Sociology Exam 1 Questions – Flashcards
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One of the most important lessons that you will learn in your study of sociology is that what you think and do as an individual is affected by ________. A. genetic factors and biology B. only what happens in your immediate family C. psychological factors only D. what is happening in groups, organizations, cultures, societies, and the world
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D.
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The systematic study of the ways in which people are affected by and affect the social structures and social processes associated with the groups, organizations, cultures, societies, and world in which they exist is called ________. A. psychology B. anthropology C. phrenology D. sociology
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D.
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Beginning in the 1700s, the first age sociologists studied was known as the information age. True or False.
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False
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White-collar work, bureaucracies, and the growth of the service sector were sociologists' primary concern during the ________ age. A. industrial B. information C. bureaucratic D. postindustrial
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D.
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According to the author, no social change today is as important as globalization. True or false.
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True
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In contrast to professional sociology, in which work is done mainly for other sociologists, ________ addresses a wide range of local, national, and global groups, most of which are outside the academy. A. feminist sociology B. private sociology C. public sociology D. nonsociology
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C.
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In the global age, societies are seen as of increasing importance. True or false.
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False
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________ is defined by increasingly fluid global flows and the structures that expedite and impede those flows. A. Consumption B. Society C. Globalization D. A global pandemic
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C.
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The process by which people obtain and utilize goods and services is known as ________. A. society B. a global pandemic C. globalization D. consumption
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D.
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The process by which the rational principles of the fast-food restaurant are coming to dominate more and more sectors of society and more societies throughout the world is called ________. A. fast-food globalism B. globalization C. McDonaldization D. Consumption
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C.
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According to Ritzer, McDonaldization has five defining characteristics. True or false.
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False
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According to McDonaldization, the emphasis on the use of the quickest and least costly means to whatever end is desired is ________. A. predictability B. control C. efficiency D. calculability
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C.
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The characteristic of McDonaldization that would describe how decisions made by employees are taken over by technology would be ________. A. calculability B. predictability C. efficiency D. control
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D.
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C. Wright Mills argued that sociologists had a unique perspective that gave them a distinctive way of looking at data or reflecting on the world around them. Mills called this perspective ________. A. the anthropological imagination B. the global perspective C. the Mills perspective D. the sociological imagination
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D.
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C. Wright Mills's sociological imagination may be most useful in helping sociologists transform ________ into ________. A. private troubles; public issues B. community troubles; political issues C. public issues; private troubles D. global troubles; household issues
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A.
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The sociological imagination can help sociologists predict larger public issues based on people's private troubles. True or false.
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True
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The continuous process of individual creation of structural realities and the constraint and coercion exercised by those structures is called ________. A. the structural reality theorem B. the social constraint hypothesis C. the individual construction of reality D. the social construction of reality
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D.
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Sociologists do not engage in social reform; the job of the sociologist is only to engage in "pure science" research. True or false.
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False
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There is a division in sociology between those who advocate for a ________ approach to social problems and those who advocate for a ________ approach. A. pure science, social reform B. public, private C. personal, community D. statistical, narrative
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A.
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The sociologists who engage in "pure science" operate with the conviction that we need to better understand how the social world operates before we can change it, if that's what we want to do. True or false.
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True
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Researchers who study the details of everyday life, such as how we know when a laugh is expected in a conversation or when to applaud or boo during a speech, are called ________. A. dramaturgical analysts B. ethnomethodologists C. critical theorists D. structural functionalists
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B.
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Which of the following is NOT a social science mentioned in the text? A. Physics B. Psychology C. Political science D. Anthropology
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A.
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Sociology is the most specific and narrow of all the social sciences. True or false.
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False
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A study of more than 5,000 Americans showed that people believe that the top fifth of the population in the United States possesses about 59 percent of the country's wealth. In fact, however, the top fifth actually holds almost ________ percent of the wealth. A. 97 B. 84 C. 65 D. 23
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B.
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Sociologists have found through research that common sense usually matches what is found by systematic study. True or false.
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False
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Karl Marx focused most of his attention on the structure of capitalist society. True or false.
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True
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According to Marx, the exploitation of the proletariat by the capitalists inevitably leads to worker ________. A. creativity B. harmony C. interaction D. alienation
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D.
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Weber proposed the ________, which involved a belief in hard work, frugality, and good works as means to achieve both economic success and heavenly salvation. A. Protestant view B. Protestant system C. Protestant destiny D. Protestant ethic
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D.
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According to Weber, ________ is rational because of, for example, its continual efforts to find ways to efficiently produce more profitable products with fewer inputs and simpler processes. A. Marxism B. feudalism C. capitalism D. socialism
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C.
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To Durkheim, ________ were macro-level phenomena—social structures and cultural norms and values—that stand apart from and impose themselves on people. A. social values B. phenomenological criteria C. social facts D. social norms
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C.
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Simmel believed that sociologists should focus on the way conscious individuals interact and associate with one another. True or false.
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True
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Simmel's major importance lies in his contributions to ________, the way conscious individuals interact and associate with one another. A. grand theory B. macro theory C. micro theory D. cognitive theory
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C.
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Du Bois's greatest focus was on ________. A. disability B. social class C. gender D. race
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D.
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One of Du Bois's goals was to lift the veil of race and give whites a glimpse of "Negroes" in America. True or false.
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True
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The public demonstration of wealth through consumption, according to Veblen, is referred to as ________. A. conspicuous capitalism B. suspicious consumption C. suspicious spending D. conspicuous consumption
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D.
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Structuralism focuses on structures but is not concerned with their functions. True or false.
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True
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________ is based on the argument that there are no fixed and stable identities that determine who we are. A. Conflict theory B. Queer theory C. Feminist theory D. Critical theory
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B.
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While symbolic interactionism primarily deals with people's interactions, ethnomethodology focuses on what people do rather than what they think. True or false.
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True
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The gathering of information and evidence using one's senses, especially one's eyes and ears, to experience the social world is known as ________. A. empiricism B. philosophy C. beliefs D. faith
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A.
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Which of the following is NOT one of the basics steps in the scientific method? A. Choose from qualitative methods. B. Develop hypotheses. C. Find questions in need of answers. D. Review relevant literature.
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A.
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According to the text, if you were to develop new research to examine Durkheim's theory on suicide, you might hypothesize that people who have many Facebook friends are less likely to commit suicide than those who have few friends on Facebook. True or false
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True
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Which of the following describes research conducted in natural settings? A. Quantitative B. Qualitative C. Inferential D. Descriptive
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B.
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Which type of research involves the analysis of numerical data? A. Quantitative B. Descriptive C. Inferential D. Qualitative
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A.
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The two general types of statistics described in the text are descriptive and quantitative. True or false
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False
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To test hypotheses, researchers use inferential statistics, which allow researchers to use data from a relatively small group to speculate with some level of certainty about a larger group. True or false.
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True
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The reanalysis of data, often survey data, collected by others, including other sociologists, is called ________. A. Durkheimian data analysis B. primary data analysis C. secondary data analysis D. reanalysis
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C.
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________ involves the degree to which a given question or another kind of measure produces the same results time after time. A. Construct validity B. Validity C. Content validity D. Reliability
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D.
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Reliability is the degree to which the measurement tool measures what it is supposed to measure. True or false
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False
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________ is defined by your text as a set of beliefs concerning right and wrong in the choices that people make and the ways those choices are justified. A. Quantitative research B. Ethics C. Methods D. Qualitative research
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B.
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Stanley Milgram's obedience research is a good example of research designed to reduce the risks of psychological harm to the subjects. True or false.
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False
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Which of the following terms best describes a collection of ideas, values, practices, and material objects that mean a great deal to a group of people, even an entire society, and that allow them to carry out their collective lives in relative order and harmony? A. Culture B. Nation-state C. Ecclesia D. Society
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A.
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Culture is constantly being affected by changes both ________ and ________ the group. A. by; to B. internal; external to C. above; below D. within; between
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B.
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Technological innovations, among other things, are external changes likely to alter a group's culture significantly. True or false.
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True
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Even though we learn various components of culture, most people refuse to follow them. True or false
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False
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General and abstract standards defining what a group or society as a whole considers good, desirable, right, or important—in short, its ideals—are called ________. A. norms B. mores C. values D. sanctions
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C.
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________ tell us what we should and should not do in a given situation. A. Values B. Sanctions C. Mores D. Norms
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D.
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Norms are reinforced through ________, which can take the form of punishments or rewards. A. values B. sanctions C. mores D. folkways
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B.
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Norms that are relatively unimportant and, if violated, carry few if any sanctions are called ________. A. folkways B. values C. mores D. sanctions
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A.
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Culture can be divided into material culture, such as norms and values, and nonmaterial culture, such as smartphones or clothing. True or false.
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False
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Most, if not all, material phenomena have symbolic aspects, and various aspects of symbolic culture are manifest in material objects. True or false
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True
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Ironically, as technology grows, we actually use fewer and fewer words in our language. True or false
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False
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Language is made up of symbols that allow us to better communicate ideas. True or false.
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True
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________ is what the norms and values of society lead us to think people should believe and do. A. Sanctions B. Ideal culture C. Real culture D. Folkways
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B.
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________ is what people actually think and do in their everyday lives. A. Folkways B. Ideal culture C. Sanctions D. Real culture
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D.
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An ideology is a set of shared beliefs that explains the social world and guides people's actions. True or false
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True
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Within any culture, there are ________ or groups of people who accept much of the dominant culture but are set apart from it by one or more culturally significant characteristics. A. subcultures B. symbolic cultures C. ideologies D. dominant cultures
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A.
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In the United States, meritocracy is a dominant ideology involving the widely shared belief that all people have an equal chance of succeeding economically based on their hard work and skills. True or false.
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True
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The term counterculture was introduced in the late 1960s in reference to hippies, antiwar activists, and radical students. True or false
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True
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Which of the following groups would most likely be involved in a culture war? A. Antiwar protesters B. Judges C. U.S. senators D. Police officers
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A.
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When it comes to ethnicity or national origin, multiculturalism has always been celebrated in this country. True or false.
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False
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________ is the imposition of one culture, more or less consciously, on other cultures. A. Cultural domination B. Cultural imperialism C. Cultural capitalism D. Cultural exportation
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B.
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The importation by other countries of products, images, technologies, practices, norms, values, and behaviors that are closely associated with the United States is known as ________. A. nationalism B. cultural exportation C. Americanization D. cultural domination
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C.
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The powerful process of Americanization is often countered by anti-Americanism, which is an aversion to the United States, in general, as well as to the influence of its culture abroad. True or false.
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True
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Consumption is becoming less valued in the United States today. True or false.
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False
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In the not-too-distant past in the United States and other developed countries, people were thought to derive their greatest meaning from their work. True or false.
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True
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Sociologists rarely, if ever, concern themselves with any particular individual. True or false.
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True
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Which of the following terms did symbolic interactionist Charles Horton Cooley coin for the self-image that reflects how others respond to a person, particularly a child? A. Looking-glass self B. The "Me" C. Personality D. The "I"
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A.
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A gesture that arouses in the individual the same kind of response, although it need not be identical, as it is supposed to elicit from those to whom the gesture is addressed, is something Mead referred to as ________. A. a significant symbol B. body language C. the looking-glass self D. the mind
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A.
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To Mead, language involves significant symbols that call out somewhat different meaning in the person to whom an utterance is aimed than they do in the person making the utterance. True or false.
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False
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According to Mead, humans are born with a self, and the self is relatively stable throughout the life course. True or false
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False
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Goffman developed the notion of ________, which views an individual's social life as a series of dramatic performances akin to those that take place on a theatrical stage. A. the total institution B. dramaturgy C. the self D. the id
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B.
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Which of the following terms describes Goffman's idea that people's use of a variety of techniques to control the image of themselves that they want to project during their social performances? A. Personality management B. Social management C. Self-image management D. Impression management
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D.
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As a rule, people feel they must present an idealized sense of themselves when they are front stage. True or false
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True
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According to Goffman, most of our performances end in failure due to the complexity of social interactions. True or false
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False
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In which of the following would Goffman say we are most likely to idealize our performances? A. Front stage B. In the audience C. Off stage D. Back stage
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A.
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_______ is the process by which an individual learns and generally comes to accept the ways of a group or a society of which he or she is a part. A. Dramaturgy B. Ethnomethodology C. Psychoanalysis D. Socialization
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D.
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A central concern in the study of socialization is those who do the socializing, or the agents of socialization. True or false
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True
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Early socialization performs various functions for society, such as equipping the young to fit better into society and perpetuating the culture from one generation to the next. True or false
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True
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Socialization is one directional until adulthood. True or false
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False
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Which of the following is an agent of socialization? A. iPhones B. Cars C. Computers D. Mass media
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D.
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________ is a social engagement that involves two or more individuals who perceive and orient their actions to one another. A. Ethnomethodology B. Dramaturgy C. An agent of socialization D. Interaction
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D.
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The expectation that those involved in an interaction will give and receive rewards of roughly equal value is ________. A. fair trade B. reciprocity C. egalitarianism D. capitalistic exchange
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B.
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An interactionist theory of great relevance is ethnomethodology, which focuses on people's everyday practices, especially those that involve interaction. True or false.
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True
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Interaction order is primarily created by ________. A. social institutions B. larger society C. those involved in the interaction D. gender roles
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C.
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A person's status determines the roles he or she will be expected to fulfill. True or false.
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True
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________ are enduring and regular social arrangements, such as the family and the state. A. Social norms B. Social structures C. Social organizations D. Social groups
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B.
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A ________ is a two-person group while a ________ is a three-person group. A. pair; group B. triad; dyad C. dyad; triad D. company; crowd
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C.
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Triads are the most basic of interpersonal relationships. True or false
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False
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Researchers generally find that less than one fifth of all workers in the United States have obtained their jobs through informal means, meaning referrals, rather than formal job postings. True or false.
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False
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Relationships in primary groups are personal, and people identify strongly with the groups. True or false
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True
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________ are collectives purposely constructed to achieve particular ends. A. Groups B. Organizations C. Dyads D. Communities
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B.
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A bureaucracy is a highly rational organization, especially one that is very efficient. True or false
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True
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________ is defined as the probability or likelihood that commands will be obeyed by subordinates. A. Subordinate B. Authority C. Superordinate D. Domination
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D.
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Authority is defined as a particular type of domination: legitimate domination. True or false.
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True
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The ________ of bureaucracy is primarily a methodological tool used to study real-life bureaucracies. A. typical type B. ideal type C. functional type D. standard type
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B.
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Along with capitalism, the ________ best exemplifies what Weber meant by rationalization. A. organization B. community C. bureaucracy D. group
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C.
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Weber, in developing his ideal type of bureaucracy, did not find most bureaucracies to be significantly rational. True or false
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False
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The nature of the organization and its degree of rationality are contingent on such factors as its size and the technologies that it employs. True or false.
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True
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Acker theorized that a ________ reflects the reality that bureaucracies do not treat all workers the same. A. racialized organization B. gendered organization C. bureaucratic organization D. rational organization
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B.
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Some women in male-dominated business organizations find that they hit a ________—a certain level of authority in a company beyond which they cannot rise. A. glass escalator B. glass wall C. glass elevator D. glass ceiling
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D.
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Sexual harassment consists of unwanted sexual attention, such as sexually oriented remarks, jokes, advances, and requests that take place in the workplace or in other settings. True or false
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True
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To be illegal, sexual harassment must recur and/or be severe and result in a hostile workplace or even the firing of the harassed employee. True or false
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True
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According to the Department of Defense, reported cases of sexual assault in the military increased almost ________ percent between fiscal year 2012 and fiscal year 2013. A. 50 B. 20 C. 30 D. 10
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A.
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To adapt to a rapidly changing environment, contemporary organizations have been forced to become less flexible than the ideal-typical bureaucracy suggests. True or false
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False
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Sociologists have traditionally defined ________ as a complex pattern of social relationships that is bounded in space and persists over time. A. organization B. culture C. bureaucracy D. society
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D.
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Traditional societies characterized by face-to-face relations are known as ________. A. gemeinschaft societies B. postindustrial societies C. postmodern societies D. gesellschaft societies
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A.
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Gesellschaft and gemeinschaft societies are idealized abstractions of reality, and real societies can have characteristics of both. True or false
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True
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While in an industrial society a central concern is equality, in a risk society, the focus shifts to how to redistribute wealth from the wealthy to the poor. True or false
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False
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A(n) ________ is a large group of people linked through common descent, culture, language, or territory. A. ecclesia B. nation C. state D. nation-state
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B.
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A(n) ________ is a political body organized for government and civil rule. A. nation-state B. ecclesia C. nation D. state
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D.
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Globalization is formally defined as a transplanetary process or set of processes involving increasing liquidity and the growing multidirectional flows of people, objects, places, and information as well as the structures they encounter and create that are barriers to or expedite those flows. True or false
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True
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Globalization is increasingly characterized by great flows of not just information, ideas, and images but also objects and people. True or false
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True
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Today, we are witnessing the emergence of an increasing number of spaces and places that are unlikely to have clear and defensible borders. True or false
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False
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The ethnoscape of undocumented immigrants is of particular concern these days. True or false
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True
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The most important and most obvious barriers to global flows are those constructed by bureaucracies. True or false
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False
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________ are political systems in which people within a given state vote to choose their leaders and, in some cases, vote on legislation as well. A. Monarchies B. Dictatorships C. Democracies D. Totalitarianism
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C.
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________ are states that are usually totalitarian and ruled either by a single individual or by a small group of people. A. Democracies B. Dictatorships C. Oligarchies D. Monarchies
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B.
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The state is the political body organized for government and civil rule. True or false
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True
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In modern democracies, people vote to choose their legislators rather than actually managing their own political affairs and directly making decisions about the things that affect their lives. True or false
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True
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Most democratic states do not guarantee citizens the right to freely express dissent, the right to due process and equality before the law, the rights of freedom of speech and of the press, and the right to privacy. True or false
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False
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________ occurs when a nation uses its military in an attempt to impose its will on others outside the nation. A. Civil war B. War C. Terrorism D. Geopolitics
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B.
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________ typically involves nongovernmental actors engaging in acts of violence targeting noncombatants, property, or even military personnel in order to influence politics. A. Civil war B. Terrorism C. War D. Geopolitics
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B.
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Geopolitics entails political relationships that involve broad geographic areas, including the globe as a whole. True or false
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True
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The distinction between terrorists and revolutionaries is usually an easy distinction based on specific criteria. True or false
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False
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The ________ is the social system involved in the production, consumption, and distribution of goods and services. A. political system B. budget C. industrial revolution D. economy
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D.
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________ has a number of defining characteristics, including large numbers of standardized products, highly specialized workers, interchangeable machine parts, precision tools, a high-volume mechanized production process, and the synchronization of the flow of materials used in production, with the entire process made as continuous as possible. A. Mass production B. Mass communication C. Mass consumption D. Mass transit
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A.
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The devastating effects of the Great Recession have reminded us that the economy is of overwhelming importance to the elite class, primarily. True or false
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False
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While the economy in the United States and elsewhere is currently strengthening, and stock markets are booming, there is always the danger of another recession or even a depression, like the one that began in 1929. True or false
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True
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The key development in the emergence of the modern economy was the 19th-century Agricultural Revolution. True or false
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False
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In the United States, ________ is defined as being economically active and in the labor force (e.g., not retired), able and willing to work, and seeking employment but unable to find a job. A. employment B. part-time employment C. underemployment D. unemployment
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D.
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Large, sometimes lavish, consumption sites created mostly in the United States in the last half of the 20th century and into the early 21st century are called ________. A. cathedrals of consumption B. cathedrals of production C. cathedrals of distribution D. cathedrals of advertising
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A.
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Consumption accounts for approximately 70 percent of the U.S. economy today. True or false.
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True
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Consumption in today's postmodern society is about the satisfaction of needs. True or false
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False
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________ is globalization as it relates to money and finance. A. Microfinance B. Macrofinance C. Endofinance D. Mesofinance
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B.
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The lifting of government oversight of banking practices, which allowed wild speculation and economic bubbles that worsened the recession, is termed ________. A. macroregulation B. reregulation C. deregulation D. exoregulation
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C.
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Austerity programs in the Eurozone had a positive effect on those economies. True or false
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False
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People and businesses are increasingly dependent on electronic transfers for the credit they need or think they need in today's world. True or false
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True
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Even today, money and finance is closely tied to the nation-state that issues the money and to the financial transactions that take place therein. True or false
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False