Sociology Module 1
W.E.B. Du Bois wrote in 1901
"the problem of the twentieth century is the problem of the color line."
Harriet Martineau's book, How to Observe Morals and Manners, was the first
?? WRONG: in-depth analysis of democratic culture.
The goal of sociologists is to study controversial topics with an open mind, even if this results in the discovery of "inconvenient" or disturbing information. An example of an inconvenient fact presented in the text is that
A majority of women in prison are mothers
Which of these statements is the best description of a variable?
A variable is something that can have more than one value or score.
Which of the following is an observation that Alexis de Tocqueville made in his study of American society?
Americans had little independence of mind, despite their emphasis on individualism.
Whereas earlier immigrants to the U.S. were predominantly from Europe, today most new immigrants come to the U.S. from
Asia and Latin America
What is the term for an abstract characteristic that cannot be directly observed, but that can potentially be measured?
Concept
_____ is an interdisciplinary field that builds on symbolic interactionism and is often critical of classical sociological approaches.
Cultural studies
Which of the following social theorists coined the term sui generis?
Durkheim
Sociology is a(n) _____ discipline, meaning conclusions are based on systematic observations.
Empirical
According to Durkheim, the economic organization of society is the most important influence on what humans think and how they behave.
False
An advantage of doing participant observation research is that it is very easy fast.
False
Any information that is found published on the web may be trusted as a valid source for sociological research.
False
For Durkheim, society is made up of independent parts.
False
For functionalist sociologists, society is made up of independent parts
False
Much of what is presented as common sense in the media and elsewhere about society is often correct.
False
Sociologists are not interested in historical research.
False
Sociologists avoid reading other studies about the same topic they are studying so as to avoid bias in their own research.
False
Sociologists focus on social change and ignore social stability.
False
Weber believed that people's behavior could only be understood from the objective position of the outside observer.
False
Emile Durkheim's work is the foundation for which major theoretical perspective?
Functionalism
Which of the following is not part of the definition of culture?
Globalization
Reasoning that begins with specific observations about which one draws conclusions is called _____ reasoning.
Inductive
Conflict theory originated in the work of _____.
Karl Marx
Jane Addams was the only practicing sociologist to have won a
Nobel Peace Prize
William Foote Whyte's "Street Corner Society" is an example of which method of research?
Participant observation
Which of these is an example of secondary data?
Population from the Census Bureau
When Dr. Baker collects census data on farm loss he is using _____ data.
Secondary
Which of the following is not a basic dimension of society, according to Max Weber?
Social
What role do sociologists play while conducting their research on society?
Sociologists achieve critical distance through their willingness to question the forces that shape behavior.
The idea that people give meaning to their behavior is a fundamental principle to which sociological theory?
Symbolic interactionism
In what way does symbolic interaction theory differ from conflict theory and functionalism?
Symbolic interactionism does not examine society in terms of its abstract institutions, and conflict and functionalist theory do.
Professor Stevens tells his students at the start of the class that he wants to measure how many pages of notes they take during class. Which of the following is of concern for Professor Stevens?
The Hawthorne effect
What do Emile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber all have in common?
They are classical thinkers whose ideas continue to influence the social sciences.
According to Durkheim, examining social facts is the primary purpose of sociology.
True
According to Peter Berger, sociologists question actions and ideas that are typically taken for granted.
True
Both functionalists and conflict theorists see the source of human behavior in the structure of society.
True
C. Wright Mills defined the sociological imagination as the ability to see individual experiences within a larger social context.
True
Culture includes ways of thinking as well as patterns of behavior.
True
Facebook, Twitter, and LinkedIn are examples of social media
True
If every time a test is given the results are dramatically different, this is an indication that the test is not reliable.
True
In content analysis, the researcher does not study people directly.
True
Language reflects the value placed on different groups in society.
True
Marx was primarily interested in the study of capitalism.
True
Positivism was an important influence on empiricism.
True
Social Darwinists believed that social arrangements, including poverty and inequality, were natural and inevitable.
True
Sociological conclusions are based on careful and systematic observations.
True
Sociologists who were part of the Chicago School were primarily interested in how society shaped people's identities.
True
Sociology as a discipline began due to social changes in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries.
True
The method best suited for determining cause and effect is the controlled experiment.
True
The more complex the society, the more likely its culture will be internally diverse.
True
Violations of mores carry heavier sanctions than violations of folkways.
True
Contemporary feminist scholarship has produced which of the following?
Vital knowledge about women
_____ was the first Black person in any field to earn a Ph.D from Harvard.
W.E.B. Du Bois
Which of the following social thinkers is associated with the concept of the sociological imagination?
Wright Mills
Conflict theory emphasizes
a person's or group's ability to exercise influence and control over others.
The early American sociologists are characterized by their
belief that sociology could alleviate the negative consequences of society.
Shared ideas that help bind people in society together are called
beliefs
Auguste Comte is known for:
coining the term "sociology."
A criticism of _____ is that it understates the cohesion and stability found in society.
conflict theory
According to Durkheim, public rituals, including punishment, are important because they
create a bond among the members of society.
Augus te Comte believed sociology could:
discover the laws of human nature.
When group differences are created by the social structure of society, sociologists refer to this as _____.
diversity
According to conflict theorists, social order in society is maintained by
domination by the powerful.
Sociologists believe that persistent problems in the U.S. are
embedded in society.
According to the text, the problem of the color line described by W.E.B. DuBois:
extends to the 21st century.
When one part of society is not working, it affects the rest of society and causes social problems. This statement reflects the _____ approach.
functionalist
Sociology is defined as the study of _____.
human behavior in society
Qualitative research is based on
interpretive observations
According to Karl Marx, capitalism
is built on the exploitation of workers.
From a functionalist perspective, unequal distribution of resources
is fair because some roles are more important to society than others
When one aspect of culture changes more slowly than other aspects, sociologists call this cultural
lag
Marx used the term _____ for those people in society who are discarded by the capitalist system and _____ for those in the working class.
lumpenproletariat; proletariat
Classical theorists of sociology were primarily interested in the relationship of culture to
nonmaterial culture such as values and beliefs.
Material culture consists of
objects created in a given culture
According to Emile Durkheim,
people in society are held together by belief systems.
According to Durkheim, during an economic crisis:
people will blame others for taking their jobs.
Symbolic interactionists view _____ as the primary motivation for human behavior.
people's definition of the situation
Sociological research on education has debunked many common assumptions. It has found that
poor children rarely have the same resources in schools that middle-class and elite students have.
According to the text, a significant difference between the early American sociologists and their European counterparts was that the American sociologists were more _____.
practical
According to Marx, capitalism is based on
profit and private property
Positivism refers to
scientific observation and description
The best way to ensure that a sample is representative of the population is to
select it randomly
According to The Sociological Imagination, the current high numbers of college graduates moving back in with their families reflect:
social forces impacting private lives.
Durkheim conceptualized social facts as
social patterns that are external to individuals.
Social Darwinists believed that
social reforms should not be implemented because they interfered with the natural progression of society.
The text includes a discussion of the practice of footbinding in China in order to demonstrate all of the following, except
sociologists rely on anecdotal evidence to support conclusions
The text includes a discussion of the practice of footbinding in China in order to demonstrate all of the following, except
sociologists rely on anecdotal evidence to support conclusions.
Sociology differs from media programs that feature human problems in that
sociologists use research techniques and theories that the media may not use to explain social issues.
In their day-to- day lives, most people
take the expectations of their culture for granted
The type of applied sociological thinking that focused on how society shaped the mind and identity of people was called _____.
the Chicago School
Elaine Bell Kaplan's research on black teenage motherhood concluded that
the black teens felt embarrassed and stigmatized by being pregnant.
Cultural hegemony is the term for
the excessive influence of one culture in society
A fundamental concept for using one's sociological imagination is the distinction that Mills made between
troubles and issues.
An important concept in Weber's sociology is verstehen which refers to:
viewing social behavior from the perspective of those engaged in it.
Harriet Martineau was an early sociologist and a British citizen. Her book, Society in America
was overlooked for many years.