Sociology 111 Final Exam – Flashcards

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According to the theory of social solidarity, the division of labor in a society helps to determine:
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the way social cohesion among individuals is maintained.
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A white woman goes into an upscale shop to look at clothes. She is excited to see that there is a sale and gathers a huge pile of clothes to take into the dressing room. An African American woman goes into the store and is also excited about the sale, but hesitates to take too many clothes into the dressing room because she is afraid the staff will think she might shoplift. W. E. B. Du Bois would say that the African American woman has:
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a double consciousness.
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Which of the three historical epistemological stages did Comte argue would explain human society by identifying the "laws" that governed human behavior?
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the scientific stage
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The examination of human behavior within a rational actor model is the focus of which of the following "cousins" of sociology?
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economics
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Which of the following is defined as a complex group of interdependent positions that together perform a social role and reproduce themselves over time?
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a social institution
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All of the following are examples of social institutions used to prevent websites from undermining colleges' degree-conferring abilities EXCEPT:
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families.
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Which of the following sociologists applied Durkheim's theory of anomie to explain crime rates among African Americans after the abolition of slavery in the United States?
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W. E. B. Du Bois
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A family, as a group of people living together and sharing individual stories, makes up a ____________ institution.
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social
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Positivism is best defined as the:
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idea that we can scientifically and logically study social institutions and the individuals within them.
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Karl Marx would argue that the types of social institutions in a society were the result of the economic makeup of that society. Max Weber, however, argued that:
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there are multiple influences (e.g., religion) on how social institutions are created.
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Which of the following argues that the organizing narratives of history are over, and that progress has led to a condition where there are no shared, objective meanings?
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postmodernism
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Sociology is the study of:
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group-level dynamics and social structures.
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Postmodern sociologists argue that all so-called objective phenomena are open to debate because all meaning is subjective. Thus, to postmodernists, all "facts" are really:
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social constructs.
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Which of the following sociologists wrote Suicide in 1897?
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Émile Durkheim
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Which of the following sociologists developed the theory of positivism?
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Auguste Comte
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American sociology in the United States began at which of the following universities?
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University of Chicago
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Which area within the discipline of anthropology is most similar to sociology?
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cultural anthropology
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Which of the three historical epistemological stages of human society did Comte claim was characterized by the development of social physics to explain human behavior?
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the scientific stage
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In contrast to functionalism, which modern sociological theory borrows from Marx's belief that competition, not consensus, is the essential cause of social change?
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conflict theory
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The Division of Labor in Society was the first of many sociological contributions from:
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Émile Durkheim.
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While historians are more likely to focus on the unique case, sociologists would more likely focus on:
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commonalities.
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Erving Goffman used the language of theater to describe how people present themselves in everyday social life. This is known as:
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dramaturgical theory.
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In the book How to Observe Morals and Manners, the institution of marriage is criticized as:
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based on an assumption of the inferiority of women.
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The author of your text states that the most age-segregated social institution in our society is a:
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based on an assumption of the inferiority of women.
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The author of your text states that the most age-segregated social institution in our society is a:
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four-year college.
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Who criticized Marx for focusing exclusively on economics and social class as explanations for human behavior and advocated sociological analyses that allowed for multiple influences?
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Max Weber
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George H. Mead described how the "self " internalizes the views of society as a whole, transcending the individual and particular situations. He calls this larger society:
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the generalized other.
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Sociologists and economists have shown that the benefits of higher education include higher median incomes for college graduates. This is known as:
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the returns to schooling.
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Although positivism originated with Auguste Comte, the person who is often considered to be the first practitioner of positivism
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Émile Durkheim.
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The Chicago School's main laboratory for sociological research was the city of Chicago itself, because:
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they were interested in how the social and physical environment shapes the individual.
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According to research used to question credentialism, what might it cost to buy a college diploma online?
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$29.95
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Which approach to sociological research starts with empirical observations and then works to form a theory?
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inductive
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A type of longitudinal study in which the same sample of respondents is tracked over a long period of time is known as:
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a panel study.
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Positivist sociologists tend to use which of the following types of measures?
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quantitative
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Rogers Brubaker (1992) studied the notions of citizenship and nationhood in both France and Germany. His method of research is known as:
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comparative research.
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Factors that affect the relationship between an independent and a dependent variable are known as:
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moderating variables.
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A testable statement about the relationship between two or more variables is called a(n):
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hypothesis.
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Because they are an accessible population, sociologists sometimes use undergraduate students in their research. In relation to the concept of generalizability in science, this tendency could represent a potential defect in research because:
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college undergraduates are not typical of the public at large
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Andy hypothesized that the stress created during economic downturns would increase the probability of spousal abuse. Stress would be considered the ____________ variable, and spousal abuse would be considered the ____________ variable.
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independent; dependent
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Which of the following is the best example of a correlation?
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People with higher levels of income tend to enjoy better overall health.
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The main reason that achieving high response rates and limiting selection bias are so important is that they lead to:
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increasing generalizability.
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A(n) ____________ is an in-depth look at a specific phenomenon or situation in a particular social setting and is common in qualitative research.
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case study
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Norm is interested in whether pet owners are more likely than those who do not own pets to have healthier lifestyles (e.g., exercise regularly, drink moderately, and refrain from nicotine use). By comparing the numbers he gathers on both groups, Norm will most likely be using what particular research method?
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quantitative
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Jackson is using newspaper articles dating from the early 1950s to study unofficial attitudes toward working women post-World War II. Jackson is using what research method?
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historical methods
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Which of the following is more difficult to do in social science research?
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establish that something is the cause of something else
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When a researcher is successful at measuring what he or she intends to measure, this is called:
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VALIDITY
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Georgia has volunteered at the local crisis center. While she is volunteering, she is given permission to "gather data" and ask the women about the circumstances surrounding their abuse. What method will Georgia most likely use?
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interviews
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A sociologist studying minor children, pregnant women, or inmates must get approval, as these groups are known as:
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protected populations.
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A variable that is thought to be influenced by another variable is known as the:
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dependent variable.
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There are advantages and disadvantages to different interview techniques. What might be an advantage that structured interviews have over unstructured (open-ended) interviews?
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It is easier to make careful tabulations and comparisons of answers.
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Which of the following is an example of a quantitative research method?
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conducting a survey about how often people attend church
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In her study, Darby is using church membership as an indicator of how religious a person is. She discovers that some "very religious" people rarely attend church. Darby may conclude that:
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her measure of religiosity lacks validity.
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Which of the following factors is needed to establish causality?
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time order
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After consistently burning dinner for a month, John found out that his oven's temperature gauge was giving readings that were 50 degrees cooler than the oven's actual temperature. John's oven thermometer can be said to be:
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reliable but not valid
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The likelihood that a researcher will obtain the same result using the same measures the next time he or she tests a hypothesis is:
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reliability
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Professor Clayton hypothesizes that travel to other countries increases students' abilities to do well in advanced sociology classes. Which variable is the independent variable?
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travel to other countries
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Comparative research usually involves studying:
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two cultures that have a good number of things in common but differ in one important dimension—this dimension becomes the subject of the study.
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A standard yardstick measures 36 inches, but Sarah is using a "faulty" yardstick (one that measures 40 inches long) to measure the campers in her youth group. Sarah will not get a(n) ____________ indication of height, but she will have a(n) ____________ measure of height.
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valid; reliable
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Paula begins to notice that there are patterns to where people sit on the bus, and these patterns differ depending on whether the rider is male or female. Based on these observations, she generates larger ideas (theories) about the behaviors of men and women. This is an example of which kind of research approach?
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inductive
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Many colleges and universities have gone to an online system for evaluating teaching effectiveness. Although this process guarantees anonymity, the completion rate (percentage of students who fill out evaluations) has dropped. Which of the following is NOT a significant problem with low response rates in this situation?
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Students who do not complete the evaluations may end up taking the wrong classes.
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A qualitative researcher who assumes everything he observes would have happened exactly the same way if he wasn't there observing lacks:
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reflexivity.
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Which of the following has been found to be disproportionately more common in lower-income schools and advertises in U.S. high schools in exchange for providing televisions, video equipment, and satellite dishes?
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channel one
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Jean Kilbourne's college lectures and film, Killing Us Softly (1979), examine which of the following issues?
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sexism in the media
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The United States has laws that prohibit cockfighting. People in Bali might say that people in the United States are:
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ethnocentric.
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The study of culture tells us that:
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there are many ways to view the same symbol.
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Most broadcasting companies are privately owned in the United States and are supported financially by advertising. This means they are likely to reflect the biases of their owners and backers. Knowing that the press is not free suggests that there is a:
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political economy of the media.
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Stanley Lieberson, a sociology professor at Harvard, studied culture using first names. He found that names:
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reflect cultural trends of specific times.
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Until Europeans came into contact with non-Westerners, they tended to see their culture as:
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the only way to live
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In 1941, Time magazine ran an article on how to distinguish between Chinese and Japanese people. These descriptions reflected:
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the state of mind of many Americans at the time.
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Legitimate advertisers tend to view culture jamming as:
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negative
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Which of the following was a poet and cultural critic who defined culture as the pursuit of perfection and broad knowledge of the world, in contrast to narrow self-centeredness and material gain?
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Matthew Arnold
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An example of nonmaterial culture is:
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values
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Low culture, such as hip-hop music, is also known as:
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pop culture
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One major concern with restricted ownership of major media outlets is that:
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de facto censorship may occur because it becomes easier to suppress messages that media owners don't support.
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Deliberate, long-term media campaigns such as Smokey the Bear, which began in 1944 and is still with us today, are examples of ads used by nonprofit organizations to educate the public. They are commonly known as:
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public service announcements.
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When your friend returns from a study abroad, he reports back to you on the very different foods that people in his host country ate. He explains that to them it's normal, that people in different cultures do things differently, and that he learned not to make value judgments. This is known as:
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cultural relativism.
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The act of turning media against itself, such as the actions of Rockin' Rollen and Adbusters, is called:
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culture jamming.
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Antonio Gramsci coined the term hegemony to mean that a dominant group wins "consent" of the masses through "moral and intellectual leadership." His thoughts are closely related to:
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Karl Marx.
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Goth culture tends to exist:
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cross culturally
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Which of the following is true regarding the value of high versus low culture?
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It is difficult to debate the worth of high and low culture.
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Karl Marx asserted that culture:
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is a reflection of the means of production of a particular time.
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If you are a member of a subculture, like the goth subculture, you can be sure that the meaning of certain words and the behavior of the members:
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can be different within the group.
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While they are difficult to define, ____________ are smaller subgroups within a larger dominant society united by sets of concepts, values, symbols, and shared meanings specific to the members of that group.
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subcultures
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Part of what we learn in elementary school is to obey authority, follow the rules, and learn the importance of being on time. Because these values are important to the functioning of the capitalist system, Gramsci would call this:
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hegemony
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Everything in our constructed environment including technology, buildings, furniture, clothing, and books is part of our:
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material culture
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Although some criticize rap music for its violent lyrics, many rappers defend it by saying it emerges directly from their experiences. Those rappers who make these claims are invoking:
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reflection theory
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Reflection theory is limited because it:
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fails to take into account why some cultural products have staying power and others fall by the wayside.
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The first interracial kiss in a film took place in:
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1967
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If ____________ are abstract cultural beliefs, then ____________ are how they are put into play
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values; norms
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The first form of mass media was the:
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book
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Many Americans fear school shootings and terrorist attacks. This is due to the:
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exaggerated frequency of the reports of these rarely occurring events.
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Sociologists view socialization as a lifelong process that begins when a child:
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is born.
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Ultimately we hold people responsible for their behavior precisely because they can exercise choice over what they do. This speaks to the limits of socialization that sociologists refer to as:
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agency.
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Most sociologists (and biologists) argue that race is a human invention, or is socially constructed. Which of the following statements does NOT highlight how race is socially constructed?
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People speak different languages.
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Two young men are on an elevator together. After briefly acknowledging each other's presence, they politely ignore each other for the remainder of the ride. Goffman would refer to this behavior as an example of:
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civic inattention.
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Harold Garfinkel developed an approach to studying human interaction that focused on how people produce (and maintain) a mutually shared social order. This method was called:
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ethnomethodology.
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A recognizable social position that an individual occupies, such as student or professor, is known as a:
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status.
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Which of the following scenarios involves the use of peer pressure?
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A student decides to go out for drinks after her friends make her feel guilty for studying too much.
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Which of the following would be the best example of a total institution?
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a convent
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Unconscious signals of our true feelings, such as nonverbal behaviors, are known by Goffman as:
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given-off gestures.
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Concepts such as I, me, and generalized other are part of which theorist's work?
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George Herbert Mead
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Expectations that define appropriate or inappropriate behavior for the occupants of a particular status are called:
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roles
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In managing impressions, people rarely challenge the credentials of an actor, even when they suspect that a false impression is being created. Which of the following reasons does NOT explain this tendency?
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People feel sorry for others who cannot pull off false impressions.
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A good deal of impression management can be said to involve teamwork. Which of the following is NOT an example of teamwork?
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pedestrians on a street gathering to watch someone jump from a building
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Saying "hello" when answering the telephone signals the start of an encounter in the first bracket and is known to dramaturgists as:
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the opening
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Studies have shown that people interact with babies differently based on whether the babies are boys or girls. Using role theory, we could argue that:
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sex is a master status in our society.
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Which of the following is NOT an example of a given-off gesture?
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consciously stifling a laugh when someone walks into the class with toilet paper on his or her shoe
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Goffman's term for refraining from directly interacting with someone you know until an opening bracket has been issued is known as:
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civic inattention.
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Ethnomethodology is an approach to studying human interaction that focuses on:
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how we make sense of our world and convey this understanding to others in our effort to create mutually shared realities
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The sociological significance of roles is that they:
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lay out what is expected of people
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An ascribed status is one:
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a person has little or no control over.
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According to impression management, the backstage arena would include:
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where we are our private selves and where the real story takes place.
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People and groups who influence our orientation to life and our self-concept, emotions, attitudes, and behaviors are:
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agents of socialization.
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Although there are many agents of socialization, four of the primary ones according to the textbook are:
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family, schools, peers, and media.
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The popular television show Sesame Street was created with the explicit purpose of providing educational opportunities for low-income children. Being that this show was successful, we can argue that:
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the media serves as a powerful socializing agent.
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Which theorist argued that other people essentially provide us with a social mirror and that our interpretations of this mirror affect how we see ourselves?
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Charles Horton Cooley
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Annette Lareau, author of Unequal Childhoods (2003), makes a compelling case for the existence of different parenting values and practices between working-class and middle-class families. Which of the following statements best summarizes what she found?
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Class differences, played out in the daily routines of parenting, have a powerful impact on children's life chances.
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Cooley's theory of socialization states that the self develops from our interactions with others and their reactions to us. This theory is known as:
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looking glass self theory.
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Twitter, texting, and Facebook have changed the way we communicate and have had a profound impact on all of the following EXCEPT:
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how we deal with anxiety.
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Which of the following theories contains concepts such as front stage and backstage and has its roots in the work of William Shakespeare?
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dramaturgical theory
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According to George Herbert Mead's stages of development, children learn to recognize an other through:
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imitation.
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According to George Herbert Mead's stages of development, children learn to recognize an other through:
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imitation.
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