Sociology Unit 1 Test

Why are sociologists unable to develop "laws of society" that would allow them to predict all human behavior.

Because human behavior is both complex and spontaneous

An exaggerated description that one applies to all people in some category is referred to as:

a stereotype

Theory-building is guided by:

a theoretical paradigm

If the results of Durkheim's study of suicide holds true for people in the U.S. today, the typical person committing suicide would be:

a wealthy and unmarried Protestant male

Theory is:

confirmed, modified, or rejected through research

When Peter Berger suggested that sociologists "see the general in the particular," he meant that they:

identify general patterns in the behavior of particular people

Where would a sociological perspective likely be developed and flourish?

in areas experiencing social problems, or significant social changes

What were the three basic societal changes that started the sociological perspective?

industrial economy, explosive growth of cities, new political ideas

Which of the following is Not a reason why it is important to understand the world beyond our own borders?

it is important to spread material comforts to the poorer parts of the world in order to increase human well-being worldwide

Unrecognized and unintended consequences of the social structure are called:

latent functions

What is the term for nations with little industrialization in which most people are poor?

low income

Which orientation uses a broad focus on the structures that shape society as a whole?

macro-level

The recognized and intended consequences of a social pattern are referred to as:

manifest functions

According to Comte, society was viewed as natural rather than supernatural in the _ stage of social development.

metaphysical

_ which orientation utilizes a close-up focus on social interaction in specific situations?

micro-level

What is the term for nations characterized by limited industrialization and moderate personal income?

middle income

_ is a way of understanding the world based on science.

positivism

What is the term for a social pattern's undesirable consequences for the operation of society?

social dysfunctions

The sociological term for the state of being excluded from social activities as an "outsider" is referred to as:

social marginality

Which term best describes relatively stable patterns of social behavior?

social structure

What are two major components of the structural-functional paradigm?

social structure, social functions

Auguste Comte coined the term _ to refer to the study of society.

sociology

Which discipline may be described as the systematic study of human social behavior?

sociology

The chief characteristics of the _ paradigm is its view of society as orderly and stable.

structural-functional

The "framework for building theory that sees society as an area of inequality that generates conflict and change" is the :

structural-functional paradigm

The statement that the social world guides our actions and life choices just as the season influence our choices of activities and clothing describes:

the essential wisdom of sociology

Herbert Spencer thought society has much in common with:

the human body

According to Comte, a person who explains society as an expression of God's will is in the _ stage of social development.

theological

According to Comte, society was seen as an expression of God's will in the _ stage of social development.

theological

What is the term for a basic image of society that guides thinking and research?

theoretical paradigm

A statement of how and why specific facts are related is called a/an:

theory

What do graduates of a homeless shelter's job training center and graduates of Harvard have in common?

they demonstrate that our social world guides our actions and life choices

C.Wright Mills advocated our adoption of the "sociological imagination." What would he have us do?

think more about how the changes in our society cause changes in our individual lives

When we say that using the sociological perspective amounts to "seeing the strange in the familiar," we mean that sociologists:

work to avoid the familiar idea that human behavior is simply a matter of what people decide to do