Intro. to Sociology Mid-Exam

________ is a dramatic change in a person’s beliefs, values, and behavior, often occurring in

a. Ascribed status

b. Impression management

c. Role conflict

d. Resocialization

d. Resocialization

The relativity of deviance in space implies that:

a. a given behavior may be considered deviant in one society but acceptable in another society.

b. in all societies, at all times, some forms of behavior would be considered deviant.

c. a behavior in a given society may be considered deviant only if it violates church rules.

d. a behavior may be considered acceptable if it carries legal sanction.

a. a given behavior may be considered deviant in one society but acceptable in another society.

The term “role strain” refers to:

a. The process whereby individuals who are interacting try to convey a favorable impression of themselves.

b. the problems arising out of multiple roles that a person must perform.

c. the dramaturgical representation of a particular role.

d. the problems arising when a person performing a role has to deal with competing demands on that role.

b. the problems arising out of multiple roles that a person must perform.

Shaking hands is a common ______, which is done in some societies and not in others.

a. artifact

b. gesture

c. value

d. material culture

b. gesture

Social structure can be horizontal or vertical.

a. True

b. False

a. True

A(n) ____ is a smaller culture within a larger culture with distinctive ways of thinking, feeling, and acting.

a. urban culture

b. pop culture

c. counterculture

d. subculture

d. subculture

In the scientific method of research, which of the following is the next step after measuring and gathering data?

a. Screening secondary data

b. Drawing a conclusion

c. Analyzing data

d. Setting variables

c. Analyzing data

A middle-class family is more likely to engage in _______ than working-class parents.

a. socialization

b. institutionalization

c. physiology

d. concerted cultivation

d. concerted cultivation

During severe economic downturn, unemployment is best understood as a personal trouble rather than a public issue.

a. True

b. False

b. False

Ethnocentrism refers to the belief that no culture’s norms, values, or practices are superior or inferior to those of any other culture.

a. True

b. False

b. False

William Ryan pointed out that Americans typically “_____” when they think about the reasons for social problems like poverty, unemployment, and crime.

a. blame the system

b. blame cultural patterns

c. blame value systems

d. blame the victim

d. blame the victim

There is a strong correlation between watching violent TV shows and movies and committing violence, but this does not mean that watching violent shows and movies cause real-life violence.

a. True

b. False

a. True

The objects that make up a society’s material culture are known as:

a. formal norms

b. values

c. gestures

d. artifacts

d. artifacts

Which of the following is true about deviance?

a. It refers to ways in which society tries to prevent behavior that violates norms.

b. It is behavior that complies with social norms.

c. It is behavior that arouse negative social reactions.

d. It is behavior that is considered so serious that it violates formal laws prohibiting such behavior.

c. It is behavior that arouse negative social reactions.

Although eating disorders often stem from personal problems, they also may reflect a cultural emphasis for women to have slender bodies. In this scenario, eating disorders are best understood as a public issue, not just as a personal trouble.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Mead’s main emphasis was on _____.

a. unconscious, biological forces that he felt shape individual personality.

b. children’s playing, which he saw as cental to their understanding of how people should interact

c. imagining how we appear to others, and then imagining how they think of us and, more specifically, whether they are evaluating us positively or negatively

d. perceptions to develop judgments and feelings about ourselves, such as pride or embarrassment

b. children’s playing, which he saw as cental to their understanding of how people should interact

Which of the following refers to the scientific study of social behavior and social institutions?

a. Social environment

b. Sociological perspective

c. Social mobility

d. Sociology

d. Sociology

People’s positions in society’s hierarchy often have profound consequences for their attitudes, behaviors, and life chances, both for themselves and for their children.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Nonmaterial culture includes the values, beliefs, and all the physical objects in a society.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Biology can easily account for why groups and locations differ in their rates of committing certain behaviors.

a. True

b. False

b. False

When sociological research tests relationships between variables, it is normally testing whether a dependent variable affects an independent variable.

a. True

b. False

a. True

______ is a statement of a tendency, rather than a hard-and-fast law.

a. Hypothesis

b. Generalization

c. Controlled conclusion

d. Debunking motif

b. Generalization

The criteria of what is desirable or undesirable and right or wrong are termed as _______.

a. rituals

b. values

c. norms

d. habit

b. values

_____ is a term that refers to the concept that individuals are generally blamed, and may even blame themselves, for problems affecting them.

a. Debunking motif

b. Sociological imagination

c. Conflict theory

d. Personal troubles

d. Personal troubles

According to Marx and Engles, revolution is inevitable in a capitalist society because:

a. people act to maximize their pleasure and to reduce their pain

b. of structural contradictions arising from the very nature of capitalism

c. it tends to support the status quo and thus seems to favor existing inequalities based on race, social class, and gender.

d. when people interact, they seek to maximize the benefits they gain from the interaction and to reduce the advantages.

c. it tends to support the status quo and thus seems to favor existing inequalities based on race, social class, and gender.

Which of the following about nonverbal symbols is true?

a. Shaking hands is a nonverbal symbol and is done in all societies

b. Nonverbal symbols and gestures are dissimilar

c. A nonverbal symbol can be interpreted differently by different societies

d. Objects cannot be nonverbal symbols

c. A nonverbal symbol can be interpreted differently by different societies

How well children fare in regard to education, health, and other outcomes, often depends on their social location —-their social class, their race and ethnicity, and their gender.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Many sociologists are wary of biological explanations of behavior, in part because these explanations implicitly support the status quo and may be used to justify claims of biological inferiority.

a. True

b. False

a. True

The feminist approach places the blame for the crimes against women squarely on society’s inequality against women.

a. True

b. False

a. True

In moral development, while boys tend o use formal rules to decide what is right or wrong, girls tend to take _____ into account.

a. societal norms

b. religious beliefs

c. individual behaviors

d. personal relationships

d. personal relationships

Cultural relativism refers to the tendency to judge another culture by the standards of our own and the belief that our own culture is indeed superior to another culture.

a. True

b. False

b. False

The scientific method helps reduce the potential for bias.

a. True

b. False

a. True

______ are groups that set a standard for guiding our own behavior and attitudes.

a. Subcultures

b. Quasi-groups

c. Social classes

d. Reference groups

d. Reference groups

The ways in which our parents socialize us depend on many factors, two of the most important of which are our parents’ social class and our own _____.

a. socialization skills

b. temperament

c. biological sex

d. physical attractiveness

c. biological sex

In the imitation stage of taking the role of the other, infants can imitate behavior and understand its purposes.

a. Ture

b. False

b. False

Background assumptions are the process by which individuals understand and create reality through their interaction with other individuals.

a. True

b. False

a. True

The United States now has the highest incarceration rate in the world.

a. True

b. False

a. True

The term _____ refers to the beliefs and values that children learn in school.

a. hidden curriculum

b. impression management

c. holistic education

d. critical pedagogy

a. hidden curriculum

A _____ consists of two or more people who regularly interact on the basis of mutual expectations and share a common identity.

a. social activity

b. social group

c. social aggregate

d. social category

b. social group

The _____ is the view that language influences the thoughts and perceptions of people in a society.

a. debunking motif

b. relational frame theory

c. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

d. SCCS theory

c. Sapir-Whorf hypothesis

_______ are formal organizations with certain organizational features designed to achieve goals in the most efficient way possible.

a. Technocracies

b. Civil societies

c. Bureaucracies

d. Adhocracies

c. Bureaucracies

The process by which individuals understand and create reality through their interaction with other individuals is called _____.

a. hyperreality

b. social construction of reality

c. impression management

d. dramaturgy

b. social construction of reality

A subset drawn from the larger population in which every unit in the population has the same chance of being included in the subset is a:

a. random sample

v. quota sample

c. relative sample

d. nonrandom sample

a. random sample

According to Marx and Engels, the particular class of people in a capitalist society who are the ruling class and own the means of production are termed as the:

a. aristocrats

b. proletariat

c. class conscious

d. bourgeoisie

d. bourgeoisie

Which of the following about modern societies and traditional societies is true?

a. In traditional societies, individualism is usually the cornerstone of social life.

b. In modern societies, we have many relationships where we barely know the person.

c. Community and group commitment is most important in a modern society.

d. Industrial societies are more personal.

a. In traditional societies, individualism is usually the cornerstone of social life.

The horizontal social structure is also known as social inequality.

a. True

b. False

a. True

The conversation between two women inside a restaurant is most likely to be examined by a macrosociologist.

a. True

b. False

b. False

There are two main perspectives in microsociology: functionalism and conflict theory.

a. True

b. False

a. True

_______ occurs through four stages, the final stage of it being the formal operational stage.

a. Moral development

b. The looking-glass self

c. Taking the role of the other

d. Cognitive development

d. Cognitive development

A group of people who live withing a defined territory and who share a culture can be referred to as a:

a. social network

b. life chance

c. society

d. social mobility

c. society

_______ refers to ways in which a society or group ranks people in a hierarchy.

a. Achieved status

b. Vertical social structure

c. Social network

d. Status symbols

b. Vertical social structure

Which of the following is an example of a utilitarian organization?

a. Prisons

b. Churches

c. Large corporations

d. The Kiwanis Club

c. Large corporations

Rituals are established procedures and ceremonies that often mark transitions in the life course.

a. True

b. False

a. True

According to Al-Shawaf, humans who could feel and act on fear possessed an advantage

a. when civilization began

b. at death

c. at birth

d. during role conflict

a. when civilization began

Evidence suggests that white-collar crime is worse than conventional crime.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Americans have freedom, but the freedom to think and act is constrained at least to some degree by society’s standards and expectations.

a. True

b. False

a. True

For social order to be possible, effective social interaction must be possible.

a. True

b. False

a. True

One of the main goals of sociology is to discover the multiple meanings of social reality.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Problems in society help account for problems that individuals experience.

a. True

b. False

a. True

The process whereby individuals who are interacting try to convey a favorable notion of themselves is called _____.

a. impression management

b. social desirability

c. dramaturgical approach

d. resocialization

a. impression management

In a capitalist society, the proletariat’s interest lies in overthrowing the bourgeoisie to create an egalitarian society.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Society totally determine our attitudes and behavior.

a. True

b. False

b. False

Role strain occurs when the roles of many statuses conflict with each other.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Democratic leadership is preferable to authoritarian leadership:

a. when the group values how well group members get along.
b. when group members want to have a lot of input in decisions

c. when the group values task accomplishments more than anything else

d. when the group values how much they like their leader

b. when group members want to have a lot of input in decisions

According to the German sociologist Georg Simmel:

a. dyad relationships are short-lived

b. dyad relationships are generally stable

c. dyad relationships are fairly intense emotionally

d. a dyad is more stable than a triad

a. dyad relationships are short-lived.

According to sociologist C. Wright Mills, _____ involves the realization that personal troubles are rooted in public issues.

a. value orientation

b. abstract empiricism

c. grand theory

d. the sociological imagination

d. the sociological imagination

Secondary groups:

a. are less emotionally attached to each other

b. are less impersonal

c. provide a strong sense of belonging

d. exist for a longer time period

b. are less impersonal

The conflict theory perspective uses the human body as a model for understanding society.

a. True

b. False

b. False

______ is the problem arising when a person has to deal with competing demands on two or more roles that the person is expected to play.

a. Role insufficiency

b. Role conflict

c. Role strain

d. Role overload

b. Role conflict

________ refers to the tendency to judge another culture by the standards of our own and the belief that our own culture is indeed superior to another culture.

a. Emotivism

b. Ethnocentrism

c. Moral relativism

d. Factual relativism

b. Ethnocentrism

Informal norms are also referred to as ______.

a. artifacts

b. mores and laws

c. folkways and customs

d. buss and peek

c. folkways and customs

The belief that people’s social backgrounds influence their attitudes, behaviors, and life chances is referred to as:

a. Sociological perspective

b. Social network

c. Social environment

d. Social fact

a. Sociological perspective

Which of the following is an example of nonmaterial culture?

a. Values

b. Utensils

c. Clothing

d. Paintings

a. Values

The meaning of a gesture may differ from one society to another.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Personal experience often offers only a very limited understanding of social reality other than our own.
a. True

b. False

a. True

Macrosociologists focus on the big picture, which usually means such things as social structure, social institutions, and social, political, and economic change.

a. True

b. False

a. True

A major problem with the conflict theory is that it tends to support the status quo and thus seems to favor existing inequalities based on race, social class, and gender.

a. True

b. False

b. False

According to the concept of the looking-glass-self, children develop their ability to think and act morally through several stages.

a. True

b. False

a. True

Which of the following is an example of material culture?

a. Clothing

b. Language

c. Beliefs

d. Values

a. Clothing

A convenience sample is sometimes also called a ______.

a. captive-audience sample

b. sub sample

c. relative sample

d. cohesive sample

a. captive-audience sample

Early puberty in boys and girls:

a. increases the likelihood of delinquency and also the likelihood of becoming a victim of violence

b. decreases the level of sexual activity

c. decreases their likelihood of becoming victims

d. has an overall positive effect on their behavior

a. increases the likelihood of delinquency and also the likelihood of becoming a victim of violence

In taking the role of the other, ______.

a. younger children will play sports and take on the roles of other people and internalize the expectations of the generalized other

b. children “see” themselves when they interact with other people

c. individuals use the perceptions that others have of them to develop judgments and feelings about themselves

d. children pretend to be other people in their playtime and so learn what these other people expect of them

a. younger children will play sports and take on the roles of other people and internalize the expectations of the generalized other

Groupthink allows group members to discuss an array of alternatives before deciding on a course of action.

a. True

b. False

b. False

Values involve judgments of what is good or bad and desirable or undesirable.

a. True

b. False

a. True

In the model of decision-making popularized by Quakers, no decision is made unless all group members agree with it. What model is this?

a. Monte Carlo

b. Authoritarian

c. Laissez

d. Consensus

d. Consensus

Groups may have either an instrumental leader or an expressive leader, but not both.

a. True

b. False

b. False

Some norms ma change over time within a given culture.

a. True

b. False

a. True

______ involves the analysis of existing data.

a. Primary data analysis

b. Secondary data analysis

c. Variable analysis

d. Experimental analysis

b. Secondary data analysis

According to Emile Durkheim, deviance serves several important functions for society. Which of the following is one of them?

a. Deviance clarifies social norms and increases conformity.

b. Deviance weakens social bonds among the people reactive to the deviant.

c. Deviance results from being labeled a deviant.

d. Differential access to illegitimate means affects the type of deviance in which individuals experiencing strain engage.

a. Deviance clarifies social norms and increases conformity.

Which of the following about symbols is true?

a. Not every culture is filled with symbols

b. Symbols are always communicated verbally

c. Gestures cannot be considered as symbols

d. Some symbols are material objects

d. Some symbols are material objects

Biological relationships and religious affiliations are examples of ascribed status.

a. True

b. False

a. True

According to symbolic interactionists:

a. social order is possible because people learn what various symbols mean and apply these meanings to different kinds of situations

b. every society is divided into two classes based on the ownership of the means of production

c. all theories emphasize that society is filled with gender inequality such that women are the subordinate sex in many dimensions of social political, and economic life

d. People act rationally and decide before they act whether their behavior will cause them more pleasure or pain

a. social order is possible because people learn what various symbols mean and apply these meanings to different kinds of situations

Secondary data analysis provides the researcher with data on all the variables that he or she may be interested.

a. True

b. False

a. True

According to the ______ theory, individuals use the perceptions that others have of them to develop judgements and feelings about themselves.

a. cognitive development

b. taking the role of the other

c. psychoanalytic

d. looking-glass self

d. looking-glass self

A random sample allows us to generalize the results of the sample of the population from which the sample comes.

a. True

b. False