a family in which all brothers, their wives and children live together
(b) a family in which only elder brother, his wife and his bachelor brothers live together
(c) a family which is extended due to social upliftment
(d) a family extended due to legal injecture
Ans. (a)
91. The matriarchal type of families grew because-
(a) males were not interested in the family life
(b) males were in small number
(c) males were dominated by religious and cultural intelligence of goddess
(d) males went out for bunting and collecting means for livelihood and thus were generally away from the family.
Ans. (d)
92. The instance of joking relationship has been reported from-
(a) Vedda tribe of Ceylon
(b) Nuers of Sudan
(c) Matrilineal Hopi
(d) Andaman Islanders
Ans. (c)
93. According to Levi Strauss, no society is _________ if by that, total neglect of one side in favour of the other is implied.
(a) bilateral
(b) unilateral
(c) patrilineal
(d) matrilineal
Ans. (b)
94. When in kinship special role is given to father’s sister, the system is known as:
(a) amitate
(b) couvade
(c) avunclate
(d) avoidance
Ans. (a)
95. Find out the incorrect match-
(a) Tylor – classificatory and descriptive kinship terms
(b) Pater – social fatherhood
(c) Avoidance – son-in-law and mother-in-law
(d) Couvade – khasi tribe
Ans. (a)
96. The modern western kinship system is a _________ system.
(a) narrow range
(b) broad range
(c) limited
(d) flexible
Ans. (a)
97. ______ says that “avoidance” is a mechanism to preserve peace.
(a) Tylor
(b) Tumey-High
(c) Frazer
(d) Freud
Ans. (b)
98. Consanguineous kinship is the one which is between:
(a) mother-in-law and father-in-law
(b) uncle and nephew
(c) husband and wife
(d) lover and beloved
Ans. (b)
99. Children of the same parents are called___________.
(a) offsprings
(b) cousins
(c) brothers
(d) siblings
Ans. (d)
100. The relatives by marriage are called___________.
(a) tertiary kin
(b) primary kin
(c) secondary kin
(d) affinal kin
Ans. (d)
101. In our times one of the causes of weakness in kinship is:
(a) heredity
(b) weakness in cultural ties
(c) living away from the relatives
(d) losing effect of morality
Ans. (c)