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

Short Answer Questions

1. How can one gather information about the choice of the majority, in Schelling's example?

2. What can a closed system with a density enhancement include, in Schelling's analysis?

3. What assumption does Schelling make about people's feelings about nuclear weapons?

4. What does Schelling say are continuous variables?

5. In what war did Truman's successor have to decide whether to drop the bomb?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Schelling's Micromotives and Macrobehavior is grounded in the opposition between the individual's feelings and motives, and the aggregate society's behavior. How does Schelling resolve the tension or opposition between these two things? Can a social scientist analyze aggregate behavior from an aggregate perspective? What happens to the individual in the model for the society? Does this cause a problem for Schelling or any social scientist as someone who is describing phenomena that can only be seen in the aggregate?

Essay Topic 2

Which models are most convincing in predicting outcomes, and which models are least convincing? Describe a case where a model lines up neatly with phenomena, and another case where a model fails to account for behavior.

Essay Topic 3

Schelling writes that groups tend to gather around a primary distinction, but secondary distinctions still exist beneath the surface. Select a case study from history or from current events and describe the interplay between the dominant identifier and the relationship between sub-identifications within that group.

(see the answer keys)

This section contains 304 words (approx. 2 pages at 300 words per page) View a FREE sample