Sociology Chapter 2

popular culture.

Cultural patterns that are widespread among a society's population are referred to as:

values

Standards by which people who share culture define what is desirable, good, and beautiful are called:

Sociologists define a symbol as:

anything that carries a meaning to people who share a culture.

Cultural universals are cultural traits that:

are part of every known culture.

The concept "subculture" refers to:

cultural patterns that set apart a segment of a society's population.

What is the term for the beliefs, values, behavior, and material objects that, together, constitute a people's way of life?

culture

sociology

discipline defines itself as "the systematic study of human society"

If two variables are correlated, then one is the cause of the other.

false

Sociologists should make use of only one theoretical approach.

false

The United States has a popular culture, but has never had a high culture.

false

The race-conflict approach helps sociologists see how little racial inequality remains in U.S. society.

false

The "framework for building theory that sees society as an arena of inequality that generates conflict and change" is which of the following?

he social-conflict approach

The United States falls within which of the following categories?

high income nation

The social-conflict approach draws attention to:

how elements contribute to the overall operation of society.

The concept "ethnocentrism" refers to:

judging another culture by the standards of one's own culture.

__________ distinguish between right and wrong; __________ distinguish between polite and rude.

mores and

Culture acts as a constraint on human freedom because:

much culture is habit and is repeated again and again.

The ideal of objectivity means that a researcher:

must strive to be personally neutral about the outcome of the research.

Which of the following is a way of understanding the world based on science?

positivism

The United States has now entered which technological era?

postindustrial

Which research method asks subjects to respond to a series of items in a questionnaire or an interview?

survey

A recent trend is for more of the same cultural patterns to be found the world over-the emergence of more "global culture."

true

The Sapir-Whorf thesis states that the language we use shapes the reality we perceive.

true

The sociological perspective helps us assess the truth of the "common sense" beliefs most people take for granted.

true

The sociologist who stated that the point is not just to understand the world but to change it was Karl Marx.

true

Values and norms define a society's "ideal culture." True

true

From a sociological perspective, patterns of childbearing around the world suggest that the number of children born to a woman reflects:

whether she lives in a poor or rich society

passing cultural patterns from one generation to another.

Cultural transmission refers to the process of:

self-expression

High-income nations tend to have cultural values that emphasize:

Which of the following questions summarizes the focus of the symbolic-interaction approach?

How do people experience society?

What might a sociologist say about why an individual chooses a particular person to marry?

This shows that the social world guides human behavior

Cultural lag refers to the fact that some cultural elements change more quickly than others do.

True

As a part of human culture, religion would be an example of:

nonmaterial culture.

The spread of virtual culture means that culture is now less likely to be:

passed down from one generation to the next.

Among all forms of life, humans stand out as the only species that:

relies on culture to ensure survival.

The theoretical approach in sociology that views society as a complex system whose parts work together to promote solidarity and stability is the:

structural-functional approach.

Which theoretical approach highlights the fact that it is not so much what people do that matters as much as the meaning they attach to their behavior?

symbolic-interaction approach

Which of the following phrases best describes the focus of the structural-functional approach?

the consequences of social patterns for the operation of society

To identify cause-and-effect relationships, it is usually necessary to exercise experimental control of variables.

true

Validity refers to actually measuring exactly what one intends to measure.

true