Sociology 1301 Test 2

What has modern science determined about racial categories?

Biologically there is no such thing as a pure race.

Which of the following best describes the economic system found in the United States?

While the United States is a capitalist nation, it also has socialist elements.

If you got pulled over for speeding, and the punishment was 20 years in prison, it might make you reconsider the speed at which you drive, right? This idea is called:

deterrence.

A man is riding on a bus when suddenly, for no reason, he stands up and yells, "FIRE! FIRE!" There is clearly no fire, and people are really irritated at the delay this causes. His behavior was:

deviance

According to conflict theory, what is the real source of racism?

the struggle for power and control

There is no link between poverty and access to adequate water supplies.

False

The United States has the lowest infant mortality rate in the world.

false

The cultural and economic changes resulting from dramatically increased international trade and exchange in the late twentieth and early twenty-first centuries are called:

globalization.

The cultural and economic changes that result from dramatic increases in international trade and exchange are called:

globalization.

The Industrial Revolution changed not only working conditions, but also many other elements of daily life.

True

The economic benefits of outsourcing are gained by businesses, but the disadvantages are felt by workers.

True

The peak age for committing both property and violent crimes is under twenty years old.

True

How do sociologists define race?

a social category based on real or perceived biological differences

Because social mobility is possible in the United States, the country is considered to be:

an open system.

The number of deaths in a given year per 1,000 people is referred to as the:

mortality rate.

The belief that all Irish are drunks is an example of:

prejudice.

Weber would argue that a person who belongs to an exclusive country club would belong to a higher social class due to that membership's:

prestige.

Which of the following is one of the primary principles of capitalism?

privatization of the means of production

The Industrial Revolution led many people to move from __________ areas.

rural to urban

Johnny got sick and missed a week of school. He failed the test when he came back. His friends called him stupid. He was so upset that he didn't want to go back to school, so he skipped a lot of classes. His teachers said that he wasn't a good student, so he decided to drop out of school. What happened?

self-fulfilling prophecy

David Rosenhan argues that misdiagnosis is particularly a problem for psychologists, as a diagnosis of a mental illness is as influential on the patient as it is on her relatives and friends. It should not surprise anyone that the diagnosis acts as a(n):

self-fulfilling prophecy.

Insider trading is an example of:

white-collar crimes.

How does structural strain theory explain the existence of deviance?

Deviance is the result of the tension between socially approved goals and an individual's ability to meet those goals through socially approved means.

Which major U.S. racial group has the lowest high school drop-out rate?

Asian Americans

German sociologist Ferdinand Tonnies, in 1887, wrote a work entitled, Gemeinschaft und Gesellschaft, which roughly translates as "Community" and "Society". The United States, given the choice would be considered a_______________, and Japan would be considered a ________________.

Gesellschaft, Gesellschaft

What was one of the key differences between hunting and gathering societies and horticultural societies?

Horticultural societies tended to have more permanent settlements.

How do self-fulfilling prophecies work?

We respond not only to the objective features of a situation, but also to its meaning. Once meaning has been assigned to our behavior, the consequences of that behavior are determined by the meaning.

How is Max Weber's idea of social class different from Karl Marx's?

Weber believed that wealth, power, and prestige could all affect a person's social class.

Stealing avocados, or almost any other agricultural product, is a felony in California if the product is worth more than $100. Supporters of the law believe that it is the only way to protect farmers from vagrants and transients who can ruin the viability of small farms. However if you believe that such laws also target homeless people who are simply trying to eat, and that they are punished because they have almost no power within society, then you are probably:

a conflict theorist.

The birth rate in Italy is much lower than it was in the past, with the average woman now expected to bear about 1.3 children, far fewer children than are needed to replace two parents. What might this lead to?

a demographic freefall

How do sociologists define a minority group?

a group whose members suffer from unequal treatment

What did Robert Merton call a prediction that came true only because the prediction was made?

a self-fulfilling prophecy

What serious social problem might be made worse if more people were encouraged to telecommute?

alienation and loneliness

Which of the following is NOT an example of discrimination?

believing that African Americans are better dancers than white people

Which of the following is an example of a prejudice?

believing that Asians are better at math

Angela's mother says to her, "I don't want you to hang around with Melissa. She's going to be a bad influence on you." The mother may not know it, but she's subscribing to which theory?

differential association theory

An action or behavior that results in the unequal treatment of an individual because of his membership in a racial or ethnic group is called:

discrimination.

Benny does freelance work from home. What is most likely the best benefit of this arrangement?

flexibility

According to Merton's structural strain theory, an individual who deals drugs in order to get rich would be called a/an:

innovator.

Ascribed status is usually involuntary and often assigned at birth. Achieved status is voluntary and often based on merit, ability, or achievement. What sort of status would you expect to find in a closed system?

mostly ascribed status

A company that hires an engineer in India because she can be paid significantly lower wages than an engineer in the United States is practicing:

outsourcing.

The unequal distribution of wealth, power, and prestige in society is called:

social inequality.

A man who has his Ph.D. in sociology, yet continues to work as a cashier at a retail store, is an example of:

status inconsistency.

Robert Merton developed structural strain theory to explain why deviance happens. What sort of strain does the theory's name refer to?

strain between socially approved goals and the means that an individual has for realizing them

Which sociological theory would agree with the following statement: "Deviance helps society clarify moral boundaries and promotes social cohesion"?

structural functionalism

Which of the following would most worry Thomas Malthus?

the U.S. government refusing to fund international agencies that provide family planning services

The economy is not only about money, but also about:

the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services.

In the early 1900s, native-born Americans, usually Protestants, did not consider Irish, Italian, or Jewish immigrants to be white. What does this illustrate?

the social construction of race

What new technology was integral to the Industrial Revolution?

the steam engine

What is Durkheim's term for a state of normlessness?

Anomie

In the early 1900s, what percentage of Americans lived in cities?

40 percent

The Industrial Revolution made cities necessary, as a large number of people had to be brought in to work in factories, but ever since then many people have found city life attractive. Why?

Cities offer a high degree of personal freedom

Sociological research has consistently shown that, as punishments become more severe, the crime rate declines.

False

The words "race" and "ethnicity" are used interchangeably because they mean essentially the same thing.

False

Demographers estimate that by the year 2042 white people will comprise less than half the U.S. population, which will mean that sociologists will no longer use the term "minority" to describe nonwhite races because it will no longer be numerically true.

False

Most poor people in the United States are unemployed.

False

Based on what you read about the Agricultural Revolution, which of the following is true?

Food production was greatly increased by new innovations in farming and animal husbandry.

Anti-Malthusians believe that Thomas Malthus couldn't have envisioned the many modern developments that impact population demographics. What is it that the anti-Malthusians worry about?

Populations will begin to drop.

Which of the following brought about the rapid transformation of social life resulting from the technological and economic developments that began with the assembly line, steam power, and urbanization?

Industrial Revolution

How is institutional discrimination different from individual discrimination?

Institutional discrimination is more systematic and widespread.

How has Earth's population changed in the last fifty years?

It has more than tripled.

Which of the following is a characteristic of capitalism?

It is based on the laws of market competition.

Who was the theorist who said that a major source of conflict in society was the result of the inequality that existed between workers and owners?

Karl Marx

If the neo-Malthusians are correct, what dramatic changes would you expect to occur in this map at some point in the future?

Life expectancy would decline almost everywhere.

Adam is worried that at some point in the future, people would far outnumber the available land and food sources. Which theory agrees with Adam?

Malthus theorem

Which of the following is NOT a feature of a minority group?

Minority group members believe they are superior to the majority.

What explanation does functionalism have for prejudice and discrimination today?

Prejudice and discrimination help to increase group cohesion.

For a long time, the fact that immigrants from Eastern Europe, Asia, and Latin America tended to be shorter than native-born Americans was taken as evidence that there were inherent racial differences between these populations. However, the immigrants had children who grew up to be as tall as anyone else, and geneticists now tell us that, while there can be considerable variation in height within a group due to genetics, differences between groups are largely caused by diet. What does this demonstrate?

Racial differences are socially constructed and not genetic.

In the 1900s, there was a strong prejudice against Irish immigrants and their descendants. Editorial cartoons often depicted the Irish as physically distinct and as looking like apes. What does this tell you about the history of race in the United States?

The Irish were once considered to be a separate race.

According to the structural strain theory of deviance as articulated by Robert Merton, what is one of the principal reasons that people turn to deviant behavior in the United States?

The goal of success is shared by a majority of people, but not everyone has equal means to achieve that goal.

What sort of social mobility is possible in a caste system?

There is little or no chance of social mobility.

Figure 6.1 Merton's Typology of Deviance Examine the graphic depiction above of Robert Merton's typology of deviance. Why do you think that those who embrace both new means and new goals are depicted as being just barely connected to the other types that Merton described?

They advocate a radical alternative to the existing social order and are trying to break free from everyone else.

A person who is not prejudiced may still participate in discrimination.

True

What is the most extreme form of socialism called?

communism

If you start out at your job as a janitor, but retire as the vice president of operations, you would likely have experienced:

social mobility.

The division of a society into groups arranged in a social hierarchy is called:

social stratification

If someone tells you that you are "middle class," they would be describing your:

socioeconomic status.

Robert Merton's structural strain theory sees deviance as the result of a person's position in a social structure. What do you think that Jack Katz, author of Seductions of Crime, would say about structural strain theory?

A focus on social position misses the emotional appeal that a deviant act has for an individual.

The invention and widespread iuse of the plow (and later irrigation) launched a economic revolution that is sometimes called the "birth of the modern". This revolution is known as:

Agrarianism

Azka wants to study human populations and their impact on the natural world. This would be called:

social ecology.

How is prejudice different from discrimination?

Prejudice is an attitude; discrimination is an action.

If the anti-Malthusians are correct, what will this graph look like over the next several hundred years?

The population will eventually level off to a more or less straight line.

Sociologists argue that no behavior, not even one designed to kill a great number of people, is inherently deviant.

True

Sociologists can say that deviance is relative because whether a behavior is considered deviant depends upon the historical, cultural, and/or situational context in which it occurs

True

Which sociological theory would agree with the following statement: "Deviance is defined by the powerful, and the behaviors of the less powerful are more likely to be criminalized than the behaviors of the powerful"?

conflict theory

Skyler is interested in studying how many people live in New Mexico, what race they are, and where the state is most densely populated. What kind of study research would Skyler do?

demography

The study of the size, composition, distribution, and change in a human population is called:

demography.

In order for a behavior, trait, or belief to be considered deviant, it must:

depart from a norm and generate a negative reaction.

If someone breaks into your house or car, that person has committed:

property crimes.

A set of beliefs about the superiority of one racial or ethnic group compared to another is:

racism

In the past, the vast majority of people lived in rural areas and small towns where it was truly shocking to encounter a genuine stranger, but today most of us live in cities where we are constantly surrounded by total strangers. This leads directly to:

social atomization

A sociologist who examines how cities are organized or the migration of human populations is studying:

social ecology

Which of the following would sociologists consider the best definition of deviance?

violations of social norms

Which of the following statements about slavery is false?

Historically, the only way one could become a slave was based on race. Slavery is still legal in a few nations in the world today. Slavery no longer takes place anywhere in the world today. All of these statements are false.

Will world population continue to grow, or will it eventually stabilize?

We may not know the answer for many years

How do sociologists define ethnicity?

a group with a shared ancestry or shared cultural heritage

If Georg Simmel is correct, in which type of community would you be LEAST likely to have a friendly relationship with your neighbors?

a large city

A woman who works on an assembly line on the floor of a factory has a:

blue-collar job.

What is causing the increase in air pollution in China and India

economic growth and prosperity

The dramatic decline in the population of Vietnam due to refugees leaving the country during the Vietnam War is an example of:

emigration

Given that fertility rates in the United States have dropped below the level needed to maintain the population level, why is the population here growing?

immigration

According to Georg Simmel, how do city dwellers relate to one another?

in objective and instrumental terms

What racial issue does functionalism help to explain?

the assimilation of European ethnic groups into larger society