Social Science Missed Questions - Both

Front 1

By the mid-nineteenth century, slavery in the American South was still in force primarily because

Back 1

it was very profitable for some people.

Most historians agree that slavery was profitable. Slaves were considered an investment by the slaveholders. As cotton production increased, so did the demand for laborers. The value of field hands increased. Thus, slaves were valuable for those who kept them as a labor force because they could be bred and maintained for much less than their market value.

Front 2

The Stanford-Binet Test

Back 2

approximates a normal distribution.

The distribution of IQ scores measured by the Stanford-Binet Test approximates a normal curve. Most of the population falls in the middle range of scores. Extremely high and extremely low scores are very rare.

Front 3

Which group of people would NOT have been likely to support the Republican Party between the years 1968–1990?

Back 3

Hispanics

All of the other groups tended to support the Republican party. Hispanics encompass a very diverse group of people. Many, however, live in poverty, and did not view the Republican party as being sympathetic to their problems.

Front 4

The Moro reflex

Back 4

disappears by three or four months of age.

A newborn, when roughly handled, startled by loud noises or bright lights, or subjected to sudden changes in temperature, will arch its back, throw back its head, fling out its arms and legs, and then close them to its body, as if falling. This reflex disappears by about three to four months of age.

Front 5

During the American Civil War, Lincoln's strategy for motivating the North involved

Back 5

convincing Northerners that the war was a great moral struggle for democracy.

Lincoln turned the war into a crusade for democracy. Many Northerners were not interested in abolishing slavery, but most wanted to preserve the republic. Lincoln identified the Union cause as the cause of the people and of democracy. Only by winning this war would democracy survive.

Front 6

A statement that is logically true and thus cannot be shown false by an examination of evidence is known as a(n)

Back 6

tautology.

An example would be: All blondes have light hair.

Front 7

Europeans brought epidemic diseases to America, causing the death of

Back 7

90 percent of Native Americans.

Native Americans lacked immunity to European diseases, such as smallpox, influenza, and measles, since they did not exist in the Americas. This meant that any exposure to these diseases was often fatal for Native Americans.

Front 8

President Lyndon Johnson's "Great Society" programs included all of the following EXCEPT

Back 8

Social Security.

The Social Security Act was passed in 1935. The other choices indicate programs that were part of Johnson's "Great Society."

Front 9

The presidential election of 1824 was more turbulent than previous elections partly because

Back 9

many states had begun to choose presidential electors by direct vote, so candidates had to appeal directly to masses of voters.

None of the other choices is correct. Prior to this election, most states did not select presidential electors by popular vote. Since outgoing Republican president Monroe did not select an heir apparent, the Republican caucus chose a candidate. However, other Republicans then sought to appeal directly to voters.

Front 10

Which of the following was the most lasting failure of the Southern Reconstruction governments?

Back 10

They failed to alter the Southern social structure or to redistribute the region's wealth.

Radical Reconstruction lasted a short time. Most of the wealth remained in the hands of Southern white landholders. African Americans were no longer considered to be slaves, but they still had very little power or control over their lives and livelihoods.

Front 11

According to the tenets of monetary theory, which of the following is a prescription for reducing inflation?

Back 11

Tighten credit by raising interest rates, thus allowing the supply of money to grow at a slow, consistent rate.

President Ford attempted this course of action. It was believed that with less money available, spending would decrease and prices would slowly decrease. However, the result was a terrible recession and record unemployment.

Front 12

By the early 1990s, which of the following had caused Haitian land to become less productive?

Back 12

Deforestation

Deforestation caused such widespread soil depletion in Haiti that it was difficult to grow food. Some observers believed that Haitian refugees in the early 1990s should have been classified as environmental refugees.

Front 13

Which is NOT true of case studies

Back 13

They are often compared to other studies so that psychologists can check their observations.

A case study is an in-depth look at one individual. The subject of a case study is unique. Psychologists have to be cautious about making generalizations based upon case studies, but they rarely check with other psychologists to see if they agree with their observations.

Front 14

From about 1851 on, the Plains Indians and other Western Indians

Back 14

alternated between acceptance of white people and resistance to their claims.


Native Americans adapted to some pressures from white encroachment and yielded to others. Some fought actively. However, the economic systems of the Western Indians had started to break down before military defeats occurred. Many Native American tribes gave up their lands as a result of buffalo extinction, disease, and the Dawes Act, as well as through military force.

Front 15

Why were many devout Puritans in a perpetual state of anxiety?

Back 15

They never knew with absolute certainty whether they were of the saved or of the damned.

Puritans followed the Calvinistic belief that souls were predestined to go to heaven or hell before birth. Nothing they could do during their lifetime would change that.

Front 16

A cognitive psychological approach

Back 16

emphasizes the mental processes involved in knowing.

This approach means that the psychologist would want to know how an individual directs his or her attention, perceives, remembers, thinks, and solves problems.

Front 17

A name like "Algonquin" or "Iroquois" refers to

Back 17

a group of similar Indian languages.

These names referred to groups of similar languages. It does not mean that all Algonquins were allies, or even that they could understand one another's languages.

Front 18

The concept of operant conditioning was developed by

Back 18

Edward L. Thorndike

Operant conditioning was first extensively studied by Edward L. Thorndike who observed the behavior of cats trying to escape from home-made puzzle boxes.

Front 19

The Parthenon was built during the time of

Back 19

Pericles.

The Parthenon was a temple for Athena. Pericles meant for it to be the centerpiece of Athens.

Front 20

The most significant innovation introduced by the Greeks into politics was the

Back 20

view that law originated from the human community and not from the gods.


The Greeks came to understand that community problems were caused by humans, not gods, and that they required human solutions. Law became an achievement of rational thought instead of demands imposed by gods.

Front 21

The most influential philosophy in ancient Rome was

Back 21

stoicism.

Stoicism, the most popular philosophy of the Hellenistic world, developed even more fully in Rome. Among other concepts, the stoic idea of natural law was a valuable mechanism for dealing with the many people living in the Roman empire.

Front 22

Bangladesh was formerly known as

Back 22

East Pakistan

This mostly Islamic nation was known as East Pakistan when it split from the Hindu-dominated Indian government in 1947, after the British withdrawal. It became Bangladesh in 1971.

Front 23

In the late seventeenth century, Europeans in the Chesapeake Bay region turned toward the use of African-born slaves instead of English-born servants for all the following reasons EXCEPT

Back 23

Puritans would not allow English servants into the area.

Front 24

"Transcendentalism" means

Back 24

individuals could be free of traditional social restraints.


Ralph Waldo Emerson coined this term, which was adopted by many New England intellectuals. One could transcend everyday restraints to reach the spiritual—God or nature.

Front 25

The National Banking Acts of 1863, 1864, and 1865 substantially increased the power of the federal government by

Back 25

Congress passed a prohibitive tax on states that made their own currencies. This ended the use of nearly 7,000 different kinds of notes. State banks were also required to join the national system that was created.

Front 26

Under the encomienda system,

Back 26

individual conquistadores were granted tributes from Indian villages.


An encomiendero held a royal grant that entitled him to the annual payment of goods from a specific Indian village. Sometimes Indians were also used as slaves, although this practice was not legal.

Front 27

John Calvin differed from Martin Luther in that Calvin

Back 27

stressed that people must totally submit to the will of an omnipotent God.

The absolute sovereignty of God was the cornerstone of Calvin's theology. In his view, men and women were weak and insignificant before the power of God. God decided in the beginning of time who would be saved and who would be damned; nothing we do can change this.

Front 28

In the early 1990s, the United States responded to refugees from the political turmoil in Haiti by

Back 28

sending most of them back.

In the early 1990s, the vast majority of Haitian refugees were deported by the United States. The United States granted asylum to a total of 4 Haitians throughout 1990 and 1991. This increased over the next few years, but the percentage of those approved remained significantly lower than countries like China and Russia. In fact, the INS Deputy Commissioner said in January, 1992 that it was expected that 90% of these cases would be denied.

Front 29

By the 1470s, the world's first colonial plantation economy was founded in the

Back 29

Madeiras.
The Portuguese brought slaves (probably Jews and Muslims) to these uninhabited islands. Sugar was then produced for export.

Front 30

Which of the following is true of international politics?

Back 30

Any solution decided upon by the International Court of Justice works only if the disputing parties agree to abide by the Court's ruling.


The International Court of Justice is headquartered in the Netherlands and is a branch of the United Nations. It does not have the power to enforce its decisions; the disputing parties must agree to abide by the courts rulings.

Front 31

Supply side economics means

Back 31

large tax cuts for the wealthy.


President Reagan believed that tax cuts for the wealthy and for corporations would stimulate the economy. New capital would be invested and would produce new plants, products, and jobs. Prosperity would trickle down from the wealthy to the poor.

Front 32

A psychoanalytic psychological approach emphasizes

Back 32

the unconscious aspects of the mind, conflict between biological instincts and society's demands, and early family experiences.



This approach stems from the ideas of Sigmund Freud. It stresses that humans have biological instincts buried in their unconscious minds that influence the way they think, feel, and act. Society's job is to keep its instincts in check, but in Freud's view, personalities are also shaped by relationships with parents.

Front 33

Conspicuous consumption is a term that was first used by

Back 33

Thorstein Veblen.


This term was used in Veblen's The Theory of the Leisure Class (1899). The term refers to consumption that is used as a symbol of the consumers status. Veblen was writing about the visible extravagances of rich Americans during this time.

Front 34

In the Persian Gulf war,

Back 34

100,000 Iraqi soldiers were killed by coalition troops.


In this brief war, only 148 American service personnel were killed.

Front 35

Did James Madison consider the large size of the American republic to be an advantage? Why?

Back 35

Yes, because there would be so many competing interest groups that no one group would be able to control the government.


Madison presented this argument in The Federalist, Number Ten (1787).

Front 36

Which of the following was/were among the first four cabinet departments in the Washington administration?

a.State

b. Treasury

c. Commerce

d. Agriculture

e. choices A. and B.

Back 36

E. Treasury was needed to collect money, and State included much domestic responsibility (much as Departments of State do today). Agriculture was founded around the time of the Civil War, and Commerce was a Progressive-era addition

Front 37

Which of the following best describes gender stereotypes?


a. They are descriptions of biologically caused differences.

b. They are guidelines that tell us how to act.

c. They refer to incorrect generalizations about sexual differences.

d. choices B. and C.

e. all of the above

Back 37

D. The stereotypes are generated by assumptions that may or may not have valid bases in various cultures.

Front 38

Which of these helped Jimmy Carter win the 1976 presidential election?


a. As governor of Georgia, he was an outsider to Washington politics.
b. After the Watergate scandal, his pledge "never to lie to the American people" resonated with voters.
c. His economic and social programs were clearly articulated so that voters knew exactly where he stood and what his plans were.
d. choices A., B., and C.
e. choices A. and B.

Back 38

E. Carter's message of honest, untainted politics was effective with voters alarmed and disillusioned by the Watergate revelations. Even Carter's born again Christianity was welcome to voters who might ordinarily have been skeptical or concerned about conflicts between church and state. But Carter was vague on the issues. He promised that things would get better, but did not state exactly in what ways.

Front 39

Which one of the following is NOT a theory of motivation?



a. Instinct

b. Drive

c. Incentive

d. Arousal

e. Hunger

Back 39

E. Hunger is a biological motivation. The other choices here are theoretical motives.

Front 40

The Domesday Book is best described as:

Back 40

a statistical survey of property for tax purposes.

The Domesday Book is immensely valuable to historians as a source of all sorts of information. The title is a corruption of the word "doomsday" or "day of final judgment."

Front 41

What happened at "Three Mile Island"?

Back 41

A serious mishap resulted in the closing of a nuclear power plant.

Chilling as the events at Three Mile Island were, they were much less horrific than the Chernobyl disaster, partly because of the openness with which the matter was handled.

Front 42

In the case of United States v. Leon (1984), the Supreme Court:

Back 42

created a "good-faith exception" to the exclusionary rule.

A "good-faith" exception means that if there is a technical problem with a warrant, the evidence might still be used in a trial if the police honestly thought they were acting within the law.

Front 43

The usual division of France into two historical traditions neglects the overlap of political features, including all of the following EXCEPT:


a. centralized rule.

b. strong bureaucracy.

c. popular acceptance of the symbolism of the Revolution of 1789.

d. political pluralism.

e. an authoritarian pattern of political power.

Back 43

Various parties admit to the influence of the French Revolution, regardless of their political affiliations.

Front 44

Getulio Vargas can best be described as:

Back 44

a twentieth-century caudillo.

Despite election, Vargas did not break out of the traditional strongman role in Brazil.

Front 45

In Democracy in America, Alexis de Tocqueville argued that the American tendency to form "voluntary associations":

Back 45

was unique to the American democratic culture.

De Tocqueville's interest in Americans tendency to form volunteer groups for everything has continued to intrigue historians and political scientists. The role that interest groups play in our governmental process is still unique.

Front 46

Which of the following has the least in common with the others?



a. Frances Perkins

b. Harry Hopkins

c. Eleanor Roosevelt

d. Harold Ickes

e. Huey Long

Back 46

E. Huey Long

E. Perkins, Hopkins, Ickes, and FDR's wife, Eleanor, were all cabinet members or top-level advisers, but Huey Long was certainly not. How much damage he might have done to Roosevelt's administration remains a matter of speculation.

Front 47

As emperor of Mali, __________ converted to Islam and traveled to Mecca to complete the hajj.

Back 47

Mansa Musa

Mansa Musa expanded borders and acquired tremendous wealth.

Front 48

In the long run, the supply of capital is:

Back 48

perfectly elastic.

The creation of more capital goods is thought to be completely variable in the long term.

Front 49

Which of the following women was associated with Hull House?


a. Ida Tarbell

b. Jane Addams

c. Carry Nation

d. Sister Carrie

e. Margaret Sanger

Back 49

B. Jane Addams founded Hull House, probably the most famous of American Settlement houses in Chicago. Tarbell A. was a muckraker, most famous for her expos of Standard Oil; Nation C. was a temperance activist; Sister Carrie D. was the protagonist created by Theodore Drieser; and Sanger E. was a birth-control activist.

Front 50

The technique used to calculate the CPI is based on the assumption that consumers buy:

Back 50

the same quantity of goods whose prices rose.


The CPI bases itself on a constant market basket, which alters composition only infrequently.

Front 51

Franklin D. Roosevelt's "court packing" plan:

Back 51

d. probably hurt him politically, because despite considerable effort he lost this important bill in Congress.


Scholars argue over the extent of the political damage to FDR, but all agree that it had to hurt to suffer such a legislative defeat. Some have called the plan "the switch in time that saved nine" because never again did the Court oppose major legislation

Front 52

Chinese "market socialism" introduced:


a. prices set by supply and demand.

b. state-owned enterprises responsible for their own profit and loss.

c. microeconomic decisions on production governed by market forces.

d. choices A. and C.

e. all of the above

Back 52

E. Effectively this reform created a dualist approach in all companies: a state portion with quotas, and another portion that worked like a traditional corporation.

Front 53

The Dred Scott decision declared that:



a. Congress could not prohibit slaveholders from taking slaves into northern states.

b. Congress could not prohibit slavery in the territories.

c. African Americans were not citizens.

d. Congress could not pass a fugitive-slave law.

e. choices B. and C.

Back 53

E. The Dred Scott case said a lot more than it should have and essentially stripped basic rights of citizenship even from free African Americans. Overturning the Missouri Compromise, it cut the judicial ground from under the antislavery forces. The role of the Dred Scott decision in bringing about the Civil War was certainly significant.

Front 54

Wage differentials by specialization and job type:

a. discriminate against those with lower human capital.

b. provide incentives for those who take on more difficult/dangerous jobs.

c. are reinforced by discrimination by gender and race/ethnicity.

d. are completely random.

e. none of the above

Back 54

E. Wage differentials are mathematical reflections of varying marginal outputs of labor at various jobs.

Front 55

Which of the following choices best describes economic conditions in the U.S.A. during the presidency of Jimmy Carter?



a. "Double-digit inflation"

b. Lack of significant economic growth

c. A depression comparable to that of the 1930s

d. A moderate recession and resulting deflation

e. choices A. and B.

Back 55

E. Students who look at old newspapers are surprised to see mortgage rates at over 15 percent.

Front 56

Which New Deal program(s) was/were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court?



a. The bank holiday

b. NRA

c. CCC

d. AAA

e. Choices B and D

Back 56

E. The NRA and AAA were pieces of legislation that were weakened considerably by the Supreme Court—prompting in part FDR's plan to add members. Some have said, though, that the NRA had turned into such a tangled mess that FDR was secretly relieved. Nonetheless, he reacted strongly to the Supreme Court's decisions.

Front 57

Which of the following ancient Greek statesmen is associated with excessively harsh laws and punishments?



a. Solon

b. Clisthenes

c. Lycurgus

d. Draco

e. Demosthenes

Back 57

D. The word Draconian still comes to mind when someone wants to describe a measure as unnecessarily harsh, or a punishment as excessive

Front 58

How does the term "sex" relate to the term "gender"?

Back 58

Sex" refers to biological distinctions; "gender" refers to social statuses and roles.

Front 59

Which of the following best describes education in modern Cuba?



a. A system in which few get very little education

b. Thinned out education to get the most education for the most money

c. A system in which all are discriminated against equally

d. A system in which basic needs are met first

e. One of the finest in the world at all levels

Back 59

D. Cuba has favored basic literacy first, over a more extensive intellectual movement.

Front 60

B. F. Skinner is best known for his research in the area of:

Back 60

operant conditioning.

Front 61

The American public generally:

Back 61

holds individual members of Congress (especially those close to home) in higher regard than it holds Congress as an institution.

Front 62

Bruce Barton's The Man Nobody Knows was about:

Back 62

Jesus Christ, as a "managerial genius" who took twelve ordinary men and forged them into an organization that changed the world.


Barton's businessman's take on the center of Christianity is used by historians to illustrate the saturation of the business ethic into the culture of the 1920s. Literally, "nothing was too sacred."

Front 63

The end of the Brazilian empire brought about:



a. an end to caudillism.

b. a republican constitution.

c. abolition.

d. all of the above

e. none of the above

Back 63

a republican constitution.


Abolition took place prior to the end of the empire, and the leadership did not change from the caudillo, or strongman, role after the republic was formed.

Front 64

The Twenty-fifth Amendment of the U.S. Constitution deals with which of the following situations:



a. A president who is impeached can be replaced.

b. A president who becomes ill or is incapacitated can be replaced on a temporary or a permanent basis.

c. The secretary of state is next in line to become president if something should incapacitate the president and vice-president.

d. choices A. and B.

e. choices B. and C.

Back 64

D. Impeachment is dealt with elsewhere, and there are others in line to be president before the secretary of state; this order of succession is specified in legislation, not in the amendment.

Front 65

A legal code promulgated in Europe beginning in 1810 reflected many past customs and privileges abolished, but protecting an individual's rights to property was gradually spread over many parts of Europe that came under conquest. These laws were known as:

Back 65

The Napoleonic Code.


The Napoleonic Code benefited the middle class in many ways—not only by creating new ways of drafting contracts, and issuing leases and stocks that were more workable to a modern economy, but by prohibiting trade unions. Napoleon called on talented people around him to administer these reforms, and he established lycees (secondary schools) in every major town.

Front 66

Which of the following leaders did NOT front a losing attempt at revolution at least once?



a. Simón Bolívar

b. José de San Martin

c. Father Hidalgo

d. Fidel Castro

e. Sandinista

Back 66

B. San Martin was a latecomer to the South American independence movement and thus did not endure the trials of the other revolutionary leaders.

Front 67

Oligopolies fail to maintain monopolistic conditions in a market because:

Back 67

individual firm's interests and market control interests are at cross-purposes.


The firm seeks to maximize profit individually, while the monopoly seeks to maximize profit over the whole market.

Front 68

Labor supply curves eventually bend backward because:

Back 68

at high enough wages, people work less.

According to research, people with low-paying service-sector jobs are required to work more hours per week in order to get by in the present postindustrial economy. However, as real wages increase, the trend has been to work less, which results in an increased demand on labor.

Front 69

Torquemada is famous for:

Back 69

administering the Inquisition.

Torquemadas name is forever associated with the Spanish Inquisition, which sought out various forms of heresy by cruel means.

Front 70

In twentieth-century France, the Fourth Republic became a reality when:

Back 70

the provisional government stepped aside.

The French Fourth Republic became a reality after World War II when the provisional government stepped aside after a constitution was drafted to establish the Fourth Republic. The Fourth Republic was the result of drafting a constitution, not riots and popular discontent (choice A) or a national coalition of communists and protesters (choice E). Choices B and C are incorrect because these events inspired the formation of the Fifth Republic, not the Fourth Republic.

Front 71

In his Essay on Population, first published in 1798, he argued that nature had set grim limits on the progress of mankind. Population would inevitably increase more rapidly than the supply of food. This process was, of course, checked by famine and disease, but inevitably poverty would emerge as conditions improved. This gloomy prognosticator was:

Back 71

Thomas Malthus.


Malthus advocated postponement of marriage as being of some small help, but his overall message that poverty was inevitable and that measures to help the poor only exacerbated the problem was one that played into many economic theories that usually led to the idea that not much could be done to improve the human condition at the bottom.

Front 72

How does the U.S. presidency today compare with the framers' conception of it?

Back 72

The presidency is far stronger than the framers' conception.


Modern presidents have far more power than the Founding Fathers conceived. A glance at the Constitution makes it clear that it was assumed that Congress would run the government. One reason for this change is certainly that foreign policy on the modern scale could not have been imagined by James Madison and his contemporaries.

Front 73

China's "Great Leap Forward" was characterized by:

Back 73

mass mobilization.


Getting many peasants involved was the goal of the decentralized approach of the Great Leap Forward.