UGC NET Paper 2 Sociology Mock Test - 3 - UGC NET MCQ

Russia is not associated with the Industrial revolution.

Schumpeter is believed to be the first scholar to introduce the world to the concept of entrepreneurship. He came up with the German word Unternehmergeist, meaning entrepreneur-spirit, adding that these individuals controlled the economy because they are responsible for delivering innovation and technological change.

The Cultural Revolution, formally the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution, was a sociopolitical movement in China from 1966 until 1976. The Revolution marked Mao's return to the central position of power in China after a period of less radical leadership to recover from the failures of the Great Leap Forward, which contributed to the Great Chinese Famine only five years prior.

Max Weber, a German scientist, defines bureaucracy as a highly structured, formalized, and also an impersonal organization. He also instituted the belief that an organization must have a defined hierarchical structure and clear rules, regulations, and lines of authority which govern it.

If after marriage the newlywed couple moves to the place of their parent's residence, that is, live with the parents of the groom, then it is called 'Husband endemic residence'. This practice is often prevalent in ancestral joint families.

Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury (5 April 1588 – 4 December 1679), in some older texts Thomas Hobbes of Malmesbury, was an English philosopher, best know n today for his work on political philosophy. His 1651 book Leviathan established the foundation for most of the Western political philosophy from the perspective of social contract theory.

Polyandry in India refers to the practice of polyandry, whereby a woman has two or more husbands at the same time, either historically on the Indian subcontinent or currently in the country of India.

Social stratification refers to society’s categorization of its people into groups based on socioeconomic factors like wealth, income, race, education, gender, occupation, and social status, or derived power (social and political). As such, stratification is the relative social position of persons within a social group, category, geographic region, or social unit. 

Important Points 

• Social stratification is a society-wide system that makes inequalities apparent. While there are always inequalities between individuals, sociologists are interested in larger social patterns.
• Stratification is not about individual inequalities, but about systematic inequalities based on group membership, classes, and the like. No individual, rich or poor, can be blamed for social inequalities. The structure of a society affects a person’s social standing.
• Sociologists use the term social stratification to describe the system of social standing. 
• Social stratification refers to a society’s categorization of its people into rankings of socioeconomic tiers based on factors like wealth, income, race, education, and power..
• In modern Western societies, social stratification is typically defined in terms of three social classes: (i) the upper class, (ii) the middle class, and (iii) the lower class; in turn, each class can be subdivided into, e.g. the upper-stratum, the middle-stratum, and the lower stratum. Moreover, a social stratum can be formed upon the bases of kinship, clan, tribe, or caste, or all four.
• Factors that define stratification vary in different societies. In most societies, stratification is an economic system, based on wealth, the net value of money and assets a person has, and income, a person’s wages, or investment dividends.

Thus with the help of above information we can conclude that the essence of social stratification is in Social Inequality. 

The correct answer is Both Statement I and Statement II are true.

Key Points

• The process of social modernization is explained by modernization theory.
• It alludes to a hypothetical concept of a gradual shift from a "pre-modern" or "traditional" to a "modern" civilization.
• The idea takes into account a nation's internal dynamics and makes the assumption that, with aid, "traditional" nations can be propelled towards growth in the same way that more advanced nations have.
• In the 1950s, modernization theory predominated as a paradigm in the social sciences.
• The modernization theory cited cultural, social, economic, and political barriers that have hampered development in developing nations up to this point and held that by embracing western values and industrialising, they too would be on the path of development similar to that of Western developed nations.
• The modernization hypothesis gained a lot of traction in the 1950s but came under fire at the end of the 1960s. The following are some of the criticisms of the theory:
  • The process of development is not always one-way.
  • The modernization perspective just illustrates one potential development model.
  • According to modernization ideology, old values must be abandoned.
• The following essentially sums up the fundamental tenets of the modernization theory of development:
  • Modernization is a phased process
  • Modernization is a homogenizing process
  • Modernization is a Europeanization or Americanization process
  • Modernization is an irreversible process
  • It is a progressive process
  • It is an evolutionary change, not a revolutionary one.

• Claude Levi Strauss is father of structural anthropology.
  • His brand of structuralism came from Linguistics Scholar Ferdinand de Saussure.
  • Structuralism focuses not on the diversity in empirical reality as the truth. Rather what lies underneath this diversity is a structure.
  • These structures are not to be found on the outside but on the inside of human mind (structures of mind). These structures will be same as there is no difference between primitive mind and modern mind.
  • He takes the example of Language. Language has already fixed alphabets and rules on how to use them to make words and sentences.
  • First thing is that we know the reality of world through language. we start assigning names and sounds to diversity that we see.
  • Below that diversity lies a common structure.
  • For example: Principle of Binary Opposition can be seen in analogy of Sun-Moon, Male-Female, Day-Night, Right-Wrong etc.
  • He criticised modern civiisation in his book Tristes Tropiques. His draws conclusion about negative image of modern civilisation because of rapid and unprecedented destruction caused on native American Indians as the 'modern' civilsation advances.
  • His important works are Myth and Meaning, The Savage Mind, The Elementary structures of Kinship (gave Alliance theory- Incest Taboo), From Honey to Ashes etc.

Additional Information

• Robert K. Merton is well known for devising middle-range theories.
  • Because of his 'modified functionalism' also called 'neo-functionalist'.
  • Considered to be functionlists as his work he simply improves upon the functionalist perspective that already existed.
  • He gave three postulates in his functionalism analysis- postulate of functional unity, postulate of functional indispensibility and postulate of universal functionalism.
  • In Merton's strain theory, he explains his idea of deviance as non-conformity to the social norms. He explained anomie as a situation where there is mismatch between culturally defined goals and structurally available means.
  • Deviance could be positive and negative.
  • When faced with anomic situation, there are possibility of five responses- Conformist, Innovator, Ritualist, Retreatist and Rebellion.
  • His conceptual framework includes Latent-Manifest functions, Dysfunction, Conformity and Deviance and Reference groups (Membership and Non-membership Groups), Anticipatory Socialisation, Self-fulfilling prophecy.
  • Important works include Social theory and Social Structure, The Sociology of Science, The focussed Interview, On the Shoulders of Giant, The Travels and Adventures of Serendipity and On Social Structure and Science.
• Talcott Parsons belonged to structuralist-functionalism school.
  • He is known for giving grand theories that are dealing with macro-perspective.
  • He gave concept of value consensus to explain the social order and integration.
  • His conceptual framework includes social action (based on motivational and Value orientation), Social System, AGIL framework (Adaptation, Goal Attainment, Integration and Latency/Pattern Maintenance), Cybernetic Hierarchy of Control, Pattern variables, isolated and nuclear family, instrumental and expressive roles and sick role.
  • To accomodate social change in his theory he came up with concept of moving equillibrium.
  • His important works are The Structure of Social Action (1937), The Social System and Towards a General Theory of Action and Social Structure and Personality.
• A. Radcliffe Brown is known for introducing structure-functionalism in anthropology.
  • Highly inspired by work of Durkheim.
  • Contemporary of Malinwoski.
  • He wanted to establish social anthropology as natural generalising science of society.
  • First one to give a clear-cut definition of Social Structure.
  • Drew distinction between Individual (Biological) and Person (Social).
  • His conceptual framework include Diachronic-Synchronic, Dynamic unity, Social Structure, Joking-Avoidance, critique of Alliance theory.
  • Fieldwork in Australia and Andaman Islanders.
  • Important works are Structure and Function in Primitive Society, On th concept of Function in Social Science, Natural Science of Society, The social organization of Australian tribes, African systems of Kinship and Marriage.

The correct answer is R. K. Merton. Key Points

• Robert K. Merton, an American sociologist, made significant contributions to sociology, and he is often associated with functionalism.
• Merton sought to refine and expand structural-functionalism, a theoretical perspective that focuses on how social structures and institutions contribute to the stability and functioning of a society.
• One of Merton's key concerns was addressing the perceived limitations of structural-functionalism in explaining social change. He introduced the concept of "functionalism with a twist" or "structural-functionalism with a difference."
• Merton introduced the distinction between manifest functions (explicit, intended functions) and latent functions (implicit, unintended functions) of social institutions. This conceptualization allowed for a more nuanced understanding of how social structures could have both intended and unintended consequences, contributing to a society's dynamics and changes.

Additional Information

• Claude Lévi-Strauss, a French anthropologist and ethnologist, is a key figure associated with structuralism. He applied structuralist principles to the study of cultural phenomena, emphasizing the underlying structures that shape human thought and behavior. Lévi-Strauss believed that underlying universal structures could be identified beneath the diversity of cultural practices.
• Bronisław Malinowski, a Polish-British anthropologist, is often considered one of the founders of functionalist anthropology. He is known for his ethnographic work in the Trobriand Islands and for developing the concept of "functionalism" in anthropological research. Malinowski emphasized the functional significance of cultural practices and institutions, arguing that they serve specific purposes in meeting the basic needs of individuals and societies.
• Talcott Parsons, an American sociologist, played a key role in the development of structural-functionalism. He focused on understanding how social systems maintain stability and equilibrium. Parsons believed that societies are made up of interconnected institutions and that each institution serves specific functions that contribute to the overall stability of the social system.

Thus, R. K. Merton sought to guard structural-functionalism against its alleged failure to explain social change.

The correct answer is a set of hidden rules that make social relations as they are. Key Points

• Claude Lévi-Strauss, a French anthropologist, is best known for his work in structural anthropology. His perspective on social structure is deeply rooted in structuralism, which seeks to identify the underlying, universal patterns and structures that shape human societies.
• Lévi-Strauss's understanding of social structure involves the idea that there are hidden rules or deep structures that give form to social relations.
• According to Lévi-Strauss, social structures are not immediately visible or evident in the surface-level behaviors of individuals or groups. Instead, he sought to uncover the underlying patterns of thought and organization that shape human societies.
• Lévi-Strauss often used the concept of "binary oppositions" to analyze cultural structures. This involves identifying pairs of opposite terms that are fundamental to the organization of meaning in a society.
• Lévi-Strauss argued that these structural patterns are often unconscious to the members of a society.

Additional Information

• Cognitive Anthropology: Cognitive anthropology explores how cultural patterns and symbols are shaped by cognitive processes. Scholars investigate how individuals perceive, categorize, and make sense of the world, drawing on Lévi-Strauss's interest in uncovering the cognitive structures that underlie cultural expressions.
• Symbolic Anthropology: Building on Lévi-Strauss's focus on symbols and meaning, symbolic anthropology, as developed by Victor Turner and others, examines the role of symbols in shaping social life and cultural practices. This approach often explores rituals, rites of passage, and symbolic expressions within different societies.
• Semiotics: Semiotics, the study of signs and symbols, shares common ground with Lévi-Strauss's structuralism. Scholars in semiotics, such as Ferdinand de Saussure, Roland Barthes, and Umberto Eco, explore how meaning is constructed through signs and symbols, acknowledging the influence of deep structures on cultural expressions.

Thus, For C. Levi-Strauss "social structure" is a set of hidden rules that make social relations as they are.

The correct answer is the Christian Marriage Act. Key Points

• In India, Christian marriages are governed by the Indian Christian Marriage Act, of 1872.
• The Indian Christian Marriage Act is a legal framework that provides for the solemnization and registration of marriages among Christians in India.
• It applies to Indian Christians, and the term "Christian" in this context encompasses various denominations such as Roman Catholic, Protestant, Syrian Christian, and others.
• Christian marriages under this act are usually solemnized by a minister of religion who is recognized by the act.
• The act allows for the ceremony to take place in a church or another place of worship.
• The Indian Christian Marriage Act is specific to Christians and does not apply to marriages within other religious communities.

Additional Information

• Hindu Marriage Act, 1955: Governs Hindu marriages and provides for the conditions of a valid Hindu marriage, registration, restitution of conjugal rights, judicial separation, and divorce.
• Special Marriage Act, 1954: Applies to all citizens of India irrespective of religion. It allows for the solemnization of marriages between parties belonging to different religions or no religion and provides for the registration of such marriages.
• Parsi Marriage and Divorce Act, 1936: Governs marriages within the Parsi community and includes provisions related to solemnization, annulment, and dissolution of marriages.
• Muslim Personal Law (Shariat) Application Act, 1937: Applies to Muslims and governs matters such as marriage, divorce, maintenance, and inheritance based on Islamic principles.

Thus, Christians in India are governed by the Christian Marriage Act.

The correct answer is control over land. Rural stratification is generally associated with control over the land; the control directly depends on other factors which play an essential role.

Important Points

• The dominant caste is crucial in determining who controls the area better.
• According to M.N. Srinivas, a Caste is dominant when they are economically and politically potent.
• They significantly influence the local area, even when the caste is on the lower end of the pyramid as per the social stratification based on Caste with the help of Sanskritisation (a concept given by Srinivas).
• There are six attributes of the dominant Caste.
  • A sizeable amount of arable land
  • Strength of numbers
  • High place in the local hierarchy
  • Western education
  • Jobs in the administration
  • Urban sources of income

Additional Information

M.N. Srinivas (1916-1999) -

• Mysore Narsimhacharya Srinivas was born into a Brahmin family in Mysore.
• Srinivas initiated the tradition of macro-sociological generalizations on micro-anthropological insights.
• He encouraged field studies on smaller communities.
• Conducted an intensive field study on the Coorgs between (1940-1942) and Rampura.

His famous works-

• Marriage and Family in Mysore (1942)
• Religion and Society Among the Croogs of South India (1952)
• India's Village (1955)
• Caste in Modern India (1966)
• The Remembered Village (1976)
• India: Social Structure (1980)
• The Dominant Caste and Other Essays (1987)
• The Cohesive Role of Sanskritisation (1989)​

Culture is the totality of learned and shared products of collective life, that justify a certain specific type of behaviour in a given society.

Key PointsCulture:

• It includes everything from our language and customs to our values and beliefs.
• The totality of learned and shared products of collective life.
• Culture includes everything from our language and customs to our values and beliefs.
• Culture is what makes us human and it is what allows us to live together in society.

The statement 'Village is a primary institution' is not correct one.

Key Points

Characteristics of Villages

• We feeling/ Community feeling
• More face-to-face interactions
• More number of joint families
• Indian villages social relations are guided heavily by traditions (caste system and Jajmani system).
• In matters of marriage, little choice to bride and groom to choose their mates.
• Economy is majorly dependent on agriculture.
• Villages strcuture and culture are slow to change.
• Informal instruments of social control are more frequent.

Primary institutions

• ​Social institutions are integrated and well defined set of rules and regulations which enjoy acceptance by the society at large.
• Two types of social institutions: primary and secondary.
• Features of social institutions:
• Satisfaction of needs
• entail prescription of rules
• are abstract as they are not tangible.
• They are universal in existence.
• are relatively permanent in nature.

crucial to maintain social order.

• Primary institutions help in fulfilling our basic needs like food, clothes and shelter. Examples: Family, Marriage and Kinship etc.
• Secondary institutions help in fulfilling secondary needs like education, employment etc. Examples: Schools, University, Companies, Factories, Parliament, Judiciary etc.

Bronislaw Malinowski considered 'culture as the handiwork of man and as the medium through which he/she achieve his/her ends.'

Key Points

• Malinowski
  • ​Belonged to functionalist tradition.
  • His brand of functionalism came to be known as psychological functionalism.
  • He put emphasis on needs of the individual instead of social structure.
  • He pioneered scientifc way of doing ethnography in anthropology.
  • His major works include Argonauts of Western Pacific, Magic, science and Religion, Sex and Repression in Savage Society, Coral Gardens and their magic, A Scientific Theory of Culture.
• Franz Boas
  • ​father of Modern Anthropology and father of American Anthropology.
  • emphasises fieldwork research in anthropology.
  • established theory of culture relativism that each culture is unique.
  • Culture is influenced by the interaction between particular environment and historical conditions (Historical Particularism).
  • He understood culture as a set of customs and habits that are passed down or transmitted along generations.
  • that are influenced both by the particularities of environment and the contingencies of history.
• Radcliffe Brown
  • ​introduced structural functionalism in anthropology.
  • heavily influenced by Emile Durkheim's work.
  • He wanted to establish anthropology as generalizing and natural science of society.
  • first one to give definition of social structure.
  • His conceptual framework includes diachronic-synchronic, co-adaptation etc.
  • His major works include Structure and Function in primitive society, Social Organization of Australian TribesThe Andaman Islanders; a study in social anthropology and On Joking relationships": Africa.
• Talcott Parsons
  • ​also a structural functionalist.
  • Gave grand theories about society.
  • His major works include A Voluntristic Theory of Action, Structure of Social Action and The Social System.
  • His conceptual framework includes moving equillibrium, value consensus, instrumental-expressive role, cybernetic hierarchy, AGIL framework etc.

The correct answer is Gender is a cultural construction that puts men and women in a hierarchical order. Key Points

• Gender refers to the socially constructed roles, behaviors, identities, and expectations associated with being male or female within a given society.
• Unlike biological sex, which is based on physical attributes, gender is shaped by cultural norms, values, and practices.
• Within many societies, gender is organized hierarchically, with men typically occupying positions of power, privilege, and authority over women.
• This hierarchical arrangement is often referred to as patriarchy.
• Gender-based inequalities intersect with other forms of oppression, such as race, class, sexuality, and ability.

Additional Information

• Feminism: Feminism is a social and political movement aimed at achieving gender equality and challenging patriarchal systems of power and oppression.
• Gender Socialization: Gender socialization is the process through which individuals learn and internalize societal norms, values, and expectations associated with their gender identity.
• Masculinity Studies: Masculinity studies explore the social construction of masculinity and how masculinities are shaped by cultural norms, expectations, and power dynamics.

Thus, Gender is a cultural construction that puts men and women in a hierarchical order is correct.

Explanation-

Urbanization:

• Urban areas are characterised by high human population density and vast human-built features.
• Urban areas are like cities or towns, developed by the process of urbanisation.
• Due to heavy population, urbanisation and industrialisation, several problems and threats have arisen in urban areas.

The problem of urban areas:

In Indian context, increase in slum population depicts an extension of rural poverty.Important Points

• A slum is a highly populated urban residential area consisting of densely packed housing units of weak build quality and often associated with poverty.
• The infrastructure in slums is often deteriorated or incomplete, and they are primarily inhabited by impoverished people.

Additional Information

• Rural-to-urban migration is when people move, either temporarily or permanently, from a rural area to an urban city.
• The push factors of rural to urban migration are lack of job facilities, low salary, less income, drought, less medical and educational facilities for rural to urban migration.

The correct answer is Peasant and tribal movements.

Key Points

Movements from below

• During the Indian freedom struggle, Peasants and Tribes resided at the lowest strata of the society i.e. at the grass-root level of the society because of which movements or struggles initiated by them were termed as 'Movements from below.'

Some of the Peasant movements:

Some of the Tribal Movements:

Blumer coined the term symbolic interactionism in 1937, keeping this sociological perspective alive through the early 1950s at Chicago, and then in California where he was a professor at the University of Californa in Berkeley.

The term “symbolic interaction” refers, of course, to the peculiar and distinctive character of interaction as it takes place between human beings. 

Where religion is far advanced than the prevailing time are the type of societies are the kings usually defined.

Kings usually defied where religion is far advanced than the prevailing time. Indian religions, sometimes also termed Dharmic religions or Indic religions, are the religions. The king was 'the representative of God on earth' and lived in a “koyil”, which means the “residence of a god”. Religion is very different from what we generally call the Hindu religion.

The formal organizations such as colleges, schools, hospitals, corporations, professional organizations and trade unions are composed of many secondary groups, which helps the city dwellers to satisfy their various needs. So, 'A' is true but 'R' is false.

Refer to the last paragraph of the passage, “there still remains much more to be done to bring prosperity in the lives of the people in rural areas. At present, technology dissemination is uneven and slow in the rural areas. Good efforts of organisations developing technologies, devices and products for rural areas could not yield high success.”

So, all (A), (B) and (C) are true.

According to the passage, ‘Plastics are organic polymers of high molecular mass and often contain other substances. They are usually synthetic, mainly derived from petrochemicals. …. Plastic was invented in New York in 1907 by Leo Baekeland. …’

So, statement I is correct.

Statement III is extreme in tone and not practical. Rather than eliminating plastics which is impractical, we should aim for restricting their use and proper waste management. This makes I and II correct.

I. ‘Every shopkeeper should go in for and encourage the use of biodegradable packing materials while shoppers should use cloth bags’. So, I is correct.

II. ‘It also urges this target group to reduce the production and excessive use of single-use plastics, which are polluting our environment and threatening human health.’ So, II is correct.

III. This has not been mentioned in the passage and is incorrect.

In "Social Statics", Spencer gave ideas on Progress. Social Statics or The Conditions essential to Happiness specified, and the First of them Developed is an 1851 book by the British polymath Herbert Spencer. This could be described as a key tenet of so-called Social Darwinism, though Spencer and his book were not an advocate there.

K.S. Singh initiated the work on total communities of India namely "People of India Project" Kumar Suresh Singh (1935–2006) was an Indian Administrative Service officer, who served as a Commissioner of Chotanagpur (1978–80) and Director-General of the Anthropological Survey of India. He is known principally for his oversight and editorship of the People of India survey and for his studies of tribal history.

Kumar Suresh Singh came from a privileged background, growing up in Munger, Bihar. He studied history, gaining a first-class BA from Patna University. He subsequently obtained a master's degree, and finally a Ph.D. on the subject of the revolutionary, Birsa Munda.

Caste is an example of Ascribed Status. Ascribed status is the social status a person is assigned at birth or assumed involuntarily later in life. It is a position that is neither earned nor chosen but assigned. These rigid social designators remain fixed throughout an individual's life and are inseparable from the positive or negative stereotypes that are linked with one's ascribed statuses.

The practice of assigning such statuses to individuals exists cross-culturally within all societies and is based on gender, race, family origins, and ethnic backgrounds. For example, a person born into a wealthy family has a high ascribed status based solely on the social networks and economic advantages that one gains from being born into a family with more resources than others.

Social stratification is either ascribed, acquired, or constructed. An ascribed status is a position in a social group that one is born into or has no control over. This is different from achieved status, which a person earns based on their choices or their efforts. Examples of ascribed status include gender, eye color, race, and ethnicity.