Sociology Test #1
Bob's football coach is a very important role model in his life. Many of Bob's actions are attempts to win the approval of his coach. Based on Merton's theory of development, which concept applies most to the relationship between Bob and his coach?
Bob's coach is one of his significant others.
"Sunny" is a professional shoplifter. "Walker" is a member of the Devil's Disciples and an avid Satan worshipper. In view of this, which statement is most correct regarding "Sunny" and "Walker"?
Both Sunny and Walker belong to countercultures.
What sociologist developed the concept of looking-glass self?
Charles Horton Cooley
What social scientist proposed the idea that societies evolve from a lower, barbaric form to a higher, civilized form in a process he called social Darwinism?
Herbert Spencer
Based on Emile Durkheim's research on suicide, which of the following individuals would be the greatest risk of suicide?
Herbert, a single Protestant man living in the city.
What is the underlying principle of symbolic interactionism?
It analyzes how one's behavior depends on the way they define themselves and others.
Wayne always wears a lapel pin on his suit signifying that he was the recipient of the Medal of Honor when he was in the service. Usually, only veterans recognize what the pin actually means. In view of this, which of the following terms best describes Wayne's lapel pin?
It is a symbol to which people attach meaning.
In earlier generations there was a serious contradiction in social values in America. On one hand, America stood for freedom, democracy, and equality. But another value, group superiority, promoted aspects of American culture that flew in the face of equality because they were racist. As a result of this value contradiction, what was the outcome?
It was an impetus for social change
Who was the first sociologist to win the Nobel Prize for Peace?
Jane Addams
How did Karl Marx and Max Weber differ in their theoretical assumptions?
Marx believed economics was the central force driving social change, and Weber claimed it was religion.
How do members of a society acquire the ability to use and understand gestures?
Most gestures are learned through interaction with others.
What conclusions can be drawn from the case study of Oskar and Jack, the identical twins who were born in 1932 and raised in very different cultures?
One's orientation to life is largely the result of environment.
In experimental research, what is the purpose of the control group?
The control group does not receive exposure to the independent variable. The control group offers a standard against which to compare the effects of the independent variable.
What was the result of the study conducted by H. M. Skeels and H. B. Dye where they placed an experimental group of mentally challenged babies in an institution to be cared for by mentally challenged adults?
The intelligence scores of the babies significantly increased when retested two and a half years later.
Based on the theories formulated by Karl Marx, what was the ultimate goal of the proletariat?
The proletariat sought to develop a classless society free of exploitation.
What was the result of intensified remedial training given to Genie, a 13-year-old feral child discovered in California in 1970?
The training had little effect, and Genie's language remained primitive.
According to anthropologist Paul Ekman, what is the driving force behind the six basic emotions that appear to be universal (anger, disgust, fear, happiness, sadness and surprise)?
These emotions are built into our biology and are a product of our genes.
Leo, Matthew, Ryan, Liz, isabelle, and Francois grew up together, attended the same schools, and share many of the same interests. Sociologically which concept best describes their relationship?
They comprise a peer group.
A society's material culture usually experiences a change first, and the nonmaterial culture catches up to the change later.
True
Applied sociology is the term used to describe the use of sociology to solve social problems in business, the workplace, and other aspects of society.
True
Early interaction with other human beings is necessary to establish intelligence and the ability to experience close bonds with others.
True
Individuals who become homeless because of welfare reform legislation that cuts all payments to non-working Americans after two years would be classified as a dysfunction of the legislation.
True
Max Weber referred to the self-denying approach to life as the Protestant ethic.
True
Technology sets the framework for a group's nonmaterial culture.
True
Who was the first African American to earn a doctoral degree from Harvard University?
W. E. B. Du Bois
Jane is a very good student. During spring break, she lets loose and engages in wild partying and has the nickname "Calamity Jane." Sociologically, which of the following descriptions best applies to Jane?
When Jane goes on spring break she is on a moral holiday.
Who coined the phrase "cultural lag"?
William Ogburn
Which of the following media least qualifies as a form of mass media?
academic journals
Americans believe that people who get ahead at work and at school deserve praise. What value identified by sociologist Robin Williams is illustrated by this belief?
achievement and success
What is the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors called?
resocialization
Jose is conducting research on organized crime. Rather than interviewing criminals or going undercover, he is examining data that someone else has collected. Which research method is Jose using?
secondary analysis
What term do sociologists use to describe the corners in life that people occupy because of where they are located in society?
social location
Which theoretical perspective stresses that society is a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together harmoniously?
structural functional theory
Which term describes a group that has a distinctive way of looking at life, but at the same time their values and norms reflect the dominant culture of their society?
subculture
What is another term for nonmaterial culture?
symbolic culture
Cordell has done an extensive study of the increase in divorce rates in the United States since 1950. He has come to the conclusion that the transformation of American society has resulted in a redefinition of love, marriage, children, and the rate of divorce. In view of this, with which sociological perspective would Cordell's conclusion be most aligned?
symbolic interactionism
What term refers to the skills or procedures necessary to make and use tools?
technology
According to George Herbert Mead's theory of human development, what term describes the active, spontaneous, creative part of the self?
the "I"
What term refers to how our language determines our consciousness and perceptions of objects and events?
the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis
What is another term for Freud's concept of the superego?
the conscience
In Piaget's model, in which stage do children become "young philosophers" who are capable of abstract thinking?
the formal operational stage
Frank is examining the broad stream of events that have occurred over the past 50 years and the specific experiences of his own life. By doing so, what sociological process has Frank undertaken?
the sociological imagination
Which of the following does James Henslin describe as "opening a window onto unfamiliar worlds" and offering a fresh look at familiar worlds"?
the sociological perspective
Herbert Spencer believed that societies evolved from lower to higher forms because as generations pass, the most capable and intelligent members of society prosper while the less capable die out. What term did Spencer use to describe this process?
the survival of the fittest
In what stage of development would George Herbert Mead indicate a child must learn to take multiple roles?
the team games stage
According to George Herbert Mead, how does a child learn to take the role of others?
through play and imitation
Sanctions can be positive or negative.
true
United States society contains thousands of subcultures.
true
When using unobtrusive measures, the researcher observes the behavior of people without the subjects' knowledge that they are being studied.
true
When related values overlap and reinforce one another, as with the values of hard work, education, and achievement, what term is used to describe this relationship?
value cluster
Which set of concepts best illustrates nonmaterial culture?
beliefs, values, norms
What did Max Weber believe to be the force behind the rise in capitalism?
changes in religion
Which sociological perspective views society as being composed of groups that engage in fierce competition for scarce resources?
conflict theory
What sociological concept explains why native peoples in remote South American rainforests can be found using metal cooking pots?
cultural diffusion
When American servicemen occupied Japan following World War II, the Japanese watched the Americans playing baseball, appreciated the sport, and adopted it themselves. Today, baseball is one of the most popular sports in Japan. This adoption of baseball by the Japanese is an example of _________.
cultural diffusion
What sociological concept is illustrated by the adoption of Western dress and culture in Japan, the presence of McDonald's resturants in Moscow and Hong Kong, and Chinese restaurants in the U.S. and France?
cultural leveling
Marshall is exploring how the various aspects of the Lenape culture fit together, including their religion, family values, agricultural efforts, and customs, without judging those elements as being inferior or superior to modern Western ways. In doing so, what sociological concept is Marshall practicing?
cultural relativism
What term do sociologists use to describe the language, beliefs, values, norms, behavior and material objects shared by members of society that are also passed from one generation to the next?
culture
What is the term used to describe feelings of disorientation and confusion when encountering values, behaviors, and expectations totally different from those to which one is accustomed?
culture shock
It is not uncommon for violence to accompany clashes between supporters of abortion rights and those opposed to abortion. What term would sociologist use to describe this clash of values?
culture war
What component of nonmaterial culture is expressed by shaking one's head side to side to mean "no" and up and down to mean "yes"?
gestures
What are the two components C. Wright Mills identified as being fundamental to understanding the sociological imagination?
history and biography
American parents encourage their children to be hard working, efficient, practical, and individualistic. What is the name for these values-along with other norms, beliefs, and mores- that parents hope their children adopt because they are worth aiming for?
ideal culture
Which set of concepts best illustrates material culture?
jewelry, art, hairstyles
What is a system of symbols that can be strung together in an infinite number of ways for the purpose of communicating abstract thought?
language
Which term is used to describe a group's way of thinking, gestures, language, values and social norms?
nonmaterial culture
What are the expectations or rules of behavior that develop out of a group's values?
norms
Jimmy and Alex are doing a survey on the opinion undergraduate students have regarding academic services at their college. There are 12,000 undergraduate students, and they plan to survey 2,000 of them. The 12,000 students would be the _____ and the 2,000 students surveyed would be the ____________.
population; sample
What term describes hugs, smiles, and "high fives" that are freely given between two individuals as a sign of expressing approval for following a norm?
positive sanctions
Corrine is a six-year-old who can count to 100 but is not actually sure what the numbers mean. According to Piaget, what stage is she in?
preoperational
What term do sociologists use to describe the norms and values that people actually follow as opposed to those they would follow if they lived in a "perfect world"?
real culture
Which of the following is least applicable to material culture?
religious doctrine that permits a man to have several wives
Repeating a study by other researchers to compare the results is referred to as falsification.
False, replication
The appreciation of other cultures and the desire to judge them based on their unique qualities is ethnocentrism.
False- it is cultural relativism
George has a habit of mixing his peas or corn in his mashed potatoes and then eating them with a butter knife at dinner. Which phrase best describes George's behavior in the dining hall?
George is guilty of violating a folkway.
In 1837, before Durkheim and Weber were born, who published Society in America?
Harriet Martineau
What social scientist first proposed applying the scientific method to the social world, a practice known as positivism?
Auguste Comte
Dr. Hoohlihan dresses quite professionally when she is teaching at the local college. In private, she enjoys wearing jeans and t-shirts. In view of this, how would Mead describe Dr. Hoohlihan's behavior?
Dr. Hoohlihan is responding to her generalized others at college and is concerned about how her students and colleagues view her.
Who were the two anthropologists who developed the conclusion that language has embedded within it ways of looking at the world?
Edward Sapir; Benjamin Whorf
Who was awarded the first academic appointment in sociology?
Emile Durkheim
Which of the following phrases best describes a random sample?
Everyone in the population has the same chance of being included in the study.
Anthropologist Ralph Linton made the remark, "The last thing a fish would ever notice would be water." How does the meaning of this statement relate to the understanding of culture?
Except in unusual circumstances, the effects of our own culture are imperceptible to us.
Symbolic interactionism and structural functionalism are both theoretical perspectives that rely on macro-level analysis.
False
Who is the 20th century sociologist who dismissed the organic analogy of society but maintained the essence of functionalism using the terms functions and dysfunctions to describe the consequence of people's actions?
Robert Merton
When sociologists use the phrase, "the culture within us," what do they mean?
Shared and learned ways of believing and doing become taken-for-granted assumptions.
To be classified as a society, what are the two key qualities a group of people must share?
a common culture and territory
Jimmy has just joined a fraternity. As part of his initiation he has been forced to strip naked and roll around in a tub of mud. After the "mud bath" the fraternity brothers greeted Jimmy as a full brother and equal. What is another name for this aspect of resocialization that Jimmy has just experienced?
a degradation ceremony
Which of the following would be the best example of a total institution?
a mental hospital
What term describes a society which is made up of many different religious, racial, and ethnic groups?
a pluralistic society
Becky and Frank are designing a study of certain human behavior to determine whether the source of the behavior is rooted in "nature or nurture." Which of the following research methods would be likely to yield the most significant results?
a study of identical twins separated at birth
What term did Merton use to describe human actions that hurt a system (society) that are usually unintended?
dysfunctions
What is the tendency to use our own group's ways of doing things as the yardstick for judging the behavior, values, and beliefs of others?
ethnocentrism
Most gestures are universal and serve as an international method of communication.
false
The values and norms of most countercultures blend in with mainstream society and offer little threat to the dominant culture other than being different.
false
Cultural relativism is the judging of other cultures based on how "normal" they are in respect to our own.
false- it is ethnocentrism
What is another name for the research method that is referred to as participant observation?
fieldwork
Mark and Sally went walking in the park and both of them were topless. In American culture, Mark would be violating a ______ and Sally would be violating a ________.
folkway; more
What is the core value that pervades U.S. life and is underscored by the American Revolution?
freedom