Sociology 3-6

How is a subculture different from a counterculture?

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

How are norms enforced in everyday settings?

By sanctions

The definition of what constitutes a group is being transformed as a result of new technology and the Digital Revolution. Which of the following is evidence of this?

Chat rooms

What kind of power is exhibited by a police officer who pulls over a suspect after a high-speed pursuit?

Coercive power

Which of the following statements reflects the best understanding of the nature vs. nurture debate?

Nature and nurture are not opposing forces, but they constantly modify each other as part of a larger interactive process.

When individuals are members of groups, they are influenced by other members. What do sociologists call this?

Peer pressure

Which of the following phenomena is a reason why group efficiency declines as groups increase in size?

Social loafing

Which of the following is an aggregate?

The audience at a Broadway show

According to the sociological explanation of emotions, which of the following statements about grief is true?

The experience of grief is universal, but expressions of grief are cultural.

Which of the following agents of socialization has the most enduring, lifelong impact on the individual?

The family

The sociologist Joseph Conti studied the World Trade Organization as a social network. According to Conti, how is power measured within this type of social network?

The most powerful members are those who have the most connections to other members.

The term "socialization" refers to:

the lifelong process by which people learn the norms, values, and beliefs of their culture.

Role conflict occurs when:

we have multiple roles that are in conflict with each other.

A research study examined how teachers at community colleges handled retirement. The study found that the unique culture of such institutions had a significant effect on how retirees coped with their new situation. Which of the following could be the title of a paper written about this study?

"The Role-Exit Process of Community College Faculty: A Study of Faculty Retirement"

How do sociologists distinguish a group from a crowd?

A crowd doesn't necessarily feel a shared identity.

A position in a social hierarchy that comes with a set of expectations is called:

A status

Which kind of norm is so deeply ingrained that the very thought of breaking it brings feelings of disgust or horror?

A taboo

Which of the following is an example of something that would be part of a person's symbolic culture?

Belonging to a political party

The ability to understand another culture in terms of that culture's own norms and values, without reference to any other culture's standards, is called:

Cultural relativism

What is the definition of "culture"?

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

Clashes over values in the United States, especially as represented by liberals and conservatives in the mass media, have been termed:

Culture wars

What do sociologists call patterns of interaction between groups and individuals?

Group dynamics

What was Sigmund Freud's greatest contribution to the understanding of the self?

His theory of the unconscious mind

Which of the following statements about secondary groups is true?

They tend to be based on specific roles or activities.

Why do ethnocentric people tend to view other cultures as abnormal?

They use their own culture as a standard of judgment.

How is culture transmitted and internalized?

We learn values and beliefs slowly and incrementally.

According to the symbolic interactionist George Herbert Mead, the generalized other is:

an understanding of the rules that govern a network of different players in related roles.

The nature vs. nurture debate helps us understand:

the complex interaction between hereditary traits and social learning.

Designer labels on purses and athletic logos on shirts are both examples of:

material culture.

Groups that we use as standards to evaluate ourselves—either positively, in terms of the qualities we aspire to achieve, or negatively, in terms of the qualities we wish to avoid—are called:

reference groups.