Paradigm- Symbolic Interactionalism

Symbolic interactionists ask who benefits from racial classification at whose expense.

False

T/F: Max Weber and other social constructionists believed that the most important engine of change is class struggle.

False

T/F: Symbolic internationalists ask who benefits from racial classification at whose expense.

False

T/F: Social constructionists focus on how people construct a reality. It does not matter if that reality is "real".

True

T/F: The negotiated order of digital social networking sites is something of greatest interest to a symbolic interactionist.

True

T/F: When studying digital social networking sites, symbolic interactionists emphasize shared symbols.

True

Although most social theory is based on the assumption that human beings learn through symbolic interaction which is what sets human apart from animals, increasingly research shows that while humans are exclusively social learners, animals are only partially so. Depending upon the species, animals are more or likely to respond

by instinct

In thinking about the U.S. military presence around the world ____________ would ask "Who benefits from military deployments and at whose expense?"

conflict theorists

One strength of the ___________________ paradigm is that it offers a balanced view that includes intended and unintended consequences related to order and disorder.

structural- functionalist (associated with the central question how does it work)

T/F: The book, The Social Construction of Reality, fits within the theoretical tradition of phenomenology a philosophy of knowledge centered on how human beings make sense of their worlds and lived experiences.

true

New digital communications technologies allow members of the military (among others who are geographically distant) to stay connected with family and friends to the point that they can read to and do homework with their children. At the same time, a number of incidents incidents (e.g., the images of soldiers urinating on dead Afghanis, the images from the Abu Ghraib of prisoners of war being treated like dogs) have resulted in new rules about the use of cellphones and formal sanctions for soldiers who violate the rules. The military is addressing the issu of cultural lag by

institutionalizing new normative standards specific to new technologies.

Service members have always communicated with loved ones while deployed. No matter the form, military officials have always reminded service members to consider that what they write can go beyond the persons with whom they are communicating. The longstanding concern relates to which feature of institutions?

institutions have a history

The micro-level process by which people take as their own and accept as binding elements of culture including the norms, values, beliefs, and language needed to participate in the larger community is called

internalization.

__________ is any kind of physical phenomenon — a word, object, color, or sound — to which people assign a name, meaning, or value. This is a core concept in sociology because it constitutes the basic and primary form of human communication and social interaction.

A symbol

__________ would take notice of the potential impact that the video function on cell phones has on interpersonal dynamics; in other words, the central question from this paradigm would be what does having a video function on cell phones mean for users in their micro-level social interaction?

A symbolic interactionist

Demographic studies show that a baby is most likely to be born to a teenage mother in which of the following countries? If you answered this question incorrectly the first time, what does that reveal about the social construction of social problems and ethnocentrism?

Afghanistan

T/F: Racial formation theory focuses on the social construction of race as a category that is relevant to a wide range of life chances.

True

__________ would argue that it is no coincidence that the U.S. military is stationed in those parts of the world that supply resources upon which the US economy depends. This social fact demonstrates the interrelationships of global political economy, particularly how the military industrial complex supports the (US and global) systems of production, distribution, and consumption.

Both A and B are accurate (a structural functionalist & a conflict theorist)

Philanthropist Bill Gates argues that in the United States, there is an "acceptance of a tiering approach, where over a third of students never graduate, and another third are trapped in a situation where they don't have the skills that are going to give them a good lifetime outcome." Gates' comment reflects a focus consistent with which sociological paradiagm?

Conflict

__________ argue that the members of social networking sites do not really control how information they post is used; this claim represents an answer to the central question of who is involved because it specifically identifies a select group of social actors -- in this case, those who use socia media, and notes that their ability to control how their information is used is determined by a different group of social actors (implied but not stated, that group is those who 'own' or manage the social networking sites.

Conflict theorists

__________ argue that the members of social networking sites do not really control how information they post is used; this claim represents an answer to the central question of who is involved because it specifically identifies a select group of social actors -- in this case, those who use social media, and notes that their ability to control how their information is used is determined by a different group of social actors (implied but not stated, that group is those who 'own' or manage the social networking sites.

Conflict theorists

__________ studying the cell phone focus on who controls the resources needed to produce it; this focus represents an answer to the central question of 'who is involved' and points to the importance of social role/status in systems of production, distribution, and consumption (economies) for those working within this paradigm as well.

Conflict theorists

Which one of the following statements is false about social ties formed through digital technologies which constitute tertiary or mediated socialization processes in understanding social networks and the development of the self?

Digital technologies neglect local connections.

__________ ask "What can be done to make trouble, to produce and sustain bewilderment and confusion?" ask part of their research method; in other words, this method studies the meaning of norms by breaching them or otherwise disrupting the social order to observe how people react.

Ethnomethodologists

__________ coined the term symbolic interactionism and essentially named one of the three main paradigms in sociology which, according to its originated, has 3 premises (is based on 3 assumptions). "The first premise is that human beings act toward things on the basis of the meanings that the things have for them.... The second premise is that the meaning of such things is derived from, or arises out of, the social interaction that one has with one's fellows [sic]. The third premise is that these meanings are handled in, and modified through, an interpretative process used by the person in dealing with the things [s]he encounters" (_________ 1969, 2, Symbolic Interaction: Perspective and Method).

Herbert Blumer

__________ are forms of communication designed to reach large audiences without requiring face-to-face contact between those conveying and receiving the messages. Traditionally they include newspapers, Television, radio, magazines, and cinema/film; today a vehicle for distribution is often the internet.

Mass media

__________ argue that schools simply perpetuate the inequalities of the larger society which can be studied at all levels of and with all 3 central questions. At the micro level, labeling is likely to perpetuate inequalities because of the lack of awareness of how stereotypes influence the labeling process; at the meso-level, characteristics of families and neighborhoods that are class, racial/ethnically AND gender based, influence students preparedness for school as well as the kind of 'schooling' that is delivered (because of the characteristics of the kids attending the school); at the macro level, cost of education and preparation for accessing available educational resources both are highly related to family socioeconomic status and quality of previous educational experience.

Social reproduction theorists

__________ are groups that share in some parts of the dominant culture but have their own distinctive values, norms, beliefs, symbols, language, and material culture that set them apart.

Subcultures

__________ are most interested in how internet versions of social media and social networks serve as a mirror to help users know when their profiles are noticed and how others are responding to them; in other words, the 'what does social media MEAN to users' is the paradigmatic question these theorists are likely to ask.

Symbolic interactionists

__________ seek to understand the experience of inequality - how it is communicated and how that inequality is conveyed; Weber called this kind of inquiry 'Verstehen' which means to understand (in German). The central question, what does it mean, is connected with this paradigm.

Symbolic interactionists

__________ is a frame of mind that has internalized the objective reality of society; it is Bourdieu's term and represents the social consciousness that results from socialization processes and, while individuals' are unique, sociologists study the patterns as they relate to aspects of social context in which this frame of mind is relevant. This concept reflects a core concept in sociology, that of the Sapir-Whorf or linguistic relativity hypothesis.

The habitus

T/F: Social constructionists argue that people reinforce systems of oppression (racism, classism, sexism, ageism, etc.) through personal choices they make about who to include and exclude from their lives.

True

T/F: Barbara Ehrenreich's first-hand observation of low-income workers fits with the research traditions of the symbolic interaction perspective.

True

T/F: From a symbolic interactionist point of view, racial categories are what give people racial identities.

True

T/F: In studying religions, social constructionists take the position that there are no religions that are false.

True

T/F: In studying the practice of sex testing, symbolic interactionists are interested in how knowing a baby's sex in advance of its birth affects parents' identity or sense of self.

True

__________ argued that the color line originated with the colonial expansion that accompanied the Industrial Revolution. Studies of global development and global inequalities show that racist ideologies developed AFTER the practice of slavery was established and were used to justify slavery as an economic form.

W.E.B. DuBois (a late 19th/early 20th Century black scholar and writer)

In his book The Protestant Ethic and the Spirit of Capitalism, Weber (who is most associated with the Verstehen perspective and understanding the meaning of social practices) asked:In other words, in why (apparently) did capitalism MEAN something different to people in Europe whose religion was Protestant in comparision to different religious groups?

Why did modern capitalism emerge and flourish in Europe rather than China or India?

In analyzing the video function on cell phones _________________ would emphasize the potential control those in possession of transmitted images have with regard to how those images will be shared and used. In other words, the question is which social actors have power to affect outcomes in this social context?

a conflict theorist

According to Wilson (who focused on social networks to explain the social construction of the underclass) the single most significant consequence of economic transformation was

a disruption of the network of contacts connecting inner city unemployed to employers who were hiring.

What level of alienation does an employee experience if his employer requires him to look and dress exactly as other employees or to communicate with customers according to a script from which he can not deviate?

alienation from the self (micro level)

A professor asks her students to engage someone in conversation and during the course of the conversation to bring their face increasingly closer to the person. The professor is likely

an ethnomethodologist.

Which one of the following careers is least likely to involve emotional labor as an expected part of the job description? __________________ This expectation is also related to gender typing and even gender polarization associated with this job; in fact, evidence suggests that resistance to practicing emotional labor on this job contributes to the social construction of a hostile workplace for those who cross-the gender divide to do this job.

construction worker

Sociologists Arnet Connidis and Julie Ann McMullin rely on principles associated with ________ to shape their analysis of family dynamics as it relates to caregiving.

critical theory

One rough indicator of _____________ is the number of languages spoken in a society; this is because, as the linguistic relativity hypothesis, or the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis, shows, language and culture are inseparable and both structure and reflect belief systems and therefore, in many ways, constitute 'culture'.

cultural diversity

The human-created strategies for adapting and responding to one's surroundings is known as ____________________ and reflect the basic premise of the social construction of reality and why sociologists rely on aspects of the socialization experience in almost all sociological work.

culture

The Enlightenment can be characterized as a time when the _______________. Similar to today's revolution driven by changes in communications technology, the Enlightenment was driven by mechanization and the resulting surplus resources.

existing social order was challenged

Symbolic interactionism as a paradigm is based on the idea that during all forms of social interaction, the social actors involved

first interpret each other's actions, words, and gestures and then respond based on that interpretation.

"Is offering high salaries - say 250 times larger than the average household income - really necessary to make sure someone qualified takes the job of CEO?" This is a question a _________ would ask.

functionalist

"Social inequality is the device by which societies ensure that the most functionally important occupations are filled by the best qualified people." This statement is something a __________ would make.

functionalist

Sociological research shows us that ascribed statuses, such as __________ in the case of speech-language pathologists, influences the choice people make about occupations. In this case, speech-language pathology corresponds to nurturing and helping others.

gender

__________ is a symbol system that assigns labels and meanings to things seen and unseen; the symbol system any social group relies upon is shaped by and shapes their understanding of their world (Sapir-Whorf or linguistic relativity hypothesis).

language

A transgender child finds that she does not have the words to describe her situation. Her language only allows her to think in terms of boys and girls. This situation illustrates the power of

language to reinforce an existing social order.

The statement "the solid facts of social life are the facts of the imagination," applies to the concept of _________________ in theories of the development of the self; this concept reflects the Sapir-Whorf (or linguistic relativity) hypothesis as well as serves as the micro-level basis of social construction.

looking-glass self

Since we can expect that many people will use their phones in essentially the same way in all social contexts, the phenomena of texting while driving and other forms of distracted driving represent ______________________ of cell phone (and personal communications technologies/devices).

manifest dysfunctions.

One anticipated effect of the cell phone is that it offers people a tool for communicating with others independent of location. The structural functionalist paradigm (focused on how it works) identifies this as a

manifest function

Max Weber (of the Verstehen perspective about the social construction of meaning and symbolic interaction) was interested in understanding the role of religious beliefs in the origins and development of __________________. In contrast to Marx, his research represents idealism because his is arguing that social structures change, in the way they do, because of people's ideas about them.

modern capitalism.

According to Max Weber (and the Verstehen or symbolic interactionism), persons completely unskilled, lacking property, and dependent on seasonal or sporadic employment constitute the

negatively privileged property class (also called the underclass in other perspectives).

Which of the following concepts would be of greatest interest to a symbolic interactionist researching digital social networking? In other words, which of the following concepts is likely to tell us the most about the meaning of digital social networking to social actors involved with them?

negotiated order

Barbara Ehrenreich studied inequality in everyday life as it is experienced by workers in jobs that paid a minimum wage of $8.00 an hour or less. Ehrenreich took on the role of a minimum wage worker to conduct her study. In addition to relying upon the method of ______________________, Ehrenreich's approach is one that a ___________ would take.

participant observation, symbolic interactionist

According to Max Weber's (and the Verstehen or symbolic interactionism) terminology, the National Organization of Women and the National Rifle Association are

political parties

This data-gathering method is not hampered by a researcher's facial expression or body language influencing respondents to answer in a particular way. This unobtrustive research method relies on

self-administered questionnaires.

Language, which is the sociological term for all systems of symbolic communication, means that in addition to words whether written or spoken, things like facial expressions, tone of voice, posture, and gestures are all examples of

significant symbols.

Durkheim (often identified as the original structural-functionalist) maintained that religion must serve some vital social function because

some form of religion has existed as long as humans have been around.

With regard to social networking platforms, which paradigm is most likely to research questions such as "What are the anticipated and unanticipated effects of using the internet as a platform for presenting the self?" (Hint: which central question is this a variation of?; Which paradigm does that central question represent?)

structural-functionalist

Which of the sociological paradigms (each associated with one of the three central questions) focuses on negotiated order?

symbolic interaction

Which one of the theorists is most likely to ask "How do involved parties experience, interpret, influence, and respond to what they and others are doing while interacting?"

symbolic interactionists

"No two languages are ever sufficiently similar to be considered as representing the same social reality." This sentence applies to

the linguistic relativity hypothesis.

Sociologists use the term esteem to mean ________________ which reflects the ways in which 'esteem' is both an ascribed and an achieved status and therefore, the ways in which it reflects social construction and the 'negotiated order' of social life.

the reputation that someone has earned

The internet began in the late 1960s, linking four __________ together for the purposes of research and development of ideas; the world wide web represents all the structures built UPON the infrastructure of the internet and its continued expansion -- both in terms of diversity of use and global reach into peoples' lives -- demonstrates the speed of change associated with globalization and the communications revolution.

universities

Since the 1950s in the US, the expansion of highways and reliance upon automobiles as a mode of transportation have constributed to the social construction of __________ making it difficult to distinguish between city, suburbs, and nonurban environments; increasingly this is seen as an issue of sustainability today.

urban sprawl

When sociologists study the process by which a group or behavior is defined as a social problem, they are studying the social construction process; to do this, finding answers to the who is involved question includes identifying

who makes claims about the problem, whose claims are heard, and how different audiences respond.