This section accounts for most on the score (30 percent of the test). The process and structure of society is highlighted here. Issues related to aging, race relations, gender roles, social class and mobility, social power and professions and occupations all fall under this heading. Sample question: What is the sociological term for an individual's permanent social position based on his parents' status? Answer: caste.
Questions from this section make up 20 percent of the test. Under this heading are all types of institutions in a society: economic, educational, family, medical, political and religious. Sample question: What economic system features privately-owned means of production and distribution? Answer: capitalism.
This section also accounts for 20 percent of the test's questions. Collective behavior, culture, socialization, deviance, social change and groups and organizations are all covered under social processes. Sample question: What is the term for the tendency to resume deviant behavior after a period of conformity? Answer: recidivism.
One of the lesser sections with 15 percent of the questions, social patterns addresses community, demographics, human ecology and rural/urban patterns. The exam will require some interpretation of tables and charts. Sample question: Which sociologist proposed that the "urban personality" is developed to protect the ego? Answer: Georg Simmel.
Another section comprising 15 percent of the test, Social Perspective focuses on sociology's history, methods and theory. Sample question: What sociological perspective deems social stratification as necessary for society to operate efficiently? Answer: functionalist. To register for an exam at one of over a thousand test locations, visit the College Board website.