quiz 1 sociology

Sociology can be defined as the systematic and scientific study of human society and social behavior. Given this definition, which of the following levels of social structure best describes what sociologists might examine?

Almost any level—from interactions between two people to large-scale institutions

Researcher Pam Fishman studied the conversations of heterosexual couples to determine how power is created and maintained through face-to-face interactions on an everyday basis. How would you describe her approach?

Microsociological

Many everyday cultural practices—such as greeting a friend, giving someone flowers, or using the thumbs-up sign—seem like natural ways of acting. Why does having an awareness of how these practices vary across cultures demonstrate a healthy sociological imagination?

It reminds us that everyday interactions are connected to larger social structures.

Which of the following is a latent function of the educational system in the United States?

Keeping children out of trouble while parents are at work

Which of the following theories views society as a whole unit, made up of interrelated parts that work together?

Structural functionalism

Which of the following theories focuses on how our behaviors are dependent on the ways we interpret, make sense of, and define ourselves, others, and social situations?

Symbolic interactionism

Which social theory focuses on micro-level interactions?

Symbolic interactionism

Look at the graphic representation of sociology's family tree. Given that they were both very influential in the classical stage of sociological theory, why are Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim depicted so far apart?

The theoretical schools they founded are very different.

The writings of Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber were deeply influenced by their life experiences.

True

According to the theoretical position developed by Karl Marx, what is the engine of social change?

Conflict between social groups

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.

Unlike sociologists, most people base their knowledge of the world on:

conventional wisdom, background knowledge, and personal experience.

Unlike earlier religious traditions that attempted to determine the ultimate cause or source of reality, Auguste Comte developed positivism in order to:

identify laws that describe the behavior of a particular reality.

When it comes to understanding everyday life, one of the weaknesses of being an everyday actor is that you:

make assumptions and gloss over many things that the social analyst strives to understand systematically.

What did Karl Marx think the lower classes needed to develop in order to end their oppression?

Class consciousness

What was probably Harriet Martineau's most important contribution to the development of sociology as a discipline?

Her translation of the work of Auguste Comte into English

According to C. Wright Mills, what one quality of mind do all great sociologists possess?

Sociological imagination

Max Weber believed that as the Industrial Revolution progressed, society became increasingly rationalized. How did he define rationalization?

The application of economic logic to all aspects of social life

There is a close relationship between sociology and the other social sciences. Given how much overlap there is between these fields, why does sociology still exist as a discipline?

All the other fields are more specialized, but sociology is a field that considers a huge intellectual territory.

Sociologists assert that there is a close relationship between the individual and society. How does Pam Fishman's research on gender and power in heterosexual couples characterize this relationship?

Fishman's data shows how macro-level phenomena like gender and power manifest themselves in everyday interactions.

Max Weber believed that modern industrialized societies were characterized by which of the following institutions?

Bureaucracies

Even though a small number of people have been trained academically as sociologists, we can all be described as "everyday sociologists" because:

we are all members of society and therefore we have a great deal of background knowledge about how society works.

Max Weber helped lay the groundwork for sociologists who would develop symbolic interactionism as a theory, because he believed that a social scientist should approach the study of human action:

with verstehen (understanding), which emphasizes the need for empathy with individuals' experiences.