Sociology Chapters 1-7

According to Karl Marx, the most important factor in social life is a person's:

c. relationship to the means of production.

If you didn't know anything about Pam Fishman except that she studied conversation patterns, what could you logically determine about her?

d. She is a microsociologist.

A sociologist's responsibility is to question everything the everyday person would take for granted.

True

C. Wright Mills described a process by which biography (individual lives) and history (larger social forces) are related. He argued that this process works in two ways: individual lives influence society, while society also influences individuals.

True

The writings of Émile Durkheim, Karl Marx, and Max Weber were deeply influenced by their life experiences.

True

Durkheim theorized that the rapidly changing conditions of modern life lead to anomie. What is anomie?

a. Normlessness, or a loss of connections to the social world

Which social theory focuses on micro-level interactions?

a. Symbolic interactionism

If you possess a sociological imagination and someone asks you to study unemployment rates in a city of fifty million people where fifteen million are unemployed, where should you start?

a. You should consider the economic and political structures of the society.

What was probably Harriet Martineau's most important contribution to the development of sociology as a discipline?

b. Her translation of the work of Auguste Comte into English

According to Robert Merton, which of these statements about manifest functions is true?

b. Manifest functions are intended and obvious.

Why did C. Wright Mills think that it is important for everyone, even people who will never take a sociology class, to develop a sociological imagination?

b. Many people remain unaware of the intricate connections between the patterns of their own lives and the larger course of history.

Metaphorically, what part of sociology is a zoom lens on a camera most like?

b. Microsociology

Émile Durkheim suggested that in traditional societies, people were bound together through mechanical solidarity. What was the basis of these sorts of bonds?

b. Shared traditions and similar experiences

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

b. Sociological imagination

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?

b. Symbolic interactionism

If someone has no way to make money but to sell his own labor, then he must be a member of what social group?

b. The proletariat

Although she made contributions to sociology, Jane Addams is perhaps best remembered for her embrace of praxis, meaning that she:

b. acted on her intellectual convictions in practical ways.

Taking the sociological approach to everyday life has strengths and weaknesses. One of the weaknesses of this approach is that it:

b. labors to grasp things that everyday actors understand implicitly.

Max Weber believed that modern industrialized societies were characterized by which of the following institutions?

c. Bureaucracies

What did Karl Marx think the lower classes needed to develop in order to end their oppression?

c. Class consciousness

Beginner's mind, a concept borrowed from the Zen Buddhist tradition, is the opposite of the sociological perspective.

False

There is only one correct theoretical explanation for any particular social phenomenon.

False

Many everyday cultural practices—such as greeting a friend, giving someone flowers, or using the thumbs-up sign—seem like natural ways of acting. Why does having an awareness of how these practices vary across cultures demonstrate a healthy sociological imagination?

a. It reminds us that everyday interactions are connected to larger social structures.

What did Max Weber mean when he said that modern people are trapped in an "iron cage"?

a. Most aspects of life are increasingly controlled by rigid rules and rationalization.

Structural functionalist theory is very concerned with the ways in which structures contribute to the stability of society. What is a structure?

a. A social institution that is stable over time and helps meet the needs of society

There is a close relationship between sociology and the other social sciences. Given how much overlap there is between these fields, why does sociology still exist as a discipline?

a. All the other fields are more specialized, but sociology is a field that considers a huge intellectual territory.

Sociology can be defined as the systematic and scientific study of human society and social behavior. Given this definition, which of the following levels of social structure best describes what sociologists might examine?

a. Almost any level—from interactions between two people to large-scale institutions

According to the theoretical position developed by Karl Marx, what is the engine of social change?

a. Conflict between social groups

Which of the following statements best characterizes microsociology?

a. It is an approach that examines interactions between individuals and the ways those interactions reflect larger patterns within a society.

The divorce rate has steadily increased over time, and now more than a quarter of all marriages end within the first four years. What sort of factors would C. Wright Mills suggest investigating to explain this increase?

c. Structural factors

What historical events convinced Auguste Comte that society needed to be guided by thinkers who understood social laws?

c. The French Revolution and the instability that followed it

What is the sociological imagination?

c. The ability to understand the connections between biography and history, or the interplay of the self and the world

Unlike sociologists, most people base their knowledge of the world on:

c. conventional wisdom, background knowledge, and personal experience.

Harriet Martineau supported many ideas that were radical for her time, including:

c. labor unions and the abolition of slavery.

In order to verify what the everyday actor might just accept or assume to be true, the social analyst must take the perspective of:

c. the stranger

Even though a small number of people have been trained academically as sociologists, we can all be described as "everyday sociologists" because:

c. we are all members of society and therefore we have a great deal of background knowledge about how society works.

Max Weber helped lay the groundwork for sociologists who would develop symbolic interactionism as a theory, because he believed that a social scientist should approach the study of human action:

c. with verstehen (understanding), which emphasizes the need for empathy with individuals' experiences.

In Great Britain in the eighteenth century, a series of Enclosure Acts were established by Parliament, that broke up small farms, forced many small farmers to move to large cities in search of wage labor, and increased agricultural profits for landowners. What large-scale social system was this a part of?

d. Capitalism

What economic system emerged during the Industrial Revolution?

d. Capitalism

The reality television show Wife Swap exchanges the matriarchs from two very different families and films the result as the participants are exposed to radically different ways of life. Although the television network is simply trying to be entertaining, the show also demonstrates the sociological principle of:

d. Culture shock

What term did Karl Marx use to describe the fact that most of the population accepts the pervading ideology, even when it fails to tell the truth about their lives?

d. False consciousness

Who coined the phrase "the survival of the fittest"?

d. Herbert Spencer

What does Marx see as the primary tool for the oppression of the lower classes in modern society?

d. Industrial capitalism

According to Émile Durkheim, industrialized societies function via an organic solidarity. What is the basis for organic solidarity?

d. Interdependence and individual rights

Why would culture shock be a useful state of mind for a sociologist?

d. It makes us realize that we lack an understanding of our surroundings, so we are truly able to perceive what is right in front of us.

In The Elementary Forms of Religious Life, Émile Durkheim argued that religion was a powerful source of social solidarity. Why?

d. Religion reinforced collective bonds and cultivated shared moral values.

Why are there disagreements among sociologists about how to define sociology?

d. Sociology encompasses a large intellectual territory of potential subject matters.

Max Weber believed that as the Industrial Revolution progressed, society became increasingly rationalized. How did he define rationalization?

d. The application of economic logic to all aspects of social life

You are looking over the courses that are offered at your school and you see a class called "The Sociology of Media and Popular Culture." You don't think you need this course, because you listen to lots of music, watch a wide variety of television, and often go to the movies. What would a sociologist tell you?

d. You only have "reciped," or practical, knowledge.

When it comes to understanding everyday life, one of the weaknesses of being an everyday actor is that you:

d. make assumptions and gloss over many things that the social analyst strives to understand systematically.