• 48 questions

Sociology Praxis Practice Test

Unofficial practice for Praxis Sociology (5952), spread over the six categories ETS publishes.

Five families in a survey report 1, 2, 2, 3 and 7 children. What is the mean number of children per family?

Pick an answer, then press Check answer. Then you see Correct or Not quite, with the reason. Keys: A to D pick, Enter checks.

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Exam mode: 48 questions, 48 minutes.

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Unofficial practice questions, not affiliated with ETS (Educational Testing Service). Bank checked October 14, 2026.

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All 48 questions

Perspectives and methods 10

  • A researcher starts with interviews and no fixed hypothesis, then works upward from her data to build an explanation. Which approach is she using? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 1.3F Theory and Practice. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 7.
  • A researcher wants to describe all 40,000 students at a university but can question only 500 of them. What must be true of the 500 before she can generalize from them? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 2.2A Surveys. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 4.
  • A researcher wants to learn what a wedding ring means to the people who wear one, so she holds long, open-ended interviews. Which perspective and kind of method fit her study? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 1.3D The Symbolic Interactionist Perspective. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 1.
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Perspectives and methods, continued

  • A sociologist counts how often women are quoted as experts in a year of front-page newspaper stories. Which research method is she using? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 2.2D Documents. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 4.
  • A sociologist explains that schools, courts and families each do a job that keeps society stable, much as organs keep a body alive. Which theoretical perspective is this? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 1.3B The Functionalist Perspective. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 1.
  • A study predicts that students who sleep more hours will earn higher test scores. In this hypothesis, what are the test scores? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 2.1C Formulating the Hypothesis. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 3.
  • Five families in a survey report 1, 2, 2, 3 and 7 children. What is the mean number of children per family? The answer is worked out again from the numbers in the question. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 5.
  • Max Weber held that sociologists have a duty to identify their own values and keep personal bias out of their research. What is this principle called? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 2.3E Value Neutrality in Sociological Research. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 6.
  • What was Durkheim's term for the norms, beliefs and values that the members of a society share and that bind them together? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 1.2F Durkheim and Social Integration. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 2.
  • Which early sociologist pictured society as a "social organism" that evolves from simpler to more complex forms, and coined the phrase "survival of the fittest"? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 1.2D Spencer and Social Darwinism. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, I. Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry (20%), topic 2.

Culture and socialization 12

  • A college senior with a job offer from a law firm starts to dress, talk and keep hours like the lawyers she will join. Which type of socialization is this? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 4.7C Anticipatory Socialization and Resocialization. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), B. Socialization, topic 2.
  • A new teacher measures her own classroom, pay and progress against those of the veteran teachers in her district. For her, what are the veteran teachers? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 6.1E Reference Groups. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), C. Social Organization, topic 3.
  • A skateboarding scene has its own slang, dress and heroes, yet its members share most of the wider society's culture. What is this group? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 3.4A Subcultures. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), A. Culture, topic 2.
  • According to social exchange theory, how do people judge whether an action or a relationship is worth it? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 5.2B Exchange. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), C. Social Organization, topic 1.
  • An anthropologist says a ritual she finds strange has to be understood as one part of that people's own larger system of meanings. Which principle is she applying? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 3.1E Ethnocentrism and Cultural Relativism. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), A. Culture, topic 2.
  • At which stage of life does the influence of the peer group, as an agent of socialization, typically peak? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 4.5E Peer Groups. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), B. Socialization, topic 3.
  • Before a job interview a candidate picks his suit, rehearses his answers and hides his nerves so that the panel will see him as confident. What is this effort called in dramaturgy? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 5.1C Dramaturgy. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), C. Social Organization, topic 2.
  • Before their child arrives, parents paint the nursery pink or blue and choose "boy" or "girl" toys. Which process has already begun? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 4.6A Gender Socialization. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), A. Culture, topic 3.
  • Cooley's looking-glass self has three components. Which one comes first? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 4.3B Cooley. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), B. Socialization, topic 1.
  • For George Herbert Mead, where does the self come from? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 4.3C Mead. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), B. Socialization, topic 1.
  • In the study of social networks, what is a weak tie? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 5.3H Social Networks. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), C. Social Organization, topic 3.
  • Which term names norms that are widely observed and carry great moral significance, as distinct from everyday customs? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 7.1B Norms and Sanctions. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, II. Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization (25%), A. Culture, topic 1.

Social stratification 7

  • A landlord privately dislikes members of a minority group but rents to every applicant on the same terms. Which description fits him? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 10.4A Prejudice. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, III. Social Stratification (15%), topic 3.
  • A nurse leaves one hospital for the same job, at the same pay and rank, in another city. What kind of social mobility is this? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 9.4D Types of Social Mobility. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, III. Social Stratification (15%), topic 6.
  • A plumber earns far more than a college professor but ranks below her in education and prestige. What do sociologists call this mismatch among a person's rankings? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 9.1E Status Inconsistency. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, III. Social Stratification (15%), topic 2.
  • New technology industries open thousands of well-paid jobs, and a whole generation of factory workers' children moves into the middle class. What kind of mobility is this? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 9.4C Open vs. Closed Stratification Systems. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, III. Social Stratification (15%), topic 6.
  • Which theory of global inequality argues that poor nations stay poor because they hold on to traditional attitudes, beliefs, technologies and institutions? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 8.2A Global Stratification and Inequality. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, III. Social Stratification (15%), topic 4.
  • Which view of stratification holds that inequality lasts because it benefits the rich and powerful at the expense of the poor? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 8.6B The Conflict Perspective- Class Conflict and Scarce Resources. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, III. Social Stratification (15%), topic 5.
  • Why do sociologists look at property, and not only income, when they place a household in a social class? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 9.1B Property. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, III. Social Stratification (15%), topic 1.

Deviance and conformity 7

  • A man takes a phone call and talks loudly all through a funeral service. No law is broken. What kind of deviance is this? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 7.1A Deviance. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, IV. Deviance and Conformity (15%), topic 1.
  • A student finds a wallet and hands it in because keeping it would feel wrong, although nobody would ever know. Which means of social control is at work? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 7.2A Social Control Theory. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, IV. Deviance and Conformity (15%), topic 2.
  • An employee nods along with her manager's opinions in meetings while privately keeping her own. Which of Herbert Kelman's three types of conformity is this? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 7.2B Conformity and Obedience. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, IV. Deviance and Conformity (15%), topic 1.
  • In Erving Goffman's account, what does a stigma do to a person? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 7.1C Deviance and Social Stigma. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, IV. Deviance and Conformity (15%), topic 1.
  • In Robert K. Merton's strain theory, what is the strain between? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 7.4B Strain Theory- How Social Values Produce Deviance. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, IV. Deviance and Conformity (15%), topic 2.
  • In the United States criminal justice system, what is a jail? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 7.8C Prisons. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, IV. Deviance and Conformity (15%), topic 4.
  • Which sociologist coined the term "white-collar crime" in 1939? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 7.7G White-Collar Crime. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, IV. Deviance and Conformity (15%), topic 3.

Social institutions 7

  • A chief rules because his family has always ruled, and the office passes to his heir by the rules of inheritance. Which of Weber's types of authority is this? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 15.1E Traditional Authority. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, V. Social Institutions (15%), topic 10.
  • A clan requires its members to marry someone from outside the clan. What is this marriage rule called? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 4.5A Family. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, V. Social Institutions (15%), topic 1.
  • How do the ideas of dictatorship and totalitarianism differ? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 15.3C Dictatorship and Totalitarianism. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, V. Social Institutions (15%), topic 11.
  • Two divorced parents marry each other and bring the children of their earlier marriages into one household. Which family structure have they formed? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 12.1C Family Structures. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, V. Social Institutions (15%), topic 3.
  • What are the two main branches of Islam? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 14.6E Religious Denominations. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, V. Social Institutions (15%), topic 4.
  • What did the Coleman Report conclude about differences in student achievement? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 13.2B Colemans Study of Between-School Effects in American Education. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, V. Social Institutions (15%), topic 8.
  • Which description is the sociological meaning of mass media? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 4.5F Mass Media and Technology. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, V. Social Institutions (15%), topic 16.

Demography and social change 5

  • A demographer reports 1,500 deaths of children under 1 year old in a year with 250,000 live births. What is the infant mortality rate? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 17.1B Mortality. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, VI. Demography and Social Change (10%), topic 4.
  • A long drought and a lack of jobs lead farm families to leave their region. In Lee's account of migration, what are the drought and the job shortage? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 17.1C Migration. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, VI. Demography and Social Change (10%), topic 4.
  • Families leave a large city for its suburbs, exurbs and nearby small towns, and the city shrinks. What is the broad name for this movement? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 17.3G The Rural Rebound. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, VI. Demography and Social Change (10%), topic 2.
  • Which kind of company does the study of globalization single out as an important factor in the process? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 16.2I Corporations and Corporate Power. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, VI. Demography and Social Change (10%), topic 3.
  • Workers whose pay has risen still join a protest, because similar workers in the next town gained far more. Which idea explains their discontent? Sociology (Boundless), LibreTexts, 21.3E Relative Deprivation Approach. Outline: ETS Study Companion for Praxis 5952, VI. Demography and Social Change (10%), topic 1.

How this list was compiled: Our own questions, written to the test specifications of the ETS Study Companion for Praxis Sociology (5952) (https://www.ets.org/pdfs/praxis/5952.pdf, read 2026-10-13; test page https://praxis.ets.org/test/5952.html): Sociological Perspectives and Methods of Inquiry 20%, Culture, Socialization, and Social Organization 25%, Social Stratification 15%, Deviance and Conformity 15%, Social Institutions 15%, Demography and Social Change 10%. The bank holds 10, 12, 7, 7, 7 and 5 questions. Every fact was read on 2026-10-14 in the section the question names of Sociology (Boundless), an openly licensed textbook hosted by LibreTexts (https://socialsci.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Sociology/Introduction_to_Sociology/Sociology_(Boundless)). The two arithmetic answers are worked out again from the numbers in the question. Licence: Questions, choices and explanations are original work of this site.

How it works

A free Sociology Praxis practice test of 48 questions written for this site, covering all six content categories of Praxis Sociology (5952). It is unofficial practice, with no tie to ETS.

Read the full guide

What the test covers

By the Study Companion read October 13, 2026: perspectives and methods of inquiry (20%), culture, socialization and social organization (25%), social stratification (15%), deviance and conformity (15%), social institutions (15%) and demography and social change (10%). This bank holds 10, 12, 7, 7, 7 and 5. ETS says the test covers sociology as the American Sociological Association defines it.

Where the answers come from

Each explanation names a section of Sociology (Boundless), an openly licensed textbook hosted by LibreTexts, so a missed question points to the pages to read.

  • Learn each thinker with one idea: Spencer and social evolution, Durkheim and collective consciousness, Weber and value neutrality, Merton and strain.
  • Keep paired terms apart: prejudice is an attitude and discrimination is an act; vertical mobility changes rank and horizontal mobility does not.

Questions and answers

Is this Sociology Praxis practice test the real exam?

No. All 48 questions were written for this site from the ETS test specifications for Sociology (5952). None repeats or rewords a real test question or an ETS sample question, and a result here does not forecast a real score.

How many questions are on the Praxis Sociology test?

The ETS page for test 5952 gives 120 selected-response questions and 2 hours, taken on a computer. Its Study Companion adds that some of them may not count toward the score.

What score do I need to pass Praxis Sociology?

No national cut score exists. ETS says passing scores are set by states and licensing agencies and vary by state, so check the number where you will teach. This page shows a count of correct answers and nothing more.

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