AA Social Sciences 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: In sociology, Max Weber's concept of 'verstehen' refers to:
- The statistical analysis of social trends
- Empathetic understanding of the meanings individuals attach to their actions (Correct answer)
- The study of large-scale social structures
- The use of historical comparison to understand social change
Correct answer: Empathetic understanding of the meanings individuals attach to their actions
Verstehen, German for 'understanding,' is Weber's method of grasping the subjective meanings that people assign to their own social actions.
Question 2: Which economic term describes the total market value of all goods and services produced within a country's borders in a given year?
- Gross National Product (GNP)
- Consumer Price Index (CPI)
- Gross Domestic Product (GDP) (Correct answer)
- Net National Income (NNI)
Correct answer: Gross Domestic Product (GDP)
GDP measures the total economic output produced within a country's geographic boundaries regardless of who produces it.
Question 3: In psychology, 'classical conditioning' was demonstrated by Pavlov through experiments showing that:
- Rewards increase the frequency of desired behaviors
- A neutral stimulus can elicit a response after being paired with a meaningful stimulus (Correct answer)
- Punishment effectively eliminates unwanted behaviors
- Cognitive appraisal determines emotional responses
Correct answer: A neutral stimulus can elicit a response after being paired with a meaningful stimulus
Pavlov showed that dogs could be conditioned to salivate at the sound of a bell by repeatedly pairing the bell with food, demonstrating classical conditioning.
Question 4: In political science, a 'parliamentary system' differs from a presidential system primarily because:
- Only parliamentary systems allow multiple political parties
- The executive in a parliamentary system is drawn from and accountable to the legislature (Correct answer)
- Parliamentary systems always have a monarch as head of state
- Presidential systems require a written constitution while parliamentary ones do not
Correct answer: The executive in a parliamentary system is drawn from and accountable to the legislature
In a parliamentary system, the prime minister and cabinet are members of the legislature and must maintain its confidence to govern, unlike the separately elected president in a presidential system.
Question 5: Which concept in anthropology refers to the rules that define who may marry whom within or outside a social group?
- Kinship
- Exogamy and endogamy (Correct answer)
- Totemism
- Descent systems
Correct answer: Exogamy and endogamy
Exogamy requires marriage outside one's own group, while endogamy requires marriage within a specific group — both are cultural rules governing marriage partners.
Question 6: The 'Tragedy of the Commons' concept in economics and sociology describes:
- The decline of traditional public spaces in modern cities
- How shared resources tend to be overexploited when individuals act in their own self-interest (Correct answer)
- Government failure to provide essential public goods
- The economic inefficiency of common ownership in socialist systems
Correct answer: How shared resources tend to be overexploited when individuals act in their own self-interest
The Tragedy of the Commons, described by Garrett Hardin, explains how individuals deplete shared resources because each person benefits fully while the costs are distributed among all users.
Question 7: In social psychology, 'cognitive dissonance' occurs when:
- A person's memory is distorted by emotional trauma
- An individual holds two contradictory beliefs or acts contrary to their beliefs, causing psychological discomfort (Correct answer)
- Group pressure causes individuals to abandon personal opinions
- People misattribute their own emotions to an incorrect source
Correct answer: An individual holds two contradictory beliefs or acts contrary to their beliefs, causing psychological discomfort
Cognitive dissonance is the mental discomfort experienced when a person holds conflicting cognitions or acts in ways that contradict their beliefs, motivating them to reduce the inconsistency.
AA Social Sciences 5
In sociology, Max Weber's concept of 'verstehen' refers to: