CSS Sociology MCQs with answers
Practise CSS Sociology (Optional) with 208 exam-style MCQs, each with the answer and a short explanation. Every test is marked the moment you finish and shows your score chapter by chapter, so you know what to revise next. It is free and needs no sign-up.
208 questions · 3 chapters
What each chapter covers 3 chapters
The questions follow the syllabus chapter by chapter. You can test the whole subject or one chapter at a time.
- Foundations 48 questionsNature, scope and founders of sociology, Theoretical perspectives, Sociological research methods
- Culture, socialisation and groups 64 questionsCulture, Socialisation and personality, Social groups, status and roles, Social institutions: family, religion, education and economy
- Structure, order and change 96 questionsSocial stratification and mobility, Deviance, crime and social control, Social change and social movements, Population, urbanisation and migration, Community, rural and urban life in Pakistan, Social problems and social policy
Sample CSS Sociology MCQs with answers 12 questions
12 questions from the test, one or two from each chapter. Try each one, then open the answer.
1. Compared with a structured interview, an unstructured interview
- A
allows flexible questions and deeper answers, but results are harder to compare
- B
uses identical fixed questions in the same order for every respondent
- C
gives higher reliability of results across different interviewers
- D
is suitable only for very large samples of a population
Show answer
Answer: A. Unstructured interviews follow the respondent's replies, producing rich qualitative data, but are less standardised and less reliable.
2. A newly married couple sets up an independent household away from both sets of parents. This pattern is called
- A
patrilocal residence
- B
matrilocal residence
- C
avunculocal residence
- D
neolocal residence
Show answer
Answer: D. Neolocal residence is typical of nuclear families. Patrilocal residence is living with the husband's family and matrilocal with the wife's.
3. Davis and Moore argued that unequal rewards exist in all societies because
- A
the ruling class forces other people to work for its profit
- B
caste membership is inherited from one's parents at birth
- C
wealth in every society is distributed by pure chance
- D
society must motivate talented people to fill key positions
Show answer
Answer: D. Davis and Moore's functional theory says that high rewards attract able people to positions that need rare talent and long training.
4. Which term did Merton use for consequences of a social pattern that weaken or disturb the stability of a system?
- A
Latent function
- B
Manifest function
- C
Social fact
- D
Dysfunction
Show answer
Answer: D. Merton used 'dysfunction' for consequences that reduce the adjustment or stability of a system. Manifest and latent functions are beneficial consequences that differ in whether they were intended.
5. Marx described religion as 'the opium of the people' because he saw it as
- A
creating a habit of ritual and prayer in poor families
- B
the main source of economic growth in agrarian societies
- C
a way of raising the literacy of the working classes
- D
easing the pain of oppression without removing its causes
Show answer
Answer: D. For Marx religion consoles the oppressed and thereby discourages them from changing the conditions that cause their suffering.
6. According to Durkheim, societies held together by strong shared beliefs (mechanical solidarity) rely mainly on
- A
restitutive law
- B
repressive, penal law
- C
commercial contracts
- D
civil compensation
Show answer
Answer: B. Durkheim argued that in such societies crime offends the collective conscience and is met with punishment, while in complex societies law mainly restores the former position.
7. A study finds that ice-cream sales and drowning accidents rise and fall together. The best conclusion is that
- A
eating ice cream causes some people to drown while swimming
- B
drowning accidents lead people to buy more ice cream
- C
the link is probably spurious, since hot weather affects both
- D
there is no relationship between the two variables at all
Show answer
Answer: C. Correlation is not causation: both variables are influenced by hot weather, so the link between them is spurious.
8. Competition differs from conflict in that competition
- A
aims at removing the opponent by physical force if necessary
- B
pursues a goal within accepted rules, not aiming to destroy the rival
- C
always involves open physical violence between the parties
- D
needs no scarce resources for the parties to contest
Show answer
Answer: B. Competition is regulated rivalry for scarce rewards, while conflict aims to injure, remove or defeat the opponent.
9. Ragnar Nurkse's 'vicious circle of poverty' states that
- A
high income encourages people to work much less than before
- B
low income limits saving and investment, so income stays low
- C
poverty is caused mainly by the large size of families
- D
poor countries cannot trade at all with rich ones
Show answer
Answer: B. Nurkse argued that poor countries stay poor because low income leaves little to save and invest, so output stays low.
10. Who coined the term 'sociology' for the scientific study of society?
- A
Herbert Spencer
- B
Auguste Comte
- C
Emile Durkheim
- D
Max Weber
Show answer
Answer: B. Comte introduced the word in the 1830s in his positive philosophy. Spencer later wrote 'Principles of Sociology' and Durkheim made the subject an academic discipline, but neither coined the name.
11. Marriage of one man to more than one woman at the same time is called
- A
polyandry
- B
monogamy
- C
polygyny
- D
endogamy
Show answer
Answer: C. Polygyny is one husband with several wives. Polyandry is one wife with several husbands.
12. Urbanisation means
- A
a rise in the total number of people living in a country
- B
a rise in the share of the population living in towns and cities
- C
a movement of people from the city back to the village
- D
a growth in the area covered by villages in a region
Show answer
Answer: B. Urbanisation is the shift of population to urban areas.
Try 196 more questions
Ways to practise 5 ways
- Quick check. 10 questions drawn fresh each time, about 10 minutes.
- By chapter. 10 questions from one chapter, for the topic you are revising now.
- Full paper. A full-length timed paper across the whole syllabus.
- Practice mode. See the right answer and an explanation after every question, with no clock.
- Exam mode. Timed like the real paper, with no going back.
When you get a question wrong, a short note called "The idea behind this" explains the topic it belongs to, with the rules to remember and a worked example.
Common questions
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Are these past paper questions?
The 208 MCQs are our own, written to the syllabus in the style of the exam.
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Instantly. You get your score, the right answer and an explanation for every question, and a list of the topics to work on.
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