Exam 5: Separate and Together: Life in Groups

What kind of power is exhibited by a police officer who pulls over a suspect after a high-speed pursuit?

What was the Asch experiment? What conclusions did Asch draw from it? What have researchers in recent decades found when trying to replicate Asch's results?

What are the three different types of authority identified by Max Weber? Explain the premise of each.

In 2003 the U.S. Army discovered Saddam Hussein hiding in a "spider hole" under a small building in his hometown, Tikrit. The army had tracked him to that location not by looking for him directly, but rather by creating a large "map" that displayed all the members of his family and tribe, showing their links to other people. Starting with just four names, the map allowed army intelligence to zero in on a small number of people whose relationships with Hussein made it more likely that they would know where he was. The search for Saddam Hussein demonstrated the practical applications of:

John graduates from college with a degree in business administration and gets a job with a large firm that audits small businesses that have contracts with the city. While working there, he becomes friends with Dave, who invites him to attend a weekly poker game, which becomes a meaningful part of John's social life. Some weeks the game is the only thing he has to look forward to. What does this illustrate?

What term did the sociologist George Ritzer use to describe the spread into everyday life of rationalization and bureaucratic ways of operating?

If group members share information and advice, provide support to one another, and have common interests but never meet in person, what kind of group are they a part of?

Sociologists have shown that even the likelihood that an individual will commit rape can be related to social influence.

What sort of group dynamic may have led officials at NASA to ignore warnings and launch the space shuttle Challenger, which exploded shortly after takeoff?

Strong identification with and loyalty to the in-group often results in discrimination against members of the out-group.

Why does actual group productivity never equal potential productivity?

Why would sociologists who study social networks and employment pay attention to the frequency with which an individual has been in contact with each member of his social network?

Imagine that you are in charge of a football team. Several of the players (including the quarterback and the running back) get most of the glory when the team succeeds. However, other players, like the linebackers, have to do a lot of very hard and highly skilled work in order for the team to win. Use the insights provided by Chapter 5 to describe what steps you would take to motivate the linebackers to work hard.

What is groupthink and how does it work? Provide an example from the textbook.

All left-handed people in the United States would be classified as a(n):

Which of the following is NOT a true statement about primary groups?

Mark Granovetter has argued that the people you know best are likely to possess only information you already have, which is why he argued that, especially for finding employment, it is advantageous to have:

What do sociologists call the conformity that is demonstrated by an individual dressing modestly in accordance with religious values, but doing so to avoid punishment rather than because she believes it truly matters?

The size of a group does not affect how it operates or what sorts of relationships are possible within it because group dynamics are the same regardless of group size.

When people attend high school class reunions, they often compare their own personal and professional successes and failures to those of their former classmates. This means that classmates are a(n):