Sociology Exam Review: Questions

the sociologist who developed the concept of the power elite was

C. Wright Mills

which of the following groups would not be an example of a counterculture? a. A gang operating in the San Quentin prison b. members of an organization advocating the legalization of prostitution c. members of an outlaw motorcycle club d. Chicago cub fans

Chicago Cub Fans

(T or F) families today provide a greater number of functions for its members than ever before, which has caused a strain in family relationships and a weakening of family bonds.

False

Over twenty years prior to the birth of Durkheim and Weber, Society in America, an analysis of American customs, was published by sociologist ______

Harriet Martineau

the research in the early 1960s using rhesus monkeys to demonstrate the importance of intimate physical contact in the rearing of animals was conducted by _______.

Harry and Margaret Harlow

of the following social science theorists, which one least embraced the concepts associated with symbolic interactionism?

Karl Marx

the Wall street journal has declared the "three greatest modern thinkers" as being__________, ____________ and __________.

Karl Marx; Sigmund Freud; Albert Einstein

sociologist Douglas Massey had declared ________ as being the first truly bilingual city

Miami, Florida

od the four interrelated core values emerging in American society, the one that is reflected in the "human potential " movement that focuses on "self help, relating, and personal development" is ________.

Self- fulfillment

the American sociologist who focused on social theory in the late 1940s, developing detailed models of how society harmoniously works together was__________.

Talcott Parsons

the book published by W.E.B DuBois in 1899 that analyzed how African Americans in a major U.S. city coped with racism was ____________.

The Philadelphia Negro

If people define situations as real, they are real in their consequences. This classic statement is known as the ________.

Thomas Theorem

(T or F) The term society traditionally refers to a group of people who share a culture and a territory.

True

the first African American to earn a doctorate from Harvard university, spent his lifetime studying race relations in America, and was one of the founders of the NAACP was _________.

W.E.B DuBois

the contemporary conflict sociologist who pointed out that conflict is most likely to develop among people in close relationships was __________.

William Domhoff

which of the following is an example of social interaction?

a driver signaling a right to turn with his directional signal

which of the following would be the best example of a total institution

a military boot camp

which of the following topics would most likely be approached from a macrosocioloigical analysis?

a study of the impact of terrorism on the travel of plans of business people

According to symbolic interactionists, the deciding factor that determines if change in society is good or bad requires ________.

a value framework from which to view the change

most Americans high schools routinely schedule ceremonies to recognize the most talented student athletes and scholars. Such activities illustrate the importance that Americans place on the value of _________.

achievement

a type of "written gesture" that helps convey the feelings that go with words is referred to as ________.

an emotion

the sign vehicle addressing how we look when we play our role is _________.

appearances

in ethnomethodology the ideas we take for granted the underlie our behavior and which we violate at our risk are called ___________.

background assumptions

investing to make profits within a rational system is called_______.

capitalism

Pigs, spiders, elephants, and other animals that rely solely on instinct act as they do because they lack a ________.

cerebral cortex

Karl Marx believed the key element in understanding human history is to understand __________.

class conflict

in the case study of Isabelle,supports the position that the key to human development is___________.

cognitive ability

Theorists who would argue that the mass media represents the interests of society's political and economic elites would be most aligned with the ________ perspective.

conflict

in recent years, cultures have become more similar to each other as a result of travel and communication. Sociologists use the term, ________, to describe this process.

cultural leveling

to fully understand the Islamic practice of polygyny (men having multiple wives), it is necessary to use the perspective of _________.

cultural relativism

the intense controversy between pro-choice and pro-life advocates that has resulted in violence can best be described as a(n)

culture war

in his book, Sick Societies, anthropologist Robert Edgerton proposed that __________.

cultures should be evaluated on their "quality of life"

sociologists have concluded that although certain behaviors qualify as cultural universals, the forms these behaviors take are :

different from group to group

the social institution primarily responsible for the production and distribution of goods and services is the _________.

economic system

which of the following is not one of the three values Henslin added to the original list of 12 core values ?

equality

the first goal of each scientific discipline is to

explain why something happens

(T or F) tradition and the scientific method share many similarities, including systematic observation and common sense

false

the primary source of gender socialization is ________.

family

The notion that the mass media represents the varied interests of many groups would reflect a position consistent with ________ theory.

functionalist

communities in which people perform similar tasks and develop a shared consciousness, such as the Amish, would best be described as a _________ society

gemeinschaft

People and groups that influence our orientation to life - our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors - are called ________.

generalized others

the fact that parents let their preschool boys roam further from home than their preschool girls illustrates the idea that_________.

girls are socialized to be more dependent

the breaking down of national boundaries because of advances in communication, trade, and travel is referred to as___________.

globalization

people who regularly interact with one another and, usually, share similar values, norms, and expectations are referred to as a(n)

group

Mead describes the active, creative, and spontaneous part of the self as the ________.

id

Americans glorify academic progress and material success. However, most students do not graduate with honors and most citizens are not wealthy. This condition characterizes the difference between ________ and ________.

ideal culture and real culture

Sociologists emphasize the notion that our thinking and motivation are largely determined by_________.

influences drawn from our life experiences

lingering eye contact with another individual is most aligned with which ditsance zone of personal space

intimate distance

symbols that can be strung together in an infinite number of ways for the purpose of communicating abstract thought is known as___________.

language

which statement is least accurate regarding language

language is universal in terms of the meaning of particular sounds

College provides a haven for several million potential workers who are classified as "students" rather than "unemployed," which helps stabilize the job market. This situation represents what Merton would describe as a ________.

latent function

the sociological significance of roles is that they___________.

lay out what is expected of people

Sociologists have identified an emerging set of four interrelated values in American society. These four emerging values are:

leisure, self-fulfillment, physical fitness, and youthfulness

the differences in behaviors and attitudes experienced by different categories of people are primarily due to

location in the social structure

the belief that our sense of self develops from interaction with others and interpreting how others think about us is the concept of ________.

looking glass self

functionalist and conflict theorists tend to focus on the _________, or large scale patterns of society, in conducting their analyses

macro level

which of the following is not one of the five functional requisites that every society must fulfill to survive?

maintaining traditional gender relations

According to Robert Merton, ________ are the intended beneficial consequences of people's actions.

manifest functions

the tendency for Americans to emphasize good nutrition, medical care, housing, late model cars, and recreational play things fall under the value Robin Williams referred to as ___________.

material comfort

a practice in some cultures where people break norms during specified periods to relieve the pressure and tension of life is referred to as a________.

moral holiday

the photograph on page 48 of the nude fan at the rugby tournament illustrates the fan's violation of a __________.

more

As we proceed on our life course, the events we experience are largely influenced by

our social location and time period we were born in

sociologists believe that the key to explaining our behavior is __________.

our socially constructed self

individuals who are approximately the same age, linked by common interests, and include classmate and the kids in the neighborhood are mostly appropriately referred to as

peers

Tory is five years of age. He loves to dress up like Batman and pretend to save Gotham City from the Penguin. According to Mead's theory, he is in the ________ stage.

play

a society which is made up of many different religious, racial, and ethnic groups would be best described as _________.

pluralistic

the social institution that is most recognized for allocating power, determining authority, and preventing chaos is

politics

Callie is asked to identify the common personality characteristics among a list of 15 serial killers. She would most likely contact a(n) _______ to assist her in her efforts.

psychologist

Dr. Zahn spends virtually all his academic interest in analyzing various aspects of society and publishing his findings in sociological journals. In view of this, Dr. Zahn is considered to be a(n) __________ sociologist.

pure

Research on sexual behavior among married couples shows that even though most couples vocally endorse fidelity, a high percentage of both spouses have a tendency to violate their vows at some time during their marriage. This behavior is an example of _________.

real culture

the process of learning new norms, values, attitudes, and behaviors is called______.

resocialization

Those expectations that define appropriate or inappropriate behavior for the occupant of a status are:

roles

When social values contradict one another, such contradictions can serve as a source of __________.

social change

The notion that only the fittest members of society deserve to survive and that social programs to help the poor will ultimately weaken the social order is a doctrine known as ________.

social darwinism

Durkheim stressed the need for sociologists to focus on ______________, while Weber stressed that __________ should also be studied by sociologists

social facts; subjective meanings

Durkheim introduced the concept ____________ to express the degree to which people feel apart of a social group

social intergration

When sociologists' group people into categories based on their age, gender, educational level, job, and income, they are trying to determine their ________.

social location

which statement is least accurate in describing gestures

social scientists have identified and agree that a number of gestures are universal

based on dramaturgy, the sign vehicle were action unfolds is called the__________.

social setting

the typical patterns of a group, such as its usual relationships between men and women or students and teachers, is referred to as ________.

social structure

Max Weber termed the readiness to invest capital in order to make more money the ___________.

spirit of capitalism

the series of photographs of people from around the world found on page 40 demonstrates _______.

standards of what constitutes beauty vary greatly from one culture to another

a position that someone occupies such as a judge, astronaut, student, or professor is called a ________.

status

signs that identify a position in society someone occupies are referred to as__________.

status symbols

when a group has a distinctive way of looking at life, but at the same time their values and norms reflect the dominant culture of their society, the group would be considered a(n)

subculture

nonmaterial culture is also referred to as_________.

symbolic culture

in studying problems or the homeless, _________ would focus on the face-to-face micro level interactions among the homeless

symbolic interactionists

the automobile, and skills needed to drive it, would be an example of

technology

the two events that contributed the greatest incentive to the development of sociology because they destroyed tradition and encouraged people to rethink social life were _________ and __________.

the American Revolution; the French Revolution

from the sociological perspective, which statement best classifies the 19th century Mormons and the 21st century physicians?

the Mormons would be classified a counterculture and the physicians a subculture

the gender message in the mass media as described in the textbook, is that gender serves as a primary basis for__________.

the division of labor in society

Sociologists use the concept of "norms" to describe ________.

the expectations, or rules of behavior that develop out of values

of the following groups, which one would require the member to relinquish the greatest degree of personal decision making

the family

in the nature v. nurture argument, the nature component refer to _______.

the social environment

the central component of non-material culture is:

the symbols that people use

the university that dominated sociology as an academic discipline where Albion Smalls headed the department was _________.

the university of chicago

Sociology first took root as an academic discipline at _______ in 1890.

the university of kansas

a person who was preoccupied with understanding gestures would concentrate on

the way individuals use their bodies

if sociobiologists are correct in their claim that humans are prisoners of their genes and that one's gene complement dictates behavior, it would mean that_________.

there would be a monoculture of some sort throughout the world

the period following high school where young adults have not yet taken on the responsibility ordinary associated with adulthood is called ________.

transitional adulthood

(T or F) Emile Durkheim showed, through rigorous scientific researched, that social factors and not spontaneous events, underlie the rates of suicide among different groups

true

(T or F) Merton defines a latent dysfunction as an unintended negative outcome of an action which was originally designed to benefit the social system

true

(T or F) sociologist Lewis Coser notes that conflict is especially likely to occur among individuals who are in close relationships

true

(T or F) theorists using the symbolic interactionist perspective usually focus on social interaction based on a micro- level of analysis

true

the coexistence of such values of democracy and equality alongside of sexism and group superiority illustrates the condition of ________.

value contradiction

sociologists use the term ________ to indicate the standards by which people define their ideas about what is desirable in life.

values

according to Weber, ________ means " to grasp by insight" and to have an understanding of the felling and motivations of people being studied.

verstehen

the difference between status and role is that:

we occupy a status that is a social position, but we play a role that is a social expectation