Exam #1- SOC 1010-40

__________ sees social conflict as the basis of society and emphasizes a critical view of the status quo.

Conflict theory

A famous social scientist tells you that the most important task in her research was entering the social world of the people she was studying. What can you say about this researcher?

She is a qualitative researcher.

What is it called when someone has the ability to understand another culture in terms of that culture's own norms and values without reference to any other culture's standards?

cultural relativism

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

ethnocentrism

Microsociology is an approach that:

examines interactions between individuals and how those interactions reflect larger societal patterns.

A sociologist observes that kindergartners are not just being taught about arts and crafts. They are also being taught how to be students, including skills such as following rules, remaining in their seats, and other things that will be necessary for the rest of their education. What are these skills called?

the hidden curriculum

____________ played a significant role in the development of sociology as a discipline. He is remembered today mainly for coining the term "sociology" and developing the theory of positivism.

Auguste Comte

How is a counterculture different from a subculture?

Both are distinct from mainstream culture, but a counterculture actively opposes important aspects of the mainstream.

________ is a research method based on studying people in their own environment in order to understand the meanings they attribute to their activities.

Ethnography

The phrase "the survival of the fittest" is credited to whom?

Herbert Spencer

What does the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis propose?

Language can structure our perception of reality.

Which theorist argued that if people define a situation as real, it is real in its consequences?

W. I. Thomas

Which of the following is an example of a total institution?

a prison

If a sample of sociological research is representative, then:

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

A sociologist uses a survey to study the attitudes of adults in the United States concerning premarital sex among teenagers. In this study, the target population consists of all ________, and the group that is asked the survey questions is called the ________.

adults in the United States; sample

Churches usually teach their members rules and often codify these rules into formal commandments to be followed. Given this, churches can be considered

agents of socialization.

A sociologist wants to examine how black men have been portrayed in television shows in the past year. Which type of study is most appropriate to examine this research topic and compare the portrayal of black men across different television shows?

content analysis

If two variables seem to change simultaniously, this shows ________ but does not necessarily prove ________.

correlation; causation

The values, norms, and practices of the most powerful group within a society are called

dominant culture.

A famous monologue from Shakespeare's As You Like It begins as follows: All the world's a stage, And all the men and women merely players; They have their exits and their entrances, And one man in his time plays many parts. Which theory of social life could be seen as taking its inspiration from these lines?

dramaturgy

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

Erving Goffman theorized social life as a kind of con game in which we work to control the impressions others have of us. What did Goffman call this process?

impression management

Patrick isn't old enough to go to school yet, but he loves to play house. He has a toy stove and pretends to be a stay-at-home father. Playing house sometimes gets boring, so he goes outside, takes a garden hose, and pretends to be a firefighter. George Herbert Mead would say that Patrick is

in the play stage.

Andy hypothesized that stress would increase the probability of spousal abuse. Stress would be considered the ____________ variable, and spousal abuse would be considered the ____________ variable.

independent; dependent

The definition of "culture" ___________

is the entire way of life of a group of people, and it acts as a lens through which we view the world.

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

large-scale institutions; individual interactions

Curators at museums have recently experienced problems with the preservation of plastic objects, almost all of which disintegrate over time. The Smithsonian collection contains the first-ever plastic toothbrush, which soon will be nothing more than a pile of plastic particles. This problem is leading many historians to worry that we will lose the history of our

material culture.

The slogan "What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas" is an example of what cultural concept?

moral holiday

A social research methods class wants to study smoking. First, the professor asks how many people in the class are smokers. Two people indicate that they are. She then asks how many people have smoked a cigarette in the past week and ten people indicate that they have. The class decides, for the purposes of the survey, that a smoker will be defined as anyone who has smoked a cigarette in the past week and currently owns a pack of cigarettes. This is a(n)

operational definition.

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

What was the most important factor in social life according to Karl Marx?

relationship to the means of production

Sociologists follow___________ , a procedure for acquiring knowledge that emphasizes collecting concrete data through observation and experimentation.

scientific method

According to Émile Durkheim, what was the basis for the bonds created through mechanical solidarity in traditional societies?

shared traditions and similar experiences

Parents often buy their children gender-specific toys. Boys are given action figures that encourage active and aggressive play, while girls are given dolls and toy ovens that reinforce traditional gender roles. This is part of what process?

socialization

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

structural functionalism

According to Sigmund Freud, the ________ is the part of the mind that represents the internalized demands of society.

superego

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 of the following sequences lists norms in the correct order, from the most strictly enforced to the least?

taboos, mores, folkways

A team of sociologists is commissioned to study the effects of lighting levels and amount of time for breaks on workers' productivity in an office setting. Before the study begins, office workers are told why the researchers are there. When the team analyzes their data, they find that no matter what they do, productivity levels go up while they are physically present. When the team is not physically present, productivity levels return to normal. What is the likely explanation for these findings?

the Hawthorne effect

What is the sociological imagination?

the ability to understand the interplay between our individual circumstances and larger social forces