Midterm #2 Practice MC Questions

How is a subculture different from a counterculture?

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

Which sociologist was responsible for coining the term the looking-glass self?

Charles Cooley

According to the symbolic interactionist George Herbert Mead, children are born with a developed sense of self.

False

T/F? Charles Cooley did not believe that the self was created largely through social interaction.

False

T/F? Colleges are examples of total institutions.

False

T/F? Cultural relativism and ethnocentrism are interchangeable terms for the same concept.

False

T/F? When sociologists study culture, they need to emphasize the exceptional and unusual and avoid studying the mundane or everyday.

False

T/F? Negative sanctions can only be imposed by an authoritative body or formal institution.

False

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

Family

Some people are disturbed by Goffman's work, because it seems to suggest that no one is ever being honest about who they are. What would Goffman say to this?

He would say that regardless of who an individual feels herself to "really" be, she must still present that self; it is never self-evident.

In terms of job leads and social networks, how are men's networks different from women's?

If a woman's network has more women than men in it, she is less likely to hear about job openings

The local Walmart was just remodeled. Now, there are seven automated self-checkout lanes. The replacement of people with automated self-checkout lanes at supermarkets is one example of

McDonaldization

What term did the sociologist George Ritzer use to describe the spread into everyday life of rationalization and bureaucratic ways of operating?

McDonaldization

Why might socialization change, not just between families, but also within the same family over time?

Parents have no experience when their first child is born, so every subsequent child is socialized according to what has been learned with older siblings

As children get older, which agent of socialization tends to replace parents as their most intense and immediate influence?

Peers

In many Middle Eastern countries, showing someone the bottom of your foot or shoe is considered very rude, so American military personnel stationed in the Middle East are instructed to keep their feet inside helicopters when flying low. Why is this instruction needed?

The meaning of gestures is not universal.

What happens to individuals who are not socialized?

They are devoid of many of the qualities we associate with being human

T/F? The individual's sense of self is largely created through social processes.

True

T/F? The term "total institution" refers to organizations that strip members of their previous identities in order to resocialize them.

True

Which of the following is best suited to avoiding groupthink?

a leader who encourages and rewards the presentation of alternative opinions

Although many people feel that expectations for personal space (usually about 18 inches for Americans) are innate, members of many cultures are used to noticeably less personal space than we are, which helps to demonstrate that our expectations for personal space are:

a part of our culture and as such are learned rather than innate

The term "total institution" applies to which of the following?

a)workplace b)family c)prisons d)colleges e)movie theaters C - Prisons

Which of the following did Max Weber identify as an organizational trait that helps bureaucracies operate smoothly?

a.specialization b. technical competence c. impersonality d. hierarchy e. rules and regulations f. all of the above are organizational qualities of bureaucracies F- all of the above

_____ is the dissemination of beliefs and practices from one group to another.

cultural diffusion

Today it is possible to travel all over the world, especially if you visit major metropolitan areas, without ever having to eat anything but McDonald's. This is an example of:

cultural leveling

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

dominant culture

Which one of the following groups is the best example of a counter-culture?

eco-terrorists

When William goes on vacation to Germany, he sees older children having a small glass of wine with their parents while at dinner. William, who is from the United States, is shocked and considers this practice abnormal. This is an example of

ethnocentrism

T/F? Conflict about the values and norms of a society always comes from the margins of society.

false

T/F? There are many members of social groups who are not influenced by peer pressure.

false

Children raised without human interaction or with a minimum of human contact are referred to as ____________ children.

feral

The Asch experiment, which found that most people gave incorrect answers to factual questions when a group of people endorsed those answers beforehand, illustrates the concept of

group conformity

All over Los Angeles cars can be seen sporting a bumper sticker that says, "My favorite teams are UCLA and whoever is playing USC." What is this an example of?

hostility toward an out-group

Sociologists refer to the norms and values people aspire to as:

ideal culture

When Dr. Fezei, a pediatrician, visits the newborns at the hospital, she always wears a white coat. According to dramaturgy, her white doctor's coat is a component of

impression management

As a SBCC student and fan of the Vaqueros, Magda views other SBCC students as her

in-group

What are leaders called whose personal style makes them more task- or goal-oriented and less concerned with people's feelings?

instrumental leaders

What do sociologists claim is the most significant component of culture?

language

According to George Herbert Mead, a sense of self begins to develop with the acquisition of

language skills

The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis states that

language structures and frames our thoughts.

A monetary fine, harsh words, and a raised fist are examples of:

negative sanctions

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

peer pressure

Jose is thirteen and in middle school. At this time in his life, which agent of socialization is probably the most significant?

peers

What type of group provides most of our emotional satisfaction?

primary groups

Which of the following are characterized by long-term, intimate, face-to-face relationships?

primary groups

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

reference groups

How are informal norms enforced in everyday settings?

sanctions

Macy's church youth group is on a mission trip in Costa Rica. While at dinner, she is served plantains, a food she did not want to try. After all of her friends eat their plantains, she hesitantly decides to eat them too. Sociologists refer to this as

social influence

The principle of "six degrees of separation," which suggests that everyone in the world is connected to everyone else within six steps, exemplifies which concept?

social ties

In all probability, the sociology professor giving this test would be totally unable to grade a test given in the chemistry department. What aspect of bureaucracy does this illustrate?

specialization

In Pennsylvania, there is a large neighborhood primarily consisting of Amish people. They live harmoniously with their non-Amish neighbors. They are distinctive because of the clothes they wear and the horses and buggies they opt to drive in the neighborhood. The Amish are an example of a

subculture

According to George Herbert Mead, what are children learning when they begin to take the perspective of a generalized other in their games?

the attitudes and expectations of society as a whole

How do sociologists define the self?

the experience of a real identity, distinct from other people

What is the relationship between Sister Pauline Quinn's program, in which prison inmates train service and therapy dogs, and sociological concepts of the self and of interaction?

the process of training dogs helps to resocialize prisoners

In an academic honors society, everyone would probably agree that getting "straight A's" in school is a worthwhile cause. Why?

these are the values of the group

T/F? According to Charles Cooley, there can be no sense of self without society.

true

T/F? According to Emile Durkheim, all of the social groups to which an individual is connected impose norms, which place limits on the individual's actions.

true

T/F? Culture is the total way of life of a group of people

true

Which of the following would be the best example of a primary group?

your close friends

Which of the following authority figures still derives legitimacy from traditional sources?

your parents