MCAT Sociology 5 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The 'contact hypothesis' in sociology suggests that prejudice between groups can be reduced when:
- Members of different groups interact under conditions of equal status toward a common goal (Correct answer)
- Governments impose legal penalties for discriminatory behavior
- Minority groups assimilate fully into the dominant culture
- Media representations of minority groups become more positive
Correct answer: Members of different groups interact under conditions of equal status toward a common goal
Gordon Allport's contact hypothesis holds that intergroup contact reduces prejudice most effectively when it occurs under equal status, cooperative, and institutionally supported conditions.
Question 2: Which of the following is an example of 'secondary deviance' as defined by Edwin Lemert?
- A person labeled as a criminal who reorganizes their identity around that label and commits more crimes (Correct answer)
- A person who commits a minor traffic violation but does not consider themselves deviant
- A teenager who experiments with drugs but stops after peers discourage the behavior
- A politician who accepts a bribe but is never caught or publicly identified
Correct answer: A person labeled as a criminal who reorganizes their identity around that label and commits more crimes
Secondary deviance occurs when a person internalizes a deviant label and builds their identity around it, leading to continued deviant behavior.
Question 3: Studies show that women are more likely to experience depression than men, while men are more likely to be diagnosed with substance use disorders. A sociological explanation for this difference would emphasize:
- Gender socialization that shapes how distress is expressed and what behaviors are tolerated or labeled (Correct answer)
- Biological differences in hormonal regulation between men and women
- Differences in willingness to report symptoms to physicians
- Greater economic stress experienced by women in modern societies
Correct answer: Gender socialization that shapes how distress is expressed and what behaviors are tolerated or labeled
Gender socialization teaches men and women different ways to express distress, with men more likely to externalize through substance use and women to internalize through depression.
Question 4: A pharmaceutical company disproportionately conducts clinical trials in wealthy nations and then markets drugs to low-income countries without local testing. This illustrates:
- Global health inequality reinforced by differential access to research resources (Correct answer)
- Conflict of interest in research design
- Publication bias in scientific literature
- Ethical violations under the Declaration of Helsinki
Correct answer: Global health inequality reinforced by differential access to research resources
This practice reflects how global structures of inequality shape which populations benefit from medical research and which are treated as secondary markets.
Question 5: The concept of 'social mobility' refers to:
- The movement of individuals or groups between different levels of the social hierarchy (Correct answer)
- Geographic migration between different social environments
- The spread of social norms through media and cultural exchange
- The formation of new social classes through industrialization
Correct answer: The movement of individuals or groups between different levels of the social hierarchy
Social mobility describes upward or downward movement within a social stratification system, and can be intergenerational or intragenerational.
Question 6: Which of the following scenarios best exemplifies 'role conflict'?
- A medical resident who must choose between staying to care for a critical patient or attending their child's school play (Correct answer)
- A surgeon who performs procedures she finds ethically questionable because hospital policy requires it
- A nurse who must adapt their communication style for different patients
- A physician who transitions from clinical practice to hospital administration
Correct answer: A medical resident who must choose between staying to care for a critical patient or attending their child's school play
Role conflict occurs when the demands of two or more social roles a person holds are incompatible, requiring a choice between competing obligations.
Question 7: The epidemiological finding that social support is associated with better health outcomes is best explained by which sociological concept?
- Social capital and its role in buffering stress and increasing access to health resources (Correct answer)
- Anomie leading to risk-taking behavior in isolated individuals
- The sick role and its requirement for social validation of illness
- Medicalization of loneliness as a diagnosable condition
Correct answer: Social capital and its role in buffering stress and increasing access to health resources
Social capital, particularly bonding ties within supportive networks, provides psychological buffering against stress and practical help that improves health outcomes.
MCAT Sociology 5
The 'contact hypothesis' in sociology suggests that prejudice between groups can be reduced when: