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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 is the second thing Schelling says a social behavior model can be?

2. What does Schelling say is important in economics?

3. What does Schelling say is the key to predicting whether there will be a critical mass?

4. What natural phenomenon does Schelling compare the economy to?

5. What does Schelling say you must know in order to understand what segregation might result from choice?

Short Essay Questions

1. What is a semi-closed system?

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

3. What does Schelling say is the best use for the models he is describing?

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

5. What aspect of the history of nuclear weapons does Schelling describe?

6. What is the key factor in the critical-mass model?

7. What does Schelling say is the trigger for the decisions that lead to segregation?

8. How do economic systems resemble ant colonies, in Schelling's analysis?

9. What are the nine ways Schelling describes by which propositions can be constrained successfully?

10. What would the demographic consequences be, if parents could select the traits of their children?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Can you speak accurately about the character of a people based on any particular model? Or can you only speak accurately about individuals whose motives you know and whose behavior you have discussed with them? Put another way, what are the limits of the kind of knowledge Schelling practices in Micromotives and Macrobehavior?

Essay Topic 2

Schelling seems to be making the point that segregation may be a social problem, but it is being acted out by individuals. Is his account complete, or is there an extent to which social behaviors are influenced by institutions and ideologies and unofficial policies? What role do these things play in segregation?

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.

(see the answer keys)

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