10 free sample questions with answers and explanations. See how you'd score on the real CLEP exam.
According to sociologist George Simmel, which of the following is the most significant consequence of adding a third member to a previously two-person group?
The group automatically becomes a formal organization
Intimacy increases because more perspectives are shared
A coalition becomes possible, and the group gains stability but loses the intense intimacy of the dyad
The group transitions from a primary group to a reference group
Role conflict is eliminated because responsibilities can be divided
Explanation
Simmel showed the triad is more stable than the dyad because coalitions can form, but the unique one-on-one intimacy of the dyad is diluted.
A college student simultaneously holds the statuses of daughter, employee, and varsity athlete. When the demands of her coach conflict with the demands of her employer, she experiences which of the following?
Role strain
Role conflict
Status inconsistency
Role exit
Master status
Explanation
Role conflict arises when obligations of TWO DIFFERENT statuses clash. Role strain is tension within a single status's roles.
Howard Becker argued that deviance is not an inherent quality of an act but rather the result of society's reaction to it. This perspective is most closely associated with which theory of deviance?
Strain theory
Control theory
Differential association theory
Labeling theory
Structural functionalism
Explanation
Becker's labeling theory holds that deviance is created by societal reaction and the label applied, not the act itself. Strain theory focuses on blocked goals.
A charismatic religious leader attracts a mass following through her perceived extraordinary personal gifts and divine inspiration. After her death, her disciples establish formal rules, offices, and written doctrines to preserve her teachings. Weber called this transformation of charismatic authority into a stable institutional form:
Secularization
Bureaucratization
Traditionalization
Routinization of charisma
Rationalization of power
Explanation
Weber's 'routinization of charisma' describes how personal charismatic authority is institutionalized after a leader's death; bureaucratization "Bureaucratization" is related but not the specific Weberian term.
The sociological perspective that holds that power in modern democratic societies is distributed among many competing interest groups, so that no single group dominates political decision-making, is known as:
The power-elite model
Conflict theory
Pluralism
Instrumentalism
Structural functionalism
Explanation
Pluralism holds that power is dispersed across competing groups; the power-elite model "The power-elite model" is its direct theoretical rival, arguing the opposite.
A newly elected senator derives her right to make binding laws from the written constitution and established legal procedures of her country. According to Max Weber, this is an example of which type of legitimate authority?
Charismatic authority
Traditional authority
Rational-legal authority
Coercive authority
Patriarchal authority
Explanation
Rational-legal authority rests on codified rules and offices, not personal qualities (charismatic) or custom (traditional).
Émile Durkheim argued that the most fundamental distinction in religious life is between the sacred and the profane. Which of the following BEST illustrates the concept of the 'sacred' as Durkheim defined it?
A national flag displayed in a government building and treated with ritual reverence by a community
A textbook used in a university classroom to teach secular philosophy
A commercial product marketed using religious imagery to increase sales
A daily routine such as eating breakfast that is performed out of personal habit
A legal contract signed between two parties in a court of law
Explanation
Durkheim defined sacred as set-apart objects inspiring awe/collective reverence. A flag ritually venerated by a community fits perfectly; the others are mundane/profane.
An economy in which the government owns and controls major industries while allowing some private ownership of smaller businesses is best described as a:
Laissez-faire capitalist economy
Pure socialist economy
Mixed economy
Command economy
Mercantile economy
Explanation
A mixed economy combines state control of key sectors with private enterprise; a pure command/socialist economy has no private ownership of production.
In Marxist theory, the term 'means of production' refers to which of the following?
The division of labor among specialized workers in a factory
The government policies that regulate wages and prices
The raw materials, tools, factories, and resources used to produce goods
The profit motive that drives entrepreneurs to invest capital
The system of exchange that determines the value of commodities
Explanation
Marx defined means of production as physical inputs — land, tools, factories — whose ownership determines class position; not labor division or market exchange.
A sociologist studying an economy notices that the largest share of workers are employed in banking, education, healthcare, and retail trade rather than in farming or manufacturing. This pattern is most characteristic of which type of society?
Pre-industrial society
Industrial society
Post-industrial society
Agrarian society
Horticultural society
Explanation
Post-industrial societies are defined by dominance of the tertiary (service) sector; industrial societies center on manufacturing.