Applied Sociology Flashcards
7 cards from real CSP practice questions. Tap to flip, then mark Knew It or Still Learning — missed cards come back until you master them.
Read the first 7 Applied Sociology flashcards as text
A sociological practitioner consulting for a corporation finds that women are underrepresented in senior leadership despite equal representation at entry level. This phenomenon is most accurately termed:
Answer: The glass ceiling effect
The glass ceiling refers to invisible barriers that prevent qualified women and minorities from advancing to senior organizational positions despite apparent qualifications.
When applying labeling theory to juvenile justice reform, practitioners would most likely advocate for:
Answer: Diversion programs that minimize formal contact with the criminal justice system
Labeling theory holds that formal criminal justice involvement applies deviant labels that can become self-fulfilling prophecies; diversion minimizes this stigmatization process.
Which research design is most appropriate for studying whether a new social program reduced poverty rates over five years compared to a control region?
Answer: Quasi-experimental difference-in-differences design comparing program and comparison areas over time
Difference-in-differences compares outcome trends in treated and untreated areas before and after the intervention, controlling for pre-existing differences.
A practitioner conducting a gender pay gap analysis controls for occupation, education, and experience, and a significant gap persists. This residual gap most likely reflects:
Answer: Unexplained discrimination and structural barriers not captured by observed variables
After controlling for human capital and occupational factors, a persistent pay gap suggests discrimination and unmeasured structural disadvantages faced by women in the labor market.
In the context of community organizing, 'asset-based community development' (ABCD) differs from deficit-based approaches by:
Answer: Identifying and mobilizing existing community strengths and resources as the foundation for change
ABCD starts from an inventory of community assets — skills, associations, institutions — and builds from these strengths rather than focusing on needs and deficits.
Intersectionality, as a framework for applied sociological practice, requires practitioners to:
Answer: Examine how multiple systems of oppression interact to produce unique experiences for individuals
Kimberlé Crenshaw's intersectionality framework analyzes how race, gender, class, and other identities simultaneously interact, producing experiences that cannot be understood by examining each dimension alone.
A sociologist evaluating a workforce development program uses a logic model. What does the logic model's 'outcomes' component represent?
Answer: The short- and long-term changes in participants' knowledge, skills, and conditions resulting from the program
In a logic model, outcomes represent the intended changes in participants — behavioral, skill-based, or circumstantial — that result from program activities and outputs.