100 General Knowledge Sociology Questions with Answer Key

August 12, 2026

100 General Knowledge Sociology Questions with Answer Key

A curated question bank of 100 General Knowledge questions covering core concepts in Sociology—including Theoretical Perspectives, Culture & Socialization, Social Stratification & Inequality, Social Institutions, Deviance & Social Control, and Population & Social Change.

Sociology GK Question Bank

Foundations & Sociological Theory (Q1–Q20)

Who is widely considered the “Father of Sociology” and coined the term sociology?
Which French sociologist conducted a famous empirical study on suicide rates to demonstrate the impact of social integration?
What term, coined by C. Wright Mills, describes the ability to see the connection between individual experiences and larger social forces?
Which 19th-century theorist introduced the concept of historical materialism and analyzed society through the lens of class struggle?
What sociological perspective views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability?
What sociological perspective views society as composed of groups competing for scarce resources and power?
What micro-level sociological perspective focuses on how individuals interact using shared symbols, meanings, and gestures?
Which sociologist introduced the concept of the “ideal type” and authored The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism?
What term used by Émile Durkheim describes a state of normlessness or breakdown of social guidelines in a society?
What concept developed by Max Weber refers to the process by which modern society is increasingly governed by efficiency, predictability, and calculability?
Which early sociologist translated Auguste Comte’s work into English and is often called the first female sociologist?
Who was the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard, co-found the NAACP, and author The Souls of Black Folk?
What term introduced by W.E.B. Du Bois describes the sensation of looking at oneself through the eyes of a racially prejudiced society?
Which sociologist introduced the “dramaturgical approach,” comparing human social interaction to theatrical performances?
What term coined by Charles Horton Cooley describes how our self-concept is formed by imagining how others perceive us?
What term refers to social ties that bind people together, categorized by Durkheim as either “mechanical” or “organic”?
What sociologist developed Structural Functionalism and proposed the AGIL paradigm to explain how social systems maintain order?
What concept introduced by George Herbert Mead refers to the internalized expectations, values, and attitudes of the broader society?
Which contemporary French sociologist introduced the concepts of “cultural capital,” “social capital,” and “habitus”?
What sociological method relies on non-numerical data like open interviews, field observations, and textual analysis?

Culture, Socialization & Interaction (Q21–Q40)

What term describes the shared values, beliefs, behaviors, and material objects that define a group’s way of life?
What term refers to physical objects made and used by humans, such as buildings, clothing, and technology?
What term refers to non-physical human creations, such as values, beliefs, norms, and language?
What practice involves evaluating another culture using the standards and values of one’s own culture?
What principle advocates evaluating a culture by its own internal standards rather than applying external judgments?
What term describes the disorientation and anxiety a person experiences when encountering an unfamiliar culture?
What term describes a social group whose values and norms differ noticeably from those of the dominant majority culture?
What term refers to a subculture that actively opposes or rejects the core values and norms of the dominant culture?
What concept formulated by William F. Ogburn describes the period of maladjustment when non-material culture struggles to adapt to rapid material or technological advances?
What lifelong process allows individuals to internalize the values, beliefs, and norms of a given society to function as members?
What primary agent of socialization serves as a child’s first window into the social world?
What process involves unlearning old behaviors and adopting new values and norms, often occurring in total institutions?
What concept coined by Erving Goffman describes an institution (e.g., prison, military boot camp) that controls every aspect of a person’s daily life?
What social position does an individual occupy within a group or society?
What type of status is assigned at birth or assumed involuntarily later in life (e.g., age, race, biological sex)?
What type of status is acquired voluntarily through individual effort, choice, or achievement (e.g., physician, college graduate)?
What status dominates all other statuses in an individual’s life and shapes their primary social identity?
What conflict occurs when incompatible demands are placed on a person by two or more different roles?
What stress occurs when incompatible demands are built into a single status or role?
What term describes informal norms or everyday customs whose violation carries minor social consequences (e.g., proper table manners)?

Social Stratification & Inequality (Q41–Q60)

What system categorizes people into a hierarchy based on wealth, income, power, and prestige?
What closed stratification system assigns social status at birth with virtually no opportunity for social mobility (e.g., traditional India)?
What open stratification system ranks individuals based primarily on economic position and achieved status?
What term describes the movement of individuals or groups between different social class positions in a hierarchy?
What type of mobility refers to a change in social position occurring within an individual’s own lifetime?
What type of mobility refers to a change in social class position relative to one’s parents or previous generations?
What measure describes a state where an individual lacks the basic resources necessary to sustain human life (food, clean water, shelter)?
What measure defines poverty relative to the average standard of living within a specific society?
What term coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw describes how interconnected social categories (race, gender, class) intersect to create overlapping systems of discrimination?
What social category is based on shared biological or physical characteristics (a social construct without biological basis)?
What social category is based on shared cultural heritage, ancestry, language, and customs?
What term refers to pre-judging an individual or group based on category membership, usually forming a rigid negative attitude?
What term refers to unequal or unfair treatment directed against individuals or groups based on their social category?
What term describes institutional practices and policies that systematically disadvantage specific racial or ethnic groups?
What sociological concept refers to the psychological, social, and cultural traits associated with being male or female, distinct from biological sex?
What patriarchal belief system asserts the inherent superiority of one sex over the other?
What term describes an invisible, unacknowledged barrier that prevents women and minorities from advancing to top-level positions?
What term describes the concentration of women and men in different types of occupations across the labor market?
What term describes a minority group taking on the cultural characteristics of the dominant majority group over time?
What concept describes a society where distinct racial or ethnic groups coexist side-by-side while maintaining their unique cultural identities?

Deviance, Crime & Social Control (Q61–Q75)

What sociological term refers to any behavior, trait, or belief that violates established social norms?
What mechanisms (both formal and informal) does a society use to encourage conformity and prevent deviance?
What reaction (reward or punishment) is used to enforce social norms?
Which theory developed by Robert K. Merton suggests that deviance occurs when there is a disconnect between culturally approved goals and legitimate means to achieve them?
What theory developed by Edwin Sutherland proposes that individuals learn criminal behavior through interaction with close peers?
What theory posits that society’s reaction to a behavior determines deviance, and applying a negative tag can lead to a self-fulfilling prophecy?
According to labeling theory, what term refers to the initial, temporary act of norm violation that does not affect self-concept?
According to labeling theory, what term refers to deviance that occurs after a person accepts a deviant label and incorporates it into their identity?
What criminological theory suggests that visible signs of disorder and lack of maintenance in a neighborhood encourage further crime?
What theory associated with Travis Hirschi argues that strong social bonds to family, school, and community prevent individuals from committing crimes?
What term refers to non-violent, financially motivated crimes committed by business professionals or corporate executives?
What term describes illegal acts committed by a corporation or individuals acting on its behalf?
What statistical measure represents the proportion of released prisoners who are rearrested or return to prison?
What form of social control relies on informal reactions like smiles, frowns, praise, or ridicule to enforce norms?
What form of social control is carried out by authorized agents (police, courts) through written laws and official sanctions?

Social Institutions (Q76–Q90)

What foundational social institution unites people in cooperative groups to care for one another and raise children?
What social arrangement involves a family structure consisting of parents and their biological or adopted children living together?
What family network includes parents, children, grandparents, aunts, uncles, and other relatives in a single household or close network?
What pattern of descent traces kinship and inheritance exclusively through the father’s side of the family?
What form of marriage unites an individual with only one partner at a time?
What form of marriage unites an individual with two or more spouses simultaneously?
What specific form of polygamy involves a man having multiple wives simultaneously?
What specific form of polygamy involves a woman having multiple husbands simultaneously?
What social rule encourages or mandates marriage within a specific social group, caste, or category?
What social rule encourages or mandates marriage outside one’s specific social group or category?
What formal social institution passes on knowledge, skills, values, and norms to members of a society?
What concept refers to the unwritten, unofficial lessons and values taught in schools (e.g., obedience, punctuality, competitiveness)?
What practice in education places students in specific curriculum groups or tracks based on test scores or perceived ability?
What term coined by Max Weber describes authority based on exceptional personal magnetism and heroic qualities of an individual leader?
What form of authority is based on established rules, procedures, and legal frameworks (typical of modern democracies)?

Demography, Urbanization & Social Change (Q91–Q100)

What scientific field studies human population size, structure, distribution, and changes over time?
What demographic rate measures the number of live births per 1,000 individuals in a population in a given year?
What demographic rate measures the number of deaths per 1,000 individuals in a population in a given year?
What demographic model illustrates a society’s transition from high birth/death rates to low birth/death rates as it industrializes?
What process involves the movement of population from rural areas into expanding urban centers?
What term describes the renewal or rehabilitation of deteriorated urban neighborhoods, which often displaces lower-income residents?
What process involves the rapid growth and spreading of low-density residential developments outside urban cores?
What organized, collective effort by a large group of people aims to bring about or resist social change?
What theory suggests that social movements arise when people feel deprived of resources relative to others around them?
What concept coined by Ulrich Beck describes modern societies characterized by the management and distribution of manufactured risks (e.g., nuclear, environmental, financial)?