Sociology Text 1

What is the sociological imagination?

the ability to understand the interplay between the self and larger social forces

A researcher must identify a target population before engaging in sampling. What is the target population?

the larger group of people about whom they wish to generalize

If a researcher has obtained informed consent from all of their participants, it means that

the participants understand the nature of the research and are participating freely.

The theory of positivism contrasted earlier religious traditions that attempted to determine the ultimate cause or source of reality. Why did Auguste Comte develop it?

to identify laws, such as those in mathematics and physics, that describe the behavior of a particular reality

Ethnography's main goal is

to understand the meanings people attach to their activities.

You are doing a research project on the effects of contemporary media. What are your variables if your hypothesis is "watching violence on television causes an increase in violent behavior"?

violence on television and violent behavior

What did Harvard Medical School researchers conclude about the effects of the media on young people in Fiji who, until the 1990s, lacked widespread access to television?

Television affected young women's body image.

Which of the following statements about grief is true according to the sociological explanation of emotions?

The experience of grief is universal, but expressions of grief vary.

Macrosociology and microsociology approach the study of society from different perspectives. How does the discipline of sociology deal with these two very different approaches?

These two perspectives are on a continuum, and sociologists can adopt the perspective most useful for a particular problem.

What is a simple random sample?

a sample that provides the same chance of being included to every member of the population

If a sample of sociological research is representative, then

a smaller group of people studied can tell us something about a larger group.

________ is an example of something that would be part of an individual's or society's symbolic culture.

belonging to a political party

If a researcher allows their own values and opinions to affect their analysis, they are guilty of

bias

What do the several cases of children who grew up in extreme social isolation, such as the case of Genie in 1970, suggest?

Most of our mental capacities, and perhaps even the ability to think, are learned through social interaction.

Unlike folkways, mores are closely related to

core values of a group

In the article "Jihad vs. McWorld," Benjamin R. Barber points out that "in November of 1991 Switzerland's once insular culture boasted best-seller lists featuring Terminator 2 as the #1 movie, Scarlett as the #1 book, and Prince's Diamonds and Pearls as the #1 album." Many people worry that the prominence of American culture goes beyond the media and represents the wholesale imposition of American values on other cultures, which is a process called

cultural imperialism

When Patti Sue took a world tour, she had lunch at McDonald's in Tokyo, ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hong Kong, purchased clothes at Macy's in London, and was entertained at a Disney show in Paris. This homogenization of cultures around the world is called

cultural leveling

What do sociologists call it when people's jobs require them to manage their feelings as part of their official duties?

emotion work

Resocialization is particularly necessary when people are cut off from society and their former identities are stripped away. Which of the following is an example of a life change that would lead to this more dramatic form of resocialization?

entry into a total institution

What is it called when an individual uses their group's way of doing things as the standard for judging others?

ethnocentrism

It is counterintuitive to tell your opponents that you have a good hand when you play high-stakes poker. However, particularly good poker players say they can read other players' "tells." These are subtle and unintentional facial expressions, mannerisms, and body language that reveal what players are thinking. What would Erving Goffman call tells?

expressions given off

According to the symbolic interactionist George Herbert Mead, playing organized games is important for an older child's development of the self because

game playing involves learning to anticipate and coordinate with other players' actions.

What does the concept of the looking-glass self help explain?

how we develop a self-concept based on our perceptions of others' judgments of us

Oftentimes, a larger number of people claim that they voted in their recent local elections than the number that actually did vote. This is perhaps because more people believed that they should have voted. This belief is an example of

ideal culture

A study found a strong correlation between parental bonding and adolescent drug use. Children with stronger bonds to their parents were far less likely to try drugs or alcohol. After examining their data more closely, the researchers discovered that parental bonding was really a predictor for teen religiosity. Consequently, high levels of religiosity, rather than parental bonding, actually prevent drug use. This means that religiosity was a(n)

intervening variable.

Sociology can be defined as the systematic and scientific study of human society and social behavior from ________ to ________.

large-scale institutions; individual interactions

What is one of the weaknesses of being an everyday actor when it comes to understanding everyday life?

making assumptions and failing to investigate or verify those assumptions

Examples of ________ are designer labels on purses and logos on shirts.

material culture

Which of the following groups is MOST likely to be classified as a counterculture?

militia group living in montana

Which term describes a policy of honoring diverse racial, ethnic, national, and linguistic backgrounds?

multiculturalism

Role conflict occurs when an individual has

multiple roles that are in conflict with each other.

It's all too common to see someone driving a car on a busy freeway while cursing and gesturing at another motorist whose poor driving has upset them. Cursing and gesturing are an individual's attempt at

negative sanctions

What are some examples of things students learn from a school's hidden curriculum?

punctuality, neatness, and discipline

The Egg McMuffin is a vastly more efficient version of eggs Benedict. Egg McMuffins are cheaper, ready almost instantly at drive-through windows, and can be eaten with one hand while driving. However, they do not improve on the taste of or experience eating eggs Benedict. Max Weber might have described the Egg McMuffin as the ________ of breakfast.

rationalization

The sociologist Mitch Duneier wrote his ethnography Sidewalk about street vendors in New York City's Greenwich Village. While writing the book, Duneier was particularly concerned that the people he was studying would alter their behavior when he was present, especially since his background was different from their own. This caused him to think critically about his activities and role as a researcher. What do sociologists call this?

reflexivity

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

sociological imagination