question

Collective Action

answer

A collaborative effort that takes place in groups and diverges from the social norms of the situation

question

Convergence Theory

answer

Collective action happens when people with similar ideas and tendencies gather in the same place

question

Contagion Theory

answer

Collective action arises because of people's tendency to conform to the behavior of others

question

Emergent Norm Theory

answer

Emphasizes the influences of leaders in promoting particular norms a group follows

question

Identity and Individuality

answer

Our uniqueness is determined by group affiliations

question

Premodernity

answer

•Low degree of literacy, low division of labor, underdeveloped technology •Concentric circles of affiliation

question

Modernity

answer

•Rationality, bureaucratization, objectivity •Overlapping group affiliations

question

Postmodernity

answer

•Questioning notions of progress and history, replacing narrative with pastiche (mash-ups) •Multiple and/or conflicting identities, disjointed affiliations

question

norms

answer

are values that tell people how to act

question

cultural norm

answer

s one that may be particular to a certain part of society or culture

question

What is an example of a cultural norm that affects how people choose a romantic or life partner?

answer

In the United States, first cousins may not marry.

question

Functionalism

answer

the theory that various social institutions and processes in society exist to serve some important (or necessary) function to keep society running

question

Talcott Parsons's claim

answer

that the traditional family was necessary to modern industrial society because it fulfilled society's need for productive workers (fathers) and child rearers (women) is an example of a functionalist approach to sociology

question

The nuclear family

answer

consists of a father & mother & their biological children

question

The divorce rate in U.S

answer

has been rising steadily since the 19th century

question

What are characteristics of the preindustrial family?

answer

Families produced the food, clothing, and other goods they needed to survive.

question

What factor contributed to the development of the ideal of the traditional family in post-World War II America?

answer

government housing subsidies

question

gender roles

answer

are sets of behavioral norms assumed to accompany one's status as a male or female

question

The Tobachnik family has one son and two daughters. The children are assigned chores around the house. The son mows the lawn and takes out the garbage. The daughters do laundry, help with house cleaning, and clean up after meals. This distribution of the chores is an example of what?

answer

how gender roles are learned at home

question

In relation to working parents, the second shift can best be defined as

answer

the varied domestic tasks that women generally take care of for their families in addition to whatever paid work they do outside the home

question

As women have joined the work force in greater and greater numbers and their earning power has increased, how has the sharing of domestic responsibilities between men and women changed?

answer

Women still take on a greater share of domestic tasks than their male partners.

question

What is an example of a common imbalance studies have revealed about how domestic chores are shared between men and women?

answer

Marta does most of the grocery shopping, cooking, and laundry; James mows the lawn, makes his famous chili on special occasions, and cleans out the garage twice a year.

question

How did social scientists in the 1960s view the strong role held by women in many African American families?

answer

As a negative characteristic that served to emasculate black men and ultimately increase social problems in African American communities

question

In 2003, which minority group passed African Americans as the largest minority group in the United States?

answer

Latino

question

a cycle of dependency

answer

according to welfare critics, it sets in with many welfare recipients, and they become so used to receiving government aid that they lose interest in looking for work and trying to get off welfare rolls

question

How does the welfare system trap women who want to move off welfare rolls?

answer

Most women face lower earnings and fewer benefits when they move from welfare to work.

question

blended family

answer

contains parents and children from two previously intact and unrelated families

question

Josephine's parents divorced when she was five years old. By the time she was eight, both her parents had remarried and she had two step-siblings on her father's side and a half-brother on her mother's side. Josephine's two new families are examples of what type of family?

answer

a blended family

question

What is the general consensus among sociologists about the effects of divorce in children?

answer

There is no consensus amongst sociologists; study findings vary widely.

question

A civil union

answer

a legally recognized union that offers similar state-provided legal rights and benefits provided by marriage

question

Andrew Cherlin's interview on the culture of marriage explains the difficulties for certain couples to stay together, particularly if they are faced with economic problems. If both spouses work, what additional responsibilities might women face that put a strain on marriage?

answer

the second shift

question

What are the two primary functions of schools?

answer

to educate students and socialize them

question

Which of the following is an example of what sociologist Phillip Jackson called the "hidden curriculum" in schools?

answer

learning not to talk when the teacher or a classmate is talking

question

In deciding on course offerings and curricula, do schools take into account the fact that students have different interests, talents, and skills?

answer

Yes, most schools offer more than one program of study and elective courses so students can tailor their education to their needs to some degree.

question

What have studies shown about academic performance in public versus private schools?

answer

Private school students outperform their public school peers, even among students with similar backgrounds.

question

Leticia, a high school student who has been in remedial math classes for years, changes schools and is placed in a regular math class. She is sure she will fail and tries to switch classes, but the remedial class is full. Her new math teacher encourages Leticia and offers extra help, but also insists that she must study more than other students and do extra homework. Halfway through the semester, Leticia is surprised to find that she is handling the class and making a B minus. This scenario is an example of _____.

answer

the Pygmalion effect

question

Best practices

answer

can be defined as teaching methods whose effectiveness is supported by extensive research

question

peer-to-peer dynamics

answer

shows that peer effects matter and that the effect also works both ways

question

Studies show that when low-achieving students are placed in a class with mostly high-achieving students, their academic performance tends to improve. This is an example of the importance of _____.

answer

peer-to-peer dynamics

question

the question of why there has been a significant increase in the number of high school and college graduates in the United States over the past century might point to the simple rules of supply and demand—a need for a more educated workforce encouraged more people to stay in school longer

answer

a functionalist response

question

According to conflict theorists, what explains the increase in educational levels in the United States?

answer

Competition for jobs—as more and more people meet minimum educational requirements for jobs, people seek to differentiate themselves by obtaining yet another degree or studying at a more prestigious institution.

question

Affirmative action

answer

a set of policies that grant preferential treatment to a number of particular subgroups within the population

question

Affirmative action has been found to affect the makeup of the student body primarily at what type of U.S. colleges and universities?

answer

elite institutions

question

Socioeconomic status is a combined measure of an individual's or family's economic and social position relative to others, based on any combination of which of the following groups of elements?

answer

parents' level of education, parents' jobs, and family income and wealth

question

A parent's decision to become actively involved in the Parent Teacher Association at his or her child's school may be related to that parent's level of _____.

answer

cultural capital

question

The achievement gap between black and white students decreases significantly when students from similar socioeconomic background are compared. What does this tell us about the connection between race, class, and educational outcomes?

answer

Class is a greater predictor of educational outcomes than race.

question

Which of the following statements about changes in the boy-girl achievement gap during the past 30 years is true?

answer

Girls have caught up with boys in most measures of educational achievement.

question

resource dilution model

answer

a hypothesis stating that parental resources are finite, so the more children in a family, the fewer resources available to each child

question

Research shows that the closer in age siblings are, the more they compete for family resources,

answer

which negatively impacts their educational outcomes because they don't get enough attention and support from their parents

question

In his interview, Stephen Morgan explains that non-Catholic students often do better than Catholic students in a Catholic school. If students were placed in a classroom and told prior to a test that students with a strong Catholic background were more likely to perform well on this test, what sociological phenomena would this be an example of?

answer

stereotype threat

question

What trend has been noted in the workforce since 2002 with regard to income level and hours worked?

answer

High-income individuals are working more hours than low-income individuals.

question

Despite working more hours and being more productive than ever, American employees still express a lot of concern about

answer

job security

question

Feudalism

answer

an economic system characterized by lords who owned the land; vassals who managed the land and offered military protection; and serfs who worked the land

question

Which of the following factors played a role in the development of capitalism?

answer

new farming technologies

question

Limited liability

answer

a form of ownership that creates a division between the individual shareholder or executive and the business entity

question

The idea that competition, not conflict, helps maintain social cohesion was put forward by

answer

Adam Smith

question

You are a freelance graphic designer and about six months ago you set up a PayPal account so that clients can pay you online instead of mailing you checks, thus cutting down on paperwork and speeding up the whole payment process. One of your major clients has not expressed any interest in using PayPal and it continues to take up to two months for them to pay you. The next time this client offers you a project, you decide to turn it down because you think you're better off working with clients who will pay more quickly. In Adam Smith's terms, your decision is based on finding an unacceptable level of _____ in the proposed exchange.

answer

inefficiency

question

Salary

answer

a system of payment whereby workers are compensated for the sum total of their services, not any specific task or hours worked

question

According to Georg Simmel's view of monetary payment systems, which of the following people is in the best position?

answer

an analyst for a federal government agency

question

alienation

answer

a condition in which people are dominated by forces of their own creation that then confront them as alien powers

question

According to Karl Marx, workers in a capitalist economy are alienated from the product(s) they produce because _____.

answer

specialization has them focusing on one small step in a complex production process

question

Socialism

answer

an economic system in which most or all of a population's needs are provided through nonmarket methods of distribution

question

Max Weber

answer

believed that ideas are as strong a force as technological advances in terms of bringing about social change.

question

family wage

answer

a wage paid to male workers sufficient to support a dependent wife and children

question

How did the Ford Motor Company's introduction of the family wage help construct the idea of the traditional family?

answer

It encouraged men to marry and have children as the wage was not available to single men or married men without children.

question

How can it be argued that wage inequality is related to marriage?

answer

Because women have historically earned less than men, they often see marriage as the best way to guarantee future financial security.

question

Americans work _____ hours as/than citizens of other industrialized nations, but have _____ vacation benefits.

answer

more; worse

question

Positive changes for women that can be linked to their increased participation in the work force include

answer

better self-esteem and increased economic power

question

service sector

answer

economic activity that involves providing an intangible service

question

What is an example of a service sector job?

answer

cleaning someone's home

question

One of the trends in the current era of globalization

answer

is the establishment of trade agreements that are mulitlateral

question

Political arbitrage

answer

the use of insider political knowledge to earn profits

question

According to Milton Friedman, what is a corporation's sole social responsibility?

answer

to increase its profits through legal means

question

unionization rates in the United States

answer

have declined over the past 30 years, recent studies show that more workers are interested in being part of a collective bargaining agreement.

question

Studies show that the primary concern U.S. workers have about unionizing

answer

is job loss or a tense work environment because of employers' negative attitude toward unions

question

Champagne-glass distribution

answer

refers to the fact that a small percentage of the world's population possesses a very large percent of the world's income

question

What is a theistic religion?

answer

Christianity

question

Compared to people in other industrialized countries,

answer

Americans are more likely to have religious beliefs and more likely to be affiliated with a religious institution.

question

conflict theory

answer

the idea that conflict between competing interests is the basic, animating force of social change and society in general

question

The argument that religion is used to perpetuate inequalities has its roots in which theoretical approach to studying religion?

answer

conflict theory

question

Max Weber argued

answer

that the development of capitalism was closely intertwined with beliefs and values of Protestant Church.

question

The idea that religion sustains social unity by strengthening the collective conscience is an example of a/an _____ analysis of religion.

answer

functionalist

question

Social desirability bias

answer

the influence individuals feel to adjust their expressed attitudes to match those of the general public

question

Social desirability bias can affect responses in a study when the questions ____.

answer

have moral undertones

question

Attendance at religious services

answer

has declined in the United States since the 1960s, and the number of people who say they have religious beliefs or a strong sense of spirituality has held steady or risen.

question

Reflexive spirituality

answer

an approach to faith and religion that encourages people to look to religion for meaning and wisdom rather than for absolute truths

question

Microsociology

answer

seeks to understand logical interactional contexts

question

Examining the meaning and uses of religion in people's everyday lives is part of a _____ approach to the subject.

answer

microsociological

question

Why have social movements, such as the temperance movement of the nineteenth century and the civil rights movement of the twentieth century, been closely linked with religious institutions?

answer

Religious institutions have provided an important infrastructure to help social movements pursue their causes.

question

Studies show that people with more education

answer

have less attachment to traditional religious beliefs and higher levels of participation in religious organizations

question

Which of the following religious groups can be said to be characterized by strong associational involvement and strong communal ties?

answer

Hasidic Jews

question

What is a positive aspect of the proliferation of choice in America's pluralistic religious landscape?

answer

People feel more connected and committed to their religion if they have chosen it after careful exploration of different options.

question

Besides having a large size, what are characteristics of a megachurch?

answer

conservative Protestant, located in the Sun Belt, flexible and creative

question

sectarian group

answer

typically an offshoot of a mainstream church, founded by people who stress rewards in the afterlife over worldly pleasures, and that doesn't fit well with the surrounding social environment

question

cult

answer

a religious movement that makes a new claim about the supernatural

question

sect-church cycle

answer

helps to explain the existence of so many types of Christian churches in the United States

question

One theory about the growth of conservative churches is that

answer

their stricter expectations of members make those members value them more and commit more time and energy to them

question

sacred canopy

answer

the term used to describe the entire set of religious norms, symbols, and beliefs that express the most important thing in life—namely, the feeling that life is worth living, reality is meaningful and ordered, and not the random chaos of the stars

question

In her interview, Jen'nan Read explains that some Muslims in America have chosen to continue religious traditions as a form of individual identity. Traditions such as the hijab worn by Muslim women make up part of what overarching religious theme?

answer

the sacred canopy

question

Paradigm

answer

can be defined as the theoretical framework that orders the way a scientist, or any type of researcher, approaches his or her work

question

According to Thomas Kuhn, a paradigm shift occurs when

answer

enough anomalies accrue to challenge the existing paradigm, showing that it is incomplete or inadequate

question

What is an example of how social factors can influence scientific research?

answer

A wealthy alumnus of a large research university dies of complications from diabetes; in his will, he leaves millions of dollars to the university on the condition that the money be used only for diabetes research.

question

Boundary work

answer

refers to research conducted on the border between legitimate and nonlegitimate science either within a specific scientific discipline or between disciplines

question

What is one of the primary claims made by Bruno Latour and Steve Woolgar in their book Laboratory Life?

answer

They claim that scientific facts don't just reveal themselves through experiments and research but rather are constructed through a process that is heavily influenced by social factors.

question

Matthew effect

answer

refers to certain scientific results get more notice and have more influence based on the existing prestige of the researchers involved

question

What is paradoxical about the growing threat of global warming?

answer

The effects of global warming have the potential to alter human societies drastically; at the same time, the primary cause of global warming is human activity.

question

What is true about organic foods?

answer

They do not contain genetically modified ingredients.

question

How can organic farming be said to create stratification among farmers?

answer

Because consumers are very concerned with "buying local," organic farms that are close to larger urban centers have an advantage over organic farms that are not near any major metropolitan areas.

question

What are the benefits of genetically modified crops?

answer

They may have better resistance to insects, diseases, and other predators, which means a greater quantity of a crop should survive the growing season and make it to the market.

question

What is a major concern of critics of genetically modified crops?

answer

Critics argue that changing the genetic structure of one organism can have negative effects on the whole ecosystem of which it is a part.

question

According to Ulrich Beck, a risk society is a society that is _____.

answer

concerned with mitigating risks, particularly manufactured risks that are unequally distributed by socioeconomic status and other dimensions of power

question

external risks

answer

derive from nature and have been a part of human history before the first machine was ever invented.

question

What is an example of an external risk?

answer

a parasite that attacks wheat crops

question

In The Next Catastrophe, Charles Perrow argues that _____.

answer

while disasters are inevitable, their negative impact can be reduced by dispersing their risks

question

green revolution

answer

•refers to efforts begun in the mid-twentieth century to introduce high-yield crop varietals and the development of better irrigation systems, fertilizers, and pesticides •has been credited with helping food production keep pace with population growth in developing countries

question

What is a social issue that has been raised related to the knowledge we now possess from conducting the Human Genome Project?

answer

Such knowledge could increase stratification as people could be categorized as more or less useful or desirable according to what their genetic code says or predicts about them.

question

Reproductive cloning

answer

involves making a genetic copy of an existing person or organism

question

digital divide

answer

refers to unequal access to and knowledge of information technology based on socioeconomic status

question

What is one argument for how the growth of the digital economy is a path toward reducing global inequality?

answer

The digital economy levels the playing field between poor and rich countries because it doesn't have as many barriers to participation (such as physical distance for example).

question

Which of the following people is most likely to be at the top of the social divide in the United States?

answer

a 27-year-old woman with a college degree who lives in an urban area

question

In his interview, John Evans explains how, in a way, regulatory agencies were charged with the task of handling questions of ethics in scientific research. Assuming these agencies have an impact on which scientists are able to publish first. Those scientists in turn garner prestige from those early publications and turn that prestige into further publications and prestige. What sociological phenomenon describes the way these scientists continue gaining prestige?

answer

the Matthew effect

question

Alondra Nelson's interview on genetic testing and race explains the difficulties individuals encounter when trying to navigate the costs and benefits of finding out who they are and where they are from. In what way do African Americans particularly have trouble?

answer

records of slaves' origins aren't complete or even maintained in many cases

question

mass collective action

answer

collective action in which close physical proximity is not necessary

question

What is an example of mass collective action?

answer

a boycott of a clothing manufacturer that has factories overseas where child labor is used

question

Which of the following is a criticism of contagion theory?

answer

It downplays individual agency.

question

What is ironic about how we define ourselves as individuals?

answer

We generally define individuality in terms of our association with various groups.

question

static identity

answer

one that is unchangeable, such as an individual's ethnic origin

question

What is an example of a static identity?

answer

being of Italian descent

question

dynamic identity

answer

an aspect of your identity that is fluid and is determined by a group to which you belong

question

social movement

answer

collective behavior that is purposeful, organized, and institutionalized

question

What are the two factors that are used to distinguish between different types of social movements? the type of collective action that is used; the institutional organization of the movement.

answer

the size of the group whose behavior is being targeted; whether the change sought is limited or radical

question

reformative social movement

answer

one that advocates for limited social change across an entire society

question

What is an example of a reformative social movement?

answer

a movement that promotes a switch from standard incandescent light bulbs to energy-saving compact fluorescent bulbs in all American households

question

alternative social movement

answer

one that seeks the most limited societal change and often targets a narrow group of people.

question

After several years of rising crime and hooliganism among teenagers in a particular city, citizens of the city band together to create more opportunities for recreational activities, jobs, and leadership training for young people. This is an example of what type of social movement?

answer

alternative social movement

question

classical model of social movements

answer

proposes that social movements emerge as a collective response to structural weaknesses in society that have a psychological effect on individuals

question

What is a criticism of resource-mobilization theory?

answer

The theory implies that social movements require the participation of powerful or elite members of society in order to be successful because such people control more resources.

question

What are the three stages of social movements?

answer

emergence, coalescence, and routinization

question

social movement organization

answer

a group that develops to implement the goals of a particular social movement through activities such as member recruitment, fund raising, and strategy and policy development

question

What is the primary difference between a participatory movement organization and a professional movement organization?

answer

the level of involvement of rank-and-file members

question

grassroots organization

answer

a type of social movement organization that relies on high levels of membership participation to promote social change. It lacks a hierarchical structure and works through existing political structures to promote social change

question

Residents of a small city learn that a big-box retailer is considering opening a new store near their community. Some people are in favor of the development because they think it will bring more jobs and lower prices; others are against it because they think it will hurt local businesses and create traffic headaches. Advocates on each side of the issue organize to promote their point of view—they hang banners and signs around town, they write letters to local officials and the local newspaper, they make presentations at community meetings, and they conduct research about how such stores have impacted similar communities. All of this is an example of which type of social movement organization?

answer

a grassroots organization

question

How might the rise of online associations be affecting the tradition of volunteerism in the United States?

answer

People may actually be joining more organizations, but their participation may be more passive, involving less hands-on work and face-to-face interactions.

question

Modern social organization

answer

began to replace premodern social relations with the rise of scientific knowledge and the concept of rationality

question

In his interview, Doug McAdam explains how the Internet age may have changed the potential reach of social movements, but face-to-face interaction still provides the power behind social movements. You decide to start an organization to combat the treatment of workers at your university. Your organization relies on the participation of a large number of students. In particular, the students operate by collecting signatures of community members, contacting the press, and researching wage inequality. What type of organization have you created?

answer

grassroots organization

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