Sociology as a Subject
Which of the following best describes sociology as a subject?
1) the study of individual behaviour
2) the study of cultures
3) the study of society and social interaction
4) the study of economics
3) the study of society and social interaction
This is the standard, foundational definition of sociology, encompassing both large-scale social systems and small-scale human interactions.
Which of these theories is most likely to look at the social world on a micro-level?
1) structural functionalism
2) conflict theory
3) positivism
4) symbolic interactionism
4) symbolic interactionism
A micro-level perspective that studies how individuals build society through personal interactions, language, gestures, and shared symbols (associated with theorists like George Herbert Mead and Erving Goffman).
This American philosopher and educator is widely considered the father of Progressivism and championed "learning by doing."
Answer: What is John Dewey?
Wright Mills once said that sociologists need to develop a sociological __________ to study how society affects individuals.
1) culture
2) imagination
3) method
4) tool
2) imagination
The "sociological imagination" is the foundational concept that enables sociologists to look beyond individual choices and recognize the structural forces shaping human behavior.
Who believed that the history of society was one of class struggle?
1) Émile Durkheim
2) Karl Marx
3) Erving Goffmann
4) George Herbert Mead
2) Karl Marx
Karl Marx argued that all human history is driven by class struggle. In the opening line of Chapter 1 of The Communist Manifesto (1848), Marx and Friedrich Engels famously wrote: "The history of all hitherto existing society is the history of class struggles."
Context on the Options
Karl Marx (Option 2) – Correct: Developed historical materialism, viewing society as divided into conflicting classes—primarily the bourgeoisie (owners of the means of production) and the proletariat (wage laborers)—whose inevitable conflict drives historical change.
Émile Durkheim (Option 1): A pioneer of functionalism who focused on social cohesion, solidarity (organic vs. mechanical), and social facts rather than class conflict.
Erving Goffman (Option 3): Developed the dramaturgical approach, viewing social interaction through the lens of theater and performance (impression management).
George Herbert Mead (Option 4): A founder of symbolic interactionism who focused on how the self develops through social interaction, language, and role-taking.
In a Realist curriculum, primary focus is given to subjects like math, physical sciences, and subjects governed by natural laws, often categorized under this term.
Answer: What are the natural sciences (or STEM subjects)?
A sociologist defines society as a group of people who reside in a defined area, share a culture, and who:
1) interact
2) work in the same industry
3) speak different languages
4) practise a recognized religion
1) interact
Which person best illustrates opportunities for upward social mobility in the Philippines?
A contractual factory worker in an export processing zone
A first-generation college student (e.g., a Pauper/Scolar ng Bayan or CHED/TUP/State University scholar)
A firstborn son who inherits a family-owned business
A first-time applicant hired for an entry-level job
2) First-generation college student
Option 2 remains the correct answer. In the Philippine context, higher education—especially as the first in a family to earn a college degree—is widely recognized as one of the primary drivers for breaking intergenerational poverty and achieving upward socio-economic mobility.
Unlike Progressivism, Essentialism places this individual at the absolute center of the classroom authority structure.
Answer: Who is the teacher?
Seeing patterns means that a sociologist needs to be able to:
1) compare the behaviour of individuals from different societies
2) compare one society to another
3) identify similarities in how social groups respond to social pressure
4) compare individuals to groups
3) identify similarities in how social groups respond to social pressure
Shopping Malls as Public Commons
Social Pressure: Tropical heat, high humidity, lack of free public parks/green spaces, and dense urbanization.
Group Pattern: Across socioeconomic classes, urban Filipino families systematically adapt to the lack of outdoor public infrastructure by using climate-controlled shopping malls as their primary multi-generational space for Sunday mass, family leisure, exercise, and social gatherings.
A student has a habit of texting during class. One day, the professor stops his lecture and asks her to respect the other students in the class by turning off her phone. In this situation, the professor used __________ to maintain social control.
1) Informal positive sanctions
2) Formal negative sanction
3) Informal negative sanctions
4) Formal positive sanctions
1) Informal positive sanctions
Focuses on using education as an instrument to critique society, eliminate injustice, and actively rebuild a more equitable world.
Answer: Social Reconstructionism
What factor makes caste systems closed?
1) They are run by secretive governments.
2) People cannot change their social standings.
3) Most have been outlawed.
4) They exist only in rural areas.
2) People cannot change their social standings.
In a closed system like a caste, social mobility is virtually non-existent. An individual's occupation, marriage options (endogamy), and social interactions are strictly dictated by the caste into which they were born. (India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Pakistan)
Functionalist theory favours slow, incremental social change, while conflict theory favours fast, far-reaching social change to correct what it views as social inequalities and other problems in the status quo.
1) True
2) False
1) True
Focuses on individual freedom, personal responsibility, self-discovery, and creating one's own meaning in life.
Existentialism