Sociology - Vocabulary & Study Questions Ch.1-6
empirical research
Research that operates from the ideological position that questions about human behavior can be answered only through controlled, systematic observations in the real world.
looking-glass self
Sense of who we are that is defined by inncorporating the reflected appraisals of others.
role
Set of expectations - rights, obligations, behaviors, duties - associated with a particular status.
performance team
Set of individuals who cooperate in staging a performance that leads an audience to form an impression of one or all team members.
sick role
Set of norms governing how one is supposed to behave and what one is entitled to when sick.
group
Set of people who interact more or less regularly and who are conscious of their identity as a unit.
theory
Set of statements or proposition that seeks to explain or predict a particular aspect of social life.
dramaturgy
Study of social interaction as theater, in which people (actors) project images (play roles) in front of others (audience).
sample
Subgroup chosen for a study because its characteristics approximate those of the entire population.
coalition
Subgroup of a triad, formed when two members unite against the third member.
When two variables may not be related at all, but seem associated with one another due to the effect of a third variable this is known as a ____ relationship. a. dependent b. independent c. spurious d. none of the above
c
Which of the following social psychologists, mentioned in your textbook, set up a shock generator experiment because he wanted to know how far people would go in obeying the commands of an authority figure? a. Jean Piagent b. Solomon Asch c. Stanley Milgram d. Karl Marx
c
back stage
Area of social interaction away from the view of an audience, where people can rehearse and rehash their behavior.
front stage
Area of social interaction where people perform and work to maintain appropriate impressions.
material culture
Artifacts of a society that represent adaptations to the social and physical environment.
disclaimer
Assertion designed to forestall any complaints or negative reactions to a behavior or statement that is about to occur.
self-fulfilling prophecy
Assumption or prediction that in itself causes the expected event to occur, thus seeming to confirm the prophecy's accuracy.
Which of the following sociologists is affiliated with the looking-glass self? a. George Mead b. Robert Merton c. Charles Cooley d. Erving Goffman
c
Which of the following sociologists is one of the two theorists typically associated with the structural-functionalist perspective? a. Karl Marx b. Douglas Harper c. Talcott Parsons d. Robert Merton
c
manifest function
Intended, obvious consequences of activities designed to help some part of the social system.
globalization
Process through which people's lives all around the world become economically, politically, environmentally, and culturally interconnected.
social contruction of reality
Process through which the members of a society discover, make known, reaffirm, and alter a collective version of fact, knowledge, and "truth".
experiment
Research method designed to elicit some sort of behavior, typically conducted under closely controlled laboratory circumstances.
unobtrusive research
Research technique in which the researcher, without direct contact with the subjects, examines the evidence of social behavior that people create or leave behind.
comparative method
Research technique that compares existing official statistics and historical records across groups to test a theory about some social phenomenon
sociology
Systematic study of human societies.
individualistic explanation
Tendency to attribute people's achievements and failures to their personal qualities.
ethnocentrism
Tendency to judge other cultures using one's own as a standard.
folkway
Informal norm that is mildly punished when violated.
spurious relationship
A false association between two variables that is actually due to the effect of some third variable.
reactivity
A problem associated with certain forms of research in which the very act of intruding into people's lives may influence the phenomenon being studied.
role taking
Ability to see oneself from the perspective of others and to use that perspective in formulating one's own behavior.
sociological imagination
Ability to see the impact of social forces on our private lives.
aligning action
Action taken to restore an identity that has been damaged.
SOCIETY EXISTANCE
Although society exists as an objective fact, it is also created, reaffirmed, and altered through the day-to-day interactions of the very people it influences and controls.
variable
Any characteristic, attitude, behavior, or event that can take on two or more values or attributes.
status
Any named social position that people can occupy.
reflexive behavior
Behavior in which the person initiating an action is the same as the person toward whom the action is directed.
sexual dichotomy
Belief that two biological sex categories, male and female, are permanent, universal, exhaustive, and mutually exclusive.
sex
Biological maleness or femaleness.
probabilistic
Capable of identifying only those forces that have a high likelihood, but not a certainty, of influencing human action.
primary group
Collection of individuals who are together over a relatively long period, whose members have direct contact with and feel emotional attachment to one another.
eugenics
Control of mating to ensure that "defective" genes of troublesome individuals will not be passed on th future generations.
norm
Culturally defined standard or rule of conduct.
heteronormative culture
Culture in which heterosexuality is accepted as the normal, taken-for-granted mode of sexual expression.
individualist culture
Culture in which personal accomplishments are a more important component of one's self-concept than group membership.
collectivist culture
Culture in which personal accomplishments are less important in the formation of identity thatn group membership.
stigma
Deeply dicrediting characteristic that is viewed as an obstacle to competent or morally trustworthy behavior.
identity
Essential aspect of who we are, consisting of our sense of self, gender, race, ethnicity, and religion.
SOCIALIZATION OCCURS WITHIN THE CONTEXT OF SEVERAL SOCIAL INSTITUTIONS
Family first, schools, religious institutions, and the mass media.
participant observation
Form of field research in which the researcher interacts with subjects, sometimes hiding his or her identity.
nonparticipant observation
Form of field research in which the researcher observes people without directly interacting with them and without letting them konw that they are being observed.
survey
Form of social research in which the researcher asks subjects a series of questions, either verbally, online, or on paper.
historical analysis
Form of social research that relies on existing historical documents as a source of data.
content analysis
Form of unobtrusive research that studies the content of recorded messages, such as books, speeches, poems, songs, television shows, Web sites, and advertisements.
role conflict
Frustration people feel when the demands of one role they are expected to fulfill clash with the demands of another role.
cooling out
Gently persuading someone who has lost face to accept a less desirable but still reasonable alternative identity.
triad
Group consisting of three people.
dyad
Group consisting of two people.
counterculture
Group that actively opposes the values and behavior patterns of the dominant culture.
tracking
Grouping of students into different circular programs, or tracks, based on an assesment of their academic abilites.
moral entrepreneurs
Groups that work to have their moral concerns translated into law.
more
Highly codified, formal, systematized norm that brings severe punishment when violated.
SOCIAL BEINGS
Humans are social beings. We look to others to help define and interpret particular situations. Other people can influence what we see, fee, think, and do.
WHO DEFINES REALITY?
Individuals and groups in positions of power have the ability to control information, define values, create myths, manipulate events, and ultimately influence what others take for granted.
intersexuals
Individuals in whom sexual differentiation is either incomplete or ambiguous.
nonmaterial culture
Knowledge, beliefs, customs, values, morals, and symbols that are shared by members of a society and that distinguish the society from others.
culture
Language, values, beliefs, rules, behaviors, and artifacts that characterize a society.
organization
Large, complex network of positions created for a specific purpose and characterized by a hierarchical division of labor.
indicator
Mearsurable event, characteristic, or behavior commonly thought to reflect a particular concept.
visual sociology
Method of studying society that uses photographs, video, and film either as a means of gathering data or as sources of data about social life.
socialization
Process through which one learns how to act according to the rules and expectations of a prticular culture.
anticipatory socialization
Process through which people acquire the values and orientations found in statuses they will likely enter in the future.
institutionalized norm
Pattern of behavior within existing social institutions that is widely accepted in a society.
transsexuals
People who identify with a different sex and sometimes undergo hormone treatment and surgery to change their sex.
generalized other
Perspective of the larger society and its constituent values and attributes.
total institution
Place where individuals are cut off from the wider socity for an appreciable period and where together they lead an enclosed, formally administered life.
society
Population of people living in the same geographic area who share a culture and a common identity and whose members fall under the same political authority.
cultural relativism
Principle that people's beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of their own culture.
resocialization
Process of learning new values, norms, and expectations when an adult leaves and old role and enters a new one.
gender
Psychological, social, and cultural aspects of maleness and femaleness.
WHAT GOES ON BETWEEN PEOPLE
Rather than study what goes on within people, sociologists study what goes on between people, whether as individuals, groups, organizations, or entite societies. Sociology forces us to look outside the tight confines of our individual personalities to understand the phenomena that shape us.
secondary group
Relatively impersonal collection of individuals that is established to perform a specific task.
role strain
Situations in which people lack the necessary resources to fulfill the demands of a particular role.
ascribed status
Social position acquired at birth or taken on involuntarily later in life.
achieved status
Social position acquired through our own efforts or accomplishments or taken on voluntarily.
sanction
Social response that punishes or otherwise discourages violations of a social norm.
SOCIALLY RECOGNIZABLE COMBINATIONS OF INDIVIDUALS
Society consists of socially recognizable combinations of individuals - relationships, groups, and organizations - as well as the products of human action - statuses, roles, culture, institutions, and broad societal forces such as globalization.
qualitative research
Sociological research based on nonnumerical information (text, written words, phrases, symbols, observations) that describes people, actions, or events in social life.
quantitative research
Sociological research based on the collection of numerical data that uses precise statistical analysis.
symbol
Something used to represent or stand for something else.
embarrassment
Spontaneous feeling that is experienced when the identity someone is presenting is suddenly and unexpectedly discredited in front of others.
social institution
Stable set of roles, statuses, groups, and organizations - such as the institutions of education, family, politics, religion, health care, or the economy - that provides a foundation for behavior in some major area of social life.
game stage
Stage in the development of self during which a child acquires the ability to take the role of a group or community (the generalized other) and conform his or her behavior to broad, societal expectations.
play stage
Stage in the development of self during which a child develops the ability to take a role but only from the perspective of one person at a time.
value
Standard of judgment by which people decide on desirable goals and outcomes.
account
Statement designed to explain unanticipated, embarrassing, or unacceptable behavior after the behavior has occurred.
out-groups
The groups we don't belong to and toward which we feel a certain amount of antagonism.
FACTORS IN NORMALTIVE CLASHES
The more ethnically and culturally diverse a society is, the greater the likelihood of _____ _____ between groups.
PRIMARY THEME OF SOCIOLOGY
The primary theme of sociology is that our everyday thoughts and actions are the product of a complex interplay between massive social forces and personal characteristics. We can't understand the relationship between individuals and societies without understanding both.
SOCIAL CONSTRUCTION OF REALITY
The process by which reality (truth, knowledge, etc.) is discovered, made known, reinforced, and changed by members of society.
impressino formation
The process by which we define others based on observable cues such as age, ascribed status characteristics such as race and gender, individual attributes such as physical appearance, and verbal nonverbal expressions.
SOCIOLOGICAL IMAGINATION
The sociological imagination is the ability to see the impact of social forces on our private lives- an awareness that our lives lie at the intersection of personal biography and societal history.
symbolic interactionism
Theoretical perspective that explains society and social structure through an examination of the micro-level, peronal, day-to-day exchanges of people as individuals, pairs, or groups.
feminist perspective
Theoretical perspective that focuses on gender as the most important source of conflict and inequality in social life.
structural-functionalist perspective
Theoretical perspective that posits that social institutions are structured to maintain stability and order in society.
conflict perspective
Theoretical perspective that views the structure of society as a source of inequality, which always benefits some groups at the expense of other groups.
SOCIOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVES
There are three major sociological perspectives. The structural-functionalist perspective focuses on the way various parts of society are structured and interrrelated to maintain stability and order. The conflict perspective emphasizes how the various elements of society promote inequality and conflict among groups of people. Symbolic interactionism seeks to understand society and social structure through the interactions of people and the ways in which they subjectively define their worlds.
in-groups
Those groups we belong to and toward which we feel a sense of loyalty.
PURPOSE OF SOCIOLOGY
To amass a body of knowledge that provides the public with useful information about how wociety works. This is done, quantitatively and qualitatively, through systematic social research - field research, surveys, and unobtrusive research. It is important to keep in mind, however, that this form of reality is also a social construction, shaped by the people who fund, conduct, and report on social research.
field research
Type of social research in which the researcher observes events as they actually occur.
egoistic suicide
Type of suicide that occurs in settings where the individual is empasized over group or community connections.
anomic suicide
Type of suicide that occurs when the structure of society is weakened or disrupted and people feel hopeless and disillusioned.
altruistic suicide
Type of suicide that occurs where ties to the group or community are considered more important than individual identity.
analysis of existing data
Type of unobtrusive research that relies on data gathered earlier by someone else for some other purpose.
representative
Typical of the whole population being studied.
latent function
Unintended, unrecognized consequences of activities that help some part of the social system.
self
Unique set of traits, behaviors, and attitudes that distinguishes one person from the next; the active source and passive object of behavior.
incorrigible proposition
Unquestioned cultural belief that cannot be proved wrong no matter what happens to dispute it.
subculture
Values, behaviors, and artifacts of a group that distinguish its members from the larger culture.
independent variable
Variable presumed to cause or influence the dependent variable.
dependent variable
Variable that is assumed to be caused by, or to change as a result of, the independent variable.
agents of socialization
Various individuals, groups, and organizations who influence the socialization process.
macrolevel
Way of examining human life that focuses on the broad social forces and structural features of society that exist above the level of individual people.
microlevel
Way of examining human life that focuses on the immediate, everyday experiences of individuals.
CULTURE
____ provides members of a society with a common bond, a sense that we see certain facets of society in similar ways. That we can live together at all depends on the fact that members of a society share a certain amount of cultural knowledge.
SENSE OF SELF
_____ is one of the most important outcomes of socialization for an individual. Children must learn to recognize themselves as unique physical objects, master language, learn to take the roles of others, and, in effect, see themselves from another's perspective.
LANGUAGE
_____ is the medium through which reality construction takes place. It enables us to thin, interpret, and define. Linguistic categories reflect aspects of a culture that are relevant and meaningful to people's lives.
SOCIALIZATION
_____ is the process by which individuals learn their culture and learn to live according to the norms of a particular society. It is how we learn to perceive our world, gain a sense of our own identity, and interact appropriately with others. It also tells us what we should and should not do across a range of situations.
NORMS
______ - the rules and standards that govern all social encounters - provide order in our lives. They reflect commonly held assumptions about conventional behavior. ____ violations mark the boundaries of acceptable behavior and symbolically reaffirm what society defines as right and wrong.
According to Babbie (1986), our idea of ___ may not be true for everyone everywhere and can change over time. a. reality b. culture c. society d. none of the above
a
According to Mydans (2007), there are more non-native English speakers than native English speakers. a. true b. false
a
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2007 which of the following states has one of the highest suicide rates? a. Alaska b. Florida c. Pennsylvania d. Michigan
a
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, about ____ percent of people between the ages of 55 and 64 have never been married. a. 7 b. 19 c. 29 d. 41
a
According to the text, Americans are much sicker that the British and have a lower life expectancy. a. true b. false
a
According to the text, a higher percentage of poor children are obese compared to non-poor children. a. true b. false
a
According to the text, negative perceptions of obese people are not universal. a. true b. false
a
Grouping students into different curricular programs based on an assessment of their academic abilities is known as: a. tracking b. role taking c. anticipatory socialization d. none of the above
a
In the 2007 comedy Blades of Glory two men skate with one another in a pairs event. This film satirizes America's heteronormative culture. a. true b. false
a
Indicators are events, characteristics, or behaviors that can be observed or quantified. a. true b. false
a
Micro-level societal forces are everyday phenomena that we experience as individuals. a. true b. false
a
School has a more extended and consistent control over a person's social growth than any other institution not related to the family. a. true b. false
a
Symbols are random human creations that are not necessarily connected to nature? a. true b. false
a
The behavior of an individual who performs an act of heroism or a gruesome act of violence is largely shaped by social forces and situational contingencies. a. true b. false
a
The lower the income of a child's family the greater the child's risk for having more than one disability. a. true b. false
a
Which of the following pair of sociologists are related to the social construction of reality? a. Berger and Luckman b. Merton and Talbot c. Mehan and Wood d. Gans and Horwitz
a
Which of the following sociologists identified suicide as a manifestation of changes in society rather than of psychological shortcomings? a. Emile Durkheim b. Max Weber c. C. Wright Mills d. George Mead
a
____ refers to the practive in Iran in which people are expected to give false praise and make insincere promises. a. Taarof b. Koro c. Susto d. Hikikomori
a
A _____ refers to any named social position that people can occupy. a. role b. status c. social institution d. dyad
b
A more is the violation of a relatively minor norm which typically carries little to no punishment. a. true b. false
b
According to Weber, most human behavior is determined by the objective facts of a situation and not by the symbolic meaning people attach to the facts: a. true b. false
b
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census, 2007 which of the following states has one of the lowest suicide rates? a. Nevada b. Rhode Island c. Montana d. New Mexico
b
According to the text, cultural norms do not change they are static. a. true b. false
b
According to the text, reality is not a human creation. a. true b. false
b
According to the text, the reason many people wanted to emphasize environmental influences on behavior and early family experiences in shaping children's personalities during the 1950's and 1960's was ____. a. religion b. eugenics c. technology d. none of the above
b
An individual's chance of becoming obese does not increase if they have a close friend who is obese. a. true b. false
b
Black adolescents tend to perceive themselves as heavier than they actually are and white adolescents perceive themselves as thinner than they actually are. a. true b. false
b
It is estimated that 1 in ____ men in the U.S. undergo sex reassignment surgery. a. 15,000 b. 30,000 c. 100,000 d. none of the above
b
Many non-Western cultures are characterized as an individualist culture in which personal accomplishments are a key part of a person's self-concept. a. true b. false
b
Research confirms that physical appearance does not affect our perceptions and judgments of others. a. true b. false
b
Research has shown that ___ out of the top 10 areas for underage binge drinking are in Montana, Wyoming, North Dakota, and South Dakota. a. 5 b. 7 c. 9 d. none of the above
b
Research has shown that children who are older than their classmates do not perform better academically or athletically. a. true b. false
b
Research methods that require the researcher to have contact with the people being studied may influence the phenomena being studied. This is called ____. a. probabilistic b. reactivity c. unobtrusive research d. an indicator
b
There are truth-in-advertising regulations currently in place for consumer products and political campaign ads. a. true b. false
b
To help explain the nature of society the author uses ____ as a metaphor. a. music b. architecture c. art d. nature
b
A(n) ____ is a verbal statement designed to explain unanticipated, embarrassing, or unacceptable behavior. a. disclaimer b. aligning action c. account d. stigma
c
According to research in the text, sparsely populated rural areas have higher rates of gun ownership than other areas of the U.S. and over ___ percent of suicides committed in rural countries are committed with firearms. a. 30 b. 50 c. 70 d. 90
c
According to the U.S. Bureau of the Census (2009), sixty-seven percent of Americans who have taken at least some college courses are wither overweight or obese as compared to ____ percent of people who only have a high school diploma. a. 52 b. 62 c. 72 d. 82
c
According to the U.S. Department of Justice Statistics, ____ percent of homicides involving male victims are perpetrated by strangers. a. 5.5 b. 10.5 c. 15.5 d. 20.5
c
According to traditional ____ law the deceased are immediately covered with a white sheet and no one is allowed to see the dead person. Also, the mourning period lasts seven days to a year. a. Chinese b. Surinam-Hindu c. Jewish d. Surinam-Creole
c
Another common term for the manipulation of events for political gain is ___. a. lying b. slander c. spin d. mudslinging
c
Attributing people's achievements and failures to their own personal qualities are known as: a. idiosyncratic explanations b. personal explanations c. individualistic explanations d. self explanations
c
By what age have most children developed a number of gender stereotypes which then guide their perceptions and activities? a. 2 b. 3 c. 5 d. 6
c
Each year between 2004 -2008, employers increased their hiring of college graduates by an average of ___ percent over the previous year. a. 5 b. 8 c. 13 d. 27
c
How many states currently have religious defenses for felony crimes against children? a. 3 b. 10 c. 18 d. 27
c
One study conducted by Pagan & Davila (1997), found that overweight women earn on average ____ less than non-obese women. a. $2,000 b. $5,000 c. $6,000 d. $10,000
c
The National Survey on Families and Households which provides the basis for much sociological research on families was first conducted in the ____. a. 1960's b. 1970's c. 1980's d. 1990's
c
The ____ variable is the factor presumed to influence or create changes in another variable while the ____ variable is the one assumed to depend on, be influenced by, or change as a result of the ___ variable. a. dependent; independent; dependent b. dependent; independent; spurious c. independent; dependent; independent d. independent; dependent; spurious
c
The principle that people's beliefs and activities should be interpreted in terms of their own culture is know as _____. a. institutionalized norm b. ethnocentrism c. cultural relativism d. none of the above
c
There are more than ____ times as many immigrants as native-born Americans reporting non-Christian affiliations. a. 2 b. 3 c. 4 d. 8
c
When each person in an organization has a position with specific duties and the positions are ranked according to their power or importance this is called a... a. role b. ascribed status c. hierarchical division of labor d. none of the above
c
Which of the following statements are true? a. Sociology is the systematic study of human societies. b. Sociologists seek to understand how individuals influence the larger structures in which they live. c. Both A and B d. None of the above
c
Which of the following statements are true about video games? a. most are developed by males for males b. they may effect a woman's conception of appropriate behavior c. they may have a detrimental effect on boy's attitudes toward girls. d. All of the above e. None of the above
d
___ coined the term sociological imagination. a. Karl Marx b. Charles Cooley c. Auguste Comte d. C. Wright Mills
d
According to data available from the Population Reference Bureau (2008), the practice of female genital mutilation is a local custom in 28 countries and over ___ girls are subjected to the procedure each year. a. 3, 000 b. 30,000 c. 300,000 d. 3,000,000
d
According to the text what percentage of plastic surgery patients are women? a. 50 b. 75 c. 80 d. 90
d
According to the text, which fashion designer was the first to introduce a "subzero" size for women? a. Calvin Klein b. Kenneth Cole c. Ralph Lauren d. Nicole Miller
d
According to the text, who we become is influenced by ____. a. the behavior of people in our lives b. cultural forces c. institutional forces d. all of the above
d
Individuals from which of the following professions participated in the 1994 Rwandan genocide? a. doctor b. social worker c. teacher d. all of the above
d
Parents can be held legally responsible in certain states for which of the following acts committed by their children? a. vandalism b. theft c. curfew violations d. all of the above
d
The ____ perspective points out that the fundamental task of any society is to reproduce itself - to create members whose behaviors, desires, and goals correspond to those that particular society deems appropriate and desirable. a. conflict b. feminist c. symbolic-interactionist d. structural-functionalist
d
The actions of individuals are a function of ____. a. personality types b. psychological predispositions c. shared cultural expectations d. all of the above
d
The sociologist most responsible for the scholarly examination of impression management is ____. a. George Herbert Mead b. Elijah Anderson c. Peter Ubel d. Erving Goffman
d
To explain why people act a certain way or do the things they do we need to understand the ___ they inhabit. a. interpersonal environments b. historical environments c. global environments d. all of the above
d
Which of the following are considered status markers found in the workplace? a. physicians with stethoscopes b. police with badges c. judges wearing black robes d. all of the above
d
Which of the following house-hold items is the focus of a "Micro-Macro Connection" in this chapter? a. oven b. sink c. fireplace d. chair
d
Which of the following may influence decisions you make in your everyday life? a. broad economic trends b. doctrines of your religion c. marketing strategies d. all of the above
d
____ defines performance team to describe those individuals who intimately cooperate in staging a performance that leads an audience to form an impression of one or all of the team members. a. George Herbert Mead b. Elijah Anderson c. Peter Ubel d. Erving Goffman
d