Sociology Midterm
Critical race theory is associated with which of the major theoretical perspectives or schools of thought in sociology?
conflict theory
Karen thinks that religion is used by powerful people and institutions to control the public. What perspective best describes Karen's views?
conflict theory
What theory argues that punishments for rule violators are unequally distributed, with those near the top of society subject to more lenient rules and sanctions than those at the bottom?
conflict theory
Which theory suggests crimes committed by the upper classes are typically treated more leniently than crimes committed by the lower classes because laws represent the interests of those in power?
conflict theory
What research method is a sociologist using if he or she watches a lot of television and counts the number of times women play roles with lower status than those played by men?
content analysis
If changing one variable seems to lead to a change in another variable, this shows ________ but does not necessarily prove ________
correlation; causation
Sociologists use which of the following terms to describe a group with values and norms that oppose the dominant culture?
counterculture
Traditionally, most of the sociological literature on deviance focuses on
crime.
What do we call norm violations that are codified into law?
crimes
In the United States, the ________ is made up of legislatures, the police, courts, and prisons.
criminal justice system
Sociologists would not consider fans of the rock musician Bruce Springsteen to be a group because they
do not interact regularly
A man is listening to loud music and singing along in public. The people around him glare and frown at him, hoping that he will stop. The man ignores them, indicating that he
doesn't seem to care about negative sanctions
The values, norms, and practices of the most powerful group within a society are called
dominant culture
A dishonest judge must pretend to be an honest judge, but even an honest judge must play the role of "honest judge" for an audience in order to interact and work with others effectively. This performance is an example of what theoretical perspective?
dramaturgy
Which methodology MOST closely resembles the scientific method?
experimental research
It is silly to tell your opponents that you have a good hand when you play high-stakes poker. However, particularly good poker players say they can read other players' "tells." These are subtle and unintentional facial expressions, mannerisms, and body language that reveal what players are thinking. What would Erving Goffman call tells?
expressions given off
What kind of leadership style is typically expected of women in contemporary society?
expressive
Children raised without human interaction or with minimal human contact are referred to as ________ children.
feral
Which of these statements about roles is true?
A role involves behaviors
What does it mean if a sample of sociological research is representative?
A smaller group of people studied can tell us something about a larger group
Which of the following describes how deviance can be explained from the functionalist perspective?
Deviance clarifies moral boundaries and affirms norms.
What is one reason imprisonment was such a rare type of punishment before the nineteenth century?
Earlier societies did not have sufficient resources to operate prisons.
Which of the following is an advantage of using ethnography to study social life?
Ethnography allows the researcher to gather abundant data on a small population.
How does the FBI's Uniform Crime Report measure crime?
Every crime reported by over 17,000 law enforcement agencies in the United States is tabulated.
Why do social scientists who use interviews rarely speak with large numbers of people for a project?
Face-to-face interviewing is a very time-consuming process
Why does the family have such a powerful impact as an agent of socialization?
Family begins the socialization process before there are any other competing influences.
What evidence shows that the number of women who commit crimes is related to social structure?
Female arrest rates have increased as women have more presence in the labor market.
Sociologists assert that there is a close relationship between the individual and society. How does Pam Fishman's research on gender and power in heterosexual couples characterize this relationship?
Fishman's data show how macro-level phenomena like gender and power manifest themselves in everyday interactions
Why is it increasingly difficult to use sociological models that assume that interaction involves copresence?
New technology makes it much more common to interact with someone without being physically in the same place.
Why might Karl Marx and Émile Durkheim be placed far apart on sociology's family tree?
The theoretical approaches they founded are very different
When studying deviance, sociologists often focus on the most obvious and extreme forms of deviant behavior. What are the consequences of this approach?
The values and norms of the powerful are left unexamined while the deviance of the poor is scrutinized
Construction crews are constantly annoyed at the way people, mostly teenage boys, steal orange cones and flashing pylons that mark construction zones. According to Jack Katz, why does this sort of deviance happen?
This sort of deviance produces a rush of energy and excitement
Why does actual group productivity never equal potential productivity?
Time is lost to coordinating and organizing group members
Who proposed social control theory, which suggests that individuals who have stronger bonds are LESS likely to commit crime?
Travis Hirschi
The vast majority of crimes come to the attention of the police in response to citizen complaints. Citizens do not usually bother to inform the authorities if they do not think a crime is serious enough or feel that nothing can be done. This means that there might be serious bias in the
Uniform Crime Report
Which theorist argued that if people define a situation as real, it is real in its consequences?
W. I. Thomas
How is culture transmitted and internalized?
We learn values and beliefs slowly and incrementally.
How do self-fulfilling prophecies work?
We respond not only to the objective features of a situation but also to its meaning. Once meaning has been assigned to our behavior, the consequences of that behavior are determined by the meaning
Why might expressions given off seem like more trustworthy guides than expressions given when we try to understand how other people define a situation?
We tend to believe that it is harder to manipulate expressions given off.
The application of economic logic to human activity is known as
Weberian theory
University leaders ignore rumors and complaints about the football coach sexually abusing students in order to uphold the reputation of the university's award-winning football program. This action to preserve public image over protecting the safety of students is a result of
groupthink
What sort of group dynamic may have led officials at NASA to ignore warnings and launch the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded shortly after takeoff?
groupthink
What has been achieved when the dominant culture, without the use of force, persuades the rest of society that its beliefs and values are the only or best values?
hegemony
For a survey to be considered valid, there must be a sufficiently
high response rate.
What was Sigmund Freud's greatest contribution to the understanding of the self?
his theory of the unconscious mind
In what aspects of stigma are symbolic interactionists interested?
how people manage their stigmatized identities on an everyday basis
The concept of the looking-glass self explains
how we develop a self-concept based on our perceptions of others' judgments of us.
In the 1980s, many politicians argued that listening to heavy metal music led teenagers to die by suicide. Though you might find this belief silly, it is a(n)
hypothesis.
Sociologists refer to the norms and values that people aspire to as ________ culture.
ideal
When Barack Obama's approval ratings were high, polls found that a larger number of people claimed to have voted for him than actually did vote for him. Historians report that the percentage of people who remember voting for any president rises and falls with the president's approval ratings, perhaps because more people believe that they should have voted differently. This belief is an example of
ideal culture
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.
Lili is conducting a sociological research study on the underground music scene. She has just finished collecting data for the study. What is the next step Lili should take in the scientific method?
analyze data
The ________ of white supremacy in the United States was a system of beliefs and attitudes that maintained the status quo of racism
ideology
Regardless of their various approaches to social phenomena, what are all sociologists trying to do?
illuminate the connection between the individual and society
Émile Durkheim's study on suicide found that suicide rates went up when the economy slumped, but they also increased when the economy boomed. Which of Durkheim's concepts explains why both positive and negative economic conditions could increase suicide rates?
anomie
Émile Durkheim worried that individuals would feel less and less connected to groups in an increasingly fragmented modern world, which would lead to
anomie or normlessness
Which of the following is an example of a culture war?
anti-abortion advocates demonstrating in front of a family planning clinic
What is the term used to describe sociological research that is intended to solve social problems, such as the research done by Jane Addams?
applied sociology
In his book Streetwise, Elijah Anderson argues that young African American men are more likely to be arrested because they
are perceived as more criminal than others.
Research has been conducted regarding why teens engage in smoking and other deviant behaviors. The most important factor in statistically predicting whether a teen will take up a particular deviant behavior is the presence or absence of peers who also engage in that behavior. This is probably because the other teens are acting
as agents of socialization
Researchers should try to avoid double-barreled questions or questions that
ask about multiple issues
Several cases of children who grew up in extreme social isolation, such as the case of Genie in 1970, suggest that
most of our mental capacities, and perhaps even the ability to think, are learned through social interaction.
Which term describes a policy of honoring diverse racial, ethnic, national, and linguistic backgrounds?
multiculturalism
Role conflict occurs when an individual has
multiple roles that are in conflict with each other
A monetary fine, harsh words, and shaking one's fist are examples of
negative sanctions
A paradigm shift is a major break in the assumptions that are used to understand the world. For social scientists, what causes a paradigm shift?
new data forcing a new way of looking at the world
Durkheim theorized that the rapidly changing conditions of modern life lead to anomie. What is anomie?
normlessness or a loss of connections to the social world
Karl Marx's thought intellectuals should engage in praxis, meaning that they should
not just theorize about the world but change it
Which of the following research techniques focuses on gaining an insider's perspective of the everyday lives of subjects under investigation, often dispelling stereotypes about the group being investigated?
participant observation
In 1978, cult-leader Jim Jones forced more than 900 of his followers to drink poisoned Flavor Aid, leading to their deaths. In the run-up to this event, Jones had strictly enforced discipline, mocked and ridiculed anyone who expressed doubts, and even had doubters sedated. This extreme effort to enforce conformity is an example of
peer pressure
What do sociologists call it when members of groups are influenced by other members?
peer pressure
As children get older, which agent of socialization tends to replace parents as their most intense and immediate influence?
peers
An individual who works at a bookstore routinely takes home ballpoint pens and Post-it notes, uses the copy machine to make personal copies, and makes long-distance phone calls on the store's line. However, he would never consider stealing money from the cash register, even if he knew he could get away with it. What is this behavior called?
pilfering
What is a sociologist's theoretical perspective if he or she argues we have seen the "dissolution of master narratives or metanarratives"?
postmodernism
In his Theses on Feuerbach, Karl Marx argued that "the philosophers have only interpreted the world, the point is to change it." What Marxist principle is defined by this quote?
praxis
What type of group provides most of our emotional satisfaction?
primary
Which type of group is characterized by long-term, intimate, and face-to-face relationships?
primary
People who associate with each other on a regular basis because they enjoy spending time together are usually members of a
primary group
If someone has no way to make money but to sell his or her own labor, then he or she must be a member of what social group?
proletariat
What are some examples of things students learn from a school's hidden curriculum?
punctuality, neatness, and discipline
What kind of research are you doing if you observe a group in order to determine its norms, values, rules, and meanings?
qualitative
What is a parent experiencing when he has to decide between being on time for work or helping his child with a homework assignment?
role conflict
Émile Durkheim suggested that in traditional societies, people were bound through mechanical solidarity. What was the basis of these sorts of bonds?
shared traditions and similar experiences
In 2007, the richest 1 percent of the American population owned 35 percent of the country's wealth and the bottom 80 percent of the population owned 14 percent. Karl Marx would call this
social inequality
Individual members of a large group often neglect their responsibilities when a task needs to be completed because it is impossible for any one person to receive credit or blame. This phenomenon is called
social loafing
Which of the following phenomena is a reason why group efficiency declines as groups increase in size?
social loafing
What do sociologists call the webs of direct and indirect ties that connect individuals to others who may influence them?
social networks
Victor of Aveyron was a feral child who wandered out of the woods in 1800 when he was approximately twelve years old. After being reintroduced to human society, Victor was incapable of talking and never fully adjusted to life with other humans. This case shows the importance of
socialization
In all probability, the sociology professor who is giving this test would be totally unable to grade a test given in the chemistry department. What aspect of bureaucracy does this illustrate?
specialization
A position in a social hierarchy that comes with a set of expectations is called a(n)
status
The term "master status" is defined as a
status that seems to override all other statuses a person possesses.
A researcher must identify a target population before engaging in sampling. What is the target population?
the larger group of people about whom he or she wishes to generalize
You are doing a research project on the effects of contemporary media. What are your variables if your hypothesis is "watching violence on television causes an increase in violent behavior"?
violence on television and violent behavio
Martin Luther King Jr. went to jail many times for acts of civil disobedience, such as ignoring court orders prohibiting marches and boycotts. Some people, even those who agreed with him, criticized him for disobeying the law. Today, however, most people view these actions as a form of
positive deviance
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 separate discipline?
All the other fields are more specialized, but sociology is a field that considers a huge intellectual territory.
How does a person come to possess an achieved status?
An achieved status is earned
What is the difference between basic and applied research?
Applied research is gathering knowledge that can be used for social change
Given Jack Katz's theory of crime, what do you think would be the best subtitle for his book The Seductions of Crime?
Attractions of "Doing" Deviance
How is a subculture different from a counterculture?
Both are distinct from mainstream culture, but a counterculture actively opposes important aspects of the mainstream
What did W. E. B. Du Bois have in common with Harriet Martineau?
Both were intrigued by America's democratic promise, but disappointed in its hypocritical injustices.
Which of the following is an example of a feeling rule?
Boys don't cry
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.
Why is playing organized games an important part of an older child's development of the self according to the symbolic interactionist George Herbert Mead?
Game playing involves learning to anticipate and coordinate with other players' actions.
According to Jack Katz, what do muggers gain from their crimes aside from material objects?
He argues that they mug for a sense of satisfaction and excitement.
________ occurs when the dominant culture succeeds in imposing its values and ideas on all of society.
Hegemony
Who coined the phrase "the survival of the fittest"?
Herbert Spencer
In what way is a game of football like society according to George Herbert Mead?
In both football and society, individuals have to take into account the roles and points of view of everyone else
How do sociologists distinguish a group from a crowd?
Individuals associated with a group feel a shared identity.
How are informal norms different from formal norms?
Informal norms are implicit and unwritten
Some researchers suggest that interviews give "voice" to people who may never have been heard before and offer privileged access to authentic experience, private worlds, and true selves. How do interviews do this?
Interviews allow respondents to speak in their own words, which can reveal their thoughts, feelings, and beliefs
In her research for The Second Shift, Arlie Hochschild interviewed married couples to find out how they dealt with changing family roles as more women entered the workforce. What advantages came from her decision to use interviews as a research method?
It allowed her to gather direct quotations and construct an intimate portrait of married couples.
What is the danger of too much group cohesion?
It can lead to groupthink, in which dissenting opinions are strongly discouraged.
Most sociological studies of deviance focus on elements of an individual's background that would predispose him or her to act in deviant ways. What is the key problem with such an approach?
It cannot explain why some people with very similar backgrounds act differently
Why is the term "queer" used to describe queer theory?
It emphasizes the importance of difference and rejects a single gay or lesbian identity
Which of the following is one of the functions of symbolic culture?
It enables people to communicate
Laud Humphreys wrote his dissertation on anonymous homosexual encounters in the men's rooms of public parks. To gather data, he acted as a lookout for his subjects, but he also surreptitiously noted license-plate numbers as the men left so he could get their names and addresses. The next year, he picked about fifty of the men and, claiming to be performing a health survey, interviewed them in their homes. His descriptions of the interviews made it possible for many of the men (and their families) to recognize themselves when the dissertation was published. Why do many sociologists consider this research method to be unethical?
It failed to protect the biographical anonymity of his subjects
In Mama Lola: A Vodou Priestess in Brooklyn, Karen McCarthy Brown studied practitioners of the Vodou religion living in the United States. However, she went far beyond the usual role of scientific observer and became a member of the religious group she was studying. She also gave her key informant veto power over certain elements of her work. Why would this be helpful?
It helped her set aside preconceived notions about Vodou to understand it on its own terms.
Which of the following statements best characterizes microsociology?
It is an approach that examines interactions between individuals and how those interactions reflect larger societal patterns.
Which of the following is a DISADVANTAGE of using ethnography as a method of social research?
It is difficult for another researcher to repeat or replicate any particular ethnography
Martha Stewart was convicted of obstruction of justice after lying to the FBI during an investigation of her sale of a stock that dramatically fell in value immediately after she sold it. Her conviction was unusual, as this sort of white collar crime is much more likely to be dealt with in civil, rather than criminal, court. How does the tendency to deal with white collar criminals in civil court bias our understanding of the demographics of crime?
It leads us to overestimate the relationship between poverty and crime.
Why would culture shock be a useful state of mind for a sociologist?
It makes us realize we lack an understanding of our surroundings so we can perceive what is right in front of us
What can an institutional review board do if it has reservations about the safety or ethics of a research project?
It may stop the project from going forward, at least until changes have been made
Which of the following would sociologists consider the best definition of deviance?
violations of social norms
Which of the following is the most serious critique of structural functionalism?
It tends to argue that any social feature that exists must serve a function
According to Robert Merton, which of these statements about manifest functions is true?
Manifest functions are intended and obvious
Symbolic interactionism argues that people act toward things on the basis of their meaning. According to this perspective, how does meaning arise?
Meaning is negotiated through interaction with others
The Amish have neither the resources nor the desire to use prison as a sanction against members of their community who violate the rules. What sanction do they use instead?
Meidung or shunning is used, which is a process whereby community members will not associate with a rule breaker for a set period of time.
What did Max Weber mean when he said that modern people are trapped in an "iron cage"?
Most aspects of life are increasingly controlled by rigid rules and rationalization
What does it mean if a researcher has obtained informed consent from all of his or her participants?
Participants understand the nature of the research and are participating freely
In "The Strength of Weak Ties," what are the implications of Mark Granovetter's findings?
People tend to form homogeneous social networks
Social networks can influence people through contagion. What does that mean?
People who are connected to social networks are more likely to be affected by them.
Which of the following statements about bureaucracies is true?
People who work in bureaucracies may feel alienation as a result of being treated in terms of roles, rules, and functions rather than as individuals.
The definition of what constitutes a group is being transformed as a result of new technology and the Digital Age. Which of the following is evidence of this?
Reddit subgroups
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
Researchers are often worried that interviewees have not been completely honest or forthcoming, especially when asked about sensitive subjects. How did Arlie Hochschild attempt to deal with this problem?
She observed some respondents as they went about their daily routines to see if their actions matched their answers
Who argued that the personality passes through four distinct psychosexual stages of development?
Sigmund Freud
Which of the following statements about the process of socialization is true?
Society shapes the individual and the individual shapes society.
How is the study of culture different for sociologists than for anthropologists?
Sociologists usually study a society to which they belong.
Why are there disagreements among sociologists about how to define sociology?
Sociology encompasses a large intellectual territory.
It is always important to ask clear and unambiguous questions regardless of the method you use. Why is it especially important to avoid confusion when conducting surveys?
Survey researchers are usually not present to clarify any misunderstandings
Why do high schools often use surveys rather than a more direct form of communication like interviews when they ask students about sensitive subjects like drug use or sexual health?
Surveys allow students to answer the questions in private and assure the confidentiality of their responses.
When conducting experiments, how is the experimental group different from the control group?
The experimental group is administered the independent variable while the control group is not.
What is one of the principal reasons people turn to deviant behavior in the United States according to the structural strain theory of deviance as articulated by Robert Merton?
The goal of success is shared by a majority of people, but not everyone has equal means for achieving that goal.
Jill is visiting her boyfriend's family in China. During a conversation, she points to him with her index finger, which his family doesn't seem to like. Later, her boyfriend explains that she should point with an open hand instead of using a finger. Why is this instruction needed?
The meaning of gestures is not universal
Why would mentioning a sensitive issue, such as divorce or infidelity, in a survey question influence how respondents answer later questions?
The respondents may think about the sensitive issue when answering later questions.
What might a conflict theorist conclude about deviance if an upper-middle-class, white college student is sentenced to rehab for the same drug crime that a lower-class, black man is sentenced to jail for committing?
The rules are applied unequally and those with power or influence are punished much less harshly.
According to symbolic interactionism, what is the relationship between the self and society?
The self is shaped by society, but society is also shaped by the self.
Which of the following statements helps describe how Jack Katz's book Seductions of Crime explained deviance in a new way?
The social science literature contains only scattered evidence of what it means, feels, sounds, tastes, or looks like to commit a particular crime.
Why are adults unable to be completely socialized?
There will always be new situations and roles to learn.
A college student plans to go to graduate school because she thinks of herself as having excellent critical thinking skills and a brilliant mind. Where would Charles Cooley's theory of the looking-glass self suggest that she got these ideas?
These ideas come from teachers and fellow students expressing admiration
Survey researchers often use Likert scales to construct the possible answers when they write closed-ended questions. How do Likert scales allow respondents to answer?
They allow respondents to answer along a continuum from "strongly agree" to "strongly disagree."
Which of the following is true of expressions given off as defined by Erving Goffman?
They are typically nonverbal, but they are observable in various ways
What happens to individuals who are NOT socialized?
They are unable to fully develop without contact with others.
What is the link between feminist theory and conflict theory?
They both seek to not only understand inequality but also to remedy it.
Why are respondents often more comfortable addressing sensitive subjects on surveys than in other research contexts?
They can answer in private and are usually assured of anonymity.
How have social networking websites affected social groups?
They help people make the most of both their primary and secondary groups.
Which of the following is a characteristic of primary groups?
They involve a strong sense of belonging
What does it mean if ethnographers are overt about their roles?
They openly admit that they are doing sociological research.
Which of the following is a quality of charismatic leaders?
They possess extraordinary personal qualities
Which of the following is an advantage of using interviews as a research method?
They reveal attitudes and beliefs not accessible by any other means
Which of the following statements about secondary groups is true?
They tend to be based on specific roles or activities.
Why might teenagers shoplift according to Jack Katz's Seductions of Crime?
They want the thrill of getting away with breaking the rules.
In terms of job leads and social networks, how are men's networks different from women's?
Women are less likely to hear about quality job openings if their social networks are composed of more women than men.
Which factor makes sociologists question the relationship between youth and crime?
Young people may commit crimes that are more visible and, therefore, are arrested more often.
What is it that interviewers seek when asking a respondent for his or her life history?
a chronological account of the respondent's life
Some Marxists believe that conflict between small merchants and the nobility led to the creation of modern capitalism, which was distinct from either of the opposing forces. What would Marx call this model of historical change?
a dialectical model
Members of which of the following think of themselves as belonging together and interact with one another?
a group
Which of the following would be considered a group in the sociological sense?
a high school chess club
Which of the following is best suited to preventing groupthink?
a leader who encourages and rewards the presentation of alternative opinions
According to Karl Marx, how is class consciousness, or revolutionary consciousness, developed?
by the lower classes recognizing how society works and challenging those in power
Charles Darwin suggested that, rather than being superior to the rest of the animal kingdom, human beings are simply one part of a larger system governed by natural laws. This radically changed how people thought about almost everything. What would we call this?
a paradigm shift
Which of the following authority figures still derives legitimacy from traditional sources?
a parent
Which of the following is an example of a total institution?
a prison
What do sociologists call a group that provides standards by which an individual can judge his or her own accomplishments?
a reference group
To what type of group does an individual belong if the members are mostly anonymous to one another?
a secondary group
What did Robert Merton call a prediction that came true only because the prediction was made?
a self-fulfilling prophecy
What is a paradigm?
a set of assumptions, theories, and perspectives that makes up a way of understanding social reality
What is a pilot study?
a smaller study used to investigate the feasibility of a larger one
Structural functionalist theory is concerned with the ways in which structures contribute to the stability of society. What is a structure?
a social institution that is stable over time and helps meet the needs of society
Which kind of norm is so deeply ingrained that the very thought of breaking it brings feelings of disgust or horror?
a taboo
Young army recruits arriving at boot camp are about to enter which of the following?
a total institution
Which of the following is an example of resocialization?
a woman relearning basic skills after a car accident
Which of the following actions would be an example of in-group orientation?
a woman writes on her social media, "I am black, trans, and proud!"
Although she made contributions to sociology, Jane Addams is perhaps best remembered for her embrace of praxis, which means that she
acted on her intellectual convictions in practical ways
How do sociologists define positive deviance?
actions initially considered deviant, but later deemed appropriate
Jane Addams was an early advocate of applied sociology. This means that she did not just do research but that she also
addressed social problems through hands-on activity in the communities she researched.
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
Appearance, manner, style of dress, race, gender, and age are all elements of
an individual's personal front.
What is the Uniform Crime Report (UCR)?
an official measure of crime in the United States
How are norms enforced in everyday settings?
by sanctions
A sociologist wants to study popular attitudes and perceptions about astrology among college students in California. She believes that people who have astrological signs associated with fire will have a greater knowledge of astrology because fire signs tend to have more interesting and attractive symbolism. What are the variables in this study?
astrological signs and knowledge of astrology
Frances is assigned a research project in which she is to attend a celebratory family meal and analyze her experiences as she participates in the meal. She is asked to make a detailed account of the meal that includes her thoughts and feelings about the event. What type of research is Frances assigned?
autoethnography
When engaging in participant observation, researchers can study others as well as themselves. Research that focuses on one's own thoughts, feelings, and experiences is known as
autoethnography
What must we do before we can experience role-taking emotions?
be able to see things from another person's point of view
Which of the following is an example of something that would be part of a person's symbolic culture?
belonging to a political party
What is a researcher guilty of if he or she allows his or her own values and opinions to affect his or her analysis?
bias
Which of the following is a subculture?
bodybuilding
Max Weber believed that modern industrialized societies were characterized by which of the following institutions?
bureaucracies
Arlie Hochschild was concerned that her sample of interviewees was too small to guarantee representativeness. How did Hochschild attempt to overcome this problem?
by comparing information about her interviewees with a national survey
According to Karl Marx, how could a belief in heaven as a reward for earthly suffering serve the interests of the ruling class?
by keeping the lower classes from demanding better treatment in this life
In eighteenth-century Great Britain, 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. Of what large-scale social system was this a part?
capitalism
Jai is conducting a sociological research study on differences in interactions between similar and dissimilar co-workers. After reviewing the literature, he developed a hypothesis and has operationalized the variables he will study. What is the next step Jai should take in the scientific method
choose a research design or method
What did Karl Marx think the lower classes needed to develop in order to end their oppression?
class consciousness
In recent years, sociologists who study deviance have learned that they can measure the quantities of narcotics consumed by a community by testing its sewage before treatment. What part of the research process would the sociologists be carrying out when they visit the sewage treatment plant to test its sewage?
collecting data
You want to conduct some sociological research on whether people on social networking sites are less likely to meet in person as a result of their online community participation. What is the next step in the scientific method?
conduct a literature review
According to the theoretical position developed by Karl Marx, what is the engine of social change?
conflict between social groups
During the American occupation of Japan after World War II, the Japanese observed soldiers playing baseball and later adopted it as one of their pastimes. This is an example of
cultural diffusion
The French social theorist Jean-François Lyotard described contemporary culture in this way: "One listens to reggae, watches a Western, eats McDonald's food for lunch and local cuisine for dinner, wears Paris perfume in Tokyo and 'retro' clothes in Hong Kong." He was writing about postmodernism, but what concept can help explain this mishmash of activities?
cultural diffusion
There are many sushi restaurants in the United States and many McDonald's-style fast-food restaurants in Japan. This is an example of
cultural diffusion
Because of their economic strength, Western companies are powerful enough to impose their products on markets worldwide. This phenomenon is known as
cultural imperialism
In the article "Jihad vs. McWorld," Benjamin R. Barber points out that "in November of 1991 Switzerland's once insular culture boasted best-seller lists featuring Terminator 2 as the #1 movie, Scarlett as the #1 book, and Prince's Diamonds and Pearls as the #1 record album." Many people worry that the prominence of American culture goes beyond the media and represents the wholesale imposition of American values on other cultures, which is a process called
cultural imperialism
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 food. This is an example of
cultural leveling
What do sociologists call it when cultures that were once distinct become increasingly similar?
cultural leveling
When Patti Sue took a world tour, she had lunch at McDonald's in Tokyo, ate dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe in Hong Kong, purchased clothes at Macy's in London, and was entertained at a Disney show in Paris. This homogenization of cultures around the world is called
cultural leveling
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
A reality television show called Wife Swap exchanged the mothers from two very different families and filmed the result as the participants are exposed to radically different ways of life. Although the television network was simply trying to be entertaining, the show also demonstrates the sociological principle of
culture shock
Conflicts within mainstream society about which values and norms should be upheld or shifted are called
culture wars
In 2010, President Obama signed the Affordable Care Act (ACA) into law. Fox News and CNN presented vastly different viewpoints of the ACA, appealing to either conservative or liberal viewers, respectively. The media's handling of this law is an example of
culture wars
Some people utilize social media as an enhanced form of condescending attacks known as
cyberbullying
A man's computer is hacked; by stealing his identity, the hacker is able to steal money from the man's bank account. The man is a victim of
cybercrime
You are conducting research on violence in the media. In what part of the research process are you engaged if you are trying to decide whether "violence" includes words as well as actions?
defining the variables
What must behavior, trait, or belief do in order to be considered deviant?
depart from a norm and generate a negative reaction
Almost any ________ can have a stigmatizing effect, including a physical disability or a battle with addiction or mental illness.
departure from the norm
What is the justification for harsh sentencing guidelines like California's controversial "three strikes" law?
deterrence of future crimes
The idea that individuals learn to be deviant by interacting with others who are already deviant is called
differential association theory
An employee who has a special relationship with his boss is promoted instead of a more deserving co-worker. This is an example of the
distinction between ideal culture and real culture
Considering that impression management relies so much on strategies of performance, scholars have called Erving Goffman's ideas
dramaturgy
What do sociologists call it when people's jobs require them to manage their feelings as part of their official duties?
emotion work
The tendency to use your own group's way of doing things as the yardstick for judging others is called
ethnocentrism
Which method of social research might involve shifting between participating in a social situation and being an observer?
ethnography
What do sociologists call informal rules and guidelines for behavior that are considered acceptable within a group?
folkways
According to the scientific method, what are the steps in conducting research and in what order should they be completed?
form a hypothesis, define variables, choose research method, collect data
According to the Uniform Crime Report, murder is MOST likely committed by a
friend or relative
In their ethnography Promises I Can Keep: Why Poor Women Put Motherhood before Marriage, Kathryn Edin and Maria Kefalas studied the realities of single motherhood for poor, urban women. Before beginning their research, they immersed themselves in the community. Edin moved her family to the city and they both volunteered in community programs. Immersing themselves in the community is an example of
gaining access
What uses an inductive method that involves collecting data and then generating theory by looking for relationships among categories?
grounded theory
The sense of solidarity or team spirit that an individual feels toward his or her group is called
group cohesion
What do sociologists call patterns of interaction between groups and individuals?
group dynamics
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
According to Erving Goffman, stigmatized individuals who do not believe that they should have to change or conceal their identities to make "normal" people more comfortable have
in-group orientation
There are several ways in which gays and lesbians in the United States have chosen to manage their stigma. When gay rights activists chant the slogan, "We're here, we're queer, get used to it," what strategy are they using?
in-group orientation
Many people today argue that convicted sex offenders should be chemically castrated or held in protective custody beyond their original sentences. What is the logic of these punishments?
incapacitation
Which of the following is an example of a taboo in American society?
incest
What does Marx see as the primary tool for the oppression of the lower social classes in modern society?
industrial capitalism
What is the strongest type of conformity that can occur as a result of social influence or peer pressure?
internalization
A study found a strong correlation between parental bonding and adolescent drug use. Children with stronger bonds to their parents were far less likely to try drugs or alcohol. However, the researchers, after examining their data more closely, discovered that parental bonding was really a predictor for teen religiosity. Consequently, high levels of religiosity prevent drug use rather than parental bonding. This means that religiosity was a(n)
intervening variable
Sociologists who conduct interviews can only gather data from a limited number of people because
interviews are too time-consuming
Survey research tends to produce quantitative data. One key advantage of this kind of data is that it
is easy to transmit to the public
Which of the following is a latent function of the educational system in the United States?
keeping children out of trouble while parents are at work
Harriet Martineau supported many ideas that were radical for her time including
labor unions and the abolition of slavery
Taking the sociological approach to everyday life has strengths and weaknesses. One of the weaknesses of this approach is that it
labors to grasp things that everyday actors understand implicitly
The Sapir-Whorf hypothesis suggests that
language can structure our perception of reality
The term "socialization" refers to the
lifelong process by which people learn the norms, values, and beliefs of their culture
A closed-ended question is one that
limits the possible responses.
Researchers usually transcribe responses after they conduct a series of interviews. The transcription process is fairly time-consuming, but it is valuable, in part, because it allows researchers to
look for patterns in their data
Many Marxist sociologists assume that large-scale economic structures are the most important factors in shaping people's lives. This assumption is an example of
macrosociology
A married man in the United States with several mistresses is violating a ________, but he is violating a ________ if he is married to more than one woman at the same time.
mores; law
Metaphorically, what part of sociology is a zoom lens on a camera most like?
microsociology
What kind of question usually produces a wide variety of responses by allowing respondents to answer in whatever way seems appropriate to them?
open-ended
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. Then she asks how many people have smoked a cigarette in the past week and ten people indicate that they had. From this, the class decides, for the purposes of the survey, a smoker will be anyone who has smoked a cigarette in the past week and currently owns a pack of cigarettes. This is a(n)
operational definition.
As a way of facilitating social change, tweets and hashtags are a new social phenomenon in which people are able to use social media in an effort to
organize and protest political policies.
What do you call broad theoretical models of the social or natural world?
paradigms
Which of the following is an aggregate?
the audience at a Broadway show
The Egg McMuffin is a vastly more efficient version of eggs Benedict. Egg McMuffins are cheaper, ready almost instantly at drive-through windows, and can be eaten with one hand while driving. However, they do not improve on the taste of or experience eating eggs Benedict. Max Weber might have described the Egg McMuffin as the ________ of breakfast.
rationalization
What do sociologists call the norms and values that people actually follow as opposed to the norms and values that people believe should be followed?
real culture
What do we call groups that are used 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?
reference groups
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 theirs. This caused him to think critically about his activities and role as a researcher. What do sociologists call this?
reflexivity
According to Jack Katz, there are several reasons why adolescents might shoplift. One reason is the material appeal of the objects that are taken, but more importantly, they
regard "getting away with it" as a demonstration of personal competence
The consistency of a measurement tool, or the degree to which the same questions will produce similar answers, refers to
reliability
What will a good researcher always do after formulating a general research question?
review the literature relevant to his or her topic
A graduate student is almost done with his dissertation when he is informed that twenty years ago someone did a similar project and already demonstrated what he had hoped to be the first to discover. What basic step of the scientific method should have saved him from this problem?
reviewing the literature
Robert Merton developed structural strain theory to explain why deviance happens. To what sort of strain does the theory's name refer?
strain between socially approved goals and the means of achieving them
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?
structural
Alejandra believes that religion is the basis for good values and that promoting religion in society promotes social order. What perspective best describes Alejandra's views?
structural functionalism
What school of social theory believes that society is a stable system of structures, which contribute to the equilibrium of the whole?
structural functionalism
Which of the following theories views society as a whole unit made up of interrelated parts that work together?
structural functionalism
Which of the following is an example of bureaucratic organization at colleges and universities?
students being issued ID numbers
A cultural group that exists harmoniously within a larger, dominant culture is called a
subculture
Sameer thinks that religion consists of meaningful displays of values and norms that are created, maintained, and changed through social interaction. What perspective best describes Sameer's views?
symbolic interactionism
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 social theory focuses on micro-level interactions?
symbolic interactionism
Which of the following sequences lists norms in the correct order, from the most strictly enforced to the least?
taboos, mores, folkways
What has a child learned to do when he or she can internalize the expectations of other specific people?
take the role of the particular or significant other
A space shuttle, graffiti, a new coding language, and a new instrument are all examples of
technology
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
A simple random sample is defined as a sample
that provides the same chance of being included to every member of the population
Every four years, when it is time to elect a new president, we pay much attention to surveys, which we usually call "polls." Even though there are more than 300 million people in the United States, most political pollsters ask about a thousand people who they plan to vote for and use that information to predict how the election will turn out. Who is the sample for a presidential poll?
the 1,000 people who are asked whom they will vote for
The theory of symbolic interactionism was developed by
the Chicago School of sociology
What is the sociological imagination?
the ability to understand the connections between biography and history or the self and the world
Max Weber believed that as the Industrial Revolution progressed, society became increasingly rationalized. How did he define rationalization?
the application of economic logic to all aspects of social life
The nature vs. nurture debate helps us understand
the complex interaction between hereditary traits and social learning.
Unlike folkways, mores are closely related to
the core values of a group
What does the sociologist Jack Katz think sociologists should study when trying to understand deviance instead of solely examining background factors?
the deviant's own experience of committing a deviant act
When Mayo Elton did his now-classic experiment on worker productivity, he found that he could increase productivity by changing variables in a work environment, but that changing variables back also increased productivity. What did he conclude was the true cause of the increase in productivity?
the effect of being studied
How do sociologists define the self?
the experience of an individual's personal identity distinct from other people
Which of the following agents of socialization has the most enduring, lifelong impact on the individual?
the family
Which of the following sources of socialization forms the foundation for all other socializing agents?
the family
A sociologist observes that kindergartners are not just being taught about arts and crafts. They are also being taught how to be students including how to follow rules, remain in their seats, and other skills that will be necessary for the rest of their education. What are these other things that are taught in kindergarten called?
the hidden curriculum
According to Sigmund Freud, which part of the mind is composed of biological drives and is the source of psychic energy?
the id
Which part of the mind of feral children would Sigmund Freud expect to be MOST fully developed?
the id
What are the parts of the mind according to Sigmund Freud's theoretical perspective?
the id, the ego, and the superego
Charismatic authority is unlike either traditional authority or legal-rational authority in that it is rooted in
the personal qualities of a leader
Ethnographers using participant observation must always be aware of reflexivity, which occurs because
the presence of ethnographers may alter the behavior of the people they are observing.
What is the scientific method?
the procedure for acquiring and collecting concrete data
In the psychoanalytic theory developed by Sigmund Freud, which part of our mind is responsible for representing culture within us and serving as the moral component of our personality?
the superego
Which part of the mind would Freud have described as being like a type of conscience that punishes misbehavior with feelings of guilt?
the superego
What was Marx criticizing when he said that religion is "the opiate of the masses"?
the use of religion by the ruling class to oppress the working class
W. I. Thomas famously argued that if people define situations as real, then
they are real in their consequences.
Which of the following is one of the goals of socialization?
to teach norms, values, and beliefs
What are the goals of ethnography?
to understand the meanings people attach to their activities
According to Max Weber's typology of power, what type of authority does a king wield?
traditional authority
A researcher studying a particular community looks through the community's trash and litter. What best describes this research method?
unobtrusive measures
An ideal whereby researchers identify facts without allowing their own personal beliefs or biases to interfere is known as
value-free sociology
John gets a job with a large firm that audits small businesses. While working at the firm, he becomes friends with Dave who invites him to attend a weekly poker game. The game soon becomes a meaningful part of John's social life. This is an example of the
way secondary group ties can lead to membership in primary groups
According to George Herbert Mead, the dual nature of the self refers to the idea that
we experience the self as both subject and object
Which of the following is an example of something that would be part of a person's or a society's material culture?
weapons of war
Some subcultures have adopted branding as a form of body art, though it is no longer used as a form of punishment in the United States. This demonstrates that
what is considered deviant changes over time.
Under what circumstances does a deviant label transition from primary to secondary deviance?
when the deviant label is internalized
Although individuals always feel loyalty toward their in-group, under what circumstances would this loyalty be particularly strong?
when the differences between the in-group and the out-group are sharply defined
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
with verstehen (understanding), which emphasizes empathy with individuals' experiences
After studying the indigenous peoples of Australia, ________ concluded that any form of religion is united in its definition of what is considered to be ________ and ________
Émile Durkheim; sacred; profane
