Culture, Socialization and Social Institutions MCQs 2026

Material culture consists mainly of

1. AIdeas and values✓
2. BPhysical objects made or used by people✓
3. CMoral beliefs only✓
4. DPolitical authority✓

Non-material culture includes

1. ARoads and bridges✓
2. BFarm machinery✓
3. CPrinted currency only✓
4. DValues, norms and beliefs✓

Socialization is the process by which individuals learn

1. ACulture, norms and social roles✓
2. BOnly biological reflexes✓
3. CMineral composition✓
4. DWeather patterns✓

The primary agent of socialization in early childhood is usually the

1. AState bureaucracy✓
2. BMass media✓
3. CFamily✓
4. DTrade union✓

Peer groups become especially important during

1. AInfancy only✓
2. BAdolescence✓
3. COld age only✓
4. DPrenatal life✓

Anticipatory socialization means learning

1. AA future role before entering it✓
2. BOnly childhood habits✓
3. CPast rituals of ancestors✓
4. DNo social rules✓

Resocialization refers to

1. ARepeating census work✓
2. BRejecting all learning✓
3. CMeasuring income groups✓
4. DLearning new norms after old roles change✓

Primary socialization takes place mainly during

1. ALate retirement✓
2. BMiddle adulthood✓
3. CChildhood✓
4. DOld age✓

Norms are

1. ARules that guide behavior✓
2. BOnly economic prices✓
3. CGenetic codes✓
4. DNatural disasters✓

Mores are norms that have

1. ANo social importance✓
2. BStrong moral significance✓
3. COnly technical meaning✓
4. DNo sanctions✓

Folkways are best described as

1. AFormal statutes✓
2. BSacred doctrines only✓
3. CCriminal codes✓
4. DCustomary everyday norms✓

A taboo is a

1. AStrongly prohibited act✓
2. BMinor habit✓
3. CNeutral preference✓
4. DTemporary fashion✓

Values are

1. ACourt forms only✓
2. BRandom gestures✓
3. CIdeas about what is good or desirable✓
4. DWeather reports✓

Beliefs in culture are

1. AMarket contracts✓
2. BIdeas accepted as true✓
3. COnly police rules✓
4. DPhysical tools✓

Sanctions may be classified as

1. AUrban and rural only✓
2. BAncient and modern only✓
3. CPublic and private roads✓
4. DPositive or negative, formal or informal✓

The concept of cultural lag was given by

1. AKarl Marx✓
2. BMax Weber✓
3. CWilliam F. Ogburn✓
4. DIbn Khaldun✓

Ethnocentrism usually promotes

1. AIn-group bias✓
2. BPerfect neutrality✓
3. CCultural equality in all cases✓
4. DNo group identity✓

Xenocentrism means preference for

1. AAncient tools only✓
2. BForeign culture over local culture✓
3. CNo cultural contact✓
4. DOnly rural customs✓

A subculture is a cultural pattern

1. AFound outside all societies✓
2. BWithout any norms✓
3. CWithin a larger culture✓
4. DLimited to biology✓

A counterculture is different from a subculture because it

1. AHas no members✓
2. BExists only in villages✓
3. CRejects all language✓
4. DOpposes dominant values✓

Acculturation refers to cultural change caused by

1. AContact between cultures✓
2. BSoil erosion✓
3. CGenetic mutation only✓
4. DSolar movement✓

Assimilation is the process in which a minority group

1. ARejects all interaction✓
2. BAdopts dominant cultural patterns✓
3. CCreates only material tools✓
4. DBecomes a biological species✓

Multiculturalism emphasizes

1. AOne official job only✓
2. BNo social groups✓
3. CIsolation from culture✓
4. DRecognition of cultural diversity✓

A social institution is a

1. ATemporary mood✓
2. BPrivate memory only✓
3. CStable pattern meeting social needs✓
4. DRandom crowd✓

The family is especially important because it performs

1. AWeather forecasting✓
2. BReproduction and primary socialization✓
3. COnly road construction✓
4. DCurrency printing✓

A nuclear family normally consists of

1. AParents and their children✓
2. BAll clan members✓
3. COnly unmarried cousins✓
4. DA political party✓

An extended family includes

1. AOnly one person✓
2. BClass fellows only✓
3. COffice colleagues only✓
4. DRelatives beyond parents and children✓

Marriage is sociologically understood as a

1. AWeather event✓
2. BPrivate thought only✓
3. CSocially recognized union✓
4. DType of bureaucracy✓

Kinship organizes social relationships based on

1. AOnly market exchange✓
2. BBlood, marriage or adoption✓
3. CWeather and climate✓
4. DOnly political votes✓

Religion as an institution mainly provides

1. ASacred beliefs, rituals and moral meanings✓
2. BOnly farm tools✓
3. CA postal service✓
4. DRoad traffic rules only✓

Secularization refers to the

1. AGrowth of kinship ties✓
2. BCreation of clans✓
3. CDecline of religious influence in public life✓
4. DIncrease in rainfall✓

Education as a social institution primarily transmits

1. AMineral deposits✓
2. BWeather cycles✓
3. CBlood groups✓
4. DKnowledge, skills and values✓

The hidden curriculum refers to

1. AUnwritten norms learned at school✓
2. BOnly printed textbooks✓
3. COfficial exam dates✓
4. DLaboratory chemicals✓

The economy is the institution concerned with

1. AKinship names only✓
2. BProduction, distribution and consumption✓
3. CSacred rituals only✓
4. DChildhood play✓

The political institution is mainly concerned with

1. AFamily cooking✓
2. BArtistic taste only✓
3. CPower, authority and governance✓
4. DPrivate dreams✓

Weber described bureaucracy as organization based on

1. AHierarchy, rules and specialization✓
2. BKinship only✓
3. CNo records✓
4. DPersonal favoritism only✓

Legitimacy in political sociology means

1. APhysical strength only✓
2. BEconomic profit✓
3. CAbsence of institutions✓
4. DAccepted right to rule✓

Power is best defined as the ability to

1. AIgnore all others✓
2. BInfluence or control behavior✓
3. CCreate seasons✓
4. DEnd all conflict✓

Authority is different from power because authority is

1. AAlways violent✓
2. BNever organized✓
3. CPower accepted as legitimate✓
4. DOnly economic exchange✓

Patriarchy refers to a social system in which

1. AMen hold dominant authority✓
2. BChildren govern elders✓
3. CNo gender roles exist✓
4. DMarkets disappear✓

Social institutions contribute to social control by

1. ARemoving all norms✓
2. BEnding socialization✓
3. CReplacing culture with biology✓
4. DRegulating expected behavior✓

Formal social control is exercised through

1. ACasual gossip only✓
2. BLaws, courts and official rules✓
3. CPrivate feelings only✓
4. DUnwritten jokes✓

Informal social control commonly includes

1. AOnly prison sentences✓
2. BConstitutional courts✓
3. CPraise, ridicule and gossip✓
4. DMilitary law only✓

Role conflict occurs when a person faces

1. AIncompatible demands from different roles✓
2. BNo social position✓
3. COnly biological change✓
4. DA single clear duty✓

Role strain means difficulty caused by

1. ANo assigned status✓
2. BCompeting demands within one role✓
3. COnly intergroup war✓
4. DSeasonal migration✓

A status set is the collection of

1. AOnly legal cases✓
2. BOnly income sources✓
3. COnly school grades✓
4. DAll statuses held by a person✓

Social mobility may be classified as

1. AVertical or horizontal✓
2. BHot or cold✓
3. CSacred or profane only✓
4. DLegal or illegal only✓

Cultural transmission means passing culture

1. AOnly through courts✓
2. BOnly by inheritance of blood✓
3. CFrom one generation to the next✓
4. DOnly through climate✓

Institutionalization is the process by which behavior becomes

1. APurely biological✓
2. BEstablished and norm-governed✓
3. CCompletely random✓
4. DInvisible to society✓

Endogamy means marriage

1. AOutside one group✓
2. BWithout social approval✓
3. COnly by civil law✓
4. DWithin one group✓

Material culture consists of

1. Ashared beliefs and language only✓
2. Bphysical objects humans create and use✓
3. Cnorms without any artifacts✓
4. Dvalues that cannot be observed✓

A cultural trait is

1. Athe entire way of life of a society only✓
2. Ba biological instinct without learning✓
3. Ca single element of culture such as a custom or tool type✓
4. Da government constitution exclusively✓

Folkways are norms that

1. Aare codified as serious crimes always✓
2. Bcarry informal sanctions and govern routine etiquette✓
3. Chave the strongest legal penalties✓
4. Dare identical to mores in all societies✓

Mores are norms regarded as

1. Aessential to core values with strong moral significance✓
2. Btrivial table manners only✓
3. Coptional fashion choices✓
4. Dpurely individual preferences✓

Ethnocentrism means

1. Aobjective cross-cultural comparison without bias✓
2. Bjudging other cultures by the standards of one's own culture✓
3. Ccomplete rejection of all cultural learning✓
4. Dstudying cultures only through participant observation✓

Cultural relativism advocates

1. Aranking all cultures by Western standards✓
2. Bdenying the existence of cultural variation✓
3. Coutlawing all cultural comparison✓
4. Dunderstanding beliefs and practices within their own cultural context✓

Primary socialization occurs

1. Aearly in life within the family, teaching basic norms and language✓
2. Bonly during university education✓
3. Cexclusively at the workplace in adulthood✓
4. Dafter retirement from labor✓

Secondary socialization refers to

1. Aonly infant reflex conditioning✓
2. Bgenetic inheritance of culture✓
3. Clearning appropriate behavior for specific roles later in life✓
4. Dthe first hours after birth exclusively✓

The family as a social institution primarily functions to

1. Asocialize children, regulate reproduction and provide emotional support✓
2. Bproduce manufactured goods for export only✓
3. Cenforce international treaties alone✓
4. Dreplace all religious organizations entirely✓

The nuclear family typically consists of

1. Aall members of an extended clan always✓
2. Bonly unrelated roommates in a dormitory✓
3. Cgovernment officials in a ministry✓
4. Dparents and their dependent children living together✓

Extended family systems are especially common in

1. Aindustrial societies with no kin ties✓
2. Bmany South Asian and traditional societies including rural Pakistan✓
3. Cstates without any marriage rules✓
4. Dcommunities banning all intergenerational contact✓

Education as a social institution serves to

1. Aeliminate all social inequality instantly✓
2. Breplace family socialization completely in infancy✓
3. Ctransmit knowledge, skills and cultural values while certifying achievement✓
4. Davoid teaching any civic norms✓

Hidden curriculum in schools refers to

1. Aonly the official syllabus printed in textbooks✓
2. Bscientific laboratory equipment exclusively✓
3. Csports uniforms without social meaning✓
4. Dinformal lessons about authority, punctuality and competition✓

Religion as a social institution provides

1. Aonly economic production without meaning✓
2. Bshared beliefs, rituals and moral codes binding communities✓
3. Cpurely secular political manifestos✓
4. Dexclusively scientific laboratory methods✓

Secularization refers to the process by which

1. Areligious influence declines in public life and institutions✓
2. Ball societies become uniformly more religious✓
3. Cscience disappears from education✓
4. Dchurches gain total state control always✓

Agents of socialization include

1. Aonly genetic inheritance without learning✓
2. Bvolcanoes and climate exclusively✓
3. Cfamily, peers, schools, media and religious organizations✓
4. Dinternational trade tariffs alone✓

Peer groups are especially influential during

1. Ainfancy before language acquisition only✓
2. Badolescence when identity and independence develop✓
3. Cretirement with no social contact✓
4. Dchildhood with zero outside contact always✓

Mass media as an agent of socialization can

1. Asocialize only pre-literate infants✓
2. Boperate without transmitting any values✓
3. Celiminate all local cultures instantly always✓
4. Dspread global culture and shape attitudes on politics and gender✓

Resocialization involves

1. Adiscarding former norms and learning new ones in a total institution✓
2. Breinforcing childhood habits without change✓
3. Cgenetic reprogramming of instincts✓
4. Dlearning only one skill at work✓

A total institution, in Goffman's sense, is

1. Aany small family household only✓
2. Ba casual weekend sports club✓
3. Ca setting where all aspects of life are regulated under one authority✓
4. Da single classroom hour without rules✓

Gender socialization refers to

1. Alearning culturally expected behaviors associated with masculinity and femininity✓
2. Bbiological sex determination in the womb only✓
3. Crandom behavior without cultural pattern✓
4. Dlegal contracts between corporations✓

Anticipatory socialization means

1. Arejecting all future roles entirely✓
2. Bsocialization limited to early infancy✓
3. Clearning only past historical roles✓
4. Dpracticing roles one expects to occupy in the future✓

Culture shock is experienced when

1. Aalways remaining in one's birthplace✓
2. Bentering an unfamiliar culture and struggling with new norms✓
3. Cmastering every foreign language instantly✓
4. Drejecting all cultural learning permanently✓

Subculture refers to

1. Athe entire society without variation✓
2. Bonly prehistoric societies✓
3. Ca group within a larger culture with distinctive norms and values✓
4. Da culture completely isolated from all contact✓

Counterculture actively

1. Amirrors mainstream norms exactly✓
2. Bexists only in biology textbooks✓
3. Cnever influences social change✓
4. Drejects or opposes dominant cultural values✓

Language is central to culture because it

1. Aexists only as private thought without communication✓
2. Benables shared meaning, transmission of knowledge and social cohesion✓
3. Cprevents all social interaction✓
4. Dis unrelated to identity formation✓

Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests language

1. Ainfluences or shapes perception and thought✓
2. Bhas zero effect on cognition✓
3. Cdetermines biology exclusively✓
4. Dprevents all cultural variation✓

Symbols in culture are

1. Aonly gold coins used as money✓
2. Bobjects with fixed universal meaning everywhere✓
3. Canything carrying meaning recognized by members of a society✓
4. Dpurely biological signals without learning✓

Rites of passage mark

1. Apermanent exclusion from society always✓
2. Btransitions from one social status to another✓
3. Conly economic transactions in markets✓
4. Drandom events without cultural script✓

The looking-glass self (Cooley) means self-concept arises from

1. Agenetic code without social interaction✓
2. Beconomic income alone✓
3. Ccomplete isolation from all groups✓
4. Dimagining how others perceive and judge us✓

Mead's generalized other refers to

1. Ainternalized attitudes of the wider community guiding behavior✓
2. Bone specific parent only✓
3. Ca biological instinct without society✓
4. Da legal statute unread by citizens✓

Significant others in Mead's theory are

1. Athe entire world population at once✓
2. Bonly government officials✓
3. Cspecific individuals who shape a child's early self✓
4. Drandom strangers without influence✓

Role strain refers to

1. Aconflict between two different statuses only✓
2. Bcomplete absence of any expectations✓
3. Croles without any attached status✓
4. Dtension among expectations within a single role✓

The functionalist view of the family emphasizes

1. Aonly conflict and oppression without benefits✓
2. Bits contributions to social stability and reproduction of society✓
3. Cinstant elimination of all gender roles✓
4. Dreplacement of education by markets alone✓

A conflict perspective on education stresses

1. Aperfect meritocracy without bias always✓
2. Bschools having no link to power structures✓
3. Cschools reproducing class inequality and dominant ideology✓
4. Deducation eliminating all stratification instantly✓

Manifest function of religion includes

1. Aonly latent disruption of social order✓
2. Bconcealing inequality without any integrative role✓
3. Celiminating all rituals from society✓
4. Dproviding meaning, community and moral guidance✓

Latent function of education may include

1. Aonly transmitting printed textbook facts✓
2. Bmatchmaking and peer-network formation beyond formal learning✓
3. Celiminating all peer contact✓
4. Dabolishing credentialism entirely✓

In Pakistan, madrassas function as institutions that

1. Aprovide religious education and socialization for many students✓
2. Bexclusively teach advanced physics laboratories✓
3. Creplace all family socialization at birth only✓
4. Doperate without transmitting any values✓

Cultural diffusion is the spread of

1. Agenetic mutation within one family only✓
2. Bcomplete isolation without contact✓
3. Ccultural traits from one society or group to another✓
4. Dlaws banning all foreign influence always✓

Acculturation occurs when

1. Acultures remain totally unchanged despite contact✓
2. Ba group adopts elements of another culture through sustained contact✓
3. Cbiological evolution replaces learning✓
4. Dall contact destroys both cultures instantly✓

Assimilation means

1. Apermanent separation without any shared norms✓
2. Brejecting all cultural learning always✓
3. Cmulticulturalism with zero integration✓
4. Da minority group fully merging into the dominant culture✓

Multiculturalism policies aim to

1. Arecognize and support cultural diversity within one political society✓
2. Beliminate all minority languages instantly✓
3. Cforce complete assimilation always✓
4. Dban public expression of difference✓

An ascribed status is

1. Aearned through individual achievement only✓
2. Bchosen freely without social assignment✓
3. Cassigned at birth or involuntarily, such as sex or ethnicity✓
4. Dunrelated to social expectations✓

An achieved status is

1. Agained through effort or choice, such as occupation or education level✓
2. Bfixed at birth without possibility of change✓
3. Cbiologically inherited without learning✓
4. Dalways identical to ascribed status✓

Degradation ceremony (Garfinkel) is used to

1. Acelebrate promotion without audience✓
2. Bteach infant language acquisition only✓
3. Cconduct anonymous statistical surveys✓
4. Dstrip an individual of former identity and status publicly✓

Cultural lag (Ogburn) describes

1. Anon-material culture always changing first✓
2. Bmaterial culture changing faster than non-material culture adjusts✓
3. Cboth changing at identical speed always✓
4. Dculture remaining static forever✓