Sociology: A Brief Intro - Chapter 1 - Understanding Sociology

Common sense... A) cannot always be relied upon to discover the truth of a situation. B) always leads a person to the facts of a situation, C) is the only tool we really have to understand the world around us.

A) cannot always be relied upon to discover the truth of a situation.

Using sociology to yield practical applications for human behavior and organizations is better known as

Applied Sociology

Parsons believed an aspect of society that doesn't contribute to society's survival or stability will A) produce productive social changes within the society. B) not be passed on from one generation to the next. C) continue to persist and potentially destroy society. D) eventually find a way to do so.

B) not be passed on from one generation to the next.

When sociologists have evidence that some phenomena exists in society, they use ___ to explain how and why.

a theory

Match each discipline with its type of science (Natural or Social) Physics Sociology Geology Political Science Economics

(NS) Physics (SS) Sociology (NS) Geology (SS) Political Science (SS) Economics

Sociologists examine society by which three of the following perspectives? A) Conflict B) Interactionlist C) Physicalist D) Functionalist E) Liberal

A) Conflict, B) Interactionlist and D) Functionalist

Which of the following forms symbolic interation are forms of nonverbal communication? A) Facial Expressions B) Gestures C) Arguments D) Postures

A) Facial Expressions B) Gestures, and D) Postures

Sociologists interested in gaining insights into the world's hierarchy of privilege may focust their research on which of the following areas of inquiry? A) Gender B) Race C) Personality D) Social Class

A) Gender, B) Race and D) Social Class

Charles Horton Cooley pursued the discipline of sociology by studying which of the following? A) Groups of Friends B) Families C) Governments D) Corporations

A) Groups of Friends and B) Families

Jane Addams did which of the following? A) Helped establish a juvenile court system B) Helped industrial leaders work together C) Helped prevent racial segregation in Chicago public schools D) Helped create a women's trade union E) Helped people establish successful farms

A) Helped establish a juvenile court system, C) Helped prevent racial segregation in Chicago public schools and D) Helped create a women's trade union

If sociologists were studying the social ranking of women in a sorority using Weber's verstehen, they would likely do which of the following? A) Learn how sorority members relate to other members of differing status B) Consider the women's emotions and attitudes C) Examine the women's medical and genetic backgrounds D) Examine the women's grades, social skills, or seniority within the sorority

A) Learn how sorority members relate to other members of differing status, B) Consider the women's emotions and attitudes and D) Examine the women's grades, social skills, or seniority within the sorority

Which of the following illustrate the level of globalization in our world today? A) Rock songs by Australian artists recorded by American record companies owned by Japanese corporations B) Chain restaurants putting local diners out of business in small-town America. C) Worldwide economic downturn in the wake of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks D) Unemployment in the U.S. caused by production shifting overseas E) Changes in U.S. gas prices caused by oil production fluctuations in the Middle East.

A) Rock songs by Australian artists recorded by American record companies owned by Japanese corporations, C) Worldwide economic downturn in the wake of the 9/11/01 terrorist attacks, D) Unemployment in the U.S. caused by production shifting overseas and E) Changes in U.S. gas prices caused by oil production fluctuations in the Middle East.

Sociologist will accept something as fact under which of the following conditions? A) Scientific studies confirm it. B) Common sense says it must be true. C) They test, record and analyze data. D) "Everyone knows it."

A) Scientific studies confirm it. and C) They test, record and analyze data.

Which of the following statements about sociological approaches are true? A) Sociologists draw on all of the approaches for various purposes. B) Sociologists choose the approach based on the results they desire for a particular study. C) No one sociological approach is better than another. D) Sociologists tend to choose one approach and stick with it.

A) Sociologists draw on all of the approaches for various purposes. and C) No one sociological approach is better than another.

Cow worship in Indian society, a provision of which prohibits eating beef, is a function part of that country's society for which of the following reasons? A) The cow provides a means of producing milk B) The cow meat is coveted for its much needed protein C) The cow is used for plowing fields D) The cow produces dung used for cooking fuel and fertilizer

A) The cow provides a means of producing milk, C) The cow is used for plowing fields and D) The cow produces dung used for cooking fuel and fertilizer

Using the sociological imagination allows us to see that job loss is frequently A) caused by social forces beyond the control of individual workers. B) completely random and unpredictable C) caused by lazy or ineffective workers D) caused by random factors that cannot be understood.

A) caused by social forces beyond the control of individual workers.

Basic sociology uses applied and clinical sociology to study a social problem to A) determine the deeper aspects of the social problem. B) looking at the social problem without doing research. C) using logic and common sense to decide how to solve the problem. D) evaluating the social problem at face value.

A) determine the deeper aspects of the social problem.

The work done by sociologist can do which of the following? A) reveal social factors influencing suicide rates B) make life perfect for everyone C) eliminate the need to study group behavior D) help us understand the group dynamic of jury deliberation

A) reveal social factors influencing suicide rates and D) help us understand the group dynamic of jury deliberation

Durkheim believed that understanding human behavior required looking at the behavior A) within a broader social context. B) through rational thinking. C) on an individual basis. D) from the perspective of the actor.

A) within a broader social context. Durkheim was the first to successfully show that individuals' behavior actually follows social patterns and is influenced by social forces.

Durkheim believed that the growing division of labor in industrial societies caused laborers to become more specialized in their tasks, leading to a loss of direction he called "_____."

Anomie

Harriet Martineau contributed to the study of sociology by translating the writings of which early French philosopher of sociology into English?

Auguste Comte

Which early social thinker created the term "sociology"?

Auguste Comte

The funtionalist perspective emphasizes A) How social order is based on coercion and exploitation,. B) How parts of a society are structured to maintain stability. C) Shared understandings of everyday behavior. D) How looking a society from a micro level contributes to understanding.

B) How parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.

Sociologists hoping to study globalization would examine a social problem from which of the following perspectives? A) Microsociological B) Macrosociological

B) Macrosociological

Marx and Engels, writing in The Communist Manifesto, were concerned about which of the following? A) The cooperation between the wealthy and the poor. B) The domination of the wealthy over the poor. C) The way in which the government protected the poor. D) The positive and uplifting role of religion in society.

B) The domination of the wealthy over the poor.

According to Durkheim's research, which of the following people are less likely to commit suicide? A) those with religious affiliations B) those socially connected to others. C) those who lead more solitary lives D) married people

B) those socially connected to others.

Which of the following statements about W.E.B. DuBois's beliefs is true? A) DuBois, though Black, believed in upholding the status quo. B) DuBois was a strong supporter or theorist Herbert Spencer. C) DuBois believed Blacks needed full political rights to progress socially and economically. D) DuBois believed strong religious beliefs were the key to social and economic progress for Blacks.

C) DuBois believed Blacks needed full political rights to progress socially and economically.

Which of the following is a latent function of the automobile in American society? A) Rapid transportation B) The high cost of car ownership C) Manufacturing and road construction jobs D) Pollution and dependence upon foreign oil

C) Manufacturing and road construction jobs

When referring to the division of an individual's identity into two or more social realities, W.E.B. DuBois was describing which of the following? A) The experience of being an academic and Black B) Being part of the status quo and fighting to maintain power C) The experience of being Black in White America D) Holding two jobs and trying to make ends meet.

C) The experience of being Black in White America

Sociologists that recognize and study social issues A) complicate people's lives. B) have no impact of people's lives. C) can improve peoples lives.

C) can improve peoples lives.

An interactionist sociologist would be likely to study which of the following? A) the role of gender and race inequality B) the effects of social institutions on social stability C) how workers communicate on the job D) behavior in small groups.

C) how workers communicate on the job and D) behavior in small groups.

The conflict perspective focuses on A) interaction between individuals within society. B) ways to increase efficiency within corporations. C) inequality and tension between groups. D) the interrelated functions of social units.

C) inequality and tension between groups.

The concept of the sociological imagination was developed by

C. Wright Mills

____ _____ refers to a person's social opinions typically formed by conversations, reading, television and other life experiences.

Common Sense

Karl Marx's view of society is best described as part of which of the sociological perspectives?

Conflict

Which theoretical perspective best helps shed light on the tensions and problems society faces?

Conflict

The _____ _____ proposes that social behavior can best be understood by looking at tension between groups over power or the allocation of resources.

Conflict Perspective

George Herbert Mead studied social issues from the interactionist point of view, thereby gathering his information from which of the following? A) Social structure B) Census data C) Deviants D) Small groups

D) Small groups

Sociology is a science because A) Studying individual lifestyles adds to societies problems. B) The people who do sociology have to go to school for a long time. C) It was started by physicists. D) Sociology involves organized, systematic observation.

D) Sociology involves organized, systematic observation.

The functionalist perspective emphasizes A) how looking at society from a micro level contributes to understanding B) shared understandings of everyday behavior C) how social order is based on coercion and exploitation. D) how parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.

D) how parts of a society are structured to maintain stability.

Marx argued that the domination of owners over workers was maintained by A) equality between the classes. B) the lack of true understanding of religious principles. C) the concerted efforts of a few bad individuals who runied capitalism for everyone else. D) the economic, political, and social relationships in a capitalist society.

D) the economic, political, and social relationships in a capitalist society.

Comparing everyday life to theater and stage, the dramaturgical approach to sociology was made popular by

Erving Goffman

Which sociological perspective views gender inequality as central to all behavior and organization?

Feminist

Marx spent most of his life living in exile. His native country was Germany, but fled to Paris, France, and corroborated with which early thinker?

Friedrich Engels

Which sociologist is widely considered to be the founder of the interactionist perspective?

George Herbert Mead

Which of the early thinkers advocated letting the weak perish so the strong would survive?

Herbert Spencer

The discipline of sociology is related to the discipline of ____ in that both are interested in how people and events of the past are important to current society.

History

Which sociologist wrote from the perspective of an African American woman and used her analysis of society as a means of combating oppression?

Ida Wells-Barnett

What does Robert Merton call someone who engages in deviant behavior in order to achieve socially approved goals?

Innovators

Marx and Engels labeled the exploited workers the ____ and the wealthy owners the ____.

Proletariat; Bourgeoisie

The study of society from the perspective of a broad spectrum of sexual identities is known as

Queer Theory.

According to French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu, the collective benefit of social networks, which are built of reciprocal trust, is known as

Social Capital

Sociology is the study of ____ behavior and ____ groups.

Social; human

The systematic study of human groups and social behavior is referred to as

Sociology

Auguste Comte advocated for a systematic study of social behavior that he believed would lead to more rational human interactions, calling it...

Sociology!

Weber used the term verstehen to analyze social behavior. He believed that to understand behavior we must look at how other people view and explain their own behavior from a _____ perspective.

Subjective

The ability to recognize the connection between our own lives and larger social trends, including present and past relationships, is called

The Sociological Imagination

Sociologists use ____ to explain social problems, actions or behaviors.

Theories

According to W.E.B. DuBois, what is the greatest source of power in our society?

Wealth

Which of the following are examples of something a clinical sociologist might do? a) drug therapy b) family therapy c) micromanagement d) reorganize a medical center

b) family therapy and d) reorganize a medical center

The kind of education that is valued by the socially elite and which does not necessarily mean book knowledge is known as ____ according to French sociologist Pierre Bourdieu.

cutural capital.

The theory that explains the methods individuals use to "put on a show" in order to manage others' image of them is called

dramaturgy

Robert Merton labeled the negative consequences of a social pattern as social

dysfunction

Expanding our understanding of social behavior, ____ sociologists have shifted the focus of domestic violence research away from the victims, and placed emphasis on abusers to further understand their behavior with such family issues.

feminist

Marx emphasized the ____ that influence an individual's place in society.

group identifications and associations

A hypothetical example of model used for evaluating specific cases is what Weber called an "___ type."

ideal

Studying society through the lens of large-scale phenomena would be and example of...

macrosociology

Examining social problems through smaller groups and more intimate settings would be an example of ______.

microsociology

Comparing the life of a company president or CEO with a dishwasher or taxi driver shows us glaring examples of

social inequality

The condition in which members of a society have differing amounts of power, prestige, and wealth is called _____.

social inequality

Robert Merton's contribution to the study of sociology combined

theory and research.