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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. What does Schelling use his lecture to an audience of 800 people to illustrate?

2. When does Schelling say social behavior can be considered a critical mass?

3. What does Schelling say about the frequency of pairs?

4. Which example does Schelling say complicates the prospect of arriving at a definitive proposition?

5. What does Schelling say social scientists consider in behavior modeling?

Short Essay Questions

1. How does Schelling describe segregation?

2. What is the behavioral model that would make arms reduction a self-fulfilling prophecy?

3. How is nuclear arms control a self-fulfilling prophecy, in Schelling's analysis/

4. What are the two important components of idealized models of integration and segregation, in Schelling's analysis?

5. What natural preference does Schelling say leads to segregation of populations in American cities?

6. What would be the consequence of parents preferring boys to girls, in Schelling's analysis?

7. What hope does Schelling have for the future of nuclear weapons?

8. In what way does a thermostat mirror the behaviors of many systems, in Schelling's analysis?

9. What does Schelling mean when he says that certain behaviors have the character of mathematical "identical truisms"?

10. How does Schelling describe nuclear weapons in his final chapter?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Where are economic models and their concept of equilibrium useful? What kinds of behaviors do they help social scientists to influence? What kinds of behaviors are not accounted for in these mathematical-economic models?

Essay Topic 2

What does Schelling mean when he says that systems strive for equilibrium? Use an example of a system that naturally seeks equilibrium--and define that equilibrium--and describe a natural system that does not seek equilibrium. What do the exceptions show about the general tendency?

Essay Topic 3

What institutions or roles is the social scientist playing by analyzing, predicting and trying to influence human behavior? Is the social scientist a preacher, engineer, or artist? What roles does he take, and how is the social scientist different? Cite examples from the book as you make your answer.

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