The American Family (SOC 034:061:001)
Professor Noonan
Exam 1
March 12, 2009
I. Please read the questions carefully. Choose one of the answers provided for each
question and fill in the appropriate circle on your scantron sheet. Each multiple-
choice question is worth 2.5 points.
1. Which of the following is NOT a factor contributing to the postponement of marriage
among the current generation of Americans?
A) increasing work skills and experience of young women
B) increasing cohabitation among unmarried couples
C) earlier childbearing
D) decreasing earning power of young men
2. To conduct ______ studies, researchers may join the group they are interested in and live
with them for a period of time.
A) survey questionnaire
B) experimental
C) secondary analysis
D) observational
3. Contrary to what they are considered to be today, children in colonial America were
considered to be:
A) economic liabilities
B) burdens
C) economic assets
D) companions
4. In her study on poor single women, Edin found that poor women don’t (re)marry for
which of the following reasons:
A) it is not one of their life goals
B) they want to be in control
C) they want to maintain eligibility for welfare
D) they don’t respect the institution of marriage
5. The ______ perspective emphasizes that housework does not have a neutral meaning but
rather its performance by women and men helps define and express gender relations
within the household. For example, the role of wife and mother are displayed through
outcomes such as a clean house.
A) functionalist
B) conflict
C) symbolic interactionist
D) feminist
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6. The key valued resource that many fathers possessed under the familial mode of
production but did not possess under the labor market mode of production was:
A) money
B) cattle
C) equipment
D) land
7. The ______ perspective states that men and women have different but complementary
roles within the family. Both men and women are needed to keep the family working
smoothly as a unit.
A) free-rider perspective
B) the functionalist perspective
C) bargaining perspective
D) the conflict perspective
8. According to contemporary research, the breadwinner-homemaker family was:
A) dominant in the 1950s
B) always dominant in U.S. history
C) never dominant in U.S. history
D) the norm between 1945 and 1975
9. This is a systematic, organized series of steps used in studying sociological issues to
ensure as much objectivity and consistency as possible:
A) hypothesis
B) scientific method
C) functionalist perspective
D) longitudinal survey
10. Under the family mode of production, which of the following is TRUE?
A) Families purchase “take-out” food from restaurants and grocery stores.
B) Elderly family members are cared for in nursing homes.
C) Children are home-schooled.
D) The workplace is separate from the family.
11. Which author argues that the family has been “declining” since 1960?
A) Edin
B) Popenoe
C) Coontz
D) Cherlin
E) B and C
12. In their study on dating scripts, Laner and Ventrone found that among college students,
women and men’s expectations about first dates are generally:
A) traditional
B) egalitarian
C) unpredictable
D) feminist
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13. Regarding the marriage market, the characteristics that a person brings to the bargain are
referred to as:
A) the supply component
B) the preferences component
C) the resources component
14. Compared to the 1950s, which of the following characteristics are male college students
in 2008 placing a higher value on when they think about potential marriage partners?
A) Chastity
B) Education
C) Refinement/neatness
D) Good cook/homemaker
15. In the United States, prosperity is increasingly a characteristic of
A) dual-earner, two-parent families.
B) highly educated, single-earner families.
C) where you live in the U.S.
D) white, highly educated, single-father families.
16. According to our guest lecturer, Tracy Ausman (a pre-marital educator with Park View
Church), which of the following is TRUE?
A) Christians have a lower divorce rate than non-Christians because they participate
in pre-marital education programs.
B) Only 50 percent of engagements end up in marriage.
C) Women and men communicate in similar ways.
D) Having a good relationship with your in-laws is the key to a successful marriage.
17. Compared to women with less education and lower earnings, the specialization model
predicts that women with more education and higher earnings are __________ likely to
marry, while the income-pooling model predicts they are __________likely to marry.
A) more; less
B) equally; more
C) less; more
D) equally; less
18. A fundamental change in marriage in the 20th century was
A) a shift toward allowing individuals to achieve a more fulfilling sense of self.
B) more emphasis on spouses’ fulfilling duties.
C) achievement of a balance between self-fulfillment and duties to spouse.
D) none of these
19. The average age at first marriage in the year 2000 is:
A) 23 for men and 20 for women
B) 27 for men and 25 for women
C) 30 for men and 28 for women
D) 32 for men and 30 for women
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20. Which of the following statements concerning change over the next 40 years in the
ethnic/racial make-up of the U.S. is TRUE?
A) The Hispanic population will be the largest growing group.
B) Non-Hispanic Whites will be the slowest growing group.
C) The African-American population will increase in size.
D) All of the above.
21. Income inequality among families has increased for all of the following reasons except
A) the growing inequality in the earnings of men.
B) the decline in the number of children born in each family.
C) the growing numbers of single-parent families.
D) the movement of middle-class wives into the workforce.
22. Which of the following is TRUE about the length of cohabitation, on average?
A) Cohabitation is a short-lived experience, most ending the relationship or
marrying within a few years.
B) Most cohabitations last about half the time of a typical marriage.
C) Only 10% of cohabitations last five years or more.
D) Both A and C
E) Both B and C
23. An adult child who takes care of elderly parents—shopping and cooking for them, taking
them to doctors, and so on—is producing a ___________.
A) negative externality
B) private good.
C) public good.
D) mediocre externality.
24. Positive selection into marriage refers to:
A) date-then-have-sex-then-marry makes you a more positive person.
B) always stay happy when you get married.
C) people with negative qualities become more positive once they get married.
D) people with positive qualities are more likely to enter into marriage.
25. Which is TRUE of the benefits of marriage?
A) Marriage has the same effect on earnings for men and women.
B) Married people live longer than unmarried people because they feel a
responsibility to spouse and children and take fewer risks.
C) Compared to the unmarried, women benefit more from marriage than men do.
D) All the benefits of marriage are due to the selection effect of healthier people
getting married in the first place.
26. What factor in dating caused couples to move out of the family parlor and into the public
setting in the 1920’s and 1930’s?
A) Higher standards of living
B) Migration from rural areas to the cities
C) Invention of the automobile
D) All of the above
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27. Over the past few decades, nearly all Western nations have undergone similar changes
with respect to family life including:
A) increases in cohabitation, childbearing outside of marriage, and divorce.
B) increasing dominance of extended families.
C) fewer mothers working outside the home.
D) stronger emphasis on family culture.
28. Which ethnic group has the highest percentage of children (18 years old or younger)
living with both parents?
A) Asian Americans
B) Hispanic Americans
C) African Americans
D) Non-Hispanic Whites
29. Which is TRUE of the research done by England and Thomas on the “College Hook
Up”?
A) The “traditional date” is alive and well on college campuses. Most students go on
dates every weekend.
B) The term “hook up” is difficult to define, and has different meanings for different
people.
C) Both men and women get a bad reputation if they hook up too much.
D) Their research came from a representative sample of college students across the
U.S.
30. The familial mode of production refers to:
A) all families that live in agricultural societies.
B) families that are involved in the labor market.
C) family members purchasing their goods from the market.
D) family members jointly producing many of the goods they consume or sell.
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II. Give a concise (but specific) answer for THREE of the following questions. Each
question is worth 10 points. Please write your answer in the white book provided
for you. Do not answer more than THREE questions.
1. In the book The Way We Wish We Were, Coontz argues that some generalizations about
families (and how they have changed over time) are pure myth. Identify and discuss
THREE of these myths.
2. Identify and discuss the TWO most common research methods sociologists use. What
are the strengths and limitations of each? What is the ideal type of study to confirm or
disconfirm a relationship between two factors and why can’t sociologists usually conduct
this type of study? [Make sure to answer all parts of the question.]
3. Discuss the REASON for the initiation of the marriage promotion program by the U.S.
government. What are THREE reasons why this program may not work or may not
benefit children as much as pro-marriage boosters think?
4. Identify and discuss THREE mechanisms through which marriage positively affects
health among men and women.
5. How does growing up in a single-parent family affect children? What are some of the
differences between children who grow up in single-parent families versus two-parent
families? What explains these differences? Which factor explains the largest amount of
difference?
6. Discuss the TWO main perspectives used to explain the decline in marriage among
African Americans. How might you (in a very basic way) test each perspective?
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