sociology mid term

Which of the following is an example of McDonaldization as George Ritzer used the term?

A worker says, "Sometimes I felt just like a robot. I push a button and I go this way. It was like I was a mechanical nut."

How is a subculture different from a counterculture?

Both are distinct from mainstream culture, but a counterculture actively opposes important aspects of the mainstream.

Sociology can be approached from both a microsociological and a macrosociological perspective. Which is more useful?

Both are useful in different ways because they each provide different types of information about the same object of study.

What is the definition of "culture"?

Culture is the entire way of life of a group of people and it acts as a lens through which we view the world.

Which of the following is one of the functions of symbolic culture?

It enables people to communicate.

Which of the following statements best characterizes microsociology?

It is an approach that examines interactions between individuals and the ways those interactions reflects larger patterns within a society.

Why would culture shock be a useful state of mind for a sociologist?

It makes us realize we lack an understanding of our surroundings, so we are able to truly perceive what is right in front of us.

Which of the following is the most serious critique of structural functionalism?

It tends to argue that any social feature that exists must serve a function.

Which of the following statements best describes the approach taken by macrosociologists?

Macrosociology examines large-scale social structure to see how it affects individual lives.

What term did sociologist George Ritzer use to describe the spread of rationalization and bureaucratic ways of operating into everyday life?

McDonaldization

Which of the following is true regarding prison as a mechanism for punishing crime?

Prison was rarely used before the nineteenth century.

It is always important to ask clear and unambiguous questions regardless of the method you use. Why is it especially important to avoid confusion when conducting surveys?

Survey researchers are usually not present to clarify any misunderstandings.

Which of the following is an aggregate?

The audience at a Broadway show

What does social identity theory suggest about teamwork?

The most efficient teams have members with strong social identities

What is a criticism of for-profit, privately-owned prisons?

The rate of incarceration rates overlaps with an increase in private prisons.

According to symbolic interactionism, what is the relationship between the self and society?

The self is shaped by society, but society is also shaped by the self.

When studying deviance, sociologists often focus on the most obvious and extreme forms of deviant behavior. What are the consequences of this approach?

The values and norms of the powerful are left unexamined while the deviance of the poor is scrutinized.

Which of the following is a characteristic of primary groups?

They involve a strong sense of belonging.

Which of the following is a quality of charismatic leaders?

They possess extraordinary personal qualities.

How is culture transmitted and internalized?

We learn values and beliefs slowly and incrementally.

Which factor makes sociologists question the relationship between youth and crime?

Young people may commit crimes that are more visible and, therefore, are arrested more often.

What is a paradigm?

a set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that makes up a way of understanding social reality

Which of the following is an example of resocialization?

a woman relearning basic skills after a car accident

Which of the following actions would be an example of in-group orientation?

a woman writes on her social media, "I am black, trans, and proud!"

A student sitting through a boring class glances over at a friend and rolls his eyes. What would Erving Goffman call this?

an expression of behavior

What is the Uniform Crime Report (UCR)?

an official measure of crime in the United States

According to the symbolic interactionist George Herbert Mead, the generalized other is

an understanding of the rules that govern a network of different players in related roles.

Which of the following is an example of a culture war?

anti-abortion advocates demonstrating in front of a family planning clinic

Researchers must avoid negative questions when writing a survey, which are defined as questions that

ask respondents what they do not think rather than what they think.

What must we do before we can experience role-taking emotions?

be able to see things from another person's point of view

Why are there disagreements among sociologists about how to define sociology?

because it encompasses a large intellectual territory

"Nature" is to "nurture" as ____ is to ____

biology; environment

Which of the following is a subculture?

bodybuilding

Sociologists observe society by

by studying various parts of society and the way they influence and react with one another

What theory argues that punishments for rule violators are unequally distributed, with those near the top of society subject to more lenient rules and sanctions than those at the bottom?

conflict theory

Traditionally, most of the sociological literature on deviance focuses on

crime

_____ is/are the violation of a norm that has been codified into law.

crime

What do we call norm violations that are codified into law?

crimes

The values, norms, and practices of the most powerful group within a society are called

dominant culture.

According to the scientific method, what are the steps in conducting research and in what order should they be completed?

form a hypothesis, define variables, choose research method, collect data

When a crime targets people based on race, sexual orientation, religion, gender, national origin, or disability status, it is classified as a(n)

hate crime

For a survey to be considered valid, there must be a sufficiently

high response rate.

The concept of the looking-glass self explains

how we develop a self-concept based on our perceptions of others' judgments of us.

Sociologists refer to the norms and values that people aspire to as ________ culture.

ideal culture

Robert Merton's typology of deviance outlines the strain that people experience as they attempt to access cultural goals through legitimate, institutionalized means. In which of the following categories would gangsters and con artists be found?

innovation

What is the strongest type of conformity that can occur as a result of social influence or peer pressure?

internalization

Survey research tends to produce quantitative data. One key advantage of this kind of data is that it

it is easy to transmit to the public

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that

language can structure our perception of reality.

Sociology can be defined as the systematic and scientific study of human society and social behavior, from ________ to ________.

large-scale institutions; individual interactions

Socialization

lifelong process

A closed-ended question is one that

limits the possible responses

Which term describes a policy of honoring diverse racial, ethnic, national, and linguistic backgrounds?

multiculturalism

Role conflict occurs when an individual has

multiple roles that are in conflict with each other.

Rosa Parks broke a law by refusing to give up her seat on a bus for a white man. Ultimately, this act was a pivotal moment in the launch of the civil rights movement. Rosa Parks's refusal to move to the back of the bus is an example of

positive deviance.

What type of group provides most of our emotional satisfaction?

primary

Which of the following is an example of a total institution?

prison

What are some examples of things students learn from a school's hidden curriculum?

punctuality, neatness, and discipline

According to Karl Marx, the most important factor in social life is a person's

relationship to the means of production.

Which of the following is a factor that can lead to increased group cohesion?

shared values

The term "master status" is defined as a

status that seems to override all other statuses a person possesses.

What school of social theory believes that society is a stable system of structures, which contribute to the equilibrium of the whole?

structural functionalism

What is the sociological imagination?

the ability to understand the connections between biography and history, or the interplay of the self and the world

The nature vs. nurture debate helps us understand

the complex interaction between hereditary traits and social learning.

How do sociologists define the self?

the experience of a real identity, distinct from other people

What was the Asch experiment measuring?

the power of peer pressure

What is the scientific method?

the procedure for acquiring and collecting concrete data

Sociology is

the scientific study of society and social behavior.

W. I. Thomas famously argued that if people define situations as real, then

they are real in their consequences.

What are the goals of ethnography?

to understand the meanings people attach to their activities

Which of the following would sociologists consider the best definition of deviance?

violations of social norms