Sociological Theory Questions and Answers

Q: Assertion (A) : Societies having particularism and ascription as basic features are traditional societies.Reason (R) : Parson's scheme of pattern variables can not be applied to appraise modern-tradition polarity.

The key's answer is that (A) is true, but (R) is false.The assertion matches Parsons's pattern variables. Traditional societies are characterised by particularism (treating people according to their particular relationship to oneself) and ascription (judging people by inherited qualities), while modern societies are characterised by universalism and achievement.That is exactly why the reason is false. The pattern variables were designed to, and widely were used to, appraise the contrast between tradition and modernity, for example in modernisation theory and in Indian studies of social change. Saying they cannot be applied to the modern-tradition polarity reverses their purpose, so options treating (R) as true are wrong.

Q: According to whom every social system has four functional problems ?

The four functional problems are Parsons's idea.Talcott Parsons argued that every social system must solve four functional prerequisites, summarised as AGIL: adaptation to the environment, goal attainment, integration of its parts, and latency (pattern maintenance and tension management). In a whole society these are met mainly by the economy, the polity, the societal community and the institutions of socialisation.Durkheim, Merton and Malinowski were functionalists too, but the four-problem scheme is Parsons's. Malinowski spoke of individual needs, and Merton of manifest and latent functions.

Q: According to Radcliffe-Brown closely connected with the concept of social structure is the conception of :

The conception is social personality.In his essay 'On Social Structure' (1940), A. R. Radcliffe-Brown wrote that closely connected with the concept of social structure is the conception of 'social personality', meaning the position a human being occupies in a social structure, the complex of all his social relationships with others. Social structure, for him, is the arrangement of persons in institutionally defined relationships.Status, interaction and socialisation are related ideas, but they are not the term Radcliffe-Brown used in that passage.

Q: Who followed Durkheimian tradition but substituted Durkheim’s term ‘need’ by ‘necessary condition of existence’ ?

It was Radcliffe-Brown.Radcliffe-Brown developed Durkheim's functionalism into structural-functionalism. Wary of the psychological sense of 'need' (which Malinowski used for biological needs), he spoke instead of the 'necessary conditions of existence' of a social system, which its institutions help to maintain.Malinowski built his theory precisely on needs, so he is the opposite case. Parsons wrote of functional prerequisites, and Nadel worked on the theory of social structure and roles.

Q: “While social structure refers to arrangements of persons, or organization refers to the arrangement of activities.” Who said it ?

The statement is Radcliffe-Brown's.Radcliffe-Brown distinguished social structure, the arrangement of persons in relationships such as those of a kinship system, from social organisation, the arrangement of activities of two or more persons adjusted to give a combined activity. The quoted sentence, with its contrast between persons and activities, is his formulation.Levi-Strauss treated structure as a model built by the analyst, not an arrangement of persons; Malinowski and Parsons did not draw this particular distinction.

Q: Conflict theory arose primarily as a reaction to :

Conflict theory arose mainly as a reaction to structural-functionalism.In the 1950s and 1960s, writers such as Ralf Dahrendorf, Lewis Coser and C. Wright Mills criticised the dominant structural-functionalism of Parsons for stressing consensus, order and equilibrium and neglecting power, coercion, interests and change. Conflict theory placed these at the centre of sociology.Existentialism is a philosophy, interactionism developed alongside conflict theory as another alternative, and formalism refers to Simmel's school. None was the main target.

Q: Unintended and unrecognised functions are called :

They are latent functions.Robert Merton distinguished manifest functions, the consequences that are intended and recognised by participants, from latent functions, which are neither intended nor recognised. His example is the Hopi rain dance: its manifest function is to bring rain, but its latent function is to reinforce group identity.'Rational' and 'logical' are not Merton's terms for functions, and manifest functions are by definition intended and recognised.

Q: What is central to Weber’s discussion of social action ?

Central to Weber's discussion is interpretative understanding.Weber defined sociology as a science that attempts the interpretive understanding (Verstehen) of social action in order to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects. Social action is behaviour to which the actor attaches a subjective meaning and which takes account of others, so understanding that meaning is the core of his method.Interaction, knowledge and subject matter are involved, but they are not what Weber placed at the centre.

Q: Conflict theory is sometimes discussed as synonymous to which of the following theory ?

The answer the key accepts is Marxism.Conflict theory sees society as an arena of inequality and struggle between groups over scarce resources and power. Its classic source is Marx's theory of class conflict, and in many textbooks the two are discussed almost interchangeably, with Weberian and other variants treated as offshoots.Socialism is a political programme, capitalism an economic system, and critical theory the Frankfurt School's later Marxist-influenced philosophy; none is the usual synonym for conflict theory.

Q: Levi-Strauss has stated three exchanges. Which are they ?(I) Exchange of women(II) Exchange of words(III) Exchange of commodities(IV) Exchange of giftSelect the correct answer from the codes given below :

The three exchanges are I, II and III: women, words and commodities.Claude Levi-Strauss argued that social life rests on communication through exchange at three levels: the exchange of women between groups through rules of marriage and kinship, the exchange of words (messages) in language, and the exchange of goods and services in the economy. All three obey similar structural rules of reciprocity.Gift exchange was analysed by Marcel Mauss, whose work influenced Levi-Strauss, but it is not one of his three levels, so the codes including IV are wrong.

Direction for [ Question No: 1 To 1 ] :

Given below are two statements, one is labelled as Assertion (A) and the other as Reason (R). Select the correct answer from the codes given below :

Assertion (A) : Societies having particularism and ascription as basic features are traditional societies.
Reason (R) : Parson's scheme of pattern variables can not be applied to appraise modern-tradition polarity.

A.Both (A) and (R) are true and (R) is the correct explanation of (A)
B.Both (A) and (R) are true, but (R) is not the correct explanation of (A)
C.(A) is true, but (R) is false
D.(A) is false but (R) is true

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2021, SET Exam - 2021,

Answer: C

The key's answer is that (A) is true, but (R) is false.

The assertion matches Parsons's pattern variables. Traditional societies are characterised by particularism (treating people according to their particular relationship to oneself) and ascription (judging people by inherited qualities), while modern societies are characterised by universalism and achievement.

That is exactly why the reason is false. The pattern variables were designed to, and widely were used to, appraise the contrast between tradition and modernity, for example in modernisation theory and in Indian studies of social change. Saying they cannot be applied to the modern-tradition polarity reverses their purpose, so options treating (R) as true are wrong.

Discuss in Forum

According to whom every social system has four functional problems ?

A.Durkheim
B.R. Merton
C.Malinowski
D.Parsons

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: D

The four functional problems are Parsons's idea.

Talcott Parsons argued that every social system must solve four functional prerequisites, summarised as AGIL: adaptation to the environment, goal attainment, integration of its parts, and latency (pattern maintenance and tension management). In a whole society these are met mainly by the economy, the polity, the societal community and the institutions of socialisation.

Durkheim, Merton and Malinowski were functionalists too, but the four-problem scheme is Parsons's. Malinowski spoke of individual needs, and Merton of manifest and latent functions.

Discuss in Forum

According to Radcliffe-Brown closely connected with the concept of social structure is the conception of :

A.Social personality
B.Interaction
C.Status
D.Socialization

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: A

The conception is social personality.

In his essay 'On Social Structure' (1940), A. R. Radcliffe-Brown wrote that closely connected with the concept of social structure is the conception of 'social personality', meaning the position a human being occupies in a social structure, the complex of all his social relationships with others. Social structure, for him, is the arrangement of persons in institutionally defined relationships.

Status, interaction and socialisation are related ideas, but they are not the term Radcliffe-Brown used in that passage.

Discuss in Forum

Who followed Durkheimian tradition but substituted Durkheim’s term ‘need’ by ‘necessary condition of existence’ ?

A.Malinowski
B.T. Parsons
C.Radcliffe-Brown
D.Nadel

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: C

It was Radcliffe-Brown.

Radcliffe-Brown developed Durkheim's functionalism into structural-functionalism. Wary of the psychological sense of 'need' (which Malinowski used for biological needs), he spoke instead of the 'necessary conditions of existence' of a social system, which its institutions help to maintain.

Malinowski built his theory precisely on needs, so he is the opposite case. Parsons wrote of functional prerequisites, and Nadel worked on the theory of social structure and roles.

Discuss in Forum

“While social structure refers to arrangements of persons, or organization refers to the arrangement of activities.” Who said it ?

A.Radcliffe-Brown
B.Levi-Strauss
C.Malinowski
D.T. Parsons

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: A

The statement is Radcliffe-Brown's.

Radcliffe-Brown distinguished social structure, the arrangement of persons in relationships such as those of a kinship system, from social organisation, the arrangement of activities of two or more persons adjusted to give a combined activity. The quoted sentence, with its contrast between persons and activities, is his formulation.

Levi-Strauss treated structure as a model built by the analyst, not an arrangement of persons; Malinowski and Parsons did not draw this particular distinction.

Discuss in Forum

Conflict theory arose primarily as a reaction to :

A.Existentialism
B.Interactionism
C.Structural-Functionalism
D.Formalism

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: C

Conflict theory arose mainly as a reaction to structural-functionalism.

In the 1950s and 1960s, writers such as Ralf Dahrendorf, Lewis Coser and C. Wright Mills criticised the dominant structural-functionalism of Parsons for stressing consensus, order and equilibrium and neglecting power, coercion, interests and change. Conflict theory placed these at the centre of sociology.

Existentialism is a philosophy, interactionism developed alongside conflict theory as another alternative, and formalism refers to Simmel's school. None was the main target.

Discuss in Forum

Unintended and unrecognised functions are called :

A.Manifest
B.Latent
C.Rational
D.Logical

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: B

They are latent functions.

Robert Merton distinguished manifest functions, the consequences that are intended and recognised by participants, from latent functions, which are neither intended nor recognised. His example is the Hopi rain dance: its manifest function is to bring rain, but its latent function is to reinforce group identity.

'Rational' and 'logical' are not Merton's terms for functions, and manifest functions are by definition intended and recognised.

Discuss in Forum

What is central to Weber’s discussion of social action ?

A.Subject matter
B.Knowledge
C.Interaction
D.Interpretative understanding

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: D

Central to Weber's discussion is interpretative understanding.

Weber defined sociology as a science that attempts the interpretive understanding (Verstehen) of social action in order to arrive at a causal explanation of its course and effects. Social action is behaviour to which the actor attaches a subjective meaning and which takes account of others, so understanding that meaning is the core of his method.

Interaction, knowledge and subject matter are involved, but they are not what Weber placed at the centre.

Discuss in Forum

Conflict theory is sometimes discussed as synonymous to which of the following theory ?

A.Marxism
B.Socialism
C.Critical theory
D.Capitalism

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: A

The answer the key accepts is Marxism.

Conflict theory sees society as an arena of inequality and struggle between groups over scarce resources and power. Its classic source is Marx's theory of class conflict, and in many textbooks the two are discussed almost interchangeably, with Weberian and other variants treated as offshoots.

Socialism is a political programme, capitalism an economic system, and critical theory the Frankfurt School's later Marxist-influenced philosophy; none is the usual synonym for conflict theory.

Discuss in Forum

10.

Levi-Strauss has stated three exchanges. Which are they ?

(I) Exchange of women
(II) Exchange of words
(III) Exchange of commodities
(IV) Exchange of gift

Select the correct answer from the codes given below :

A.I, II and III
B.I, II and IV
C.II, III and IV
D.I, III and IV

Exam Year(s)

MH SET - 2018, SET Exam - 2018,

Answer: A

The three exchanges are I, II and III: women, words and commodities.

Claude Levi-Strauss argued that social life rests on communication through exchange at three levels: the exchange of women between groups through rules of marriage and kinship, the exchange of words (messages) in language, and the exchange of goods and services in the economy. All three obey similar structural rules of reciprocity.

Gift exchange was analysed by Marcel Mauss, whose work influenced Levi-Strauss, but it is not one of his three levels, so the codes including IV are wrong.

Sociological Theory Questions and Answers

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