exam 1

b, structuration

______ refers to how human societies are reconstructed at every moment by the very "building blocks" that compose them- human beings.
a. evolutionary biology
b. structuration
c. metatheory
d. dramaturgy

c, ethnography

Michelle has spent the past year among a subculture of twentysomethings who all listen to the same kind o music. She spends time with them, participates in their events, and observes their interactions an behaviors. All the while, she records what she witnesses in her field notebook. What kind of sociological research best describes what Michelle is doing?
a. survey research
b. experimental research
c. ethnography
d. comparative research

a, ethnographic study

In a(n) ________, the sociologist works or lives with members of a group, organization, or community and perhaps participates directly in its activities as part of the research process.
a. ethnographic study
b. survey research study
c. historical/comparative study
d. experiment

b, most people engaged in food production

At the height of the most developed traditional civilizations, such as ancient Rome or preindustrial China,
a. most of the population lived in urban areas.
b. most people engaged in food production.
c. most people fell in love.
d. "falling in love" was a precondition for marriage.

c, postmodernism

Marissa rejects the idea that we can make historical claims about society progressively developing. Her idea most mirrors which theoretical perspective?
a. functionalism
b. symbolic interactionism
c. postmodernism
d. feminist theory

c, postmodern theory

Adherents of ________ contend that there are no longer any "grand narratives" or overall conceptions of history or society that make any sense.
a. functionalism
b. feminist theory
c. postmodern theory
d. symbolic interactionism

b, emile durkheim

According to ________, sociology must study social facts—aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals—in order to become a science.
a. Karl Marx
b. Émile Durkheim
c. Auguste Comte
d. Max Weber

a, symbolic interactionism

According to the textbook, George Herbert Mead reasoned that language allows us to become self-conscious beings—aware of our own individuality. This idea forms the basis of the theoretical perspective known as
a. symbolic interactionism.
b. feminist theory.
c. postmodern theory.
d. Marxism.

marxism and class conflict

janice thinks that sociology should be a science used to bring about radical social change, with particular emphasis on power and ideology. Her position most closely aligns with which theoretical perspective?

feminist theory

sociologists who use ________ as a theoretical perspective argue that women's lives and experiences are central to the study of society.

a, english

which language is the main language for the plurality of internet users?

a. english
b. chinese
c. spanish
d. hindi

c, the linguistic relativity hypothesis

anthropological linguist edward sapir and his student benjamin lee whorf argued that the language we use influences our perceptions of the world. this is kwown as

a. social control theory
b. the echo chamber
c. the linguistic relativity hypothesis
d. structuration theory

c

Lucy wants to study American culture. Why might sociologists be critical of such a study?

a. americans do not produce their own culture
b. culture originated w the high art association within ewestern europe
c. there is no single american culture but rather a contested terrain of mainstream culture and hundreds of subcultures
d. americans are notoriously unculured people

b

what is the key difference between pastoral and agrarian societies

a. pastoral societies have gender equality, while in agrarian societies are male dominated

b. agrarian societies grow crops for food while pastoral societies raise livestock

c. pastoral societies combine government and religion while agrarian societies keep them separate

d. agrarian societies have well defined territorial borders while pastoral solutes don't

d, assimilation

scholars have argued that immigrant groups like Irish and Italians were initially considered race apart from native born angloe saxon white Americans. however over the course of the 19th century and 20th, Irish and Italian immigrants managed to become part of a dominant white culture. this historical context reveals how diff. cultures are absorbed into a single mainstream culture a process known as

a. multiculturalism
b. ethnocentrism
c. nationalism
d. assimiliation

d

johann notices diiference from afgan. culture to united kingdom culture. he draws a conclusoin that women would be freer in the UK. How might sociologists likely critique johanns position?

a. johann has not yet made an arguemnt for how the united kingdom might free the women of afganistan

b. johann first needs to look at the class relations

c. johann cannot make meaningful cross cultural comparisons w/out at least 4 more sample countries

d. johann would be better served as a social scientist is he avoided those kinds of value judgements

b, agrarian

rosa notes in her comparative historical research that one group she studied was sedentary but was not fully industrialized and relied primarily on crops as its means of livelihood. this group would best be classified as

a. pastoral
b. agrarian
c. indutrial
d. hunter gatherer

a, ways of expressing meaning; material goods

two cultural universals particularly stand our in human societies. they are ____ and _____.

a. ways of expressing meaning; material goods
b. material goods; money
c. competition; ways of expressing meaning
d. competition; money

d, industrialization

the textbook refers to the emergence of machine production based on the use of inanimate power resources (such as steam or electricity) as

a. capitalism
b. civilization
c. globalization
d. industrialization

a, the developing world

sociologists often refer to less developed societies, in which industrial production is is either virtually nonexistent or developed only to a limited degree as,

a. the developing world
b. industrialized societies
c. emerging economics
d. the global north

c, a social self

susan wore a girls clothes to school. people treated her as a girl because of that. susan sees herself through the eyes of others who treat her as a girl. in other words, susaon has developed

a. an "I"
b. her concrete operational stage
c. a social self
d. an ego

a, infancy

gender socialization begins at

a. infancy
b. toddlerhood
c. early adolscene
d. adolscene

d, neglect and abandonment

elder abuse is present when an elderly person experiences which of the following?

a. a nutrtious diet
b. poverty
c. difficulty accessing health care
d. neglect and abandonment

c, midlife

which stage of the life course is best described as a psychological turning point where men and women may assess their past choiced and accomplishments and make new choices that prepare them for their second half of life?

a. teen
b. young adulthood
c. midlife
d. later life

There are high poverty rates among black and Hispanic unmarried older women

What statistical reality about older people today tends to support the perspective promoted by conflict theory in the 1980s?

the young old came of age during the post–World War II period of strong economic growth

Compared to the old old and the oldest old, the young old are most likely to be economically independent, healthy, and active. These differences are not only due to the effects of aging, but they also reflect the fact that

b, taking on the role of the other

celine likes to pretend she is a mechanic. she uses her fathers screwdrivers to repair her toy cars. george herbert mead would say she is

a. developing a self consciousness
b. taking on the role of the other
c. being egocentric
d. developing a social self

No, because childhood only became a distinct stage of the life course in contemporary society

At the age of eight, Ricky is in school and is not required to have a job. Would expectations likely have been similar for Ricky's great-great-grandfather?

d, self-identity

this terms refers to the process of self-development through which we formulate a unique sense of ourselves and our relationship to the world around us

a. indiiv. identity
b. generalized identity
c. social identity
d. self- identity

sociology

is the systematic study of human societies, with special emphasis on modern, industrialized systems

sociologists

attempt to understand the far-reaching changes that have occurred in human societies over the past two to three centuries

personal troubles

Difficulties that are located in individual biographies and their immediate milieu, a seemingly private experience

public issues

Difficulties or problems that are linked to the institutional and historical possibilities of social structure

sociological imagination

The application of imaginative thought to the asking and answering of sociological questions. Someone using the sociological imagination "thinks himself away" from the familiar routines of daily life

structuration

The two-way process by which we shape our social world through our individual actions and by which we are reshaped by society

globalization

The economic, political, and social interconnectedness of individuals throughout the world

social facts

According to Émile Durkheim, the aspects of social life that shape our actions as individuals. Durkheim believed that social facts could be studied scientifically

organic solidarity

According to Émile Durkheim, the social cohesion that results from the various parts of a society functioning as an integrated whole

social constraint

The conditioning influence on our behavior by the groups and societies of which we are members. Social constraint was regarded by Émile Durkheim as one of the distinctive properties of social facts

anomie

A concept first brought into wide usage in sociology by Émile Durkheim, referring to a situation in which social norms lose their hold over individual behavior

materialist conception of history

The view developed by Karl Marx according to which material, or economic, factors have a prime role in determining historical change

capitalism

An economic system based on the private ownership of wealth, which is invested and reinvested to produce profit.

symbolic interactionalism

A theoretical approach in sociology developed by George Herbert Mead that emphasizes the role of symbols and language as core elements of all human interaction

symbol

One item used to stand for or represent another—as in the case of a flag, which symbolizes a nation

functionalism

A theoretical perspective based on the notion that social events can best be explained in terms of the functions they perform, that is, the contributions they make to the continuity of a society

manifest functions

The functions of a particular social activity that are known to and intended by the individuals involved in the activity

latent functions

Functional consequences that are not intended or recognized by the members of a social system in which they occur

conflict theories

A sociological perspective that emphasizes the role of political and economic power and oppression as contributing to the existing social order

marxism

A body of thought deriving its main elements from Karl Marx's ideas

power

The ability of individuals or the members of a group to achieve aims or further the interests they hold

ideology

Shared ideas or beliefs that serve to justify the interests of dominant groups. Ideologies are found in all societies in which there are systematic and ingrained inequalities among groups

feminism

Advocacy of the rights of women to be equal with men in all spheres of life

feminist theory

A sociological perspective that emphasizes the centrality of gender in analyzing the social world and particularly the experiences of women. There are many strands of feminist theory, but they all share the intention to explain gender inequalities in society and to work to overcome them

postmodernism

The belief that society is no longer governed by history or progress. Postmodern society is highly pluralistic and diverse, with no "grand narrative" guiding its developmen

microsociology

The study of human behavior in contexts of face-to-face interaction

macrosociology

The study of large-scale groups, organizations, or social systems

science

The disciplined marshaling of empirical data, combined with theoretical approaches and theories that illuminate or explain those data

empirical investigation

Factual inquiry carried out in any area of sociological study

factual questions

Questions that raise issues concerning matters of fact (rather than theoretical or moral issues)

comparative questions

Questions concerned with drawing comparisons among different human societies

developmental questions

Questions that sociologists pose when looking at the origins and path of development of social institutions

theoretical questions

Questions posed by sociologists when seeking to explain a particular range of observed events. The asking of theoretical questions is crucial to allowing us to generalize about the nature of social life

data

Factual information used as a basis for reasoning, discussion, or calculation. Social science data often refer to individuals' responses to survey questions

qualitative methods

Approaches to sociological research that often rely on personal and/or collective interviews, accounts, or observations of a person or situation

quantitative methods

Approaches to sociological research that draw on objective and statistical data and often focus on documenting trends, comparing subgroups, or exploring correlations

ethnography

The firsthand study of people using observation, in-depth interviewing, or both. Also called "fieldwork."

participant observation

A method of research widely used in sociology and anthropology in which the researcher takes part in the activities of the group or community being studied

sampling

Studying a proportion of individuals or cases from a larger population as representative of that population as a whole

sample

A small proportion of a larger population

representative sample

A sample from a larger population that is statistically typical of that population

random sampling

Sampling method in which a sample is chosen so that every member of the population has the same probability of being included

experiment

A research method in which variables can be analyzed in a controlled and systematic way, either in an artificial situation constructed by the researcher or in naturally occurring settings

comparative research

Research that compares one set of findings on one society with the same type of findings on other societies

oral history

Interviews with people about events they witnessed earlier in their lives

triangulation

The use of multiple research methods as a way of producing more reliable empirical data than are available from any single method

measures of central tendency

The ways of calculating averages

correlation coefficient

A measure of the degree of correlation between variables

mean

A statistical measure of central tendency, or average, based on dividing a total by the number of individual cases

mode

The number that appears most often in a data set

standard deviation

A way of calculating the spread of a group of figures

degree of dispersal

The range or distribution of a set of figures

linguistic relativity hypothesis

A hypothesis, based on the theories of Edward Sapir and Benjamin Lee Whorf, that perceptions are relative to language; also referred to as the Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

signifier

Any vehicle of meaning and communication

instinct

A fixed pattern of behavior that has genetic origins and that appears in all normal animals within a given species

biological determinism

The belief that differences we observe between groups of people, such as men and women, are explained wholly by biological causes

countercultures

Cultural groups within a wider society that largely reject the values and norms of the majority

assimilation

The acceptance of a minority group by a majority population, in which the new group takes on the values and norms of the dominant culture

ethnocentrism

The tendency to look at other cultures through the eyes of one's own culture and thereby misrepresent them

cultural relativism

The practice of judging a society by its own standards

pastoral societies

Societies whose subsistence derives from the rearing of domesticated animals

nation-state

A particular type of state, characteristic of the modern world, in which a government has sovereign power within a defined territorial area and the population are citizens who know themselves to be part of a single nation

emerging economies

Developing countries that, over the past two or three decades, have begun to develop a strong industrial base, such as Singapore and Hong Kong

nationalism

A set of beliefs and symbols expressing identification with a national community

socialization

The social processes through which we develop an awareness of social norms and values and achieve a distinct sense of self

social reproduction

The process whereby societies have structural continuity over time. Social reproduction is an important pathway through which parents transmit or produce values, norms, and social practices among their children

resocialization

The process of learning new norms, values, and behaviors when one joins a new group or takes on a new social role or when one's life circumstances change dramatically

social self

According to the theory of George Herbert Mead, the identity conferred upon an individual by the reactions of others. A person achieves self-consciousness by becoming aware of this social identity

generalized other

A concept in the theory of George Herbert Mead, according to which the individual takes over the general values of a given group or society during the socialization process

looking-glass self

A theory developed by Charles Horton Cooley that proposes that the reactions we elicit in social situations create a mirror in which we see ourselves

sensorimotor stage

According to Jean Piaget, the first stage of human cognitive development, in which a child's awareness of his or her environment is dominated by perception and touch