Sociology Final Study Guide

Family, friends, peers, teammates, teachers, schools, religious institutions, and the media all have the ability to influence our self-concepts, attitudes, tastes, values, emotions, and behavior. Sociologists refer to these entities as __________.

Agents of Socialization

Deviance is broadly defined as the violation of agreed-upon societal norms. True or False?

True

Divorce rates are lowest in the so-called liberal states of the Northeast and upper Midwest and are highest in the more conservative, heavily religious states of the South, such as Alabama, Arkansas, Oklahoma, and Kentucky. True or False?

True

Divorce rates increased in the late 1960s and 1970s, but the overall divorce rate has been declining since the mid-1980s. True of False?

True

Explaining the ordinary, everyday thoughts and actions of individual people requires an examination of the social forces that influence them. The fundamental theme in sociology is that everyday social life is the product of a complex interplay between societal forces and personal characteristics. True or False?

True

The U.S. Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, the Anti-Vietnam War Movement, the Women's Movement, and the Black Lives Matter Movement are all examples of a type of social movement called a reform movement, which attempts to change limited aspects of a society but does not seek to alter or replace major social institutions. True or False?

True

The ability to see the impact of social forces on our private lives is called the sociological imagination. True or False?

True

The attempt to understand society and social structure through an examination of social interactions between individuals, pairs, or groups is an approach by which perspective?

Symbolic-Interactionist

the relationship between our personal, private troubles and the larger social forces that may have contributed to them.

The Sociological Imagination

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, about 19% of American women have been raped in their lifetimes and another 27% have been subjected to some other form of unwanted sexual contact. True or False?

True

The most common modes of research used by sociologists are experiments, field research, surveys, and unobtrusive research (analysis of existing data, content analysis, and historical analysis). True or False?

True

The main assumption of the Symbolic Interactionist Perspective is that social institutions are structured to maintain stability and order in society. True or False?

False

The process of socialization effectively ends when childhood ends. True or False?

False

Talcott Parsons and Robert Merton are both associated with the __________ perspective.

Structural-Functionalist

The ability to understand the impact of social forces on our private lives was called the sociological imagination by sociologist,

C. Wright Mills

Karl Marx and C. Wright Mills are both associated with the __________ perspective.

Conflict

The key assumption of the __________ perspective is that various institutions in society promote inequality and conflict among groups of people.

Conflict

The view that the structure of society is a source of inequality that benefits some groups at the expense of others is proposed by which sociological perspective?

Conflict

__________, the sociologist most responsible for the scholarly examination of impression management, portrays everyday life as a series of social interactions in which a person is motivated to "sell" a particular image to others, and argues that people in everyday life are similar to actors on a stage.

Erving Goffman

The main assumption of the Conflict Perspective is that society is structured and maintained through everyday interaction and people's subjective definitions of their worlds. True or False?

False

The main assumption of the Structural-Functionalist Perspective is that various institutions in society promote inequality and conflict among groups of people. True or False?

False

According to the conflict perspective, stratification and social inequality are necessary for societies to run smoothly and fairly. The conflict perspective argues that in order to ensure that the most talented people perform the most important and highly trained tasks, it requires the provision of greater rewards, better pay, greater prestige, and more social privileges. True or False?

False

According to the structural-functionalist perspective, stratification and social inequality are the result of an unequal distribution of resources and the ability of the powerful groups to control those resources because they are the ones who set the rules, and ultimately to benefit at the expense of less powerful groups. True or False?

False

An individualist culture is one in which personal identity is less important than group identity, while a collectivist culture is characterized by personal traits and accomplishments as key parts of one's self-concept. True or False?

False

Analyzing social interaction as a series of theatrical performances - what sociologists call dramaturgy - has been a staple of the structural-functionalist perspective for decades. True or False?

False

Cultural relativism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures. True or False?

False

Ethnocentrism is the belief that one's own culture is superior to other cultures. True or False?

False

Ethnocentrism is the principle that people's beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of their own culture. In other words, beliefs and actions should not be judged according to the standards of another culture, but rather deemed appropriate and valid, reflecting the values of that particular culture. True or False?

False

Examples of material culture include knowledge, beliefs, customs, values, and morals. True or False?

False

Examples of nonmaterial culture include clothing, architecture, inventions, food, artwork, and music. True or False?

False

Following emancipation, racial mistreatment disappeared and former slaves who were now freed were able to live their lives without any further forms of oppression or unequal treatment. True or False?

False

One of the earliest symbolic interactionists, George Herbert Mead, argued that we use the reactions of others toward us as a way to see ourselves and to determine our self-worth. Mead called this process the looking-glass self. True or False?

False

Sociologists, particularly those working from the structural-functionalist and symbolic interactionist perspectives, strive to explain the social construction of reality in terms of both its causes and its consequences. True or False?

False

The following "commonsense facts" have been supported by evidence provided by social research: 1.Violent crimes, like rape and assault, occur most often between total strangers. 2.Because of the high divorce rate in the U.S., people are reluctant to get married. 3.American children today are more likely to live in a single-parent household than they were 100 years ago. True or False?

False

The structural-functionalist and conflict perspectives both operate at the micro-level, focusing on daily social interactions of individual people and groups, while the symbolic-interactionist perspective operates at the macro-level, focusing on large societal institutions. True or False?

False

When people respond to deviance from the perspective that all human behavior can be classified as essentially good or bad, it is referred to as a relativist definition of deviance. True or False?

False

When people respond to deviance from the perspective that definitions of deviance are socially constructed, it is referred to as an absolutist definition of deviance. True or False?

False

The idea that society is a complex system made up of various parts, much like the human body, working together to maintain harmony and stability is proposed by which sociological perspective?

Structural-Functionalist

The key assumption of the __________ perspective is that social institutions are structured to maintain stability and order in society.

Structural-Functionalist

Charles Horton Cooley and George Herbert Mead are both associated with the __________ perspective.

Symbolic-Interactionist

The key assumption of the __________ perspective is that society is structured and maintained through everyday interactions and people's subjective definitions of their worlds.

Symbolic-Interactionist

A self-fulfilling prophecy is an assumption that, purely as a result of having been made, causes the expected event to occur and thus confirms the prophecy's own "accuracy." For example, if a teacher believes a student is especially intelligent, they may spend more time with them with them or unintentionally show more enthusiasm when working with them. As a result, the student may come to feel more capable and intelligent and actually perform better. True or False?

True

A self-fulfilling prophecy is an example of the social construction of reality because when we have preconceived expectations about an individual or group and that impacts our behavior toward that individual or group, it often results in those individuals living up to our expectations. For example, if a teacher expects that a student is especially smart, the teacher may unconsciously give that student more individualized attention and opportunities to learn, which may cause the student to perform better, reinforcing the original expectations. True or False?

True

According to Goffman's dramaturgical analysis, back stage behavior in social interaction is where people can knowingly violate their impression management performances. For example, a server in a restaurant who was previously courteous and polite with their customers in the dining room, may complain about and mock those customers when they are in the kitchen. This would be considered back stage behavior. True or False?

True

According to Goffman's dramaturgical analysis, front stage behavior in social interaction is where people maintain the appropriate appearance and behaviors as they interact with others. For example, a server in a restaurant will present themselves as happy, polite, and courteous as they interact with their customers in the dining room. This would be considered front stage behavior. True or False?

True

According to the author of the text, the privileged social status that is produced and maintained through the elite educational system practically guarantees that the people who occupy key political and economic positions will form a like-minded, cohesive group with little resemblance to the majority of people whose lives depend on their decisions. True or False?

True

Because of the continued pressures of gender-specific family responsibilities, married women are more likely than married men to experience the stresses associated with parenthood and homemaking. True or False?

True

Certainly women can be sexist and judge men unfairly based on gender stereotypes, but we must keep in mind that the historical balance of power in patriarchal societies has allowed men as a group to subordinate women socially and legally to protect male interests and privileges. Because men still tend to hold most positions of power, their prejudice and discrimination have more cultural legitimacy, are more likely to be reflected in social institutions, and have more serious consequences than women's sexism. True or False?

True

Cultural relativism is the principle that people's beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of their own culture and not judged by the standard of another culture. True or False?

True

Even though evidence shows that children who spend time in high-quality day care when young are more cognitively, socially, and financially successful as adults than children who don't go to day care, women still feel the societal pressure to justify that their working outside the home is not an abandonment of their family duties. True or False?

True

For most sociologists and a growing number of biologists, race is more meaningful as a symbolic category than as a biological or genetic one. In other words, these categories have less to do with innate physical differences or genetic predispositions than with what the prevailing culture defines as socially and historically significant. True or False?

True

Impression formation is the process by which we define others based on observable cues. True or False?

True

Impression management is the process by which we attempt to present a favorable public image of ourselves. True or False?

True

In order to fully understand experiences in our personal lives, we must move past focusing solely on individualistic explanations, and examine broader societal characteristics, issues, and trends. In other words, we cannot we can't begin to explain an individual's employability without examining current and past economic trends that affect the number of jobs available and the number of people who are looking for work. True or False?

True

Institutions are strongly supported by cultural norms. When a pattern of behavior becomes widely accepted within a particular social institution and is taken for granted in society, sociologists call it an institutionalized norm. True or False?

True

It is common and tempting for us to view our families in individual and personal terms, but the sociological imagination reminds us to think about how social forces and societal institutions, such as political, religious, and economic forces, affect and influence the family experience. True or False?

True

Material culture includes the physical artifacts and objects that shape or reflect the lives of members of a particular society, such as clothing, architecture, inventions, food, artwork, and music. True or False?

True

Max Weber, a founding father of sociology, agreed with Karl Marx, another founding father of sociology, that wealth associated with economic class is an important determinant of stratification; however he argued that economic inequality is not the only determinant and added two additional dimensions to describe social inequality - status and power. True or False?

True

Men are not typically subjected to objectification - being treated like objects rather than people, in the same way that women are. Unsolicited sexual attention may be an enjoyable, esteem-enhancing experience for some men, and those men may wonder what the big deal is when women are uncomfortable with and even angered by unsolicited sexual attention. But unsolicited sexual attention and objectification does not have the weight of a long tradition of subordination attached to it, nor is it linked to the threat of violence, for men the way it is for women. True or False?

True

Nonmaterial culture refers to all the nonphysical products of society that are created and shared over time, such as knowledge, beliefs, customs, values, and morals. True or False?

True

Not all of us have the same ability to define reality. Individuals and groups in positions of power have the ability to control information, define values, create myths, manipulate events, and ultimately influence what others take for granted. True or False?

True

Not all of us possess the same ability to define reality. Individuals and groups in positions of power have the ability to control information, define values, create myths, manipulate events, and ultimately influence what others take for granted. True or False?

True

Operating from the symbolic interactionist perspective, sociologist Charles Horton Cooley identified two major stages in the development of role-taking ability and, ultimately, in the socialization of the self. Cooley referred to these stages as the play stage and the game stage. True or False?

True

Public health studies have found a troubling increase in tropical parasitic diseases in poverty-stricken areas of the U.S. South and Southwest that were once confined to poor countries in Latin America. The increase is due to the fact that these parasites thrive where there is poor street drainage, plumbing, sanitation, and garbage disposal. True or False?

True

Racism can be expressed on many levels: at the personal level through individual attitudes and behaviors, at the cultural level in language and collective ideologies, and at the macro-level in the everyday workings of social institutions. True or False?

True

Relativist definitions of deviance draw from the symbolic-interactionist and conflict perspectives and state that deviance is not inherent in any particular act, belief, or condition, but rather is socially constructed. True or False?

True

Research on gender stereotypes in the United States has shown that they haven't changed much over the years, and that women are consistently perceived as more sensitive, cooperative, passive, emotional, and more dependent than men, while men are consistently perceived as more assertive, competitive, and independent than women. True or False?

True

Sexism may have many definitions, but for sociologists, sexism is a system of beliefs that assert the inferiority of one sex and that justifies discrimination based on gender. True or False?

True

Social movements are typically categorized into three distinct categories depending on the nature of their goals. These categories are reform movements, counter-movements, and revolutionary movements. True or False?

True

Socialization is the process by which we internalize cultural information and is carried out through various agents of socialization. Examples of agents of socialization include family, friends, peers, schools, religious institutions, and the media. True or False?

True

Sociologist, C. Wright Mills coined the term, sociological imagination, to describe the impact of societal forces on our personal troubles and private issues. True or False?

True

Sociologists working from the conflict perspective would argue that definitions of deviance and responses to deviance are often a form of social control exerted by more powerful people and groups over less powerful people and groups as a way to marginalize and discount certain people from challenging the status quo. True or False?

True

The American Revolution of 1776, the French Revolution of 1789, the Russian Revolution of 1917, the Iranian Revolution of 1979, and the Afghan Revolution of 1996 are all examples of a type of social movement called a revolutionary movement that toppled existing governments and created a new social order. True or False?

True

The concept of the sociological imagination implies that structural forces beyond our direct control shape our personal lives, but also encourages us to see that each individual has a role in forming a society and influencing the course of its history. True or False?

True

The contemporary white nationalist movement and the the conservative social movement of the 1980s and 1990s referred to as the "religious right" are examples of a type of social movement called a countermovement, and are designed to prevent or reverse the changes sought or accomplished by an earlier social movement that is seen as a threat. For example, the contemporary white nationalist movement emerged in response to a fear that the influence of racial minorities was growing and gaining traction in the culmination of the election of President Obama, while the religious right movement emerged in response to the women's movement, which many conservative Christians at the time viewed as dangerous and believed that the push for women's equality was responsible for the weakening of the American family. True or False?

True

The most important outcome of the socialization process is the development of a sense of self. True or False?

True

The process through which facts, knowledge, and truth are discovered, made known, reaffirmed, and altered by members of a society is called the social construction of reality. True or False?

True

The sociological imagination allows us to recognize that the solutions to many of our most serious problems lie not in changing the personal situations and characteristics of individual people but in changing the social institutions and roles available to them. In other words, drug addiction, homelessness, sexual violence, hate crimes, and other situations will not go away simply by treating or punishing a person who is suffering from or engaging in the behavior. These issues are social problems, and therefore cannot be addressed by focusing on changing personal characteristics of individual people, but must be addressed by focusing on changing the societal forces that are contributing to them. True or False?

True

The sociological perspective on human life differs from the more individualistic approaches of psychology and biology because it focuses on how our personal experiences affect and are affected by the larger society in which we live. True or False?

True

The structural-functionalist and conflict perspectives differ greatly in their assumptions about the nature of society, but they both analyze society at the macro-level, focusing on large societal institutions. True or False?

True

The three broad intellectual perspectives that sociologists use to approach questions regarding society and social order are the structural-functionalist perspective, the conflict perspective, and the symbolic-interactionist perspective. True or False?

True

To fully understand society, we must see it as a human creation made up of people interacting with one another. True or False?

True

Using the term, "people of color" to refer to anyone who is not white, implies that white is not a color, but rather the default of a normative identity, which has important social consequences and allows whites to enjoy the advantages of racial transparency. True or False?

True

We may be inclined to take many of our freedoms and rights for granted and be unaware that they are the result of social movements that came before us. One generation's radical changes become another generation's taken-for-granted features of everyday life. For example, the fact that you can't be forced to work 80 hours a week, can't be exposed to dangerous working conditions without your knowledge, and are entitled to a certain number of paid holidays a year, are a result of the actions of real people in early labor union movements for whom none of these protections existed. True or False?

True

When subtle forms of discrimination, such as implicit bias and quiet discrimination, become common among large groups of people, prejudice and discrimination become mutually reinforcing. Defining one group as inferior and thus denying its members access to a decent education and jobs becomes a self-fulfilling prophecy, producing the very inferiority the group was believed to possess in the first place. True or False?

True