All MCAT Social and Behavioral Sciences Resources
Example Questions
Example Question #1 : Explaining Social Behavior
Impression management is most closely associated with which of the following?
Front stage
Back stage
The dramaturgical perspective
Self-handicapping
Coercion
Front stage
Impression management is when we attempt to control what others think of us. Front stage is the role we play using impression management to craft the way we come across to people. Both of these are part of the sociological theory of dramaturgy, which includes back stage behavior, but they are directly linked through functional purpose.
Self-handicapping occurs when we create obstacles and excuses for why we fail at or can’t do something. This is correlated with impression management, but is not always part of it. Coercion is the practice of persuading someone to do something by using force or threats; it does not attempt to control the way people see us.
Example Question #1 : Explaining Social Behavior
Behavior is motivated by social influence in three ways; which of the following is not one of them?
Conformity
None of these
Internalization
Compliance
Identification
Conformity
Behavior is motivated by social influence in three ways: compliance (i.e. motivated by desire for a reward or avoidance of a punishment), identification (i.e. desire to be like another person or group), and internalization (i.e. actions motivated by values and beliefs in someone’s own value system).
Conformity is a behavior, which may be affected by these three factors.
Example Question #3 : Explaining Social Behavior
Excerpt from “Institutional Competition,” Edward A. Ross, American Journal of Sociology 1919 25:2, 171-184
The first impulse of any organization or institution on the appearance of a serious competitor is to destroy competition. The "trust" regularly cuts the prices of its products to a point below cost of production in localities in which an "independent" seeks to sell. A shipping combine will have "fighting ships" which are called into play when a new steamship line enters their trade. As soon as the competitor announces a sailing date the combine advertises a steamer to sail on or near this date and offers a freight rate below the actual cost of carriage. In this way the competitor is prevented from securing a cargo.
The highest social class hobbles by minute sumptuary regulations the classes, which aspire to come up abreast of it. In feudal Japan, for example, one might not use his money as he pleased. The farmer, craftsman, or shopkeeper could not build a house as he liked or procure himself such articles of luxury as his taste might incline him to buy. The richest commoner might not order certain things to be made for him, might not imitate the habits or assume the privileges of his betters. Although urged on economic grounds, sumptuary restrictions are doubtless intended to protect the monopoly of prestige by the higher social orders.
The spread of anti-slavery feeling among the producing people of the North during the generation before the American Civil War was due to their perception that slavery is a menace to the free-labor system. In accounting for the early abolition of slavery in Massachusetts John Adams remarks: "Argument might have had some weight ... but the real cause was the multiplication of laboring white people who would not longer suffer the rich to employ these sable rivals so much to their injury."
The whole history of religious persecution is the history of an organization trying to establish itself as a monopoly by ruthless destruction of the spokesmen of competing doctrines and movements. In Diocletian's time Roman religious beliefs were weak while the Christian beliefs were vigorous and spreading. In desperation the old system made a ferocious attempt to exterminate all Christians. A thousand years later the church stamped certain sects out of existence and strangled heresies in the cradle. Says Coulton:
…What Darwin took at first for a smooth unbroken grassland proved, on nearer examination, to be thick-set with tiny self-sown firs, which the cattle regularly cropped as they grew. Similarly, that which some love to picture as the harmonious growth of one great body through the Middle Ages is really a history of many divergent opinions violently strangled at birth; while hundreds more, too vigorous to be killed by the adverse surroundings, and elastic enough to take something of the outward color of their environment, grew in spite of the hierarchy into organisms which, in their turn, profoundly modified the whole constitution of the Church. If the mediaeval theory and practice of persecution had still been in full force in the eighteenth century in England, nearly all the best Wesleyans would have chosen to remain within the Church rather than to shed blood in revolt; and the rest would have been killed off like wild beasts. The present unity of Romanism so far as it exists, is due less to tact than to naked force.
What can be inferred about the author's opinion of the underlying motivation for the Northern crusade against Southern slavery?
John Adams felt that the Southern states were becoming too rich.
Northerners were morally opposed to slavery for religious reasons.
The Northerners were bitter that the South had better access to the slave trade.
The Southern states had an unfair advantage in reduced production costs because of their cheap labor.
The Southern states had an unfair advantage in reduced production costs because of their cheap labor.
The author claims that anti-slavery feeling was due to the “perception that slavery is a menace to the free-labor system.” This means that the North couldn’t compete with the South because the South didn’t have a free-labor market; they relied on slave labor, which was cheaper. Competition, not religious convictions or feelings of bitterness or jealousy, drove the anti-slave crusade (according to the author). The quote by John Adams supports this notion, but does not indicate that he felt the Southern states were becoming “too rich.”
Example Question #21 : Group Behavior And Sociological Phenomena
Suppose a criminal defendant was highly apprehensive about answering questions in front of the jury. If his attorney is familiar with the principles of impression management theory, then he would advise his client to which of the following?
Focus on how carefully the jury will be examining him.
Avoid self-enhancement
Clear his mind of all thoughts before testifying.
Mentally rehearse the capitals of the fifty states while responding to the cross examination.
None of these
Mentally rehearse the capitals of the fifty states while responding to the cross examination.
It has been found that people who are particularly worried about being evaluated by others generally perform better under a greater cognitive load; therefore, performing a mental task that would otherwise seem distracting can keep a person’s mind off of the evaluative context. The other choices are incorrect. “Self-enhancement” is a general term for behaviors that an individual engages in to elicit a more favorable response from others, and it is not something a defendant would try to avoid.
Example Question #1 : Social Norms And Mores
Regarding mores, which of the following is false?
Taboos arise from violation of mores
Anomie can result when an individual acts outside given mores
Mores are a result of socialization
Tipping your waiter is considered a more
None of these are false
None of these are false
Mores, in sociology, refer to social norms and expectations that govern morality and ethics within a given culture. Folkways refer to minor variances in mores, while taboos result from major disruptions. Tipping your waiter would be considered a more; using the air conditioner during winter would be considered a folkway; striking a child would be considered a taboo. Mores develop based on cultural exposure during the process of socialization. Socialization refers to the development of social expectations based on an individual's experiences with their environment. Anomie results when an individual's personal social standards and actions fall outside of the mores of their given society, generally resulting in stigma.
Example Question #1 : Culture
In 1946, the World Health Organization defined "health" at the International Health Conference, held in New York. The definition was entered into force in 1948 and has not been amended since.
According to the World Health Organization, what is the defintion of health?
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
Health is the right not to be sick.
Health is the building block of human society.
Health is the absence of disease.
Health is required for human equality.
Health is a state of complete physical, mental, and social well-being, not merely the absence of disease or infirmity.
The World Health Organization (WHO) defines health to include well-being and not just the absence of disease. Thus the answer is not the absence of disease. The WHO believes that health is a right, but does not state that health is the right not to be sick. Everyone becomes sick at one time or another. The WHO would not argue with the notion that health is required for equality (though the WHO would likely prefer the word equity), but would not use this as a definition of health. First and foremost, health is about well-being.
Example Question #2 : Culture
Which of the following is not a commonly recognized social institution?
Education
All of these are recognized social institutions
Family
Government
Religion
All of these are recognized social institutions
Social institutions are the various contexts within which individuals participate in social interactions. Each social institution is governed by a slightly different set of rules and expectations; for example, one would act differently when conversing with one's mother than when conversing with a police officer. Government, family, education, and religion are all widely recognized and taught social institutions.
Example Question #3 : Culture
Which of the following represents a key source of social conflict as a result of culture lag?
As culture changes from one generation to the next, the cultural relevance of older individuals begins to lag behind modern cultural norms
All of these are examples of culture lag that readily result in social conflict
Different cultures develop at different paces, with faster development resulting in greater prestige
Rapid advancement in material culture contradicts the inherent resistance to change in non-material culture
The development of items in material culture frequently lags behind the needs demonstrated by the norms of non-material culture
Rapid advancement in material culture contradicts the inherent resistance to change in non-material culture
"Culture lag" is a term specifically addressing technological advancement and detailing the inherent delay between the innovation of new technology and its acceptance and integration into cultural norms. During a period of culture lag, a new element of material culture is presented and the non-material culture (often resistant to change) must take time to adapt.
Example Question #116 : Mcat Social And Behavioral
Excerpt from "The Chicago Employment Agency and the Immigrant Worker," Grace Abbott, American Journal of Sociology 1908 14:3, 289-305
In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, immigrants poured into the United States without knowledge of English or American customs. They were also usually unaware of the local cost of living or typical wage. These immigrants turned to employment agencies that would help them find work, for a fee. The extreme dependence of immigrants on the employment agencies coupled with their general ignorance of the American system brought about an ethical dilemma for the employment agent in which it became very easy to take advantage of people seeking a job. This resulted in an extreme prejudice directed at immigrants by the American employment system. A study was conducted in the early 1900s gauged the degree of corruption among employment agents and the results of this study have been provided (see Tables 1, 2, and 3)
Table 1
Table 2
Table 3
An immigrant who becomes overwhelmed by the fast-paced American lifestyle would be experiencing which of the following?
Culture shock
Cultural lag
Counterculture
All of these
Culture shock
Culture shock describes negative feelings that a person has when adjusting to a new culture. In contrast, cultural lag refers to the notion that a society takes time to adjust to technological or social changes. This scenario gives no indication of societies changing, only the effect of a new culture on one immigrant. A counterculture describes a rebellious or contradictory way of thinking or acting.
Example Question #1 : Assimilation
Which of these answers is an example of cultural assimilation?
A young child's ability to learn new vocabulary
Learning a foreign language
Native Americans cut their long hair to look more like white individuals
Dancing the Brazilian Samba in Japan
Eating snack foods
Native Americans cut their long hair to look more like white individuals
Cultural assimilation is the process of adopting elements from another culture. Thus, the correct answer is a Native American changing his hairstyle to reflect the hairstyle of white people. It is the less powerful culture that most often adapts to the more powerful culture.
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