What is a group of people linked by blood (consanguinity), marriage (affinity) and living together (co-residence) called?
Correct answer A. Family
Topic / 78 questions
Social Institutions MCQs
Social Institutions MCQs are multiple-choice questions on the established structures that organise social life, such as family, marriage, kinship, religion and everyday social interaction. They help CSS, PMS, UGC NET and sociology lecturer candidates revise key concepts and theorists. Every question comes with an instant answer, so you can check definitions and examples as you go.
- Methods and Research 94
- Culture 87
- Social Stratification 82
- Social Institutions 78
- Theory and Perspectives 74
- Social and Cultural Change 71
- Social Control 66
- Religion Education and Health 64
- Social Groups 57
- Introduction to Sociology 55
- Development of Sociology and Important Sociologists 54
- Population and the Environment 48
- Sociology and Society 45
- Socialization 45
- Crime and Deviance 45
- Race and Ethnicity 39
- Social Mobility 37
- Technology & Media 36
- Globalization 35
- Population Growth 32
- Personality 31
- Sociology as a Science 30
- Groups and Organizations 30
- Political and Economic Power 29
- Community 26
- Role & Status 25
- Cities and Urban Life 20
- Social Interaction and Everyday Life 19
- Poverty in Pakistan 19
- Civil Society 18
- Work, Government and the Economy 17
- Urbanization in Pakistan 16
- Nations, War and Terrorism 14
- The Process of Socio-Economic change in Pakistan 13
- Poverty,Social,Exclusion and Welfare 12
- Aging in Pakistan 12
- Immigration Issues in Pakistan 11
- literacy in Pakistan 6
- Drug Abuse in Pakistan Society Its Causes and Consequences 5
For children, the family is the primary setting for which processes?
Correct answer C. Enculturation and socialisation
Which of these is an example of a total institution?
Correct answer B. A mental hospital
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What is one factor that has helped the dual-income family become more common?
Correct answer B. Shift in the economy of the United States from manufacturing to service industries
Andrew Cherlin and Frank Furstenberg Jr studied styles of grandparenting. What did they find to be the most common style?
Correct answer B. Function as 'specialists in recreational care-giving'
Roughly what proportion of people in the United States who divorce go on to remarry?
Correct answer D. Two-thirds of divorced women
Which of these economic systems is typically found in contemporary societies?
Correct answer B. Socialism
Which three basic sources of power exist within any political system?
Correct answer B. Force, influence and authority
According to Marx, under what condition would religion disappear?
Correct answer B. A socialist revolution removed the need for capitalist ideology
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What did Herberg’s 1955 study of religion in America suggest?
Correct answer D. All of the above
To whom did the Nation of Islam movement mainly appeal?
Correct answer B. African-Americans who felt excluded from the ethnic melting pot in the USA
According to Lawrence Stone’s research, what was happening to the nuclear family before industrialisation?
Correct answer C. Had begun to emerge through the separation of work and home life
What does the growth of new social movements suggest?
Correct answer D. All of the above
Which term best describes the pattern of marriage found in contemporary Britain?
Correct answer C. Serial monogamy
Which ethnic group in contemporary Britain has the smallest proportion of one-parent families?
Correct answer D. Indian
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What was the average age of women at first marriage in England and Wales in 1971?
Correct answer D. 22.6
In Anthony Giddens’ ‘The Transformation of Intimacy’, which of these is NOT presented as a feature of intimate relationships in post-traditional societies?
Correct answer A. Liquid desire
Which of these religions is polytheistic?
Correct answer C. Hinduism
What is the process called by which schools help to reproduce social and economic inequalities from one generation to the next?
Correct answer C. Cultural reproduction
Which is the largest university in the UK?
Correct answer B. The Open University
About Social Institutions MCQs
Family and kinship take up a large part of this category. Questions ask you to identify nuclear and extended families from short descriptions, name the family of procreation formed by a spouse and children, compare one-parent family patterns among ethnic groups and recall research on grandparenting styles by Andrew Cherlin and Frank Furstenberg. Theories of mate selection, including complementary needs, also appear in several items.
Other questions deal with religion and interaction. You will meet polytheistic religions, the organisation of sects around a charismatic leader or doctrine, and the sociological study of how people behave towards one another in face-to-face encounters. Cooley's looking-glass self links institutions to the development of personal identity. These concepts are standard in sociology optional papers and are often tested through short scenario-based questions.
Key facts to remember
- A nuclear family consists of a married couple and their dependent children.
- An extended family includes relatives such as grandparents, aunts or uncles living together.
- The family of procreation is the family a person forms through marriage and having children.
- Cooley's looking-glass self explains how self-image develops from how we think others see us.
- Hinduism is an example of a polytheistic religion that recognises many deities.
Exams that include Social Institutions MCQs
Pakistan
- CSS
- PMS
- FPSC
- PPSC
- Lecturer tests
India
- UGC NET
- UPSC CSE
- State PSC exams
Bangladesh
- BCS
- NTRCA
- University admission tests (DU, RU, JU)
How to prepare for Social Institutions MCQs
- Practise classifying short family descriptions as nuclear, extended, orientation or procreation, since scenario questions are very common.
- Link each theory to its author, such as the looking-glass self to Cooley, to handle name-matching questions with confidence.
- Compare church, sect, denomination and cult by size, organisation and relationship with wider society in a small table.
- Read summaries of classic family studies, because examiners like to ask about the main conclusion of named researchers.
Frequently asked questions
What are social institutions in sociology?
Social institutions are relatively stable patterns of roles, rules and relationships that meet basic needs of society. The main ones are family, religion, education, economy and government. Each institution shapes behaviour, passes on values and helps maintain social order across generations.
How many Social Institutions MCQs are on MCQs360?
MCQs360 has 78 Social Institutions MCQs in its sociology section, each with an instant answer. Practice is free with no sign-up, and you can combine it with methods and research and religion, education and health for a broader sociology review.
Which exams ask Social Institutions MCQs?
These questions appear in the sociology optional papers of CSS and PMS and in sociology lecturer tests run by FPSC and PPSC. In India they are part of UGC NET Sociology and the UPSC CSE sociology optional. In Bangladesh they appear in BCS and university-level sociology examinations.
What is the difference between a family of orientation and a family of procreation?
The family of orientation is the family into which a person is born and raised, including parents and siblings. The family of procreation is the family a person creates as an adult through marriage or partnership and having children. Most people belong to both during their lives.
Last reviewed October 2026