UC Sociology 1001 - Exam I True/False

Because sociology is based on common sense, it is an excellent discipline for students to study who approach the world in a rational, matter-of-fact way.

False

Because of the power of peers and social institutions, we are all prisoners of socialization.

False.

Ethnocentrism is purely a negative trait with no redeeming qualities.

False.

Karl Marx thought of himself as a classical sociologist, a label that greatly influenced his theories on class conflict.

False.

The more industrialized a society becomes the less formal its social institutions tend to be.

False.

Cultural lag refers to a situation in which elements of nonmaterial culture (such as norms and values) change, but elements of material culture (such as technology) do not.

False. Cultural lag most commonly occurs with the nonmaterial culture lagging behind the material culture.

The Ten Commandments, the U.S. Constitution, and the penal code of a major city are all examples of folkways.

False. Folkways are norms that are not strictly enforced. Mores are essential to our core values and are strictly enforced.

The research of the Harlows demonstrated that the key to mother-child bonding is the ability of the mother to provide food and other nutrition to the offspring.

False. The Harlows found that, when the baby monkey was scared, it would run towards the cloth mother for the comfort it gave it, even though that mother didn't provide any food.

Because of their close-knit structure and separation from modernization, the Old Order Amish have been able to resist all change that has challenged the core values of their community.

False; Although they have resisted a lot of change, they have given in to some modern technology and customs to help themselves work with socieyt.

Sociologists have always agreed that the most important goal of sociology is to generate social change.

False; Basic Sociology is purely studying, Applied Sociology is using sociology to solve problems, and Public Sociology is a middle ground between research and reform.

Cultural diffusion is used to describe groups that are opposed to changes in their technology or material culture.

False; Cultural diffusion are when cultures are very open to changes.

Frances Perkins, a sociologist, won the Nobel Prize for her work with the homeless in Hull-House.

False; Jane Addams did the Hull-House research. Frances Perkins was the first woman to hold a cabinet position.

Applying the scientific method to the social world is called empiricism.

False; Positivism (Coined by Auguste Comte)

According to the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, language is nothing more than common sense expressed in words and gestures.

False; S-W Hypothesis challenges common sense; it says that our language determines our consciousness, and our perception of objects and events.

The broadest framework that determines what kind of people we will become is social status.

False; Society is the broadest framework for our behavior.

All master status are achieved statuses.

False; Some master status' (such as your sex) is a master status that is NOT achieved.

In studied nonobservance, the individual in a compromised position is able to successfully rationalize the reason for his or her awkward behavior.

False; Studied nonobservance is where the individual in a compromised position ignores the behavior to give the impression that it never happened. Face-saving behavior is where the individual in a compromised position is able to rationalize his behavior.

By definition, subcultures are a threat to the mainstream culture.

False; Subcultures are a world within the larger world of the dominant culture and are not threats. Countercultures are a threat to mainstream culture.

Because of their training and expertise, sociologists often stress their personal values in their research.

False; value-neutral

Herbert Spencer believed the most capable and intelligent members of society would survive while the weak and less capable would die, thus improving society, in a master plan he called "the survival of the fittest"

True

Language allows culture to develop by freeing people to move beyond their immediate experiences.

True

In Piaget's model for children's development of reasoning skills, the term "reasoning skills" is synonymous with the term "operational" as it is used in theory.

True.

Mead emphasized that in order to learn to take the role of the "other," a child must pass through three stages--imitation, play, and team games.

True.

To belong to a group is to yield to others the right to judge our behavior.

True.

When the Mormons first established their settlement in Utah, they would have been classified a counterculture because of their belief in polygamy.

True.