Lesson 4.1.3.3

4.1.3.3 Positivism, interpretivism and social facts Quiz: AQA Sociology, Unit 1

20 questions

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Lesson 4.1.3.3, Positivism, interpretivism and social facts: 20 multiple choice questions for the AQA Sociology (7192), Unit 1: Education with Theory and Methods, written with Revision Ninja.

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The 20 questions

  1. According to Durkheim, social facts exist independently of individuals and exercise what over them?

    • Constraint
    • Free choice
    • Subjective meaning
    • Social mobility
  2. In his 1897 study of suicide, Durkheim argued suicide rates were determined by what?

    • Individual choices
    • Social facts
    • Personal psychology
    • Genetic factors
  3. Which sociological approach advocates using scientific methods to study observable social facts?

    • Positivism
    • Interpretivism
    • Phenomenology
    • Postmodernism
  4. What German term did Max Weber use for empathetic understanding in social research?

    • Alienation
    • Verstehen
    • Socialisation
    • Anomie
  5. Positivists assume that sociological research can and should remain what?

    • Culturally relative
    • Subjective
    • Emotionally involved
    • Value-free
  6. What key aspect of human behaviour do interpretivists claim positivism ignores?

    • Quantitative trends
    • Subjective meanings
    • Statistical patterns
    • Structural causes
  7. Which theoretical perspective focuses on how social actors create meanings through micro-level interactions?

    • Functionalism
    • Interactionism
    • Positivism
    • Marxism
  8. What did Max Weber call an analytical tool constructed to measure real-world cases against?

    • Value consensus
    • Ideal type
    • Theoretical paradigm
    • Social fact
  9. Which type of data is a major strength of positivist research methods?

    • Rich narrative data
    • High empathetic insight
    • Reliable quantitative data
    • Deep subjective validity
  10. Which sociologist argued that social facts should be treated as things?

    • Max Weber
    • Karl Marx
    • Talcott Parsons
    • Emile Durkheim
  11. According to interpretivists, how are social structures created and maintained?

    • Through economic laws
    • Through shared meanings
    • Through genetic traits
    • Through biological drives
  12. Which sociological approach focuses on understanding the subjective meanings participants attach to behaviour?

    • Positivism
    • Marxism
    • Interpretivism
    • Functionalism
  13. Which sociological approach studies the common-sense methods people use to construct everyday social order?

    • Positivism
    • Ethnomethodology
    • Marxism
    • Structural functionalism
  14. What is the primary goal of interpretivist sociological research?

    • Measuring social statistics
    • Establishing causal relationships
    • Discovering universal laws
    • Understanding subjective meanings
  15. Why do positivists prefer using large-scale quantitative datasets?

    • To explore emotions
    • To achieve depth
    • To gain Verstehen
    • To uncover patterns
  16. According to Durkheim, social facts exist external to individuals and exert what upon them?

    • Subjective meaning
    • External constraint
    • Genetic instinct
    • Biological desire
  17. Why do interpretivists reject Durkheim's concept of objective social facts?

    • Ignoring human agency
    • Lacking statistical data
    • Overusing experiments
    • Focusing on meanings
  18. What is the positivist position regarding personal values in sociological research?

    • Subjective bias
    • Value relevance
    • Value commitment
    • Value freedom
  19. Using official suicide statistics to identify social patterns reflects which approach?

    • Ethnomethodology
    • Positivism
    • Interpretivism
    • Phenomenology
  20. According to Durkheim, social facts must be explained by what?

    • Other social facts
    • Biological factors
    • Individual psychology
    • Genetic traits

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