SOC #3

What do sociologists call a group that provides standards by which an individual can judge his own accomplishments?

A reference group

What did Robert Merton call a prediction that came true only because the prediction was made?

A self-fulfilling prophecy

In the 1960s Timothy Leary famously advised everyone to "turn on, tune in, and drop out," and, although he insisted that it meant more, most people assumed he was telling them to "get stoned and abandon all constructive activity." How would Robert Merton's structural theory classify someone who took this advice?

As a retreatist

According to conflict theory, why are vagrancy laws passed?

As a way of targeting groups who threaten society's elites.

What kind of power is exhibited by a police officer who pulls over a suspect after a high-speed pursuit?

Coercive power

Samantha believes that our criminal law excuses big corporations for polluting the planet, manufacturing unsafe products, and manipulating prices. At the same time, she sees homeless people imprisoned for stealing food, which she believes we should all have access to regardless of wealth. Samantha has taken a ____ perspective to explain the way deviance is viewed in society.

Conflict theory

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

What is the justification for harsh sentencing guidelines, like California's "three strikes" law?

Deterrence of future crime

The fact that many individuals who engage in deviant behaviors have NEVER associated with other deviants is evidence against which theory?

Differential association

The parents of a deviant child often want to find some way to excuse their offspring's behavior, and it is common to hear them say, "He just fell in with a bad crowd." Which symbolic interactionist theory of deviance does this explanation most closely resemble?

Differential association

T/F When sociologists use the term "deviant," they are making both a social and moral judgement.

False

What do sociologists call patters of interaction between groups and individuals?

Group dynamics

In Office Space, the character Peter Gibbons spends much of the movie trying to find unconventional and even illegal ways of making more money. According to Robert Merton's typology, into what category does Peter fit?

Innovator

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

McDonaldization

When individuals are members of groups, they are influenced by other members. What do sociologists call this?

Peer pressure

Which of the following statements about bureaucracies is true?

People who work in bureaucracies may feel alienation as a result of being treated in terms of roles, rules, and functions, rather than as individuals.

What type of group provides most of our emotional satisfaction?

Primary groups

Which of the following phenomena is a reason why group efficiency declines as groups increase in size?

Social loafing

In all probability, the sociology professor who is giving this test would be totally unable to grade a test given in the chemistry department. What aspect of bureaucracy does this illustrate?

Specialization

Robert Merton developed structural strain theory to explain why deviance happens. To what sort of strain does the theory's name refer?

Strain between socially approved goals and the means an individual has for realizing them

In the United States, what do legislatures, police, courts, and prisons make up?

The criminal justice system

According to the structural strain theory of deviance as articulated by Robert Merton, what is one of the principal reasons people turn to deviant behavior in the United States?

The goal of success is shared by a majority of people, but not everyone has equal means for achieving that goal.

What does social identity theory suggest about teamwork?

The most efficient teams are made up of members who have a strong shared social identity

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 a primary group?

They depend on emotional intimacy for their existence.

Which of the following statements about secondary groups is true?

They tend to be based on specific roles or activities.

According to Max Weber's typology of power, what type of authority is wielded by a king?

Traditional authority

T/F Sociologists argue that no behavior, not even one designed to kill a great number of people, is inherently deviant.

True

T/F Sociologists can say that deviance is relative because whether a behavior is considered deviant depends upon the historical, cultural, and/or situational context in which it occurs.

True

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

Violations of social norms

How do self-fulfilling prophecies work?

We response not only to the objective features of a situation but also to its meaning. Once meaning has been assigned to our behavior, the consequences of that behavior are determined by the meaning.

Under what circumstances does a deviant label lead from primary to secondary deviance?

When the deviant label is internalized

Although individuals always feel loyalty toward their in-group, under what circumstances would this loyalty be particularly strong?

When the differences between the in-group and the out-group are sharply defined.

Which of the following authority figures still derives legitimacy from traditional sources?

Your parents

People who associate with each other on a regular basis for no other reason than to spend time together are usually members of a:

a primary group

All left-handed people in the United States would be classified as a(n):

category.

Because laws represent the interests of those in power, crimes committed by the upper classes are typically treated more leniently than crimes committed by the lower classes. This argument is consistent with:

conflict theory.

The idea that individuals learn to be deviant by interacting with others who are already deviant is called:

differential association theory

The sense of solidarity, or team spirit, that an individual feels toward her group is called:

group cohesion

The Solomon Asch experiment, in which groups of participants were asked to compare the lengths of lines, demonstrated that:

groups have great power to induce conformity.

When group members withhold their reservations and criticisms for the sake of consensus, they are engaging in:

groupthink

According to Erving Goffman, stigmatized individuals who do not believe that they should have to change or conceal their identities to make "normal" people more comfortable have:

in-group orientation.

Leaders whose personal style makes them more task oriented or goal oriented and less concerned with people's feelings are called:

instrumental leaders.

Today, ecoterrorists in America have taken many radical actions, including burning down ski lodges, blowing up Hummers, freeing lab animals, and chaining themselves to trees. These actions are often seen as extremely deviant, but many of the perpetrators believe that in the future they will be hailing as heroes, in which case their actions will be seen as:

positive deviance.

Groups that we use as standards to evaluate ourselves-either positively, in terms of the qualities we aspire to achieve, or negatively, in terms of the qualities we wish to avoid-are called:

reference groups.

If a person belongs to a group in which the members are mostly anonymous to one another, that group is almost certainly a:

secondary group.

Have you ever grumbled because your instructor assigned group work? One of the biggest problems associated with group assignments is that one person often ends up doing most of the work while others take it easy. This is called:

social loafing.

W.I. Thomas famously argued that "if men define situations as real, then:

they are real in their consequences."